Draft Season | Emerging Prospects with Dane Brugler

The guys review this past weekend’s games, Dane Brugler reveals his favorite emerging prospects, and they preview this weekend’s big matchups.

:00 - Recapping last weekend’s games

17:30 - Top 10 prospects

24:50 - Emerging prospects

52:20 - This weekend’s games

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's now officially open. This is draft season. Welcome everybody.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
We head into about a quarter of the way through
the college football season, John Smoke, Tony Pauline from Sports
Keda as usual, and we welcome in our first guest
since the season began, our good friend from The Athletic
Dane Brugler, author of The Beast and past and podcast host.
And I guess it's not really a new podcast, Dan,
and it's a reborn podcast, Building the Beast with Dave Hellman.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, part of the Athletic Football Show podcast. Yeah, we
kind of were really leaning into The Beast and kind
of giving people a sneak peek of what goes into
it and all the conversations we're having about these players.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
So yeah, that's weekly.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
It goes up every Wednesday, So hopefully people are checking
that out.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah, they should go check it. Dave's awesome.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
We had him on the Giant Tuddle a couple weeks
ago leading up to the Cowboys game.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
He should be Everyone should go check that out.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Gentlemen, Let's talk about the games this week, and one
game we thought was going to be great in the
Big Ten was Indiana and Illinois ends up being a Laugher.
I put that game on at halftime and I turned
it right off. Tony, start with you, what'd you think
of that game and what kind of either surprise you
about it or or kind of kind of motivated you
to be like, Wow, that's a pretty impressive job by Indiana.

Speaker 5 (01:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:22):
Well, we previewed this game last week and we said
that this game was sort of a stepping stone or
could be a stepping stone for Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza,
And it was exactly that. Now Illinois was without Xavier Scott,
their top or one of their top defensive backs, and
then Miles Scott, the safety, got booted because of a

(01:42):
targeting call. But I mean, you know, you said you
turned it off at halftime, and Dooza's numbers at halftime
were fifteen of seventeen passing, two hundred and twenty yards
and four tds in the first half. It was a
pretty simple I was impressed with Mendoza. It was a
pretty simple game plan. There was a lot of short passes,
a lot of receiver screens, a lot of that yardage

(02:04):
was won after the catch, but he got the job done.
I didn't see a lot of difficult throws. We know
he can make those difficult throws. Obviously, I don't think
anybody expected Indiana to go in and blow blowing Illinois
out the way they did. They're an incredibly well coached team.
I've said on the show before, I think Kurt Signetti
is the best coach in America, college or pro, and

(02:27):
people are excited for Mendoza because now he's going to
get the coach the Signetti coaching. I thought it was
an outstanding performance. I didn't think he made many difficult
NFL type passes. But you know, their game plan worked
early and don't fix what ain't broke. That seemed to
be their mindset throughout all four quarters.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
You know, it's funny we did not compare notes on
this game before we started, and Dane put up a
Fernando Mendoza article up on the Athletic this morning, and Dane,
it wasn't word for word, but it's pretty much the
same thing that Tony gave on on Mendoza did in
that game. And I think he's what your twentyeh rated
prospect right now.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah, he started the season at number twenty overall, and
that's like I think Tony hit the nail on the head,
like nothing happened in this game that I think will
drastically change your opinion of Mendoza coming out.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
I mean, he was terrific.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
He finished ninety one percent completions, five touchdowns. He now
has fourteen touchdowns this year, leads the FBS. Still no interceptions.
And it's not that you know, we're throwing cold water
on the on the praise, because Mendoza certainly deserves it.
But he had one pass attempt over twenty yards and
it was incomplete. Seventeen of his twenty one completions were

(03:38):
under ten yards. But at the same time, you know,
what's the job of a quarterback. It's to take what
the defense gives you, move the sticks, put points on
the board, don't make mistakes. That's exactly what Fernando Mendoza
did in this game. So he certainly deserves praise for that.
I was, I think most impressed with the way he
handled pressure, whether you know it's against the blitz, especially

(04:00):
down on the red zone when things get a lot
more condensed, it's easy for quarterbacks to get a little antsy.
He was terrific in those situations. He's so smart pre
snaff he understands, Okay, they're gonna blitz me, it's coming
from here. This is where the vulnerable matchup could be
in coverage. He understands where that's coming from. I mean,
that's that's like you know, Tony mentioned, that's that's coaching.

(04:20):
A lot of the preparation that goes into this, but
a lot of it's on the quarterback that in the
moment execute and that's what he did so terrific against
the blitz. Showed his poise, his accuracy.

Speaker 4 (04:33):
He's not an elite physical talent.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
The size is good, but the arm strength and mobility
it's more good than great. And sometimes that'll pop up.
But in a game like this where he just got
the ball out of his hands, found the open, open player,
I mean, he was terrific.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
No question about it. I want to jump to Oklahoma
and Auburn here. By the way, kudos to myself are
not calling him Ramiro Mendoza, former Yankees relief betcher, because
I've been doing that for about two months.

Speaker 1 (04:59):
Good job, John.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
We have a bunch of Oklahoma guys in the second
part of the show, so we'll leave those guys alone.
But I know both of you guys really love the
Auburn offensive tackle who are kind of creeping up draft
boards here. How'd you think he did in that game
against Oklahoma, Dan, We'll start with you on this one.

Speaker 4 (05:14):
I thought he, you know, held up pretty well.

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Xavier Chaplain, left tackle transfer to Virginia Tech.

Speaker 4 (05:20):
You know, he's he's a big, big.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Guy, and he just he does a very good job
staying square to rushers. And even though I think there
are some flexibility concerns, and you know that shows up
when he's trying to recover. If you stay in front
of your guy from the get go, you're gonna be
in good shape. And so he's still a young player
in some of those areas, but I thought he held
up pretty well for most of this game. Now are

(05:44):
Mason Thomas, who had some noise in the second half
of this game. He missed the first half and so
we didn't get some of those matchups. But our Mason
Thomas certainly showed up in the second half when he
was back out there, so you know that. But you know,
I think some of that was not against Chaplin on
the left side. So this is a this is an
Auburn offensive line that is talented, but Oklahoma, they found

(06:05):
some success, and part of that is the things Jackson
Arnold holds the ball way longer than you should, and
that's kind of the Achilles Hill with this offense. But
I thought Chaplain for the most part, did okay, Tony.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
How about Chaplain for you and anyone was jump after
you in that game?

Speaker 5 (06:22):
Yeah, I like Chaplain.

Speaker 6 (06:25):
I thought he was okay, but he didn't look like
a top ten player in this game against Oklahoma. And
that's what I rate him as. So I guess in
the overall scheme, I thought he should have been a
little bit better. Not that I just like him, not
that I thought, uh, you know, he played poorly. I
just was so high on him. I mean I did
a mock draft before the season. I had him going

(06:46):
top five. That's how highly I think of this guy,
going back to prior to years at Virginia Tech. Now,
obviously you go from Virginia Tech to Oklahoma, as you see,
it's going to be a step up in competition. And
as Dame pointed out, you know that Oklahoma front four,
defensive front four, they got a lot of talent. They're
probably mid mid round picks, day three picks, but they're

(07:08):
talented guys, and I think that, as Dan pointed out,
the Auburn the Auburn quarterback holds the ball a little
bit too long, which makes the offensive lines job that
much harder. I think Oklahoma's offensive line also stood up
well against the Auburn pass rush. You know, Keldrick Falk

(07:28):
one sack, one tackle for loss, had some pressures, but
he wasn't the dominant force I think I expected him
to be. I thought he was going to really overmatch
that Sooner offensive line, and it came in spurts. I mean,
Oklahoma was able to move the ball down the field.
Robert Woodard Wooded the other pass rusher that people tend

(07:49):
to forget about. He had a solid game, but it
wasn't the dominant performance that I expected from either Chaplain
or Falk.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
Where do you think of falked in?

