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August 21, 2024 • 66 mins
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Glenn Mason said a long time ago at the University
of Minnesota, you need a Pair and a Spare.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Thank you, PJ. It is time for another edition of
the Pair and a Spare podcast. I'm justin guard from
the fan. We've got Chip Scoggins from The Star tributing
Ryan Burns from Gopher Illustrated dot Com. We're presented as
always by our friends at Jack Scafe, and we already
have a sound effect.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Are you are you putting drops in here?

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Chip?

Speaker 3 (00:20):
What are we doing?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
What?

Speaker 3 (00:21):
I don't know what you did.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're typing, You're hitting buttons. You were coughing all over
the place last week. We can't even get the intros
out of the way, and you're already making auxiliary noises.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
What is going on over there?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
I noticed some crumbs on keyboard. Man, I didn't know
you guys heard that.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
We could hear everything.

Speaker 4 (00:39):
Yes, how is your cough by the way, then having
to figure out the mute button? Now going forward?

Speaker 5 (00:48):
Physically, I feel good.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
I yeah, I had a peanut butter sandwich and I
noticed when I looked down.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
We're gonna have to start doing this in person again,
just so the Chip can pull it together. Who knew
that the technology would make it harder for all of
this to happen. But here we are, and you know what,
We're gonna give Chip a break though, Burnsy, because it's
been a tough twenty four hours for the Skogins family.
I have three kids right over my head right now.
I'm just praying they don't burn the house down while

(01:17):
we do this.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
My wife is back at work this week as a teacher.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
This is you know, two weeks of just complete chaos
with the State Fair and go for football. But what
Chip wouldn't give to have three little kids just waiting
to run in and ruin this stream yard call? You're
officially empty nesters, now, Chip, is that the is that?

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Can you confirm we.

Speaker 5 (01:36):
Are empty nesters?

Speaker 1 (01:37):
We dropped the youngest at Iowa State yesterday, got it
moved into his dorm, and uh cried for the three
hours on the way back up. But yeah, yeah, there's
nothing It's cliche here, but there is nothing that prepares
you for that moment when you you're pulling out of
the parking lot and your kids waving to your you know,
as you head on out and they go in the dorm.

Speaker 5 (01:58):
It's hard. It doesn't get easier.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Like all you we were.

Speaker 5 (02:01):
Talking about last night is like when you take them
back for sophomore year.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
It's just like all right because they're all settled in, you.

Speaker 5 (02:07):
Know, But it's like that first year with each kid.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
You can't not cry.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah, it's hard.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Luckily you just get on thirty five basically, and you
don't have to make any turns, so you really didn't
have to see anything.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
You just could cry the whole way and just keep
it straight.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
I'm sure you've probably disabled the thing in your car
that keeps you in the lanes because you don't trust technology.
You know, year off, you don't trust that. But well, yeah,
we're thinking of you. It's that time of year. My
boss dropped his oldest off at college last week and
said it was literally the hardest day of his whole life.
So it's hard, as you know for us in the
middle of it. Right now, we are begging for school

(02:44):
to start around here. Our kids are can't go ten
minutes without killing each other. They need school to start.
We're in that age range where it's like school can
start now. It's been a great summer time to go.
But then we see all of you guys and we're like, oh, geez,
are we horrible parents? Savor it, I know, let him
sleep in your bed forever, the whole bit. But yeah,

(03:06):
it's that time of year. It's that time of year.
And I thought it was nice though, that Royce White,
he basically offered to show him around and teach him
the rope of how to survive at Iowa State. The
one place that he hasn't blown to smithereens is Iowa
State somehow. So I thought that was nice that Royce
White offered to take care of your kid. And that's
a great role model down there. Hilton Magic, I think

(03:28):
is what they call it, So he should be in
good shape.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
I am looking forward to some Hillton I've been in
Hilton years and years ago when I was a college
student covering Missouri in the old Big eight, when Hoiberg
and Johnny Orr and here comes Johnny.

Speaker 5 (03:46):
That would have been I think I was there.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
In ninety three and i haven't been back.

Speaker 5 (03:53):
My son's dorm is a.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Short walk, I would say, with a couple of blocks
from there, so I'm looking forward to that.

Speaker 5 (04:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
The only Hilton Magic I've ever taken part in it
was the in Sync concert in two thousand and two
when I drove over from Iowa City with a friend
of mine and checked out the in Sync concert in.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Two days, it was the earing phase.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Absolutely, we popped over from Iowa City to Ames. It
was a different kind of Hilton Magic for your boy
that night, checking out the checking out the insinc concert
and then fire, then firing back to Iowa City. But
this is a college football podcast, So why don't we
all just why don't we all just move on? We
are a we can change away from the opening game?

(04:35):
And Ryan Burns because PJ. Fleck and the Gopher football
team won't has released a depth chart and.

Speaker 4 (04:42):
Neither just North Carolina now because they're petty because they
know that Minnesota won't release one, so they won't tell
you who their starting quarterback is or what their depth
chart looks like. Because we're on how many.

Speaker 5 (04:52):
Schools have done that?

Speaker 1 (04:53):
How many schools have done that in response to PJ
not doing a depth truck? So there's a couple I
know that have.

Speaker 4 (04:58):
Pulled every year, but it's only a couple.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, I thought PJ was in response to Michigan not
doing it originally, Like there was a time where he
did release one, and then something happened where he didn't,
and it's you know, like we said last week, and
we're going to get to the injury report that Burnsy
was waiting for. It's college with the lesson less, the
fewer and fewer things that college coaches can control these days,

(05:22):
they take every inch and every ouse that they possibly
can to say we have somewhat of a control over
what's going on with our football program, and.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
So yeah, but I do it.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
People.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
People are being very loud about it on the other side,
like North Carolina for example, saying direct response like Minnesota's
not doing it. We're not doing it. So nobody wins,
nobody loses. It's just another day in the stupidity of
college football.

Speaker 5 (05:44):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
I guess I don't understand the logic behind not doing
it right because they have a depth chart attorney, they
know what it is.

Speaker 5 (05:51):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
Of course, they just don't want anybody to know anything
they want, which is whatever they must say it makes
they must think it makes a difference.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
I don't understand the competitive atage, that's what that's they.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
I wonder if it's for PJ not having to deal
with player parents about why is it my kid?

Speaker 2 (06:10):
That's that's not bad, that's actually I think you're onto
something there, Burns.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
That is because even when they're gonna yeah, yeah, they're.

Speaker 5 (06:20):
Gonna know whu he gives up playing where he is
on the depth.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
Chart or well, you guys know like I do, player,
parents are never have never been as bad. I swear
every year it gets worse and worse with little Johnny
and joe getting quote unquote disrespected in some way. And
I wonder if that's what it is. I don't know
the answer to that. I think it's stupid, but I
think it's truly been since like twenty eighteen, twenty a while.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
But I remember that this wasn't a thing from day
one with him.

Speaker 4 (06:54):
No, No, it was.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
Something he changed. Yeah, Burns A long was like you think, uh,
is it because the money parents are investing now in
these private camps and stuff?

Speaker 5 (07:04):
You think it's more?

Speaker 4 (07:07):
But why why they're as grumpy as me? Now?

Speaker 3 (07:10):
Why everyone's crazy?

Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah, the financial ramifications of the money that they've invested in,
as you said, Johnny, Joey and Jilly their entire life,
and they want to see a payoff.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
I mean, you got the scholarship.

Speaker 1 (07:20):
So that was the whole part about you know the
high school that you always hear that you know they're
trying to get the scholarship.

Speaker 5 (07:25):
But when you get to college, just like, I don't.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
Know what, Yeah, you guys would be able to tell
me more considering your parents, and I'm not. I would
just say, and I think so much of this is
becoming specialized from such an early age now, And I
think that it's just people trying to make money off
parents who are in middle school, their kids are even
early high school. As someone who talks to college coaches

(07:49):
essentially every day of their life, no one is looking
at your son until there are sophomore at the earliest
in high school. Let them have fun, let them go
do whatever the heck they want. They don't need to
be going to get these private workout sessions that early on.
It's just maybe it's that way. I don't know, you

(08:09):
guys tell me why. I just feel like, between coaches
and referees, there's a reason those guys are now in
Oregals are in such short supply now is because nobody
wants to deal with parents.

