Sam Leavitt vs. Darian Mensah: Which QB Transfer Is the Better NFL Prospect?

It's part four of building the board, the 2027 quarterback class and today, we're focusing on two high profile transfers. The day and age of NIL transfer portal, these are big time names going to big time programs. We're talking about Sam Levitt from Arizona State to LSU and Darian Mensa from Duke to Miami. It's 297 days until the NFL draft, mentioned, good, I'm good man, tuck a roll of the damn thing. This episode is presented by EA Sports College Football 27, where you can engineer your team the way you want. And if you want the full football experience, try the MVP bundle, I'm already getting pressured from the boys in this house, we got to get it, we got to get it, right? Well, I'm going to cave. You get college football 27, Madden NFL 27 plus Deluxe Edition rewards in both games to help you go from campus legend to NFL superstar. Make your rise with the MVP bundle, preorder now. Conditions and restrictions apply. We need people to like and subscribe and I'm not going to go through the whole thing. I love the partnership with Netflix. I love the Spotify getting it up right away, like the shows are starting to crank the way we want it to. But when we do need some support here and Apple and everywhere else you get your podcasts, if you're listening or watching, we appreciate it, but please do do the thing that everyone tells you to do on every podcast because it does help. Mensa going to Miami, we've seen Kim Ward and what it did for him going from incarnate word to Washington state to Miami and all of a sudden from a third to fifth round prospect to the number one overall pick, right? We saw last year Carson Beck reclamation project from everything that happened at Georgia. He couldn't even throw months earlier before the season because of the elbow injury and all of a sudden, you know, he winds up being what a third third round draft pick. And quite frankly, like reverse the field in terms of the public perception on him. And then you've got Lane Kiffin and all the hype and all the circumstances surrounding him exiting Ole Miss for LSU, but we also have Lane Kiffin specific to this conversation. The development of many quarterbacks over his years starting at USC, right? And then Jackson Dart, it'll miss what he was early in his career to what he became as a first round draft pick, the giants trading up for him. And what he did with Trinidad Chambus is like the 246 rank quarterback in the transfer portal and wasn't even supposed to be the starter. And now we'll get to Chambus, I believe, in our next episode on Thursday of building the board, right? And some scouts I've talked to are like, yep, could be a first rounder. Could be a top 50 pick. This guy's got a chance to play in the NFL and we said that during the season last year. So Lane Kiffin with this kind of talent. So I want to get into all of it. And as we start all of these shows mentioned, I throw to you and say, you just grinded all the tape as did I on both of these quarterbacks. Sam Leavitt and Darian Monsa, what's your biggest takeaway? Well, you just lay the groundwork. I mean, we have right now archmaning his fourth on our quarterback rankings. And Brennan source, he's not playing college, he's not playing football at all this year. And I still think that Sam Leavitt is one of the more fascinating storylines going into the college football season and into the draft cycle. Because look, it's like you said, expectations are sky high in Baton Rouge. Lane Kiffin is a talented quarterback developer and Sam Leavitt is a talented quarterback. But here's the thing, watching the tape, Leavitt didn't progress as I had hoped he would after watching him two years ago when he had cam scat about running crazy form. Just didn't see the development that I didn't want that I wanted to see. He's coming off a foot injury that prevented him from participating in spring practice, which really hinders his ability to progress. And then on top of that, by the way, you got Clemson, you got a highly motivated, pissed off Ole Miss team and you got Texas A and N in September. It is, I think this is, it could break either way for Leavitt and LSU and it's really based on what I saw from the tape from Leavitt. This excites me because the first three parts of this series, I let you go first with your biggest take away. And I wound up saying like, yeah, what he said and it was anti-climactic, right? I went to bed last night after finishing up the Leavitt tape and I had done Mensa the day earlier and I thought, maybe I'll just go first tomorrow because it feels like we're just copying each other. And I've got. And I've got. And I've got. Right. Stealing my thunder. How dare you? I'm kidding, obviously. I saw it a little different. I do want to go two parts on my biggest take away because I don't, we're trying to lump all these quarterbacks together when we're doing the head-to-head and building this board over the course of this. Right. And there's a reason for it. I think a lot of coming into the year, it was Arch versus Dante, right? And it turns out after we graded them, like, Arch absolutely can be the number one overall pick. But maybe he isn't where Dante is now. So that creates excitement for what Arch can become this year because we know all the talent is there. But Dante is at a different level right now. We both saw that. And then we, and I think soars be versus sellers, super talented, still kind of raw, sellers more advanced, but they're similar types of quarterbacks. Then we did these two blue blood program guys who are both red shirt sophomores who both, we're expecting big growth, a lot of talent. And we saw a clear difference between CJ Carr, Notre Dame, and Julian saying, I know how state. And with these two today, it's talented guys who are transferring to bigger programs, bigger opportunities. What do we see? With Mensa, I want to start with this and we'll get into all the nuts and bolts of it. Outside of Dante more, Darian Mensa is the quarterback in the entire country that I trust the most. And I don't think there's a big gap if I'm going to be totally honest after finishing up his tape, that I trust the most inside the pocket, got to make an accurate throw, balls going to be delivered. I walked away from Mensa's tape, a lot higher on Darian Mensa than I expected. And I really liked him. So I don't want this to get lost, okay? And we'll get to Mensa in all the details in a minute. However, I think Sam Levin has a chance to be a top five pick. Whoa, whoa, this is going to be the one. This is, I think you're out of your, let me say this, I think, I think you're right. I think he has a chance. I see that, that universe. I see that world, that path. I think it's more likely than not. He goes back to school for another year. How about that? I'm not, I wouldn't rule that out. I didn't say top five pick in 2027. Okay. All right. You played it safe. Not really. I don't think anyone's ever said Sam Levin's going to be, it could be a top five pick. Okay. So it's not that safe. All right. And now for a special part of today's episode, and I'm fired up about it. Draft stock decision tree brought to you by EA Sports College football 27 with all new features in college ultimate team. You can build your dream team and help your players develop the way you want, make them the ultimate prospects. Talk about like right up our alley, like building a team, developing prospects. And right now, you can make your rise from college to the big leagues with the EA Sports MVP