Speaker 3 (07:59):
Yeah, I think that's fair. I mean with Fulk, it's
really the traits that you're betting on. It runs me
a lot of Michael Williams from last year coming out
of Georgia. Like you see the ability, you see the flashes.
It's just you just wanted to be more consistent. And
with Falk, he doesn't take over games necessarily, but you
will hear his name called throughout the game because he

(08:21):
is making those plays. You just wish for a guy
that we're talking about is maybe a top five overall pick.
He was a little more more dominant, especially in a
big game like this on the road, where you know
your offense is struggling you as a defense, you need
to go make a play, and Fulk was fine. I
just when you look at him through the lens of
a possible top five, top seven overall pick, he wasn't

(08:45):
as dominant as maybe you would like to see.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
Yeah, no question about it, all right, Mammy.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
In Florida guys obviously, but Florida has their problems, especially
on offense right now.

Speaker 1 (08:53):
It's been a struggle for them. Tony. Anybody jump out
at you, but in this contest, no.

Speaker 5 (08:58):
And Carsion Beck out at me.

Speaker 6 (09:00):
You know, people are talking about him as a Heisman
Trophy top ten for the Heisman Trophy, an early pick.
I mean, I think the best thing that Carson Beck
did was he didn't get his team behind the eight
ball as he did at Georgia. I mean, he's got
the physical skills, but he's not a difference maker as
far as I'm concerned. You know, he's a nice quarterback.

(09:21):
He's not a guy that's going to carry a team
on their shoulders. I think people got all excited that
first game against Notre Dame, where he played relatively well,
but we're seeing now that you know, Notre Dame has
its struggles, especially on defense. I think the big takeaway
for me was really Carson Beck could not put Florida
way until late in the game when the opportunities existed.

Speaker 3 (09:47):
Dan, your thoughts on that game, Yeah, I mean I
think I echo a lot of those sentiments with Carson Beck.
You know, good on him for what he did in
the opener against Notre Dame and kind of get that
monkey off his back. Had to live with, you know,
the way things ended at Georgia, the way the season
was disappointing. He had to live with that over the
entire offseason. You know, the elbow injury, wasn't able to

(10:10):
throw for so long. For him to go out there
and play like he did against Center Dame, great, that
was good for him. But I do think, yeah, we
need to pump the brakes a little bit in terms
of him being a top fifty type of prospect. I
don't think he's necessarily done anything to deserve that type
of praise, But I will.

Speaker 4 (10:25):
Say I don't know that.

Speaker 3 (10:28):
It's gonna get all that much tougher with this ACC schedule.
Now they do have to go to Tallahassee here in
what two weeks, going to play Florida State. That'll be
a big game in a lot of ways. But you know,
just like you know, what do we say about cam
Ward last year? It was Okay, he's a good player,
but how many true challenges did he face with that

(10:49):
ACC schedule? And it'll be kind of the same thing
with Beck this year. That's why that game at Florida
State will be so big. I'll talk more about rubyen
bayin a little bit later, but man, I just cannot
say enough good things about the way he's played. He
takes over games playing simple. I mean, you cannot watch
the Notre Dame game, the USF game, the Florida game

(11:11):
and not notice number four because the way he affects
the backfield both against the run against the pass. I mean,
he's number two in the entire all of college football
and pressures so far this year.

Speaker 4 (11:24):
And this is this is a player who.

Speaker 3 (11:27):
Looks like he wants to be a top ten pick
because that's the way he's playing.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (11:30):
Absolutely, I'm with you, all right, final game I want
to touch on and this will kind of catapult us
into our second conversation Missoo and South Carolina. We'll get
to Lenora's Sellers in a second before we get him Dane.
The Missouri run game has impressed me this year. They've
come off to a pretty fast start. Anyone else in
this game besides Sellers that you think is worth noting
in talking about.

Speaker 3 (11:49):
I think the Missouri defensive Linzyane Young I had a
really good game. I than he finished with maybe just
one sack, but the pressure numbers were up there. I
mean he was affecting the back in a big way.
McClellan transfer from what Florida. I mean he he a
few times got into the backfield and made some noise. So,
you know, I think Missouri has always been one of

(12:11):
those teams that's kind of you know, they're knocking on
the door. They they've always got a few prospects, but
they never can just kind of break through. This feels
like one of their better teams this year. With the
way Bobula is playing, the Penn State transfer. Who you know,
he being a first year starter. There's gonna be mistakes,
and he's had some, but he can at least move

(12:32):
the offense up and down the field hardy.

Speaker 4 (12:35):
Like you mentioned the run game.

Speaker 3 (12:36):
He's only a true sophomore, so can't really get excited
about him as a prospect just yet. But this Missouri
team feels like they've got some guys that are gonna,
if not propel them to the top of the SEC
this year, at least make them a hard out where
they're gonna be. They're gonna give whoever. They're playing a
tough battle each week.

Speaker 5 (12:56):
Yeah, very well coached team. Talked about Signetti and Indiana.
I think bas just they don't have stars.

Speaker 6 (13:01):
There's no armand Membo on that depth chart this year.
But they're just very well coached. As far as I
was concerned, I like the the game Cock defensive back
Jalen Kilgore. Bigger guy, physical, kind of fits that mold
that we've seen come out of that program in the past.
Good ball skills, it's got NFL size, and his game

(13:23):
is progressing. They actually have three guys, three defensive backs there,
but I think kil Gore has really stood out thus far,
and he was he was good against Missouri.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
All Right, we are all going to do a ton
on the quarterbacks today. This will be our one overarching
quarterback question. From everything you've seen Dane Lenora Sellers in
this game, he made some wow throws. Then again, he
had some other throws. You know, he had that you
know passy airmailed on that final drive, you know, trying
to drive down and tie or take the lead in
that game. But to me, of all the quarterbacks I've

(13:51):
seen and watched so far, he's still the guy that
that I mark and say, there's been enough wow stuff,
even though it's been inconsistent where to me, he's still
the clear leader in the clubhass year for first quarterback
off the board.

Speaker 4 (14:04):
I think that's fair.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
Yeah, it's still very early, and these things that these
conversations can swing wildly week to week depending on how
these guys play, which is of course always tough because
you know, we want to bet on body of work
and trades more so than you know, the game to
game fluctuation. But I would agree, I mean, if take
arch out of it, going back to my quarterback rankings

(14:27):
over the summer based off of what I expected coming.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
Into the year.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
It was Leonora Seller's one, and then Garrettnsmier two, and
then Mendoza three, And I think so far, I'm not
really changing that. Like I said, we're taking Arch out
of the conversation for now, those three quarterbacks, I think
in that order, I'm comfortable with that. At this point,
Sellers just gives you so much dual threat ability. He's

(14:51):
so young for a player that is still just twenty
years old and just turn twenty like he's he's a
young player who's still figuring things out, throws should and
shouldn't make. He had that three play sequence was the
second quarter where drove him down scored a touchdown in
some really impressive passes. What he does on the move,
the way he can change platforms and create out a structure,

(15:15):
it is really impressive. And then I it sounds hyperbolic,
but he might be the strongest quarterback I've ever evaluated.
And that's with all due respect to Jalen Hurts and
Cam Newton. And I mean, he is so powerful as
a runner, and that dual threat.

Speaker 4 (15:27):
Ability wears you a little bit.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
He's already been banged up a little bit this year,
So can you stay healthy the rest of the way?

Speaker 4 (15:34):
And you know, I just with Nil.

Speaker 5 (15:36):
Now.

Speaker 3 (15:36):
It really makes these quarterback decisions about whether to go
back to school come out early. It really clouds those
decisions because he'll be able to go back to South
Carolina and get paid if he wants to if he
doesn't feel ready. And you know, he's only a red
shirt sophomore, so I wouldn't be surprised if he does
choose to go that route. So it does make these
quarterback decisions a little more murky.

