4.25: Draft Day - Hour 3

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In company, fueled by Thornton's on Sports Talk seven nine day.
Now here's Nick coffee.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey, better late than never, five oh eight. I'm sorry
five oh nine as we get the five o'clock hours started,
but I'm just happy that we're here and we're on
the air. We had a rough start today with connection
issues and we've been able to make it work, and
we were rolling along and it's not ideal, but hey,
we make it work. And you know, there was a
moment right when the show started two hours ago that
I was thinking, you know what, I don't know what

(00:29):
we're gonna be able to do, but look, we believe
in the power positivity. And here we are, and we've
got about fifty minutes left with you before we get
out of here, so let's make the most of the
time that we have. It's coffee and company. As you
likely know, we are fueled by Thornton's here on Sports
Talk seven ninety and obviously the NFL Draft has been
a big part of the conversation today. That'll continue to
be the case. But I do want to get back
into some basketball stuff coming up here shortly, just because

(00:51):
as James Scott has decided to move on. I guess
we'll know. I don't know. Maybe there's no deadline from here,
there's no way to know, Like, all right, let's wait
till this date and then we'll find out. Is he's
still considering Louisville, his Louisville still pursuing him, And just
given what I know about James, I mean, I wouldn't
be shocked if there's anything public. I think maybe if

(01:12):
he has an agent, he probably does, maybe the agent
will be able to, you know, put out there to
one of the college basketball reporters. As far as what's
going on in his recruitment, I think that's already happened
to an extent. We know NC State and even Texas
Tech I think is getting involved. So I still at
this point in bringing him up as if like there's
maybe a chance that he decides to come back. But

(01:34):
maybe I'm completely wrong in that. I mean, I don't
think we know for certain what led to him deciding
to want to hit the portal. I mean, I talked
a lot about it yesterday. We don't necessarily need to
reset it. But you know, James is one of those
guys with his relationship with Pat Kelsey and just seemingly
him being a guy that is content in whatever you
need him to do on your team. I just I

(01:54):
never would have expected him to transfer, but you know,
he's a reminder that anybody can transfer it any time.
So therefore, or if players do it, we shouldn't be surprised.
So we've had a couple of people ask kind of
the same question of the last couple of days. Do
I believe it's more so based off of money or role?
And again, I don't know. You know, nothing would really
shock me with James other than him being a guy

(02:15):
that's like, you know, letting his ego get in the way,
and he's bothered that Casin's coming back and might take
a big chunk of minutes from him, or maybe he's
hurt Sonny for who's gonna be a big factor. Like
to me, he's just never really seemed to be someone
that is worried about those kind of things. And look,
it's human nature to want to be wanted and want
to have a big role. And you know, nobody, I

(02:36):
don't care if you're the most selfless teammate in the world.
You don't want to sit the bench, You want to
play right like, but you know, in props to those
that can embrace whatever role comes their way, and James
has always been somebody that I thought, you know, was
one of those guys, and it's rare to find. And
I think, after talking about it at length yesterday, maybe
I was just wrong. Maybe he is somebody that that
that you know, does want to be more of a

(02:57):
focal point. But I also think he you know, what
makes me still hesitate to think that that's the case
with James is that one of the strengths about him
is that he's, like everybody keeps telling me, and I'm
not disagreeing that he's one dimensional. He's just a dunker
and all that is, you know, all that is true. However,
you know, there's something to be said about a guy

(03:18):
that is content with just knowing that this is what
I do and this is what I'm gonna stick with.
You want to work on your game, you want to develop.
But at times where James Scott looked like a walking
turnover or you know, a real concern when he had
the ball on offense, you got to keep in mind
he was never really supposed to be in those situations.
And it wasn't even because like he was trying to
take over and go one on one. It's because when

(03:40):
you're out there playing thirty plus minutes a game and
you're that you know, you're that that much of a
non threat offensively unless you're dunking the ball. You know
you're gonna find yourself at spots where, okay, shot clock's
running low, like you've got to do something, And that's
where he looked like he didn't belong at times. So again,
I don't know what it is that led to him leaving.
Maybe it's money, maybe it's role, maybe it's both. Maybe
it's wanting to be close to home. But you know,

(04:02):
Louisville's going to have to figure out something to look
if they didn't add any anybody else, I mean I'd
be surprised, but I also wouldn't act like, Okay, we
need to really readjust what expectations are. I mean, Jamescott'll
be missed. But again, the production is not something that
you're going to have a tough time making up for
because just simply by bringing in Sonny, a healthy Ali Khalifa,

(04:23):
a healthy case in prior, that alone is going to
give you way more production than what you're losing with
James Scott leaving and if others can kind of collectively
work together to give you, you know, what he gave you
as far as being a really good screen or a
guy that can convert above the rim. You know, I
don't know if that's Sonny. I think Cason is a

