The 10 Most Interesting Players in College Football, and the Curious Case of Dae’Quan Wright.

Speaker 1 : The most interesting men in college football. That's today's show. We've got 10 of them. I might turn it into 13. There's 248 days until the NFL draft. Ben, you good? I'm great, man. Roll that thing, tuck. We spend our summers with our family. You go to Montana. I love the beach when we're not doing those fun things. Speaker 2 : Yeah. Speaker 1 : We, um, we're sitting in dark rooms like I am right now and watching tape and getting ready for the season. We've got a top 50 list getting ready to come out in the next couple of weeks. We'll give you more details as that comes in. This episode is brought to you by Nintendo. When you've got different ages, different interests and a busy schedule, finding something everyone can enjoy is a win. Boy, do I know that the Nintendo switch to system gives you options with games like Mario cart world donkey Kong Bonanza and EA sports FC 26. Speaker 2 : Two controllers are included. So you can start playing together right away. And many existing Nintendo switch games also work on Nintendo switch to learn more at nintendo.com/nintendo switch to games and systems sold separately. Some Nintendo switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo switch to games rated E to E 10 plus. And as we're watching tape, we're always kind of texting one another, jotting down notes and, and, and then the AP poll comes out, the college football poll comes out. We kind of create our own, you know, preseason rankings, if you will, of the, of the top teams. And, and we start to compile all this data, this information we have. And every year there's this list of players that I've got kind of sitting in the corner. Like I'm so intrigued to see what this guy does, whether it's buzz texting with head coaches across the country, position coaches. NFL scouts. Like there's always these guys that like we don't feature when we do all the quarterback breakdowns, we don't feature as the top wide receivers or the edge rushers or, but whether it's a guy who could break out, whether it's a guy who is a true freshman, whether it's someone who we're starting to hear a little bit buzz about guys who pops on tape, that isn't a prospect or is a prospect, but it's not going to make the top five or top 10 list, whatever it is for adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tramfiya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramfiya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tramfiya, proper training is required. Tramfiya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramfiya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit tramfiya.com. We had a production meeting recently and like, let's just unveil like, I don't know, 10, 12, 15, maybe 20 of the most interesting players. We call it the most interesting men in college football coming into the season. I tried to skew a little bit towards teams that I think either are underrated or could be right there in the national championship hunt. I'm interested to see where you went. We decided we're gonna go with five each, so it'll be 10 guys today. I legitimately probably will make it 13, but that's, that's in character. Oh, you have a problem. You have a problem. I know, but I, but I, I've been doing all this research. I'm going through all my texts and I'm, I'm going, looking at all my notes and I'm like, yeah, but what I gotta mention this guy. What about that guy? Oh, I got a late text from, from a coach. So we'll try to keep it at a reasonable clip with a reasonable number of players, but we're entering into this thinking here are 10 of the most interesting men in college football. Let's just dive right in. Who you got right off the top? Zach Lummer, Iowa. Iowa defensive back. And I do mean defensive back because he is not a corner. He is not a safety. He is Mr. Do it all. And that's what I feel like Iowa always has that guy. It's I mean, I think you look at Cooper to Jean and that's kind of like the, the standard he set there and maybe that's, that's what, what jumps to mind. I don't love that comp yet, but maybe, maybe at some point we'll do that. Yeah. So, I mean, they do, they get these versatile cats. I mean, they have guys that can do a lot of different things and they give them the opportunity to play norm Parker's defense too. Yes. Right. And so I watch them on tape, man. He's he lines up over the slot the most, but they'll put them out wide a corner. They'll play him in the box. I mean, he is all over the place. And I think his ability to do different things for you, like matching up with a bigger wide receiver on the outside or a move tight end, working out of the slot, his ability to use his length and physicality to disrupt slot receivers, getting off the line. And I think The way he fights to get off blocks and gets involved in tackling. I do think that's one of his weaknesses. He's got to clean up his tackling a little bit, but he's, he's always, he had 71 tackles last year. I mean, it's not for lack of effort. It's not for him not being able to get off blocks. It's not for him not chasing. It's he's a, just a damn good overall football player. Give his full name again. So everyone knows Zach Luttmer. And I will also tell you this, this is a number you're going to absolutely love. Okay. He's a, you dig in on these guys and you're trying to find, we're trying to every angle right now to figure out like how, what makes this guy great. And one of our resources is Bruce Feldman from the athletic, his freaks list, right? Lummer comes in on the freaks list. Three, his fastest shuttle time. He ran his shuttle time is 3.81 seconds. That would tie for the fastest shuttle time ever run at the combine. This, this guy is six foot, 200 pounds. He's not five, nine, 185 pounds. So when you look at that number, his ability to change directions is incredible for a guy that size. I mean, I remember starting the off season process of looking at these defensive backs and you're comparing them all and you're going one by one. Luttmer was pretty far down the list behind some of these guys. I think he's got a real chance to be the second defensive back drafted. I think I was sneaky. Good. If they could figure out the quarterback, they, they might have something, man. I, I did something for FanDuel the other day and, and they were asking for teams like go ahead and look at if you don't have the FanDuel app, I don't know what we're doing. Even if you're not big on, on wagering, where have you been? Yeah. It's like, it's just such a tool, you know, it's such a tool and you can sign up, get an account. And it gives you like opportunities to look at like, whether it's the Heisman rankings, the college football futures. And one thing that they're obviously in the preseason that they're that they're, you know, interested in people kind of taking a look at and seeing what, what jumps out at you is, is the, is the college football futures, right? It can be the national championship. It can be odds to get to the college football playoff. But one thing that I really