FSU Football's Spring Showcase (And Doak, Baseball, And Basketball)

Ira Schoffel, WarChant.com, covered a lot of ground with Preston as they discussed the football spring session, the state of Doak Campbell Stadium, plus baseball and men's basketball. 

Episode Transcript

(00:15):
All right, five minutes after thehour. It is the third hour of
the Morning Show with Preston Scott Showfifty one forty two East. Grant Allen,
I'm Preston, great to be withyou. Let's get to it.
Joining us is the managing editor ofwar Chad dot Com. He is the
one the only Irish offel. Goodmorning, sir, how are you?
I'm great, Preston, how areyou? I'm terrific. Now, for

(00:37):
those of us that were not atthe FSU Spring showcase, tell us what
was this? What was the formatfor the event? It was basically like
a scrimmage, you know, theydidn't keep score. It was some situational
things like they did a couple ofseries where may they're down inside the red
zone or backed up on their ownside of the the field, or but

(01:02):
a lot of it was just basicallyone offense would take the ball, go
as far as they could, thenpunt if they didn't get you know,
if they couldn't score, then theother team would. The other side would
get the ball, and basically thetwo sides were led by Momba d j
uey Ungole, who's you know,should be the starting offense. But sometimes
he was out there with the twos. Trevor Jackson is the only other quarterback

(01:22):
available because the two young kids weredealing with minor injuries, so he would
take the other offense and he wouldsometimes with the twos, sometimes with the
threes, So it's kind of amix and match. It was more like
a practice than a real game.Do you like that. I've not really
found a whole lot of reason tolook at something like that. Yeah.

(01:42):
I mean it's really more of yourdiehard fans or somebody that's just, hey,
I want to be out there,I want to go see my friends.
We haven't tailgated in a few months, so this is the opportunity.
I'll get together and have a goodtime. Or the die hard fans who
just desperately want to see what thisnew Jalen Ucas looks like, or what
does Marvin Jones Junior look like.But in terms of yeah, competition and

(02:05):
a compelling sporting event, it's notthat I don't love it. I miss
the old days. But I alsounderstand coaches look at it like in this
process oriented coaching world where they've got, you know, the standards they've got
to hit. They want to takethat advantage of that practice more so than
seeing you know, maybe you knowwhat what fans want to see. You
know, It can be argued MikeNorvel has done the best job of any

(02:30):
college coach of navigating the the transferportal and the recruiting wars, and you
know you're recruiting your own team everyyear. It would seem in to your
eye, test Ira, what didSaturday show you again? Because you know,
Mike Norvel does allow the media tocover practices. There weren't a lot

(02:53):
of surprises for us. But thechallenge for us in the media is to
try to, you know, understandthat you know, the fans haven't seen
all these practices, so he tryto put some context into things. DJ
didn't look great on Saturday. Hehasn't looked like all American this spring,
but I think he's looked better thanhe looked Saturday. At times. There

(03:15):
weren't a lot of things open.I thought the pass rush was pretty good,
the defensive secondary. I'll be honestwith you, sometimes I wonder if
you know you hear about it inpractice where the defense knows what plays are
coming because they've seen it so much. I felt like there was some of
that there were a couple of playswhere maybe they were in a screen and
you would see a linebacker trigger ora safety go immediately to that spot before

(03:37):
the before the ball was even snapped. In cases where maybe a defensive end
keels off and goes gets into azone, you know. And again,
maybe that's just good coaching and greatplaying and great recognition, but I feel
like there was some of that alsowhere the defense kind of felt It felt
like the defense knew what was coming. So DJ definitely didn't blow anybody away
by his performance, but I wouldsay that over the last two weeks,

(03:59):
I thought he's looked very, verygood in practice. He's been accurate,
he's made really good throws. Theymade a lot of big plays in the
passing game. So that that wasdisappointing that fans didn't get to see that,
because this is the only time they'vereally seen him until you know,
we go to Dublin in four months. So defensively was what I expected.
I mean, this is a thisis going to be a big, strong,
athletic defense. I think they're gonnathat's going to be the strength of

(04:21):
this team. And truthfully, inthe second half of last season, that
was the strength of this team andnow a lot of new faces. They
brought in some new portal guys.But I really like this defense, and
I think the offense is may bebetter than it looked on Saturday. Before
we take a break, Ira,the second portal is open. Any expectations,
any needs that you think that thecoaches are going to go after.

