January 13, 2025 • 47 mins
John Schmeelk and Tony Pauline talk about recent NFL Draft declarations, discuss what they saw from the semifinals of the College Football Playoff and look ahead to the National Championship.
:00 - Draft declarations
4:39 - Notre Dame vs Penn State
19:43 - Ohio State vs Texas
36:28 - National Championship preview
41:50 - Tony’s Top 10
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's now officially open.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome to Draft Season, presented by Moody's, a proud partner
of the New York Giants. Decode versus Unlock Opportunity. Learn
more in moodies dot com. Hello everybody, Welcome to Draft season.
John Schmelk joined as always by Tony Pauline from sports Kita,
as we continue to get you ready for the NFL Draft.
Tony Fun, weekend of playoff, NFL football Fun Thursday and
(00:31):
Friday Night of college football. We're recording this on Monday,
so we don't know the result of the Monday night
game yet, but you know, I'm not sure we've ever
had five straight days of high quality football games like
this before, and frankly, in my lifetime, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I could sign up for this. This is nice.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, I'm gonna talk primarily about the college games because
I watched a lot of film.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I was in and out of the NFL games.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
But exciting games and really some great and not so
great performances by guys that we're gonna be talking about
for the next couple of months in the lead up
to the twenty twenty five draft. And besides those games,
some pretty impactful news after those games or outside of
(01:14):
those games as far as the NFL Draft is concerned.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So why don't we start the news first, Tony? Do
you want to go there first? That works for you.
We heard some guys coming in, some guys not going in.
Why don't you go through the guys that caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well, obviously the first one would be Carson Beck who
said he was going to enter the draft. We both
thought there was a bad mistake. Carson Beck goes back
in the transfer portal, he's announced that he's transferring to Miami.
I'm told there's also an NIL deal there which is
worth about ten million dollars, which enticed him to go
to Miami. But regardless what the money is, it's a
(01:48):
good decision for Carson Beck because, as we both said,
Carson Beck entering the draft after this season he had
in twenty twenty four after the elbow injury the UCL surgery,
would have been the worst possible move he could make.
He now goes to Miami. He's gonna get another year
under his under his belt, another year to kind of
redeem himself after what was a disappointed twenty twenty four season,
(02:12):
And when you think about it, I mean, not only
is this the same avenue, the same road that cam
Ward take took, but when you look at your highest
rated quarterback, no, I'm sorry, your quarterbacks who are really
moving up draft wars, your quarterbacks who improve their draft
stock more than anyone else in the twenty twenty four season.
(02:35):
You talk about cam Ward obviously transferring from Washington State
to Miami. You talk about Kyle McCord, you transfer from
Ohio State to Syracuse. You're probably gonna ter talk about
Curtis Wark, even though he's injured, who transferred from Ohio
to Indiana. You may want to throw Will Howard into
that mix. He's definitely improved this draft stock transferred from
(02:58):
Kansas State to Ohio State. Kiley Leonard is probably gonna
you know, is more as a higher draft rate now
after his transfer to note your Dame from Duke.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
So, I mean there.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Is something too that sometimes the grass can be greener.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I think it's a great move by Beck.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Obviously, his savings account, his checking account's going to agree,
but it's a chance for him to redeem himself and
he should be applauded for it.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Now, Tony Chraig, I didn't see anything official. I know
before the game he said he was coming out regardless.
Has quin yours made official that he's coming out yet
or not yet?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I have not seen.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
I have not seen that.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And my information in the lead up was that he
was going to enter the draft. So I think at
this point in time, I think it would be a
bigger surprise if he goes back to school, goes back
to Texas, or transfers to another school rather than entering
the draft. I was of the mind, the thought process
and the information was he was gonna enter the draft.
(03:55):
The only and we'll get into this when we get
into that game, the only official announcem that we've gotten
out of Texas right literally up until a minute we
started this podcast was Kelvin Banks the offensive tackle on
Jaden Blew the running back.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And well we'll see if Kelvin Banks's offensive tackle or
offensive guard based on how the draft goes as well.
And I know we talked about this last week, but
Eli Stowers I believe made official he will be going
back to Vanderbilt, correct.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
I mean that's the way it looks.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Another big nil deal and one guy that announced that
he is going into the draft. No surprise erab dual
Carter out of Penn State, who's going to be a
very early pick. I had reported this back when they
played USC he was hanging out with his agent after
the game. Not a surprise, you know, abdual Carter. We'll
talk about his game against the Notre Dame. Going to
(04:44):
be a very another pick and impactful defensive front seven player.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
All right, so let's get to that game, then, Tony
Notre Dame in Penn State. I think you have to
classify as an upset Notre Dame figuring out a way
to come out with the winning that game.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Do you want to starw with Notre Dame or Penn State?
Where do you want to go?
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Let's go with the winners first, gig gig to the winners,
go and spoils.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, and look, I don't know if we're gonna have around.
I know we're not gonna have a round one pick
out of Notre maybe Morris in the cornerback. Maybe you
know there was no.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Round There was no Round one pick from Notre Dame
that was on the field playing.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
In the game.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
That good point.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
So why don't we start, I guess with the quarterback.
You know Ryley Landers coming out. We're gonna see him
at Amobile to Senior Bowl. And look, he's been doing
what's been asked of him since his really struggles early
season that we talked about here, where you know, he's
not gonna wow you. He's not gonna be a first
round pick. He's not gonna be a second round pick.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
But he's a guy that makes the plays, especially on
the ground when you need him. He was vital in
those third and fourth and short situations in the game,
and he continues to do what Notre Dame needs offensively
to score just enough points to win a lot of
these low scoring games.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I would agree with you, I would not grate him
as a second round pick.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I said he's not gonna be a one. He's not
going to be a two.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Right, I would.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I would agree with you he's not going to be
a second round pick or a first round pick. But
here's the reason why he could be a second round pick.
Because we know he's got the athleticism, we know he's
got the arm talent, we know he's got a lot
of ability, and he's shown throughout this college football playoffs
what a leader he is, that he's efficient, he does
(06:20):
what's necessary to win and he just may need some coaching.
So you know, if he goes into the senior ball
and has a good Senior Bowl week and the senior
ball is becoming as important for the interviews, and he
wows some team with his interviews, they're like, we know,
why Notree Dame, you know, beat Georgia when they weren't
(06:41):
supposed to and beat Penn State when they weren't supposed
to because this guy is the leader. This is the
guy we want leading our team. I think there's a
chance he could sneak into the late part of round two.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
I wouldn't do it.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But again, the quarterback position, you know, as we see,
is always one that's overdrafted, and he was.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
He was efficient.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
You know, he moved the ball, he did what was necessary,
and again he won a game or he helped his
team win a game that they weren't expected to win.
And you know, he's got the physical ability and as
we've said all along, you know, he's more he's looked
more like an athlete who needs to be a passer.
And now you throw in that those leadership in tangibles
(07:23):
that Notre Dame and he has shown really since that
Northern Illinois loss, and I think that's why there's an
outside chance he could squeeze into the late part of
round two.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I want Mitchell Evans because he was a guy that
was one of the you know, his prime targets.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Big guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I mean, if you want to, you know, in line
wide tight end, big guy, good hands.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
You know, we'll see you about the athletic testing and
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
But if you're looking for a two way blocking tight
end that can play in line for you, Mitchell Evans,
I think is gonna be a real safe draft pick
for you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Prototypical Notre Dame tight end. I mean a throwback that
was you would draft in the mid rounds in the eighties,
and he could be your number one tight end. You know,
on third down and three, you're gonna either use him
as an inline blocker or you're gonna send him on
a four yard pattern and he's gonna catch the ball.
I mean, as you said, a big guy. He catches
the ball in the crowd, he takes a pounding, and
(08:18):
he holds onto the throw I don't expect any great
testing numbers from Mitchell Evans, but you know he projects
very well as a very nice number two tight ends
at the next level. Who can catch the ball or
who can block?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
All right, let's jump over to the defensive side of
the ball. Tony Notre Dame jumped out at you.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
You know, Jack Kaiser doesn't get a lot of notice.
He's not the fastest guy in the world. He's not
the most athletic guy in the world. But you watch
in the past three years and you watch him against
Penn State. He's smart, he's tough, he's instinctive. He makes
outstanding plays time after time with his head, if bishop
(09:00):
takes good angles to the action. If he gets drafted,
it will be in the very late rounds.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
But Kaiser is.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
One of those guys that you know you want him
as your seventh or eighth linebacker who can also play
special teams, just because of his ability to diagnose and
read what's happening on the field. And I thought again,
Zavier Wats had another solid game, more so against the run,
which Penn State was very good at them the past.
(09:30):
But he's well rounded safety. Who don't know that he's
a top one hundred pick, but I can absolutely see
him coming off the board quickly. When the Day three
of the draft begins.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
All right, let's jump over to Penn Staatey here, Tony,
and you know, we know the internet can get out
of control, and there were some people thinking, off, he
is a really if he beat Notre Dame Goes has
a really good game in the national title game, juwe alar,
you know, maybe you can jump into the top ten.
And I know you and I had talked about him
a lot on the show over the course of this year,
and we're like, guys, we don't even think he's ready.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
To come out yet. Like you look at his numbers
every week.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You might like the toolbox, but he's just extremely inconsistent.
The completion percentage is never high. It's not like Penn
State's corn a million points because they're throwing the ball
a lot. And you know, we just saw a very
rough game, to be totally honest, Tony. Not a lot
of great throws, a lot of inconsistency, bad decision making.
So he's gonna go back to school. We'll see if
(10:25):
it's a Penn State or not. That's a decision he
can make too. You know, the transfer portal is open,
so we'll see. But obviously I think Jeweller showed that
not ready for the National Football League.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Now I had actually somebody asked me on Twitter, you know,
do you think if Drewella plays well, he could be
the third pick of the draft. I don't think he's
gonna bee a third pick of the second round, forget
about the third pick of the draft. I mean, you know,
I'm gonna draw a parallel here, and you know, I
hope he goes back. I look, this morning, I didn't
see anything official. I didn't see him, you know, confirm
(10:55):
what he said earlier that he's going back.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
But he needs to go back. There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And I'm going to draw a parallel here to a
guy that people may remember by the name of Christian Hackenberg,
and people may they say that it's over. You know,
it's ridiculous and I'm being overly dramatic, But the fact is, Drewelar,
like Christian Hackenberg, was phenomenal as a freshman. He was
a freshman phenom and everyone expected him to be the
next great quarterback prospect, and his game slowly either leveled
(11:23):
off or regressed, and he never showed that consistent magic
that he had as a freshman. And Christian Hackenberg, we
know this story. Fortleshly entered the draft after his junior season,
was overdrafted by the Jets in the second round and
amounted to nothing as far as a large concerned. If
(11:43):
everyone will talk about that horrible pass, the interception where
he threw it across his body, threw it across the field,
and that ended Penn State's national title hopes. The red
flag for me went up early in the second half
when Penn State had their first drive. He threw a
six yard pass. They had like a one two yard run.
