Draft Season | SEC Standouts & 2022 Offensive Rookie Class

The draft season crew reacts to last week's Alabama vs LSU game, chats about the impact of Georgia’s defense, and discusses which of the 2022 offensive rookie classes look the best so far. 00:00 - Start 00:36 - Standout players in Alabama vs LSU 10:05 - LSU’s defense 19:31 - Georgia’s defense vs Tennessee 28:02 - Clemson vs Notre Dame 38:14 - NFL Rookie Classes 52:08 - Rookie Quarterbacks

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Officially over. This is draft season. My name is John Schmelt.
The usual cruise with you, Tony Pauline, Eric Crocker as
you continue to track the college football seating season leading
up to the NFL Draft. And of course it's all
brought to you by Tommy Hill, figure a PVH brand

(00:24):
and an official partner of the New York Football Giants.
And remind the folks, this is not a Giants podcast.
This is a draft podcast, so it's focused on draft prospects,
not necessarily anything to do with the Giants, despite what's
behind me. So guys, let's talk about the weekend of football. Tony,
when we kind of talked about what we're gonna do
for this show, you said, Big ten schedule this weekend
not too good. You know, Michigan Rutgers, then Northwestern Ohio

(00:47):
State Penn State was in a blog game too, right,
if I'm not mistaken, So SEC time Alabama l s U.
I watched that game start to finish on Saturday night.
Hell of a finish and I know we got the loss,
but boy, that play that Bryce young Man had been
of that game to scramble outside to make that touchdown pass.
Pocket awareness ability to scramble, to throw, accuracy, mobility, quick release.

(01:12):
You know, he keeps checking boxes for me every time
I watch him. Bryce Young always delivers for Alabama and
that that's that, that is what it is. In the
lost to Tennessee, he drove the team down for a
game winning field goal the kicker mr field goal against
the L s U. A game that they were behind
all along. Basically he helped. He brings the team back.
He brings it. He gets the team tied, brings a

(01:33):
team down. They kicked the field goal. Tie, they score
the first possession in uh in ot but you know
L s U, the Alabama offense can't stop the L
s U offense for the two point conversion. He always delivers.
I mean, as you know we've talked about before in
his podcast. He is just an incredible, intellectually intelligent quarterback

(01:55):
that has almost a clairvoyance when he is behind center,
when he is a pocket, when he was moving around
behind on the scrimmage, to know what's going on downfield
and to make the right decisions whether it's downfield or
whether it's going to the checkdown checkdown receiver or check
down the target that's five or six yards off the
line of scrimmage. I mean, if you like guys who

(02:17):
really get it and you know you don't need that
sixty yard bomb down the field Bright Young, It's it's
beautiful to watch. I mean it really is, without you know,
being overly dramatic. He just delivers time and time again
and again. He delivered for Alabama on Saturday night. The
defense just couldn't hold them, just like against Tennessee it

(02:37):
was the field goal kicker who couldn't knock it through
the uprights. Yeah, it was very interesting watching him. I
think the first half you saw a little bit of
up and down, maybe pressing a little bit. Uh the
office of line wasn't holding up there into the bargain
very well. He was kind of running around. He missed
him throws through a bad interception in the end zone,
and I'm like, man, that's very uncharacteristic of Bryce Young

(02:57):
just away. Look, but the game went on, he started
to settle down a little bit more and just really
understand like what was at task and you you gotta
go out there. You gotta be a guy, you gotta
be more of a playmaker. And I think he started
to do that. John, you talk about that touchdown. He
had that towards the end of the game that put
his team in position and potentially win that game. And
you know, to kind of get out of the pocket,

(03:18):
make guys miss and then throw the ball. Obviously got
wide open, but just how he got to that point,
it was a magic he was doing. And I've called
him this and other people have kind of seen some
of the similarities just in their style to play. But
now I call him skinny Russell Wilson because some of
the stuff he does it looks reminiscent of that. Again,
maybe not the biggest of arms, but I think more

(03:39):
times is not. You can count on him to be
accurate and understand where to go with the ball, and
you see that plus athleticism as well. Probably would ideally
like a little bit more size, because even with Russell
Wilson or even guys like uh Kyler Murray who aren't
like tall, they at least got a little bit more
thickness to them. You know, you don't really get that
with Bryce Young, So you know, how would you hold
up at the end NFL level, etcetera. Maybe a little

(04:01):
bit more difficult to run away from NFL guys, but overall,
man what he's doing right now. I think he kind
of solidified himself clearing away as the QB one in
his class. Hand didn't come away with a win, but
I don't think it was because of him. A lot
of you have to do with the defense, and there's
struggles really kind of stopping Jaden Daniels on the other
side of the ball. Yeah, and look, he can do
that off schedule of stuff like Murray, like Wilson, but

(04:22):
I feel like he's on time with the ball, like
he's so structured like Tony is. May I think Tony,
you've made the Drew Brees comparison before. Right where he
knows where the ball is supposed to go. He gets
out on time, on schedule, while you know, Wilson and
Murray Dumour, they're running around ad libs stuff. Young's on time,
like he just and when he has to, we can.
But otherwise he's he I could see him in the

(04:42):
NFL sitting in the pocket and living as a pocket
passer if his offensive one lets him, which, by the way,
the Alabama offensive one isn't letting him do that, which
is even more impressive. He's doing this on their adversary.
You know, circumstances and Tony, I think the Crocs point
for me. You know, I've seen enough of c J. Straddon,
Bryce Young and I know the the goal attributes are
very different. I don't care if I'm picking a quarterback.

(05:04):
I'm picking Bryce Young first right now. Yeah. And the
other thing about Bryce Youngest, let's let's not forget brand
new set of receivers this year. I mean, he doesn't
have those two dominant receivers that he had a year
ago that c J. Stroud has an Ohiouse State. These are,
you know, brand new receivers. He's throwing too, and it's
like he hasn't missed a beat. So that's something else
you got a factor in, whereas c J. Stroud, in

(05:24):
my opinion, has been a bit disappointing. He hasn't shown
progress in his game this year, or showing the progress
that I hope. You know, I've watched Ohio State a lot.
My daughter goes to Ohio State paid, I said them
a lot of money every year for my daughter to
go there. So my wife, who doesn't care about football,
is now a big ohiuse Nate fan and and I
watched them while before. But you know, Ohio state, which TJ. Stroud.

(05:46):
They're very slow off the snide. I mean, you saw
it against Northwestern. If you watch the game the week
before against Iowa, you know, you look at the final
score that they beat the living crud out of him,
But the first half it was like twelve to three
because c. J. Stroud could not get his offense into
the end zone. And they've had a lot of historically

(06:07):
a lot of slice shouldn't say historically, a lot of
slow starts this year, which is troublesome even I guess
not your dame. It was a bit of a slow start.
And if they don't change that real soon, I think
they're gonna get steamrolled by Michigan. You can't come out
and start slow against Michigan because Michigan is gonna pound them.
But as far as Stroud's concern him, you know the
way Rice Young is not reliant on great receivers, it see,

(06:29):
it seems to me that c. J. Stroud is reliant
on those great receivers and he doesn't use all his weapons.
He really he's shown some improvement in the short past
short and commednity passing game, but not as much as
as I hope you know, we got what we saw
last year from Rice Young plus some I don't know

(06:52):
that in my opinion anyway, I've gotten the the progress
in the development of c J. Stroud's game that I wanted.
I I've definitely not seen enough to put him as
QB number one, because it's Croc said. In my opinion,
Bryce Young four in away is QB number one as
we head towards the two, I don't think that. Ohiose
State offense scheme stuff up for him that's wide open,

(07:13):
like it makes stuff easy on him. You know, you
see Bryce Young do more. And and look, I'm not
taking anything away from c J. Stry. I know we
all some of us have you know Dwayne Haskins, you
know PTSD of how he didn't work out coming out
of there. But I just think that the scheme helps
the quarterback there, and I think a lot of it
is it's kind of created for him too. All I
can say is I go back to when I was

(07:34):
there last year against Oregon and there were receivers specifically
Chris Lave who are wide open all over the field
and c J. Stroub never saw him, and you know
that is a concern. I think sometimes it's the fault
of the house date coaching staff because they kind of
over coach him. He's looking to the sidelines too much
rather than letting him play. I think that's a problem.