Speaker 6 (15:57):
Yeah, I mean listen, if you follow me on Twitter,
go back to August. I put out a tweet after
watching the South Carolina film from twenty twenty four, and
I said, if the draft were held today and I
had the top pick and I needed a quarterback, I'm
taking Lendora Sellers and he's not disappointed. The thing about
it is he makes all the throws. I mean, he
can power the ball through the tight windows. He gets

(16:18):
the ball through the tight spots with great speed and accuracy.
But as you saw study and night, he can also
put touch on the ball downfield. I mean he will
deliver it nicely, place the ball into the receiver's hands.
I think the other thing that you know you need
to talk about with Sellers is doesn't have great talents
around it. He doesn't have great pass catches. People talk
about Nick Harper, Yeah he's developing, but Harber, as far

(16:38):
as I'm concerned, is still a track and field guy
trying to learn the receiver position. You look at cam
Ward last year, you look at Shador Sanders, you know,
you look at Jackson Darritt. These guys had a lot
of talent to throw. Sellers is basically the man in
the South Carolina offense, and he consistently pushes them up
and down the field and moves the offense. There's still

(16:59):
some things in his game that he needs to iron out,
you know. As Dan pointed out, he's a red shirt sophomore.
I love his game. I love his upside. Dane talked
about how strong is I mean he's not only strong
like he's got a strong build. I mean he's a
guy who will be able to with stand the pressure,
with stand the rush and get the pass off with
defenders draped on it and make good passes. Listen, we

(17:19):
talked about him two weeks ago, John and I used
my number one quarterback. I think again, as Dan pointed out,
there's ways to go. But I said in August he
would be the first pick in the draft. I say today,
September twenty third, I still think he's the first pick
of the draft.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
Now, you guys have a much more complete, thorough and
historical knowledge of the draft than I do. But I
feel like, at this point in the process, guys, this
is a much more unsettled class than we're usually looking at.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
And I'll put it to you this way, and I
want to get your guys take on this.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
At this point last year, I think we all felt
pretty darn good about Travis Hunter being a top five,
top ten pick. We thought pretty good at Abdul Carter
being a top five, top ten pick. We thought really
good about Will Campbell be in the top five top
ten pick. We knew Ashton Genty, you know, running back
aside was one of the top three players in this
draft class. You know, Kelvin Banks is someone we had
talked about. Right now, Dan, who are you confident enough

(18:12):
to say when we do this draft in April?

Speaker 1 (18:15):
Right now? That all right?

Speaker 2 (18:17):
I feel really good that this guy's going to be
a top ten pick. And he deserves to be there.

Speaker 3 (18:22):
I think your overall point is absolutely correct. Like it's
just it feels very unsettled at the top in the
top ten. Part of it is the uncertainty a quarterback. Well,
I mean, I agree with about Leonora Sellers. If he
comes out, I do think he'll be a top ten pick,
but you know there's still a question marks about that.
I mean, a guy like Caleb Downs is you can

(18:44):
make an argument as the best player in the country,
but you know, we don't see safeties go that early.
That's just the NFL has told us loud and clear
how they feel about drafting safeties, and Caleb Downs is
not ed.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
Reed.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
He's not a guy that consistently takes the ball away.
He's more of a guy that will play closer to
the line of scrimmage and you can man him up
as a nickel and he can cover, but he doesn't
play He's not gonna play deep. That's not what he
does in the Ohio State defense. So the Caleb Down
I mean, it shouldn't shock anybody if Caleb Downs is
the eleventh overall pick, right, even though he could argue
he's top three player. You know, same thing with Kyle

(19:19):
Hamilton was he was coming out, So Caleb Downs is
a tough guy to talk about in terms of is
he a lock top ten pick? I think Peter Woods,
even though he has not lit it up by any
means over the first few weeks that Clempson defense as
a whole has been disappointing.

Speaker 4 (19:35):
TJ.

Speaker 3 (19:35):
Parker the edge rusher has been fine, but far from
great or what you would expect from a top ten pick.
Peter Woods, the production isn't there necessarily for a guy
we thought would be a top three, top five pick,
But I do think that he's still making an impact,
and I think it's harder to find those guys, the
defensive tackles, the interior defensive linemen, who have that type

(19:55):
of talent.

Speaker 4 (19:56):
So if I had a.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
Bet on one of these guys, I think I would
lean wards Peter Woods as who entered the year as
my number one overall player in this draft, and I
don't think he's lived up to that. But if I
had a bet on one of these guys being a
top ten pick, I think it would be him.

Speaker 6 (20:10):
How about you, Connor, I'm gonna say I think kind
of to divert, but also agree with Dane. I think
a lot of the top ten is kind of in
flux because, in my opinion, Clemson has been so poor
this year.

Speaker 5 (20:22):
You know, whether TJ.

Speaker 6 (20:22):
Parker, Antonio Williams has not played because he's been injured.
You know, so I think that's that has basically said
it put it in flux. I absolutely agree about Cale
Downs wrote about this, you know, right after the twenty
twenty five draft was over. Cale Downs is going to
be the best player, could be the best player entering
the draft. But he plays safety. But I think he's
also the type of safety that in my opinion, he's

(20:45):
Brian Branch squared. If you know what, if you get
my draft, I mean he can do a lot more
things than Brian Branch late second round pick who's having
great success with the Detroit Lions. I would put Keldrick
Fwalk in there, even though he's disappointed me. I think
the explome he shows, the versatility, He's not just an
edge rusher. You can drop him up with wana scrimmage.
He makes plays in pursuit. I think he's going to

(21:06):
be a top ten pick. You know, my heart says
Xavier Chaplain, but my head says, well, let's just wait
and see how the rest of the season plays out.
So I would go absolutely with Sellers. I would go
at Caleb Downs, and I throw Keldrick Falk in there
as three guys right now that I see as potential
definite top ten picks in twenty twenty six.

Speaker 3 (21:26):
All Right, more guys, I would go in there. Spencer
Fano from Utah. I would throw him in there as well,
as a guy that I think I want to get
him to see him to get stronger, especially in the
run game against Texas Tech, which is a great I
think barometer for those Utah tackles over the weekend. It
wasn't perfect by any means, but I think he has
done enough where you're excited about what he's going to

(21:49):
look like in two years and three years. And so
I think Spencer Fano is a Utah right tackle. He
would be in that conversation for me to be a
top ten pick when you stack it. I'm just not
seeing nine players better than him so far for next
year's class.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah, Danil, you absolutely beat me to the punch. Al Tony,
I throw it back to you and you mentioned chaplain
offensive tackle could end up being the best position in
this group. What other tackle should we be keeping an
eye on that could try to push their way into
that top ten. We all know how needy the NFL
is trying to find offensive tackles that can start.

Speaker 6 (22:20):
You know, potentially Kayden Proctor of Alabama, maybe the next
JC Latham. I think the guy plays on the left
side in college is going to be a good right
tackle fundamentally sound, plays with great pad level moves, relatively well,
and he's a mountain of a man.

Speaker 5 (22:35):
Magoa of Miami.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
I don't think he's a top ten pick, but I
think he could be a top twenty pick, maybe a
top fifteen pick. He's an athletic right tackle. Fano the
other kid from Utah kleb Lamou, who plays on the
left side, it's gotta get a little bit Bigger's got to
get a little bit stronger, but has those traits. Keep
an eye on Ryan Bear of Pittsburgh, their tackle. He

(22:57):
is a big, athletic guy that has just played better
and better and better. He is a fourth year junior.
I'm pretty sure, you know, barring injuries, very much, very
likely to enter the draft. A lot of people don't
talk about him, but I have again, not a top
ten pick on him. Uh, top ten player, but my
mind a guy who will battle to be a late

(23:17):
first round pick.

Speaker 2 (23:18):
Dan, you mentioned that Texas Tech Utah game. Anyone else
jumped out at you in that contest?

