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Cover 3 College Football
Billy Napier OUT! What It Means for Coaches & Recruiting Across CFB | Cover 3 Recruiting Show
01:08:20
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- [00:00]
A
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- [04:03]
B
What's going on y'? All. Bud Elliott here, that's Andrew Ivins and we are the COVID three recruiting hour. As we get to you up national signing day coming up in December, the transfer portal in in January and we try to just kind of dive into everything each week from these, the, the lens of personnel. Ivan, what's going on man?
- [04:20]
C
Not much, Bud. Another crazy weekend of, of college football, man. I feel like every game I watch, especially in the sec, it's like one score game and certainly not the first one to put the take out there. But parity is here across the sport, right? I think every week, you know, it's, it feels more and more like the NFL and we've been saying this for a while so I'm glad it's all coming to fruition on the TV screens Saturdays.
- [04:50]
B
Yeah, man, I absolutely, I think this is a fascinating time for this sport. I mean we have, you know, with the 12 team playoff, they're legitimately like 25 or 26 fan bases who are still like truly and earnestly believing that they're going to make the college ball playoff or that they have a real, you know, a real shot to make it. And that just wasn't the case when we had the 14 playoff. I mean back then there was probably like seven or eight, you know, and like okay, it's going to be Ohio State from the Big Ten and maybe Indiana, but probably not, you know. And now it's like just so many more teams have a reason to follow their team, you know. Really late into the season.
- [05:28]
C
But I, I think I saw a graphic somewhere on social media, like, Monday, and it was eliminated teams from the playoff team still alive and teams in contention. And like Mississippi State was, I think, in the still alive category. And I'm like, wait, what? But I guess the numbers say they're. They're still very much in. In the hunt. No shots at Jeff Levy and the Bulldogs there.
- [05:49]
B
Absolutely. Exactly. I mean, like, just the more people have more reason to care. And a couple of teams out there now are giving their fans a reason to pay attention now because they're going to have a coaching change. One of those, of course, is the Florida Gators. A lot of people thought Billy Napier would be out last year. He did save his tenure, had a chance to run it back with TJ Lagway and a talented cast. And unfortunately, some of the issues that plagued him throughout his tenure from a negative standpoint just were never remedied. Right. The constant on field sloppiness, the like, they, they happened again on, on Saturday. We're running out 12 men for a critical play. I mean, like, you could write the Billy Napier epitaph and it would be the 12th man, basically. Right. Which should be a Texas A Name thing. If it's a Gainesville thing, that's a problem. You know, like, they had a lot like, the same stuff at Utah and yeah, I think there are a lot of, like, good things that he did there from a personnel standpoint, for sure. Let's tackle this from the standpoint of, like, what could in theory a new guy be taking over there in Gainesville? And who are some of the players on this team who maybe other programs are looking to. To go after?
- [06:54]
C
Yeah, but I think this roster is, like, pretty turnkey for whoever steps in. Like Billy Napier. Napier, excuse me, is not leaving the cupboard bear at all. And I, I think you can go to that, like, Mississippi State game this past weekend. I mean, Florida, two true freshman corners played over 50 snaps. And you know, that was due to injury, but I think specifically on the defensive side of the ball, they've, they've recruited the high school ranks so well. And I've. I've long looked at the two deep, and I've been like, like that guy coming out of high school. Like that guy coming out of high school. You know, at some point they're going to have all these guys that are SEC caliber with NFL potential on defense, and then you flip it over to offense. Obviously, you know, DJ Lagway, the quarterback, everyone's in love With Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown and then, and Jaden Ball, the running back. Now they're going to lose some, some starters up front on the offensive line. But again, like Billy Napier invested in that unit. It had two position coaches. At one point it was like, you know, five plus one equals one when it came to the offensive lineman. So, you know, they're going to lose Jake Slaughter, they're going to lose Austin Barber. I mean, two guys that were like preseason, all SEC type of players. But Najah Harris comes back, Kaden Jones comes back. So I think bottom line, like, this roster is in a really, really good spot. And, but let me ask you this, like the fallout, it's always fun with the coaching changes. A lot of people are pointing to recruiting as being the issue. I don't, I don't necessarily see it that way. I mean, what's your assessment, being a guy that's in the Sunshine State?
- [08:33]
B
Yeah, I mean, I, I thought Napier did a good job recruiting. I don't think he was quite as good at it as Mario, but he was certainly way better than Mike Norvell at recruiting the high school level. But their player development was, was generally decent. Right. I just think, like, they were especially relative to the size of the staff with which he was afforded. And Florida really gave Billy every chance to succeed both in terms of, you know, dollars, staff size and patience. And, you know, that he failed is basically just on him. But plus I think maybe some Lagway injury stuff, you know, mixed in there. But I don't think that injury was really the issue here or, Sorry, I, I, I don't think recruiting was really the issue here in Gainesville. Honestly. Like, like they got a lot, a lot of nice pieces in there. They did win some high profile recruiting battles and they also, I think, did a pretty nice job of scouting it and getting some of those sort of undervalued guys in some ways in, like that. That's, Shoot. If you took Billy Napier's recruiting with Dan Mullen's coaching, you got, you got a real winner there. I, I think we know what bad recruiting looks like in Gainesville. It looks like what Dan Mullen did, you know, not, not what Billy did.
- [09:37]
C
I'm gonna bring up two things. The first one's DJ Lagway and you know, I try to raise my hand back during the spring and as we got into preseason magazine season or whatever you want to call that when you're at the grocery store and you know you got a Lindy's in front of you, and it's like, all right, here's DJ Lagway's face. To me, that always felt a little rushed. And I know it's easy. Hey, hindsight's 20 20, but having scouted DJ Lagway in high school as a junior, as a senior, you know, we ranked him our number one quarterback, made him a five star before everyone else. Like, I never thought it was going to be best quarterback in, in the sec. Best quarterback in college football year two. Right? And I think injuries have certainly played a factor here, but, man, you pull up his 24. 7 sports profile, bud. Like, the second line of my, my scouting report on, on DJ Lagway is, like, still very much a work in progress as a passer, but has improved greatly in every key statistical category. And then at the end, I say, you know, likely going to need a developmental year or two, but could be utilized in situational packages and provide some, some magic. And I just think DJ Lagway, everyone got a taste of, of him as a true freshman because what, what he was able to do after Graham Mertz went down with an injury. But I always still thought, like, hey, this is going to be a LONGER Burn until D.J. lagway is playing as the number three player in the country, playing as, as the number one quarterback. And I think a lot of fans, when they look at the rankings, they assume these guys at the top of the board are, are just complete products and, and ready to go. Maybe Travis Hunter, maybe Jeremiah Smith have, you know, kind of recalibrated expectations. But with, with DJ Lagway, it was, we love what he can be. We love the highs, we love, you know, the traits, everything that he could be. But I just felt like it was. It was a little rushed. And, you know, ultimately, you know, maybe DJ Lagway saved Billy Napier's job, but at the same time, maybe DJ Lagway is the reason why Billy Napier is not here, because there was so much expectations heading into the 2025 campaign, and he was injured and it just didn't work out.