It was the third and three, and Penn State seem
(12:04):
to have Notrey Dame back on their heels, and the
Penn State coaching staff, rather than putting the ball in
Alar's hands and letting them throw the ball, they ran
the ball, and they didn't get the first run, and
they didn't get the first down. They had to kick
the ball back, pump the ball back to Notre Dame,
and right then and there, I'm saying, you know, the
Penn State coaches don't seem to have the confidence in
(12:26):
Drew Alarm.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
They know something.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
So because of the inconsistency, he's got to go back
to school. And I would absolutely agree with you he's
got to consider transferred. I mean, I know what the
emotional ties are, but he seems very stale at Penn State.
And if a guy like Ryan Grubb, a quarterback coach
with the Seattle Seahawks now is rumored to be going
(12:49):
to Alabama. Ryan Grubb was the quarterback coach offensive coordinator
at Washington who developed Michael Pennix. If he goes back
to Alabama with the Boar to reunite with him, as
is being rumored, I mean that is a place where
a lot of quarterbacks will want to go potentially go,
especially like Drew Oflar to have Grubb develop his game.
(13:11):
So yeah, I mean it's a lot of what we
saw literally in the past two years with Drew Alre.
He was spectacular at points, but overall it was inconsistency
and some bad play. It's got to go back. It
may be to his benefit to find a new home
because as we talked about cam Ward, Colb Cord Will Howard,
(13:34):
Curtis Rourke, these are all guys that benefited from a
change of scenery.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, and Tony, I'm with you, And he'll be losing
his top target too, right. Tyler Warren's gonna come out
at the tight end, had another strong game, six catches,
seventy five yards. I've seen the TG Hockinson comparison thrown
out there. I think that's probably pretty good in terms
of his level of athleticism, you know, his size and
things of that nature. But Warren, I think closes college
(14:00):
career very strongly with another good performance. Showing off is
his size, strength, and just kind of the physical force
that he plays with, which is pretty impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And Tyler Warren a guy that went back for an
extra senior season because you know, they were thoughts that
he was going to enter last year's draft and be
a fourth round pick. Now he's going to enter this
year's draft and be a first round pick. And he's
answered the call every time Penn State has relied on
him or needed him to answer the call, unlike Drew
a Law. I think as far as his draft stock
(14:31):
is concerned, I still have Colston Lovelin rated as my
number one tight end. I want to see those testing numbers.
Hockinson turned in some pretty decent testing numbers. I don't
know that Warren's going to be as fast as Hockinson,
although he does a few other things better. But still
the tight end position. You want your guy at that
spot to be able to get down the field and
(14:52):
create mismatches. I am not sold yet that Warren can
do that on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yeah, that's interesting. I think that's going to keep an
eye on. Just for reference, I will bring up T. J.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Hopkinson's combine numbers are still fans of an idea of
what they were at the combine. He ended up runn
a four to seven forty yard dash one five nine
ten yards split, thirty seven and a half vert, which
is very good for his man his size, and a
ten to three broad seven two three code. So I
could see Warren being in the neighborhood of some of those.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
We'll have to say, Yeah, I think he's more for
seven to five guy, But then again, you know, you
never know these guys shamed for the combine. Who thought
Michael Mayer we talk about the Notre Dame tight ends.
I mean, Michael Mahyer ran much much faster than anybody thought. Listen,
wherever he goes in the draft, a creative offensive coordinator
is gonna find a spot for Tyler Warren to be
(15:46):
very productive on Sunday. And he went back to for
another senior season and it's worked out for him. So
credit credit to Tyler Warren.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, Penny running game I thought did a nice job.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Tony Nicholas Singleton fifteen carries eighty four yards, three touchdowns,
k tron Allen nineteen carries eighty two yards, and they
really kept that Penn State team in the game by
running it on Notre Dame against a pretty good front.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
They did.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
In fact, you know, on that first series it was
drewe Laar who missed that screen pass to Nick Singleton
and Penn State had to settle for a field goal
rather than a touchdown. Rather than leading Singleton with the pass,
he kind of threw it behind him and Singleton was
not able to adjust backwards enough to catch the ball.
But you know, they work well together. Singleton is the speedy, creative,
(16:31):
explosive back, Kate tron Allen is the guy who runs
through the run through runs through defenders. I think they're
both gonna be good NFL pros. I think both of
them project his top one twenty five selections.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
All right, let's go to the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Tony who jumped out for Penn State other than Abdull
Carter a whole hit last year.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And two guys who played well throughout the college play
college football players Dannas Danny Sutton four tackles, two sacks,
two tackles for loss, had a great playing coverage.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
If you remember, they ran his own blitz.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
They dropped them off the line of scrimmage, dropped back
ten yards, deflected a pass.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
From Riley Letters. I mean, this is a guy.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's an underclassman, a lot of athleticism, natural pass rusher.
Abdul Carter also had a good game. And Abdul Carter
gets all the headlines and sucks all the oxygen out
of the room when you're talking about pass rushers from
Penn State. But Dennis Danny Sutton, who could be a
third round pick, I think has played better. He played
well all year, but he's really stepped up his game
(17:31):
during the college football playoffs. And again Kaziah Izard the
defensive tackle, the quick, explosive defensive tackle, six tacks, one sack,
one tackle for the loss. This was a guy who
I had him on my radar. I always thought he
was He had a late round type. He was graded
as a reject by scouts coming in, which means He's
basically a streat free agent six ' three, three hundred
(17:53):
six pounds, runs in the four nines, a one gap
three technique type of tackle who I think from this
his play during the season, and especially his play in
the postseason, is going to change a lot of opinions
if he decides him to the draft. Fourth year senior
who could go back for another year.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
All right, let's go over to abdul Carter here.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Tony five tackles, three solo, one sack, two tackles for loss.
But man, they could not block him off the edge.
I know Notre Dame suffered some injuries on the offensive
line over the course of the game, and that hurt them,
But they could not block abdual Carter. His just ability
to get off the line quickly, his get off, his
ability to get to the edge, that little dip and
rip move that he has, he just use it again
(18:33):
and again. His athletic ceiling is so high. I would
be shocked today if he's not a top five pick
in the draft.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
And he did it all with one arm, if you remember,
because he and they had to put him on the
other side of the line to protect that shoulder.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
That was injured and he still was unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And you know, people talk about the past rushing numbers,
and if you watch this show, I think with Abdul Carter,
there's more to his game than that you can drop
him off the line of strims talk about the player
Danny Dennis Sutton maiden coverage. You can do that with
Abdul Carter all day if you want to as a
three to four stand up linebacker, if you need to
play him over the tight end and coverage and drop
(19:13):
him into space. He's shown in the past to be
very effective at Penn State. He's shown himself to be
a three down defender who can play in space. Obviously,
putting him at defensive end this year was more to
the team's benefits going to help his draft stock.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
He was always a highly rated player.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I mean, coming into the season, scouts graded him as
a potential top five pick, as one of the highest
rated players in the nation. For those scouts who or
those scouting services who graded him the classroom, so it's
no surprise. I just think that whoever drafts Abdull Carter
has got to be creative with him. Don't just use
(19:48):
him as a pass rusher, use him in a variety
of ways because he is talented and multiversatile.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, I'm with you really good.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
And they'll be taking on Ohio State, who defe defeated
Texas in their I believe that was the Cotton Bowl, right, Yeah,
twenty eight fourteen. Ohio State beat Texas in this game,
and Tony, this was really a case of, you know,
Ohio State, I wouldn't consider them dominant in this game.
You know, they didn't dominate from start to finish, but
you kind of always felt.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Like they had a control of the game. Let's start
Ahiose State's defense.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
I thought they did a pretty good job controlling Texas,
especially on the ground, where Texas has had success running
the ball behind their big offensive line this year.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
But I thought Ahillo States defense.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Did really well against the run, starting with Jack Sawyer, as.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
They have all season.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And I mean, you know the thing about Jack Sawyer
is everyone's going to talk about that scoop and score
play forever, and you know it will go down and
Ohio State football lore, but people need to go back
and watch that third down play before the fourth down
scoop and score because on that third down play, what
(20:52):
happened was they line. Jack Sawyer inside almost as like
a defensive tackle position. He beat the guard, penetrated the
line of scrimmage, and deflected quin you Were's pass. Now
that was important because Igby Nosen would have gotten called
for pass interference, yes, in the corner of the end zone.
(21:12):
And if that had if Sawyer had not tipped that pass,
not penetrated the line of scrimmers, not beating the offensive guard,
pass interference is called. Texas now has four more downs
inside the one yard line. So everyone's gonna talk about
the stupid score. It was a great play. It was
a great highlight. Go back and watch that third down
(21:34):
play and see what Jack Sawyer did on that third
down play which really set up that fourth down play.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
And the bottom line is this. You know, I'm gonna
talk about Tyleek Williams.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We talked about, I think it was with Dame Rugler
about how the college football playoffs would give guys a
chance to elevate their draft stock. I thought that high
Leak Williams has elevated history stock more than any of
the player in the college football players. You got to
add Jack Sawyer in there. I mean, he was he
was constantly when I talked about Cam Williams, but I
(22:08):
mean he Cam Williams.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
So don't match with Jack Sawyer. He was all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, and look, I thought a number of Ohio State
players on defense played well. Tony Tudig, Williams Toamalo, had
the injury early in that game. He kind of fought
through it, came back and played Cody Simon.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I thought was good. Sonny Styles was all over the place.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Just you saw that Ohio State front really played to
the back of their baseball cards.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
And with Tyler.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Williams, you know, the stats aren't there at four tackles.
I think he had one pass break up, but continual pressure,
continual double teams. And what that does is one of
two things. Either the running backs have to reroute their runs,
change the angle of their runs, or the quarterback has
to move on to the pockets. Or it's creating opportunities
for his teammates. And I think tiny leek Williams is
(22:53):
a big, athletic man who, as I've said before, is
gonna be one of the top four defensive tackles in
the draft.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
I think he's elevated stock.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
I think Chiamola, after a rather uninspired season has really
elevated his play. We talked about Cody Simon, really the
unsung hero of that note of that Ohio's State defense
and a guy who came into the season with late
round grades. He's moved into the middle rounds. I mean,
(23:21):
he's got good measurables. He could go late day day
two in the third round. Complete mindbacker, puff run defender, instinctive,
also makes plays in coverage. Really, you're sort of forgotten
about traditional three down linebacker. Here's the thing about Sonny
Styles is he's large, he's athletic. He stands out on film.