Speaker 3 (08:19):
No, that's true. It's a hundred percent true.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
There's a reason why they're playing high school football games
on Wednesday night every week because of the referee shortages
and basketball, same.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
Bit, I know.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
And until people internally, other parents stop other parents, it's
never going to stop, you know. But it's hard. I mean, Chip,
you've been through the youth system, the travel system. I
haven't yet. I'm dreading it with stories that I've already
heard from the last couple of years. Oh second, Royce
White reference stories that I've already heard, you know, from

(08:50):
what's happening at these gyms and what's happening with these
refs and all these things.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
It's yeah, I'm already dreading it.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
As someone who played in it myself in the state
as it was kind of getting to the point where
parents were exerting more control and boards and all that stuff. Yeah,
I think it is just we pay a lot of money.
They you want your kid to have a chance that
it's not even a scholarship. I don't even think it's
that so much. You just want them to play varsity,

(09:17):
be in the mix and you know, have a good
experience and do all of that. And it's it's never
been harder. It's never been harder. So that's a whole separate,
five hour podcast.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
Well that is, yeah, I mean we could, we could
do a lecture series on that, you know, and I
have been through it and I've seen it, and luckily
as a as a youth coach, I can tell you
I had great parents. I didn't have to deal with
some of the things that coaches deal with. So I
was fortunate, and that.

Speaker 5 (09:41):
Is my one thing.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
I was thinking about that to day as an empty nester.

Speaker 5 (09:46):
And seeing these kids that I coached go off the college.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
If there's young parents or parents with young kids in here,
get involved in coaching. I know you hear the horror
stories and all that. You won't be disappointed. I promise
you get involved in coaching.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
All right, there's the Chipskogins.

Speaker 5 (10:00):
This is my plug.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, from as he thought about it in Tipton, ioway
yesterday as he was driving down on Highway thirty five.
So Burnsy, you do do a depth chart, though, I'm curious.
We've talked kind of through a lot of different things
the last couple of weeks. We talked about the question marks,
who's going to be back up running back, who's going
to be wide receiver.

Speaker 3 (10:19):
I'll frame it to you this way.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
What was what was the hardest call as you put
together the Ryan Burns depth chart offense, defense, whatever? Where
he thought, as a guy who's seen you know, three
practices which I know you're excited about, ye, and to
obviously talk to some people in the building because you've
got great sources, what was the hardest call or two
as you put together your initial depth chart? I think

(10:42):
it was defensively because Flex talked about a Corey Heatherman
talked about it earlier this week, they are going to
be rotating a ton.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
I don't know that the term starter really matters at
places like defensive line or safety. Safety by far, to me,
is the most wide open. I don't know what I'm
going to see there. I could see one of six names.
I think koy Perrich Ship's boy among them. I know
that look a look at him bright, look at that
look at that face, look at him getting all happy and.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
His kids just walked back in the house coming for
another year with that kind of fatherly gaze.

Speaker 5 (11:15):
Is that a good or bad thing? That you have
six guys that you don't know who's gonna play.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
Yeah, I think it's like an assortment of things. Where
Darius Green finally returned for that last practice. That was
the first time I've seen him practice and pads in
twenty twenty four, which is considering he played seven hundred
snaps more or less it was a five hundred either way,
played a ton of snaps last fall. But what are
you gonna get from him because he's been injured. Koy
Parritch has only been here two three months, and he

(11:40):
was injured for the first month, and then you got
a bunch of guys that just haven't played a lot
of football. Yeah, I mean I to me, the biggest
question mark I have on the entire team is still
that safety spot from both consistency plus I asked Corey
Heatherman this at the press conference earlier this week, who
are your playmakers in the back seven? Because Nubin masked

(12:01):
a lot of things last year and that's why he
ends up leaving as the all time leader in interceptions.
But you're gonna need multiple guys on the back end
to step up, make plays, force turnovers, whether it's forced
fumbles or interceptions. And I don't know who those guys
are still going to be. So I have a lot
of questions about who's how many guys are going to

(12:22):
play defensively, But you could see eight guys on the
defensive line, you could see four or five linebackers, and
you could see four maybe five safeties back there. Now
to your point, I hope by the Iowa game, a
lot of these rotations have hopefully tightened up because guys
have earned it. Other guys maybe the moment is too
big for But defensively, I'm still scratching my head at

(12:44):
some of these spots, thinking what are they gonna do
against North Carolina just a week and change.

Speaker 3 (12:50):
It is interesting that they always have seemed to have
had a safety I mean, going back to I mean
Cedric Thompson, I'm thinking about back there.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
I mean we've had They've had guys that obviously infield
just became the highest paid safety ever or defensive.

Speaker 3 (13:03):
Back, whatever it is. And Nuban did what.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
And that's a guy who you know, he used to
hate the development story, but we all remember his freshman.

Speaker 4 (13:14):
Year or even Nuban's early time like a guy. And
that's where I'm worried that this is going to be
the early years of whoever the next NFL guy is
going to be. Even if it's Coy Perriche. He's still
a true freshman, folks, right, He's going to make mistakes.
A lot of these guys are just inexperienced, and that's
my worry is you're going to see the early years

(13:34):
of whoever the next NFL guy is, and that's not
always linear in terms of their progress.

Speaker 5 (13:40):
Ghost Chip, No, No, it's not literary. I mean you're
you're going to see some youthful mistakes. I would think
it's interesting.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
I read the question from PJ. Do you think so
much of that is that they have recruited well and
so there's more competition, or that they're just hasn't been
a guy or two that stepped up and really taking
hold of that job.

Speaker 4 (14:04):
I think both things are true. I think they've recruited
well there, but I also think they want to see
what it looks like over these first three games, when
the bullets fly, when the lights are on, who steps up?
Who is the moment too bright for? And that's where
I think you're going to see so many players. I mean,
there's only eleven on the field at one time, but
when you look at the participation report at the end

(14:25):
of the day, I think in that North Carolina game,
you could be close to twenty guys that are rotating
in because you're trying to learn who's ready and who's not.
And I hope eventually, especially at a place like safety,
like I said, you go from six guys to maybe
four guys to maybe as you get in to that
first by week after UCLA it gets even tighter. But

(14:47):
they just have a lot to learn in terms of
because there's no preseason games, because you really don't know
outside of scrimmages. And you two know like I do,
they're tired of hitting the maroon or gold color jersey
across from them. At this point, what it all looks like, Well, I.

Speaker 1 (15:02):
You know, when you're talking about defensive line that that's
a good problem. You know, if it's a problem that
you need those guys. I mean, you need to be
able to roll guys in, and they I mean they've
been able to do that, I think right in.

Speaker 4 (15:14):
Uh rotated date, I tell you, I mean they're really
good about the first four or five about as good
as you can feel about a Gopher defensive line between
John Joyner, Devin Eastern, Anthony Smith, Jalen Logan, Redning, and
Danny Strigau. That's a pretty good one through five. It's
a pretty experienced and talented one through five. My question
is what's six through eight look like. Yeah, I've seen

(15:35):
the bodies and I'm a little skeptical on you know,
Jackson Howard is a red shirt freshman, or Lucas Finnasi
or Logan rich Tom who is a Chip's favorite perm athlete. Like,
they're very top heavy at the defensive line, and that's
a spot they cannot afford injuries.

Speaker 2 (15:50):
What about secondary, because there's a secondary cornerback specifically we
all know about Justin Wally. You know Jack Henderson is
in the mix two is like kind of an nickel guys.
He I thought losing him for a couple of games
last year, Hardt too as well.

Speaker 3 (16:05):
What do they I know.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
They took a couple of transfers Burnsey. What are we
hearing about?

Speaker 3 (16:09):
Who's going to be on the field with mister Mississippi
Justin Wally?