- [12:04]
B
So in looking at this, I mean, I'll certainly hand up guilty as far as, like, like, you know, DJ thinking he was going to be a lot better this year than he was. Part of it, I think, is the sequencing, right? The fact that you had the LSU and Ole Miss games in succession last year, to me was like, all right, maybe that's random sequencing of, you know, just two events happening back to back. Or maybe he's, you know, kind of turning a corner. I think, to your point, that, like the lack of an off season, especially with some of the receivers for Florida, like that was certainly a concern going into the season and one that I think really bore out. You know, obviously Dallas was hurt in the off season. You know, Trey Wilson was hurt as well. I mean he's not really like a true, you know, downfield, like full route tree type receiver, but. And then you had what you had Mizel, you had, you know. Yeah, like that's a, they did not really gel and it, it showed. And also I just don't think that Billy's offense, he just should not be calling plays for a high level program. I, I don't think that this is offense any kind of special. I think he's really good recruiting. I think he's good at hiring people for the most part. I just don't think this offensive stuff's a strength. Maybe quarterback coaching is a strength. Like it, you know, when we went to that little presentation he did at Nike, like a lot of people liked the quarterback coaching thing. He did. Yeah.
- [13:19]
C
Well, and the other thing, like I'm not an exynos guy. I'm not going to diagnose the, the coaching staff. I, I will say this. Just what is burned into my memory is DJ Lagway at the Elite 11 finals, right. The summer before his senior year. And then it was the, the growth he made from then to the end of his senior season. Let his school willis the Wildcats with a K to their best finish in like 60 years. It was huge, huge strides. And I don't think since he's arrived in Gainesville due to injury, he's been able to make those same strides. Like you gotta throw passes, right. You got to see live defenses. And I think that has hampered him. But the other thing I also want to bring up because like I said, there's a lot of, you know, takes and opinions on what went wrong with Florida. Like, I don't, again, I don't think recruiting is an issue. And if you go back to this time last year, Florida's 20, 25 recruiting class, so that's the one that includes Vernell Brown, Dallas Wilson, all the young guys. It was sitting 50th in the rankings. Yeah, 50th.
- [14:24]
B
Okay.
- [14:25]
C
And that's because everyone thought Billy Napier was going to get fired. Now DJ Lagway, like you said, he leads them to victories over Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, shoots all the way up into the top 10. Right. And, and I, I just don't think like recruiting is the root cause. Billy Napier went out and got DJ Lagway, he got Jaden Ball, he went to different parts of the country. And why I bring him, bring that up. Going outside of the Sunshine State is NFL draft trends continue to, to signal that the players coming out of Florida, like the high profile ones, aren't hitting. And I wrote about this after the 2025 NFL Draft, right. So back in May, Florida just had one player selected in the first round. So the state of Florida, the kids that played high school football in Florida, aside from IMG Academy, a lot of those guys are transplants from all around the country. Just one player drafted, that's after five, two years ago, in four this past year. And you spin it ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, I think it's gonna be another down year for the Sunshine State. And I wrote about it for 24, 7 sports. Like talking with different college contacts, talking with, you know, personnel guys, GMs. Hey, what's up here? And what I kept getting back is the, the recruits in Florida, the high profile ones, usually don't have a foundational base compared to some of these kids in California. Not California, but California, but really Texas and Georgia, where high school football is king. The other thing is, you know, in Florida you can just transfer high schools and there's zero. Yeah, there's multiple like four and five star recruits this season that have started at one high school, played games and are now at another high school. I mean it's kind of the wild west here. At one staffer told me like, yeah, that transaction nature just doesn't really go away. And then the other thing, the high school football coaches in the state of Florida are amongst some of the lowest paid in the country. And you know, bud, you're up here in Orlando.
- [16:32]
B
Yeah.
- [16:32]
C
Back five years ago, like if you. I had to make a list of the top five high school football coaches in, in Central Florida. Those guys are all coaching in, in Georgia, Alabama or South Carolina. Now they're going to go get paid and then take care of their families elsewhere. So you know, why I bring that up is you see these stories out here. It's like, well, Florida could have done a little bit more on the recruiting trail. It's like, well, could they have? I mean, let's go through some of these five stars like that from recent years from Florida. Like, do they make the roster better? Does Keon Keeley make Florida better? Probably not. Does Jordan hall at Georgia make Florida different? I, I don't think so. You know, Zay Mincy at Alabama, we'll see you Know, Florida was always going to struggle to get the IMG Academy offensive lineman because again, they come from other parts of the country like C.J. baxter, Hakeem Williams. Are those guys different makers? I don't think so. Cormani Mlan, I mean, he's now at Florida, so I just find it interesting and I know we're going to talk about Florida State, but you know, this blue chip high end talent in the Sunshine State just really isn't meeting expectations. And Florida has built their recruiting classes through the backyard and they've supplemented in Georgia, Texas, all around the country. So I don't think recruiting's really the downfall for Billy Napier. And again, I think whoever steps in like this roster, you know, you're going to need to get some transfer portal guys. But it's going to be ready to go, especially if they can hold on to DJ Lagway.
- [18:03]
B
Do you think that Florida recruits now, relative to their star ratings, are subject to a wider range of outcomes?
- [18:12]
C
Absolutely. And I think it's just those three reasons I've said, bud, like, you go to Texas, you go to Georgia, those kids in middle school are in the squat rack. That does not exist in the state of Florida. And you know, why does that matter? Like, you have to have this foundational base because when you show up on these college campuses now almost everyone's enrolling early and you're an environment where it's dog eat dog. Right. They can just push you out the door right away. And then you have these kids that a good bulk of them coming from Florida have been to multiple high schools that have, have never had to face adversity. They've just left and gotten to the other school down the road and found playing time. So it's certainly something that I have my eye on. I'm not saying like, hey, you know, Florida is not producing talented football players, but I think when you get these guys that are anointed at an early age, it's very easy for them to, to lose focus of what, of what the end goal is at some point down the line. And you know, again we're going to talk about Florida State, but you think about Florida as well. Like when the spine of your roster, the locker room is these guys that, you know, haven't, haven't had to fight for playing time and haven't had to do it around the year, I think it's really easy for those guys to check out.
- [19:35]
B
Dude, completely. Right, I agree with you on that. Yeah. I wonder if we're going to see more sleepers come from Florida because we are so much further away from the finished product.