(23:44):
The instincts kind of bother me because he doesn't read
and react. He thinks and reacts. And a couple of
times he was playing catch up with gunner Helm and
he's more athletic than gunner Helm because he was reacting
a little bit late. That's something that you know, could
be kind of tricky trying to figure out. Styles has
tremendous amount of upside potential and he can be an
outstanding player. And just you know another guy in that
(24:07):
Ohio State defensive front seven that is going to be
playing Sunday football real soon.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And you mentioned earlier potential defensive passing, the ference penalty
in the defensive backfield for a while State that's been
a problem for them all year. I thought, they're young
safety who's probably been coming out next year.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
The year after. I thought he looked very good, but
the corner struggled again.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Corner struggling and sort of Ransom.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Ransom had that terrible pass interference call Lank in the
game that actually moved the moved the ball down into
the two yard line so it was second and goal,
and then it was Caleb Downs who made the play
on second down for a five yard loss when Texas
ran that sort of toss sweep there.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
And Caleb Down is going to be just a tremendous car.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I mean, he's gonna be a guy that when you
see the twenty twenty six mock drafts come out two
days after the twenty twenty twenty five mock drafts, after
the twenty twenty five actual draft is over, Caleb Downs
is going to be in everybody's top ten, top ten,
taking oils Mark justin he deserves it.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
But again, I think after.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Two really good games in the college football playoffs, iguanosim
Burnt and even a Ransom struggled against Texas, all.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Right, so let's go to the offensive side of the
ball now for Ohio State, Tony and look, they ran
the ball I thought pretty well in this game, even
though the numbers don't show it. Henderson just six carries
forty two yards. Junkins nine carries thirty six yards. I
felt like they got yards and they needed in this game.
And then Henderson of course had that big screen pass
at the end of the first half that went for
(25:39):
the seventy five yard touchdown, just showing that ability to
accelerate quickly and then the long speed no one could
catch him.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Yeah, which I thought was changed the tempo of the
game because Texas found themselves playing really playing from behind.
And you're right, the numbers weren't there for Ohio State,
but they were important runs. They were big runs on
first down to make it easier second third down to
get the first the next first down, or there were
big third down runs. I mean, Jenkins, you saw why
(26:06):
Ohio State went and paid him the big money if
you will, because he is just a violent, explosive ball carrier.
He's not going down on first contact. He works his runs,
he tries to get as much yards out of every
carry as possible. And then Trayvon Anderson. Listen, I think
Traymon Henderson is an absolute Day two pick. We'll see
(26:29):
where he goes. He's what the NFL wants. You know,
It's sort of like the Nick Singleton k tron Allen
situation in Ohio out of Penn State. But I think
these guys are more talented. I think Jenkins is a
little bit better of an outside runner than Kate tron
Allen is. I think Trayvon Henderson is a little bit
(26:50):
more explosive and has that game breaking ability compared to
Nick Singleton. I mean, these guys team up and they
feed off of each other, and they compliment each other.
And again, I mean, Raymond Henderson has kind of been
pushed in the back or was pushed in the background
through most of the regular season. I know he's had injuries.
I know, you know he's had a tough time of it,
(27:12):
but man, what a story. And you know, if he
gets a clean bill of health at the combine, I
just think he's going to be an extraordinary pro as
a situational runner.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
On Sunday, it was pretty obvious Texas was going to
take Jeremiah Smith out of this game for a house
day Tony.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
They're gonna make somebody else beat them.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Carnell Tate did a good job and Mechabuka again, five catches,
fifty one yards. They go to him on important plays,
on third downs, things like that. He's just very reliable.
He'll do everything you want. He's a good round runner,
even if he's not spectacular. You know, I wonder, just
because of the nature of this draft class and the
lack of first round grades, he might end up sneaking
into the first round this year because he's so safe
and so reliable. But I don't see him as being
(27:51):
like a potential pro bowler. But I see him being
a ten to twelve year NFL starter, easy.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Solid, consistent, very polished. I don't have a first round
grade on him, and I struggle to put him in
a first round in a mock draft unless somehow he
blows me away with the testing. And here's why is
because last year I thought Abuca, who played second phil
to Marvin Harrison, was potentially a first round pick. But
(28:17):
I didn't see a lot of improvement in his game.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
This year.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
You know, again, he was playing second fiddle to a
freshman receiver this year rather than really stepping up his game.
Doesn't mean he's not a good receiver. Doesn't mean he's
not gonna be a good NFL pro. Like you said,
he's very consistent, he's polished, he does the little things well.
He comes up big for Ohio State when they need him.
(28:41):
Let's see what the testing numbers are. I still struggle
to see Abuca as a first round pick, but I
think he's going to be a very good NFL pass catcher.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
All right.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
How about Will Howard, Tony, this is a guy that
whenever a team leads a player at quarterback, leads a
team to a potential national championship. And we'll talk about
that championship game at at the end of the program.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
He's gonna, you know, go up and regard.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
In most people's eyes, how do you think Will Howard
has handled some of these really important situations?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
And his numbers in this game were great.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Twenty four to thirty three, two hundred and eighty nine
yards a touchdown, only four rushing yards on seven carries.
Now remember they count sacks and like the minus for
rushing yards in college, so that number is a little
bit skewed, but he'd a couple of important runs in
this game too for them. How do you think scouts
are viewing Howard as he continues to lead Ohio State
through these college football playoffs?
Speaker 3 (29:30):
He's sort of a poor man's I don't say that
he's got the physical skills. I mean you see the
arm strength and the arm talent is there. He drives
those deep passes with speed, He gets the ball through
the tight spots. He makes some really big passes, but
he also makes a lot of dangerous throws. I mean
he throws the ball between through triple coverage, which you
(29:53):
can do on the college level, but you can't do
that on Sunday. He also is very slow moving his
head away from the why I'm a retarget which was
Colum a Cords problem at when he was at Ohio State.
But will Howard is winning? I think what's gonna happen
with Howard is Let's see what postseason game he participates in.
(30:15):
People are gonna fall in love with his arm strengs.
He's gonna be one of those guys that at the
combine or at the Shrine or Senior ball throws the
ball at country model with speed, and people are gonna
be blown away. But you know you've got to coach
him to scan the field, to go through progressions, not
to try and force the ball through double on triple coverage.
(30:35):
Because if you watch a lot of those magnificent passes
that were completions against Texas, those are gonna be interceptions
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, no question about it. I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
And we'll have to see what he ends up doing
and how he works and at the combine, and you're right,
people will fall in love with the arm.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
He's got good size, all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
We'll have to see exactly where he falls out and
he is right now, he's going to the seat your ball, Tony.
That's where he's committed to. So we'll see him there
with Riley Leonard. We're gonna see him there with Jackson Dart.
So we'll see the two teams playing each other National
title game kind of goal up against each other, and
we'll preview that game in just a little bit befirst,
let's sat Texas.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
I thought quin yours was pretty good, Tony. I thought
it was one of his better games.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
He missed one or two throws that I think hurt them,
but overall, I think he has to be pretty happy
with that we played and then we'll see what he
ends up doing.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Very efficient, you know, brought Texas back, kept him in
the game, getting make mistakes. I mean, it's not his
fault that he was getting beat up, and he stayed
in there and he competed.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
You know, again, it was.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
A good performance. It wasn't a great performance. I never
had quinn Ewers as a potential top ten pick as
people were talking about. It's going to be interesting to
see what his next movies. I expect him to enter
the NFL draft. I think his time at Texas has
basically run out. I don't know that he's really going
to improve by going back for another year, especially now
(31:56):
that some of his players are leaving for the NFL.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
He's got a lot of upside.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It may be a situation where he just needs a
real good quarterback coach and needs to get somebody between
his ears, you know, to set him right.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
But he's got tremendous ability.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
All right, Toyo, let's stick on the offensive side of
the ball. We'll talk about the two big offensive linemen.
And I keep looking at some of these new mock
drafts that come out and every one of them I've seen.
Calvin Banks is like a top five or six player,
and I've rewatched him a lot at the end of
last week, just to kind of refamiliarize myself off of
what I looked at him last summer. And he just
doesn't move like an NFL offensive tackle to me. And
(32:32):
I think we've seen and we sort of get in
this game and we can talk about Cam Williams too.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
I think also struggled.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
When he has to go up against hyper athletic guys
and Ohio State. I know, Jack Sawyer and Tuamal who
aren't you know, it's not a dual carter out there
in terms of athleticism, But when we see him against
those really athletic guys, I think we see some of
those issues pop up.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Now he has been struggling with an injury since the
second half of the season, So I think Kelvin Banks
is a story of Kelvin Bank. Thanks for the first
half of the season where you look like a definite
top fifteen pick, and the second half of the season
where he had an injury and he struggled. But still
what concerns me is the balance. He seems to be
all over the place. He can't finish box. Is he
(33:13):
a guard? Is he a tackle? He's on my guardboard
right now. I think in my latest mock draft I
had him going in the teams. You know, I don't
see him as a top ten offensive tackle. I mean
the only offensive tackle I think could go top ten
is Will Campbell of LSU, and I think he's my
eleventh rated player.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
So, by the way, I think you have an offshoot
of the Ohio State left tackle that got hurt. I
think he's got a I think he you know, team
might fall in love with him and pick him in
the top twelve, who knows.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
I think if Josh Simmons had stayed healthy all season,
I think Josh Simmons and I even said that in
the recent mock draft I did at sports Keedo would
have been the first offensive tackle selected in this draft
because his game was improving. I mean, he was good
in twenty twenty three. He showed a lot of improvement too.
Twenty twenty four. Unfortunately, there's that injury. But you know
(34:03):
it could be that they red shirt with Josh Shammons.
But getting back to Kelvin Banks, you know, it's a
tail of two seasons, and I think team's got to
decide which Kelvin Banks are they getting and what position
are they playing him at?
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah, I'm with you. And then Cam Williams you were
not impressed.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
How could you be?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
I mean, you know, Cam Williams, people been beeing he's
the first round pick, is the first round pick. They
love his size, but I think the size is almost
a detriment because you watch them against Jack Sawyer that
scoop and score. I mean he was almost bent over
in half trying to stop Jack Sawyer. You can't bend
at the waist the way the way Cameron Williams did
(34:46):
and be an effective locker. And it wasn't just that play.
I mean Jack Sawyer basically had his way with Cam
Williams most of that game.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Yeah he's big.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah, he's strong, and he can drive defenders off the
ball for the running game, but he's also immobile. He's
heavy on his feet, he struggles to adjust. He doesn't
show the great blocking balance. People get infatuated because he's
sixty seven, three hundred and sixty pounds. You know, Evan
Neil has struggled to there's a point where you were
(35:18):
too big for the NFL, and if you can't control
that weight and play at that weight with good athleticism,
it's going to be a detriment. And that's what I
see with Cam Williams. I never saw him as a
first round prospect. I would be shocked at this point
in time if he goes in the first round.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Yeah, I'm gonna throw Emery Jones in that group too,
by the way, the other offensive tackle for LSU.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
You know, people talk about Campbell and I think his
tape I think is good. You know, I watched Jones
late last week, Tony, and he's like all over the place.