(07:55):
But still I have not seen the development from a
guy who a lot of people before the season began
he said it was gonna be the first pick of
the drift. I don't see it. I see a lot
of potential and set right now. I also see a
lot of potential bust factor in them. Yeah. I think
as we're kind of looking at these guys, and you
know how the process goes, you start to kind of nitpick,
you know, these guys to see what's the difference between

(08:18):
this quarterback comperit to this quarterback, And I say, right now, uh,
and John, you kind of alluded to it with Bryce Seiling.
You see the timing rhythm, NFL throws, tight windows, those
type of things. I'm not seeing that with c. J. Stroud.
A matter of fact, the accuracy more times and not
even with guys being open, is a little off where
he's throwing behind guys, he's missing guys completely. And then
I'm like, well, you know, maybe those are things that

(08:39):
he can continue to work on, but his athleticism at
the next level is not gonna look the same. I
think even right now, he's kind of struggling and run
away from college guys. I know he had the big
run down the right sideline against Northwestern, but that was
one of those things where it's just it's just there,
it's wide open and you could just run, you could
just go outside that he had. He struggle a little

(08:59):
bit away from guys. Uh in the pocket kind of
you know, to extend play. So if you can't do
it really against Northwestern things, you are ain't gonna do
it at the next level in the NFL. Or if
he plays against better competition like maybe some sec caliber
of defensive lignment. So, uh, he has to improve more
from the accuracy standpoint. I remember hearing Kyle Shanahan talk

(09:23):
about what he looks for from these prospects, and he's like, man,
I'm looking for guys, can they make those NFL throws
over the middle. I think that's where he's missing a
little bit, and he doesn't have anything else to really,
uh make it to where like, okay, as I learned
that I can use this part of my game. I
think he has to learn that. Yeah, I mean forget
about you know, not being able to get away from
guys in the NFL or even the SEC. Watch the

(09:44):
Michigan game because even though Aidan Hutchinson and the job
was not there, Michigan's got some real good edge rushers. Uh.
And which is why I say, if if Ohio State
doesn't come out of the box fast against Michigan to
get which is the game of the Saturday Thanksgiving I'm
turn from a Ohio State parent point of view that
Michigan is gonna steam roll. Yeah, we'll keep an eye

(10:05):
on that. And guys, you know, we talked about Bryce Young,
but l s U came up with a huge victory.
What a big one for that school defense did a
great job. Who are some of the guys on the
defensive side of the ball for L s U that
you guys are kind of keeping an eye o. B J.
Glari is one of them, brother to disease who plays
up here with the Giants and either one of you
guys can take it away if you want. Well, obviously
old Jillari who made a lot of nice plays against

(10:28):
the run Saturday night, but he's not shown He's not
just a pet Rusher. The other guy that a lot
of people really like is Jacqueline Roy. The Jacquelin Roy.
Keep remember you know that the video a a run.
Jacquelin Roy, the nose tackle there, who is a big,
explosive guy. He's made a lot of good plays. Ali
Gay came back from his injury last year. He's a

(10:49):
solid past rus just sort of a taller thing guy
who's gonna put some beef on on the bones. But
but those three guys that defense are front with not
only old Jillari, but Puellan Roy and Ali Gay, I
think is really what drives that uh that not only
drives at L s U defense, but you're working at
next level prospects, guys that are gonna be playing on Sunday.

(11:10):
I think for me and I assume this guy's drive elisible,
but I'm not sure there's always that one like L
s U player who on the back end is like, hey,
by the way, I am draftable, even if I'm not
a first round or Day one or even Day two
type pick. But Jared Bernard Converse, he made a couple
of big plays down the stretch in that game, won
a deep ball down the left side line, did a
terrific job breaking that ball up. Had another play in

(11:33):
the end zone knocking the ball away as well in
the clutch. So that was one guy I kind of
wanted to talk about some of his contributions to that one. Yeah,
Bernard Converse is probably a late round pick, a seventh
round pick if he if he runs well, if he
tests well, may move, may be able to move into
the mid part of Day three. I forgot about Mickey Gardner,
who's actually playing very well this year. Mickey Gardner was

(11:54):
the guy. It was a terrific cornerback at Louisiana Louisiana
Lafayette last year. When his coach, Billy Napier, went to Florida,
people thought he was gonna transfer the Florida. He's surprised
people by transferring to l s U. He's played very well.
Scouts were concerned about his urgency. They said, you know,
he's a good athlete who plays on occasion. He has
really stepped in at Mickey Gardner could be a Day

(12:15):
two selection. They got some other guys, as Croc was
talking about, Jay Ward is a solid safety micro Michael
Baskerville is a real good lineback. But these are guys
that can fit into, you know, the late part of
the draft, have the next old future. They'll definitely be
in a camp. And I think, you know these guys,
these guys, like the entire l s U offense really
showing a lot of progress. The whole l s U team,

(12:38):
I should say, I apologize, really showing a lot of
progress throughout the season. And O'Brien Kelly has been a
kind of a punching bag for everybody because of the
video with like the spinning recruit and you know and
his stake accident all that stuff. Thank you Croc if
you're watching that video, he's got it. Uh, we're gonna
talk about Jane Daniels at all. Yeah, you go ahead,
and go ahead. I mean, you know, listen, gonna go there.

(12:58):
I gotta hold it down for the s Coast guys.
This is a guy watched him in in high school
in the state championship game. Uh, watched a lot of
his games that airs on the state, especially when I
was evaluating Brandon Ayou coming out of there and Darby
and some of the throws he was able to make,
and we saw how it started off that LSU for him.
I was very intrigued once he transferred there, I'm like, okay,
Like let's let's see it, and let's start off a

(13:20):
little rocky. And I think he leaned a little bit
too much on his legs. And I think he's still
leaning a little bit too much on his legs right,
Like he's not this big guy. Yeah, eighteen carries against Alabama.
You don't want to see quite that. You want to
see him win a little bit more as a passer.
But I will say this, whatever it took the beat Alabama,
he did that. And when he came down to it
with having to mix some throws, he did that. That

(13:42):
corner route in the end zone, perfect location to his
big slot word tight end or pass catcher. Then you
watch on that last play, I mean it was it
was ballsy doing the sprint out to the to the right,
and you know he couldn't miss. If you threw a
little bit too far inside, it gets broken up. If
it throws a little bit too far outside, that's going
out of balance. It did terrific job of keeping that

(14:04):
and playing delivering an accurate catchable ball. So you know,
we talked about how Bryce Young did not lose the game.
I think Jane Daniels did everything for his team to
actually win the game, showing a lot more confidence. I mean,
as a freshman at Arizona State, Jadeen Daniels showed flashes
of being a big time NFL prospect. Never really developed
at Arizona State. Although we saw the problems that Arizona

(14:27):
State had prior to the two thousands one season, they
fire a host of assistant coaches because of recruiting violations.
You saw this year basically Herm Edwards got fired on
the field after they lost the Eastern Michigan that the
video went viral. Although jade Daniels, you know, wasn't there
the waist talk he was gonna enter the draft after
the two thousands twenty one season, even though he didn't
play well, you can see the confidence building. What I

(14:49):
suggest is when you go back or if you can
go back and watch the game again, or at least
watch overtime, watch the play, Watch what goes on in
the huddle before he takes that bowl and sprints down
the right hand side into the ends on that first
play in that l s U had and over time
he's almost laughing. I mean he's smiling. You could see
his body languages was just incredible, and I knew they

(15:12):
were gonna get them on the end zone. I didn't
know he's gonna take it and run into twenty five
yards at first, but you could tell he's you know,
he's starting to develop confidence. He still has a waste
to go as a pastor, and I absolutely agree with
with product. You know, Jaden Daniels, like a host of
other quarterbacks, relying too much on their legs, you know,
to make plays, which they can't do in the NFL.