Speaker 4 (16:13):
Yeah, I mean there is experience as you're gonna find
at corner and nickel, especially on early downs. Justin Wally's
almost got two thousand snaps of experience. Ethan Robinson, who
they took from Bucknell, has almost two thousand snaps of experience.
Now it's at the FCS level, but now between Southeastern
Louisiana and Minnesota, mister Gumbo himself, Jack Henderson, who people

(16:34):
remember had the interception against Drake May last year, yep,
at nearly two thousands. Like, they're very experienced there, and
that should be, honestly one of the strengths of that
defense if they're healthy. But to your point, it's behind
them who's behind the corner. Zekwon Bryan is a red
shirt freshman. Rylan Kelly's a red shirt sophomore. They're just
not very experienced there. That's the theme of this defense

(16:56):
to me is they have the potential to be pretty good,
but they also have the potential to not be so
good if they're having to throw so many of these
bodies out there for the first time. Now, whether that
happens this year or next year when so many of
these guys will be graduated and off, I feel pretty
good about it. Or even behind Jack Henderson is the
mini haha kid Craig McDonald. So you have some experience

(17:18):
there at the big twelve in the SEC, but they
got to stay healthy defensively if this thing is going
to go from the worst run defense in the Big
Ten to average.

Speaker 5 (17:29):
What do you think they did?

Speaker 1 (17:30):
Go ahead, what do you think they What do you
think they did to show up that run defense?

Speaker 5 (17:35):
Is it just.

Speaker 1 (17:37):
Guy you know, getting more bodies, you know, bigger bodies
in there along the line?

Speaker 5 (17:41):
Is it? Do you think they did anything schematically with
the heathereman.

Speaker 4 (17:45):
We'll find out. It's tough to say, because I know
I love to I've only seen one practice essentially in
the last eight months where they tackled anybody to the ground.
And when you're going to thud or you're touching them off,
you don't know if it would have in a tackle.
You don't know if they would have just blown through it.
But I think it comes down to the guys up front.

(18:05):
They have to get more penetration into the backfield. They
got to be able to hold their gaps to allow
hopefully someone like Cody Linnenberg, who when you miss eighty
percent of the season and then you don't have Donald
Willis and Brayalen Oliver behind you because they hit the portal.
Now you retained everybody who played last year at linebacker.
But to me, it comes down to the guys up
front that's going to determine this defense. You got to

(18:27):
be able to stop the run. And if you're going
to do that, you better be able to set an
edge on the outside and your defensive tackles better be
able to cause some havoc on the internal. But Cody
Linnenberg and those linebackers, I mean, they missed a lot
of tackles last year. I think Maverick Baranowski, Lennenberg, and
Devin Williams. When you look at the pro football focused stuff,
we're all all missed double digit tackles last year. When

(18:49):
you have the opportunity to make the play to make
it second and eight, you better make it or else
it's going to be a first down.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Ye could be a good barometer. I guess North Carolin
line and we've.

Speaker 3 (19:00):
Talked a little bit about them.

Speaker 2 (19:01):
We'll talk a little bit about them on this pot
in next week as well as we get ready for
the opener. But the fact that they're clearly going to
be a run first team at the moment, right with
the Mario and Hampton, who's like preseason All American seventy
two percent of their yards, I think a year ago,
like I think we'll know a lot about the ability
of this team to stop the run just from the
opener will be.

Speaker 4 (19:21):
Not I mean in theory. But then you go back
to they were terrible. Minnesota was against the run last year.
They eventually were October November, that North Carolina game, Omaro
Hampton went something like forty one yards on thirteen carries,
and their other tailback, British Brooks didn't do much as well.
Minnesota stopped the run in that game. It's just Drake

(19:41):
May had to third down fifty Yeah, totally are Yeah,
it felt.

Speaker 1 (19:45):
Like he converted like a dozen third and eight.

Speaker 5 (19:48):
Passes in that game.

Speaker 4 (19:49):
Oh he did.

Speaker 5 (19:50):
I mean, their third down percentage was ridiculous.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
That they were twelve of seventeen on third down last year.

Speaker 1 (19:56):
They were short. They weren't short third downs either, they
were you know, passing third.

Speaker 4 (19:59):
Downs, which is also part of why Minnesota was a
bad defense. They were the worst third down defense in
the Big Ten as well. So a lot of this
comes down to to Guards's point, if you can stop
omrio on Hampton and make it second and third and long.
For Max Johnson and always played a lot of football,
But this is also a North Carolina offensive line that

(20:20):
is replacing four starters. So this is all as much
as it is just a barometer check for what Minnesota's
defense is going to be. Winston de Laddie Boudere's group
on the defensive line, this is your time to shine
if you are going to be as good as what
Fleck thinks you're going to be. And Fleck said I
think a couple of different times, including at Big Ten
media days, that this is the most talented group he

(20:41):
believes he's had here. I mean, I think back to
that was it twenty twenty one or twenty nineteen when
it was I think it was twenty one, where you
had a Sees, you had boy Mafe, you had some guys,
Niles Pinkney. Yeah, now you better play like that. And
this is going to be a good barometer test for
them for an offensive line that's replacing a lot of.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
Guys flipping the offense quickly. Really, the one wild card
I saw from your depth chart is Donald Driver's kid, right,
Christian Like. As we talk a lot about the injuries
to Darius Taylor, obviously Daniel Jackson, but Driver's been pretty
much banged up the whole time. Essentially, He's had a

(21:20):
couple of flashes here as you wrote about, But how
important could he potentially be as they try to find
people to continue to throw the ball to. And do
we think he's going to be ready for the opener
or beyond.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
I think he'll be ready. I think it'd be healthy.
I'll say this, I think he's going to have the
season that I think a lot of people thought Georgia
transfer Tyler Williams was going.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
To have when I noticed he wasn't really featured prominently
in the Ryan Burns depth chart.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
He wasn't. And we'll see if that comes to fruition.
But from what I've heard behind the scenes, he's still
pretty raw. He's probably still a year away. And that's
where driver. When he's been healthy here in the spring
and in the fall. You talked to some people within
that building. He's been making splosive plays left and right,
and Chip, what's one thing with this passing?

Speaker 1 (22:04):
The desperately the place And you know the one day
we were all three were there the.

Speaker 5 (22:10):
Second open practice, he got a ton of work.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
Yes he was.

Speaker 1 (22:13):
He was the one guy that really stood out amongst
the receivers that they obviously Jack Jackson went in practicing,
but he looked like to me, if if you have
the three guys that are returning, Driver was the fourth
guy in that in that group along with him, that
looks like that he's going to be part of their
main rotation.

Speaker 5 (22:33):
So yeah, they need him, uh you know, to be able.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
Well, then need somebody be will take some pressure off
of Daniel Jackson because he's gonna draw the you know,
the best corner that the most covered. So whether it's
you know, Driver or Lamechi or who you know, whoever,
Elijah they need, They need some guys to step up
and sort just you know, you're not trying to force
feed the ball to Daniel Jackson.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
They just need as many options as they possibly can have. Right,
They need variety, they need multiplicity, They need consistency from
a couple of other people. How are we feeling burnsey
about Elijah Spencer who did not capitalize on what was
a really good year at Charlotte, Right, and they were
excited about bringing him in.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
Had a good spring game.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
I remember he had a good spring game last year
when we were inside they actually did one and had
a lot of catches that looked like it was I
thought he was going to play pretty well. Obviously did not,
So what are we hearing about him? Because he did
make the Ryan burns too deep?

Speaker 4 (23:31):
He did. I first asked, can you hear my mastiff
going crazy in the back?

Speaker 3 (23:35):
I hear him, Yeah we can, but we're pros. We
just moved.

Speaker 5 (23:39):
You talk about me wiping my crumbs off my keyboard.