Speaker 3 (23:24):
I think, uh, the we talked about the Utah tackles,
but the defensive line for Texas Tech. You know, they
were a big reason why the Red Raiders came away
with that win. You know, they all they're all transfers
in Romelo Heights and Bailey on the edges, he's so
excited now. I do worry about him being too much

(23:47):
of a one trick pony where speed burst off the edge,
it's it's explosive. You know that will there's a place
fat in the NFL. But do you have to hide
him a little bit versus the run? Do you can
he be a true every down player? Those are some
of the questions I have with Bailey. But again, you're
just not gonna find many guys that have that type
of burst off the edge. The guys on the interior

(24:09):
were awesome, so I mean Rodriguez, a linebacker, had at
an outstanding game. So that Texas Tech defense and obviously
not what you think about when you think of the
Red Raiders historically, but they've really invested on that side
of the ball and it showed big time in that win,
and it's past due. We talk about Texas Tech as
being a true contender for the playoffs because of the

(24:32):
way they can win in the Big twelve and in
the way that they could make some noise down the stretch.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (24:37):
Dante Balfour, the cornerback, the Charlotte transfer. From Charlotte, He's
got excellent size, he splashed some ball skills. I thought
he played exceptionally well against Utah. You know, you mentioned
that defensive line, all his transfers. Lee Hunter, the Central
Florida transfer, who was a good player at UCF. I mean,
he was a consistent player, had a lot of good
moments in that game.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
All Right, So let's get to exercise.

Speaker 2 (24:59):
And the reason I kind of put the show together
this way is that we talk about it being an
unsettled draft class, which means there's gonna be a lot
of opportunities for players to kind of step up, break
out of maybe what the picture we've put on them
over the course of the summer and last season and
what they've done in college so far and take a
step here and be a player that fights into the
first round, maybe even fights further than that. So I

(25:20):
had Dane and Tony to get kind of one player
from most of these positions that they think have really
outplayed their preseason expectations. A couple of spots. We have
the same guys most of the spots. It's a little
bit different. I think this will be fun. But you
guys both have John Mattier as your quarterback. Dane, Why
John Mattier.

Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, I think that the Baker Mayfield comps feel way
too on the.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
Nose, but it kind of fits.

Speaker 3 (25:43):
I mean, guys that were overlooked out of high school,
transferred Oklahoma. They're short, but they're not They're they're built
really well, you know, a good.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
Arm, really juiced up competitors.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
They use any type of doubt as fuel, and they
just there's no doubt. Who's the leader of those all offenses. Now,
I think there's two many differences between these two players.
Baker was I think, more naturally accurate. Mattier has much
more twitch and is more of a dual threat weapon.
Now I'm very interested to see can Mattier because.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
He takes some hits.

Speaker 3 (26:15):
Can he hold up over a full SEC schedule taking
some of those hits. I also want to see him
cut down on the turnovers. He has at least one
turnover in each of the first four games, and then
just be more precise with the ball placement. The accuracy
is what made Baker the number one overall pick that
year and why he's thriving right now with the Bucks.
So Matier has got a lot of juice in his

(26:37):
arm and you know, kind of throws it like a
second baseman where it's just it's sometimes a side arm.

Speaker 4 (26:42):
It's just he gets it out.

Speaker 3 (26:43):
Fast, you know, just maybe making sure that he's putting
them showing proving the scouts he can consistently put the
ball where he wants. That needs to be the priority
for him over the second half of the season. But
I think he's what we saw in Washington State. There
were reasons to be excited, but also reasons to and

(27:03):
I'm not sure this is really going to work in
the SEC.

Speaker 4 (27:06):
So far, it has worked terrifically.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
I think he's right there in the Heisman conversation and
he should be mentioned as a guy in this quarterback
mix that's moving up a little bit.

Speaker 5 (27:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (27:18):
First thing is kudos to Jim Nagy, right, a friend
of all of us, going to Oklahoma and bringing a
guy like John Mattier in. I agree with the accuracy part,
and we've talked about it on this show before in
the past with with with John. Going back to the
Michigan game, you know, you see a lot of passes.
Receivers are leaving their feet, receivers are slowing up, adjusting
backwards rather than the past placement. I think those interceptions

(27:41):
of the result in that he seems a little bit
late pulling the trigger, but he's answered the call and
he's done. So, you know in big games, first against
Michigan on a Saturday night where Oklahoma you know, just
dominated Michigan, and then this pass Saturday against a very
good Auburn defense. So he's showing his chops, he's showing
the ability step up in a big spot. You know,

(28:02):
going from Washington State who last year you know, in
the PAC two was playing in the San Diego States
and they heard takes in the world you know now
in the SEC. So again from where I had him
UH rated coming into the season, I was kind of
take a stand back and take a wait and see approach.

Speaker 5 (28:22):
He's obvious.

Speaker 6 (28:23):
He's obviously answered any question that I had and has
exceeded him. I agree with a lot of the concerns.
Holds the ball a little bit too long, doesn't have
a big physical body, you know, gets pounded. Those things
are going to have to be ironed out.

Speaker 2 (28:36):
Draft season is presented by Moody's, a proud part of
the New York Giants. Decoded Russ Unlock Opportunity. Learn more
at moodies dot com. Tony, you mentioned the big game
against Michigan that Materia played well. Justice hayines Michigan running back.
He's your running back choice here. I watched him in
the off season. I'm like, all right, you know, three
yards and a cloud of dust type of guy, grinder,
not very explosive. Then like he's running away from guys

(28:58):
and no one's catching him. Like he's a lot faster
than I thought. He was watching him off of last
year's tape.

Speaker 6 (29:03):
Week after week after week, and you know, people were
talking about him coming out of Alabama last year where
he had four hundred and forty eight yards, and I
watched and I was like, you, okay, there's some skill there.
There's nothing great, but everye he's had a hundred yard
rushing game against every single week. Against Oklahoma, we talked
about earlier that Oklahoma front four, which is, you know,

(29:25):
which is pretty tough. Although Michigan's got a decent offensive line,
as they always do. And then this past week they
go into Nebraska. Nebraska lost some players on the defensive line,
but they got good linebackers, they got a terrific run
defending safety, and you know, he rushes for one hundred
and twenty five yards and he's exceeded my expectations. You
then have to factor in that Michigan can't throw the ball.
Michigan is not a good passing offense. Michigan had one

(29:48):
hundred and five yards passing this week against Nebraska, Justice
Hayes had one hundred and twenty five yards rushing. So
opponents they know that they can load the box and
challenge Michigan to beat him with the passing game, and
Justin Hayes is still running through him for seventy five
yard touchdown runs. He's explosive, he's fast, he's got a burst,
he can run the daylight. But he's also a relatively

(30:09):
skilled ball carrier. That can make defenders miss, and he's
got good signs. I mean, I thought coming into the
season third fourth round, but third round pick up best.
You know, if this guy keeps this up, especially if
the Michigan passing.

Speaker 5 (30:22):
Game can't, I can't kick it into gear.

Speaker 6 (30:24):
You're going to talk about this about Justice Justice Haynes
as being a potential top three back for the twenty
twenty six Strift if he decides to go that route.

Speaker 2 (30:34):
Dan gave me your take on Haynes, and then you
like Washington running back Jonah Coleman, who I watched for
the first time after you gave me your lesson, I'm like, Wow,
he's suret he's powerful, and he's got some twitch to him.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
Yeah. I mean, I think Haynes says he's done a
really nice job. There's no doubt about it. Especially you
know that what he did at Oklahoma, that that seventy
five geor Obrono's terrific. I think he's really controlled in
his cuts. I like the way he drops his pads
at Ford the balance I think catches the ball cleanly.
So I he's a guy that I'm not quite as

(31:06):
high on, just because I don't necessarily see the same
creative athleticism.