scoured through with like the top 50 or so teams was win totals and what odds jumped, out to me, two of them. I'll get to the other team in a minute and I'm actually going to go in reverse order of how I was going to start. Cause I might as well go with the one Iowa guy that I had. Um, Iowa at 10 plus wins, this is a program. It feels like they, no, one's talking about them. They lose a game early. They, they, they have the schedule that they, but they always wind up winning like nine, nine, 10 games every single season. Yeah. And so they're, they're 10 plus wins. And I'm like, man, what's the, what's the quarterback situation, you know? And, and so like, it looks like Jeremy heck, heck Klinsky is kind of making the move like 17, 25, 205 yards, five touchdowns at the, the, the kids day practice and so like, but whatever it is, it might be a little bit more efficient in 20, 25, 25 yards, five touchdowns at the, at the, the kids day practice. So I think it's going to be a little bit more efficient in terms of the passing passing game than, than it was a year ago. And so you're talking about a defensive standout that jumped out to you on tape. How about an offensive standout? And we know the tight ends are going to be really good. Like we just know like DJ Vonham is back. He's six, four to 41. He's going to be that pass catching tight end. I think he's one of the more underrated prospects in the, in this year's upcoming class. We'll see if he has the leap that I'm expecting him to have as an Iowa tight end, they always develop them. They always have. They always have guys that they target who are maybe three stars that they turn into NFL draft prospects. Then they go out and get a USC tight end to bring in because now we get, we get that receiver right in our two tight end sets at Iowa. We got that receiving threat. We got to have a blocking tight end. They go out and get Zach Ortworth from USC. Who's who's going to be their blocking guy. Now we're set at the two-tight end spot. They're always going to run the ball well. We know about their offensive line. They're loaded again. So if the quarterback situation works out, they've got this wide receiver, Mitch. I can't wait for you to watch him on tape. His name's Tony Diaz. Oh, my gosh, is he sudden. And I'm watching him from U-T-R-G-V. I had to look this up last. I didn't even, I don't, what is that? What is U-T-R-G-V? U-T-R-G-V. U-T-Rio Grand Valley. Hotbed for receiver prospects, I think. So I'm watching U-T-R-G-V tape, right? I love that. And albeit, it is not the best competition, but sudden, sudden, bro, Twitchy's Twitchy. This guy, the way he gets off the line, the ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, you know? Everything's like, right? And then in and out of breaks. And then the thing that I love about him, he's not the biggest guy. I'll give him, I'll admit it. He's 5'10", 184. You know I love my slot guys. He's a slot prospect for the NFL. At college, I think he can play inside, outside. He's got that versatility. The thing I love about this cat is, he then also adjusts. Sometimes the Twitchy guys are like, let's get him the screen, quick game, get him the ball after the catch. He can legitimately run routes, and then down the field, his ability, to adjust to the football. And we know we're not getting USC or Ohio State or Texas or Alabama-level passing skills, you know? And so there's going to have to be some adjusting to the football. He does it brilliantly. And I just look at Ference and the staff and what they, like their ability to target guys. It's not dissimilar from Lane targeting a Ferris State quarterback last year. Yeah, who went on to become the legend that is Trinidad Chambliss. They just kind of figure out, that works for us. And so Tony Diaz comes in, and it's just like, he's the story of camp for Iowa. It's like, how did they even find him? UT Rio Grande Valley, right? He had interest too from some, like Alabama and Arkansas were interested. So it wasn't, it wasn't just Iowa. And he chose Iowa. So like, there's this love affair of, yeah, I want to be there. And like, we want you here. Yeah, he's been like the top producer, like Tim Lester, Ference, they love this guy. He's going to be the starting Z receiver. And I think he has a chance to, he was 875 receiving yards, 68 catches, 11 touchdowns. Again, that was his red shirt freshman year. Last year. So he's going to be a red shirt sophomore. I can't wait to see what he does for this Iowa team. I think I was going to be one of those sneaky teams. It's just hanging around. Maybe they have one loss, then eventually two losses. But like at the end, we're going to be like, wait a second. Is Iowa kind of like hanging around the chicken coop here? You know? Yeah. They got that Washington, Ohio state, Michigan run. That's not the right order, but that's going to be, that's going to be interesting for Iowa. It is. But, but, but, but they're a team that I've got earmarked as if they can, if they can win one of those three games and finish the regular season with two losses, like they could be hanging around, you know, and, and compete, compete. Well, they always seem not always, but vast majority of losses seem to be close losses. Right. Yep. And so all of a sudden you got a three point loss to, to, to Ohio state or Iowa state. It was Iowa state earlier. They had the three point loss and then, yeah. Right. And I don't think Iowa state's going to be the Iowa state that we're used to with Matt Campbell and some of the other, you know, losing some of the, I mean, they lost half the roster. It feels like, so that watch out for Iowa and watch out for, for Tony Diaz and the offensive side. All right. Who else you got? I'm going to stay with the DBS. I'm going to go. Vicari Swain out of South Carolina. Another guy that just getting into the film. I was like, who is this dude? And I know some people are really high on him, like really high on him. He only started three games at corner last year. And so I'm looking into it. I'm like, oh, he's an all, he's an all conference punt returner. And he is one of those punt returners that when I say he is fearless, he is fearless. Watch the Virginia tech game where he is. He picks up a ball that he has no business going anywhere near. And then next thing you know, he's running into the end zone. He is a super talented punt returner. And I was like, well, maybe this is what it is. Maybe people are high as a punt returner, but I'm not sure that makes him an early round draft pick. And then you throw on the tape and you're like, well, wait a second. He paid. He played. He played 488 snaps on defense. He did start three games. And I was really kind of blown away on this kid's cover ability. His, his size, his length, his speed, his ability to turn and run with guys. I think he can match up in zone. It was, I was, I was like, how, how did this kid only start three games? You know, you make that pivot from, I don't know. I don't know about this. I don't see the, the experience to holy crap. This kid could play. I could see him being another. I could see him being an early round guy. That's interesting. Cause I have, there was one scout who mentioned him as, um, as, as a guy that like keep an eye on it. And South Carolina is another program. It feels like there's a defensive back of it. Like two out of every three years that comes out of there where it's like this, this young guy watch, watch for this one year. And then all of a sudden they explode. And then their first, second round draft pick, you know? Um, yeah, that I I'm intrigued by, by watching him this year. And his development, because some of the scouting services pre preseason, pretty high up on those lists. So Carolina has some players who are pretty high up on the list. Yeah. Starting with Lenora sellers, they get peak at the tackle position. You're going to finally put it all together. Um, it's going to be interesting. Dylan Stewart. I mean, yeah. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Dylan Stewart, obviously number one edge in, in the entire draft draft class. And it's, it's a draft class that has, you know, Colin Simmons and some other dudes as well. I'm going to go to another team with a player that I think could have a major breakout year for a team. But I was, Iowa was ranked 22 in the AP poll coming in. And so for us to say, keep an eye on Iowa doesn't feel like a massive stretch given the history. Um, and also where, you know, we're not the only one saying that, you know, they're coming into the year. They're one of the top 25 programs. We could see, see them kind of creep their way up as the season progresses. NC state is not in the top 25. I came back from the Manning passing Academy and arch was there. And Julian saying was there and CJ car was brilliant and all these other guys, right? Kamaria Taylor was like, like God created a, the modern day, um, quarterback, right? Like just about every dude, 90% of the guys, 90% of the guys in college football this year. And even talking about the NFL draft where they're at Manning passing Academy. But I promise you the first text and videos I was sending to you and to Dan and to Tucker CJ Bailey, right? And then you start to hear about their defensive lines a little better than you think kind of hearkening back to, I don't know if seven, eight years ago, 10 years ago where they're starting to get some of those dudes up front. They had a nice little run. Yeah. Yep. Their offensive lines a little bit better this year. Bailey looks a little more polished. He's six, six. He's this like dynamic weapon as a runner and a passer. You start to look at their schedule and it's Virginia Richmond. We get this tough one. It's sneaky one against Vanderbilt that we wish the, you know, the administration didn't maybe put that on our, our schedule going to Nashville. Then we get Appalachian state. We got Louisville at home. We got wake forest. We get Stanford. We get cow. We got Duke. We got Syracuse. We have Florida state and we got North Carolina. And you're like, huh? Hold on. Yeah. Huh? And then I look at fan duel and it's, it's 10 plus wins. And I'm, I'm like, sure. We'll give you a loss to Virginia. And then maybe, I don't know, maybe a loss to Duke or I don't know, like you said Vanderbilt, right? I'm sorry. Vanderbilt. Yeah. Yeah. Lost to Vanderbilt. And then like, maybe, yeah, maybe you drop one to Duke or maybe you drop one to Louisville or maybe tricky, but I think they're in all those games. I'm not, that's what I'm saying. And so 10 plus wins at plus 420. I'm like, am I, you know, and Dave Doran seems to be really confident in this, in this team this year. Like, like this could be the year where we kind of get back on track and I'm like, all right, but who's going to be the running back? Cause we lost Hollywood smothers, right? Who was the, who was the big time, big time dude. Yeah. Yep. And he transfers out. But then I look at this Duke Scott guy and I, so I pop in the tape from last year. He's a friend. Freshman five, 10, 223 pounds built low to the ground. Great, great forward lean as a runner. Why is that important? Contact balance, advancing runs. And now how's his feet? Oh, multiple cuts. He's stringing together. He's not, but he's like, right? Like one cut to cut, go vision. Patience got better as the season progressed. Absolutely shredded. I think it was Georgia tech. I'm one 96 against Georgia tech. Finishes the season. with almost 600 rushing yards, 5.5 per carry, four touchdowns as a backup. Oh, Dave Dorn's giving him jersey number one. Huh. That's a big deal there. Doesn't just hand that out like Skittles, right, at Halloween. So, like, he's a program guy. And now I'm thinking about him and C.J. Bailey in a backfield. And it's, I don't know, it's intriguing. 15 catches last year. Buzzed out of camp. I'm telling you, Duke Scott is a name to, like, get ready to hear. Early in the year, no one's going to really be talking, oh, they're playing Richmond, you know. Oh, they lost to Vanderbilt even. Or they upset Vanderbilt. And everyone's going to be talking about C.J. Bailey, quarterback. Don't, like, don't sleep on this cat. I think it's going to be a backfield tandem of Bailey and Duke Scott that is going to, like, wind up as the season progresses. And we're looking around like, shit, we're in November and NC State's got one loss. And Bailey's putting up these massive numbers and he's running all over the place and creating. And there's this back in the backfield who's, like, getting ready to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing. He's got, like, 30, 28 catches or something. You know what I mean? Yeah. Just keep an eye on him. Keep an eye on him. All right, who do you got next? Love it. That schedule really jumps out, man. All right, well, we can't avoid it any longer, okay? I know we are trying, you're trying to limit how many times you say Lane Kiffin on this show. But look. I was texting with him this morning at 730. Go ahead. Well, I didn't say his name. And he's the ringmaster, okay? And I don't know how we could talk about this list without talking about tight end Daquan Wright, who will be the first player who has gone to an NFL camp and will go back to college. He was at Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin. He was at Ole Miss with Lane Kiffin last year. Now he goes back and he's going to transfer to LSU. And look, I get it. LSU has one of the best tight ends in the country in Tredez Green. I love Tredez Green. But you are adding a guy who averaged over 16 yards per catch. I think he had five touchdowns, 665 yards receiving. You're now adding that production into the room. He's a dude. He's really a classic move tight end. We know what his numbers are because he think he was 6'3". I have him right here. 6'3 and three-quarter inches at 246 pounds. And I have those numbers because he went to the combine. He's already been to the combine, this kid, okay? So he's a classic move tight end. You can move him around in the slot. He's really reliable. He's a long strider after the catch. Just a guy that's going to give them another weapon who understands Kiffin's offense. And this is not only, to me, this is not only interesting in terms of LSU this year and how