(04:43):
guy who's clearly athletic, but he's not. He's not James
Scott as far as just the length and athleticism overall.
So we'll see what they end up doing as far
as filling out the roster. But yeah, there's still some
good players out there, and I want to make sure
I didn't get to it yesterday, so I promise you
will do it before we're not out of time. Today
there are better players of it in the portal than
what I thought.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Now.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
Getting a late start now to try to obtain those
players would probably be an uphill battle for you. But
you never know, right, I mean, things change, and look,
here here's what I think we're going to see. Maybe
not this year, but certainly over time. There are certain
players who have who've held out and you know, been
viewed as some of the best players in the portal,
and they just assume, Okay, look, somebody's going to give

(05:26):
me what I want, because I mean, I'm that good
and they have such a desperate need for what I do.
But you know, like PJ. Haggert is at his name
of the kid from Memphis, like he wants four million dollars.
Here we are a week into him being in the portal,
I don't I've not heard of any team that's willing
to come close to that. I mean, not that I
would know, but like you would. All the reporting on

(05:46):
him is that a lot of schools are just backing
off because they don't they can't justify the spend, and
they also don't like the idea of letting a guy know, hey,
if you come here, yes you will be our point
guard regardless of what happens. Like that's just not that's
just who would do that? Right? Also? Are j Luise?
I mean, he was an All American caliber player for
Rick Potino at Saint John's. He was one of the
first players I saw that hit the portal. And of
course he's a big name that everybody would want. But

(06:09):
I haven't, you know, And just because I haven't heard
much about his recruitment doesn't mean that he's you know,
that he's he's having a tough time finding suitors. But like,
I think some of these guys that are holding out
this late in the game, I think it's because they
have yet to get the money they want and they're
holding out hope that somebody offers. But you know, if
you don't get the money that you want, you're gonna
have to lower your ask or you won't play. Like

(06:30):
that's just that's just what it comes down to. And
there was a guy last year that did it, but
he wasn't as big of a name, but Aj Store
was actually the Chucky he burned back court made at Wisconsin,
and he he was I mean, he was better than
Chucky as far as statistics, as far as production. In fact,
Chucky had a pretty good sophomore season, kind of a
breakout year. And then next year Aj Store transferred in
from I believe Saint John's and he kind of, you know,

(06:51):
he became the lead guard for them. He transferred to
he transferred and wanted to go to Kansas and he
you know, I don't know if it was his representation
or who it was, but he was pretty clear he
wanted north of a million dollars and you know, kind
of played out bad for him because he didn't get
I mean, he didn't get what he wanted or close
to it, and he ended up going to Kansas for
way less than what he intended. And then you know

(07:14):
he also had like a very underwhelming year where he
was like their eighth ninth man. So you know, there
could be what I'm trying to get to is there
could be a scenario where you've got guys that are
holding out for more money and you know you haven't
even pursued him because you knew one you couldn't afford
him to even if you could, you wouldn't spend what
they want to be paid. Well, then they change, you know,

(07:36):
their agency's going to tell them, look, we got to reset,
we got to reset the market. It's not what we
thought it was. And that could put you in position
to maybe, you know, get involved with the player that
you felt like wasn't realistic. So you really never know
how it's all going to play out, which makes it exciting.
But also you know, for Louisville, I think two days
ago when we got the news about Casein, I was
of the opinion, all right, anybody else you get as
an added bonus, I like the roster as it is,

(07:57):
I feel pretty good about it, and I still do
feel good about it. But James Scott is somebody that,
you know, let's be honest, as much as you don't
as much as some people don't think that he's going
to be a real loss and that you think that
Wolves will be able to make up without him, and
you may be right, I don't. I don't believe anybody
who was of the opinion of, yeah, who cares if
he leaves? I mean maybe now you think that, but

(08:17):
I don't think there was anybody on the team as
far as returning players that played last year that like
we were thinking, yeah, they're not good enough to play here.
I would imagine they're going to transfer, and that's best
for everybody. I mean, look both, here's the reality the
Portal has shown us already. No matter who you are,
you're replaceable. Like clearly you're gonna look like if you're
in the mid may Oh, let me back up, if
you're in the mid majors, it's a different story because, like

(08:38):
you know, you have guys that realize after a couple
of years at the MAC or in the Sun Belt
that they're better than their league, and you know, the
likelihood of you being able to get a guy in
the portal that can replace what you lose. I mean,
that's as that coach we played the sound a couple
weeks ago, who's at Norfolk State. I mean, they're not
even really mid major, but as coach said it best,
they are absolutely the new Jucos because they have recruit

(09:00):
players to come in and you know, they have to
sell them. Come here for a year and we'll let
you have the keys to the to the car and
you can show what you can do and move on
to the higher level. I mean, that's got to be
your new pitch to get these players, because that's just
kind of how things are. That's how things operate now.
But overall, I mean, there have been examples of teams