bundle, get both college football 27 and Madden NFL 27 plus Deluxe edition rewards in both games, pre-order it by July 8th. Plain and simple. Let me boil this down. I think Sam Levin can do things on the football field that most can't. I think Sam Levin is an explosive dynamic athlete with similar level quickness and speed. I think Sam Levin's arm is live and loose. I think Sam Levin as we talk about with all these prospects and in life in general as Todd McShay at age 49 now. And seemingly like working through my degree in psychology because of everything life throws at you as a father and a husband and everything else I've gone through, I believe strongly in what is our greatest strength can often be our fatal flaw. And it's absolutely the case with Sam Levit. I love his aggressiveness. What buried Brett Farve in many a moment is what made him absolutely fucking great. True. He has kuyans and onions that most don't have, okay? I think Sam Levit, here's the thing, I'm envisioning this and I'm not saying it's going to happen. And it certainly creates a reason for pause. Let's just give the background, right? Levit injured his right foot against Baylor last September, okay? Played through it until the pain worsened, if you will. Ultimately required season ending Liz Frank surgery after some like conservative treatment to keep him on the field. Most of LSU spring practice while rehabbing. Later had the hardware removed, it was a plan procedure, but kind of I wouldn't call it wasn't a setback, but it slowed the process, but it was expected. Then he missed most of LSU spring practices, did some seven and seven certain things. Then he later got, you know, after the hardwares removed, he winds up clocking a 21 mile per hour GPS at LSU. Then in June, just a few weeks ago, Lane Kiffin comes out and says, quote unquote, pretty much full strength. Finally cleared for camp. It's the most positive report that we've gotten on him. So that's where he is in injury wise. Sam Levit is six one and a half, 213 pounds. The national list has him at four six five. I think those speeds have been conservative on these quarterbacks. I think he would agree if a four four eight guy or somewhere in the four fours. Worst case, he's a four five guy, regardless. Sam Levit, I envision this, right? That's what I started this conversation, this, this, this, this thought. Remember my homes that first year and he got to sit out behind Alex Smith and work with and read in that staff. I envision a young man who has everything skills was. But what he's missing is scheduling because I'm watching his mechanics and like he has good mechanics when, when his eyes are right, he's on schedule and does those things. But I'm, but I'm also watching some like quick slants or like easy in cutting routes and missing high or behind a receiver, those sorts of things. And you're like mechanically, it's not necessarily the issue. It's a lot of his brilliance comes off platform off schedule in chaos. That's his buts is where he's at his best. It's where he's at his best. However, so not however. So those things are awesome and you can't coach those things in into other guys. What you can coach is the scheduling aspect. And what you can coach as we saw with my homes is all right, let's get him on schedule and when I say on schedule, I want to stop down for 10 seconds. It often says like a ballet or like a synchronized swimming when it comes to the passing game. Three step, five step, seven step is the old school under center. We're seeing teams or offenses get back to that more. It's been a lot of shotgun where you're worth still. Everything is done where you're tying the drop for the quarterback with the routes being run and the and the progressions, right? He and Arizona State wasn't the scheduling part of it is staying coordinated with the timing of the routes matching up with he's the top of his drop footplant ball out, right? That's where he's not great right now. But he's going to spend a year maybe two with Lane Kiffin. And Chamblis wasn't great at it when he got there and look at Chamblis when he got to the end of the season, plus Chamblis's ability against Georgia if you have any question to create, extend into all those things. Look at Jackson Dart where he was early in his career. He was a runner. He was a sandlock guy a lot, you know? And then you saw and you saw that in the 161 pressure drops that I talked at Nazim about and his the Josh Allen traits, right? However, but like he also learned to play on time and schedule, right? So the scheduling part is the most important thing for Sam Levit. To take away some of those crazy moments, bad decisions, off-target throws, if Lane can work his magic and Lane did it in a very short time with Chamblis. Coming from Ferris State, if Lane can work his magic now that we have a healthy Sam Levit and Baton Rouge for the next couple of months getting ready for the season, I think you can be a top five pick. That part of today's episode was brought to you by college football 27 from campus legend to NFL superstar. Make your rise with the MVP bundle, pre-order it by July 8th to earn those rewards and begin playing visit go dot EA dot com slash MVP dash bundle dash 27 conditions and restrictions apply see EA dot com slash games slash EA dash sports dash college dash football slash college dash football dash 27 slash game dash disclaimers for details. You can coach those things and Lane has done that and that's the world. That's the world that I'm with you. As we stand here July 6th, right? The summer, I can't, I can't get there with you yet, and I would push back. Isn't our job, Steve? Isn't our job? It's part of our job. I think you're going to be going there. Let me finish the sentence because I know you can finish all of my sentences and I can do pretty much the same for you. Fair enough. For people watching, especially people who maybe haven't watched from the very first episode and don't know us as intimately as others. Let's let me let me flesh this out a little bit. Isn't our job to project what it can look like and do that with an education based off of history, the supporting casts, the surroundings, who they're working with. If Sam Levitt was going to a program with a defense, if Sam Levitt was going to, if Sam Levitt was going to maybe, I don't want to say George, but a defensive minded system, head coach and system where he's got to play within these things. I wouldn't have as much confidence. He's going to Lane, man. He's going to Lane Land. He's going to Lane you. He's going to Lane University. I agree with you. I believe in that university and I know that university has a lot of, it's like a university in Vegas. There's a lot of distractions. There's a lot of hot yoga. There's a lot of speculation. There's a lot of head coach with a shirt off and pictures. There's a lot of trolling. There's all that stuff, but at its core, there's not many better at developing quarterbacks, especially proven in a short period of time than Lane Kiffin. So who am I to believe that that can't happen and why wouldn't I have more confidence in this situation than maybe I do if Sam Levitt was going elsewhere? You should. I agree. I have that. I think what you're looking at is the weight you put into that when you're looking at the overall evaluation. When I'm looking at the overall evaluation, I'm going to push back hard on one of your points. I'm looking at the tape and Mississippi state. It was stopping. It was 45% of his passes against a bad, what ended up being a bad, Mississippi state. I know and