(04:45):
I think there's definitely a couple ofneeds, and then after that it'll be
basically if a great player is availableand is interested and they can make it
happen, I think they will.I think an obvious need is a defensive
on the defensive line. They andit's not a need where they don't have
good players. They just need alittle bit more depth on the defensive line.
So I could definitely see them goingmaybe at defensive tackle or an end,

(05:06):
and then you move one of them. They have a big defensive end
that they can move inside the defensivetackle, so I think a really good
defensive lineman would help them. Ialso think a receiver. Going into the
spring game, I thought they aspring showcase. I thought they probably needed
another receiver. A Malik Benson,who was their best receiver, got injured
in that game. We don't knowthe extent of it, so I think,
yeah, there's definitely a need toprobably go get a receiver, and

(05:27):
then after that, I think it'syou know, if they found a great
linebacker, if they found a greatsafety, I think those are or maybe
even a tight end. I thinkthose are positions they would consider. But
to me, the big needs aredefensive line and receiver. It's funny how
all of a sudden, with thetransfer portal, we're talking about college football
teams like they're in NFL franchise.It's crazy. The Morning Show with Preston

(05:49):
Scott I got Bentha on News Radioone hundred point seven. Double USLA back
with Irishafel of war chand dot comIRA. I have heard from some FSU
season ticket holders they love the perspectiveof the improvements coming to Dot Campbell's stadium.

(06:15):
I've heard from others that are reallyreally unhappy that they in essence,
had their seats ripped out from underthem. What is your sense on the
stadium improvements? Certainly some things wereneeded, but your thoughts, Yeah,
No, I think it's you summedup perfectly. I think there are definitely
some people who are furious, evenyou know, the people that have had

(06:36):
the same tickets in their family fordecades, and they don't want to move,
and they don't want to be separatedfrom their friends, and they don't
want to be forced to move becausethe price has gotten higher for their location.
But then I also talk to plentyof people who are like, thank
goodness, I'm tired of sitting ona middle bleacher, I'm tired of not
having Wi Fi, I'm tired ofnot being able to get decent concessions,

(06:59):
or what ever it is. Theywant to be more comfortable, So I
think it's definitely what experience you're lookingfor. And then I think Florida State,
like you said, they had tomake some improvements. The stadium was
not ADA compliant. They had alot of structural issues. They had to
do something about some of those things. And I think the way to pay
for it is to kind of gowith this more modern approach where they're more

(07:19):
comfortable seats, people have a betterexperience. At the same time, you
know, I look at it froma pragmatic standpoint of they're taking out a
two hundred and fifty million dollars bondto pay this off, and I wonder,
you know what if the team doesn'tdo well over three or four years.
Now, those are big ticket seatsthat are sitting open and unsold.

(07:39):
That's my bigger concern. But youknow, I'm not sitting in the stands
or you know, I'm blessed Isit in the press box. Us to
tell me about what is going tobe ready come fall. What seating is
going to be available. Yeah,it's going to be so that one half
of the stadium, basically the studentside, which is the sunny side,
is basically going untouched. So youknow, those all be there, and

(08:01):
then they're gonna put I heard Ithink the number seven thousand. There's a
number of temporary seats, several thousandtemporary seats that are going to be on
the old shady side, the alumniside, and so the capacity of the
stadium is going to be somewhere inthe fifty thousands. I heard fifty five
thousands the number I heard most recently. So as opposed to eighty thousand seats