- [19:44]
C
Look at the 2026 upcoming NFL Draft, right? Yeah, I mean, still a long time to go. I think the state of Florida, aside from the IMG kids, is going to have three potential first round picks. Ruben Bane, right? War daddy is awesome kid out of Miami Central. Yeah, we didn't have his five star hindsight. Should have been a five star prospect. Still top 75 player for us. The second guy, Fernando Mendoza, former Yale quarterback. Commitment that has has become the darling of NFL talent evaluators. And then the third one is Emmanuel Neil McNeil Warren, a safety at Toledo. So like that's the crop of homegrown Florida players that could go in round one.
- [20:29]
B
I mean that's like think about the variance in the ranges there. Not that other states don't have three stars go pro, but like that's pretty extreme. Yeah, man, I thought you did a great job breaking down Mendoza last week. And it's not just hard for you putting the star readings on these guys. It's hard for all these college staffs. Like think about all these college staffs who, you know, have 10 or 12 people on the recruiting side who are all paid, you know, pretty good money to evaluate this kind of stuff and they just, they whiff on, on the state of Florida. It's in a weird spot. I think I agree with you. Like it's not. It used to be okay, if a kid came from this program, you could pretty much count on certain things with him. And now it's like, even if you think the program produces that, if the kids only made the program for a semester, like are they leaving an indelible mark on him as a player? Is that really like, has he really truly come, you know, through their system? I, I don't know. It's. It's interesting. Let's go ahead and take a look here. Sticking on the Florida topic of some priority commits that the Gators need to keep. And you have two highlighted here, obviously Davion the receiver and then Will Griffin the quarterback out of Tampa Bay. Why, why are those two like the mo. Like the must keep for the Gators in your opinion? Yeah.
- [21:39]
C
Let's start with, with Davion Gross, fascinating prospect out of Frisco there in Texas. I mean again, hey, Florida going back into the Lone Star State under, under Billy Napier. That's where D.J. lagways from. He's a kid that's been or was injured to start his senior season, but he's played in two games Bud, he's got 15 catches for 373 yards and three touchdowns. That's almost 25 yards per catch. Interesting year nationally. When we talk about the wide receiver position, Gross is someone where it's like, we thought he was a running back, running back, running back, running back. We had him at the Navy All American bowl last year and we were trying to get him to play running back. I'm, I'm backing off. I think this guy's a wide receiver now and I think he might be, you know, potentially a top five wide receiver in the country. So I think whoever steps in at Florida offense is obviously going to be a major focus, just given what happened with Billy Napier and yes, Dallas Wilson's there, Brunell Brown's there, Aiden Meisel's there. Like, you got to keep reloading that, that wide receiver room and, and the game breakers at the receiver position come with a high price tag in the transfer portal. So Gross is one to certainly know and you know, I think as we get closer to signing day and this is already happening, but these staffs are going through the senior tape and they're looking to improve their commit list. And Gross is in a state where there's a lot of football teams, a lot of power forward programs. You know, to me, like Texas would make some sense here for, for them to turn up the heat on, on Davion Gross, Texas A and M as well. So he's one where I think when I looked at the commit list, it's like, all right, I think this guy has impact potential in the SEC and it might only be a year or two away. The other one, Will Griffin, quarterback, he is Tampa Bay, I guess, the Metro's all time leading passer. He's only one of 10 quarterbacks in Florida high school football history that has thrown for 10,000 yards. He passed Tim Tebow on that list. And it's funny because he kind of looks like Tim Tebow to me, bud. This one's important because I think there's going to be some changes to Florida's quarterback room. Right. Again, we'll see what happens with DJ Lagway, but behind that they got Tramel Jones, who's a true freshman, hasn't really been thrown into SEC action yet. I personally would have Will Griffin ahead of Tramel Jones just like if we were ranking that quarterback room and flat floors and ceilings and Will Griffin's a kid that, you know, he bleeds orange and blue. We had him on the, on the CBS set there back at the Elite 11 finals. I thought he gave like the best interview out of any of the quarterbacks out there. A guy that's going to be a five year starter in high school and to me like this is a guy that's going to be increasingly important for Florida to have in that quarterback room. I think bud we've learned is like you're only good as good as your, your number two qb. And I'm not saying Will Griffin can't start in the swamp at, at some day but man, you know, if he can be that, you know, steady Eddie in your quarterback room, I, I think that's very important because at some point you know, whoever your starter is is likely going to miss time and you have to have some guy that can step in. And, and to me I think Will Griffin makes a ton of sense there.
- [25:10]
B
So I, I agree with you. I also think man like in today's day and age you can get a player who, who really wants to be there and like it is a gator like that to me I just think that helps man. I, I, I do like it helps with culture especially if the guy's a quarterback like that that makes, that makes a world difference to me at least. I. All right, so first calls for the new staff. Of course it if it's the staff is in by signing day which we have to kind of discuss because of course if they're going after Lane Kiffin, the chance he's there by signing day is very little. Unless Oklahoma takes care of Ole Miss this weekend and then Ole Miss drops another one and then given that Ole Miss doesn't play anybody in the non conference they are like completely dead at 9 and 3 as far as their college ball playoff hopes and then he could be there, you know, shoot what the day after the Egg bowl if he wants to take the job. But some of these other candidates they're going after are very much in the playoff hunt. So may not, may not be able to who are like the first calls if you are Florida's new staff that you need to make you think.
- [26:05]
C
But I want to point this out real quick. All right, so signing day is first Wednesday or signing period first Wednesday of of December like you said, you know College football playoff teams are gonna be playing well into into January and I, we, we're starting to see the, the shift in the pivot but I think we're going to see more general managers that are not tied to head coaches like Jim Nagy at Oklahoma comes to mind because imagine if Florida, they have a general manager but it was a guy that really wasn't tied to Billy. I mean, he could, he could be evaluating this roster right now. You know, he could be feelers out on the transfer for transfer portal. Doing your homework there, which Florida's already doing. But you know, someone that is not tied to that regime, I think that is the future if, if, if this landscape kind of settles right where we are right now. Yeah, Florida, we're obviously going through senior evaluations in the Sunshine State. You know, two names that like, come instantly to my mind. And I know I just talked about Davion Gross as a wide receiver, but Samorian Wingo out of the St. Augustine area and then Naim Burrows out of Jacksonville, like these guys are, are playmakers. So more than Wingo. Reminds me of Jeremy Bernard at Alabama. Big physical cat, you know, heats up after the catch put committed to Miami and, and Miami has done an excellent job with him. But I, I put him in Wingo and Burrows together because. But Jacksonville Duvall used to be like this Florida stronghold. They would get whoever they wanted and that has not been the case in recent years. Again, I think Florida, whoever they hire are going to be heavy on the offense. They're going to need wide receivers, right? You got to keep loading and loading and loading that room. And then two edge rushers in the state of Florida, another position with a, a high price tag. The good ones in the transfer portal. Jake Cruel at IMG Academy, a kid originally out of Orlando, Florida was in on him. Everyone in the country was in on him. Committed to Oklahoma. But this is a guy where I think if whoever is hired, like, you got to make the phone call, you got to go check him out. Extremely polished pass rusher. Know can get to the quarterback. Full menu of moves, elite in a combine setting. Is he first off the bus? No, but man, he can go. And then the other edge rusher, Ashari Charles, committed to Miami out of Venice High School. One of the top programs in the Sunshine State. Damon Wilson, who's making plays from for Missouri, he's another Venice grad. I'm not saying he's Damon Wilson, but he ain't far behind. So, you know, guy that can create upfield push. I think in his last 21 games, he's forced six fumbles hitting the quarterback guy that can create some turnovers. So, you know, I think whoever steps in for Florida, it depends on when they're there. But there are guys that they can add to this recruiting class that, that Florida fans should be excited about. When did making plans get this complicated. It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.