it was wild. Did you also, did you also study how, how covered up those receivers were? And how many times you mentioned that protection breakdowns? There was a lot that went on on one of his dropbacks. He almost fell down. I mean, he was his feet were all over in that place in that game. And I felt like maybe this was no more camp scataboo. This is early in the season, second game of the season. No more camp scataboo. This is my team now. I felt like maybe he was pressing, maybe he was just a little getting ahead of himself, trying to make too many plays. And that's why, but at the end of the day, man. Did he show improvement after that? Did he show improvement against, I guess, I guess when he throws, when he completes 51% of his passes against Houston in his last game of the year. And I guess we can blame that on the injury. I don't know, man. I'm not seeing what you're seeing with the tape. I don't take that good. Let's do what we do on in this building, building the board 2027 quarterback series. And I appreciate like, I think we carry this dialogue in into it. What do you see in the strengths of Levitt? And then we should transition to Mensa as well, the arm in. And it's the mobility is right up there. So don't get me wrong. His arm is different. There are a couple of times where I was, you know, I love when you're watching a guy and you're just kind of like, well, or you like laugh, you like catch yourself laughing out loud. Yeah, there are certain throws that Levitt made that the ball gets from A to B so fast that it's [BLANK_AUDIO] almost comical. And I almost, I really try to stay away from arm strength unless you're able to see a guy throw live. And, but this is, you could just watch him on tape and you get the feeling that you hear when the ball hits the receiver's hands, you hear it. And I don't think he's one of those guys. I think he's probably a little bit, I think sellers probably has a slightly stronger arm, but he's also a little bit better in sellers in the sense that he doesn't seem to have to put it. Not everything has to be a fastball for him, which is good. Yeah. That said, I think it's his arm slightly above his mobility because with you on that one, my man, he can extend, he can make plays. And he is, he's just like the guy that, that Lane had it all missed in Jackson Dart in the sense that he does not care about what kind of shot he's going to take when he runs. He is an ultra competitive dude, both as a runner passer. And I love that about his game. I get, I get the path, man. I'm not with you there yet. I just, I just don't see where he is, where he is and his journey right now is not enough for me to be saying some of the things he you're saying. Here's the thing that over the years I've developed, my, my spidey senses go up sometimes. I've, I've learned to try to, and I'm not perfect at it, but I've learned to try to separate like, okay, the result in terms of missed targets or off target throws, what is it? What's the reason, right? And when I see it's eyes scheduling all that stuff, which in, in, in part, you have no problem with this for work. You have no problem with this. That's a fair question. I'm not saying I have no problem with it. I see, I see the why behind it. With arch, with arch, I truly believe a lot of it is. His eyes weren't in the right place. He's making throw and he's a long lever, dude, where it's hard to bring your feet with you from read one, read two, read three when you're six foot four and change, where lev it is six one and a half. He can do those things, but I think his game, his, his mental clock is like, you know. But my home's stuff was a mess too. And I'm not saying he's my home. I just, I think it's, it's, it's, it's finding someone to channel. Here's where you need to be with this. I'm going to, I'm going to create less chaos in your head, man. I'm going to alleviate you, alleviate some of that chaos in your mind and get you to where we're going here. And if it's not there, we're going here. And if not that, you're a brilliant runner. So far, these are, and we now are up to eight quarterbacks. And all of them have some level of mobility. Even Dante Moore has some level of extent creativity, even though he's not fast, right? The three that are different, yeah, so, so, so is B as well. So four of them are different. Yeah. But this cat's quicker than so is B. And maybe, oh, yeah, just as fast if not faster. The fastest on a straight line is seller. Sellers is the quickest and the fastest. Arch, Arch has this initial acceleration, but he's not as, right? Right. Yeah, Levitt. He's got both. He can make this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's got all those. Those four guys are, as we, like we always talk about our grading scale when it comes to the position specific traits, one is exceptional, five is marginal, three is in the middle average. Yep. All four of those guys are ones in terms of the mobility aspect of it, right? So going back to the throwing. Yeah, I see his, the footwork can be drilled in in more repetitive. That's what I wrote him in my, what I'm writing in my report, what I like, it's ongoing report throughout this process. But right now where I'm at with it is when he actually is like lined up and scheduled and all that, his mechanic, he has a baseline of mechanics. It's just not necessarily drilled home, but I'm much more concerned with, let's get him where it's, he's working within the timing of everything. I think that's going to alleviate some of the off-target throws, right? But my first point in all this, where I started this conversation is some guys don't have the ability to that natural touch. It's like watching Shaq with free throws or some, you know, like some guys just like yank and a coach it in. And I'm not saying you can't coach some of it in and like work on it. But like sellers is concerning to me in a regard. And again, I went back and watched more of it after our conversation. And he does make a lot of tough, accurate throws and anticipation, those sorts of things. But I do worry about guys. It's like a hundred mile an hour fastball and about five yards. Yeah. And so and that does it begs the question in those situation, is there a natural touch there? And I want to see that with lev it, I like, he can throw, he can throw a fastball 104 miles an hour. But, but he also can layer the ball. And that agree. He can take something off of it. I think layered is a step too far for me because I don't think he's accurate. I just don't think he's nearly as accurate as you are. Does he do? We're seeing it different. I recognize that the result is where it is not where it needs to be. I'm saying I will be shocked if by late October early November, we're not looking at a guy who's in mid 60, like 62, let's say 62% completion percentage are better. I think Elaine's going to make that much of a difference because I think the things that are off with his ball placement, not every single time. But a lot of it is he needs to be structured in the timing and scheduling of an offense. And if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But how many guys that we've watched have his ability, man? I think we watched, I mean, and we can get into nitpicking, but the four, there's four of them. I mean, it's those four that you've already mentioned. I think those guys have that ability source. We doesn't have his arm strength and arch doesn't have his arm strength. And you can get into like the nitpicking of it all, but there's some elite natural ability guys in this class. But speaking of