(08:22):
or seventy eight thousand, you're gonnabe down to fifty five thousand this season,
and then in twenty twenty five they'llbe back to a bigger, full
stadium. It will be totally renovated, but even then it's going to be
around seventy thousand. I believe it'sit's never going to go back to the
eighty thousand seats of yesteryear. Sothey hope to have the entire renovation project
done by the Sea the twenty twentyfive start of the season. That's correct,

(08:46):
And a lot of amateur contractors thatI've talked to saw the stadium on
Saturday and wonder if that's going tohappen. But we'll see. That's the
play of you is before we takea break here real quickly, just because
I want to take a little timetalking FSU basketball with you. What are
your impressions on baseball? It lookslike link Jarrett has turned a significant corner
in a very short period of time. Now, if you can just find

(09:09):
a bullpen, well, yeah,unfortunately you can't do free agency during the
season in college baseball yet because yeah, that's been a problem. Look,
they had two huge road series sofar. They've want the bullpens come through
in some games in certain situations,particularly at home, even though it's a
good competition. But you know,they went to Clemson, the bullpen collapsed
in a couple of games they lostall three. Then at Wake Forest they

(09:31):
had a chance they could have,you know, easily won that series,
and the bullpen betrayed him again.And I just think it is what it
is, you know. Now.One thing that really hurt them more than
usual this past weekend, well thatI think could get better is they do
think Cam Lighter, who was theiropening day starter, has missed the last
few weeks with maybe some tenderness inhis arm. He's supposed to be getting

(09:52):
back really soon. They also mightget another pitcher, Ben Barrett back soon,
So that would lengthen out your arms, you know, in earlier the
series, and so that could definitelyhelp them once you get into regionals and
things like that. Yeah, it'sclear to me that in a three game
series we need six starters. Butthey can really hit Preston, They can

(10:13):
really hit. Yeah, there yougo. Hang on a second, Ira,
We're gonna talk FSU basketball. Wecome back, Irishfellowarchan dot Com WSLA
on your phone with the iHeartRadio appand on hundreds of devices like Alexa,
Google Home, Xbox, and Sonos. So here we go and Iheart's radio
station. Final segment with Irishaffel ofwar chan dot com talked a little bit

(10:41):
about FSU baseball there link Jared's donea wonderful job in turning that program around,
But now that's a task facing LeonardHamilton with the basketball program. He
had it going on and then Covidhit Ira and then the real landscape of
college athletics changed. Is it thatcoach Hamilton and the staff just haven't quite

(11:05):
gotten their footing yet on the newlandscape or what's gone south? I know
they're not the only team that haslost everybody. I mean, Duke has
turned into a turnstile program all ofa sudden. What should our expectations be
as fans? Who I mean,honestly, I love coach Hamilton. He's
a delightful man. Yeah, youknow, it's it's impossible to know what

(11:28):
the roster is going to look like. They are gonna it's going to look
completely different. When Jalen Worley wentin the transfer portal last week, their
point guard. That's the sixth playerthat's gone in the transfer portal, and
they had four other guys who wethink exhausted their eligibility. Maybe one of
them could could still come back foranother year, but you're looking at least
ten new players for next season,and it wasn't a very good team last

(11:48):
season. So on the one hand, you can say, well, at
least at least we're not going towatch those guys again. But I think
from a big picture standpoint, butfrom a big from a big picture standpoint,
you don't know how well positioned theyare to go get another talent and
roster. And that's the problem.You know, there's so much that goes
into that nowadays beyond just coaching relationships. The strength for Leonard and Hamilton throughout

(12:11):
his career, especially the last twentyyears, was his relationships. He had
been in the business for fifty years. If there was a player that he
heard about in Topeka, Kansas orShyenne, Wyoming, it didn't matter where.
I guarantee Leonard Hamilton knew somebody thatknew that kid, and he could
get on the phone with them withinthree minutes and build a relationship. And
he was so good at that.But now in the nil landscape where these

(12:33):
kids, so much of these conversationsstart with how much am I gonna make
there? Well, I mean,it's just a different world. Does Florida
State have that kind of financial supportfor basketball. I don't think they do.
They have some support, I don'tknow if they have that level of
support. So it's going to beinteresting to see what he can pull together.
I mean, it's clear Leonard Hamilton'sgot one more year on his contract.