(15:32):
But the the objective now is not to be an
NFL quarterback. The objective now was to win football games.
Although you want to see Jade Daniels do it more
with his arm needs to bruce some of his past placement,
really needs to learn to become a passive. But the
fact is this is Jade Daniels looks much better now,
much more comfortable now than he did in the beginning
of the year when L s U everybody had written

(15:53):
them off. These guys because of the COVID year. They
have like that extra year and I would love this
see him take that. I would love to see him
just play stay one more year, really focus in on
just being a better pastor being able to consistently win
from the pocket and not have to rely on your
legs so much. Because again almost like Bryce Young, He's

(16:13):
gots are built kind of frail right now. Some of
these guys coming out not a big bulky guy. So man,
learn to win from the pocket. The pocket is your friend.
Throw the ball, be accurate, be on time. And that
has been very hit and missed. But definitely more of
a playmaker right now. And we saw what uh Justin
Fields right, watch Justin Fields against Miami Dolphins that he made.

(16:35):
He made He won that game with his legs now,
Justin Fields right a four four and he's sixty pounds.
That's not Jadie Daniels built. So I don't know, it's
like you don't want to rely on trying having to
win that way. Uh So yeah, man, please please please
stay just one more year and focusing more just being
a pure passer, and I think gotta really help his

(16:57):
draft stock. Justin Fields has some Cam Newton vibes and
nankee him against the Dolphins yesterday. Boy, he played a
hell of a game. Tony. If if he comes out
Daniels this year, what what what are you thinking? Like?
Late day three developmental guy. And then do you think
someone will get in his ear and convince him to
do the right thing to stay. I'd be surprised if
he stays. I I think Ryan Kelly is really gonna

(17:18):
have to rerecruit him because, you know, college coaches these days,
it's not just about recruiting freshman high school seniors. It's
about rerecruiting your guys to stay. You know, I know that,
you know there was a lot of family input, and
the family is tending towards having him enter the draft.
I think Ryan Kelly is gonna really have to make
a push as to as to where he goes. I

(17:39):
think you're probably looking more middle day three if he goes.
And so he gets an invite because he's graduated to
the siegable or postseason game, has a good combine, he
could jump into the fourth round area because you remember,
you know, you gotta look at the guys whole body
of work, and you go back to the freshman season
at Arizona State, all the promise he showed. Some coach
is gonna say, listen, you know he played better in

(18:00):
two thousand twenty two, then he had to prior two
years you had the outstanding freshman season. You know we're
gonna coach him to be an outstanding you know, to
be an NFL quarterback. So I would say more middle
dates bread than late round pick right now. All right, well,
assuming assuming everything checks out, you know, he tests well,
he interviews well, he throws well at to combine of course, Um,

(18:20):
we didn't mention the Albama defense much. We talked about
Will Anderson a lot on this podcast. Any other Alabama
defenders that you guys want to you know, throw out
there at all that that that that you've been noticing.
I don't think we've talked much more about any other
guys on that side for them besides Anderson, tool to
tool to the linebacker, the transfer from Tennessee. God, he
did some good things. They highlighted him a couple of times. Uh,
setting the edge in the run game. I mean, this

(18:41):
is a guy who's more of a middle linebacker, but
playing out there on the edge, setting it and really
chasing down the ball carrier, doing things like that. So
I kind of just want to talk about him a
little bit because I think he's a that's a name
that's gonna pop up a lot come draft. On Ryan Branch,
it's gonna be the next grade sick to come out
of Alabama. Had great as a second third round pick
before the season started. He's very athletic. He's developing an

(19:05):
outstanding game. I could see him going early second round.
I could even see him going late first round. He's
really turning in. He's an explosive guy who makes a
lot of wild plays. He's much better this year than
he was a year ago. Uh, and Scotts have been taught.
I had a conversation with somebody this weekend about him
after the game Saturday night. Uh, Brian Branch is really
the safety. He plays a star position, which means he's

(19:27):
all over the place. He's really gotta watch on all
about the defense. Alright, let's go to the other game. Georgia.
I think put the hammer down and said no, no no, no, no,
stole the class of the SEC. Where Georgia they kind
of shut down Tennessee. Uh, let's talk about some Georgia
defenders here. I know, you know a couple of the
big guys Jalen Carter, a lot of people like Keiley Ringo,

(19:48):
your guys stowing on those two or any other Georgia defenders.
You want to throw out there. Why don't start with Kroc. Yeah,
I want to start with young defender by the name
of Javan Buller. Man, oh my goodness, coming off with
the edge. I was waiting to see when hinder Hooker
was gonna identify this guy. Kind of showing pressure late,
but multiple sacks, multiple tackles for losses, had a pass

(20:13):
break up and coverage. But he looks to be that
like legit slot defender. I know the NFL likes to
make some of these outside guys. Guys I play outside
in college. Okay, we're gonna make you play nickel in
the NFL because you're a little undersized. Well, he's coming
in and ready to go right now. He is undersized.
But man, you saw the twitch, You saw the setting this,
you saw the hips, the flips, and the timing of

(20:35):
the blitzes were great. I remember being with Rex Ryan
and Rex talking about when to blitz, like when the
time it up, not showing it too soon coming from depth.
At what point on the play clock start to go
down here? And I think whatever Buller was doing, he
was on the money. Hinder Hooker just never saw it coming,
and he did a terrific job. Being scrappy in the box.

(20:56):
I think I want to just take it from and
over you and back in the is. When the Miami
Hurricanes were putting five six players in the first round,
the Florida State Seminals were playing five six, four or
five players in the first round. We used to say
the Miami Hurricanes have an NFL defense, the Florida State
the Seminals have an NFL defense. When I watched that
game Saturday with Georgia, I saw an NFL defense. I

(21:16):
saw a team that if they had a week to prepare,
say for the Carolina Panthers or even the Houston Texas,
I fully believe that they would acquit themselves. Well, they
wouldn't be as dominant, but they wouldn't embarrass themselves either.
I've never seen team speed like that as I did
Saturday against Tennessee. That team speed in that front seven,
I mean, that's who've seen bolt type speed. The way
those guys fly around the football and they just, uh,

(21:38):
they just explode plays. I've been a little cool on
Jalen Carter showed me a lot on the On Saturday,
they got a sophomore by name of a sameal Mondon
linebacker he was outstanding. Keeley Ringo up and down, but
for the most part was positive. It's everybody. I mean,
you know, they had four guys, got four defenders go

(21:58):
in the first round last year, and it looks like
they haven't. They have mr the beat. I mean, it
was just unbelievable to watch that team speed and watch
the way, you know, Hendon Hooker look like the Rice
Young kid against Tennessee. And what I mean by that
is we talked about the Tennessee Alabama game and Bryce
Young getting to snap beat out of him and having
to pull himself off the ground, and you know every
other play it was like that with Hendon Hooker on Saturday.