- [29:36]
B
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C
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- [30:06]
B
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- [30:58]
C
Yeah, Bud, I mean I'm sure you're in the, I mean Florida fans all around you. I was, I was in the, in the clubhouse on, on Sunday after the news kind of break broke. Just interesting to hear like these, these candidates out there. I, I have not seen a ton of Rhett Lashley and I think he's a sneaky candidate that makes a ton of sense not only for Florida, but like really any of these jobs that open up got SME to the College Football playoff last year, right? Has yet to lose a regular season ACC game. He has won with what I would consider like average quarterback play throughout his career. You know, Derek King at Miami, Kevin Jennings at smu. Like Kevin Jennings, really good college quarterback. Are these NFL guys? I don't think so. You look at SMU has built this roster through the transfer portal and then high school recruiting as well, he's also coached in the sec, was Auburn's offensive coordinator for three years. He was also Miami's play caller. He has had to recruit in the state of Florida, the state of Texas, in the state of Alabama. Like, what kind of base do you want right there? And then the other thing that stands out to me about Rhett Lashley, who can score points and bud, you saw this at the player personnel symposium there in Nashville back in August. He's got a monster support staff and I'm not trying to compare him to, you know, Billy Napier, army of people or anything like that, but they have pushed all the right buttons when it comes to assembling a monster of a recruiting operation. So I don't know, to me, like you read these names like Jed Fish, the more you dig into, or, excuse me, Rhett Lashley, the more you dig into him, the more it makes sense because he's been a Power 4 head coach, because he's had to recruit all these areas, because he's an offensive mind, because he can navigate that transfer portal. So he's one where, you know, I guess I'm pushing it into the Internet sphere.
- [33:04]
B
I don't hate it. I mean, like, I think if you look at it, people are going to say smu, not really like an elite program like that, but SMU is probably like a, what they're a top half job, I would say in, in. In the p. In the P4. Most likely. Like he, he has had to win, you know, some of these top recruiting battles. So like he's had to replace, you know, some, some staff which obviously is not always difficult to do. I think that's an important thing. Like if you show me you can go out and actually like increase your, your range in your coaching tree and hire different guys after ones you have leave like that. That's I think a hallmark of a guy who understands how to be a head coach and, and like the ability to evaluate coaches and bring them in because like you're going to lose them if you do a good job. Like those guys are going to get promotions elsewhere. That's a pretty important thing. I don't, I don't hate that. I don't know if Florida fans would be super excited about that because I think they just have all their eggs in the lane Kiffin basket. Right. Which we don't know if he's going to take that or not. Maybe he will. I. I don't know. Or maybe he'll, you know, announced before the show gets published. These take it's kind of extension at Ole Miss. I, I truly don't, I don't know. But like you, you could certainly do worse than Rhett Lashley for sure. I, I don't hate that. Yeah.
- [34:12]
C
I'm just trying to come up with a realistic candidate. And like, I'm not saying Lane's not realistic, but hey, like again, when you kind of dig into him a little bit more, again. But I think this would apply to other jobs. It's not like just Florida. It's like, why isn't his name being discussed more?
- [34:30]
B
I should say the expectations on, on Lane are also just way different in Gainesville than they are an Ole Miss. Right. Like at Ole Miss, he can do what he did last year and not get fired for a long time. You know, you go five.
- [34:48]
C
Florida won the game because a defensive tackle that was close to 400 pounds two years ago dropped back into the flats and picked off a pass. A true sophomore. Like, that's kind of elite player development in my opinion. And Billy was, was, was booed off the field.
- [35:08]
B
He also, I, I think he was done after the USF game.
- [35:11]
C
Yeah.
- [35:11]
B
Yeah, I'm just like, most likely. Yeah, I agree. Like the expectation, the swap is way bigger pressure cooker than, than the Grove. It, it just is. Okay, so let's stay here in the state of Florida real quick evaluating some recruiting classes of other hot seat coaches. So FSU athletic director Michael Alford issue a statement basically saying this is unacceptable and we'll do a full comprehensive review of the program after the season concludes. Which to me is basically stop asking us about this every single day. We should have a decision by the end of the year, if not sooner. Also, hey, if I fire this guy right now, is my job at risk as well? If I'm the ad? I think significantly so, yes. So I think Florida State will have a new coach for next year for sure. But they have a couple nice commits in this class. I like Jay Timmons, I like Chauncey. But both, both DBs, which is something Florida State's done a pretty good job of, you know, recruiting the position under Mike Norvell. Not really anywhere else. Why do you like these kids so much?
- [36:12]
C
Because they can play. But like, you know, we'll see what happens with Florida State. But when you, you peek at the commit list through a trained eye like those are the, the two names, obviously Chauncey Kennan's a five star prospect, cornerback, has all the tools. Like he's, he's the one that I think the common man's Gonna know. But Jay Timmons, I think for Florida State and, and you kind of touched on this earlier in the show, bud. Like you need kids that care. Jay Timmons cares, and I think he cares about Florida State. He's the son of a former Noel legend.
- [36:48]
B
Yeah.
- [36:49]
C
Lawrence Timmons, three phased impact player up there in Pittsburgh, help Pine Richland win a WPIAL 5A championship as a junior. But I think that's one of the most underrated leagues nationally.
- [37:04]
B
Okay, now for those who don't know, that is the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League.
- [37:12]
C
I don't know.
- [37:13]
B
That's not intercollegiate. Right. Because intercollegiate would be colleges.
- [37:16]
C
Right. I, I just think the football there continues to improve. And Florida State got ahead of the curve here. Right. Jay Timmons was committed to, to Indiana and Sig popped off on, on the camp circuit. Like elite testing numbers. Florida is. Florida State's able to, to pull off the flip. And now they're gonna have to play defense. Ohio State's stiffen around. But I think whoever Penn State hires, like this would be my first call for Penn State just because I think Jay Timmons is a really, really good football player. Does it in all three phases of the game. Wide receiver, does it on defense, does it on special teams. I think he's an elite nickel. It's weird to be kind of, you know, being like, hey, nickel difference maker. But I think for Florida State, again, like someone that would be bought into the program, you know, returning Florida State to what it could be at some point down the line. Jay Timmons, you know, reports out there, he's going to visit Ohio State officially in a few weeks. Like, to me, if I was, you know, in that, in those football buildings, that would be the guy. I'm like, got to keep him here, right? When, whenever Norvell's out on the road, that's like the first stop. I think they got to keep him there or whoever takes over at, at, at fsu.