this helps maybe Sam Levitt. We'll see. Yeah, what are your thoughts, big picture, on all this? And what, yeah, that's the thing, right? Like, what is this? I, there's a, it is a complicated thing. My understanding, I like the idea of a kid being able to go back in this situation and improve his draft stock because Daquan Wright, I thought had a chance to be drafted, was not drafted. Now he gets to go back. He could come out next year and become a second, third, fourth, fifth round pick, whatever it is. Maybe he gets drafted. What I hate, and correct me if I'm wrong, is my understanding, my understanding is that if you added Daquan Wright, you got to cut somebody. So what does this mean for some of these kids who are on these teams that are now going to be, hey, thanks for coming out. We're bringing a kid who was with the, you know, the Cleveland Browns yesterday. So there's, there's layers to it. You know, there's, there's all these things to it. And I'm sure there are college football fans, and I'm guessing this is just more fuel for the fire. If you're Ole Miss, this kid played for us last year. He was supposed to be gone. Now they get another playmaker in late August. I mean, there's a lot of layers here. There are. What do you think? I don't, I don't like it. Okay. I, I actually don't mind. And I don't have a, I haven't spent enough time on it. I don't mind a system in which a player may be, I don't mind when you declare for the draft and then before the draft, you, you decide you're going to go back to school. I actually, I've seen such a benefit in the NIL transfer portal era, let's call it. It's such a benefit to, you know what? Cause it used to be like, Oh, if you don't win the starting job, you transfer, you know, gut it out and all that. Like, okay. I get that there, there, there should be a level of commitment to, to when you, what you sign up for. Right. And so as, as a father to, to, to four children in this house, like that's a message that I can get behind. But there's also this message of like, am I swimming upstream in today's society? When like opportunities are there, coaches get to leave when they want, right? The players are the ones that are getting all this interest and there should be a payment for it. Does there need to be a better structure? Yes. My point in saying all of these things is I've watched quarterbacks and I've watched other skilled position players. I've watched offensive linemen, defensive. I've watched players, but no, position more so than quarterback seek out another opportunity, even when they are going to be the starter that, that could benefit them and give them the best chance to succeed in the next level. And with the rest of their careers, right? We've watched every, almost every Mendoza first overall pick cam ward, first overall pick, uh, Jaden Daniels, second overall pick. Like we've seen guys who have utilized bone necks. Isn't the 12th overall pick. And look at it. I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, if he doesn't get that opportunity. So I love it. And also we're seeing players come into the league. They're more NFL ready than ever. We're seeing that number from underclassmen coming out. It became a depressing thing when that, that list of 123 underclassmen came out, 65% of them got drafted only like 34%. I did a study once wound up with that team 34%. So you're talking about like 40 guys out of 40. You're talking about a hundred and 20 that wound up playing in the NFL for three or more years. You're talking about 80 guys now who left school, didn't get their degree, didn't have an opportunity to go show what they could do for another year. Um, and maybe get better at what they were doing before they left for the NFL. They got bad advice. They were listening to the people who were giving them bad advice because that monetarily agents mostly benefited them in the moment. And now what do you do? Cause you're two years out of college. You don't have a degree and, and you're, you're playing in the NFL is not going to be your career. So it was a system that was fucking players left, right, up and down. And I did, I despised it. And I worked every day to get better, to make sure that I wasn't giving bad advice to underclassmen about leaving early. I took it like I felt a commitment to that. So I do love this, that there's more flexibility. There's more opportunity. Players are staying in school. They're monetarily being, um, they're, they're being rewarded for S for staying in school, maximizing their collegiate eligibility. I love all those things. And if you decide you're going to sign with an agent, you go start training and then you're starting to talk to NFL teams. And you're like, you know what? I'm not ready. I'm not going to be drafted where I thought I want to go back to school, but I'm talking in like March, April. Great college football though. Cannot. It always, has been, let's just be honest. It's always been the, the, the free minor league for, for the NFL. Correct. Major league baseball has a minor league system. NBA argued all you want. It has a minor league system, right? Many of these other sports have minor league systems where you can develop and grow hockey. A lot of high school kids get drafted out of hog and they, and they develop. Um, but you, but the thought of you're in training camp, things aren't going well, and I'm just going to bail or asked to be cut and go back to college minutes, weeks, days, whatever it is before the season doesn't feel right. And it feels like just yet another, um, systematic breakdown in, in what we know college football, it's, it's out of control right now. And so we're seeing the government try to get involved in every coach and GM that I talked to around college football, football in the last two years, every single one of them shared it on the show. Every single one. When I asked the question, how does this get fixed? The answer is, unfortunately, it's going to take government. And also, unfortunately the people in government, not, not to their fault, they don't understand the system very well. So that's where we are. Sorry. That was a rant. I did not expect to. No, I, I, I would agree with you. I will just push back on this. I think if NFL GMs are hearing you and I will personally murder you, if you allow kids to decide, to go back in April because it'll be then all of a sudden you're prepping. I don't as if, if I'm advising a kid and they're a junior and they have a chance of getting drafted, I'm telling, well, say you're going to go into the draft, go through the process, go through the whole thing. So you're ready for it. And you're better prepared for the next time. If you decide not to do it now. And then all of a sudden you're an NFL team that has evaluated hundreds of players. And all of a sudden, a lot of them go back and the resources that you could have used. It gets really, - It gets messy. It gets really messy. - It does. This is a good example of why they need to form a board or whatever, a committee. A governing body that actually has control. You mean like the NCAA that has? I've never seen an organization in my lifetime, for lack of a better way, get castrated like the NCAA has been. And I know it's a harsh term, but that's just how it feels. This was the most powerful body during my lifetime. And it seems now they are, I mean, just powerless with what they can do. The fact that they can't, there's no one graining this in. There needs to be some kind of group that can do this, and they should be a lot smarter than me. Because when you start talking about this stuff, it's quick, it's easy to see how quickly it becomes complicated. Yeah, and it's hard to watch a guy who now lives in my hometown of Swampscott, Massachusetts, and Charlie Baker. By the way, supposedly an all-time great. Like administrator, I don't think it's a Charlie Baker problem, to be honest. No, it's not. I'm saying he's just, he's the fall guy in all this. And like, when you don't have power and you're asked to make powerful decisions, it never works. When you've got different ages, different interests, and a busy schedule, finding something everyone can enjoy is a win. 