(22:21):
Because of that Georgia defense is just so incredible and
they just they just replaced guys. It was amazing to watch.
We talked about Kelly Ringo and you know, you just
mentioned some of the inconsistencies with him, and that's a
little worrisome because at Georgia, well, how you don't have
to worry about covering for a ton of time. Your

(22:44):
your past rush is getting there. Everybody's playing fast, You're
moving quarterbacks off with their spots. Quarterbacks are worried about
getting hit while throwing the ball. So he did a
terrific job on the end in sception, being able to
getting phase, got his head around, attacked the ball in
his highest point. But outside of that, I feel like
there should be less inconsistencies with him in coverage because
of how good that pass rush is. So that's one

(23:05):
thing I definitely as I continue to watch him and
evaluate him more as a prospect, you know, when the
pass rush isn't getting there, And when I say not
getting I mean if it's more on part with the
rest of college football and what those defensive facts deal with,
what does he look like then, because before that interception,
I don't think he had a pass defense all year.
No pass break up, no interception, nothing, And I think

(23:28):
that's pretty wild. That's a pretty wild stat for a
team with such a great pass rush. I'm having an
old man moment, Tony. The first show we did this year, Uh,
the edge player that I watched him last year that
was really good and we thought he'd break out, wasn't.
It wasn't. Nolan Smith. I'm trying to remember his name.
More of a linebacker, a three down linebacker, right and
he's kind of been you know, he hasn't really he

(23:50):
isn't great stats. It's not playing badly. It's more of
a scheme thing, I believe with him. But yeah, he
has not really lit the world on fire, because when
you watch the two thousand twenty one film, that guy
was unbelievable. The four first rounders, this guy played as good,
if not better than most of them. And he's been
a little bit quiet this year. But again I think
with you know, with Georgia, it's the fact that you know,

(24:12):
they just reload, you know, they don't need him to play,
you know, whites out. You know, it's just as much
a lot of times playing discipline and sign in football
as it is you know, just playing like your hair's
on fire and rushing up the field to try and
kill them. Posing quarterback. Should we have a conversation about
Stetson Bennett NFL quarterback crom I'm curious you though, when

(24:34):
that conversation is gonna be had, because he goes out
there and he plays women football. We talked about being
a playmaker, right with Jade Daniels and some of these
other guys. Well this's have been and said, you know what,
I can do that too. Guy out of there may
guys missing the open field, outran guys in the end zone.
We see them do that several times this year. Again,
Now the guy who's gonna win like that consistently, but
he can't give you that, that nice little athlete he's

(24:55):
making all the throws. Guys he didn't have guys running
wide open and his game, but he was hitting those
guys he didn't. Hinney Hooker missed, Earlie Harm overshooting Jalen Hyt.
We've seen that several times, even going back to the
Alabama game. You don't see stets have been missed those
type of passes. I think because of maybe not the
biggest of arm, he's gonna be viewed as more of
a you know, day three time guy. Maybe early day

(25:17):
three and whatnot. We'll see. But you know, I just
watched Taylor Heineke against the Minnesota Vikings, and they look
like a very similar type player. But I'm wondering, but, well,
what else does they have to do is get a
little bit more respect as a prospect because some of
the guys that we do like, maybe they have more upside.
But I think he's doing a lot of things extremely well. Well,
you know, I mean, I don't want to call him

(25:38):
a poor man's Stetson Better. I don't mean to be
offensive here, but poor man's Bryce Young. I don't mean
to be offensive, but maybe he's an a poverished man's
Bryce Young in his sense that small, he doesn't have
a big one, but he wins. And I think that
the uh, the comparison Tyler Heineke is great because I
remember Heineck that you're the Shrine game, and Heineke has

(25:58):
you know, done a great job, you know, going from
team to team the team being the backup quarterback. And
if Stetson Bennett is drafted, I think it's gonna be
very late in the draft and he could have a
nice career at the next level as sort of that
third quarterback, that extra pair of eyes on the field,
that guy who basically you know, has something to say,

(26:19):
something constructive to say in the quarterback meetings. But do
I look at Stetson Bennett as a mid round pick
that could be a starting quarterback on a consistent basis
on Sunday and lead a team to ten eleven wins.
I don't. I don't. I think he's a real good
college quarterback. It's a great story he's exceeded expectations. I

(26:41):
just don't reject him all that well. To the next
level out there, maybe there's another gay. What do you
think Culte McCoy is a comp similar so that I
can see that. I think he's a little bit better
than cult McCoy. But yeah, some similar build, similar, you know,
average arm strength. But and it gets it done between
the years. And I like his story. Right we're talking

(27:03):
about a guy who was at George as a walk on,
transferred to Adrenia College, earned this scholarship, went back, had
to have multiple guys get hurt for him to get
an opportunity beat out J. T. Daniels, who I remember
watching him last year and he in one game two like,
he had like five attempts, five touchdowns. He's stretching the field,
and I'm like, man, like, what do people gonna give
this guy a chance? And all my responses were, Oh,

(27:24):
he's terrible. He can't compete in the SEC. He's bad.
So not only can he compete in the SEC, he
went on and win a national title, and we see
what he's doing right now. He's not the weak link. Now,
there had been a little bit of up and down
to his play as well. But when you see him
on that big stage against Tennessee and some of the
things he was doing, I think that's that's a big
time And he may throw out to throw gets Alama

(27:44):
in the national title game. Yeah, I mean, look look
at that, and and there was even after they won
the national title, which questions as to what he was
gonna do, was gonna aswer the draft, which you canna
come back and he came back. Was hes gonna get
the job? He's come back and he's you know, solidified
himself as the number one quarterback for the number one
team in the nation. All right, let's go to the
other big game Clemson Notre Dame. Notre Dame slowly turning

(28:06):
around their season. Guys and Tony, you made this point.
Clemson's offense is just doing them no favors right now,
not at all. I mean you look at the possession
of time. I think Notre Dame had six more minutes
possession of time that the Clemson defense was on the field.
They got pushed up and down the field by the
Notre Dame offense, Notre Dame offensive line. I mean they
ran the ball and you look at you know, a

(28:27):
dj Uga Leiley. And it's kind of ironic in the
sense that it was two years ago during the COVID
season when Trevor Lawrence tested positive for COVID and Uga
Leiley made his debut on the road against Notre Dame
in a nationally televised game, and he was phenomenal. You said, wow,
you know, once Trevor Lawrence goes on the NFL, this

(28:50):
is gonna be the guy for Clemson, and Clemson is
not just gonna not miss a beat. And he played
two games like that. Hasn't worked out. I mean, he
was inconsistent last year. He's not been good this year.
He's benched against the Syracuse. They brought in the kid
Klubnik against Syracuse, who wrote Clemson back to win the game.
U Lailey got benched again on Saturday because of poor play.