- [38:30]
B
All right, let's pivot here to Wisconsin, which unbelievably seems like it's not going to make a move from Luke Fickle. But they, they issued a statement talking about how they need to have like, full commitment to football. Are they going to gas this thing up with some nil for next year and then decide to make a move? I know on cover three, we've discussed a lot, like, if you make a move, it might also be Chris McIntosh's job as well. That's the ad there for Wisconsin. They do have some, some players that I think Other teams would be taking a look at here nationally, who are really important for the Badgers to keep though.
- [39:02]
C
Yeah, well, Bud, they don't want to make a move, but can we point out they're number 56 overall nationally in recruiting, number 14 in the Big Ten. They have 15 commits, which is not a lot. So maybe they are saving some space for the transfer portal. But Wisconsin's on pace to sign its third worst recruiting class in the 24, 7 sports era. That's after they had the 27th class in 25 and the 23rd class in 24. I can't figure this out. They had some moving parts on the personnel and in the GM side there, but man like Luke Fickle, what he did at Cincinnati has not translated to Madison. Like, yes, they've signed some guys we like. Mason Posta was a four star linebacker last year. He's getting more and more reps, but it's like, why wasn't he getting more and more reps earlier? Like, are you guys trying to win? I thought one of the big things was with Wisconsin last season is it was puzzling to me that they did not play their young players. You knew it was going to be a wash of the season after the injury to Tyler Van Dyke. You know, you needed to get those guys developmental reps in meaningful minutes and Wisconsin really didn't do that. I thought that was interesting. Maybe they're playing supportal defense, you know, didn't want them to get to the magical 200 number in snap counts and everyone in the country is evaluating them, but that was puzzling to me. They have two commits. I love Bud. Jaden Petit, wide receiver out of Naples. This kid is having as good of a senior season as anyone in America. In six games he's got 48 catches, just over a thousand yards and 19 touchdowns. Six, four big guy that can win jump balls on the outside, but he's also sneaky after the catch in terms of how he's able to make people miss. Washington offered him a scholarship last night. I think anyone that takes one of these job openings, you know when that new step, they're, they're, they get set up and operations humming. Jaden Petit is going to be very, very attractive because he's big, he's can move and he's producing. The other one is running back Amari Latimer. His, he's out of Georgia. It was a big win for the Badgers back during the summer months. I mean Georgia Tech, Georgia were all kind of involved in that recruitment. He picked Wisconsin and And now Ohio State's interested. Reports out there that Miami is interested in Amari Latimer. 230 pound running back Bud. I mean this guy keeps runs on the tracks. Kind of reminds me a little bit of Phil Mafa. So those are the two for Wisconsin. You know, it's, it's, it's a disappointing group, but star power, right like in, in the ideal world, you know, fickle. If he stays like those guys are, are in the lineup week one of, of 2026.
- [42:03]
B
You know I was, when I look at this, I, I don't think that Wisconsin properly calibrated the difficulty of going from the Big Ten west to the Big Ten without divisions. And you know, I think what three of the four programs that you brought in, you know, usc, Oregon, Washington, not really in that order, are probably like better or, or likely better on average on any given year than the Badgers are. And then you go out and you play non conference like non conference games in recent years against like now I know this wasn't fickle, but lsu home and homes against Bama, playing Notre Dame and Green Bay, I, I don't think Wisconsin is the type of program that needs to be playing like a, a top 10 like non conference opponent when you're already playing non conference games. Like, like let Ohio State or Oregon do that. But like that you're not that, that program and that, that seems incongruous with, with, with the resources that they have there. And I also think it's fair to say, look, you couldn't have known this at the time, but maybe fickle success at Cincinnati was in large part due to his staff which has now scattered across college football. Much of it has landed in South Bend and they're doing a great job there. But like maybe it was the assistance, you know, like we, we got into this topic yesterday on cover three. Like is it Brent Key or is it Buster? Right? Like if you get Brent, like if you go and get Brent Key for, for Florida or wherever, are you getting Buster too? Because like Buster's the one that, that you know, Kirby can't solve and like seems to do a tremendous job with that offense and Brent does a great job of physicality in that program promoting big, you know, like big people and has a lot of, you know, former linemen on both sides of the ball as assistants and recruiting assistance what not try to build that culture. And, and certainly like he is due a lot of credit for the success there in Georgia Tech, but also the assistance matter and you know, Cincinnati had Mike Denbrock and it turns out he's really awesome. You know, he, he crushed at lsu. Now he's crushing again at, at, at Notre Dame. Maybe it was more the assistance that AT Fickle had than it was Fickle Cincinnati. And that success is not transferable. I, I don't know, just spitballing here, but certainly the scheduling has not helped Wisconsin either. They have had a murderous row of opponents. I don't even think if Fickle was doing a good job, I still don't think fans would be satisfied because the schedule is that much harder than it used to be.
- [44:26]
C
I'll add this, like, they got to figure out quarterback. And you know, it's been injuries with the, with the transfers, but I do think, like Wisconsin, they've been involved with some, like, quarterbacks I really like that are currently in high school. Now. They haven't got these guys, but they seem to be well aware of what the issue is. Like Travis Burgess, Elite 11 quarterback from this past year, committed to North Carolina. Wisconsin, I think, got him on campus twice. You know, there was, there's a, There's a few. Izzy Abrams, the 2027 out of Illinois, who's our number two quarterback for 247 sports in the 2027 cycle, he has visited Wisconsin. So they are at least trying to address what I would consider a major, major issue.
- [45:17]
B
Absolutely. All right, so Auburn here, Hugh Freeze has lost yet another SEC game. Doesn't seem like he's, you know, quite as good of a coach now that everybody can pay players is his strategy back when he was from Ole Miss. Doesn't seem to be quite the edge that it once was. Number 33 overall, number 12 in the SEC, 14 commitments. They've never finished outside the top 25 in recruiting rankings in the 24. 7 sports era, and they've only had three classes outside the top 15. They do have some nice players to hold on to here. This does not seem like it's likely to. Like, I think the odds that Freeze is the coach there next year are, Are low. I don't know if you would agree on that.