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And not. None are bigger than peace of mind. That's why a home warranty with American Home Shield is so clutch for your systems and appliances. They can help with covered repairs on fridges, ACs, and electrical, so you're not worried about unexpected breakdowns. Get 20% off any plan at AHS.com slash McShea. That's AHS.com slash McShea and see promo details. See AHS.com slash comms. Contracts for coverage details, including service fees, limitations, and exclusions. Works out. Okay, moving on. Did you go. Yeah, you did. Yeah, I went last. You got us on this. Take one right. Here's a player that I'm going to call one of the most interesting men in college football coming into the season. Because, my gosh, I did not expect to see what I saw. Alabama has a defensive lineman that I absolutely loved watching on Saturdays and saw some NFL potential in him. His name is. Nonzi Pierre. This has been your guy for a while. But he was my guy before I even knew who the guy Foley was. Right. When I got into his tape, it was right after. And sometimes this can skew you. We talked about Dylan Stewart, Colin Simmons. They're different level cats, man. Especially Dylan Stewart. Colin Simmons was more than I expected. More complete than I expected. But still not the length. The raw traits as a pass rusher, right? Then I got to Nonzi Pierre and I'm like, good luck. Good luck stacking up to those two guys I just watched, you know? Nonzi Pierre, to me, it was like watching a coaching clinic unfold in front of my eyes. I just. I didn't. Because we saw the. What was it? Eight sacks and like. You know, the pressures, three forced fumbles, 14 and a half tackles for. He was a big play pass rusher, right? Right. You know what he is on tape? Tell me. Will Anderson. Without the elite traits. Did you know you were going to say that? Or are you just pulling that off the top of your head right now? I wrote it in my notes that I can't give him the Will Anderson comp because he's not as skilled. He's not as skilled as Will Anderson. But when we talked about Will Anderson, it was like, this guy is unbelievably talented. He's heavy-handed. He's violent. He's quick. He's sudden. He's not the tallest. He's not all. But he still has this skill set that translates to the NFL. It's a monster comp. Nonzi Pierre. Listen, the actual comp, like, I see him more in like the Alex Highsmith mold. The two. That's pretty good, too, though. Below two. Really good traits, not Will Anderson traits. But when we talked about Will Anderson coming out, and I'll never forget sitting in the indoor practice facility talking to Nick Sama. I'm like, tell me about it. He's like, I literally gave him the key to the facility. Not like the figurative, like he had the keys to the building. Like, he literally had the physical key and the passcode to get in the building because he would come in at 10 o'clock at night, 2 in the morning, 4 in the morning, whenever it was, and he would be working on something. He was like, I'm not going to be working on anything. I'm going to be working on something. I saw him on multiple plays. His work is never done. If he blocks one guy and he pushes him, he's looking to block another guy. I love that about him. And I was like, but he's still, you know, he's 6'2", 228. How does he move? This guy, they line him up at wide receiver for 37 snaps last year. They put him in the slot for 21 snaps. Is he the most twitchy route runner in the world? No. But is he a more developed route runner than I expected? Could he do more things in space than I would expect from a 6'2", 228-pound running back? Absolutely. This guy, I am giving him right now a 1, our highest grade that you can give him in the passing game. And I think it really sets him apart. And then you add that size speed. He is a powerful dude. He's going to take you and he's going to throw you to the ground when he gets into space with that stiff arm. He runs with good forward lean. He's going to fall forward at the end of the runs. He's going to break tackles. And he's going to throw you to the ground. And he's going to throw you to the ground when he gets into space with that stiff arm. And he's got enough juice that if you give him a crease, you're in trouble. I think, and again, I think there's probably some people who think the same about Jaden Baugh. But when you're looking at that conference and you're looking at Kiwan Lacey at Ole Miss and you're looking at Ahmad Hardy in Missouri, who I hope gets back soon, doesn't look like he's going to be there for the start of the season, super talented dude. Nate Frazier in Georgia. These are just some of the SEC names I'm throwing out. Jaden Baugh, I think maybe because of the situation at Florida last year, the coaching change, everything that's going on there, do not sleep. John, this kid, I love watching him play football. Yeah, John Summerall, go ahead. There's a lot of Le'Veon Bell there. There's a lot of Le'Veon Bell. And you know I love Le'Veon Bell. Le'Veon Bell was a little heavier in Michigan State. There was like 240. And I think Baugh's around 228. So, I mean, take that into account. But I was watching him. You know how much I love Le'Veon Bell coming out of Michigan State. And I was like, there's a little bit of that here. The history on Le'Veon Bell and Mensch is one of the maybe – one of the very short list of players that Mensch fought me on so hard that I had to stop picking up his calls and reading his texts. Yeah. And that he actually wound up like absolutely shoving in my face and it was right on. And I never bring it up. I rarely bring it up. You used to more, yes. But John Summerall comes in at 42 and 11 at Troy and Tulane. Guy's a winner. Brings a level of energy. Setting up a – a DM system with Caldwell there. Mirroring that of like Oklahoma and what they're trying to do. It's not going to be overnight. But there's this – I have this sense of security that that is a program that is absolutely going to head in the right direction. We know the recruiting base. We know the support. I think that they might get right a little faster than people think. And Baugh's absolutely going to play a huge role in what they – try to do. Not ranked in the top 25 coming in. There's – what is it? Nine teams from the SEC that were ranked in the top 25. Yeah. But they're a team to kind of keep an eye on this year. And I'm very intrigued to see what Baugh does and what Florida does, quite frankly, as a team. All right. You know Texas A&M is ranked eighth in the country in the AP poll? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. How much have people talked about Texas? I mean, Lane Kiffin and – What? I think Elko's such a good coach that we've just come – it's what he's done there. Mike Elko, what he has done there is outstanding. In a minute. To the point where we've just accepted that they're a top-ten team, and I think that's why people aren't talking about him. We've just accepted that Texas A&M – But they also lost, what was it, nine guys? I know. Nine or ten guys to the NFL draft, right? Dude. Cassius Howell at edge rusher. Yeah. Marcel Reed's back, but Marcel Reed, like I said, if they're going to get got, it's going to be – It's going to be Marcel Reed, and that's exactly what happened last year. But Reed looks good at the Manning Passing Academy. A lot of good reports about that. Rebuild the offensive line, but it's like, every tape I watch of an edge rusher was beating the bejesus out of Crown Over. So, like, maybe it won't be – maybe it'll be better. You know, like – It's a little harsh. I don't know what he did. But then you go to last year, and we came into the year, and we didn't know a whole lot about this Cassius Howell cat. So, I'm like, who are they going to replace him with? They've got a track – a very short, but a very effective track record now of just, let's plug in this guy, and he's going to be a dude. Because remember the year before, they had four defensive linemen get drafted. Four guys that could play. So, Cassius Howell comes in, one of the most dominant defensive linemen, certainly edge rushers in all of college football. At certain periods of time, you're like, this guy, like, should we talk about him in the Heisman race? He was that effective. And they're winning game after game. So, who's going to be the guy this year? I'll give you a name. Anto Saka. Defensive end from Northwestern. Right. 30 pressures he had last year, okay? 2023, 27% pass rush win rate, two sacks, 18 pressures, very limited play, right? He's a guy that I think they see something in that they can develop and get more consistency, get him on the field more, and this is kind of the breakout year. So, now I'm like – because I'm getting – I'm reading texts, and I'm reading things, and I keep – okay, Saka, Saka, got it, got it. I've got all these quarterbacks to watch, and receivers to watch, and edge rusher. And I keep going back, all right, so who's this Texas A&M guy? And I finally sit down, I watch a little bit of Northwestern tape, and I'm like, oh, he can actually get home as a pass rusher, and he's disruptive, and he's explosive. And then I'm like, all right, who is he? Let's figure out who he is as a dude. So, I literally just Googled him, I think it was, and the first thing that pops up is an interview of him in like a cut-off T-shirt, and he's ripped. Yeah. And you know what else he is? He's at least 38 years old. He might be 46. I'm telling you, dude, there ain't no way he's 21, 22 years old, if you see a picture of him. But, yeah, and then – I'll be racing to look at that after this. And then there's talk about him like he's the superhuman guy in that defensive line room. I think when we get to like October that it's going to be just like Cassius Howell a year ago, where we're like, oh, we got to pay attention. So, Saka is a guy I wanted to mention. There was – Go ahead. There was a lot of buzz about him going into last year as a guy who could work himself into the first-round conversation, and he just – it just didn't take off that way. But there was no question about the talent. This kid's got talent. Now he's going somewhere where they know how to unlock it, man. And what I've read and heard is like – I'm not – this isn't disparaging, but like he's taken very well to the strength and conditioning at Texas A&M. Let's just put it that way. Sometimes you need – whether it's a new face, new people pushing you, whatever it is, sometimes people like max out where they are. Let's get a new opportunity driven by – maybe it's the other team, maybe it's the teammates, maybe it's the coach himself, whatever it is that he is – that he's primed, right? That's awesome. Can I mention two other names real quick? I don't know if you can't mention them. I think you have to do it. Like this is just who you are. A&M's sitting at eight, Miami's sitting at seven, and we're looking at this Darian Mensah one-year marriage, right? This arranged marriage for a year before Mensah I think shocks the world and goes and becomes a first-round draft pick and probably higher. I think he's going to have an awesome year. And we know about Malachi Toney. We've talked about it ad nauseum on this show. Everyone who has a college football or NFL draft show, specifically college football, has talked about – there can't be enough praise on Malachi Toney for all the reasons we've discussed. But who are going to be the other guys? And you talked – there are some wide receivers. Who's going to be the tight end for Mensah to rely on? Do you remember Elijah Lofton? Yes. He was going to be the next up, right? Yep. In Miami, you can argue Iowa's tight end, you can argue some other places. Miami, going back to Shockey, they've got a pretty good track record of developing tight ends over the years, right? Kellen Winslow Jr., they've had dudes. Greg Olson, yeah. Oh, Greg Olson, yes. Yeah. Elijah Lofton was supposed to be next up. He had nine catches because – who else? It was – Elijah Arroyo was there. Arroyo was – yes. I think he's going to have – Oh, breakout year, by the way. Spoiler alert. I think he's going to have a breakout year for Seattle. I hope he does. But next up was supposed to be Elijah Lofton. I think he had nine catches as a freshman. You could see the athleticism. He's 6'3", 242 pounds, another weapon in the passing game. Keep an eye on him this year. He was injured last year. He had like around 30 catches, not a big year. Didn't play in the national championship game. Like, was battling injuries and went through some stuff last year. Hearing a lot of reports out of South Florida. Remember last year I told you, I've got some birdies down there like chirping about Carson Beck and things are different. These birds are chirping about two players. Lofton at tight end and Justin Scott is a name to remember, a defensive tackle. Okay? Yeah. Number five. You watch his tape from last year. In a rotation, a lot of dudes, stout, unbelievable center of gravity, works through contact. I think Justin Scott and Elijah – we talked about their schedule, man. Justin Scott, defensive tackle, allows you to loft in a tight end. Miami starts to stack wins, and Mensa's got this thing rolling. I think those are two names that are going to become household names in college football. Got it off your chest. I like it. Thank you. How many names are you holding out, by the way? Like, I know you just said two, but there's probably about 14 more guys on your list. I'm really intrigued by Dom Nichols, the edge from Michigan. No, that's not what I was asking. I was asking for a number. This Drameco Green for SMU is a cat. Number 19. Devin McEwen, I'm hearing good things out of Columbus. 