Speaker 4 (31:11):
I think he has the vision and the balance.

Speaker 3 (31:14):
He's going to get what is blocked for him all day,
and with that Michigan offensive line, he's going to be productive.
But I don't necessarily see the creative athleticism that I
want to see for a guy that I would take
in the top, you know, sixty picks or so.

Speaker 4 (31:26):
Now, I think, you know, he's still a really good player.
But this is a.

Speaker 3 (31:31):
Draft that's just starving for running backs to kind of
break out, right. I mean, obviously we have love at
the top from Notre Dame, but then running back two,
running back three, running back four. It's wide open, and
Haines has certainly done enough to put himself in that conversation.
Whether that's the fortieth pick or the seventieth pick, you know,
time will tell, but it's a running back class that

(31:51):
feels very wide open. Yeah, And Jodah Coleman is a
player who I think has exceeded my expectations five eight,
two twenty seven short stocky, really dense lower half, terrific
power between the tackles, and I think he's showing better
bursts through the crease than I expected based off of
what I saw over the summer. He's averaging almost seven
yards of carry through three games, nine touchdowns, mistackles all

(32:15):
over the place, and in the vision, the jump cut
ability at that size, to me, he leads all running
backs that I've watched so far in terms of big
play percentage. It's about to get tougher. Ohio State goes
to town this week. So can Coleman keep that momentum
up and you know, still play at this high level
average over five yards of carry against his Buckeye's defense.

(32:37):
If he does, it'll you know, he's played well, but
doing it against the team like Ohio State will certainly
take it a step further.

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Tony, we had not talked about Jonah Coleman yet this year.
What are your thoughts on him?

Speaker 6 (32:48):
Smart, instinctive, great vision, you know, being able to make
the defenders miss is kind of seeing the feel and
trying to decide what they're going to do.

Speaker 5 (32:56):
He runs through great bounce. He's also a good blocker.

Speaker 6 (32:59):
I mean people don't talk about that, but on those
situations where he's going to pick up the blitz, you know,
he sees the blitz and he squares into the defenders.
I think That's another aspect of his game that NFL
scouts and teams are gonna like, all.

Speaker 2 (33:11):
Right, Tony, let's go to wide receiver and we'll go
to Dion Burks, one of the another Oklahoma players that
we're gonna touch on today.

Speaker 6 (33:18):
Yeah and again, you know, coming into the season, scouts
had him created as a second round as a I'm
sorry day two pick. Only played five games last year,
thirty one receptions. You know, we talked about Matier needs weapons,
and Dion Burks is this top weapon. Twenty three receptions
in four games this year. The explosion, the quickness, the

(33:39):
dependability to catch the ball, the willingness to fight to
come away with the difficult reception. He's a little bit smaller,
but he's the guy that can separate through his routes,
you know, finds ways to get open which teams want.
He's got terrific quickness fundamentally for the most part, sound
as a pass catcher, extends his hands to make the
catch away from his frame, and wants to play.

Speaker 5 (34:01):
Wants to play.

Speaker 6 (34:02):
The reason I rated it, and so Highley is coming
back from that injury, playing only after playing five games
last year. I think the sky's the limit, and again
I thought maybe day three, but I think he's moved
into the top one hundred, or at least he's heading
towards the top one hundred with the way he's playing
this year.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
And then this is why wide receivers are so much fun.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
You got Burks at like five nine I think one
eighty eight, right, and then you look over and you
have Ian Strong out of Rutgers, who's just like monster
running around at like six three over two hundred pounds.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
Yeah, and he had a good sophomore year last year,
but he looked even better as a junior. Three games
he's had three one hundred yard receiving performances. He's averaging
eight catches per game, and at six three two fifteen
kind of like you mentioned, he's to me, he's the
best contested catch receiver I've watched so far this year.
His adjustments to the football, his ability to use that

(34:53):
length in his body so he always attacks the ball
away from himself, and then his strength to finish. It's
really impressive to watch on the Iowa tape. All the
tapes this year, there are at least a couple contested
catches each game that show his ability to box out,
catch the ball away from himself and then just the
play Strength really stands out. The body controls terrific, so

(35:15):
he can adjust to some of these passes that aren't
quite on point. Now, part of the reason why he's
seeing those contested catches is he's not separating at a
high clip, but at the same time, they're giving him
a high dose of the back shoulders and the comebacks
and you know where there's gonna be a little more
of a crowd at the catch point, and he's because
they know he can. He can come away with the

(35:35):
high percentage of those catches. So you know, if you're
watching Rutgers, check out Ian Strong. Like I said, I
think the best contested catch receiver in the country and
someone who's helping himself moving up a little bit.

Speaker 6 (35:45):
Yeah yeah, let me just say just say I was
going to put Strong in the spot, but since John
wanted us to talk about players that are playing better
than we had him graded. I actually had Strong graded
as a third round pick coming into the season. I
thought so highly of them off the two thousand twenty
four tape, and you're right. I mean, he is a
bigger contested catch guy. If you watch that Iowa game,
he made a catch I believe, late in the second

(36:09):
half down the left hand sideline, which was just spectacular.
It's spectacular, But he's not a fast guy. He's gonna
be a great red zone threat as he has been
at Rutgers. He'll be a great red zone threat on Sunday.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
Really good possession outside X type of receiver. I mean,
they run so many of those little like twelve yard
outs to him where he just breaks off on the
corner and catches this ball near the sideline.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
Good good player. All right.

Speaker 2 (36:29):
For the offensive line, guys, we got a couple of
universities heres no more for their academics than their football.
We'll start with you, Dane Northwestern. Caleb Tiernan tell us
about left tackle.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
Yeah, I think he came into this season with mostly
you know, later round grades, fifth round, six round grades.
But the left tackle man, he's looked a lot better
on tape this year than I think those projections would indicate.
Six seven and a half three and twenty pounds, a
bigger guy, thirty three and a half inch arms. You
put on the Oregon tape and you see a very

(37:01):
controlled player both in pass pro and in the run game.
He's very efficient with his movements and it really makes
it tough for rushers to get around him.

Speaker 4 (37:09):
So I like his angles in the run game.

Speaker 3 (37:12):
He's a little inconsistent in terms of the knee bent
because he is a taller guy. But I'm a lot
more optimistic about tiering in now than I was a
few months ago, really based on that Oregon tape and
what he put on film. So that Northwestern offense, there's
not a lot to get excited about, but Caleb Tiernan
at left tackle, He's going to keep scouts putting that
Northwestern tape on for him.

Speaker 5 (37:36):
Do you like him at left tackle?

Speaker 6 (37:37):
Because when I liked him coming into the season, I
really haven't watched him this month that much. This year,
I thought college left tackle who's got right tackle skills
probably is gonna have to move to the other side
of the line on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (37:49):
Yeah, And I think I had a similar thought based
off of what we saw over the summer. But I
keep going back to the Oregon tape. There was nothing
on that tape this year that said he can't do
it at the next level. So I'm gonna draft him
as maybe being my backup swing tackle. Hoping he can
move in and eventually be a starter for me. So

(38:10):
so far this year, he hasn't put anything on tape
that tells me he can't stay a love tackle, Tony.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
You got Brian Parker the second out of Duke. A
right tackle. He kind of has a guard build to
me when I watch him, but definitely effective.

Speaker 6 (38:23):
Guard or center. A lot of people think he's gonna
be a real good center for the next level. And
you know what have we seen come out of Duke lately.
A lot of real good offensive linemen, and Parker is
gonna be the next one. As you said, plays right
tackle fundamentally sound, real good knee bend, can slide off
the edge, really good with his hands, play smart football,
good angles and pass protection. He's not a finisher, He's

(38:45):
not a dominant guy. Played well against Illinois, even though
Duke got their rear ends handed to him late in
that game. I thought he held it well against Jackas
a lot of people.

Speaker 5 (38:55):
In the scouting community are high on him. Again.