You know, people love his potential and everything. To me,
he is he is a day two guy, you know,
maybe third round for me. I know a lot of
other people like him as a first round pick.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
I only bring up as.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
I did coming into the year, scouts did I mean,
scouts had Emery Jones created right below will Campbell. They were,
they were neck and neck coming into the season.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
But not anymore, I would imagine absolutely no. All right,
so let's go defense for Texas, Tony. What guys jumped
doubt at you?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
I thought John Dave Baron did a solid job. I
really didn't get beat. I thought Andrew mccouba, the Clemson
transfer who we really haven't talked about, also had a
real solid game. Burnham brought in and Baron Sowell, two
guys he's spoken about in the past. I thought they
also played well. I mean, the Texas defense didn't play
bad in this game by any means. It's just that
(36:36):
the Ohio State defense really I stole the show, no.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Question about it. All right, let's preview it.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
We got our national championship game, Tony, Ohio State and
Notre Dame, believe it or not. I know what Ohio
State was the eighth seed and what was Notre Dame, like.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Six something like?
Speaker 4 (36:52):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, So clearly those those rankings in the playoffs really
turned out to be right on the money.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Good job, guys.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
But I mean, look, unless something really weird happens in
this game, Tony, I have a hard time finding a
scenario where Notre Dame figures out a way to win
this thing. Ohio State is gonna stack the box. They're
not gonna let Love and the Notre Dame running backs
run the football. They're gonna make Notre Dame's passing game
beat them.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Through the air.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
And as much as we've seen these Ohio State cornerbacks
be up and down this year, they're just better athletes
than who the perimeter players are for Notre Dame. I
don't see on the Dames scoring Like how was Notre
Dame scoring more than fourteen points in this game unless
they get like a pick six or special teams touchdown.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I just think it's gonna be your real struggle for
them on.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Offense defense as well.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
I mean, every single matchup in this game favorites Ohio State.
I want to see somebody show me one matchup that
favores note you, Dame. But the fact of the matter
is every matchup, just about every matchup favorite Georgia and
Notre Dame won the game. Just about every matchup favorite
Penn State and Notre Dame won the game. I mean,
(38:02):
if you were to give a title to this game,
it would be momentum versus magic. Ohio State's got the momentum,
Notre Dame's got the magic. So there's Ohio State keep
that momentum going, or is you know, does the clock
strike twelve on Cinderella or does you know Notre Dame
Just continue to find more magic. I mean, I see
(38:24):
no match up here either when Ohio State's got the ball,
whether it's there either the receivers against the Notre Dame secondary,
whether it's the running game against the Notre Dame front
defense of seven, or when oh Notre Dame's got the ball,
they're now playing with a backup left tackle who didn't
play badly when he came in the game against Penn State.
(38:47):
There's no match up here that favors Penn State. I
think what Penn State's got to do. And as you said,
I mean you look at Ohio State. How many first, first,
and second for Day one and Day two players they're
going to be putting on the field on both sides
of the ball compare compared to barely scarce full you know,
(39:07):
a single digit view that Notre Dame is gonna be
putting on the field both offense and defense. I think,
you know, Notre Dame, they're gonna have to disguise a
lot of their coverages on defense and try and fool
Will Howard.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
They're gonna have to run a lot of run, a
lot of twists and stunts. Uh.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
You know, we talked about the Notre Dames tight end
Mitchell Evans. You know, they leave them on the line
of scrimmage is you're gonna be more than a three
yard target because they're gonna need them to block. You know,
this game should be lopsided in Ohio State's favor, but
then Ohio State should have really beaten Michigan and they didn't,
(39:48):
so you never know, that's why they played the game.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Yeah, what a weird year for Ohio State.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Like they're already to run Ryan Day out of town
and then like two months later He's win the national championship.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
I know, tears me.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
There's a bunch of a State fans in this building
now we're thinking the same thing, Tony.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
It's just a really, really weird year.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Now with the system where in you know, the history
of college football, you lose, you know, to a team
like Michigan in your conference, your season's over, and now
all of a sudden you can do that and still
win the national championship.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Well, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
That's why you know, Ryan Day should pray to the
college football guards of gods that the college football players
started in twenty twenty five. They expanded twelve team players
start in twenty twenty five because if it's started in
twenty twenty six. He's probably on the unemployment line right
now because there is no college football players. And a
(40:38):
little personal note, you know, my daughter goes to Ohio State.
She's a senior. So there's a very good chance that
the Pauline family could leave Ohio State going zero to
four against Michigan, but winning a national title. So you know,
I understand that.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
I love it all, right, Tony.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
So next week, just still fans understand, we are going
to have a on Tuesday because the National Championshi game
is Monday night, correct, So we'll do a show on
Tuesday or reacting to that, and believe it or not,
this stuff happens so late now, Tony, that's to be
our Shrine and Senior Bowl preview too, So we're gonna
put all that in one show. It's probably gonna be
a bit of a mega show. Maybe we'll split it
into two. We'll do one, we'll do like the the
(41:17):
Reaction game early, we'll put the second later in the week.
I'll figure that out, the the like logistics of it.
But it's gonna be busy show tomorrow and like we're
gonna blink. The playoffs are over. We have a National
Championship and we're off to Frisco and we're off the mobile.
Go check out the interview with er Galco last week
by the way, if you folks haven't checked that out,
he talks a lot about the guys going to shrine.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
But uh, we're into it now, man, Like we're in.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
You know, it's money because you mentioned that we got
the National Championship game. Then we leave for Frisco and
it's basically six days of to a day practice, back
to back Shrine and Senior Bowl, as well as the
interviews and all the news gathering and everything. So yeah,
there's gonna be no time to breed after that thatampionship
game on Monday night.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
Yeah, and then when we get back, it's less than
a month from the start of the NFL combine and
then you got you know, free agency, and then you
got a month to the draft. So it's going to
come fast and furious here, Tony. Anything on Sports Kita
that the folks should keep be keeping an eye on.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Well, we've had some breaking news as far as the
coaching ranks. The concern had the mock draft last week,
and I'm going to save the next mock draft until
after senior ball practice because of whatever potential movement could
be there. Plus, we'll have a better view on which
underclassmen will be entering the draft as well as the
(42:35):
team mocks.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
We go.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
I've go division by division, I go five round deeps.
I think three divisions have been put up, so by
the end of this week we'll have the rest of
the division team mocks up.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
So I did not add I didn't ask you have
this ready, so if it takes a second to find it,
I apologize at a time. Who is your top ten
in your mock that you put up last week?
Speaker 4 (42:53):
Well, you know what, let me pull it up. You
kind of caught me by surprise.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
No, I know, I did. That's my fault.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
Give me a second. I will that.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Folks. Keep in mind we only even not through free
agency yet. Team needs are not known as of yet.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
This is a Tony taking the best players and trying
to assign in the teams that seem to make sense now,
so don't take mock drafts as early too.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
Seriously, But Tony, who was your top ten?
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Here we go Tennessee Titans. I had him taken Shador Sanders.
The Will Levis era is over. I made Giant fans happy.
I had the Cleveland Browns taking Travis Hunter, but this
was before the news that DeShawn Watson reinjured that achilles.
I had the Giants taking cam Ward with the third pick.
I had the New England Patriots taking Tech McMillan of
(43:40):
Arizona with that fourth selection. I know people think McMillan's
gonna go later, but he's a game breaking receiver. They
got a young quarterback there in Drake May and there's
no left tackle worthy of the fourth pick. I had
the Jacksonville Jaguars taking Will Johnson with that first PICKO. Well, yeah,
But the thing and the thing is this is you
(44:01):
look at the draft. We have to see who's going
to be coaching the Jaguars, but you look at the
draft capital that the Jaguars have expended on pass rushers
the past, you know, five to six years at some
point in time, you know, the kid from Georgia with
(44:22):
the first pick of the draft a couple of years ago.
You know, at some point in time, you gotta go
with what you got and stop the bleeding because you
just end up creating holes in other areas. I think
with the Raiders I had the Raiders taking Dull Carter.
The Jets I had taking Mason Graham oh Man.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Dude, by the way, I'm Duel Carter with me with
with Mason Crosby oh Man and Christian Wilkins oh Man.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
What a defensive line anyway.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Sorry, especially if they get the right coach in there.
The Jets I had taking Mason Graham because Will Johnson
was off the board. There's no top receiver there. Carolina Panthers,
I have them taking Jalen walk I think that's a
perfect fit for that system. New Orleans Saints Luther Burden,
maybe a little bit early, but he's a playmaker and
they need depthit receiver. Chicago Bears had him taken Will Campbell.
(45:12):
You know, you better protect Caleb Williams. You can't go
down to justin fields route again and weigh such an
early pick on a talent, first round quarterback, first pick
of the draft, first quarterback that was the first pick
of the draft. So I had Campbell going ten to
the Bears.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
See, man, it's just sneak one offensive lineman in there, Tony,
Was there anyone that you really regretted leaving out of
that top ten? Do you feel like or was that
or was it tough finding ten players to get into
the top ten.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
No, I mean I would have liked to put Ashton
Genty in the top ten because I think he is.
He's probably a top six player in this draft, but
there was just no real fit for him to be there.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Would you everyone else?
Speaker 3 (45:52):
I had him go to Dallas at twelve, exactly Michael
Williams kind of up and down. No, I mean a
lot of people have Malachi Starks. I had him go
fourteen to Indianapolis, although I have him rated higher. I mean,
we'll see what happens with Jalen Milroe. I have him
going early. I have him going up sorry, eighteen to Seattle.
(46:15):
I mean a lot of people outside the league are
talking about him being a much earlier pick. I would
be happy with that sentimentally, because really, since the first
show of the year, I've talked about my love for
Jalen Milroe. We'll see what happens. Also gonna be se
interesting to see if jal Milroe happens to show up
at the Senior ball I think that would be a
(46:36):
that would be a positive move for him.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
Oh yeah, I mean that would be if he did it.
That would be really silly as a guy that's trying
to prove something here and move up. I think he'd
be very wise to show up at that game and
you're gonna see him side by side with these other
non top two quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
You're gonna see him right next to him.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
So I think it's a good situation for all those
guys to kind of prove themselves.
Speaker 1 (46:56):
Tony, this is great man. I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
As always, We'll speak with you next week.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Yet next Tuesday, folks, make sure you check out our
next show right here on Draft Season, brought to you
by Moody's, a proud partner of the New York Giants,
uniting the brightest minds to turn today's risk into tomorrow's opportunities.
Learn more at moodies dot com. For Tony Poline from
sports Keta, I'm John SHM Milk. We'll see you next
time on Draft Season.
