IT Live: The Good and Bad Signs to Watch For in Fall Camp

Summary

Podcast Summary – Inside Texas Football: IT Live

Episode: The Good and Bad Signs to Watch For in Fall Camp
Date: August 5, 2026
Host: Inside Texas Team (A, D, occasional C, B)
Theme: Setting Expectations – What Do Positive and Negative Fall Camp Reports Actually Mean for Texas Football in 2026?

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Episode Overview

This episode gears up for Texas Longhorns fall camp by outlining what fans and insiders should be listening for in pressers and camp reports—and what classic "coach speak" or coded phrases could signal real concerns. The hosts also touch on the nuances of insider sources, the art of parsing practice reports, and finish with analysis of the preseason coaches poll, highlighting Texas’ demanding schedule and key national contenders.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Art of Reading Fall Camp Reports

(01:29–08:02)

• Fall camp is here: The traditional "talking season" ends as Texas football enters the intense scrutiny of camp.
• Beware of wishful interpretation: Fans and even insiders tend to read what they want into reports, creating a confirmation bias.
• Spin, emphasis, and triangulation:
  • Sources with access (insiders, coaches) will emphasize positives and downplay negatives.
  • Outside observers watching practice may miss important context (e.g., scripted drills or experimental lineups).
  • Multiple viewpoints (triangulation) are critical to form a clearer truth.
• Notable Quote:
  • "It’s not that [insiders] lie to you, but they're gonna tell you what they want you to hear... It’s all about emphasis—what do they tell you, what do they not tell you?" – D (Ian), 02:55

2. Things You WANT to Hear from Fall Camp

(09:57–20:45)

• 1. Defense is generating strong interior pressure

  • Good news if pressure comes from both DTs and LB blitzes, as it enables fast pass rushers to chase QBs.
  • Memorable note: Referencing past Texas stars (Sergio Kindle/Brian Orakpo) to illustrate how inside pressure creates sack opportunities.
  • Notable Quote: "Colin Simmons is the greatest chase-down pass rusher maybe that Texas has ever had..." – D (Ian), 13:12

• 2. Safeties are adapting to Muschamp’s scheme “like fish to water”

  • Confidence in the secondary, specifically Derrick Williams and McDonald, is a key positive sign.
  • Counterpoint: Recent nerves about depth and readiness, but positive feedback here is a real vote of confidence.

• 3. Muschamp installing “lethal sub-packages”

  • Excitement for creative third-down defensive packages—sign Texas is maximizing its deep talent pool.
  • Baseball analogy: Like having dominant seventh/eighth/ninth-inning relievers (20:14).

3. Things You DON’T Want to Hear from Fall Camp

(22:05–33:21)

• 1. “The secondary will be amazing… by year’s end”

  • This is a red flag that things aren’t coming together now—which the tough early schedule can’t afford.
  • Notable Quote: "If you hear these kind of like freshman phrases, it just means that they have not figured out the scheme yet or getting them to execute it..." – A, 23:34

• 2. Coach speak like “You can play anyone next to Biles”

  • Translates to: Nobody else has stepped up at linebacker. “The more names you can fill in for a position, the less likely you have a genuine starter."
  • Injury worries: Hosts note every camp brings a “turf monster” injury to a would-be key contributor.

• 3. “Everyone has a role and a part to play”

  • While there’s depth, scrambling to fit everyone in often leads to a lack of coherent identity.
  • The hosts fear over-rotation and lack of role mastery—need “crystallized identity” (38:23).

• Parsing media/coach speak:

  • Subtle admissions or excessive positivity about an “area of concern” is often a cover for deficiencies.
  • Notable Quote: "Very rarely do I hear something positive and go, that’s 100% true. Even though it could be. So that’s a flaw of my thinking. Oftentimes I’m just… a negative Nancy." – A, 31:03

4. Trusting the Defensive Staff & Specific Team Notes

(40:14–44:29)

• Confidence is high in the defense, barring injury or disaster, given player development, new coordinator Muschamp, and strong position coaches.
• Biggest challenge early: Ohio State’s unique receiver talent is acknowledged as a special test even for a great unit.
• Scheme confidence: No new defensive overhaul expected for Ohio State; Texas likely to stick with what worked last year.