Speaker 6 (38:57):
I watched him in the in the in the summer
from last year's film, maybe fifth round. He's getting better.
He's getting potential Day two grades. But as you said,
you know he's gonna guard build. I have him on
my guardboard. There are a lot of people think that
he's gonna move to center on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (39:15):
Dan, what do you think he's gonna stay out of
tackle or is he gonna move inside?

Speaker 3 (39:18):
You know, I think he's an interior player and I
think that it there. There definitely were some hiccups on
that Illinois tape, but you see why scouts are high
in this player. I mean he to me, he is
going to be a Day two player if he comes out,
because he I believe he's an underclassman, right, so he
has a decision to make after the year. But if
he continues to play at this level, I mean, he's

(39:39):
not Graham Barton. Graham Barton was an easy first round
guy moving from left tackle at a center. Like we
knew he Graham Barton was gonna go high. I don't
think Perker's on that level. But to me, he looks
like a guy with starting potential in the NFL, and
that's why I think ultimately he'll be a top one
hundred pick.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
All right, let's go now over to the defensive line guys,
and Dane, you kind of talked a little bit about
this when we talked about the Mammi Florida game, And
you're right, Rubin Bain, who I love watching in the offseason.
He has met expectations and kind of flew past them.
He talked about the guy that could end up being
coming a top ten pick if he continues along this route.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
I think he's one of them.

Speaker 3 (40:14):
Yeah, and I purposely, yeah, try not to talk too
much about Bain to talk about him here, because he
was a tough guy for me to figure out over
the summer. His twenty twenty four tape did not say
first round playing it simple. It was very inconsistent, but
it was tough to figure out how much of it
was injury related, how much of it was just you know,
he was having a tough time taking his game to
that next level. But he's been the best defensive prospect

(40:37):
that I have studied so far. In twenty twenty five
full stop six three, two seventy five power packed. He's
gonna win at the point of attack. His hands are
like sticks of dynamite. He is so heavy at the
point of attack. But he also has that burst off
the ball, and that really stands out. He explodes off
the edge He looks like more of a smaller player

(40:58):
with the way he does flies out of a stance
and then he can rush low, he can dip around
the corner. He doesn't sacrifice that cornering speed at all.
Right now, number two in the FBS and pressures with
twenty two. Like I mentioned, the run defense is elite.
And he's just a guy that makes his presence felt
every single play, every single series. So he has looked

(41:20):
every bit the part of a top ten pick so
far this year. And I couldn't confidently say that based
on his twenty twenty four tape.

Speaker 6 (41:28):
Yeah, Key Mesidor's teammates also playing welcoming back from injury.
I went with the Anthony Smith of Minnesota. I like
I like Main, but Smith, in my opinion, brings more versatility.
He goes about six foot five, He's probably gonna be
about twenty and seventy five pounds. Four tackles for lost,
three sacks on a Minnesota defense that lines up at

(41:49):
three to four. You watch him, He's incredibly athletic for
a big man. He moves incredibly well, uses his hands well,
plays with great paend level and leverage, moves around the field,
can get out in the space and pursue the play
can overwhelm opponents. I like him now, but I think
his upside is tremendous. Anthony Smith, I have him greted

(42:09):
as a Day two pick. Better he plays, the higher
he'll move up with draft boards. And I think he's
one of these guys that is very good right now.
With proper development and good coaching, can be just a
knockout NFL defensive lineman as either an end in a
foreman front, an and in a three man front. Maybe
use him as an undersized defensive tackle.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
And Dan Dave Tony and I have talked about this.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
You know, we've had good edge rush classes before, but
usually got a bunch of these like two hundred and
forty nine, two hundred and fifty pounds, two hundred and
thirty pound guys. You just mentioned a Bing's two seventy five,
Smith's to eighty five. We got a bunch of like
old school Bill Belichick style edge players in this class.
That for coaches that want that type of edge player,
they're going to have a choice of a lot of

(42:51):
good players in this class.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
Yeah, Kendrick Foalks two seventy plus, I mean Zion Young
is up there. T Overton is a two hundred and
seventy five pounder. Yeah, and Anthony Smith, I mean I
gave him a third round grade coming into this year,
and I have not put a monitor microscope yet just
because of you.

Speaker 4 (43:11):
Know, Northwestern State Buffalo.

Speaker 3 (43:13):
I'm kind of waiting to see against a better opponent.

Speaker 4 (43:17):
But there's a lot to like with the player with
the size, his ability.

Speaker 3 (43:20):
I mean, I cannot wait to see once Minnesota gets
more into the Big ten schedule to see if he
can hold up and still make this type of impact.
Because if he can, yeah, that that stock is going
to skyrocket.

Speaker 2 (43:30):
All right, Tony, Let's go over to a player that
we talked a lot about the last couple of years
and we didn't know what he was going to be
coming back from injury. But man, Harold Perkins looks like
his old dominant self. I still think there's still questions
in terms of where he's going to fit in when
he eventually gets to the pros. And Dan, I want
to get your take on that too, But Perkins has
looked great and I'm really happy for the player after

(43:51):
that bad injury last year.

Speaker 5 (43:52):
I think he looks better.

Speaker 6 (43:54):
I mean, you know he does are a great stats
one sack, four pass breakups, two tackles for us. But
he's a force and tell the opponent's game planning around him.
And I like the way that they use him all
over the field. I think people are going to mistakenly
pigeonhole him as an EDG rusher as we get closer
to the drift, and he's not an ed rusher. Yeah
he can rush the passer, Yeah he can bring some

(44:15):
force on the blitz, but you can also use him
in space and he's terrific. You can also use him
in pursuit and he goes sideline to sideline, you know,
a snap of the fingers making plays. I just like
his overall game. I agree with you about the size.
I mean, what is he going to be six five pounds,
But we've seen that sort of move towards smaller defenders

(44:38):
are okay because you can use them in a variety
of roles. You know, I know where he was as
a freshman, I know where he was after the injury
and the way he's rebounded, and I feel just improve
his play is why I didn't I didn't think I
would get this much from Harold Perkins. Junior this early
in the season, based off of the injury from a

(44:59):
year ago.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
Dan and I will make sure I record this and
send it over to Hellman so he can listen to you,
guys wax poetic about Perkins here, who really has done
a nice job.

Speaker 4 (45:09):
Yeah, he has.

Speaker 3 (45:10):
And I think part of the issue with Harold Perkins
has been LSU's plan. You know, they've gone through a
couple defensive coordinators. They weren't sure, okays in the edge rusher,
can we move him inside? And then the injury happened
the ACL and so there's all this fluctuation coming into
this year. He was finally healthy and they got a
chance to really plug him in at that star position

(45:31):
and keep him there. And it's like, Okay, this is
your defined role. And I think that's that's kind of
the blueprint for NFL teams. They have to have a
defined idea. Okay, this is a role we're going to
have him in. Have to be an outside backer where
on some plays, yeah, he's gonna be a delayed blitzer.
On some plays he's gonna drop in space. His closing
speed is just remarkable. He flies to the football. You

(45:53):
want this guy in space because there are times where
he will when he's coming downhill and if a blocker
gets in front of him, it totally engulfs him and
there's nothing he can do. He doesn't have that type
of length, that type of play strength where he can
easily unwind from blocks, but if you keep him in space,
he will find the ball carrier, break down and finish.
So one of the best blitzing linebackers that'll be in

(46:13):
this class. The speed really stands out, and I think
he's holding up better in coverage so far this year.
Then you know, maybe we've saw in the past he
has a better feel for it, so there's no doubt
about it. Harold Perkins has helped himself and a guy
that was maybe looked at as a fringe top fifty
pick coming into the year, he's inching more into that
top fifty, maybe even get into the first round type

(46:36):
of range at this point.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
You know, Dan, we've talked a lot about your linebacker's teammate,
Sonny Styles on this show, but Arvel Reese has played
really well, and what kind of jumps out to me
is his length. He's just really long. He doesn't mind
taking on look, he'll get overpowered by them sometimes. But
even see a linebacker in today's day and age take
on offensive lineman in the hole and actually try to,
you know, separate and get off of them.