- [45:54]
C
Yeah, bud. When I was kind of putting, putting the topics together, I was shocked by the fact that they've never had a recruiting class finish outside the top 25 dating back to 2012. It was always billed as a, a smaller group for Auburn. Right. That was kind of the message coming out of the planes. If you, you know, early in the cycle it was kind of like, hey, they're sitting in the 50s, you know, when are they going to make a Move. So Auburn spent a ton in the transfer portal, right? You, you also have to remember here like you are budgeting year over year. You want to give yourself an opportunity to be active in the next transfer portal window. And you know that can put you in a crunch. And I think when you look at, at Auburn's 2026 class, right, the one that's going to sign, you know, a little over a month from now, this is the byproduct, right? It is a smaller group. There are some P parts I, I really like. I think linebacker Jacquez Wilks, he reminds me of Deontay Lawson in state. Kid two way player doing one A competition. I mean he's a manchild out there. To me like that's the guy that they absolutely have to hang on to. I think you could put Braylon Womack the, the five star safety in the same bucket. Front seven defender I'm going to value a little bit more than a guy on the back end but those two are, are really nice. And then wide receiver Jace Matthews out of Mississippi, I know Auburn is, is, is loaded at that wide receiver position, but Jace Matthews to me, wide receiver, one upside, only played in three games as a senior, tore his acl. But man, you want to talk about like two minutes of highlights, I can get you fired up. Jace Matthews is in that department. I don't know bud. What's going on here? Like Saturday night watching Auburn versus Missouri, you kind of look at that score bug and you're like how is Auburn04 in the SEC? Like it's just, it's puzzling. And, and yes, there are certainly a ton of reasons but given how they've recruited, what they've done in the transfer portal, you got to be better than Owen 4.
- [48:06]
B
I mean I, I think like they did such a good job building this roster up and down it just with one position that they screwed up twice in two years. Like they, they chose poorly with Peyton Thorne and and the line from people I talked with at Auburn basically like hey, like we're not really ready to win anyway. You know, like we're still building this through the high school. We're going to supplement via the portal. And in this time around, unfortunately for them, I don't think the transfer portal was as fruitful this year at the QB position. More teams did a better job of holding on to the QBs who they wanted. And Jackson Arnold, I understand the logic behind the choice because of what he had shown in high school, but at the same time he was objectively awful last year at Oklahoma with terrible circumstances around him to be fair, which again makes you think maybe we can get something out of him. And they just whiff like Jack Snarl can't play and like that's just kind of like if you gave them a decent quarterback there. There's no discussion of Hugh freeze hot seat. He just whipped on QB twice in a row. I feel like.
- [49:09]
C
Do you break glass and play Deuce Night?
- [49:14]
B
I think that's an extremely Hugh freeze move and the fact they have not done so and the fact that that Free said that Ashford and Arnold are both going to get starts or snaps rather in practice this week tells me about what I need to know as far as Deuce Knight's readiness to play.
- [49:30]
C
You know Deuce Knight was like number three on my freaks list last cycle, right? You take his jumping metrics. I mean he's a two time state champ in the high jump, but what he was able to do in the broad jump and the vertical jump and you put him at the NFL scouting combine like he is beating the numbers that Anthony Richardson did a few years ago there in Indy. With that being said, raw as a passer and he got better as a senior, missed some time due to injury. He's a dual threat talent, he's a lefty. I, I would be about kind of just seeing what where he's at. I think, I think there's going to be peaks and valleys, but at some point you got to, you got to flash the future.
- [50:18]
B
I, I mean if you're you freeze, it's got to be all hands on deck to try to save your job. Which it's probably, probably too little too late there. Finally here, Brian Kelly. Of course lsu. I know Nussmeyer has been hurt, but if you're an LSU fan and I know quite a few of them, they're going to say, all right, so we're really going to waste four years of NFL QB play with with Daniels and Usmeyer here. Okay. This episode is brought to you by State Farm.
- [50:47]
C
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B
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C
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C
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B
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- [52:14]
C
Yeah, bud, they're number 11 in, in the rankings right now. Number six in the SEC with only 16 commits. So like pound for pound, this recruiting glasses is very strong and defensive line play has I think been an issue dating back to last season. And, and Blake Baker is going to blitz more than anyone. The defensive coordinator. Like they find ways to, to generate pressures. I just think again from, from my vantage point, like the personnel up front kind of leaves a little bit to be desired. And that's why I think LSU has to hold on to this defensive line class. It starts with Lamar Brown. Two way lineman, right?
- [53:00]
B
Yeah.
- [53:00]
C
This kid could finish as the number one player in, in the country for us. And when we shot him up the board back in May, I said like how many teams around the country are happy with their offensive line? Not many. How many are happy with their defensive line? Not many. Well, this guy could be a problem solver on either side of the ball. He's right there in Baton Rouge guy. They gotta get like, gotta get him across the finish line and then you know, a little further down the road, Richard Anderson at Edna Carr. I mentioned the term war daddy for Reuben Bane. Like this guy's war daddy times two. I mean he is a big athletic stump. Edna Car played American Heritage in the dome there a few weeks ago. I mean Richard Anderson took over the game as a 340 pound interior defensive lineman. So LSU, they did a lot of work in the transfer portal, right? But Lamar Brown, Richard Anderson are potential difference makers every single snap and you're getting him out of the high school ranks. So who knows what happens with, with lsu, but I think they got to hold on to these two individuals. And the other thing, bud, you brought up Garrett Nussmeier. What is the plan at quarterback? Bryce Underwood? We've Seen him at Mission?
- [54:25]
B
You tell me, man. Because I, I don't know.
- [54:27]
C
Yeah, I mean, they were. And Joe Sloan, excellent job with quarterback evaluations and, and all that stuff. But, you know, Bryce Underwood was committed to them all the way through November last year. Right. They didn't sign a high school quarterback. Michael Van Buren comes in via the transfer portal from Mississippi State. A guy that got some starts as, as a true freshman. They have a kid that they like in 2027 committed in, in Peyton Houston. But I've been kind of waiting and wondering which 2026 ARM do they make a move on? They haven't done it yet.
- [55:05]
B
Like, do we think that Van Buren or Hurley are a solution for next year? Like, are those guys legitimate contenders?
- [55:12]
C
I would say Van Buren, yes. Hurley, that he kind of falls into. Was the reclassification smart for that quarterback? Still waiting for one of these Reclass QBs to, you know, break through.
- [55:26]
B
Well, it's smart in terms of moving up fast to get a paycheck. Right? Like if, if that's your goal is to get the high school paycheck. Yeah, I think if your goal is to get drafted, it's probably a pretty bad move.
- [55:35]
C
Yeah, it's just interesting and every case is certainly different, but like the college feedback when you ask about some of these quarterbacks that did, you know, make the decision to skip their senior year. Right. There's not a ton of them, but there are a few of them. And you ask the, the guys that are watching practice every day and you kind of get the sense. No one wants to say it, but it's like, man, we probably should have stuck him in high school one more year. We shouldn't have called them up so, so early from the minors.
- [56:05]
B
I, I feel you on that. All right, so around the country we talked about Lamar Brown. Obviously he posted the development is key tweet on Saturday, as you said, finished the number one player in the country. Who got. Gotta hold on to that one if you're lsu. I, I don't know that LSU makes a move on Kelly this year. Maybe they do, or maybe they just kind of let him wear the losses that are probably coming next year and then, you know, reset after. But man, that's, that's not great to not be holding on, you know, potentially to a guy like, like Lamar Brown. Here's the name everybody should probably know, though.