It's now officially open.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Welcome to Draft Season, presented by Moody's, a proud partner
of the New York Giants. Decode versus Unlock Opportunity. Learn
more in moodies dot com. Hello everybody, Welcome to Draft season.
John Schmelk joined as always by Tony Pauline from sports Kita,
as we continue to get you ready for the NFL Draft.
Tony Fun, weekend of playoff, NFL football Fun Thursday and
(00:31):
Friday Night of college football. We're recording this on Monday,
so we don't know the result of the Monday night
game yet, but you know, I'm not sure we've ever
had five straight days of high quality football games like
this before, and frankly, in my lifetime, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
I could sign up for this. This is nice.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Yeah, I'm gonna talk primarily about the college games because
I watched a lot of film.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I was in and out of the NFL games.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
But exciting games and really some great and not so
great performances by guys that we're gonna be talking about
for the next couple of months in the lead up
to the twenty twenty five draft. And besides those games,
some pretty impactful news after those games or outside of
(01:14):
those games as far as the NFL Draft is concerned.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So why don't we start the news first, Tony? Do
you want to go there first? That works for you.
We heard some guys coming in, some guys not going in.
Why don't you go through the guys that caught your eye?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well, obviously the first one would be Carson Beck who
said he was going to enter the draft. We both
thought there was a bad mistake. Carson Beck goes back
in the transfer portal, he's announced that he's transferring to Miami.
I'm told there's also an NIL deal there which is
worth about ten million dollars, which enticed him to go
to Miami. But regardless what the money is, it's a
(01:48):
good decision for Carson Beck because, as we both said,
Carson Beck entering the draft after this season he had
in twenty twenty four after the elbow injury the UCL surgery,
would have been the worst possible move he could make.
He now goes to Miami. He's gonna get another year
under his under his belt, another year to kind of
redeem himself after what was a disappointed twenty twenty four season,
(02:12):
And when you think about it, I mean, not only
is this the same avenue, the same road that cam
Ward take took, but when you look at your highest
rated quarterback, no, I'm sorry, your quarterbacks who are really
moving up draft wars, your quarterbacks who improve their draft
stock more than anyone else in the twenty twenty four season.
(02:35):
You talk about cam Ward obviously transferring from Washington State
to Miami. You talk about Kyle McCord, you transfer from
Ohio State to Syracuse. You're probably gonna ter talk about
Curtis Wark, even though he's injured, who transferred from Ohio
to Indiana. You may want to throw Will Howard into
that mix. He's definitely improved this draft stock transferred from
(02:58):
Kansas State to Ohio State. Kiley Leonard is probably gonna
you know, is more as a higher draft rate now
after his transfer to note your Dame from Duke.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
So, I mean there.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Is something too that sometimes the grass can be greener.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I think it's a great move by Beck.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Obviously, his savings account, his checking account's going to agree,
but it's a chance for him to redeem himself and
he should be applauded for it.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Now, Tony Chraig, I didn't see anything official. I know
before the game he said he was coming out regardless.
Has quin yours made official that he's coming out yet
or not yet?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I have not seen.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
I have not seen that.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And my information in the lead up was that he
was going to enter the draft. So I think at
this point in time, I think it would be a
bigger surprise if he goes back to school, goes back
to Texas, or transfers to another school rather than entering
the draft. I was of the mind, the thought process
and the information was he was gonna enter the draft.
(03:55):
The only and we'll get into this when we get
into that game, the only official announcem that we've gotten
out of Texas right literally up until a minute we
started this podcast was Kelvin Banks the offensive tackle on
Jaden Blew the running back.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And well we'll see if Kelvin Banks's offensive tackle or
offensive guard based on how the draft goes as well.
And I know we talked about this last week, but
Eli Stowers I believe made official he will be going
back to Vanderbilt, correct.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
I mean that's the way it looks.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Another big nil deal and one guy that announced that
he is going into the draft. No surprise erab dual
Carter out of Penn State, who's going to be a
very early pick. I had reported this back when they
played USC he was hanging out with his agent after
the game. Not a surprise, you know, abdual Carter. We'll
talk about his game against the Notre Dame. Going to
(04:44):
be a very another pick and impactful defensive front seven player.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
All right, so let's get to that game, then, Tony
Notre Dame in Penn State. I think you have to
classify as an upset Notre Dame figuring out a way
to come out with the winning that game.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Do you want to starw with Notre Dame or Penn State?
Where do you want to go?
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Let's go with the winners first, gig gig to the winners,
go and spoils.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, and look, I don't know if we're gonna have around.
I know we're not gonna have a round one pick
out of Notre maybe Morris in the cornerback. Maybe you
know there was no.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Round There was no Round one pick from Notre Dame
that was on the field playing.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
In the game.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
That good point.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
So why don't we start, I guess with the quarterback.
You know Ryley Landers coming out. We're gonna see him
at Amobile to Senior Bowl. And look, he's been doing
what's been asked of him since his really struggles early
season that we talked about here, where you know, he's
not gonna wow you. He's not gonna be a first
round pick. He's not gonna be a second round pick.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
But he's a guy that makes the plays, especially on
the ground when you need him. He was vital in
those third and fourth and short situations in the game,
and he continues to do what Notre Dame needs offensively
to score just enough points to win a lot of
these low scoring games.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
I would agree with you, I would not grate him
as a second round pick.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
I said he's not gonna be a one. He's not
going to be a two.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Right, I would.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
I would agree with you he's not going to be
a second round pick or a first round pick. But
here's the reason why he could be a second round pick.
Because we know he's got the athleticism, we know he's
got the arm talent, we know he's got a lot
of ability, and he's shown throughout this college football playoffs
what a leader he is, that he's efficient, he does
(06:20):
what's necessary to win and he just may need some coaching.
So you know, if he goes into the senior ball
and has a good Senior Bowl week and the senior
ball is becoming as important for the interviews, and he
wows some team with his interviews, they're like, we know,
why Notree Dame, you know, beat Georgia when they weren't
(06:41):
supposed to and beat Penn State when they weren't supposed
to because this guy is the leader. This is the
guy we want leading our team. I think there's a
chance he could sneak into the late part of round two.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
I wouldn't do it.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
But again, the quarterback position, you know, as we see,
is always one that's overdrafted, and he was.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
He was efficient.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
You know, he moved the ball, he did what was necessary,
and again he won a game or he helped his
team win a game that they weren't expected to win.
And you know, he's got the physical ability and as
we've said all along, you know, he's more he's looked
more like an athlete who needs to be a passer.
And now you throw in that those leadership in tangibles
(07:23):
that Notre Dame and he has shown really since that
Northern Illinois loss, and I think that's why there's an
outside chance he could squeeze into the late part of
round two.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
I want Mitchell Evans because he was a guy that
was one of the you know, his prime targets.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Big guy.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
I mean, if you want to, you know, in line
wide tight end, big guy, good hands.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
You know, we'll see you about the athletic testing and
all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
But if you're looking for a two way blocking tight
end that can play in line for you, Mitchell Evans,
I think is gonna be a real safe draft pick
for you.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Prototypical Notre Dame tight end. I mean a throwback that
was you would draft in the mid rounds in the eighties,
and he could be your number one tight end. You know,
on third down and three, you're gonna either use him
as an inline blocker or you're gonna send him on
a four yard pattern and he's gonna catch the ball.
I mean, as you said, a big guy. He catches
the ball in the crowd, he takes a pounding, and
(08:18):
he holds onto the throw I don't expect any great
testing numbers from Mitchell Evans, but you know he projects
very well as a very nice number two tight ends
at the next level. Who can catch the ball or
who can block?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
All right, let's jump over to the defensive side of
the ball. Tony Notre Dame jumped out at you.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
You know, Jack Kaiser doesn't get a lot of notice.
He's not the fastest guy in the world. He's not
the most athletic guy in the world. But you watch
in the past three years and you watch him against
Penn State. He's smart, he's tough, he's instinctive. He makes
outstanding plays time after time with his head, if bishop
(09:00):
takes good angles to the action. If he gets drafted,
it will be in the very late rounds.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
But Kaiser is.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
One of those guys that you know you want him
as your seventh or eighth linebacker who can also play
special teams, just because of his ability to diagnose and
read what's happening on the field. And I thought again,
Zavier Wats had another solid game, more so against the run,
which Penn State was very good at them the past.
(09:30):
But he's well rounded safety. Who don't know that he's
a top one hundred pick, but I can absolutely see
him coming off the board quickly. When the Day three
of the draft begins.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
All right, let's jump over to Penn Staatey here, Tony,
and you know, we know the internet can get out
of control, and there were some people thinking, off, he
is a really if he beat Notre Dame Goes has
a really good game in the national title game, juwe alar,
you know, maybe you can jump into the top ten.
And I know you and I had talked about him
a lot on the show over the course of this year,
and we're like, guys, we don't even think he's ready.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
To come out yet. Like you look at his numbers
every week.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You might like the toolbox, but he's just extremely inconsistent.
The completion percentage is never high. It's not like Penn
State's corn a million points because they're throwing the ball
a lot. And you know, we just saw a very
rough game, to be totally honest, Tony. Not a lot
of great throws, a lot of inconsistency, bad decision making.
So he's gonna go back to school. We'll see if
(10:25):
it's a Penn State or not. That's a decision he
can make too. You know, the transfer portal is open,
so we'll see. But obviously I think Jeweller showed that
not ready for the National Football League.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Now I had actually somebody asked me on Twitter, you know,
do you think if Drewella plays well, he could be
the third pick of the draft. I don't think he's
gonna bee a third pick of the second round, forget
about the third pick of the draft. I mean, you know,
I'm gonna draw a parallel here, and you know, I
hope he goes back. I look, this morning, I didn't
see anything official. I didn't see him, you know, confirm
(10:55):
what he said earlier that he's going back.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
But he needs to go back. There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And I'm going to draw a parallel here to a
guy that people may remember by the name of Christian Hackenberg,
and people may they say that it's over. You know,
it's ridiculous and I'm being overly dramatic, But the fact is, Drewelar,
like Christian Hackenberg, was phenomenal as a freshman. He was
a freshman phenom and everyone expected him to be the
next great quarterback prospect, and his game slowly either leveled
(11:23):
off or regressed, and he never showed that consistent magic
that he had as a freshman. And Christian Hackenberg, we
know this story. Fortleshly entered the draft after his junior season,
was overdrafted by the Jets in the second round and
amounted to nothing as far as a large concerned. If
(11:43):
everyone will talk about that horrible pass, the interception where
he threw it across his body, threw it across the field,
and that ended Penn State's national title hopes. The red
flag for me went up early in the second half
when Penn State had their first drive. He threw a
six yard pass. They had like a one two yard run.