(29:11):
You gotta wonder forget about his NFL future. What's his
future of Clemson gonna be? Is he gonna enter the
transfer portal. I mean, it's been very It hasn't even
really been inconsistent. It's just been not good for him,
and I think it in turn, it hurt Clemson because
they couldn't move the ball. The defense was always on
the field, and Notre Dame the offensive line and Notre

(29:33):
Dame and Notre Dame historically has always had good offensive
lines like the Michigan's like Wisconsins, just pounded and pushed
that defensive that very talented defensive line up and down
the field Saturday night. There there was a time during
this year where I thought, you know what, DJ, you're
taking the necessary started started off a little slow and
wasn't anything special to see him missing throws, and he

(29:53):
started to kind of settle in. Then he had some
big games, had the huge game against wake Forest. I said, okay, man,
maybe this is the time he starts to take the
next step. And then I think the next game is like, okay,
he played well again, can you keep it going? And
leves stare going back down. And I think just the
fact that nobody knows we're gonna they're gonna get we
see the traits like those are through the route. Whether
it's his arm strength, his ability to make all the

(30:15):
girls on the field, uh, definitely, plus athleticism and I
think for a guy who's so big, you don't really
think about his athleticism, but you know he'll take off,
he'll make guys miss. You had a nice play against
Order Dame where took off up to the middle. May
guy missed, don't for the end zone. I think it
was like a yard short. But you see all this
ability and upside, and there's just something missing. And I

(30:36):
don't know if it's maybe you know, his his his
film study taking thing so he can play with a
little bit more anticipation. Is that something that's missing? But
erratic as a pastor, uh continues to get benched, which
is wild, especially when his coach says, man, this was
our biggest recruit, even bigger than like Trevor Lawrence. And
I'm like, well, that's kind of a wild statement. But now, uh, yeah,

(30:58):
it looks like they might go to the backup quarterback
little bit more to two times in the row. They're
trying to say these days there guy right, he comes out,
Oh no, he's our guy, he's our leader. We just
needed a we needed a jump start, we needed a spark,
right well, who needs a spark from the starting guy?
So not a great situation for him. And I'd be
surprised if you see him playing for Clemson a game.
And I don't think you see him in the NFL

(31:18):
next year. Yeah, I mean, just go back to what
we said about Jade Daniels. How Jade Daniels. You know,
he's getting his mojo on. He's showing some confidence. Like
I said, you know that that that touchdown he scored
in overtime, you could see in the huddle before the
ball was even snapped, he knew what was gonna happen.
You don't see that with Kuleley, and it's it's been
inconsistent to pour. There have been flashes, but again, I

(31:40):
mean the best football he played was two years ago
when he stepped in for Trevor Lawrence and he got everybody.
I know, he got me excited, and he's never been
able to capitalize on that. All right, let's go to
the defensive side of the ball for Clemson. Guys, still
some good players on that end. Anyone's been jumping out
to you. I know, they maybe had three top fifteen

(32:00):
guys on defense to start the year. Are they still
in that neighborhood tone? Um? I mean I've watched I
liked Tylie Davis although the defensive tackle though, I think
he's more of a third round pick, more of your
three technique type of guy. I think Miles Murphy is
the guy who's gotta get bigger, He's gotta get stronger.
He's a very athletic pass rusher. But the fact is,

(32:22):
if you watch the game, he was getting obliterated at
the point of attack on running downs. He was getting
taken out of the game by tight ends. Although not
try Dame has got some darn good tight ends andF
l tight ends who got talking about, well a couple
of them. Uh. He was getting knocked out and knocked
out of the game, knocked out of the play by
pulling guards. He was getting handled by uh by tackles,
you know. Saturday, even though the defense for Clemson was

(32:46):
on the field consistently and way too long. He looked
like he was a liability against the run. And I
think that's something that scouts you're gonna be looking at
if Murphy enters the draft, and that may be a
concern that maybe your red flag. I still like him.
He's got upside. That's one part of his game. He's
got to uh, you know, he's got to prove Brian
Breeze a great player. Just gonna give him a pass

(33:07):
for what's going on in his personal life past month.
If he has his ups and downs, it's very understandable.
But we know he's gonna be an outstanding player. But
that don't know, Tony, Why why why wy don't you
just let the fans know what uh what you're referencing there? Well,
I believe that his he had a fifteen year old
sister who died of I believe it was a brain cancer,
and he missed one game and then he came back,

(33:27):
and I mean, you know that's gonna knock anybody for
a loop. Uh So with that sort of situation, you
gotta give the guy a pass, as you would hope
give any person a pass. But he's shown himself to
be a one man wrecking crew on the interior defensive line,
uh in the past, and you know that he's got
that ability. Crock anyone on cleansing you want to highlight,

(33:49):
not even someone's cleans I think the star of the
show on the defense was Benjamin Morrison, the freshman cornerback
for Nord of Dame. Go ahead of the steps his
one big six. He made terrific plays like that's what
you call going. I watched the game between the Buffalo
Bills and New York Jets on Sunday and you see
some of these interceptions Josh Allen Stolon, It's like, dude,
what do you who are you going to right? And

(34:10):
you see guys and on the statue says interception. But
it was more Josh Allen than anything else. When you
watched bridget Mo morris Man, he went out there and
he went and got it. I mean where there was
to dive in an interception. The pick six, he was
on the same page as the quarterback as opposed to
the receiver. He is a back shorter throw. Not only
did he intercept it with great anticipation, but then how
he raced down the sideline and ran it back like

(34:31):
nine yards for a touchdown. So not draft that iligible.
Will probably be talking about him in a couple of years,
but it looks like they might have a good young cornerback.
Don't you mentioned Michael Mayer and a couple other Notre
Dame tight ends. Anyone from the fighting Irish that you
want to point out for fans. I think Brandon Joseph
transfer from Northwestern has had his moments so this year,
you know he's he's a good athlete, he's got excellent size.

(34:51):
Solved that great against the past, but he's forceful. They
also have another corner there by name of Cam Hart
who's a senior who I think he's under ready gets overlook,
but he's He's done a solid job. And you're looking
at a Day three PIC next year. Very good. All right, Tony,
this is the game you said, I want to make
sure I talk about this, Shamilki. So here we go

(35:12):
app State Coastal Carolina. What do you got there? You
got a huge game in the Sun Belt. And you know,
we talked about the Bryce Youngs, We talked about the c. J. Strouds,
the Will Levis Is, you know, the Kencal Carolina as
an outstanding quarterback by the name of Grason McColl. He's
Bryce young like in the sense that he's not a
big body. He's got a decent arm. I think his

(35:34):
arm probably slightly better than Brycia. All the guy does
is produced. All the guy does is fine ways to
come through for Coastal Carolina. This is supposed to be
a big game. It was tight in the middle of
the game and then Graceon McCall took over and just
led the team down the field. He's been doing it
with a couple of different receivers. We all remember Isaiah Likely,
who was his top tight end. He helped make Isaiah

(35:56):
Likely a star last year, if you will. But Grace McCall,
who's a third year junior from Coastal Carolina. I know
everybody you know close to Carolina. It's on the way
to Myrtle Beach. They beat b y U two years ago,
beat Zack Wilson a couple of years ago in a game,
a game that was put together at the last minute.
They got you know, they play in teel teel uniforms.

(36:19):
But Graceon McCall is legitimate next level prospect. I right
now have him as a third round pick. And he's
one of those guys, not the biggest guy, but he
gets it between the ears and just like Rice Young,
understands what's going on, uses all his weapons, uses all
his targets, sees the field. Granted it's the sun Belt,

(36:39):
it's not the SEC. But you know, you deal with
the cars that you're dealt and great and Graceon McCall
for three years now has been a real good quarterback.
And he did it against app State, who beat Texas
A and M I know they've had their problems in
the middle portion of the season, but he came through
big time for him again for the I was the
Shanteleier Shanteier of Coastal Carolina, who are going to be

(37:02):
in the postseason again, that we're gonna be playing for
the Sun Belt Championship again, Like hey, hey, Tony, they
have a coinerback by the name of the Jordan's Strong
super Senior. Have you watched him? I know he's there.
I know he's somebody that people are taking note of,
but I haven't watched him or didn't done any filmily
evaluation on him yet. How how's he doing? Slightly undersize
and the sense that he's under six foot tall, explosive, tough.