structure, let me get back to I feel like I blow up the structure of these shows every single time we're supposed to do strengths, then weaknesses and I'm like, and I get all over the place. So where do you want to go? Let me, I'll try to get back to Mensa because I think it's this is Mensa versus versus 11. And I knew this was going to happen. So, so let me start on the strengths real quickly in Mensa. And I, and I touched on in the beginning. This guy is cash. He is money. Like, he is your checking account that is consistently like, you trust it, right? He's got, he's the income. You know exactly what you're getting. And he is mobile. And he does extend. And like, he's got this like quickness and suddenness as a scrambler. I don't think he's super fast. He's not super dangerous. But he rolling out especially to his right is brilliant. Biggest surprise of the tape for me was how well he moved. I did not expect to see that kind of mobility. That was the biggest surprise. I agree. And, but I also, my second biggest surprise or, or up there with it is my gosh, I trust this guy. If you put him in, and we've talked about this, I think it was maybe C.J. Carr or Julian Sain or so here we go. I had the same thought. You already know what you're saying. And that to offense in Miami. You put him in the in the right system. He's got a good arm, but it's not great. I would give him a three. I give him a two. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with that. He doesn't drive it with any kind of, you know, but he can know. I put in there like it's 55 yards. But, but we'll get to his weaknesses. I want to make it perfectly clear. I want to make it perfectly clear with Mensa. He's a special, special passer. Mm hmm. You tell me we got a third and seven and we get the right play dialed up and it's going to require our quarterback to make the right read, get the ball out on time and place it perfectly. It's messed up, man. I might take him over in certain throws. I might take him over Dante, but he and Dante are in a different class in my opinion in terms of pure passing of the football of the eight quarterbacks we've done. Dante and Mensa are in a class of their own. They're just different. So if you were setting up a skills competition and you had the bucket in the back of the end zone or you were making these accuracy throws, I actually like Mensa. This is how I would put it. I actually like Mensa slightly ahead of Dante there. I really do. I do too. If you're putting them in a situation where they have to read a coverage and they have to make a decision quick. And I think both of them are really good in these areas. I like Dante a little bit more. And that's why I think dot days at the top of this class as I think his brain is a little bit more advanced. It's a little more the way he's able to read and dissect is a little more advanced than anyone else. But Mensa is up there. It's impressive what he can do. So those are the strengths. Look, Duke had, I, I PFF numbers, right? Duke had 20 drop passes. I just, is adjusted completion percentage was 74.1%. And speaking to what you're talking about with that to that to offense. This dude on in breaking routes on crossers. It is everything is in stride. It's if you're a yak receiver, you are dying to play with this guy. If you're a guy who wants to do his, if you're one of those receivers of turns and we're running back after the catch, this is your quarterback. You're going to love him. And also, I think when he attacks them, the deep middle of the field, he is really effective to outside the hashes. Baby, not as much. I think he's a little more inconsistent there. But when he's attacking the deep middle, it's, it's also impressive. Yeah. I wrote. You just touched on it. Like, love is touch trajectory. Layers at beautifully, incredibly catchable ball leads receivers on like most college quarterbacks. Important to note, receivers drop a lot of passes that hit them either in the numbers or I said in the numbers and or in stride excited to see him with an upgraded receiver core Miami in 2026. It could be pretty special. Could be. You know what I mean? You put him behind an offensive line, Mario, Cristobal, their coaching staff. You put him with a run game with with a Mark Fletcher behind him and you create that balance for him. And then you talk about Malachite Tony and some of the other receivers that Miami is going to roll out. Malachite Tony's love money that they've spent. And a defense that's, that's not going to force him into situations that he, you know what I mean? And Duke was good for the ACC. They won the ACC, but they were like nine and five, but they were, they were a nice little football team, man. They, like they, they overachieved and, and Mensa was a massive part of that. But this is Miami now, you know? Well, there's a reason that Duke sued to keep him there, you know? They tried to keep it there. I mean, I would have. Yeah. No brainer. I would have brought in Kessler and, and some of the other big, but not so fast. I mean, Mensa on that wall. Did you get this vibe? And I, and it's funny. Like I'm always like, well, I'm making excuses for one quarterback and not the other, but did you get a vibe from watching his tape that was almost like key and Duke were getting to know each other early in the season? Like, I'm watching the Illinois tape and they're right. Illinois. Yeah. Yeah. High, high, like difficulty throws resounds. I guess, like against an Illinois 20 yards that's that's 50, but they're 401 in terms of like they, they are always smart. They're moving the pocket of time. Yeah. It was just, it was like, this is, let him do his thing. Like get to know what I learned. Know each other a little bit. And then it then it started to roll. And we should mention as we have a six three 205 is the estimated, he's estimated height weight for, for Mensa, right? He is a average to like really solid height lean framed, right? Didn't look as lean as I thought he would on tape, but yeah, he is lean. Three star recruit out of Santa Maria, California, St. Joseph High School, red shirted at two lane in 2023, just to give a little background, right? Took over as a start full-time starter started all 13 games for two lane in 2024. Led the green wave to a nine and four record and a birth in the AAC championship game. He doesn't win every game. The guy finds a way to get his team there at the end of the season, right? Transfirst to Duke. After that season starts all 14 games, completed 67% of his throws, 34 touchdowns, just six picks. Led the blue levels to the ACC championship game, improbable. Duke doesn't win the ACC, right? Yeah. The guy finds ways to win, okay? What I love from the tape, and that's why I want to go in the background on them a little bit before I said this, what I love from that Illinois tape, he grabbed his onions. Like it was kind of a nightmare early on. And they were asking him to do things that were not effective. His receivers were not capable against that coverage. And then they started rolling the pocket a little bit and he got his ass handed to him multiple times. And he never flinched. And he started all 27 games that were available to him to play. So while he's got that linear frame and all that stuff, he's tough as nails. And he's the kind of guy would and I kept writing like I just trust him. I just it was ex soothing to watch men's tape because if it was there, he was going to get it. And then he was leading receivers and I trusted he was going to pop up from every hit. And I trusted he the big hit wasn't