(09:21):
that lost some like for example, Chucky Heburn and AJ
Store left Wisconsin last year and it looked like Greg
Guard was done, like how can he recover? And Wisconsin
they weren't elite, but they had I mean, they had
a really good regular season and it wasn't as if
they were, you know, one of the top teams in
the country. But I'm pretty sure with all the players
they lost and you know who they added, nobody thought

(09:42):
highly of them. I think they were picked to be
one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, and
they were one of the better teams in the Big
Ten for a good stretch of the season. Now, they
ended up getting that kid from Tanji from Colorado State,
and that's another example. I don't think they had or
anybody had a clue that that guy was going to
be as good as he was. He was an All
American caliber player for them. So, you know, I get
the overreaction one way or the other about landing players

(10:03):
who you think they're going to put you in a
position to win a national championship. And I get the
reaction of losing a player that you never thought would
leave and you didn't want to lose. But man, I
think there's been enough evidence that'll tell you this stuff
will all work itself out, you know what I mean.
Like it's you know, there's really not many in college
basketball at the high level. If you're a good program
with resources, yeah you may take a net loss, but

(10:26):
like it ain't the end of the world, Like you'll
if you are the program that you know has the resources,
meaning money, you've got a coach who's had some level
of success. You should be able to, you know, to
get by, and you know you don't want to just
get by, you want to win at a high level.
But you can. I mean, look at Carolina. I mean,
I know they're coming off a bad season. Like Carolina's

(10:46):
losing five star McDonald's Americans players that are good. I mean,
I think that means anybody can lose players. So anyways,
it's Coffee and Company. Where feel about? Thornton's here on
Sports Talk seven and let's get back into the NFL
draft here, because as I'm looking here on the television,
they're showing Jackson Dart highlights. It'll miss. And I mean,
I won't claim to be a quarterback guru, right, I

(11:07):
won't claim to be able to know who's going to
be who's gonna be great, who's you know, who's going
to be a bust? But he right now. And it's
not like I have a loyalty to Daniel Jeremiah, But
the first NFL mock draft that popped up for me
here was from NFL dot com and that's where Daniel
Jeremira works for the NFL Network, and his mock draft
as of earlier today, he has let's just go quarterbacks

(11:30):
real quick. He has cam Ward number one. I think
it's pretty clear that cam Ward is going to be
the first player taken in this draft. And then after that,
I'll just give you the top five Travis Hunter to
the Browns, number two, Abdual Carter the edge from Penn
State going number three to the Giants, and then the
Patriots taken the offensive tackle Will Campbell from LSU, And

(11:50):
the fifth pick is now Ashton gen Z, which I mean,
I talked about it yesterday, him being somebody that I
was just surprised to see being projected to go so
early because I think he's terrible. But I just think
like using a top five, top first round pick on
a running back to me just kind of seems like
you're you're behind the times. But then again, I mean,

(12:11):
they're on a rookie deal. If you if you mean,
it may be the best time to take them if
they're that good, right, because and this is just this
is sad to say, but it's the reality. Given the
way running backs have have kind of played out in
the NFL in the last decade or maybe in a
little bit a little bit longer than that. The likelihood
of a running back being worthy of a of a

(12:31):
of a max deal off the rookie contract. It's just
not it's just not realistic, you know what I mean. Like, so, yeah,
you'll pay him on his rookie deal, but that even
if he's great for you for a couple of years,
maybe three years. You know, there's history that says that
the majority of the guys who didn't get the big
contract that are drafted early, it's not a good investment.
So you know, you could maximize the running back in

(12:53):
his prime years and just know that we probably won't
be needing to give him a max contract to where
we've invested an insane amount of mine. I mean again,
maybe you do it and it works out, because there
are some examples. I mean Sakwon Barkley, I mean, I
don't even know did he get a second deal with
the Giants. I kind of feel like he did, but
I could be wrong. Like I felt like he came
out of college a long time ago. Either way, they

(13:13):
chose not to pay him though, and that's why he
ended up in New York, right or in Philly? Right?