(37:25):
He was on the cusp of being drafted ball. I
always thought that he's underrated. He's underrated in the sense
that scouts and I spoke too, said I he's a
street free agent. He's not gonna make the eighty man roster.
I disagree. I think he's got dying back special teams
written all over him. He's a little bit shorter, but
he's well built. You know, he's got a stop build.
He's got a great first to the ball out of

(37:45):
his plan. He's a guy who's very physical, dozen't back
down to a challenge. You know, I want to see
what his actual testing numbers are. But he's a guy
who I feel even if he isn't drafted and he
signed as as a priority free agent, he's gonna compete
for that eighth defensive back special teams player on the
NFL Rostaurant Sunday, No doubt about it. I hope he

(38:05):
gets drafted because I think he's ridiculously underrated, very consistent,
always shows up to play to Jordan's Shawn Alright. One
of the things we wanted to do today with it
would be fun is look at some of the NFL
rookies that are in the league this year and kind
of evaluate, take a look at, you know, kind of
what we thought about them, let go into the draft
last year, how they performed. Uh, we will longer on

(38:27):
the college offting. I thought, so, why don't we stick
on the offensive side of the ball for this podcast?
We could say defense or maybe the next one, So
let's start here, guys, the offensive tackles. It was a
big story coming into the draft last year. We had
three offensive tackles going around one or in the top
ten rather in uh neil A Kwanu and Charles Cross
and really I think all three of those guys have

(38:49):
done pretty well. A Quand who had a rough start
to the year, he's played better. Abraham Lucas, who was
the third round pick, has started all year for Seattle.
He's been fantastic. And even Tyler Smith, the guy that
I thought was nowhere near ready to start at offensive
tackle in the NFL in year one, you know, he
has been great, but he's he's been fine. He hasn't
killed the Cowboys offense. So I think earlier returns on

(39:10):
this offensive tackle class guys has been very, very positive.
And look, it's gonna be a slow start. That's a
tough position in the league. You're gonna work into it.
Look at Andrew Thomas with the Giants, has taken three
years for him to kind of meet his potential. So
give these guys time. But I think what they've all
shown early in the year makes you think they're gonna
be long term starters at their positions. Croc, why don't
we start with you, Well, I've seen a lot of

(39:31):
you know, Abraham Lucas and Crossed these guys over with
the Seattle Seahawks, and Lucas has been really good. I
was watching him last uh Sunday evening against the Arizona Carlos,
trying to see, man, who was team is going to
pull this off? So the forty Nights can kind of uh,
you know, they're jockey in a position, but it was
a Seahawks and they've been doing a terrific job. You
look at Geno Smith, he's playing some of his best

(39:53):
football that he's played. And office the line has been
a tough position for the Seattle Seahawks to get right.
And these guys definitely aren't the issue at all, and
I think they are definitely contributing to how well the
office is playing in Geno Smith being as comfortable as
he is. Abraham Lucas out of Washington State, I was
I had questions where how he'd handle speed we're coming out,

(40:14):
but I think he's been tremendous. As you mentioned, you know,
you knew that Seattle was going to have to go
through a rebuild. It was whether or not they're gonna
do it sooner rather than later. They didn't do it
in two thousand one. They pulled the trigger last year.
You know this past year, I should say right before
the draft from trading Russell Wilson. So basically in return
for Russell Wilson, they got a potential franchise left tackle.

(40:37):
And Charles Cross is not just doing it physically. I
mean he's played smart, you know, heads up football that
has helped Seattle win. He's doing much better than I
ever thought, because when you watched him at Mississippi State,
he was constantly lining up in a two point stance.
It was it was primarily an aerial attack. He has
really come along much quicker than I thought. So good

(40:59):
for good on him. As far as Abraham Lucas concerned,
I've always loved Abraham Lucas and I thought that he
was underrated. I had him as a third round pick.
You know, I agree with Krop and you said, you
know here concerned about handling speedy rushers. But what he
does great is use his body position. He does a
great job using angles to shut those guys down. I
mean Seattle, who historically has questionable drafts, and he never

(41:21):
knew what they were doing this year. You had a
good idea where they were gonna go. They did it
on the offensive line, and now you know they got
two major pieces at those bookend tackles moving forward, so
things should be much easier for them when they eventually
get their quarterback, if that quarterback happens to be a
guy other than Gino Smith, who was really showing a
lot of a lot of Billy really showing come to fruition,

(41:43):
which I'm very happy for because if you remember, had
a lot of problems with the Jets, you know, never
was able to solidify himself. But he's someone who's really
matured as a person from the day he was drafted
until now. So good good for Geno Smith. That's an
underrated aspect of kind of Geno Smith come into the
years today. And you know I was there to the
thirteen when he got drafted, and you know we'd hang

(42:04):
out sometimes in the hotel and whatnot, you know, as
most rookies are kind of hanging around the building, and uh,
you know, as it pertains the kind of you know,
immaturity of things like that guy's coming in like young.
He thought he should have been drafted higher, remember he was.
He was upset he lasted to the second round, and
I think there was a lot of pressure that was
on him from you know, just being in New York,
playing in that market there, and they didn't have enough

(42:26):
around him to do better. I mean, I think his
best weapon maybe Jay Z Jeremy Curley, but then there
was like Clyde Gates. You know, he had to lean
on guys like that, and he had some veterans that
end up retiring or not doing well. Branding Netwards was
one of them. So you know, he had a lot
working against him at that time, and you know, to
kind of you know, the falling out in that situation,

(42:46):
kind of bouncing around the league. I think the best
thing for him was probably being behind Russell Wilson for
a couple of years and really seeing what it takes
to be a professional, how you carry yourself, how you prepare.
And then now we're seeing the best version of you
know Smith right now. And you know he's in his thirties,
but it almost feel like he just getts started and
he has about three or four more years and potentially
being able to play at this level. He was ELI

(43:07):
mana year years so he so I'm sorry telling real quick.
He was by the ELI manning for a year and
there was another veteran quarterback in the a f C.
He was behind for a year two. So yeah, he's
had some great tutors Croc no doubt ahead. And if
you remember Croc, I mean he basically blamed his agency
for him not being selected in the first round because
he said they told him to stay out of the UH,
not to go to Senior Bowl, and not to participate

(43:29):
in Senior Bowl. And the day after he was selected
the second round, he fired his agency. But then if
you remember what the Jets, there was an instant on
a plane with the stewardess where he was totally innocent,
not that and it was and he could have made
a big deal about it, he just put his head
down and move forward. There was that incident jet lock
in the jet locker room where he got punched in
the face, got punched in the jaw, and he was

(43:49):
on the sideline for six weeks. And he was really
he was solid as a rookie with the New York Jets.
But as the New York Jets have shown, they never
really developed them and he bounced around. That's why I
say good for him, because he's shown himself to a
short person and it's you know, he's an easy guy
to beat up on, but when you really see what
he's going through and what he's done. He's also a

(44:09):
very easy guy to root for. They tried to write
me off, but iron right back and that's the that's
like the line of the year. Uh for me, that
was good. It was good to hear. I'm I'm happy
for him. Yeah, me to him. By the way, he
was also got put in the impossible situation of they
got had to start the break Eli Manning starting streak,
and that I mean for the people that don't live