- [56:37]
C
So.
- [56:37]
B
CJ Bars or CJ Bar, Good guy. CJ Carr's little brother, Tommy Carr. He's a name to know now. Currently committed to Miami, Ohio Looks like some Big Ten schools are finally starting to sniff around. And man, C.J. carr has played. He's got to be playing like a top five quarterback in the country right now. Like him Simpson obviously saying Mendoza probably missing one or two, but like he is crushing. I wonder if, I wonder if the older brother playing so well as maybe people take a second look at the younger brother.
- [57:10]
C
Yeah, Bud, I was a big CJ Guy coming out of high school, right. I think he was right around number 46 overall for us. I was a fan. I just, I thought he didn't get enough credit for how he moved in the pocket elastic athlete CJ Carr was. You know, I go back to that Miami game at first start, I thought he was kind of awesome. I know Notre Dame didn't win. It's just funny now like two months later, like as you said, if we're ranking the quarterbacks in college football, he's up there. Well, his brother Tommy CARR Kind of C.J. carr 2.0. Right. Like a lot of similarities. He's at the same high school, Saline High School there in Michigan. Buddy, Tommy threw for 508 yards and eight touchdowns in a game last month, accounted for nine total touchdowns. And it wasn't like he was playing a bunch of nobodies. I mean playing Michigan Division 1 football there. I, I just think Tommy Carr is a name to kind of put in the back of your mind, right. You know what normally happens when, when the coaching carousel spins. Okay, coach gets hired, we're going to get our staff together then usually, you know, kind of the first order of business before and remember the transfer portals now later, right. It's moved further back is you kind of find the quarterback that you want to go on your, your type of guy. And that's when that shuffling of the arms happens again. Tom Loy as, as you mentioned insider for 247 sports told me yesterday, hey, some, some Big Ten schools sniffing around here on Tommy Carr who was committed to Miami of Ohio, right. Really good Mac program. They've had guys go on to the league. But I think he's a name to know and I think his brother playing as well as, as he is certainly matters. And Bud, he's not the only quarterback with a brother who I think's benefiting from from the older siblings play. Ty Simpson, his younger brother Graham Simpson in the class of of 2028. One of the most searched profiles over the weekend on 247Sports.com a ton of traffic on his page. Max Preps freshman player of the year then there in Tennessee, he is not as tall as, as Ty Simpson, but hey, he's got some time. So, you know, there's some brothers out there that are doing it at quarterback.
- [59:40]
B
No doubt, man. All right, so let's go ahead and we'll talk a little more Bama next week if we can. Just, just in, in the interest of expediency here. GM of the week, good friend of ours. We're gonna give it to Barton Simmons of The Vanderbilt Commodore. 6 and 1, ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1947. Anytime you're doing something for the first time basically since World War II, that's a good thing. Typically might be the only GM that still mows his lawn. I don't you think he listens? Does he listen to this recruiting hour reaction show?
- [60:11]
C
Did you listen to the reaction show?
- [60:12]
B
He does, Yeah.
- [60:14]
C
I was pressure washing on Sunday and Barton's like, yeah, you know, I normally pop on the COVID three as I mow my line. I texted him, I said, barton, you, you have to be the only general manager that is. Is mowing your own yard still. And he says, well, hey, you know, we'll see what happens this season. Maybe next year. I'm not still mowing my lawn. And yeah, we're going to give it to Barton. Obviously, you know, Barton has a lot of people on the COVID three know him. But you're close with him. I, I worked with him and I asked Barton on, on Sunday, like, hey, is there one, you know, player or addition that you are super proud of? And, and obviously, you know, Diego Pavia is, is the, is the one who stirs the drink, right? Like he, he is what allows Vanderbilt to be what. What Vanderbilt has, has turned into. And, and Barton said it really wasn't one single player or transfer or high school recruit. He brought up the fact that, you know, they lost a defensive tackle of the transfer portal, they lost one in preseason camp, and that has actually turned into a strength, right? Like they had the depth there in the middle of the defensive line, you know, he says the defense improved across the board. C.J. herd, my guy, the FAU transfer at safety, he was all over the field on Saturday and just retooling that offensive line. But what also stands out to me about Vanderbilt, and it's, it's a fascinating roster build, right? They got the high school guys, they got the transfer portal guys. I think they got the perfect scheme. And then I think it's, it's the culture, right? Like they are the underdogs they, they play with a chip on their shoulder. And I know Clark Lee has, has been a, a big driving factor in that. But Barton has had his hand in that as, as well. And you know, me and Barton did a, a panel over the summer at the player personnel symposium and the topic was how do recruit rankings, you know, dictate player valuation? And, and me and Barton for like two days were figuring, you know, trying to figure out how we were going to tackle this, this subject because Barton kept saying, we are not in the market for the high price tag players. We are not going after the five stars, we're not going after the four stars. He's like, I don't know why they're asking me to do this. Maybe it's because I used to be with, with 247 sports. But I kept telling Barton, I'm like, well, you guys are kind of getting in the market for the blue chip players. They had Kaden Harris a corner committed that, that flipped to Georgia. I'm just excited to see, you know, where this season goes for Vanderbilt. But let's say they, they do make a college football player if they do play for an SEC championship. What, what, what couches and living rooms does that get Vanderbilt football into? Because I think, you know, Barton and Clark are going to have to be very calculated about keeping that same, you know, locker room and that same chip on the shoulder. And I'm sure they'll handle it. But you know, tip of the cap to Barton, hopefully this time next year he is, he's no longer doing the.
- [63:29]
B
Yard work and it feels, or hey, like maybe he just. That, that there's, there's a lot of. He's the only guy in that house, right? Not, not sure about the dogs. Like maybe he just needs to get outside, get away from it all. You know, obviously an amazing girl, dad Barton is so. But everybody needs a break once in a while. I think they have great synergy in terms of. So Clark goes out and hires the new staff, right, to bring in with the coordinators and especially the new offense. It doesn't seem like they do a really good job of having a true understanding of what they need in that system in terms of strengths and also, and importantly here because you're not going to have unlimited cash to Sign just unlimited 5 stars which like flaws in a player they can tolerate because their scheme doesn't require maybe that skill of that player. And I think that's, that's a hallmark of all good general managers out there. I mean certainly if you are, you Know, if you're at Ohio State, like, all right, cool. You know what? We're just going to, like all the sliders to the right. We're going to do about 100 on everything. But for everybody else, and even for them, like, in a modified salary cap era, you have to be able to understand, okay, we're going to take this kid. He doesn't do this. We don't need him to do this. Okay, like, we're gonna plug you in here. Can we assemble a roster like a baseball GM does? Okay, I'm gonna need 150 innings from this pitcher, but maybe this guy can give me 40. Maybe this guy can give me 70 over the course of the season. Like, can this D tackle. Can it give you 150 snaps, right? Like. Like that are functional in the SEC and I. They just seem to have good alignment from understanding what they need to make that system go. And Pavia certainly is a big part of it. Like, he's been, I think, mentality huge for them. But, like, that team's also super physical. Like, they. They are not just tricks. Like, like they. They're tricks, but they're like, knock your ass out with the sucker punch tricks. Like, they. They bring some thump when they trick you. Too.