Speaker 4 (23:42):
I can't exactly go. He's a floor below going ballistic
at the mailman. Yeah, poor mail man. But I think
the thing for Elijah Spencer here this fall has been
consistency with catching the football. It's been a lot better.
It's been a lot more like he was at Charlotte.
And I'd argue, if there's going to be one guy
to take the pressure off of Daniel Jackson, it's going
to be Spencer. We've seen it before Charlotte. It went

(24:02):
about his pair shaped as it could possibly be last
fall with single digit catches. And I think even from
talking to him in July, I think what he learned
last fall was everybody at Minnesota is a professional compared
at Charlotte. Everybody is taking this a lot more seriously
than maybe when you could just show up and be
the guy. And I'm not saying that maybe he took

(24:24):
some plays off or anything like that. But I think
he figured out that if you're going to be in
Matt Simon's wide receiver rotation consistently, you have to bring
it consistently every day. And I think they've been a
lot happier with what they've seen here in the last
eight months. But ultimately he's got to show it on
Thursdays and Saturdays. But if you ask me today, I

(24:44):
think it's Rockington, I think it's Spencer, and I think
it's Jackson that take that field on the initial three
wide receiver set. But don't sleep on Christian Driver as
they mean. He is someone that adds a little bit
of speed, suddenness, something that they kind of don't have
outside of Daniel Jackson there and even Daniel Jackson folks,
I mean, I don't know. He didn't practice in a

(25:05):
couple of weeks now. I from what I understand, he's
going to be ready to go for North Carolina. But
it's not great when you're all a big ten receiver
is trying to get as healthy as humanly possible just
a week out.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
So did it put you right back in the same
spot emotionally that you are during the season Burnsey or
was it like, just take me through your emotions. We
said this was going to happen last week. PJ was
going to have his press conference. I think I called
it verbatim. He was going to say, when asked about
Darius Taylor and Daniel Jackson, all right, we'll have the
availability report two hours before the game. That's what that's

(25:41):
what we're gonna know. Did he look over at general
manager Garrett Tchernoff, did he look over at sid Paul
Rovnak and give a wink and a nod when as
he did it, or did you just black out at
that point because you were so bitter about it?

Speaker 4 (25:55):
Oh, he gets this sly grin on his face like
and he's yeah, he makes eye contact with Gared. But
you know, you know you had to ask the question
because we have to, but you knew what the answer
was going to be.

Speaker 3 (26:07):
So it's one of those self fulfilling prophecies.

Speaker 4 (26:10):
I'd say this. I think Darius is a lot closer
to a fifty to fifty shot than a lot of
people do. I do anticipate him to practice this week
if he hasn't already, Now in what capacity and what
is he doing that's the question. And it also becomes
you don't need him to beat Nevada in Rhode Island.
You don't, So do you want to maybe push him

(26:31):
a little bit more to get back for twenty snaps
in this game where you can give him fifteen carries,
knowing that you can then rest him the next two
weeks to get ready for Iowa. I think there's a
lot of discussions that have to be had between PJ,
the trainers, Darius Taylor yet. But I'm optimistic that this
is not, you know, a long term thing. And I
know a lot of listeners are like, well, Ryan, Cody

(26:53):
Lindenberg last year, what do you mean? Or Darius Yea.
So many of these injuries, you guys know like I do.
They're they're their own thing. They're not you know, the
transitive property doesn't apply to football like it doesn't apply
to so many things in life. So I think he's
going to have a shot to play. Will he end
up playing? I have no idea. Do I expect him

(27:13):
to be listed is out or in on the injury
report that comes out two hours ahead of time. I
think the list him is questionable to screw with North
Carolina up until the opening kick. I think he'll be
dressed now. Whether he plays or not, we'll find out,
but I think they avoided long term ramifications with it,
but we'll find out.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
Yeah, And it is about he just needs to be
as ready for as mini games as possible this year.
I know it's a buzzkill to think about him not
being there for North Carolina because I think it's a
big swing game and how the whole season can potentially
be viewed, certainly that first month. But you got to
find a way. He's got to be on the field
against Iowa. Man, he's got to be on the field
against Michigan. He's got to be on the field against

(27:55):
usc UCLA when they get into the meat of that
Big Ten schedule.

Speaker 3 (27:58):
That's where he's just got to be on the well.

Speaker 1 (28:01):
And you've seen that injury you rush back from. Now
you're talking about something right, you know, you talk about
that's going to so you know, getting him right for
Iowa and the Big Ten.

Speaker 5 (28:15):
Is the most important thing.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
But it you know, it's a bummer when you could
you see how different they are when he's in there.
I mean, that guy is just a special talent and so.

Speaker 4 (28:26):
At least last year, especially in November, when it was like,
you're leaning on Jordan Nuben, who twelve months prior to
that hadn't even been a running back, and then he
gave him forty carries, and then he was his body
wasn't ready for that, and then he had nobody else
to go to. And that's where the hope would be
if Darius cannot go for this game, that's where Marcus
Major and Cie Bengera and Jordan Nuben and Jared Mangham

(28:49):
and maybe even true freshman by the name of feme
Igeboy who has gotten a lot of steam here from
Fleck and Harbow in the last week or so, that
you can have adequate options to lean on. I think
the thing I would say is, I think you're going
to see a parentis bear. I think they've listened to
the podcast enough. It's where you're going to see them

(29:13):
give three guys carries and that just lean on one.

Speaker 1 (29:16):
Now.

Speaker 4 (29:16):
I know a lot of people are skeptical of that,
and I know a lot of people will say, you know,
Fleck is just going to run whoever it is into
the ground like he has the previous years. I also
would say their actions would tell you that they're not
going to with how many transfer guys that they added. Yeah,
so we'll see what comes to fruition. We'll see who's
actually healthy. But I think in an ideal world for them,

(29:38):
I would say the plant going into the season is
they give three running backs per game, an opportunity to
stay fresh, and then they'll ride whoever in the fourth
quarter has played the best that day.

Speaker 1 (29:51):
Yeah, and I mean, you don't I want to see
Marcus Major in a game because the one practice we
got to see and he didn't really go three anything.
But you look at his body type. I mean, he
looks like a big running back that has some you know,
physical talent. You know with him, he's been in a
Marquee program, and so why would you bring a guy

(30:11):
like that into your program if you're not going to
use him, you know. I mean, I know Darius Taylor's
a all Big ten caliber running back, but.

Speaker 5 (30:19):
You know, if you're getting that kind of transfer to
come in, it would behoove you to spread those carries.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
Around, and I tend to think they will. I mean,
obviously Mo was a different type of guy. You could
give him the ball, you know, as much as as
much as you wanted.

Speaker 5 (30:38):
You would think that PJ has understood.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
That, Okay, that that doesn't exist anymore in his team,
Like they have to spread these carries around.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
Well, yeah, go ahead with Rodney and Shannon and a
young mon.

Speaker 2 (30:52):
Yes, they didn't when Moe was really going late in
his career, they didn't have the pair and a spare
as much. Yeah, right, Trey Potts was not to Trey
Potts that he was as a true freshman right after
his situation where Jerry Kill always used to say, situation
after his situation, Trey Potts wasn't that obviously Bucky and
Kay Thomas were gone because those two, you know, got

(31:13):
a lot of carries together as we were as we
were going. So, but when Moe was moving along, they
didn't really have the spare part of it. So we've seen,
I mean, Chip, you're the Barbara and Maroney bit, right,
Gary Russell like a mere pinnic like they they've always
had a few, and they've always when they've been really successful,
they've always mixed in a few.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
H Yeah, I mean that's yeah. I mean because when
you look at uh, you know, his his you know,
the recruiting all the guys that what he wants to do.
I mean that's PJ knows that he knows he can't
just rely on Darius. As tempting as it is to
give Darius Taylor the ball, you know, as many times

(31:54):
as you can. I mean, this is this guy who's
dealt with injuries now for two straight seasons, and and
you know that type of model is just not gonna work.
And Marcus Major, I mean, I think he gives them
a different kind of He looks bigger, uh, burnsy, he
looks like a like a two hundred and twenty pound
running back.

Speaker 4 (32:14):
But it's more east west to Darius Taylor's nor South.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
Yeah, And so he gives you a different kind of
running style.

Speaker 5 (32:20):
And so I like that.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
I mean, when you know, you go back, you mentioned
Barbara Rooni, you had different running styles there, Yep. I
mean that that plays with the defense too, when you
have you know, you can hit him with one thing
and come back with another guy. So so I think
I think that rotation will look different hopefully Darius Taylor.
You know, it's not something that lingers too, you know
too much, and that when they when they are healthy,

(32:44):
you would like it to be a eighteen carry for
Darius Taylor, ten to twelve for Major. Maybe someone else
coming in getting you know, spare some gets a series,
you know, gets a series in the second something like that.
I mean, I think that could be effective for with.

Speaker 3 (33:03):
Max Brozmer throwing twenty four times at least.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
Hey, right now, I think he breaks Tanner's record.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
I know you've said that, we get every show every
we know it was your number one bold prediction too, right,
I think it was was I skimmed your bold predictions.