Speaker 3 (13:17):
Yeah, I think there is a rookie option on him
since he got drafted in the top ten, I think.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
Okay, so you know, for another example, who was the
I mean, Zeke got a new contract that was a
long time ago. But like, and there's not even many
examples to give you because more because let's be honest,
a lot of quarterbacks don't or I'm sorry, a lot
of running backs don't get drafted that early anymore. So
I mean, Gitti's good, trust me. I'm not acting like
he's not worthy. But I just think the running back position,

(13:45):
while I think that it's somebody that you know, put
it this way, if you were drafting somebody in the
top five, which according to this that's what would happen.
If that's who the Jags take more often than not,
the best case scenario is that it's somebody that is
going to be your franchise player for as long as possible.
I think maybe the strategy here would be he might be,

(14:07):
but that's look, even if he's great, running backs just
don't last as long in the NFL anymore. So you know,
maybe the Raiders who might take him, or maybe the
Jags they're taking him, thinking hey, this guy's special. For
the next few years, he won't be a long term piece,
because that's just you know, running backs aren't that anymore.
I mean, again, Derrick Henry, somebody's already mentioning him on

(14:28):
the text line. But you know, Derrick Henry's one of one, right,
I mean, who would you compare Derrick Henry to as
a running back? I mean, guy's built like a mack truck.
So you know, the elite of the elite. You still
see those guys play longer than most, but the vast
majority of the running backs that enter the NFL out
of college, I mean, they just don't have the same
It's almost like it's a totally different type of job

(14:50):
than every other position in the NFL. And you know,
I hate that for these guys. But I also I
also understand, like, if you are in charge of an
NFL franchise, you got to make you know, you got
to make funinancial decisions that puts your franchise in the
best situation for the future, and giving guaranteed money over
many years to running backs has been proven to be
more often than not a waste of money. So anyways,

(15:13):
back to the mock draft year, the next quarterback to
be taken, according to Daniel Jeremiah here at the NFL
network is in fact the guy we just mentioned who
is Jackson Dart. So the the let's see they have
him going, well, okay, here we go. So the Giants
have the eighteenth pick. But this is what I don't
know in this mock draft, and you would know more

(15:35):
than me, Austin here in like he said, projected trade
with the Seahawks. He's predicting that that trade happens right, like,
there's not already a trade in place, right okay, because
that's what gets what gets confusing for me because I'll
never forget it. This is the one that just comes
to mind. But it wasn't new. But when Donovan Mitchell
got drafted, everybody knew that he was going to the

(15:57):
Utah Jazz, but he had to wear the hat that
was the Minnesota Timberwolves because it was their pick and
it was being traded. I'm like, if you already know
the trade is in place, like for years you've known
that pick now belongs to this team, Like, why would
you do that? Anyways, long story short, he's projecting that
the Seahawks trade up at the eighteenth pick to get
Jackson Dart, which maybe that happens but I'll bring that

(16:18):
up because this is this would be an all time
NFL story. I mean, again, there's not a whole lot
of drama to it. But if you are a Giants
fan and you have just been wondering, you know you've
been you've been sleepless in recent days, wondering you know
who your franchise is gonna draft because you wanted to
get turned around and your franchise has been a joke.
And then you know you might have gotten tipped off
by what's going to happen because the gm his teenage

(16:41):
son accidentally posted well I don't know about accident, but
he leaked it the night before the draft. But the
Giants were drafting this young man, Jackson Dart. So if,
in fact, if the Giants draft him, regardless of if
they're trading him or they just want him, I mean,
in the end, it there's really no net loss, right,

(17:01):
it's just a bad look that it got leaked that way.
But also I mean it just it's another sign again
overall Jackson Dark may be great, like maybe he's the
guy who saves the Giants, but it's also so New
York Giants, meaning that they don't make good decisions. They're
not well run despite being, you know, the team in
the biggest market in America. Like that, everybody found out

(17:22):
who they're picking the night before, when usually this stuff
is like top secret super stuff. The Giants don't have
the number one pick, They've got the seventeenth pick, and
if everybody finds out about it from the teenage kid
posting on Instagram like that would be hilarious. Again, there's
not really much more to it than that, and again
it may still all work out, but like that was
a very New York Giants type of story in my opinion.
So all right, the rest of the way here, looking

(17:44):
at the projections, you've got shid or Sanders. Have you
seen where he's projected to go, because this is the
second mock draft I've seen in the last ten minutes
that has him going in this spot. Do you have
any clue which spot I'm talking about?

Speaker 3 (17:56):
Austin, it seemed like he's very hot to go nine
to the Saint So.

Speaker 2 (18:01):
I'm seeing him going twenty one to the to the Steelers.
I've heard the Steelers too. Yeah, yeah, I mean that
would shock me because I just I mean, to me,
he does not fit the culture of Pittsburgh in any way.
I mean, wouldn't you agree like that that franchise. They
do not care who you are, what you've done. They

(18:22):
are going to do things their way, the way they've
done it for generations, and more often than not, if
they choose to not spend or not, you know, I mean,
like they've usually made it work. Now again, they're getting
a little stale with Mike Tomlin, But like, can you
see Mike Tomlin dealing with the diva that is shit
or Sanders?