5. National Contenders & Coaches Poll Breakdown

(45:57–73:30)

• Texas’ daunting schedule: Plays seven top-25 teams per preseason poll. Only Arkansas is similar.
• Oregon skepticism:
  • National buzz is high, but hosts question whether Oregon’s talent has the needed real-game polish, especially at receiver and DB.
• Notable Twitter mini-drama (48:35):
  • Ian’s social media spat with Bud Elliott over poll rankings—Oregon’s resume, Texas’ ceiling, and how much to “trust Sark.”
  • Quote: "Bud was cruising for a bruising." – D (Ian), 48:30
• Contender tiers:
  • True title threats: Ohio State, Texas, LSU, Miami; some skepticism about Notre Dame and Georgia’s ability to finish in the playoffs.
  • Big 12 teams like Texas Tech viewed as solid, but hosts are wary they may slip due to lost QB depth and big expectations.
• Dark horse pick:
  • If Texas A&M’s young DTs and QB Marcel Reed put it together, they could surprise. (73:33)

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Notable Quotes/Memorable Moments

• "You should be suspicious of [coach speak strength], it’s a way of tilting the scales a bit..." – A, 05:45
• "If they are good at flushing the quarterback this year, they will pile up massive sacks because they have tons of guys who can chase them down." – D (Ian), 15:54
• "The more names you can fill in for a position, the less likely you have a genuine starter." – A, 33:03
• "Texas has a gazillion legitimate dudes on defense overall. You need to have dudes you can count on, and others that master their role—maybe next year, you get to do more." – D (Ian), 37:08
• "Do you have to be wary of trainers...they see almost 100% of a kid in a non-game context?" – A, 29:26
• "I have too much faith in the guys we’ve watched and in Wil Muschamp and in the talent level...it's really hard for me to imagine the defense not being very, very good." – D (Ian), 40:33

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & why this exercise matters: 01:29–08:02
• Good camp signs to seek out: 09:57–20:45
• Coach speak & red flags to beware: 22:05–33:21
• Talk on positional depth and injury risk: 31:27–34:38
• Discussion on Oklahoma, Texas A&M challenges: 34:44–36:56
• Crystallized identity vs. over-packaging: 37:05–38:44
• Host confidence in defense, springing Ohio State: 40:14–42:46
• Skeptical of Oregon hype & national poll drama: 45:57–52:45
• Playoff contender analysis/Texas’ schedule: 68:29–73:30
• "Dark horse" playoff picks: 73:33–74:41

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Flow, Tone & Final Insights

The tone is conversational but highly analytical with a touch of dry wit and inside-baseball references. The hosts balance skepticism with optimism, demonstrating both their fandom and keen diagnostic skills. They stress the need for critical thinking about preseason narratives, warn specifically against reading too much into “coach speak” or glowing but vague practice reports, and urge fans to listen for substance over spin.

Ultimately, the consensus is that Texas’ defense is well-positioned for success—if it emerges from camp healthy and with a clear identity. The expanded playoff and SEC landscape only intensify the need for early-season readiness, not vague promises of growth as the year goes on.

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For more analysis and day-by-day fall camp updates, tune in to the next IT Live, where the offensive version of this exercise will be discussed.

Transcript

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[A]

Good morning everybody. It is officially camp day, so talking season is over. That is very exciting. We are going to discuss for defense what we want to hear and what we don't want to hear out of coach pressers, camp reports, all of that stuff. And then we'll talk some coaches poll towards the end there. But first, guys, brand new promo right now, fall camp sale, 75% off your first year. It's probably the best one I've seen in a while, so take advantage of that one. Link down in the description below. Also, our man Paul, he just dropped the 2026 Longhorn football prospectus. Thinking Texas football, no joke, not selling you anything in this regard. It's the best Texas preview in existence, bar none. It's a wonderful, wonderful read every single year. And it's not just our opponents who were playing, but also the wider sec. Paul does an incredible job. Funny. I'm sure there will be a good historical reference or nine in there. Check it out. Link in the description down below. All right, Ian, I like when you do this exercise. I think it's important to set the stage before you get into battle so you don't lose your bearings on what you want to hear. I think it's important to do it right before. I think you've done that for us, Ian. So let's talk about that. Things we want to hear and don't want to hear from Texas Fear out of this camp. Do you need to set it up any more than that, Ian?

[D]

Yeah. Let me just say the premise of this is that once camp gets going, you're gonna read into the reports whatever you want to read. There's always wiggle room. And the, you know, Eric and our guys play this game all the time. You get the insider source, and the insider is they. It's not that they lie to you, but they're gonna get. They're gonna tell you what they want you to hear, right? And they're gonna. They're gonna have a positive spin on things. So there's like, it's all about emphasis, you know, what. What do they do? Tell you what they don't tell you? And then we have other sources that are people that just get access, right? And there are people that get access and get to watch practices or get to see things, and then they can tell us what they see. And they're under less of an obligation to be positive about what they see. But they may or may not know what they're seeing, or they may or may not. The. The context clues. Just because you're there watching doesn't mean you actually know what's going on. It's not because you're like, you could be super knowledgeable, but you may not know. Like, it was like, oh, the offense was terrible. It's like, oh, yeah, well, they were just repping a couple things, and the defense was allowed to heat him up. And the offense was just like, we're not worried about success. We're just working on this, this and this. Or the offense wanted to see what would happen if we tried this lineup configuration or. So last year we played that game a lot because the. The reports we were getting was that the offense was getting stonewalled in fall camp. And then at one point, it was like, I think I wrote an article where I was like, well, apparently they're in 12 the whole time. So, yeah, if the offense plays in 12 personnel, they're probably not very good. That's not what they're gonna do. I think that's what they did for, like, more weeks. And it was God awful. So it ended up being. You can trick yourself so many ways, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

So what I try to do, this is not foolproof because obviously it didn't protect me last year, but it did protect me more than a lot of people. That's True, Right. Because I had a lot of questions and doubts and people thought I was dumb. You go right before the camp and you're like, based on what we know about this team, what would we hear that is like a positive reinforcement of something we believe or contradict something we're worried about? And then what would we hear that would. That would not reinforce something we're encouraged about or that would contradict something that we think is going to be good?