Speaker 5 (33:19):
Well, we might have the average to break it.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
I mean, all he would have to do is throw
twenty five passes a game for thirteen games. It's all
he has to do. We've lamented on this for the
since the birth of this show, the passing offense and
their unwillingness to throw the football. I mean, Brozeman has
thrown at four hundred and twenty plus times the last

(33:41):
two years. He's not going to do that here. But
if he threw the ball three hundred and seventy five
times this fall, which Tanner's record I believe is three
hundred and eighteen, which was back in that twenty nineteen season,
all he has to do is throw it twenty seven
times a game, and considering the amount of close games
that they're going to be in, or they're projected to

(34:02):
be in, at least you can't just rely on the
running game. And so that's where the hope would be
over this first month that he doesn't have an eighth
in type of campaign where he struggles against the opener
and then in that third and fourth game of the season,
like again, remember back to the North Carolina game last
year eight and went thirteen of thirty one. I remember it,

(34:23):
That's where you saw the rains start to be pulled
back on the passing offense. And so the hope would
be from what they've seen in fall camp that they
can get this passing offense to at least be average
in passing attempts.

Speaker 1 (34:35):
Well, it's it's interesting, and I know PJ is always
going to be one the you know, paint the you
know Rosie picture and pump guys up. But both he
and Harbow have not done anything to dissuade expectations.

Speaker 5 (34:52):
With their quarterback.

Speaker 1 (34:52):
If anything, they've gone they've doubled down on it and
talked about this guy's changed the program. He's done this,
he you know this before he's even play the game.
I mean he's I was looking at both of their
quotes from their last media session, is like, yeah, I
mean the bar They have definitely raised the bar on
what people should expect out of Max Browser.

Speaker 5 (35:13):
So we'll see what it does. But it wasn't.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
They haven't exactly tempered expectations for him.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
And that's where I think one of the things I
want to see from the quarterback this year versus last year.
Athan was really good in the first half and then
his play dropped off precipitously in the second half. Now
this year, the thing I'll be curious about is does
Brosmer get a little bit better as the game goes on,
because in theory, I mean we've someone who has been

(35:41):
at those press conferences listened to them. I mean, they
continue to talk up his intelligence, his ability to understand
what the defense is giving him. So as in the
second half, when you're seeing a lot more adjustments to
what whatever happened in the previous thirty minutes, the hope
would be that Brozemer has more comprehension about what the
defense is trying to do to him compared to maybe

(36:02):
some of the previous Gopher quarterbacks. Now it also helps
that whoever is getting the getting the handoff or Max
Brosmer dropping back to pass. I think this has the
potential to be Flex's best offensive line too. Right between
Ursery at left tackle, who's going to be a top
six to the overall pick. You look at the guards

(36:23):
and Carolyn Cooper, who I know, Dame Brugler, who I
have a lot of respect for for the athletic and
NFL draft guy had both his top twenty interior offensive
line prospects. So you're talking about potential draftable grades. I mean,
I think back to that twenty two offensive line where
you had Chuck Filiaga and Axel Rushmeyer end up as

(36:44):
all big ten guys at the guard spots, and that
was Ursery's also first year at left tackle. I mean,
I think they have the potential to be pretty good
up front, and so that's where the hope would be
protections a little bit better. They're able to potentially open
some more holes for who whoever that is up front.
But I do think if you asked me what I
think today is the strength of the team just in

(37:07):
general position group wise, I think it's offensive line.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
Yeah, I think you're right, Well, and they've shown they
know how to scheme it too, right. I Mean you
talk to offensive line coaches and offensive coordinators and they'll say,
because it's not like they're doing a lot of exotic
stuff all the time, no, right, but they still find
different ways historically. Last year is kind of the aberration
in this thing. Historically, no matter who was running the ball,
whether it was one of the kids that we talked

(37:32):
about Ormo Ibraham like, they find different ways as the
game goes on to scheme it up too. So yeah,
I think we should have a lot of faith in
that group. I think Callahan's proven it too. Just the
guys that he continues to develop and find and put
into the NFL and put into the NFL conversation, it
is a really good place to start.

Speaker 3 (37:51):
I think you're spot on about that.

Speaker 5 (37:53):
I know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
Yeah, I'm just I think I say it last week
that I know we talked about the run defense and
defense line you know, have to be better there, but
I feel like their two lines are If you ask
me what the strength of this team is, I'd say
their line play offense and defense.

Speaker 4 (38:09):
And if they are, they're gonna make the preseason win
total look, you know not. It's fascinating to me because
there is a disconnect between that Vegas number which opened
at four and a half, which was the lowest of
any Big Ten team. Now I think it's up to
five or five and a half or even today the
Senior Bowl released their watch list, there's eleven Gophers on there.

(38:30):
Like there is. There's a disconnect between reality and what
it's actually going to to come to fruition because I mean,
I'm right about it. For Thursday when my season prediction
comes out, I mean, tell me where I'm wrong here.
I have between four and eight and eight and four
all at double digit percentiles. Nothing would shock me. I

(38:54):
have nothing none of these say between six, four and
eight and eight and four as a higher than thirty
percent change. It's up happening because there's so many teams
on this schedule. And I call him eight coin flip games. Yeah,
for Minnesota, where they're gonna be plus or minus a touchdown.
If you go two and six in those, boy, it's
going to be not a great season. You go five

(39:14):
and three, six and two in those, we're going to
be in a warm destination and we're going to be
able to get Chips Goggins to a bowl game hopefully.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
No, it don't be crazy. Don't be crazy. The only
one he's going to is Music City. If that ever happened,
Music City, he'll do everything he can.

Speaker 4 (39:29):
Would you come to the Charlotte Bowl game, Chipper.

Speaker 3 (39:33):
Come on, it's like January third, I think, I.

Speaker 4 (39:35):
Think, Yeah, that's going on in January third.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
Yeah, you don't need to be.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
You don't need to be at the Vikings Lions game
on January fourth. You don't need to do that for them.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
We're in thirteen Vikings taking on whatever the Lions are.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
We do always talk about it, though, and it's when
you do the game predictions and what's the record going
to be? Like, I always go back. Just let's take
speaking of warm ball destinations, let's take the out Back
Bull season and the Citrus Bowl season. They were eight
and four and then ten and two, right, and I
think about that eight and four season. They needed the

(40:09):
breing body Calhoun play against Nebraska. They needed Mitch Leidner
to just drop a complete dime to kJ May on
the drive before. They needed a kickoff return against Northwestern
in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 3 (40:21):
To win that game.

Speaker 2 (40:21):
They needed a fifty three yard field goal to walk
off Purdue at the buzzer by your guy Burnsey. Ryan
Santoso who's continuing to kick.

Speaker 4 (40:29):
Has Florida legend, Ryan Santoso.

Speaker 2 (40:32):
So that's that season twenty nineteen. You needed fourth and thirteen,
you know, Tanner Morgan to Chris Opman Bell, I mean,
so you needed they were.

Speaker 3 (40:42):
Trailing in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 2 (40:43):
That was the infamous chip at the State Fair, coming
up on Friday and going what was that, I go,
I don't know. That was Georgia Southern third and thirty
right with the Dimitrius Douglas bit. Like my point in
all of this is everything that we just talked about.
We've been recording for literally forty one minutes from mark.
All of this is going to come down to like

(41:05):
seven plays. It is, And that's why college coaches don't
release the depth chart. That's why college coaches have binoculars
all over their building. That's why college coaches go crazy
because two of the best years in program history, the
two January one Bowl games in the last sixty years.
I just gave you the seven plays that define. If
any of those go the other way, we're not. We

(41:27):
might be talking about a music City Bowl that Chip
hung out at. We might be talking about, you know,
a fourth guaranteed Rate Bowl, Like that is the margin
for all of this and so you know, buckle up because,
as Burnsy said, there's about eight of those games that
are going to be in that wheelhouse.

Speaker 1 (41:42):
Well that's why I think pg's programs kind of built
that way that they're going to be in a lot
of these close games because it's just how they are.
It's how you know, to Iowa usually is, and so
it's in that way. It's it's sort of kind of
like the NFL where it's like, really are you going
to make They're all kind of bunch together and it's
just like who's gonna make that game? Deciding play in

(42:05):
the two minute or whatever that's gonna you know, be
the tipping point for you. But you know, as you're
talking about that, Burns he's like, I feel like I
need to see a lot of teams in the big
Like I can say, okay, oh, I'll say they're gonna
be really good, right Oregon, They're gonna Penn State's but
there's just a bunch of teams together, like you need

(42:26):
to see him play like what they are trying to
figure out who they are, what they are, what the
quarterback looks like. How you know, I just don't have
a good feel for the Gophers and about ten other
Big Ten teams like to say, you know when I
go to Illinois, that's all I mean.