It was the third and three, and Penn State seem
(12:04):
to have Notrey Dame back on their heels, and the
Penn State coaching staff, rather than putting the ball in
Alar's hands and letting them throw the ball, they ran
the ball, and they didn't get the first run, and
they didn't get the first down. They had to kick
the ball back, pump the ball back to Notre Dame,
and right then and there, I'm saying, you know, the
Penn State coaches don't seem to have the confidence in
(12:26):
Drew Alarm.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
They know something.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
So because of the inconsistency, he's got to go back
to school. And I would absolutely agree with you he's
got to consider transferred. I mean, I know what the
emotional ties are, but he seems very stale at Penn State.
And if a guy like Ryan Grubb, a quarterback coach
with the Seattle Seahawks now is rumored to be going
(12:49):
to Alabama. Ryan Grubb was the quarterback coach offensive coordinator
at Washington who developed Michael Pennix. If he goes back
to Alabama with the Boar to reunite with him, as
is being rumored, I mean that is a place where
a lot of quarterbacks will want to go potentially go,
especially like Drew Oflar to have Grubb develop his game.
(13:11):
So yeah, I mean it's a lot of what we
saw literally in the past two years with Drew Alre.
He was spectacular at points, but overall it was inconsistency
and some bad play. It's got to go back. It
may be to his benefit to find a new home
because as we talked about cam Ward, Colb Cord Will Howard,
(13:34):
Curtis Rourke, these are all guys that benefited from a
change of scenery.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, and Tony, I'm with you, And he'll be losing
his top target too, right. Tyler Warren's gonna come out
at the tight end, had another strong game, six catches,
seventy five yards. I've seen the TG Hockinson comparison thrown
out there. I think that's probably pretty good in terms
of his level of athleticism, you know, his size and
things of that nature. But Warren, I think closes college
(14:00):
career very strongly with another good performance. Showing off is
his size, strength, and just kind of the physical force
that he plays with, which is pretty impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And Tyler Warren a guy that went back for an
extra senior season because you know, they were thoughts that
he was going to enter last year's draft and be
a fourth round pick. Now he's going to enter this
year's draft and be a first round pick. And he's
answered the call every time Penn State has relied on
him or needed him to answer the call, unlike Drew
a Law. I think as far as his draft stock
(14:31):
is concerned, I still have Colston Lovelin rated as my
number one tight end. I want to see those testing numbers.
Hockinson turned in some pretty decent testing numbers. I don't
know that Warren's going to be as fast as Hockinson,
although he does a few other things better. But still
the tight end position. You want your guy at that
spot to be able to get down the field and
(14:52):
create mismatches. I am not sold yet that Warren can
do that on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Yeah, that's interesting. I think that's going to keep an
eye on. Just for reference, I will bring up T. J.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Hopkinson's combine numbers are still fans of an idea of
what they were at the combine. He ended up runn
a four to seven forty yard dash one five nine
ten yards split, thirty seven and a half vert, which
is very good for his man his size, and a
ten to three broad seven two three code. So I
could see Warren being in the neighborhood of some of those.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
We'll have to say, Yeah, I think he's more for
seven to five guy, But then again, you know, you
never know these guys shamed for the combine. Who thought
Michael Mayer we talk about the Notre Dame tight ends.
I mean, Michael Mahyer ran much much faster than anybody thought. Listen,
wherever he goes in the draft, a creative offensive coordinator
is gonna find a spot for Tyler Warren to be
(15:46):
very productive on Sunday. And he went back to for
another senior season and it's worked out for him. So
credit credit to Tyler Warren.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Yeah, Penny running game I thought did a nice job.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Tony Nicholas Singleton fifteen carries eighty four yards, three touchdowns,
k tron Allen nineteen carries eighty two yards, and they
really kept that Penn State team in the game by
running it on Notre Dame against a pretty good front.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
They did.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
In fact, you know, on that first series it was
drewe Laar who missed that screen pass to Nick Singleton
and Penn State had to settle for a field goal
rather than a touchdown. Rather than leading Singleton with the pass,
he kind of threw it behind him and Singleton was
not able to adjust backwards enough to catch the ball.
But you know, they work well together. Singleton is the speedy, creative,
(16:31):
explosive back, Kate tron Allen is the guy who runs
through the run through runs through defenders. I think they're
both gonna be good NFL pros. I think both of
them project his top one twenty five selections.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
All right, let's go to the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Tony who jumped out for Penn State other than Abdull
Carter a whole hit last year.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
And two guys who played well throughout the college play
college football players Dannas Danny Sutton four tackles, two sacks,
two tackles for loss, had a great playing coverage.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
If you remember, they ran his own blitz.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
They dropped them off the line of scrimmage, dropped back
ten yards, deflected a pass.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
From Riley Letters. I mean, this is a guy.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's an underclassman, a lot of athleticism, natural pass rusher.
Abdul Carter also had a good game. And Abdul Carter
gets all the headlines and sucks all the oxygen out
of the room when you're talking about pass rushers from
Penn State. But Dennis Danny Sutton, who could be a
third round pick, I think has played better. He played
well all year, but he's really stepped up his game
(17:31):
during the college football playoffs. And again Kaziah Izard the
defensive tackle, the quick, explosive defensive tackle, six tacks, one sack,
one tackle for the loss. This was a guy who
I had him on my radar. I always thought he
was He had a late round type. He was graded
as a reject by scouts coming in, which means He's
basically a streat free agent six ' three, three hundred
(17:53):
six pounds, runs in the four nines, a one gap
three technique type of tackle who I think from this
his play during the season, and especially his play in
the postseason, is going to change a lot of opinions
if he decides him to the draft. Fourth year senior
who could go back for another year.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
All right, let's go over to abdul Carter here.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Tony five tackles, three solo, one sack, two tackles for loss.
But man, they could not block him off the edge.
I know Notre Dame suffered some injuries on the offensive
line over the course of the game, and that hurt them,
But they could not block abdual Carter. His just ability
to get off the line quickly, his get off, his
ability to get to the edge, that little dip and
rip move that he has, he just use it again
(18:33):
and again. His athletic ceiling is so high. I would
be shocked today if he's not a top five pick
in the draft.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
And he did it all with one arm, if you remember,
because he and they had to put him on the
other side of the line to protect that shoulder.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
That was injured and he still was unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
And you know, people talk about the past rushing numbers,
and if you watch this show, I think with Abdul Carter,
there's more to his game than that you can drop
him off the line of strims talk about the player
Danny Dennis Sutton maiden coverage. You can do that with
Abdul Carter all day if you want to as a
three to four stand up linebacker, if you need to
play him over the tight end and coverage and drop
(19:13):
him into space. He's shown in the past to be
very effective at Penn State. He's shown himself to be
a three down defender who can play in space. Obviously,
putting him at defensive end this year was more to
the team's benefits going to help his draft stock.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
He was always a highly rated player.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I mean, coming into the season, scouts graded him as
a potential top five pick, as one of the highest
rated players in the nation. For those scouts who or
those scouting services who graded him the classroom, so it's
no surprise. I just think that whoever drafts Abdull Carter
has got to be creative with him. Don't just use
(19:48):
him as a pass rusher, use him in a variety
of ways because he is talented and multiversatile.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, I'm with you really good.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
And they'll be taking on Ohio State, who defe defeated
Texas in their I believe that was the Cotton Bowl, right, Yeah,
twenty eight fourteen. Ohio State beat Texas in this game,
and Tony, this was really a case of, you know,
Ohio State, I wouldn't consider them dominant in this game.
You know, they didn't dominate from start to finish, but
you kind of always felt.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Like they had a control of the game. Let's start
Ahiose State's defense.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
I thought they did a pretty good job controlling Texas,
especially on the ground, where Texas has had success running
the ball behind their big offensive line this year.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
But I thought Ahillo States defense.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Did really well against the run, starting with Jack Sawyer, as.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
They have all season.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And I mean, you know the thing about Jack Sawyer
is everyone's going to talk about that scoop and score
play forever, and you know it will go down and
Ohio State football lore, but people need to go back
and watch that third down play before the fourth down
scoop and score because on that third down play, what
(20:52):
happened was they line. Jack Sawyer inside almost as like
a defensive tackle position. He beat the guard, penetrated the
line of scrimmage, and deflected quin you Were's pass. Now
that was important because Igby Nosen would have gotten called
for pass interference, yes, in the corner of the end zone.
(21:12):
And if that had if Sawyer had not tipped that pass,
not penetrated the line of scrimmers, not beating the offensive guard,
pass interference is called. Texas now has four more downs
inside the one yard line. So everyone's gonna talk about
the stupid score. It was a great play. It was
a great highlight. Go back and watch that third down
(21:34):
play and see what Jack Sawyer did on that third
down play which really set up that fourth down play.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
And the bottom line is this. You know, I'm gonna
talk about Tyleek Williams.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We talked about, I think it was with Dame Rugler
about how the college football playoffs would give guys a
chance to elevate their draft stock. I thought that high
Leak Williams has elevated history stock more than any of
the player in the college football players. You got to
add Jack Sawyer in there. I mean, he was he
was constantly when I talked about Cam Williams, but I
(22:08):
mean he Cam Williams.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
So don't match with Jack Sawyer. He was all over
the place.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Yeah, and look, I thought a number of Ohio State
players on defense played well. Tony Tudig, Williams Toamalo, had
the injury early in that game. He kind of fought
through it, came back and played Cody Simon.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I thought was good. Sonny Styles was all over the place.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Just you saw that Ohio State front really played to
the back of their baseball cards.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
And with Tyler.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
Williams, you know, the stats aren't there at four tackles.
I think he had one pass break up, but continual pressure,
continual double teams. And what that does is one of
two things. Either the running backs have to reroute their runs,
change the angle of their runs, or the quarterback has
to move on to the pockets. Or it's creating opportunities
for his teammates. And I think tiny leek Williams is
(22:53):
a big, athletic man who, as I've said before, is
gonna be one of the top four defensive tackles in
the draft.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
I think he's elevated stock.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
I think Chiamola, after a rather uninspired season has really
elevated his play. We talked about Cody Simon, really the
unsung hero of that note of that Ohio's State defense
and a guy who came into the season with late
round grades. He's moved into the middle rounds. I mean,
(23:21):
he's got good measurables. He could go late day day
two in the third round. Complete mindbacker, puff run defender, instinctive,
also makes plays in coverage. Really, you're sort of forgotten
about traditional three down linebacker. Here's the thing about Sonny
Styles is he's large, he's athletic. He stands out on film.
(23:44):
The instincts kind of bother me because he doesn't read
and react. He thinks and reacts. And a couple of
times he was playing catch up with gunner Helm and
he's more athletic than gunner Helm because he was reacting
a little bit late. That's something that you know, could
be kind of tricky trying to figure out. Styles has
tremendous amount of upside potential and he can be an
outstanding player. And just you know another guy in that
(24:07):
Ohio State defensive front seven that is going to be
playing Sunday football real soon.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
And you mentioned earlier potential defensive passing, the ference penalty
in the defensive backfield for a while State that's been
a problem for them all year. I thought, they're young
safety who's probably been coming out next year.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
The year after. I thought he looked very good, but
the corner struggled again.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Corner struggling and sort of Ransom.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Ransom had that terrible pass interference call Lank in the
game that actually moved the moved the ball down into
the two yard line so it was second and goal,
and then it was Caleb Downs who made the play
on second down for a five yard loss when Texas
ran that sort of toss sweep there.