Speaker 1 (46:57):
You don't see that much anymore.

Speaker 2 (46:58):
He just seems like a smart, old, cool linebacker that's
played really well.

Speaker 3 (47:03):
When I do my Top fifty in August, I always
send it to a few scouts just to get some feedback,
and one of them sent back, Hey, I think you're
right on Styles having them in the twenties. But I'll
tell you what, by the end of the year, your
top fifty, Arvel Reese will be in there too. Styles
teammatee Ohio State, and I got it. He was exactly right.

Speaker 4 (47:20):
The scout nailed it.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
Through three games this year, Reese has been He's at
least putting himself in the conversation to be the first
linebacker drafted. It wouldn't be crazy if Ohio State had
the first two linebackers drafted with him and Sunny Styles.

Speaker 4 (47:35):
And I think in a.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
Lot of ways, it's when you look at this defense
for the buck guys Matt Patricia takes over. The linebackers
are the key to that type of style of defense
that he wants to play. You go back in time,
you see New England Dante Hyde Tower, the way they
utilize Kyle van Noy. The corners are going to cover
the defensive linemen. They're going to win in the trenches,

(47:55):
but it's the linebackers that can be really weaponized that
scheme so far, that's exactly what we've seen from Reese, especially,
go back to that opener against Texas, different types of
blitzes asking him to cover out of the backfield. This
guy is six y four, two hundred and forty pounds
long as heck, like you mentioned, and so you see
him with the power where he can jar blockers off

(48:17):
the spot. He's got ben flexibility closing speed where he's
going to chase down the ball. It's just he looks
like a much smaller athlete, but he plays like a
much bigger athlete. And it's it's gonna be really fun
to watch him in styles the rest of the season.
Two guys that are legit six' four over two hundred
and forty, pounds and it's just a rare combination to

(48:38):
have in college. Football and SO i think scouts are
obviously they're always excited to Watch Ohio state, guys but
even more so with these two.

Speaker 1 (48:44):
GUYS a.

Speaker 6 (48:45):
Linebacker, YEAH i, MEAN i love the instincts AND i
love the way the guy just came in and took
over For Cody. Simon and you Remember Cody simon had
all that great talent on The Ohio state defense last. Year,
year it Was Cody simon who really courted back that.
UNIT i see a lot of that From Averill, rees
who was a rotational linebacker this. Year really from the get.
Go you mentioned that That texas. Game john AND i

(49:05):
talked about. It he's got terrific. Upside the way he's
just can't come in and has taken over that. Defense
just the leadership of that, DEFENSE i never. Mind the
physical skills speaks volumes to.

Speaker 2 (49:17):
Me moodies is a bratt partner of The, giants uniting
the brightest minds to turn today's risk into tomorrow's. Opportunities
learned more at moodies dot, com proud sponsor Of Draft.
Season all, right guys' final Prospect then we'll just do
the two monster.

Speaker 1 (49:27):
Games we'll get out of.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
HERE i appreciate all the time both of you at
the SAME. dB we've talked about him Before, Tony So
i'll Let dain take the lead on. This Mansor, delane
who you, know he's a transfer, again just another guy
who's very Long, dan which allows him to kind of
play through receivers to get after the. Football he's been
a revelation for LSU's.

Speaker 4 (49:45):
Defense and you, know it's.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
Funny at this time last, year he had made My
top fifty At Virginia tech going into his junior, season
and so there was a lot of excitement for what
he could do last, year and he had an okay
season For Virginia. TECH i think at four picks he
was close to coming out and the to THE Nfl. Draft,
instead he decided to transfer goes TO, lsu AND i

(50:09):
think so for those that really focused on the physical
traits for the, position which at corner a lot of people,
DO i think you're gonna be a little underwhelmed With
delaane because he's five, eleven one. Ninety he actually he
has shorter. Arms his arms, rarely, yeah they're right around thirty,
Inches so for a court they're not like shockingly small

(50:29):
under thirty, inches but they're like thirty and. EIGHTH i
think at least that's what he was over the spring
and the speed is PROBABLY i don't, know four four,
six four four seven like, good, fine but.

Speaker 4 (50:40):
Not for three not.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Elite that what you know teams really look for at
the corner. Position BUT i want to get that out
of the way to say that this guy what really.

Speaker 4 (50:50):
Sets him apart how smart he is in.

Speaker 3 (50:52):
Coverage you rarely see him panicked or surprised because of
his ability to read route. Concepts he knows what the
offense is trying to. Do he stays on top of.
Receivers he's really good in. Zone he can hold up in.
Man you watch The clemson, tape The florida, Tape it
just both those tapes he was outstanding in. Coverage he shows.
Up he's physical in the run. Game so IF i

(51:13):
had to do a top fifty, tomorrow there's just no
WAY i could leave him, out even though the physical
traits are more good than.

Speaker 6 (51:20):
Great you, Know delane's a guy who as a Sophomore
Virginia tech really caught my. Eye AND i think last
year he didn't have a great year because they really
weren't challenging too. Much And Virginia tech a year ago
had a real good cornerback by the name Of Dorrigan
strong who was a sixth round, pick but quarterbacks seem
to stay away from. HIM i agree with. YOU i
talked to, him talked about the lane to people to

(51:41):
see your. Ball they're, like, well.

Speaker 5 (51:43):
The speeds are.

Speaker 6 (51:43):
Concerned the speeds are. Concerned and AS i said To,
john we've talked about the, show you don't see that
concern on. Film and just to What dane said about,
him you, know being able to play in zone or.
Man he's terrific making plays with his back to the.
Ball you see him in zone sometimes coming off assignments
to help out because he knows where the ball is gonna.
Be you, know don't expect great testing, numbers but he's

(52:07):
an outstanding cornerback and outstanding defensive back who really does
a great job making plays with his back to the.
Ball and that is key because we see oftentimes these,
bigger the, speedier these athletic cornerbacks in college who never
get their head back around play the receiver's, hands do
too much, faceguarding and that'll lead to. Ruin delane's got

(52:29):
that that part of the game already figured.

Speaker 1 (52:31):
Out, GUYS i hope everyone's enjoyed.

Speaker 2 (52:33):
This you have two guys that live and breathe college
football and the draft and draft. Prospects there's great information
over the course of the. Show Two Monster. Games i'm
just gonna throw it to both of. YOU i will
go one at a. Time tony will lead off with.
You Two monster games this Week, Oregon Penn, State, Alabama.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
Georgia what are you going to be watching for in
those two? Games how Does Drew.

Speaker 5 (52:51):
Lar hold up against An oregon pass? Rush that's pretty?

Speaker 6 (52:54):
GOOD i mean The Penn state's also got a terrific
left jackal And Drew shelton a, lot gets a lot
of a lot of love in the scouting. Community he's
gonna be. Up he's going to be up against it
against Dj ubulelei's a little. Brother so you want to
see How Drew. Law Which Jewel law are we going
to see in the first big matchup of the season
for the Nitty? Liiers are going to see The Jewel

(53:16):
lar that we know we fell in love with as
a freshman and, Said, wow this guy's gonna be? Knockout
or are we going to see the jewelr that's maybe
taking The Christian hackenberg path the past couple of years
and has never lived up to. Expectations so that's going
to be you, know the big key for me is
a law and The Penn state left Tackle Drew shelton
against That oregon defense in That oregon pass.

Speaker 1 (53:38):
Rush, dan how about you in that?

Speaker 4 (53:40):
GAME I i this is a quarterback matchup for.