Speaker 5 (42:40):
I just can't sit here and say that.

Speaker 4 (42:42):
Well, you, me and everybody in between. It so much.
If it comes down to the quarterback position, Minnesota's got
a brand new one, and I looked at the schedule.
There are ten teams that are gonna have different quarterbacks
than what they had last year. And I'm counting Iowa
as part of that ten because we'll see if Kid
McNamara's back, Minnesota didn't see him or Brennan Sullivan. But
so many of these teams have a brand new quarterback

(43:04):
with a brand new offensive coordinator. And it's the most
important position in sports. Who's good who's not. I can
tell you what they've done at their previous stops, but
how are they gonna look with a new offensive coordinator,
new skill position players and adjustment and level whatever it
may be. That's why it's so difficult to do. That's
why this I don't know, if you there's just so

(43:25):
many of these games. I don't know who is gonna
be good. I even think about that stretch between the
buys this year from Minnesota, that Maryland Rutgers, which I
cannot tell you justin here we go in Illinois, where
it's if you go three and oher, which you plausibly can,
you're gonna be in a great spot for a warm
bowl game. You go zero to three, you're gonna be

(43:47):
sweating to even get to a bowl game. It's probably
not even gonna get there. And I can plausibly tell
you you can win or lose any one of those games.

Speaker 5 (43:55):
I think he is Rutgers.

Speaker 1 (43:56):
I mean he's recruited well right, I mean they have
momentum with their recruiting, and.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
They have a very manageable schedule.

Speaker 4 (44:02):
They have minebacker yesterday to a torn ACL and oh really, yeah,
he's led them in sacks when he's been whenever he's
played the last three four seasons, he's led them in sacks.
And they lost him to a torn ACL, plus their
other preseason stud linebackers recovering from an achilles injury, and
he might not play to start the season. Yes, so

(44:23):
many of these teams, so many of these games, including
the opener on Thursday. I mean, it's not going to
shock us anyway. And that's where even last season you
needed the Daniel Jackson toe tap to the Cooper Degeni
invallid signal, and then you saw it on the flip
side with the Northwestern and Illinois debacles. It all comes

(44:44):
down to can Max Brozmer be consistent? Can he be
the quarterback? You think? And then why they struggled so
much last year? To boys, they couldn't finish a football
game to save their life more or less, anytime they
got in a tight Big Ten game down the stretch,
they just imploded. So can they be able to put
a game away? I don't know, But there's so many

(45:04):
games on this schedule where I think that's part of
the fun this year is team seven through sixteen in
the Big Ten. There's gonna be a giant conglomerate of
them between eight and four and four and eight. But
your guess is as good as mine. Who though how
they end up shaking out?

Speaker 1 (45:20):
Well, that's the thing too, like with you know, with
the new format and before it's like well Big ten, wesh.
You know they're playing these teams you know probably this
team's gonna these two are gonna be bad. These will
be kind of comparable. Like I don't think you see,
LA's a good team obviously, but I mean you're in
usc to the roust, you know, to the uh schedule now,
so you just have this there's feeling a newness to me,

(45:44):
like with the Big Ten, Like there's so much new
about it and uncertainty that you go into it like
really not sure what the heck how this thing's gonna unfold.
Other than the top teams, we kind of know what
you know, Yep, they're gonna be really good, But I
you know, I would be surprised if you know, a
team kind of comes out of nowhere. You know, they

(46:05):
hit right on the quarterback and you know, and they play,
you know, they put it together. So this is going
to be one of the I think funnest in terms
of anticipation for me seasons going into because you just
don't really have a great feel for what's going to happen.

Speaker 2 (46:20):
We're going to be learning a lot. We'll be learning
a lot on a week two week basis. By the way,
get him price for Gophers North Carolina thirty bucks State
Fair special. I saw State Fair Special, which here in
Minnesota starts tomorrow, as we record this on a Wednesday,
to get him prices thirty dollars. The Thursday night game
is always fun, Always fun to it to hang out
on a Thursday night Primetime Fox. Screw the whole bit.

(46:42):
Burnsy's joining me on the pregame show right outside of
three im at Mary Ucci. I'm sure I'll be taking
pictures of Burnsy and all the adoring fans. But to
get in prices thirty dollars gophersports dot com there speaking
of the business of college sports. When we come back,
we're going to talk about a couple of things that
caught our eye. And the times are changing for sure.
Or want to pause, Zough and thank our great partner

(47:02):
at Jack's Cafe, Jackscafe dot com Season three with the
Minneapolis Institution being a sponsor of the podcast.

Speaker 3 (47:09):
Burnsy just popped over there a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker 5 (47:11):
Chip.

Speaker 2 (47:11):
Now that you're empty nesters, I know you've got your
date night schedule at twenty five years right that you've
been married. I think we saw that post this year
as well, So I mean you could do a weekly
you know, Schoggin's Family Date night at Jack's Cafe. And
the best part is you know where you're gonna park
every single time.

Speaker 5 (47:28):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (47:29):
I was thinking about that, Like, my wife and I
kind of are down in the dumps. What better way
to cheer up than to take her to Jacks, right,
have a nice dinner. Let's spend what little money we
have left after.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
I was gonna say, yeah, the college tuition. You might
want to use a gift card. Hopefully we can get
a gift card out of this deal for Bill.

Speaker 1 (47:46):
Yeah, but yeah, I mean that would put my wife
in a good mood to take her out to a
nice dinner right, roll right into the parking lot. I'm
not grumpy because I can't find a parking spot plenty
of you know.

Speaker 5 (47:56):
That puts me in a good mood.

Speaker 1 (47:58):
We'd go up there, sit down on a patio, drowned
our sorrow in a nice drink, and then have a
good steak or walleye. The Walleye is excellent.

Speaker 5 (48:06):
I love the wahlight there. That's a good idea.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Yeah, stare at the stare at the bubbling brook in
the back patio and just think about life, you know,
and as the water the water's rolling down it's like
you're the seasons of your life, Chip just going there.
But Jax can tell you though, that family roots run deep, right.
I mean it's been a family run business basically since
nineteen ten. The bar opened in nineteen thirty three after prohibition.

(48:30):
But you know, the spot where Jack's Cafe is has
been around for over one hundred years, and so it's
a new season for the Skogins family. But everything, it
all works together and you can do it at Jack's Cafe.
Anything you want to add to this burns. He's probably
the best commercial we've ever done.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
It's up there, It certainly is.

Speaker 3 (48:48):
It's probably the best commercial we've ever done.

Speaker 4 (48:50):
Whether it's watching Chip get some crembreu lat out on
the patio for date night, or if you just want
to hop over there with some of your buddies and
go sit at the bar, go talk to those lovely people.
I love the Bee's knees I have was the drink
I had when I was there just a couple of
weeks ago. Wonderful, wonderful drink. Whether it's run, whether it's
date night, whether it's just hop on over there Jackscafe dot.

Speaker 2 (49:10):
Com before or after games as well, there's an eleven
o'clock kick week two. Great, it'll be a perfect afternoon.
Hopefully in September the patio will be open. It'll be hopping.
I'm not sure about the Bee's Knees. I'll take Burnsy's
word for it. It's another weird drink that I've never
heard of. But the nice thing is they also have beer,
which I like. So as we always say something for
everyone at Jack's Cafe, make your reservations at Jackscafe dot

(49:32):
com Jaxcafe dot com. We're in the wrong business, guys.
We are on the wrong side of college sports. We
are commenting on college sports. We should have been in
college sports, especially now that billions of dollars are changing hands,
whether it's the athletes, the coaches, the administrators, and now

(49:53):
the general managers. What is a general manager, Well, they
kind of run everything. They kind of are the old
director of football operations. We talked about the University of
Minnesota wan a lot on this show. His name's Garrett,
kind of pj's right hand man. But Courtney Morgan is
with Kaitlin de Borr at Alabama. He leveraged some interest

(50:13):
in USC to earn an average of eight hundred and
twenty five thousand dollars annually, according to ESPN. Here a
deal that bolsters this place as college football's highest paid
front office figure. He was the GM for Washington and
now he's making eight hundred and twenty five million dollars.