Speaker 4 (24:47):
And Caleb Down is going to be just a tremendous car.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I mean, he's gonna be a guy that when you
see the twenty twenty six mock drafts come out two
days after the twenty twenty twenty five mock drafts, after
the twenty twenty five actual draft is over, Caleb Downs
is going to be in everybody's top ten, top ten,
taking oils Mark justin he deserves it.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
But again, I think after.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
Two really good games in the college football playoffs, iguanosim
Burnt and even a Ransom struggled against Texas, all.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Right, so let's go to the offensive side of the
ball now for Ohio State, Tony and look, they ran
the ball I thought pretty well in this game, even
though the numbers don't show it. Henderson just six carries
forty two yards. Junkins nine carries thirty six yards. I
felt like they got yards and they needed in this game.
And then Henderson of course had that big screen pass
at the end of the first half that went for
(25:39):
the seventy five yard touchdown, just showing that ability to
accelerate quickly and then the long speed no one could
catch him.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Yeah, which I thought was changed the tempo of the
game because Texas found themselves playing really playing from behind.
And you're right, the numbers weren't there for Ohio State,
but they were important runs. They were big runs on
first down to make it easier second third down to
get the first the next first down, or there were
big third down runs. I mean, Jenkins, you saw why
(26:06):
Ohio State went and paid him the big money if
you will, because he is just a violent, explosive ball carrier.
He's not going down on first contact. He works his runs,
he tries to get as much yards out of every
carry as possible. And then Trayvon Anderson. Listen, I think
Traymon Henderson is an absolute Day two pick. We'll see
(26:29):
where he goes. He's what the NFL wants. You know,
It's sort of like the Nick Singleton k tron Allen
situation in Ohio out of Penn State. But I think
these guys are more talented. I think Jenkins is a
little bit better of an outside runner than Kate tron
Allen is. I think Trayvon Henderson is a little bit
(26:50):
more explosive and has that game breaking ability compared to
Nick Singleton. I mean, these guys team up and they
feed off of each other, and they compliment each other.
And again, I mean, Raymond Henderson has kind of been
pushed in the back or was pushed in the background
through most of the regular season. I know he's had injuries.
I know, you know he's had a tough time of it,
(27:12):
but man, what a story. And you know, if he
gets a clean bill of health at the combine, I
just think he's going to be an extraordinary pro as
a situational runner.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
On Sunday, it was pretty obvious Texas was going to
take Jeremiah Smith out of this game for a house
day Tony.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
They're gonna make somebody else beat them.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Carnell Tate did a good job and Mechabuka again, five catches,
fifty one yards. They go to him on important plays,
on third downs, things like that. He's just very reliable.
He'll do everything you want. He's a good round runner,
even if he's not spectacular. You know, I wonder, just
because of the nature of this draft class and the
lack of first round grades, he might end up sneaking
into the first round this year because he's so safe
and so reliable. But I don't see him as being
(27:51):
like a potential pro bowler. But I see him being
a ten to twelve year NFL starter, easy.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Solid, consistent, very polished. I don't have a first round
grade on him, and I struggle to put him in
a first round in a mock draft unless somehow he
blows me away with the testing. And here's why is
because last year I thought Abuca, who played second phil
to Marvin Harrison, was potentially a first round pick. But
(28:17):
I didn't see a lot of improvement in his game.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
This year.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
You know, again, he was playing second fiddle to a
freshman receiver this year rather than really stepping up his game.
Doesn't mean he's not a good receiver. Doesn't mean he's
not gonna be a good NFL pro. Like you said,
he's very consistent, he's polished, he does the little things well.
He comes up big for Ohio State when they need him.
(28:41):
Let's see what the testing numbers are. I still struggle
to see Abuca as a first round pick, but I
think he's going to be a very good NFL pass catcher.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
All right.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
How about Will Howard, Tony, this is a guy that
whenever a team leads a player at quarterback, leads a
team to a potential national championship. And we'll talk about
that championship game at at the end of the program.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
He's gonna, you know, go up and regard.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
In most people's eyes, how do you think Will Howard
has handled some of these really important situations?
Speaker 1 (29:09):
And his numbers in this game were great.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Twenty four to thirty three, two hundred and eighty nine
yards a touchdown, only four rushing yards on seven carries.
Now remember they count sacks and like the minus for
rushing yards in college, so that number is a little
bit skewed, but he'd a couple of important runs in
this game too for them. How do you think scouts
are viewing Howard as he continues to lead Ohio State
through these college football playoffs?
Speaker 3 (29:30):
He's sort of a poor man's I don't say that
he's got the physical skills. I mean you see the
arm strength and the arm talent is there. He drives
those deep passes with speed, He gets the ball through
the tight spots. He makes some really big passes, but
he also makes a lot of dangerous throws. I mean
he throws the ball between through triple coverage, which you
(29:53):
can do on the college level, but you can't do
that on Sunday. He also is very slow moving his
head away from the why I'm a retarget which was
Colum a Cords problem at when he was at Ohio State.
But will Howard is winning? I think what's gonna happen
with Howard is Let's see what postseason game he participates in.
(30:15):
People are gonna fall in love with his arm strengs.
He's gonna be one of those guys that at the
combine or at the Shrine or Senior ball throws the
ball at country model with speed, and people are gonna
be blown away. But you know you've got to coach
him to scan the field, to go through progressions, not
to try and force the ball through double on triple coverage.
(30:35):
Because if you watch a lot of those magnificent passes
that were completions against Texas, those are gonna be interceptions
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, no question about it. I agree.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
And we'll have to see what he ends up doing
and how he works and at the combine, and you're right,
people will fall in love with the arm.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
He's got good size, all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
We'll have to see exactly where he falls out and
he is right now, he's going to the seat your ball, Tony.
That's where he's committed to. So we'll see him there
with Riley Leonard. We're gonna see him there with Jackson Dart.
So we'll see the two teams playing each other National
title game kind of goal up against each other, and
we'll preview that game in just a little bit befirst,
let's sat Texas.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
I thought quin yours was pretty good, Tony. I thought
it was one of his better games.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
He missed one or two throws that I think hurt them,
but overall, I think he has to be pretty happy
with that we played and then we'll see what he
ends up doing.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Very efficient, you know, brought Texas back, kept him in
the game, getting make mistakes. I mean, it's not his
fault that he was getting beat up, and he stayed
in there and he competed.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
You know, again, it was.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
A good performance. It wasn't a great performance. I never
had quinn Ewers as a potential top ten pick as
people were talking about. It's going to be interesting to
see what his next movies. I expect him to enter
the NFL draft. I think his time at Texas has
basically run out. I don't know that he's really going
to improve by going back for another year, especially now
(31:56):
that some of his players are leaving for the NFL.
Speaker 4 (32:00):
He's got a lot of upside.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It may be a situation where he just needs a
real good quarterback coach and needs to get somebody between
his ears, you know, to set him right.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
But he's got tremendous ability.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
All right, Toyo, let's stick on the offensive side of
the ball. We'll talk about the two big offensive linemen.
And I keep looking at some of these new mock
drafts that come out and every one of them I've seen.
Calvin Banks is like a top five or six player,
and I've rewatched him a lot at the end of
last week, just to kind of refamiliarize myself off of
what I looked at him last summer. And he just
doesn't move like an NFL offensive tackle to me. And
(32:32):
I think we've seen and we sort of get in
this game and we can talk about Cam Williams too.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
I think also struggled.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
When he has to go up against hyper athletic guys
and Ohio State. I know, Jack Sawyer and Tuamal who
aren't you know, it's not a dual carter out there
in terms of athleticism, But when we see him against
those really athletic guys, I think we see some of
those issues pop up.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Now he has been struggling with an injury since the
second half of the season, So I think Kelvin Banks
is a story of Kelvin Bank. Thanks for the first
half of the season where you look like a definite
top fifteen pick, and the second half of the season
where he had an injury and he struggled. But still
what concerns me is the balance. He seems to be
all over the place. He can't finish box. Is he
(33:13):
a guard? Is he a tackle? He's on my guardboard
right now. I think in my latest mock draft I
had him going in the teams. You know, I don't
see him as a top ten offensive tackle. I mean
the only offensive tackle I think could go top ten
is Will Campbell of LSU, and I think he's my
eleventh rated player.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
So, by the way, I think you have an offshoot
of the Ohio State left tackle that got hurt. I
think he's got a I think he you know, team
might fall in love with him and pick him in
the top twelve, who knows.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
I think if Josh Simmons had stayed healthy all season,
I think Josh Simmons and I even said that in
the recent mock draft I did at sports Keedo would
have been the first offensive tackle selected in this draft
because his game was improving. I mean, he was good
in twenty twenty three. He showed a lot of improvement too.
Twenty twenty four. Unfortunately, there's that injury. But you know
(34:03):
it could be that they red shirt with Josh Shammons.
But getting back to Kelvin Banks, you know, it's a
tail of two seasons, and I think team's got to
decide which Kelvin Banks are they getting and what position
are they playing him at?
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah, I'm with you. And then Cam Williams you were
not impressed.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
How could you be?
Speaker 3 (34:24):
I mean, you know, Cam Williams, people been beeing he's
the first round pick, is the first round pick. They
love his size, but I think the size is almost
a detriment because you watch them against Jack Sawyer that
scoop and score. I mean he was almost bent over
in half trying to stop Jack Sawyer. You can't bend
at the waist the way the way Cameron Williams did
(34:46):
and be an effective locker. And it wasn't just that play.
I mean Jack Sawyer basically had his way with Cam
Williams most of that game.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
Yeah he's big.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Yeah, he's strong, and he can drive defenders off the
ball for the running game, but he's also immobile. He's
heavy on his feet, he struggles to adjust. He doesn't
show the great blocking balance. People get infatuated because he's
sixty seven, three hundred and sixty pounds. You know, Evan
Neil has struggled to there's a point where you were
(35:18):
too big for the NFL, and if you can't control
that weight and play at that weight with good athleticism,
it's going to be a detriment. And that's what I
see with Cam Williams. I never saw him as a
first round prospect. I would be shocked at this point
in time if he goes in the first round.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Yeah, I'm gonna throw Emery Jones in that group too,
by the way, the other offensive tackle for LSU.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
You know, people talk about Campbell and I think his
tape I think is good. You know, I watched Jones
late last week, Tony, and he's like all over the place.