(44:30):
in New York that are listening to this, that was
a huge deal. I mean, it was like def Con
three in this building. It was a mess. And he
handled that really really professionally and well. And did he
didn't play that well in the game he started, but
in terms of handling all the off the field stuff
that came with it, he also handled that extremely well
too well. Not just that situation. I mean you talk about,

(44:50):
you know, coming in for Eli Manning for a game.
I think the biggest part of that was breaking the streak,
but having the having the start in place of Russell
Wilson who had been there for a decade, and all
the eyes that he had, and how well he played
and everyone thinking, oh man again, like Tony said, it's
a total rebuild and they're blowing everything up. And with

(45:11):
him blowing it up, they found somebody that can kind
of steady the ship and keep everything, you know, going well.
And I think that's probably the biggest accomplishment that he's
had so far. Like just that was not this was
they were unanimously one of the worst teams in the
NFL heading into the seat, like that's what everyone thought.
And right now they're sitting up top of the NFC
West Division that a lot of people thought would be

(45:32):
a little bit more competitive. Yeah, by the way, just
to throw it out there since we're on the Seahawks.
A big reason, guys, is because of their draft and
Tony you mentioned it. You know, their drafts of have
kind of been messy. They drafted the big defensive lineman
at TC you in the first round a couple of
years ago. Um that hasn't worked out him, can't remember
his name. He was one of a little like you know,
tweet Earth tackle defensive end. Guys. What they did. What

(45:56):
they did was they couldn't care. They could care less
about best player available. They would always take the player
that best fit their system. So what would happen is,
you know that they would bypass all these really good
players for guys that would they thought would fit their system.
And it came home to roost because you know, people

(46:17):
would look back and say, well, you passed up on
this player, this player, this player, and you took you know,
someone that should have gone in the third round in
the first round. And they consistently did that. But they
had Russell Wilson and then and they had a lot
of receivers and they and they had some you know,
they had some guys that were you know still uh
the linebacker from Utah State that was there that was

(46:39):
so dominant for so long, that was able to carry
that team. And then you go by wing thank you.
And what happens is is, you know when it falls off,
when when it goes downhill, it kind of falls off
a cliff because you've got aging veterans that are either
retiring or trading away, and then you missed on all
those draft picks. So that's what happened. Yeah, and L. J.

(47:01):
Collier was a guy I was thinking that they got
picked twenty nine, but just look at this. There two
starting offensive tackles guys draft picks two of their three
starting quarterbacks draft picks Kobe Bryant Treek will In both
Day three picks. They're starting throwing Kenneth Walker the third,
who might end up being the the you know, offensive
rookie of the year, depending how the rest of the
season goes. And then boy and Mathi is barely played.

(47:23):
And I think we all liked him coming out too.
So really they talk about it was gonna be a
long term rebuild. They've accelerated that with one hell of
a draft class. Important positions, you know, cornerback and offensive tackle,
those are critical positions. Yeah, everybody talks about the quarterback position,
but you know, and everybody needs the quarterback. But when
you talk to NFL people, they're looking for offensive tackles,

(47:45):
they're looking for pass rushers, they're looking for cornerbacks in
the draft. And they've got four players, one of which
is a franchise potential, franchise left tackle. The other guy
that looks like it's gonna be started right there for years.
In the cornerbacks you mentioned, they not only get it,
but they get it at critical positions, no question. All right,
let's go to running backs. I mentioned Kenneth Walker, So

(48:05):
let's stick there. He's looked great, Reese Hall looked great
before he towards a c l the poor kid, and
Damian Pierce, who you know, you gotta wonder why the
hell they didn't give that kid the ball? Poor college.
He was getting like eight carries a game. He's unbelievable
for Houston Crop, this running back class has been fantastic.
It's been really good. And crazy thing is everyone said
that the two thousand twenty three classes is supposed to

(48:27):
be even better, but they have been the two two
class very good, very productive, strong runners. You look at Piers,
they are leaning on Piers to do everything in that offense,
really kind of carried offense and at the very least
keep them competitive. And if you watch a lot of
Houston Texans games, they're losing kind of in a second
and a half because they just don't have enough. But
they definitely can't blame Piers. He's been everything they ever

(48:47):
would have wished he would be and more. You look
at Walker for Seattle, they're leaning on him a lot
as well. Who closed out that game against the Arizona
Cardinal Sunday evening. Yeah, I mean, you know, him down
the street being strong, uh running near the goal line.
So he's been doing a really good job. And he's
showing some of the elusiveness. Uh, he's showing strong running,
he's showing speed. Uh. They're trying to get the ball

(49:10):
to him a little bit as a pass catcher. So yeah,
I've liked a lot of what he's done it and
it is uh really sad to see Breese Hall the
injury that he sustained because but at the New York
Jets right now we're five and three, and a big
part of that was Reese Hall again keeping them competitive
in games, being able to lean on him in the
passing game, in the running game. And they're still trying

(49:31):
to piece it together. They have some strong play from
some of their rookie guys, you know, maybe a guy
like Souz Gardner, but uh doing doing well. I'm waiting
for the forty Niners to utilize Tighta his price a
little bit, you know. Listen, I said after the draft
on the show and other interview said, I did that
when you looked at the New York Jets draft, it
had the potential to be a transformational draft, a draft

(49:53):
at two or three years down the road, you say, wow,
this draft really turned the team around. As John was
just talking ab with the Seattle Seahawks, Jets aren't gonna
have to wait two or three years. I mean, you
look at a guy like Greece Hall and it's sad
that you know he went down with the injury. And
it's a pretty significant injury. It's an a c L
and a meniscus, And I talked to a lot of
people say that is a very tough injury for running

(50:14):
backs to come to return from. I didn't realize to
Tony it was both. That's what I was told. That's
what I was told. Um, But you know, I've watched
a lot of New York Jets football, and I gotta
tell you, Greese Hall, up until the injury was the
best Jets running back I had seen since Curtis Martin.
He was He just had the pension where he looked
like he'd be stopped for a three or four yard

(50:35):
gainer and then he find the hole and he shoots
through it and that three or four yard gainer would
be a six or seven yard gainer. Consistently. He did it.
He was a good pass catcher out of the backfield.
He did a terrific job with his blocking assignments. So really,
you know at the top around two when the Jets
traded in front of the Houston Texans to make sure
that they could give Reese Hall, Jets in at home

(50:56):
run with that pick, and Jets one of real good
game this weekend against the Buffalo Bills where they got
the running game, you know, uh going again with Michael
Carter and James Robinson. But you look at the week
after Breefe Hall went down, you know, the running game
was okay, they didn't have Breefe Hall. Zack Wilson throws
three interceptions against a very average, uh New England Patriots defense,

(51:22):
and the concerns there at that point in time was, well,
you know, they leaned on Breee Hall so much in
the early part of the season. You know, what are
we gonna do? What are the Jets gonna do moving forward?
We'll see what after that terrific win against the Buffalo Bills.
But Breese Hall was outstanding. He was everything cropped up
to be. I said about Breese Hall, He's a first
round talent that will go in the second round, and

(51:44):
I think down the road there may be some teams
that you know, maybe may have needed a running back
to put him over the top, are gonna be very
disappointed they didn't select them and just throw it out
there to the big question on Kenneth Walker. The third
coming out was could he be a factor in pass
in the past game? Right? Could he catch it? Could
he pass? Probably? He was really asked to do that
in Michigan State, and he's been good enough. I think
they've been very happy with that. He's been able to

(52:05):
do in that area. He's been on the field on
third down for them a bit. All right, let's jump
over to um let's do quarterback. There's only really one guy.
I guess too now because Malik Wilson started a couple
of games and I think we nailed Malik Willis guys,
and you know he flashes, but long way to go
as a passer, and I know Kenny pickets at a
rough start. He's throwing some interceptions. I almost like his
irrational confidence, like I think, no question, but I almost