- [65:23]
C
Well, I think a prime example, Bud, is like, hey, we're gonna run most of our passing attack through Eli Stowers.
- [65:31]
B
Yeah.
- [65:31]
C
How many teams around the country have just, you know, went into the meeting room and said, yep, this is our best offensive player and we are going to funnel him football. I'll add this, like, Barton's gonna kill me for saying this. Vandy has a. A really good tight end committed out of South Carolina, Tilden Riley. I think this guy's a stud. So all these newfound Commodore fans out there anchor down. I think Vanderbilt's, the. The future of the tight end room is. Is in good shape with. With Tilden Riley.
- [66:04]
B
Absolutely. I'm fascinated to see, you know, what they do post Pavia, but I think all the people that think they're just going to go back to being, you know, what they were. There were more changes to that program than just Diego Pavia. Like, he deserves a bunch of credit for being awesome for changing the mentality in some ways, but it's a lot more than just him. I think it's a good pick for GM of the week. All right, evaluation of the week, and I'm glad you put pronunciation on here, because I think I've butchered this a couple times. We've been talking about this kid on Cover three for a while. Because when I started watching byu I was like, oh man. Yeah, this is, this is number 11, right? Faletu Satu Filetu Satu Allah. Right?
- [66:44]
C
Falata Satulala I think is I and, and bud, I, I'm working and, and trying to improve on the west coast names, right? You know, you're here in Florida, you get like a lot of like French Haitian names. I, I am dipping my toes. I, I got Jaren Kiabe, Saga, Patelli, jks. I got that one. I got Nico Emalieva and, and you know, I had both those guys like say it into my voice recorder and like I just kept playing it while driving, playing it while driving. Shout out to BYU though, because they have palata, I think I'm saying it right. They haven't pronouncing his name on the actual athletics website. One of the only schools I've seen that has done that. Awesome, awesome, awesome.
- [67:30]
B
Yeah.
- [67:31]
C
And he is but a val of the week. And really I just want to gas up Kalani sataki there at BYU. But Satu Allah, big outlier for 247 sports in the 2024 cycle. He was our number 11 linebacker. I know he kind of plays more of a safety role. We had him at the All American bowl, had him at the Polynesian Bowl. Huge riser for us late three sport kid. As a senior, 13 receiving touchdowns, six interceptions. I mean this guy was all over the field, field. And he picked BYU over, over Utah. You know, no one else really tried to go in there and pry this cat, this kid out. And this season he's the highest graded qualifying defender for the Cougars in the holy war on Saturday night. Career high, 12 tackles, one force fumble and one PBU. You know, BYU 70 in the college football playoff conversation. And, and you know Sataki, since they have, they have moved into the Big 12, I think there's been a massive uptick in recruiting, bud. BYU is tracking to sign its highest ranked recruiting class in the 24, 7 sports era. They're sitting number 23 right now. The past 14 years. That recruiting class usually finishes somewhere around 63. So to me, I don't know why Kalani Sataki is not getting enough love. He is 18 and two in his last 20 games, 11 and two in the Big 12 that you know, they, they transitioned to the Big 12 five and seven the first year. But since then again he's 18 and two. And this recruiting class, you see Ryder Lions, the five star quarterback up there, Brock Harris, tight end that could do a little Bit of everything. Ty Gotchasi, another tight end out of Colorado. I think this guy's an NFL player. There are some gyms in this recruiting class. Jax Tanner, a Navy all American out of Idaho. They go to all different little pockets there. And you know, once you dig into the commit list, you're like, I can see this guy playing. I can see this guy playing. And Falatu Satuala was one of those individuals for byu.
- [69:36]
B
I, I think he should start to get, you know, more credit. Obviously it, we can nitpick it if you want to, but like ultimately it's not that easy to win at byu, know, so you could say, okay, like, like, you know, this has been a, a fairly easy schedule or they win a lot of close games, whatnot. But still, like it's byu. It's not like you're gonna go out there and just kill everybody. You don't really have like Texas Tech style money even they lost over the weekend, obviously. So I think CL is a good coach. I just think his guys consistently show up for him and that's not as easy to do as it sounds like those kids play hard for him.
- [70:11]
C
One of my favorite like coach speaking sessions ever.
- [70:15]
B
Yes, the same one.
- [70:17]
C
Yes.
- [70:18]
B
Really good.
- [70:19]
C
Like nothing on football, just life. And I was like, yeah, Kalani, what do you need me to do, man? Hey, you need me to, you know, avow some 27s? I'm ready to go. I'm on staff here and just gonna put this carrot out there. Wife is from Lakeland, Florida. So hey, a lot of potential coaching changes in, in the Sunshine State. He's got some ties to Florida which I think is odd for a guy that played at byu.
- [70:46]
B
It is. I, I would bet the BYU is going to pony up whatever it takes if, if they, if somebody did come calling for him. This has been the, the 24 or sorry, the COVID three recruiting hour with Andrew Ivins. Make sure you check us all out on the socials at Buddy Elliot 3 at are you Andrew Underscore Ivans?
- [71:02]
C
Andrew Underscore Ivans. Yes, bud.
- [71:04]
B
There we go. All right, we will see you guys again next week. This has been awesome, man. I'm glad we're doing this. We've got a signing day about, about six weeks away now, man.
- [71:13]
C
Had to do math. I didn't know that answer. So I appreciate you, bud.
- [71:18]
B
See you, bud.
- [71:19]
C
CBS Wednesdays I run to the chaos and survivor is chaos. As a mother of a four year old, this is vacation this season.
- [71:28]
B
They're going back home.
- [71:30]
C
It's trial by the elements.
- [71:32]
B
Surprise.
- [71:32]
C
I'm on Survivor. That's how you feel?
- [71:36]
B
Do it. Survivor feels like a culmination of my entire life.
- [71:39]
A
Everything has led to this moment.
- [71:41]
B
Who will have what it takes? Survivor.
- [71:44]
C
New CBS Wednesdays at 87 Central and.
- [71:47]
B
Streaming on Paramount Plus.
- [71:49]
C
Now streaming on Paramount Plus.
- [71:51]
B
Someone is trying to frame us.
- [71:53]
C
Until our names are cleared, we're fugitives from interval. Like Bonnie and Clyde with better snacks. NCIS Tony and Ziva now streaming on Paramount plus.