(50:34):
He made five hundred in his initial contract with Alabama.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
If he's making a twenty five million, he should go
buy a country, sir.

Speaker 2 (50:42):
And I say that I'm reading. This is my he
dine education. I'm trying to read and talk at the
same time. It's not we're and think at the same time.
But he got to Tuscaloosa. They were paying him a
half million dollars. They haven't done anything on the field yet,
and he's already got a raise. It's good being at
the top of college football. And now the general manager,
a term that we didn't even know about in college

(51:02):
sports until like four or five years ago, is now
making almost a million dollars.

Speaker 1 (51:07):
And this is why I have little sympathy when schools
tell us that, how are we ever going to pay
the players the twenty one million, the athletes the twenty
one million dollars that's gonna that's gonna next year? I
think Paul twenty twenty five.

Speaker 5 (51:25):
Yep, this is when it's gonna start.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
When you look at administrative costs in terms of salaries, staffing,
those things, positions that they've added.

Speaker 5 (51:35):
General manager.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
You know, I think that's a relatively in the last
five to seven years, maybe ten years, were used to
be just a professional thing. Now it's trickled down to
college where the big programs have general managers. But it's
going to be interesting, how you know, even I think
even the Alabama ad they're in the SEC meetings talking about, man,

(51:57):
this is gonna be a lot of money to have
to come up with the pay athletes. Now, well they
have it because they're they're they're adding positions and they're
adding big salary. So you know, I'm not gonna have
a lot of sympathy for those kind of quotes.

Speaker 4 (52:15):
Yeah. Here at Minnesota, I would tell you, I think
what Courtney Morgan does at Alabama versus what Garrett Tronoff
does here at Minnesota, it's a little bit different. Garrett
kind of oversees everything and kind of is the wears
four hundred different hats. I think Courtney's more on the
director of player personnel side, which is what Marcus Hendrickson

(52:35):
does here at Minnesota now Boys. I would tell you
Minnesota for both of those positions is nowhere close to
eight hundred and twenty five dollars, and I don't get
I'd have a hard time seeing them get anywhere near
close to that. But that's going to be the next
thing in college football. And that's what Fleck talked about
a big ten media days is whether it's been facilities,

(52:57):
whether it's been you know, just adding staff, the next
era is going to be ramping up your personnel staff
because when you're going to have this additional potentially eight
figures to pay players and scholarships or whatever. The roster
you want to call now is going from eighty five
to one oh five, that's where those guys are going

(53:18):
to be so important in evaluations. And that's where I mean,
I'll die in the hill of at someplace like Minnesota.
You don't have to be the best recruiter, but you
better be the best evaluator. You have to be able
to hit on so many players, and that's where the
personnel department has to continue to get more efficient.

Speaker 5 (53:36):
Well.

Speaker 1 (53:36):
And Mark Coyle I saw always quoted again, I think
is in our paper.

Speaker 3 (53:42):
The Minnesota Start Tribune.

Speaker 5 (53:44):
The Minnesota Yeah, the Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Big Change, the big change. I was stunned. That was
a big rebrand, big rebrand, the Minnesota Start Tribune.

Speaker 3 (53:52):
But anyway, go ahead.

Speaker 1 (53:54):
That they're gonna that, I'm talking about hiring a general manager.

Speaker 3 (53:58):
I don't know if it's for cat management.

Speaker 5 (54:01):
Yeah, the cat man for the entire department.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
But to figure out, Okay, who's going to get that
allotment of the twenty one million dollars.

Speaker 5 (54:10):
How's it gonna go?

Speaker 1 (54:11):
Is it gonna be up to uh, you know, is
PJ and Garrett or Marcus Hendrison going to do that?
But when you think about now like uh Bernsy and
you know, it's better anyone like it used to be,
like your personnel people just evaluate high school kids right, well,
now you got to evaluate probably the portal players.

Speaker 5 (54:31):
On other rosters.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
M It's like a pro personnel department does, because you
you know, you got to know if you need to
make it not that they're making trades, but when guys
hit the portal, you have to know you have to
be able to make it out.

Speaker 4 (54:42):
With especially a place like Minnesota.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
Yeah, because you know, you have to make the evaluation
whether it fits and then oh, by the way, have
your other general manager come in and say, here's how
much money we can give to that player, you know,
as part of this twenty one.

Speaker 5 (54:56):
It's it's a lot work. Yeah, the the.

Speaker 1 (55:01):
It is so much more complicated now than versus Hey,
let's go recruiting and try to find some players to
bring it to the program.

Speaker 4 (55:07):
Twenty years ago with Glenn Mason, it was a lot
a lot different.

Speaker 2 (55:10):
Yeah, exactly, like, let's let's go find the three most
important people in this player's life and you know, have
some Peach Cobbler in their living room and you know,
talk about the great education they can get at the
university of whatever. And now it's different. I saw it
don in Iowa City. Is it Seth Wallace Burnsey? Is
that one of their Is that one of their guys?
He's apparently kind of going to take over the GM

(55:31):
role whatever it is, And he was talking about how thinks.

Speaker 4 (55:34):
Are Yler Barnes? What are you're talking about?

Speaker 3 (55:37):
Is Tyler Barnes?

Speaker 2 (55:37):
Okay, yeah, thank you, And you can tell a reading
comprehension a strong suit for me today. But he was
talking about whoever it was was talking about that he's
already kind of done a dry run for next year's
Iowa salary cap and what they think the money's going
to be. The one hundred and five you know that
are going to be able to do it with the
with the limitations, And he's basically like, well, we've got

(55:58):
like one hundred and thirty kids on our team right now,
so twenty five of them are going to be here.
And he just talked about how he's already doing those calculations,
the rough estimates, and it's going to be wild to
see what comes of all of that.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
But the problem with this is until they get clarity
on Title nine, how are they going to know what
their pool of money is? Because if if this twenty
one million dollars falls under the you know, the Title
nine restrictions or the you know the legislation, then half's
going to women's sports and half are going to men.

Speaker 5 (56:35):
That that's a big deal.

Speaker 1 (56:36):
I mean that that you know that is going to
dictate how much you can spend.

Speaker 5 (56:39):
But I don't the more you read.

Speaker 1 (56:42):
And hear, I think there's gonna be challenges to that
quickly in court. And if it is, you know, so
much more is going to go would we say burnsy
last time, you think seventy percent would go to football.

Speaker 4 (56:55):
Which would put you somewhere around fourteen to fifteen million
if we make an estimations there.

Speaker 5 (57:01):
Yeah, so, and then the rest would divvy up. However,
the general managers.

Speaker 1 (57:05):
Athletic departments decides that that you know, eight million, seven
million goes to the rest of the teams.

Speaker 3 (57:11):
But I just, I mean, what's who's getting He's getting
forlorn here?

Speaker 5 (57:21):
Well, it's just like if you're a coach.

Speaker 1 (57:24):
And this is why I think we see coaches getting
out of the business or going to the NFL or retiring.

Speaker 5 (57:30):
This just seems like it's was it was it? Uh?
Who was the coach? Oh, Mike Gundhy did you see that? Uh?
I saw a video of him the other day saying,
stop calling us about n I L.

Speaker 1 (57:43):
It's over.

Speaker 5 (57:43):
We're in camp. We're not dealing with n I L
like he's you know, but this is I don't think
you can do that.

Speaker 1 (57:48):
This is something that you have to manage year round, right,
like the constant the transactional part of this is just
I'm old. I know, It's just it's still hard for
me to get my head around sometimes this is the
new reality.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
I'm sorry, it's hard.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
I understand.

Speaker 2 (58:06):
Yeah, I and along those lines where I wanted to
go next, And speaking of Mike Gundhy, did you see
how Oklahoma State is hoping to boost some of their
ni L efforts?

Speaker 3 (58:16):
This was the other I.

Speaker 4 (58:17):
Can't wait for you to explain this to Chip, all right.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
Well they are because I have to click off of
this so I can read it. I'm not going to
be able to see his face, which I'm disappointed on
you mentioned a Chip that Gundhy said he hopes his
players can focus on football now instead of the business
side of n I L. With the season opener just
a few days away. However, Oklahoma State announced on Tuesday
that the Cowboys will sport q R codes on their helmets,

(58:41):
linking to a donation page for the school's.