Speaker 3 (18:39):
I mean, I kind of can. I can totally see
Dion being in favor of this. I could if there's
anybody that's gonna kind of.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
Well, I think as a phenomenal coach. Yes, love, I
know he hadn't had the results, but like, I could
see Dion wanting it. But I could also see Mike
Tomlin being like, I'm not I'm not babysitting this guy.
We ain't playing for you know, views We're playing for
wins and you got to compete. Now. With that said,
Mike Tomlin could also on the other end, Austin be
the perfect guy to kind of make him grow up, maybe,
since that's what I'm thinking, Yeah, yeah, I think we

(19:08):
were kind of thinking the same thing at the same time,
like maybe this is the guy that is not his father,
but he respects him as a hard nose coach that
he would buy in for, because I feel like there's
certain coaches that unfortunately his daddy's dion and his dad's
a phenomenal player himself. His dad's coached him a lot
of his life. Like I'm just trying to think of
a lame duck, like wimp coach, Like I could just
see shit or walking all over a lot of those guys, right, Yeah,

(19:29):
not Mike Tomlin. So yeah, looking at the rest of
the the rest of the first round here, I mean
there's obviously some names that are In fact, Kentucky's got
a player that's expected to be the first round, which
is I mean, I remember this name, but I didn't
realize he generated so much love from the NFL during
the draft process. Maxwell Harriston, the cornerback of Kentucky. He's

(19:51):
going to be there, oh is he?

Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, he's going to be at the draft.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
And then let's see, I just wanted to make sure, yeah,
there's no more quarterbacks in the first round. So if
Shuck ends up going fourth I mean I would say
that there's a good chance that would it be the
earliest the second round, maybe even third, you know, I
don't nothing would really shocked me. Like if he goes
mid third round, I still think that's a great thing
for him. And it's really not something it's not something

(20:16):
that like, you know, it's not something that we can say, wow,
everybody was wrong, because still I mean, at the end
of the season, I don't think anybody thought he was
for sure to get drafted. Now I think he is
for sure to get drafted. And despite all this love
and this buzz, I don't think you heard a whole
lot about well, hey he's going to be taken super early,
you know what I mean. It was more so just like, hey,
this guy's in the mix too, And I think overall

(20:38):
most have said he's probably third or fourth, and as
we get to draft day, which we're here, I mean,
it seems as if those three are going to be
the first taken and then he'll probably be the next
in line. But when that could be, who knows, right, Like,
could be a team in the second round that once
a quarterback, could be a team in the third round,
could be a team late first, that just says, look,
this is the twenty ninth or thirtieth pick, whatever it is,

(20:59):
and you know, we don't need a quarterback right now.
But we think this guy's really good. We know if
he goes to the second and third round we won't
get him. We'll take him, We'll let him sit back
and you know, kind of go from there. I mean,
I'm looking at and I can't There's not many yet.
I looked at this the other day. There's not many
teams in the later rounds that would be in that position,
right because maybe although maybe the Lions, right, I mean,
how much longer do you think, you know, Jared Goff's

(21:22):
got it him? I mean, obviously he's resurrected his career
in a way that a lot of people didn't expect.
But I mean, I can't see him He's been the
league ten years, hadn't he I can't see him being
around that much longer despite having you know, a real
kind of you know, I mean, I thought he would
just be a placeholder for them for a little while
and did not see him being kind of the guy
that helped them get get you know, relevant for the

(21:43):
first time. Seemingly in my life.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
So do you want your vikings to take Uh, I'm
I'm loving Calvin Banks. He's a tackle from Texas, but
he can also play guard too. So anything to beef
up that interior offensive line need to beef uh also
always I need that beef. It is uh Alabama's safety
and Malachi Malachi Starks are really like him. There's anything

(22:12):
to beef up. Your secondary is good. But also just
you saw how the Eagles won it this year, just
straight trenches play, just beefy guys in the middle. Interior
offensive line is like your biggest one. You want to
you want to do everything you can to protect JJ McCarthy.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
A lot of you know, the interior players. It's not
a sexy pick, but I don't think anybody would would
try to tell you that it's not important. You know,
I mean that, and you know, sometimes you end up,
you know, like there's guys that have probably played in
the NFL and been really good at at that work,
you know, meaning either protecting the quarterback or being a
beefy defensive lineman that stops the run and clogs the hole,

(22:49):
and you know they don't they're not the ones on
billboards in those markets. They're not the ones that, like
you see everywhere, it's usually you know, the quarterback, the
running back, or the scope position players, or maybe like
a cocky defensive back who's got a lot of personality. Right.
But you know, there's been many picks that were taking
really early of those guys up front that a lot
of people just kind of don't think about. But I
bet you could ask gms. Wouldn't shock me if you

(23:11):
asked gms that did it a long time, that had
some good picks and some bad picks. I bet they
would tell you that some of the some of the
best investments they made were getting those guys because again,
they don't get as much pub But as you said,
the Eagles, I mean that's quite literally what what did
it for them this year? Yeah? Like they they clearly
are pretty good in other areas too, But you know
they're upfront. They're just physical to push you around, and
you know that's still that's I think that'll always matter