going to affect his next throw or his next series. And a mistake wasn't going to affect the next decision. There's something about this dude. And I'm the first to recognize he doesn't have levets. Natural God given ability. Doesn't have arches. Doesn't have sores bees. Nope. Doesn't doesn't have sellers. Nope. But there's a lot of guys in the league that are that are this level of passer with the toughness and the instincts and moments and the ability to bounce back from mistakes and or beatings. They go on to have great NFL careers. They do. No, it's so true. I just you know, beatings. It's a little dramatic. But I got you. I'm with you. I hear you. It kind of felt like he was getting jumped in an at dark alley after. Oh, here we go. No, yeah, times against Illinois or early in that game. But yeah, they wound up, but at one point they climb back in. It's like 30 something to 19. You know, like there was a lot of fight in this guy. So and he said that was I thought he's a player that was better at the end of the year than he was. I agree. He's on a upward trajectory. All right. I feel like we've touched on some of the weaknesses. But let's go. We're on Mensa. Where where the limitations we for for the love of God, can you hold on to the ball in the pocket? Can you? I love the way he navigates the pocket at times. But there was too many times where the balls on the ground. He's got he's got to do a better job of taking care of the football. And and it doesn't really make sense because there's times where he climbs and slides and you're like, this is everything that I'm looking for. And then there's other times where he holds on to the ball too long and he just gets he takes a hit. I also think that we talked about this with Dante. And I think these two guys that are I think we're going to compare a lot going forward. He is a like we we hit on a little bit earlier. He has a good feel for how to attack coverage and all those things. But some of the post snap rotations that got done day, I think he is there are an issue for Mensa as well of watching where he has a really good feel pre snap. But sometimes he's missing what's happening after who's dropping where and making sure that he he understands that a coverage can change after the after the snap. So there's some things there that I think he needs to clean up. I my my guess is he does. I mean the way that he's progressed as we said, I'm pretty optimistic about him being able to do that. Yeah. And I think there are some some limitations as we said that he's not he's not he is more mobile, but he's not dynamic. I think the biggest thing is his arm strength, whether it's two or three, it's not at the level. So he's going to have to be in a system that plays to his strengths and he absolutely will be. But he can't do with the football or with his legs what those other four guys were talking about. But that's okay because a lot of guys in the league that go on to have really successful starting careers in the league don't have some of those traits, but they're able to overcome it. I'm fired up to watch him at Miami. Oh my god. A treat we have on our hands with arch coming back for another year with Sark. And and Dante with a new coordinator can he can he make that next step, even though it's not the same exact thing. And CJ, maybe more talent or healthier receiver. Yeah. I mean, that's going to be interesting. And car is a second year player saying is a second year player. The rinses refine repeat sellers, new coordinator, Kendall Briles, like every time we get done with them, like the biggest takeaway in this whole series is it's going to be hard to watch all these games at the same time. And I, and it's going to be hard to like, who am I going to choose? Am I going to watch levitt with his first game under Kiffin against Clemson? Am I going to but I'm dying to see sellers. And now I got to see CJ car. And now Julian saying with those wet, but like, I'm just excited. I'm just excited. And I've tried to temper all of it, but we're set up for a wild year. And even if there's failure or disappointment or it doesn't look that's still a story line. Yeah. Plus, there's still we have so many darts to throw this year. There's so many of them that if one or two failed, hopefully that's not the case. Obviously, but one, two, three, fail. There's still five, six guys you're looking at, you know, there's just you have, there's more opportunity this year. What about levitt with his weaknesses? And I think again, he's just, he's, he's, he misses too many throws, man. I mean, he just misses too many throws. It's just, it's frustrating to watch. I mean, I guess, you know, like I guess he got better over the, I mean, it wasn't tough to, you know, knock it better than over 45% of your passes being completed. I guess he got better. I just didn't. I think the lower body mechanic, I said it already. I think his feet are a mess at times, like a mess. I think there are times that he wants, he doesn't take the, the easy way out and go underneath and what's the press things down field. I, I think he has a long ways to go as a pocket passer. Let me put it this way. His stock is at a price that I would empty my bank account on. And it's at it. It's at a price. I get that statement. I get that statement because the inconsistency, because the, the completion percentage, because he didn't have that follow-up year and stay healthy and show progression. Because he's had an off-season where he's now had a second kind of procedure that was planned and he hasn't been in the system with Lane and going through all the things. But more so than any one of these quarterbacks as far as where the stock is now and where I think it's going to be come October, November and into the draft if he, if he winds up coming out for 2027, I think the, the most money to be made and a stock if we're, if we're putting all eight of these quarterbacks so far is in Sam Levin. I really do. But I'm also not ignorant as we talked about weaknesses that, yes, that is an issue. And the biggest question I have for Sam Levin this year is, can Lane Kiffin in a short period of time that just got short and due to that injury that we talked about? Can Lane Kiffin get him on schedule understanding the offense, both from a ball placement, the result being better and from, it's that, that tight rope you walk is a quarterback. And I started this thing talking about Brett Farve and, and some ways Josh Allen and it was Mahomes coming out of Texas tech. You can't go and, and, and, and muzzle or, or suppress all the greatness. So you got to let that part flourish, right? It's Caleb Williams, which you got to go, you got to go cut out Caleb Williams is an awesome example. Thank you. Yeah. Did not, did not lose that ability, but, you know, raining a little bit, but you got to trim the dead, the dead leaves off the tree and, and, and rip out the weeds around it. So to let the beautiful part grow, but you got to get rid of the ugly parts and the, and the parts that are infecting the rest of the, the plant or the tree, right? Yeah. I don't know when I became a bot, a botnist, yeah, this is, yeah, I do, you know, montage of all your metaphors. That's what I want. But you know what I mean? Like, I do. You know, it's a beautiful flower or tree or plant or whatever. But there's some weeds that got to get pulled. And there's some, some dead leaves on there, like, I'm looking at a plant in the back of my office here. Uh-huh. And that's not why it came to mind, but I'm staring at it and be like, yeah, I get it. It's like