Speaker 3 (53:44):
ME i CANNOT i instead of MATERIAL i almost Said
Dante moore for our you know who is. Impressed And
moore has been terrific this. Year he's completing seventy five
percent of his, passes eleven, touchdowns one, interception several big play.
Throws he looks like a FUTURE nfl. Starter this will
be his first real legit test against the respectable defense

(54:05):
plus us on the road in a really tough. Environment
so how Does Dante moore handle? That Kenyon sidik hit tight?
End he's been my tight end one since the start
top twenty. Pick he as a as a, blocker what
he does in the passing, GAME i Think sadiq is
a true difference. Maker SO i want to see that
more sidiq, connection see what they can do in this,

(54:25):
one and then you, KNOW i think with the both left,
tackles really you, know both these, quarterbacks is a big
one for them but also both left, Tackles Drew shelton
And Isaiah. World you see the, traits you see the.
ABILITY i need more consistency for both these guys because
you see why they're both getting. Love you see the,

(54:45):
talent but they're both in terms of technical, consistency they
need to be. Better if you're going to be a
first round, pick if you're going to be a top twenty.

Speaker 4 (54:53):
Five, guy you need to be.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
Better and this will be a great test for both those.
Guys when you talk About Ui gaily and Then Danny
Dennis sutton For Penn, State so, yeah THERE'S i, mean
we could talk for hours on the prospects in this,
game but the quarterbacks and the left, TACKLES i think
this is a big matchup for those. Guys in terms
of this is a tape every SINGLE nfl team is gonna.

Speaker 4 (55:17):
Launch there's gonna be a lot OF.

Speaker 3 (55:18):
Nfl personnel in actually in person to watch this. One
but then EVERY nfl team's gonna WATCH us. Tape so
this is kind of a chance to make your, statement
AND i think it's a big opportunity for all those.

Speaker 6 (55:28):
Guys And, john you know you talked about bigger defensive
ENDS i am a big fan Of Dennis Danny, SUTTON
i always. HAVE i know he took a backseat to
abdual quarter six five and a half two hundred and seventy,
pounds a legit high for six low four. Seven guy
really stood out in the playoffs. Win Bill carter struggled
with that shoulder injury last. Year so, yeah to that,

(55:49):
point that's another match. Up my, Opinion Dennis Setton sutton
just does not get the love he deserves outside the scouting.

Speaker 2 (55:56):
Community AND i got to imagine That oregent is sitting, there,
like why are we six and stats? Three have you
not watched us just destroy? People i'm sure they gonna
go into that building with a bit of a chip
on their. Shoulder And i'm a little. Disappointed And i'm
SURE nfl scouts are. Too and a bunch of nflgms were, like,
well MAYBE i can you, know Good Alabama georgia at
noon and THEN i can get up AND i can
get The Penn state and time to see them play.

Speaker 4 (56:16):
Are at the same.

Speaker 1 (56:17):
Time that's What i'm. Saying what is that seven thirty
for both? Games what do we do with? Here?

Speaker 4 (56:21):
Dan come, on, man, yeah come ON TV i THINK
i get. It like you know you you.

Speaker 3 (56:26):
Want the better, ratings you want the like it's A
i don't. Know ALL i know is this is why
you have two, screens, right whether it's your, phone your,
iPad YOUR, tv, whatever figure it. Out you gotta have
two screens for this one Because alabama At georgia is
gonna be a fun. One and Jam miller the running
back is supposed to be back For alabama team Keen Tim,
keenan the defensive lineman that's been a big loss For.

(56:48):
Alabama he's supposed to be back in this, one so
that the two guys to definitely watch. FOR i want
to see Lt, overton The alabama defensive. Lineman he's been
fine this. Season he had a few, moments specially in
That wisconsin. TAPE i STILL i want to see more
again with the talent that he. HAS i want to
see you affect the backfield. More For georgia's, DEFENSE C. J,

(57:09):
ALLEN i want to see him make some. Plays he
has a chance to be in that conversation to be
the first linebacker. Drafted and then on offense For, georgia
who's going to be stepping up as that main weapon
it's going to help put points on the.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
Board Colby young is a solid.

Speaker 3 (57:24):
Receiver Zachar Yah, branch the transfer from THE Usc humphreys
had that big touchdown late in The tennessee. Game so
which skill player can step up For georgia if they're
gonna get this home.

Speaker 5 (57:35):
Win, Yeah Dylan bell as.

Speaker 6 (57:37):
WELL i mean a bigger, receiver more of a possession,
guy sort of An isaiah Isaia ian strong type Of
rutgers receiver that we talked about. Earlier you, know listen on.
PAPER i, Mean alabama's got the better, players there's no doubt.
About they got the better they got the, better MORE nfl,
Prospects they GOT nfl prospects that are going to go.
EARLIER i don't think this is the Usual georgia team
that we've seen in the past and, have you, know

(57:59):
multiple first round.

Speaker 5 (58:00):
PICKS i think it's a little bit.

Speaker 6 (58:01):
Depressed you Talk Kayden, Croctor we talked about him, earlier
though The georgia pass rush is not that. Great talked
about Lt. Overton like him a, lot but where's he
gonna play On? Sunday is a defensive end at two
hundred and seventy plus, pounds he's the defensive. Tackle Deontay
lawson you MENTIONED. CJL i Think Deontay lawson Of alabama
a terrific off ball. Linebacker not the same blitzer always

(58:23):
not bad on the, blitz but good and courage can
go sideline to.

Speaker 5 (58:25):
Sideline Christian miller is a. Guy i'd like.

Speaker 6 (58:28):
To see somebody give him a real boot in the
Rear rimd Because Christian miller the big defensive lineman From,
georgia because he can be an immovable force and he
can really help the rest of That georgia defense with his.

Speaker 1 (58:38):
Ability, gentlemen this was.

Speaker 2 (58:41):
GREAT i hope everyone enjoyed, It, dan and you could
find him On building The, beast which is part of
The Athletic Football, show WHICH i think is the best
football podcast out. There dying anything else you want to
let the people know about? That you got going?

Speaker 3 (58:50):
On, no you can catch all myself on The Athletic,
YEAH i guess you mentioned.

Speaker 4 (58:55):
That Fernando mendoza pieces up.

Speaker 3 (58:56):
Today you, know have a preview article coming out for
these big games we're talking about for the upcoming weekend
and always working on The beast getting ready for that
coming out here in the six months or, So.

Speaker 1 (59:07):
Yeah that'll be usually first week Of april for that.

Speaker 4 (59:09):
Guy, Right, yeah that's, it that's.

Speaker 3 (59:10):
It it Already i'm already getting anxiety thinking about, that
turning the calendar for that. One so, yeah it's just
it's good to have fresh tape and you, know look
at these guys with twenty twenty five play and so
it's this is a lot of fun to do with
you guys.

Speaker 4 (59:27):
Today, yeah this was.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
Great tony can find all his work on sports key
to any stories coming out this, Week, tony anything new
rags and.

Speaker 6 (59:33):
Sliders good to know That dan AND i are the
same mind Because Ian strong was my one of my
rojers this week after that great game Against iowa Which
rutgers lost. Late so just rogers and sliders and any
news about. Underclassmen we'll start to get news about underclassmen
as we get through the couple of months who were
going to enter the. Draft but you, Know nil looms
large and most guys can get large eight nine figure

(59:56):
deals and basically turn around and saying Now i'm going
back to.

Speaker 5 (59:59):
College so that's gonna be something interesting to watch as
we go through the.

Speaker 2 (01:00:02):
Season, yeah five years, ago guys were leaving college to
the pros to make. Money, now guys stay in college
to make money because you're gonna get more on YOUR
nla deal than you get in your rookie.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Contract that's, crazy, gentlemen this was.

Speaker 2 (01:00:11):
Fun Draft season was brought to you By moody is
a proud partner of The New York. Giants we'll see
you next week On draft. Season, everybody enjoy a great
weekendo college.

Speaker 1 (01:00:18):
Football