152 career catches. Transferring in from UTSA. Ian Premer could be a guy. Notre Dame, a tight end. We see what, all of a sudden, their tight end, Eli Raritan, gets drafted by the Patriots. My fault, Dan. It's my fault, Dan. And Raritan's becoming a story of the Patriots training camp. It's always next up for the tight ends. Is Notre Dame tight end you? And we got this guy, Ian Premer, who's just, he's like, he looks NFL ready. Yeah, those are, those are four more names, but I didn't, I didn't bring them up. Who's your last guy? You're actually the worst. I'm going on a limb here. And I'm okay with it. I'm going on a limb with right now because there's a, there's a head football coach in Michigan that says, hey, Mitch, I haven't really set my offensive line, line up up front. And there's still some, some battles going on, but I really believe that Blake Frazier is going to be the starting left tackle for the Michigan Wolverines. And when I say I am intrigued, I am intrigued. Started eight games last year at right tackle because of injuries and look, there's no getting around it. There were some tough moments. I mean, he had going against Colin Simmons in the bowl game. There was, there was some reps that he just didn't look ready yet. Kenyatta Jackson, the, the edge, Kenyatta Jackson jr. The edge from Ohio state gave him some problems too. Gave a lot of guys problems though. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's a good player. A lot of stuff, you know, a lot of it stems from the fact that he was playing, he was playing at maybe 290 pounds. I'm not sure if he's at two 90, man. I think he, this kid was light and hadn't quite got quite gotten to the weight they needed him to get to. Well, now he's reportedly 310 pounds and I'm like, okay, if this kid's 310 pounds and he's moving the way that he was moving before I wrote my notes, he has, he has all the talent in the world to be an elite pass blocker. He could be an elite pass blocker. He's got those kinds of feet, that kind of quickness. If he has not lost that, any of that agility, this kid's got a chance to be really special. I think he's got a chance to be their best offensive tackle prospect since maybe Taylor Luan. I think he's that talent. Now, whether it all comes together, we'll have to see, but look again, I'm intrigued. And we talked all about winning hand going from Utah to Michigan. What a great get that is. And Jason Beck, Bryce Underwood. And is he going to be able to get the best out of them? I mean, Tim Harding, they brought Tim Harding over from Utah as the offensive line coach. This, this guy is damn good. I mean, he just had two guys go on the first round last year. He had Garrett Bowles earlier in his career. I mean, he's got a number of guys get drafted. He knows how to develop dudes. I feel like maybe this is going to be a theme with this Michigan team. I think winning him is going to change it and he's going to get a turn in the right direction. How long that takes, we're going to have to wait and see. But what I mean by that is there's going to be more discipline. There's going to be more accountability. I think you're seeing that with Frazier's weight, and the way he was in the weight room and the off season and those kind of things. Watch out. It could all come together for this kid. And he's a redshirt sophomore. It's not out of the question. We could be talking about him in April this year. I think it's probably going to be another year after that, but we'll see. And you have a young, inconsistent quarterback. You put a left tackle there who can protect them, give them a little more confidence. I'm fascinated to see what happens with Blake Frazier this year. I feel like as I was going through this list, there were a lot of guys who were, who were very, very interesting at Michigan. And I think it's because there's a lot of new faces at Michigan. There's a coach who knows how to develop with a coaching staff that knows how to develop that has never had the resources that they now have at Michigan. And it's not going to be overnight and there's going to be some bumps. But Michigan sitting there at 16 in the preseason poll. And I don't know that I've ever got, you got to remember, I grew up Michigan, like Michigan sweatpants, Michigan hat, Michigan. We didn't have hoodies back in the day. It was a sweatshirt. And like my grandfather worked with Bo Schembechler. Like I, every year since I can remember, maybe 10 years old, I was getting the, the M go blue or the, the M blue Matt magazine in the mail back in the day. Like I feel like every year I knew even like the rich rod years, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty like this year. I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue what Michigan is going to be. And, and, and I'm here for that. Yeah. They, if it's a rough year, it's like, yeah, what did we expect? A lot of new faces, a lot of turnover, like a lot of stuff to overcome from a year ago, a lot of programs, systemic stuff going on. But if they come out and all of a sudden they, they win 10 games in the regular season, they're kind of in the hunt or maybe they get two losses going into Ohio state. Like that won't completely shock me either. You know, like that's how much I believe in Winningham. And, and, and now it's like reports are coming out with some of the players and some of the guys stepping up at multi like wide receivers. I'm hearing about, you know, offensive linemen. You're talking about edge rushers. I just mentioned that Dom Nichols is another edge rusher. I can't think of his name that I'm getting little nuggets about. So I don't know. This Michigan team is going to be fascinating to watch in a big 10. That's that's stacked and keeps getting better every single year. Yeah. All right. My last one. I had to bring in the true freshmen. Okay. Cause I, I, I don't get in the recruiting stuff. We're dealing with the NFL draft when that's all going on. But like, but we have some really good resource. Billy Tucker is one of them that we've worked closely for a long time and, and Lugan bill and, and, and, and, and Craig Hobart's great. Hobart Hobart books. I can't believe a blind Craig's Craig's one of my favorite guys in the industry. But Craig, oh my gosh. So, so I'm, but then you start to hear the reports out of camp and you're texting with some coaches and different stuff. I want to give you a name, maybe two. Do you have any, do you have any, do you have any names that you can give us? Do you have any names that you can give us? One of my favorite players I ever evaluated. I gave him a late first. He