usual suspects. Your entire pot is about what you're seeing behind the, the, the camera. And then I might, my limp will turn into a full Kevin Spacey wall at the end. Yeah. Yeah. So that's where I am with Levitt. And I think it's, I knew it was going to be fun. And I've watched a lot of Sam Levitt. But drilling down, after drilling down all these, the seven other quarterbacks, he's the eighth quarterback I've watched now, I'm most excited about what that's going to look like in Baton Rouge this fall. I really. I get that. I really am. That's a fair. I think it's got a chance to be the, I think it's got a chance to be the story of college football in 2026. Sam Levitt, Lane, Lane Kiffin, NLSU, first year together, first year for, for both of them in Baton Rouge, all the expectations, all the hype, and they just kind of put the blinders on. And if, if Kiffin can do for Levitt, what he has done historically with quarterbacks in a short period of time, it's got a chance to be the story in college football. All right. This is the part that I love. How does it transition to the NFL? Do you have concerns? Is there a clear vision? Let's talk about Sam Levitt first. When you talk about transitioning his game to the NFL, what do you see? I don't, I see a guy that needs to maybe sit behind someone for a little bit and get a better feel for coverages and some of his, his, his footwork and cleaning that off. He's not, I am excited about what he can do when he gets on the field and he can make plays. Maybe not play behind someone. You know what? That's like, that's bullshit. No one does that anymore. I see a guy who's going to go through some growing pains early on. Let's put it that way. I think it's going to take him a minute that he could be a better quarterback than Mensa in year four. But let's put it this way. He could be a better quarterback than Mensa in year four, but I think Mensa will be a better quarterback in those first three seasons because he's, he's more ready to make the jump. I'm like you. I, I tried it his best I can to guard against the three sits for the first year and he has a home situation because it doesn't really, that was kind of a usual situation, especially in today's game. And especially if he's the first round pick. But lump that in with Josh Allen, some of the early like run, utilizing running ability. Jalen Hertz, who had some time to get to before he became the guy. Jackson Baker may field here, by the way. Is that crazy? Baker didn't, Baker's weirdly mobile because he's kind of slow. He's not that, yeah, right. He's not that kind of an, it's just, I see. He's like the, almost the swagger, the, the competitiveness, the arm talent, like it's, it's not, it's not perfect, but I just see a little bit of it there. You know who I see? And I'm interested to see what year two looks like as I'm watching social media and jumping out of boats and throwing the boats and all that stuff and, and, and, and in his model girlfriend and, and all the, again, scatabo and all that. But I'm very interested to see my guy, Jackson Dart, yeah, from year one to year two. But I could see a year one that looks a little bit like for Sam Levin, a little bit like Jackson Dart, where, don't hate it. Moments of brilliance, you see all the ability, the fan base is pumped. This guy, we got that guy into, yeah, but, but, keen observers of the quarterback position are like, yeah, the running stuff, some of the, the off schedule stuff was brilliant. But we, we all know those of us who like really study this, there's got to be a serious progression as a pocket pass or understanding defense is getting the ball out. And he needs, and he needs a healthy, like neighbors, he needs better protection, all those sorts of things. I could see that kind of, all right, he comes in five, six games in the rookie season. Five, six games into it, or whatever it is, four games, 10 games, whatever it is. And he has flashes of brilliance, but we're all like cautiously optimistic about year two, right? Right. And I guess I didn't even think about the parallel with, with Lane, Kiffin, with Jackson Dart, but that even makes it more. There's, yeah, it's there. What about, what about Mensa, what, what do you see for him? He, again, ceiling not as high, I think he could be a starter from day one and everyone's to go through the growing bands, I should say that too. But I think he can be a franchise quarterback as a rookie. I think he's got that kind of skill set when you look at enough arm talent, enough mobility, and then you add the brain and the accuracy. I mean, he's a guy that I think is going to hit the ground running in the NFL, especially if the momentum continues to go the way that it's gone. I think momentum is important for these quarterbacks, that's why we talk about their supporting cast and how it might go. If the momentum continues to go the way it's been going over the last two seasons, watch out. I think he's going to be an early, early pick, and I think he's going to make, he's going to make some waves early on. >> Do you think C.J. Stroud's rookie year is completely out of question? >> No, I don't. I don't, I don't either, I'm not saying it will be, but I don't think they're totally dissimilar. I think, I think it's a better comp for Dante Moore, if we had to go the comp route. I think, I think there's more mobility in his game as we both kind of, it was, some light was shed on it, you know? But I think there's this confidence about him, where I don't think anything's going to be too big for him. I think he's so mature and so skilled as a passer. But we need to see it now at Miami, right? We need to see that next step. And I'm expecting it. I'm going to be honest. I'm kind of expecting it. I really am. >> I am too. I mean, why wouldn't we? Based on what's happened there in the last two seasons, I mean, you already said it. I mean, they resurrected Carson Beck's career in the turn came order to a first overall pick. I have very high expectations. And I, again, I expect him to meet them. I'm just going through some starters in the league. Where, what are the other cops with Mensa? You know, like, I'm literally going through every single start. Michael Penix. Yeah. Yeah. Bryce Young. No. No. No. I don't love that one. Put me on the spot. And as you will know, I'm really effective when you do this. Brock Brock Purdy. I like him more. I think he's more talented than Purdy. I excel under pressure. And I'm actually now, no, no, no, no. The best of Gino Smith. Not a horrible one, man. I don't hate the Gino one, actually. I don't either. That one kind of pops out a little bit. Think about Gino. Good years, Seattle. Like the best of, though. I think the best of, yeah. What are hopeful, not hopeful. I hate the word hopeful. What our projection is, if things continue to develop on this, the way he's tracking, I can see that. Yeah, I think that gives a clear path of what it could be if things go the way we think it's going to go in Miami, build confidence, like enter the league, got it. Two years at two lane, a year at Duke, a year at Miami, mature, figured out a lot of different things, gone through different coordinators, systems, all that. He's kind of ready, you know, from a college to the NFL standpoint. All right, let's do it. Let's do it. This one could be fun. It's going to be interesting. Grades. We're stalking these dudes. Let me give you, I'm going to give you an overview if you're listening and watching and scumbags, get your pens and paper out. We got Dante at around a 94-ish, the highest grade. Yep. We've