Speaker 3 (58:44):
N I L fund.

Speaker 4 (58:47):
Well, yeah, that.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Doesn't affect you. We learned that at Jack's Cafe last
year we had our Week zero.

Speaker 1 (58:57):
Just bring me the menu, like, I want to hold
the menu. I want to be turn it over and
look like I don't have to like scroll through the phone.

Speaker 2 (59:02):
Just so I have a lot of questions on the
QR code. Burnsy because it's on the back of the helmet,
So can you get to it off of television?

Speaker 3 (59:11):
Do you have to be next to the player?

Speaker 2 (59:12):
Like does it is it for each specific player that
gets their own NIL code?

Speaker 3 (59:18):
Like there's so many questions.

Speaker 2 (59:19):
Now, I'll say this, as stupid as I think this is,
and and I understand NIL is everything, so I'm not
trying to minimize it. I'm I'm more like you chip,
like it's frustrating. It's an old school guy who loves
the romance of the whole deal that you know, even
as naive as I may be on it, that this
is kind of where we are. I will say I
am for in this new world, any creative way, as

(59:42):
stupid as it sounds, to try to boost awareness of it,
to try to you know, I don't know a guy
has twelve bush lights in the parking lot and wants
to give a thousand dollars in his QR code, Like,
who knows that might might be a game changer for him.
I am for every creative way to try to figure
out how to do this. As annoying as it is
that it literally is coming down to fans and boosters

(01:00:05):
having to foot the bill for a lot of this
stuff at the moment, but I think it's a great
idea just to get you and at least shows your
players and your program and your possible recruits. We're trying
out here, like we're doing our best to try to
take care of you under the new guidelines and everything
that comes with it.

Speaker 4 (01:00:19):
I think the funny part is going to be if,
like Oklahoma State makes a big play, a touchdown, interception,
whatever it may be, instead of them doing some kind
of weird celebration, they're just going to turn around to
the camera, point the head. Absolutely that's going to make
a big play, And like tipping culture in America, it's
going to be like, well, would you like to see
another just point to the back of your head. It's

(01:00:40):
just gonna be I mean, I like the innovation with it,
I like the theory behind it. I also to the
point both of you made the romance is just college sports,
college but both so different than it was five, ten,
twenty years ago. Now it's just to your point, Gandhi
can now look to his players and say, I'm trying.
But it's also like what are we doing here?

Speaker 1 (01:01:02):
Yeah, well, you wonder like the fact that he brought
that up.

Speaker 5 (01:01:08):
Because he said their agents.

Speaker 1 (01:01:10):
Are calling him wanting more money or whatever. It's like,
how much does that become something that filters into a
locker room and becomes a distraction, becomes an issue, becomes well, yeah,
I mean.

Speaker 4 (01:01:21):
A and m over the last three years with ending
all their Nile money and these five star freshmen and
then the starters are not getting nearly what those guys are.
I can tell you from what I've heard, that played
a big part and why it never worked out sure
down there for Jimbo Fisher is there was a division
within the locker room about that type of stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:01:40):
But it's hard though, like if you if that's what
you have to do in recruiting, they have to you know, ye,
if you're getting five star guys, you're gonna have to pay,
So there.

Speaker 5 (01:01:50):
Is going to be a a use.

Speaker 1 (01:01:51):
It was like the old NFL model where the quarterback
we get a trillion dollars before you played it down,
you know.

Speaker 5 (01:01:58):
In the NFL. And it's right, that's been a messed
up model backwards. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
Well, and I've told you I think I'm convinced there's
about fifty coaches that don't really even coach their teams
all that much anymore. They just spend time all week
talking to agents and talking to player reps and talking
to other coaches about how are they going to get nil?
You know, like just in talking to coaches that I know,
it's like weekly, daily conversations are being had about this

(01:02:27):
while they're in the season, like they're getting ready to
go play a Big ten rival or a Pac ten rival,
rest in peace, and they're also they've got agents in
their office or parents calling them. It's just a yeah,
it's it's wild, but that's what it is though. But
all this money's coming in, coaches are getting too and
I and I get it that, yeah, the GM's getting it.
I understand that people are like, well, we still want

(01:02:48):
to keep our jobs, we still like coaching. It's like, yeah,
but you know what, as unfair as that might be,
when you make that kind of money, you got to deal.

Speaker 3 (01:02:56):
With a lot of crap that other people don't necessarily
deal with.

Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
And that is why some of the older guard But
there's a reason why Nick Saban's on college game Day now.
He doesn't want to be talking to agents on Tuesday
when he's trying to get his blitz package ready.

Speaker 3 (01:03:06):
For LSU.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
That's not what he wants to do. That's not what
he did for fifty years, So he doesn't need to
do it. He can go with Miss Terry and hang
out of their lake home and then parachute in and
talk on college game day and wear the sport coat
and be Nick Saban. I don't blame him. I don't
blame him for now. You know, look at basketball Mike Krzyzewski,
Roy Williams.

Speaker 3 (01:03:23):
Jay Wright.

Speaker 2 (01:03:24):
Jay Wright probably had fifteen more years. I mean, he's
younger than those guys. And even he was like, I'm good,
I'll just be a Yeah, I'm handsome, everybody loves me.

Speaker 3 (01:03:33):
I'll go be Jay Wright.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
I don't need to talk to you on a Wednesday
when I'm trying to I got to battle Dan Hurley,
the psycho that is Dan Hurley and Dan talk to
these agents like I don't. I don't want to do
any of that, so I don't. I don't blame him.
I don't blame him. But a week from Thursday, it
all begins the romance of college football. The band, the tailgating,
the ambiance, and tickets are available for thirty dollars a

(01:03:55):
go for sports Dot com anything else in our final
mine or so, guys we want to touch on chip.

Speaker 4 (01:03:59):
Are you good to be grinding out the Nevada Week
zero game on Saturday? That's gonna be.

Speaker 5 (01:04:04):
I will not be. I will not be.

Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
I don't think it's.

Speaker 4 (01:04:07):
Not even a college football junk anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:04:10):
There's nothing, there's nothing more pure than Nevada and s
MU on CBS Sports Network.

Speaker 4 (01:04:15):
Well, it gets more pure if you want to talk
about Hawaii versus Delaware State.

Speaker 2 (01:04:19):
Yeah, and that's on like flow channel auxiliary too. Like,
I don't think I have that.

Speaker 5 (01:04:26):
I don't think I'm for that one.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna have to catch the
highlights of that one. But although I did remind remember
how we the Gophers needed Hawaii to either win or
lose last year.

Speaker 4 (01:04:36):
Again, I said.

Speaker 6 (01:04:39):
The morning all of us were checking out if they're
if the Gophers were going to have the highest APR
score with a five and seventeen, we needed somebody else
to be bowl eligible or not get bowl eligible.

Speaker 4 (01:04:49):
We needed a kicker to make like a fifty one
yard field goal after he missed like two thirty yarders,
and he did it, and it was it was who
could forget.

Speaker 2 (01:04:57):
We all should have questioned our life choices that point
and maybe made some different decisions, but we're all still
here for another season of the Parent of Spare podcast.
We'll see you both at the State Fair in the
next week or so, and we'll talk next week and
do a little bit more of a deep dive into
North Carolina and the season as a whole. Have a
great weekend, everybody. Don't forget Subscribe to the Parent of

(01:05:17):
Spare podcast. However you get your favorite podcast, leave a rating,
leave a review, Tell a football fan friend in your
life that we are here. Also, don't forget about our
YouTube page. It's also just the Parent of Spare YouTube
page and check us out subscribe to that as well.
We've been growing that thing over the last couple of months,
which we appreciate everybody jumping.

Speaker 3 (01:05:33):
On with that.

Speaker 2 (01:05:34):
All you young people out there streaming us on your phones,
we appreciate it. And also, don't forget about our great partner,
Jack's Cafe, great spot before after games, great spot for
date night, great spot for whatever occasion in your life.
They've got something for everybody. Jack's Cafe, Jaxcafe dot com.
Have a great week We'll Talk to you next week
on the parent Spare podcast.
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