You know, people love his potential and everything. To me,
he is he is a day two guy, you know,
maybe third round for me. I know a lot of
other people like him as a first round pick.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
I only bring up as.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
I did coming into the year, scouts did I mean,
scouts had Emery Jones created right below will Campbell. They were,
they were neck and neck coming into the season.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
But not anymore, I would imagine absolutely no. All right,
so let's go defense for Texas, Tony. What guys jumped
doubt at you?
Speaker 3 (36:13):
I thought John Dave Baron did a solid job. I
really didn't get beat. I thought Andrew mccouba, the Clemson
transfer who we really haven't talked about, also had a
real solid game. Burnham brought in and Baron Sowell, two
guys he's spoken about in the past. I thought they
also played well. I mean, the Texas defense didn't play
bad in this game by any means. It's just that
(36:36):
the Ohio State defense really I stole the show, no.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Question about it. All right, let's preview it.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
We got our national championship game, Tony, Ohio State and
Notre Dame, believe it or not. I know what Ohio
State was the eighth seed and what was Notre Dame, like.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Six something like?
Speaker 4 (36:52):
I believe.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
Yeah, So clearly those those rankings in the playoffs really
turned out to be right on the money.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Good job, guys.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
But I mean, look, unless something really weird happens in
this game, Tony, I have a hard time finding a
scenario where Notre Dame figures out a way to win
this thing. Ohio State is gonna stack the box. They're
not gonna let Love and the Notre Dame running backs
run the football. They're gonna make Notre Dame's passing game
beat them.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
Through the air.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
And as much as we've seen these Ohio State cornerbacks
be up and down this year, they're just better athletes
than who the perimeter players are for Notre Dame. I
don't see on the Dames scoring Like how was Notre
Dame scoring more than fourteen points in this game unless
they get like a pick six or special teams touchdown.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I just think it's gonna be your real struggle for
them on.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Offense defense as well.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
I mean, every single matchup in this game favorites Ohio State.
I want to see somebody show me one matchup that
favores note you, Dame. But the fact of the matter
is every matchup, just about every matchup favorite Georgia and
Notre Dame won the game. Just about every matchup favorite
Penn State and Notre Dame won the game. I mean,
(38:02):
if you were to give a title to this game,
it would be momentum versus magic. Ohio State's got the momentum,
Notre Dame's got the magic. So there's Ohio State keep
that momentum going, or is you know, does the clock
strike twelve on Cinderella or does you know Notre Dame
Just continue to find more magic. I mean, I see
(38:24):
no match up here either when Ohio State's got the ball,
whether it's there either the receivers against the Notre Dame secondary,
whether it's the running game against the Notre Dame front
defense of seven, or when oh Notre Dame's got the ball,
they're now playing with a backup left tackle who didn't
play badly when he came in the game against Penn State.
(38:47):
There's no match up here that favors Penn State. I
think what Penn State's got to do. And as you said,
I mean you look at Ohio State. How many first, first,
and second for Day one and Day two players they're
going to be putting on the field on both sides
of the ball compare compared to barely scarce full you know,
(39:07):
a single digit view that Notre Dame is gonna be
putting on the field both offense and defense. I think,
you know, Notre Dame, they're gonna have to disguise a
lot of their coverages on defense and try and fool
Will Howard.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
They're gonna have to run a lot of run, a
lot of twists and stunts. Uh.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
You know, we talked about the Notre Dames tight end
Mitchell Evans. You know, they leave them on the line
of scrimmage is you're gonna be more than a three
yard target because they're gonna need them to block. You know,
this game should be lopsided in Ohio State's favor, but
then Ohio State should have really beaten Michigan and they didn't,
(39:48):
so you never know, that's why they played the game.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Yeah, what a weird year for Ohio State.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Like they're already to run Ryan Day out of town
and then like two months later He's win the national championship.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
I know, tears me.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
There's a bunch of a State fans in this building
now we're thinking the same thing, Tony.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
It's just a really, really weird year.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Now with the system where in you know, the history
of college football, you lose, you know, to a team
like Michigan in your conference, your season's over, and now
all of a sudden you can do that and still
win the national championship.
Speaker 4 (40:17):
Well, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
That's why you know, Ryan Day should pray to the
college football guards of gods that the college football players
started in twenty twenty five. They expanded twelve team players
start in twenty twenty five because if it's started in
twenty twenty six. He's probably on the unemployment line right
now because there is no college football players. And a
(40:38):
little personal note, you know, my daughter goes to Ohio State.
She's a senior. So there's a very good chance that
the Pauline family could leave Ohio State going zero to
four against Michigan, but winning a national title. So you know,
I understand that.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
I love it all, right, Tony.
Speaker 2 (40:55):
So next week, just still fans understand, we are going
to have a on Tuesday because the National Championshi game
is Monday night, correct, So we'll do a show on
Tuesday or reacting to that, and believe it or not,
this stuff happens so late now, Tony, that's to be
our Shrine and Senior Bowl preview too, So we're gonna
put all that in one show. It's probably gonna be
a bit of a mega show. Maybe we'll split it
into two. We'll do one, we'll do like the the
(41:17):
Reaction game early, we'll put the second later in the week.
I'll figure that out, the the like logistics of it.
But it's gonna be busy show tomorrow and like we're
gonna blink. The playoffs are over. We have a National
Championship and we're off to Frisco and we're off the mobile.
Go check out the interview with er Galco last week
by the way, if you folks haven't checked that out,
he talks a lot about the guys going to shrine.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
But uh, we're into it now, man, Like we're in.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
You know, it's money because you mentioned that we got
the National Championship game. Then we leave for Frisco and
it's basically six days of to a day practice, back
to back Shrine and Senior Bowl, as well as the
interviews and all the news gathering and everything. So yeah,
there's gonna be no time to breed after that thatampionship
game on Monday night.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
Yeah, and then when we get back, it's less than
a month from the start of the NFL combine and
then you got you know, free agency, and then you
got a month to the draft. So it's going to
come fast and furious here, Tony. Anything on Sports Kita
that the folks should keep be keeping an eye on.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Well, we've had some breaking news as far as the
coaching ranks. The concern had the mock draft last week,
and I'm going to save the next mock draft until
after senior ball practice because of whatever potential movement could
be there. Plus, we'll have a better view on which
underclassmen will be entering the draft as well as the
(42:35):
team mocks.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
We go.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
I've go division by division, I go five round deeps.
I think three divisions have been put up, so by
the end of this week we'll have the rest of
the division team mocks up.
Speaker 2 (42:45):
So I did not add I didn't ask you have
this ready, so if it takes a second to find it,
I apologize at a time. Who is your top ten
in your mock that you put up last week?
Speaker 4 (42:53):
Well, you know what, let me pull it up. You
kind of caught me by surprise.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
No, I know, I did. That's my fault.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
Give me a second. I will that.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Folks. Keep in mind we only even not through free
agency yet. Team needs are not known as of yet.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
This is a Tony taking the best players and trying
to assign in the teams that seem to make sense now,
so don't take mock drafts as early too.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
Seriously, But Tony, who was your top ten?
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Here we go Tennessee Titans. I had him taken Shador Sanders.
The Will Levis era is over. I made Giant fans happy.
I had the Cleveland Browns taking Travis Hunter, but this
was before the news that DeShawn Watson reinjured that achilles.
I had the Giants taking cam Ward with the third pick.
I had the New England Patriots taking Tech McMillan of
(43:40):
Arizona with that fourth selection. I know people think McMillan's
gonna go later, but he's a game breaking receiver. They
got a young quarterback there in Drake May and there's
no left tackle worthy of the fourth pick. I had
the Jacksonville Jaguars taking Will Johnson with that first PICKO. Well, yeah,
But the thing and the thing is this is you
(44:01):
look at the draft. We have to see who's going
to be coaching the Jaguars, but you look at the
draft capital that the Jaguars have expended on pass rushers
the past, you know, five to six years at some
point in time, you know, the kid from Georgia with
(44:22):
the first pick of the draft a couple of years ago.
You know, at some point in time, you gotta go
with what you got and stop the bleeding because you
just end up creating holes in other areas. I think
with the Raiders I had the Raiders taking Dull Carter.
The Jets I had taking Mason Graham oh Man.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Dude, by the way, I'm Duel Carter with me with
with Mason Crosby oh Man and Christian Wilkins oh Man.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
What a defensive line anyway.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
Sorry, especially if they get the right coach in there.
The Jets I had taking Mason Graham because Will Johnson
was off the board. There's no top receiver there. Carolina Panthers,
I have them taking Jalen walk I think that's a
perfect fit for that system. New Orleans Saints Luther Burden,
maybe a little bit early, but he's a playmaker and
they need depthit receiver. Chicago Bears had him taken Will Campbell.
(45:12):
You know, you better protect Caleb Williams. You can't go
down to justin fields route again and weigh such an
early pick on a talent, first round quarterback, first pick
of the draft, first quarterback that was the first pick
of the draft. So I had Campbell going ten to
the Bears.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
See, man, it's just sneak one offensive lineman in there, Tony,
Was there anyone that you really regretted leaving out of
that top ten? Do you feel like or was that
or was it tough finding ten players to get into
the top ten.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
No, I mean I would have liked to put Ashton
Genty in the top ten because I think he is.
He's probably a top six player in this draft, but
there was just no real fit for him to be there.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
Would you everyone else?
Speaker 3 (45:52):
I had him go to Dallas at twelve, exactly Michael
Williams kind of up and down. No, I mean a
lot of people have Malachi Starks. I had him go
fourteen to Indianapolis, although I have him rated higher. I mean,
we'll see what happens with Jalen Milroe. I have him
going early. I have him going up sorry, eighteen to Seattle.
(46:15):
I mean a lot of people outside the league are
talking about him being a much earlier pick. I would
be happy with that sentimentally, because really, since the first
show of the year, I've talked about my love for
Jalen Milroe. We'll see what happens. Also gonna be se
interesting to see if jal Milroe happens to show up
at the Senior ball I think that would be a
(46:36):
that would be a positive move for him.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
Oh yeah, I mean that would be if he did it.
That would be really silly as a guy that's trying
to prove something here and move up. I think he'd
be very wise to show up at that game and
you're gonna see him side by side with these other
non top two quarterbacks.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
You're gonna see him right next to him.
Speaker 2 (46:52):
So I think it's a good situation for all those
guys to kind of prove themselves.
Speaker 1 (46:56):
Tony, this is great man. I appreciate the time.
Speaker 4 (46:57):
As always, We'll speak with you next week.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Yet next Tuesday, folks, make sure you check out our
next show right here on Draft Season, brought to you
by Moody's, a proud partner of the New York Giants,
uniting the brightest minds to turn today's risk into tomorrow's opportunities.
Learn more at moodies dot com. For Tony Poline from
sports Keta, I'm John SHM Milk. We'll see you next
time on Draft Season.
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