got sellers at a 93-ish, some projection there. And I say, sorry, I say "ish" because A, it's July. B, B, mention I for the purposes of this drill as we do as we get closer to the draft in April, try to find a middle ground. And then we come on the show and we talk about, "Well, I'm higher on this guy and you're a little lower, we've kind of met in the middle." I won that battle, I give up. Fine. Take your offensive tackle and give them a 92. I got an 89, but I can't fight. It's called building the board for a reason. It's not the board has been built. It's building the board. We are in the process of building the board. Right. And EA Sports is no different, man. Every game I've gone to, I see EA Sports scouts out there they're digging in. I love that. I love this partnership with EA Sports, man. I get three kids upstairs at AJ and Tate who are literally like, "Hey, can we get the bundle? Can we get the bundle? Let's go. Let's go." Yeah, we're early, right? Yeah, so I'm dying to know the arm strength on sellers, they're like, they're dialed in. And I'm kind of pumped to get up there and beat their ass too. The old man you can nitpick, you can nitpick the ratings too of, I love that. I'm like, "Oh, they got this one right when they agree with me." Oh, and a guy I didn't know was going to agree with that. And then when it's a guy, I don't like it, they love. But before we're speaking, we're talking about that's the best part. It's conversation starters. But even like, talking to Eric Tacasa, the GM of the Baltimore Ravens. They use them, man. By the way, an organization that has as good a track record as anyone in the NFL had drafted. They pumped that into that 123 ingredient cocktail to create mix into their mix. So I think it's a perfect part. You talk about all the partnerships and Fandall is like, they're the best that we've loved every minute. But like EA sports as we're building our board and talking about all these traits, like it couldn't be a better partnership for the summer. And we're thrilled to have them on. So Dante at around a 94. Sellers of the number two quarterbacks spot around a 93. Then we've got car in arcs. We'll call it a 91. I kind of lump them together very different quarterbacks, but CJ, car from Notre Dame and archmaning from Texas are kind of writing that next spot, call it number three tied, whatever you want. Then we've got Saiyan and Soros B. A notch below recognizing Soros B. If he was playing this year at Texas Tech and had an opportunity to build off of those incredible traits, not say the grade would be higher this year, we'd feel a lot better that the grade would be higher going into 20, the 2027 draft next April. But we ain't going to see him probably until, like highly likely, until the senior bull. Maybe it's the East West trying the week before if he decides he's going to play in multiple. But I told you, they've already invited him. Drew Fabianics told me we invited him. And the response from Soros B's camp is we fully expect him to be in mobile next year. And it's kind of what everyone's got their eyes set on in terms of when we're going to see Soros B next. So Dante, sellers, car, arch, Saiyan, Soros B. Yep. Let's go Mensa first. Where are you plugging him in for you? Right? Yeah. I gave him a 90. I think he's in the same bucket as Arch and CJ Carr. But I gave him a 90. I think those guys are slightly ahead of them. I struggled with that. But I think they're in the same bucket. If you want to go 90 or 91, that's fine by me, but that's where that's where I that's what I'm giving him. I got to get better about this man. We're in the present. It's not done and dusted. Like he is not in the barn. I keep saying like it's a done deal. I am giving him a 90 right now. I'm the same. I almost think we could have Dante at 95. So we can we can argue the actual grazes. We're getting sorted. We're gonna do if it's Dante and then and then sellers and then Arch and Carr. I'm putting Mensa just behind those two. But like it's they're like it's pretty cool. This early in the process to feel really strongly like this. We're supposed to be just sending flights up in the air air traffic control. You're headed to Boston. You're headed to LA. We'll sort it all out later. I feel like we're way further like I'm already talking about like when we're going to the ETA on landing, altitude, all that stuff. But I've got Mensa exactly as you do on just on like the tail of those two. But I'm gonna put him right now just a notch below Arch and Carr. Where do you got lev it? You go first. I want to hear this. I want to read. I want to have an honest reaction to what you what you've done here. I've got lev it is the third best quarterback in this class. And I've got him as a 99 between a 93 and a 92 grade. I've got him ahead of CJ Carr who I just told you I'm absolutely in love with. And I've got him slightly ahead of Arch Manning who you know I'm absolutely in love with. And I want everyone to understand this. I honestly think there's a path that Arch could be the first quarterback drafted in April. So don't get any of this twisted. We just happen to have the best quarterback class potentially if all these guys have the year we expect them to have. And they all come out for the 2027 class. This could be the best quarterback class in the history of the NFL draft. And I've been I've been tiptoeing around that for a while because we built up we over hyped what last year could be. And so I'm cautious about it, but fuck it. Like that. I've never been in July. This excited about a group a group of guys. And even the year mid 2024 we knew about Caleb. We knew about Drake. We were hopeful Jayden would take another step. Didn't know he was going to have the year that he had. And my like if you were scouting off of one year, Jayden was the best quarterback in that class. And his rookie year was the best quarterback of that class. But you can now see why all three of those guys were one, two, three off the board. And we didn't know. Penix was going to wind up being Michael Penix getting drafted where he didn't. Well, let's see if that winds up being the right call. Bo Nix. We didn't know that he was going to have to take another step under Will Stein at Oregon in his final year and be the 12th pick. And JJ McCarthy like, yeah, it's kind of a mess right now in Minnesota. We get it. But when a national championship and play, you know, things that he did. So we didn't know going into that year about the other three is the point I'm trying to make that day would be and we didn't even know Jayden would be in the mix in the top three. I'm going into this year being like, if all these guys play the way anywhere close to the way we think and all these guys for the 2027 class, I don't, there isn't a comp, 83, I guess, if you want. But I'm saying all that to say, or you look and you say, well, you've got you've got arch and car tied for fourth behind Dante and sellers. But I'm also saying like they're all within like two like straight distance. Yeah, like 95 to 92 or 94 to 91. Like they're all right there. They're all legit first round grades. And I also want to say this. We've done eight quarterbacks. We've done eight quarterbacks and Soresbee is the biggest wild card 'cause there's a lot of shit to get through. The gambling, the addiction, is the league gonna suspend them? Yes, they're more stuff in his past. How's he gonna look in January? All those things. But from a talent perspective, I would lump him in here too. All aid of these guys to me in a given draft year are top 50 prospects. So