went in the third, I think it was, coming out of Clemson. I think he might have even gone later. I'm going to look that up because it was an absolute steal by the Atlanta. Fifth. It was the fifth. And I was livid. Absolute steal by Atlanta. I was livid. This guy was the most disruptive three technique. This is before, obviously, this is before Aaron Donald. Cut in a similar cloth. Obviously, Aaron Donald was a whole different level. But he was like, he was the three undersized, three technique, penetrating. Penetrate, disrupt, leverage, found a way to overcome 30, 40-pound weight differentials in his one-on-one matchups because he just knew how to rush. Half a man, technically, he was shaving edges at every point and doing it quicker than you. Yeah. And I'm watching this guy, and he's just a freshman. We'll see how it all plays out. But I'm watching him, and I'm seeing quick first step, leverage, violent hands, explosiveness, nonstop disruption. And I'm just saying, for all the talented players, that Lane has gotten, that LSU already had, all of it, I'm hearing that he could be in the starting rotation and could be a big impact player on an LSU team that I seem to believe in a little bit more than the rest of the country. Yeah, the AP polls got him at 11. But I hear a lot of analysts who are kind of like, yeah, I don't know. I don't know. But I've got greater hopes, and I think this is going to be, I think he's going to wind up being an elite defensive lineman. I don't know that he's going to be elite right off the jump. But I'm excited to see. I'm excited to see what Deuce Geralds does as a first-year player. Here's another one. The last one I'm going to leave you with. That's a wrap, right? That's it, right? That's it. I just have to share this. I have to share this story. Give me one minute. Zakai Helton from Georgia. Not a lot. There's been some, but not a lot of true freshmen come in and start right away for Kirby Smart, the Georgia Bulldogs, okay? 6'3", 300-pound, three-star coming out. Yeah. He was originally a higher star. And originally, I can't remember if he actually committed, but he was being hunted down by Alabama. I think he did originally commit, or there was some kind of verbal agreement. Like, he was going to Alabama. And then, I want you to understand this kid's backstory. It's incredible. Foster home care at nine years old. Eventually taken in by his fourth-grade teacher named Kimberly Perry. And Kimberly, for any, people like this that open up their homes and are willing to give to others the way that Kimberly Perry did for help. And I just, like, I can't give enough credit to. Then, on top of that rough childhood, battles Crohn's disease. This is while he's in this presumed marriage with Alabama. He goes from 320 pounds to down to, like, 230. Lost around, like, 90, 100 pounds of Crohn's disease. Finally gets medicated. Gets the situation done. And then, his final year, he starts to play better because he's got the Crohn's disease situation under control via medication and medical help. So, from 230, he gets back up to over 300-plus pounds, right? And Alabama kind of gave up on him. He got lost in the shuffle. You know, ghosted, as the kids would say, right? And Georgia comes in. He's a hometown guy from Carrollton, Georgia. Kirby recognizes, Kirby and the staff recognize they bring him in. Not a huge recruit. No huge expectations from him as a first-year player. But his state championship game was, like, legendary, both defensive line and offensive line. The way he played, kind of finished his career. Comes in, early commit, or early entry. Comes in in January, right? Ready to go. Working his way. Strength and conditioning. He's now up over 300 pounds. And Kirby recently said that he's earned the opportunity to potentially be a starter for this team, probably a guard, I would say. And by all accounts, one of the five or six best offensive linemen at Georgia. So we're talking about a Georgia team that's sitting at number three in the AP poll. Could have a true freshman starting or playing in a very serious rotation, protecting Gunnar Stockton and making ways for, you know, paving the way for that run game, right, that you talked about earlier. And this is a guy who, like, saw his football thing start to fall apart. Has been a foster home, fourth-grade teacher. Like, I can't pull for an offensive lineman more than this freshman who's come in. And it's just been the energy they say he's bringing. Like, he's just brought, like, light to this program and the way he plays and practices and does all the right things. And you just, like, we always talk about adversity with the prospects. But there's no difference. Like, at some point in life, you face adversity. Unfortunately for this young man, it's been his entire life, especially around nine years old. And then he thinks he's got everything under control because Kimberly Perry takes him in and things are starting to straighten out. And then this disease strikes his body and rips 100 pounds off of him. And so he's just been through a lot. And, like, I just, I love pulling for guys. Like, Zakai Helton. Keep an eye out for him this year in the SEC. Of course, I bust your balls when you talk about a great kid and an offensive lineman. Of course, that's just. I knew if I was going to throw in a 13th player here, it better be a good story. Bench. Though, here it is. Top 10. It's a good group. Top 10 most interesting men in college football. Duke Scott running back. Tony Diaz. Wide receiver. NC State and Iowa, respectively. Edge. Yonzi Pierre. Just love the way he plays the game. Anto Saka. The Texas A&M Edge. Could be this year's Cassius Howell. Deuce Geralds. The defensive tackle. Three technique. Grady Jarrett. Vibes. Mench, you got six through 10. I obviously mentioned Zaki Helton. That story I just gave you. A couple Miami guys I threw in. Mench, you got your list as well. Ripped through it there. Iowa defensive backs, Zach Luttmer. South Carolina defense corner and punt returner, Bakari Swain. Florida running back, Jaden Baugh. Michigan offensive tackle, Blake Frazier. And LSU tight end, Daquan Wright, making history. We'll see how that goes. All right. We'll be back on Wednesday, I believe. We got two more shows this week. We're knocking out three shows a week as we ramp up to college football and the start of the NFL season as well. For you, my friend, five stars. Thanks, man. Must be 21.5. 21 plus and present in select states. For Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino. Or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky, or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. Or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.com or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts. Or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867. We'll see you next time. Shop back-to-school must-haves at Whole Foods Market in-store or online. You matched on Hinge. You're vibing. Then her energy completely changes. What do you do? I'm Raven Smith, and I wrote and read a real love story about this exact sitch. Listen to the free audiobook now.