(23:33):
in football if we're being honest. So all right, quick break,
We'll come back for a couple of quick segments before
we wrap this thing up. Let's uh, let's let's finish
strong here. It's Coffee and Company. We're fueled by Thornton's
right here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 1 (23:45):
You're listening to Coffee and Company with Nick Coffee on
Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (23:52):
So obviously a lot of talk about Tyler Shuck, but
he won't be the only Louisville player taken in this
this NFL draft, not tonight or maybe not even tomorrow.
But Quincy Riley, it sounds like there's six teams that
have at least expressed the most interest meeting that they
had multiple meetings workouts with him. And that's the Commanders,

(24:13):
the Titans, the Panthers, the Niners, the Dolphins, and the Saints.
So I mean, do with that information what you will.
There have been instances where guys get drafted and then
they realize that like they never had any conversation with
any team, and I'm always curious how that ends up
happening to where somebody will take you. And yet you
felt like, Okay, I don't have to worry about them

(24:34):
taking me because they never they never showed in me,
they didn't have any I mean, clearly they're aware of you.
I'm sure that's their job to know who's out there.
But you know, if you're going to do a one
on one interview or I guess really your agent is
the one who will tell you which teams are showing
the most interests as far as wanting to further I guess,
you know, interview you other than just watching your film
and seeing you at the combines. So my guess is

(24:57):
that when that does happen, it's more so because if
they did have a big boy, or maybe they had
a position that they really really wanted that they just
they literally did not get any of the guys that
they thought would be there. So and then also Ashton Jilotti,
I mean I keep seeing you know that he's generating
you know, good reviews as far as just you know,
people acknowledging that he's a freak athlete, good size, was

(25:21):
very very productive in college. But also you know, he
was double teamed a lot. I mean, his production, it
really his whole career was good, I mean really good.
But you know, as a senior there'd be games where
he just wasn't super active, and some of that might
have been on him. But if you go back and
look at the film, which I'm sure the NFL does,
I mean, they realized that he had developed. I mean

(25:41):
put it this way, getting him back was a huge
thing for Louisville and you didn't really get a lot of,
you know, games where he just dominated as a senior
to where it felt like it, but teams had to
double team like he had done enough in his career
where he probably wasn't even supposed to be a senior.
He was probably supposed to be in the NFL, but
obviously nil as a factor, and he wanted to come
back and you know, improve a little bit more. And

(26:03):
you know, by the time he was a senior, even
if his numbers weren't super stellar in the first few
games or whatever it was, every team knows we got
to account for this guy because he's you know, he's
pretty special. So you know, I don't I don't. I
don't know exactly where he's he's expected to go, but
certainly he'll be taken in this draft. I think right
now Louisville has three guys that you know for sure

(26:23):
are going to be taken. As far as where it's
it's up in the air now. One guy that I
don't know is Jacorey Brooks. I mean I haven't, I
mean I kind of forgot about him. And I don't
mean because you know he's forgetable player. He was special.
I mean you could tell when he was making plays
this year connecting with Tyler Shuck that oh yeah, there's
a there's a it makes sense that that guy was
catching touchdown passes for Bryce Young at Alabama when Nick

(26:45):
Saban was coaching them. But you know he uh, he
only played it for a year, So it's you know,
it's still something that's just you know, even Shuck, like
I mean, clearly I feel like Shuck's our guy and
him being getting drafted will certainly bode well for Louisville's
representation in the NFL and all that. I mean, there's
no guarantee of what it does for you, but it
can't do anything but help you when you're putting guys
in the NFL. So but you know, when they're only

(27:07):
here for a year, it's just it's a little bit.
You know, it's just different. You know, it's not something
we're used to. I mean, I feel like Bob six
years ago, because there was no portal and just because
you know, things were so different. More often than not,
if you're getting drafted, I mean, one you couldn't. You
couldn't go after just one year, right, Like you had
to play at least two years before you'd be eligible
to get drafted, which is still the case. But guys
going pro and they are they only had been at

(27:30):
their school one year, like even that's was that used
to be a real rarity, and now you know, it's
kind of become it's kind of become the norm. But
you know, Jacory Brooks one of those guys that I mean,
right situation, right offense, I mean, I could see him
having a pretty lengthy NFL career, all right. So I
don't even know if this is worth really getting into,
but it was a big talking point yesterday. And I

(27:52):
think it was right around twenty four hours ago, almost
to the to the to the minute, that we had
somebody bring this up on the show, and that was
that Travis Perry. Yeah, with somebody who listens who's from Eddieville,
Lion County that happens to be a Louisville fan, which
I would imagine, sir, you were probably outnumbered. I would
imagine that you're You're probably not alone, but I would
say you are very much an enemy territory in Eddieville. Kentucky,

(28:13):
where I would imagine the majority of their natives or
Kentucky fans. But he mentioned being a Louisville fan and
asked if I thought maybe Pat Kelsey and his staff
would would get involved, And you know, I guessed that
they wouldn't because you know, they already have guards in
the portal, and I don't really know what they could sell.
I mean, Travis Perry, he would have a better time
competing in the ACC than he would the SEC in basketball.