(52:33):
like the irrational confidence where he sees a small window
and he tries to make the throw. I think a
lot of times rookies will be a little too conservative,
just be checked down. Charlie's at least he's trying to
make these throws, which which I'll look at my cat
and maybe he's not talent enough to ever make those
throws and want to find out that he's just gonna
be a backup. But I at least I like him
going out there at least trying to make those type
of plays. Croc. Yeah, you know, he's trying to, you know,

(52:56):
push the issue, force the issue. I think right now,
especially as a rookie, you want to fit. You're oute
where you can and can't get away with at the
NFL level, you know, you know, Pittsburgh, they didn't play
against you know, top tier talent weekend week out for
him to really be challenged in that way, and obviously
we know the passing windows shrink even more at the
NFL level. I do think that he has a lot
of weapons. I like that he's able to lean on
his running back Nag Harris back there. The offense definitely

(53:19):
has been a little up and down and losing the
guy like Chase Claypool, Uh, a guy who in theory,
you know, kind of makes to your room for error
a little bit larger because he's a big body, you
lose that he's going to another team, maybe seeing how
Pickett can grow with George Pickens. I think that's gonna
be something that's intriguing to watch four years to come.
But right now again, when you if you kind of

(53:42):
take away the interceptions, which again some of them not
even his fault, there's like a hill, mary tip balls,
et cetera. He's had some of those things. But just
seeing right now where he's at and then how he's
gonna progress. I think he's shown some good things. Obviously,
want to see him continue to understand what he can
and can't get away with well as just as long
as he learned from it, because it's seems to me
that he's trying to get point on Sunday that he

(54:02):
made on Saturday, and he can't make him on Sunday,
so he's gotta learn from it. He's also gotta learn that,
I think I believe to get to get rid of
the ball of a quicker. Six sacks against the uh
against the Eagles, two sacks against the Miami Dolphins. So
obviously it's it's a learning, it's a it's gonna be
a steep curve. There's no doubt about it. You got it,
you know, do you like his MAXI? Yeah. Let's but
let's see what happens moving forward, because there are some

(54:24):
quarterbacks talked about New York just before Sam Darnel who
just never got out of that turning the ball over. Uh,
and it's it's a problem. You look at the Jets
quarterback now, Zach Wilson, that had been a problem into
the Buffalo game. See what happens moving forward. He's got
to be able to learn from it. And like you said,
he's got good weapons, uh to deliver the ball to
or the or playing around him. All right. Finally, guys,

(54:46):
let's get to the wide receiver. As you mentioned, I
think Picking and Pickens do have a nice little connection.
George Pickens is a nice start to his rookie year.
And the other two receivers, Tony, your guy Cristal Lave
has emerged as the number one option in New Orleans.
He's been great. And Garret Wilson, who was was my
big guy coming out. I loved him boy. Him and
Zach Wilson really seemed to Tony to developed the connection
pretty quickly too. Huh. Well, you know I said the

(55:08):
Jets hit a home run with Greece Hall. They had
an absolute grand slam with Garrett Wilson. Because Garrett Wilson
is something that they haven't had for decades, and that
is a true number one receiver. Obviously, the talk, a
lot of it started by myself, was a Jets trading
for Deebo Samuel before the draft. It's probably a good
thing because even though Deebo Samuel is a playmaker in
a variety of ways, Garrett Wilson is a true number

(55:28):
one receiver and he has proven himself. And really, since
he caught that game winning or the go ahead touchdown
pass against Cleveland, his game has taken off. He wins
out for the contested throws, he shows the ability to separate,
he finds the open spot in the defense. He's also
very good running after the catch. I think better than
any of us had expected. So really, I mean, like

(55:49):
I said, they hit a home run with Greefe Hall,
they hit a grand slam with Garret Wilson. We haven't
even talked about my Garden. We'll talk about the next show.
But but Wilson has been absolutely phenomenal and has made
life a lot easier for Zack Wilson. I don't think
the Jets could have hoped for anything more than what
they've seen from this guy the first half of the year. Yeah,
and if you look at some of the numbers that's

(56:09):
going on there, there's been a lot of afterthoughts on
the offense, including guys like Denzel Mims and you know,
people thought, well, maybe you know this Corey Davis or
maybe Alijah More And we've seen a lot of more
in his frustrations he's had with the offense not getting
the targets. But one guy who is consistently starting to
get the targets and it's getting better and better, improving
more and more, especially from a productive standpoint, is definitely
Garrett Wilson. He's doing a terrific job. You gotta remember

(56:32):
Corey Davis. Corey Davis has been injured the past two weeks,
so it's been it's been you know, Garrett Wilson and
Denzel Man's are a few other guys. Elijah More finally
sort of field yesterday, So Davids hasn't been on the
field because he's been injured, and Garrett Wilson has not missed.
To beat your thoughts, CROC on the other rookie any
of the rookie wide receivers in the league that you
want to kind of, you know, pick out or point

(56:54):
out for us. I think Alec Pierce. Alex Pierce is
a guy that I was pretty high on, man, and
I was saying Green May Packers draft Alec Pierce, like
I just felt like he was a Green Bay Packer
and he'd hit the ground running with Aaron Rodgers. Whether
you drafted him high in the second round or whatever
it was, take him. I think he fits well. He's
been a really good fit for the Indianapolis Coast no
matter who their quarterback is. And we've seen the quarterback

(57:15):
change there. Matt Ryan was playing terrible. They went with
the kid out of Texas, uh blanking on his name, right, yeah, Ellener,
Sam Ellinger, and then they just fired the coach while
we've been on air right now, So did they really right? Yeah,
he's out. So a lot of turnovers going on there
with the Indianapolist calls. But one guy who has been
consistent throughout this year, and I think he's continued to

(57:36):
improve his game and step it up is Alec Pierce.
You know, just kind of kind of bookend the show,
you know, we talked about c J. Stroud and some
of his struggles, and it's amazing because Chris A. Lava
was the guy who was left out last year because
of c J. Stroud's inability to sue the field. I
mentioned the game against the Oregon that I went to

(57:56):
and Chris Slave was open all day. C J Stroud
never song now alive. A's in a system where you know,
the quarterback looks around and he's playing like the top
ten twelve pick that I thought he deserved to be.
You know, one last thing, you know, Frank Reich is
uh what was fired? As Prop pointed out, I think
that has to do as much to do with the

(58:17):
general manager, who has never been able to figure out
the quarterback position since Philip Rivers left. It's it's been
it's been an open wound for the Indianapolis Colts. Uh.
And I think right, I actually think Rick is to
do coach. Somebody's gonna get a good coach heading into
two thousand twenty three. Heck, Tony, you can argue since
Andrew Luck retired, right, I mean you've had basically just
a merry go around the quarterback since he had that

(58:38):
unexpected retirement. So Yeah, it's been tough and that have
been all to to figure that out. Gentlemen, good stuff.
Let's meet right after Thanksgiving weekend. That'll be rivalry weekend.
We could talk Ohio State, Michigan. A lot of new
games and stuff to talk about. So let's talk right
that Monday after Thanksgiving, right, boys? Sounds happy Thanksgiving everybody? Yeah, absolutely,
have a great November everyone. Thanks for being with us

(58:58):
on Draft sees in for Tony Pauli and Eric Cracker.
Ron John Schmulk was all brought to you by Tommy
he'll Figure, a PVH brand and an official partner of
the New York Football Giants. We'll see you next time, everyone,