here's what I'll say to you. And I feel like you're stalling 'cause you know what's coming down the pipe right now. I want to be careful about how I say this because I agree with a lot of what you're saying. And I am very excited to watch same level this year. And again, I see the world, I see the path, I see the universe where what you're saying is, comes true. But I want to apologize to my mother right now and I want to apologize to her aunt and I want to apologize to any of the young listeners out there. And I mean with all due respect and say, get the fuck out of here with that grade. I cannot understand how you can have him that high. I just can't, not yet. If you want to talk to me in three or four months when he's doing these things and we're starting to see this happen, I get it. He is at best, I think, the seventh best quarterback that we've watched on tape. I really believe that. Can he do different things? Yes. I watched that, my Mississippi state, to let people behind the curtain a little bit here in a normal year before I, appreciate thankfully dragged me on this podcast and put me in front of a camera and made me put things out there now. I would have called you and said, I don't think we should have levied on our board because the stock is too volatile. It could be here, it could be there. It's going to be up and down. It's going to be roller coaster. He's got more eligibility. Let's not keep him on the board right now because it's a no win. It's a no win for the player if we put him too high or too low and it's a no win for us if we put him too high or too low. I do not see a guy who would be the third best quarterback in the historic quarterback class right now and because I don't see it right now, how can you put him ahead of guys who have played better, who have talent? I just, I don't get it. I am, I understand it. I don't want to see him like I don't like Sam Levitt or I don't have a high opinion of what Lane Kiffin can do but man, are we getting our head of ourselves that we put him that high? I haven't laid my eyes on you this summer. You've been up in New Hampshire. I know you're getting ready to go to Montana. I want a welfare check on you. What do you mean? It's got Sam Levitt's, like, Sam Levitt is a special, special talent. Isn't it our job to get ahead of this shit? It's so archbanging, a special talent. Yeah, but not near, like, yeah, but has a really, I see. He's a, he's a big six foot four, 230 pound athlete who has unbelievable acceleration. I, I trust Sam Levitt to make more special plays flicking the wrist, extending, like, he does things that arch can't do. He's got this loose arm about him where he and I don't just, again, I don't, I got burnt, I got burnt on my homes. I was too low on my homes. I feel like, and I'm not over correcting. This is more like a decade or so later. I'm, I can't ignore unique, unique traits. This cat, this cat's got him. I can't wait for November. Hey, Tucker, I'm speaking to you directly, my friend. Please clip this shit. Please clip it, because in November, it's going to be a miserable month for Steve Mench. No, it's not. You just wait. I'm going to make it, I'm going to be as sufferable. How? How do you not see this? I do see it. I, this is what you, this is your, you're trying to change the argument here. I do see it, but he hasn't done it yet. If you can put that kind of weight on cellars, you'll be that excited. The weight you are putting. How it, it feels like you're walking teleportation. Cellars tape is, I don't know, five times better. Oh, you're kidding me. He completed 45% of his passes against Mississippi State. I can't, I finally have a couple of hours free in the McShay house. 40, I'm a new, I'm a newly wedged. I would much rather go hang out with Marissa right now in a quiet home with the air conditioning's working because the heat waves over. I would much rather go hang out with her than do this shit with you. So just like, honestly, I know. I know, how do you think, how do you not, how do you not see this, how do it, how do it is, is tape isn't better than cellars? I'm not saying it's better. I didn't give them, but better great. I'm saying that he's in the neighborhood of that. Everything that cellars can do, he can do. Okay, so do you want me to start looking at, it's hard, it's hard to do this game. You want me to start picking out some of the cellars games? Just go for it. Go for it. Give me a performance that was that bad. Virginia Tech wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever seen. It wasn't. He still made more plays in that game than, than, then maybe 11 made in two or three games this year. How about the second half of Texas A&M when he fucking bit it? How about, I get it, 45% against a shitty Mississippi state defense. Is that, is, is Mississippi state in the, that defense better than Texas A&M defense? How about that wide open slant that he, that he, that he, go for it. Air, air males. Go for it. Third and seven. The team needs them. They're on their 48th. The game is all on a part. I will just throw on the Mississippi state state. If I'm in the same room as you, I'm just throwing on that tape and letting it roll. It's not good. It's not good. Okay. I can't wait. I'm telling. I'm texting Lane the second we get off of this and I'm like, we, we good. Because I know now, now, now I'm, now I'm in the, now I'm a, like, I'm Sam Levitt's agent basically because. Yeah. I know. I kind of like this. I kind of like to hear that guy. And listen, I, I, I, I, again, I cannot say this over again and maybe you can't have your cake and eat it. I, through that, I get the path. I just cannot put enough weight on that on Lane Kiff and it's just going to do what he does. And Sam Levitt's going to stay healthy and he's just going to unlock all the time. And I don't want this to get lost that I'm just like, oh, Lane's so good. He's going to fix all the, no, I'm saying I, I actually see what the issues are with him. And I know, and he can't, he couldn't be going to a better, a better person, teacher coach, developer, then Lane for those specific things that he needs to work on. If Jackson Dart can become Jackson Dart, Sam Levitt's more gifted than Jackson Dart. Yeah. Jackson Dart doesn't throw the deep ball very well and doesn't have this, the energy that he has. Jackson Dart's a really mobile quarterback and has a, you know, all the, we spent the whole year me glazing Jackson Dart, right? Yes. Sam Levitt's more gifted. Sam Levitt's more gifted than Shameless. Yeah. Get out of here with that. All right. We'll see. Time will tell. We'll see. Yep. This was fun one. Yeah. I'm pissed now, though. I know you love to draw these like sharp contrast now is going to be like that I hated Sam Levitt the whole time. I love that. Oh, you're absolutely right. You're going to try and do that for the rest of this site. You ever say something positive about Sam Levitt again. Right. I'm going to have it clipped if you told me because I think you should be, yeah, Mississippi state. Yeah. Mississippi state. Does LSU play Mississippi state this year? I hope they do. Uh, no, but they do play Ole Miss early. Listen, man, it's, it's not an easy star for them. I like that game. Yeah. That would be a good one to go to. I want to cleanse in the open with they open with Clemson though at LSU, right? Yes. I'd like to be there too. All right. Thank you. Like to be at all of them. I would. I would. Uh. Two stars. Thanks, man. I appreciate it. You know what? I'm fine with that. 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