(28:34):
But if he was to decide to come to Louisville
and they pursued him, I mean, he would be walking
into a situation that is rather similar to the one
that he left, meaning you know, he's behind some guys.
I mean, I still think he's a good player that
will have a good career. In fact, here's what I
could see happening. I could see Perry going to a
place like WKU and then jumping back up. That's what
I could see happening, just because that's now becoming a trend.

(28:57):
But anyways, Louisville is one of the schools that reached
out of court to Joe Tipton of on three Sports
so Ole, miss Arkansas, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri,
LSU WKU in South Carolina. So clip that's a huge
list of schools and too early to know which way
he's leaning. But the reports that Ole miss is really
coming strong after him, as well as Maryland, which of
course they just hired Bus Williams. So you know, again,

(29:21):
I don't think he'll ever end up playing for Louisville,
But I was thinking earlier today when I saw that
report that he if you consider you know, I don't
know people were listening at the time yesterday when I
mentioned this, But to me, his biggest issue this past
year was that he was put in a position to
where he had to kind of be their backup point guard.
And he's really not a point guard. Like I just
don't think he could probably manage being the point guard

(29:41):
for you. But if you're gonna get the most out
of what he can do, you need to put him
off the ball and when to shoot. And he played
point this year because of injuries that they had, and
he struggled at times, not only you know, initiating offense
and creating for himself and others, but he struggled defensively,
but he did get some open looks and he just
didn't knock him down. And I know, Oh, I'm not
the only one that has said this. He's one of
the best shooters I've ever seen in high school. Like

(30:03):
he is. I mean, he's a flat out shooter. He's
one of those guys. At any shot he misses, you
feel like his go way in because he's that He's
just got a beautiful shot and you know he can
he can, he can shoot it. But I guess if
you only watch him Kentucky this year, you wouldn't know that.
So hear me out like I don't I'm not I'm
not saying this is going to happen. But like he
if he does get his shot to fall, he could

(30:25):
be Rain Smith because Ran Smith. Think about it, like
Rain Smith is somebody that is not super athletic, big
enough but not big, quick enough but not quick. And
Rain was elite because of really two things. One elite shooter,
but also like he knew where he's where he had vulnerabilities,

(30:45):
he stayed away from that. Like Rain was a good player,
Like I'm defensive at times because instead of just saying
Rain was a good player, people just say Rain was
a shooter. Well, it's both. Like, if you're a really
really good shooter and you know you average fourteen and
a half fifteen points a game, you're a good player.
Like you know, like it doesn't have to be well,
you know, he's not that good. He can just shoot it. Well,
let's not check. That's a big part of being good

(31:05):
and scoring points. So you know, again, probably not even
worth bringing up. But like Rain was not a point
because that's just not what he does. But you would think, Okay,
if you're going to play at a high level in
college basketball, you know, they can't put you at two
because you know you're not You're not quick enough to
take somebody off the bounce. But if you you know,
like Rain, one of the things he was so gifted
at that you know, obviously making shots, but he could

(31:28):
move without the ball. He could float to the perfect
spot at the perfect time. You know, he could probably
take off, you know, in the half court somewhere and
three passes will be made, but he knows where to
be when that fourth pass is coming to him for
a shot. Like it's a beautiful thing to see. Obviously
him just making shots is awesome, but like there's things

(31:48):
he could that he was doing with as far as moving,
understanding spacing that like that's really what because there's a
lot of guys that can fly out shoot it. But
being able to find a way to get open regardless
of what's going on, knowing how to manipulate screens, knowing
that you've got screen action coming, and you know that
the defense is prepared for it because they scouted you.
So now what are you gonna do. You're gonna slip it,

(32:09):
You're gonna fade. I'm talking ball now, I'm about to
pass out here. But like he was, he was. I mean,
I'm joking obviously, but he was. He was good in
a lot of ways that a lot of people probably
didn't realize. So maybe that could be Maybe that could
be Travis Perry somewhere. All right, let's see, let's gohea
and get to our final break because if not, we'll
run out of time. Let's do that, We'll come back
on the other side, wrap this thing up. Talk a
little more. NFL Draft is we're now just two hours

(32:32):
and fourteen minutes away from this thing getting started. And
only say that because I'm watching ESPN and they've got
this clock countdown going on. I don't know if that's
like until they officially start their coverage of the event
or that's when the first pick is, but either way,
it's getting close. So exciting stuff, no doubt stick around.
It's Coffee and Company. Feel about Thorton right here on
Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Ninety You're listening to Coffee and Company with Nick Coffee
on Sports Talk seven nine day.