(12:54):
They haven't made any move there.He's going to be coaching this team
next season. But it's anybody's goingwhat this team is going to look like.
They did have a transfer commit thispast weekend, a nice forward from
Hampton who had a nice season lastyear. Ten points, ten eleven points,
four or five rebounds, and helooks like a player, a Leonard
Hamilton type player. They've got somejunior college kids coming in, so they're

(13:16):
rebuilding this roster. But if youwere a betting man, it's hard to
say, yeah, I think thisteam's going to be good this year,
just because you know, it seemslike a lot of things are stacked against
them right now. Leonard Hamilton's blindspot to me has always been point guard.
Why why do they struggle finding apoint guard? I can't think of

(13:37):
the last pure point guard they've had. Yeah, I mean, Trent Force
is probably close to it, buthe's not necessarily a true point right he
convert it? Yeah. Yeah.I think it's a combination of two things.
I think one is he really lovesthe idea of having big, long,
strong athletic kids can they can guardseveral positions, and uh, you

(13:58):
know, and so if you havesix foot point guard, you know he's
gonna have a tough time sometimes insome of those situations. And then it
becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. You'resitting in there wondering the last time they
had a good point guard. Don'tyou think every college recruiter is telling every
point guard that, yes, hedoesn't want to point guard. He's not,
you know. So I think atsome point it's got to be difficult

(14:18):
to sign a point guard when everybodyelse can use that against you. So
I think it's just been one ofthose things. He has not put a
value on it the way you feellike he should. I think his argument
would be he likes what they doon the defensive end, and he and
he's not so worried about somebody settingup plays. He wants to play a
motion offense anyway. So it's justa philosophical thing. But I also think

(14:39):
it's certainly a fair criticism. Well, I mean the bottom line is,
I just I don't think college basketballhas changed that much. I think it's
a college guard game, and Ithink you have to have a point guard.
Yeah, And you know they've hadwindows where they were so skilled athletically
and so skilled basketball wise, likethat run you know three or four years

(15:00):
go, like you said during COVID, when you know that that team may
have won the national title. Agreed, you know where they were. They
had a good enough point guard,Trent Forrest, who could handle that role,
but you were so good everywhere elsethat you have so many other guys
that could get shots for themselves.What they don't have, what they haven't
had as much of. And youknow is when you don't have somebody who
can create for everybody else, andthen you don't have those other worldly players

(15:22):
you know that are going to befirst round picks or lottery picks, which
they had Patrick Williams and Terrence Well, Terrence Man was a lottery pick for
his first round pick, and thenDevin Bessell and those guys who can make
their own shot. That's when thepoint guard becomes more important and it exposes
it. Some last question related deafas you basketball. Has Leonard Hamilton earned
the right to leave on his ownterms or does he get one more year

(15:43):
to current turn the thing? Well, he gets this year. I think
they don't have an appetite to makea change right now. Really hard to
hire a coach when you don't knowwhat conference you're going to be in.
But listen, man, Bobby Boddendidn't get to name his own terms,
So no, Leonard Hamilton doesn't getthe name of his own terms. But
I do think they're going to gowith it because it makes sense of the
situation right now, with the fightwith the conference and all that. It

(16:04):
would be a weird time to tryto go hire a basketball pre ira,
unless something weird happens. I'll talkto you in the fall when we got
a new football season to discuss.Thanks for the time, brother, Thanks
Preston taker Iraschafell, Managing Editor Warchantdot Com. My guest on The Morning
Show with Preston Scott