Speaker 2 (32:59):
So it makes total sense for these, you know, for
the social media accounts of these college football programs to
really put out as much content as possible, you know,
just taking advantage of the fact that, you know, you
are a program that's putting guys in the NFL and
all that can do is help you when it comes
to getting other players that might think, Okay, this school
can be my path to the NFL. So during the

(33:20):
break there, I saw that Miami their for their Twitter account,
they posted a video of cam Ward probably today looks
like he's at the draft, you know, just to thank
you to the Hurricane Nation, Hurricane family, like, you know,
Miami fans, and you know, that's that's that's a pretty
typical thing that you would expect. But it kind of
hit me that Miami having a quarterback taken number one

(33:41):
in the draft is kind of wild, and he was
only there one year. But when you talk about the you,
when is the you going to be back? Are they
finally back? I mean they've had some bad years, some
bad teams, but they've also had some really really good
talent at times. But quarterback play has always kind of stunk.
Like I can't think of the last quarterback that they
had that we felt like was pretty good. I mean,

(34:04):
there was the guy who was there. Gosh, I remember
he came here when Louisville was playing during the COVID season.
He had a pretty good game and he was a
fine quarterback by garn King. Yes, yeah, and he was good,
but I mean it wasn't to the situation that like
he was you know, he was good, but it wasn't
like he was elite, and he certainly didn't translate to
the NFL. So anyways, I just went through and looked,

(34:27):
and you know, Miami, in my lifetime, I'm thirty six
years old, be thirty seven in July, They've only had
one quarterback taken in the first round in my lifetime,
and that was back in nineteen eighty nine, a year
before I was born. I think it was. And I
don't even know who this guy was. Doesn't mean he
wasn't good. Maybe he was. And I'm just an idiot
and don't remember the NFL in the early nineties, but

(34:50):
this was the guy's name was Steve Walsh. He was
taken as the number. He was taken in the first
round as a quarterback, and then from then on. I mean,
they've had some other quarterbacks taken, but this will be
the first quarterback in the first round since nineteen eighty
nine and they have nothing to show for it. I mean,
they weren't bad this past year, but like Miami has
been in decent spot, in a decent spot as a

(35:13):
program at times with talent resources. I mean, they've been
the team that everybody has been kind of not desperate
to be good, but like they've got just some kind
of flare about them that like, you know, they're the
you like they their brand was so strong when they
were good that even today it's still something even if
you didn't experience that, you know it, right, And yet
their quarterback play has just been subparts held them back.
It's not the only thing, but many program I mean,

(35:34):
when you think about it. There are programs that haven't
accomplished anything close to what Miami's done in the last
twenty five years, but they've had some good quarterbacks. Miami hasn't. Well,
now they have cam Ward who's going to go number
one overall, who would have won the Heisman probably had
it not been for Travis Hunter being the best two
way player we've had in college football, like ever, And
what do they have to show for it? Nothing? I mean,
are they cursed? Like if they just beat Syracuse and

(35:56):
fran Brown at the end of the year, they're safely
in the tournament or in the play and they probably
wouldn't have gone deep. But last I checked, the playoff
is kind of going to be viewed as like the
it's like the final full equivalent of college football, Like
it's still something you can say, we made the freaking playoff.
So I mean, it's got to be a punch in
the gut to Canes fans because the likelihood of you
having a quarterback this good, even if you get good

(36:18):
ones consistently, which you don't like, it's rare. He's that good.
And you know you weren't bad, you were successful, but
it was right there for you to get to the playoff,
and you just couldn't get past Syracuse, and you know,
the rest is history. We all know. Like I mean,
so I don't know, I'm not picking on them, but like,
I don't know, it just seemed like, I mean, I've
always anytime Wolves played Miami, we've talked about how like

(36:40):
it is wild because for as much as Miami has
flair and you know, they have some real good history tradition,
the quarterback play has kind of always been, you know,
not good, but the lot will be desired, absolutely. And
the last quarterback that they had, you know, that was
even drafted was was it Brad Kaya? Maybe?

Speaker 3 (36:58):
I remember Brad Kaya.

Speaker 2 (37:00):
He was in the sixth round in twenty seventeen. And
then from there, I mean, you gotta go way back
to I'm still scrolling and we're running out of time.
I gotta find one more. I mean, they had Jim
Kelly went there. Did he has a long, long ago?

Speaker 1 (37:17):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Yeah, Scott's Covington was drafted in the seventh round of
nineteen ninety seven. So there you go. All right, we're
out of time. You guys enjoyed the draft tonight. We'll
be back tomorrow to react to it and have some fun.
Take care everybody