[A]

And it can all sound nice. That's the problem too, is you have to parse. They could be saying something that, if you just took the sentence out of context, sounds like a positive, but you really. It's a way of. Of tilting the scales a little bit and you should be suspicious of. So that's why I think this exercise is good. Before it all starts, before all of our fandom and biases get to boiling points, try to figure out, hey, this is what we actually want to hear and what sounds nice but is actually not a positive necessarily. All right, let's bring it on up. Also, I think, too, an important thing is triangulation. So it's like you need to hear from multiple sources, and some of your sources are going to have different emphasis, right? Like, they like whatever. They like running backs, so that's all they're paying attention to, is the running backs. But if you can get. If you can get enough sources, which is what you have to do, you can triangulate something closer to the truth opposed to just individual sources or guys that are keyed in. Because the reality is people are either on offense or defense, and they tend to look at the. That through that lens, too. So I think you got to hear a bunch of points of view, too.

[D]

I'll give an example of that. In the spring game, I noticed that the defense was getting a lot of good inside pressure, and I was like, boy, they're blitzing the linebackers a lot. I think they're playing a lot of, like, man pressure. And then when we got. We were watching the super secret spring game footage, it was like zone blitzes and they were like dropping out pins almost every single time. Or like, you can get locked. I. It's hard to watch multiple things at the same time live. Like, I can watch the coverage and see what coverages they're playing, but I can't then also tell you much about who's doing what in the trenches and who's winning and who's losing. And it's like I'm watching the safeties and how they rotate and Then I look back and it's like the quarterback's like, running for his life. I don't know what went wrong. I can't tell you. You know, so if somebody gets access to practice. Practice. And they're watching, it's really hard to see it all. The only people that see it all are the people that are incentivized to only tell you what they want you to hear.

[A]

Right. So, yeah, a bunch of sources understanding where their biases lie. And then you can kind of piecemeal together something that's more factual. All right. Utah Horn we will get to that. We might as well do it now before we start. Utah horn thank you, man. Ian, how confident are you in OU and A M this year?

[D]

What. What does that mean?

[A]

I guess. Do you think they're gonna.

[D]

Confident?

[A]

Do you mean they're gonna. Are they gonna have good seasons or are we gonna beat them?

[D]

Utah horn yeah, give me a. Give us a follow up. No, don't need to attach any money to it and we'll get to it. Yeah, or do attach money to it.

[A]

All right. We'll wait until that.

[D]

We got the new minivan this summer. We did not do the Sienna, though. We went splurged for the Odyssey. So pouring the pour in the money for our new Odyssey.

[A]

Yeah. If you could help out with Ian's car payment, that'd be nothing. All right, here we go. Let's see. We got some other ones too before we get going. I feel good about D line so far. O line can be decent and pass protection. Give arch time. Our offense will be cooking this season. I agree with the statement.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah, I think. I don't think the O line needs to be elite. I think it has potential to actually be really good. But floor is just set there and they can pass block. I agree. I don't think you need a killer offensive line now. When you get into the smaller margins of championship rounds, it. That can be the factor. But to get there, I don't think you would need that. I mean, we almost got to the playoffs with whatever the hell that offensive line we had was. Bobby Petronic. Colin Simmons looked great covering the flat. Waiting for someone to take the position at safety. Need linebackers to match the run better.

[D]

Coach, these are things you could hear that would be not encouraging.

[A]

Yeah, I do not want to hear any of these. I'm okay with Colin Simmons looks great covering the flat.

[D]

I'm fine with that.

[A]

I'm fine with that. Waiting for someone to take the position at safety. We'll see that there's something similar to that. Linebackers to match the run. Yeah, you're hitting a lot of these. We will actually just go through the article then. Utah Horn. Get us back whenever you clarify. All right. The first thing that Ian actually does want to hear. The defense is very good at generating interior pressure.

[D]

There's a couple ways they can do this. One is by beating offensive linemen off the ball with the defensive tackles, which I think they could be very good at, but we need to see that. And then they're going to be good at it when they blitz the linebackers, because we've already seen that Rasheen Biles is awesome at it. So Anthony Smith could theoretically be good at it. Juice crier, anyone could theoretically be good at it. We don't know who actually is and isn't. Other than that Rashim Biles is for sure amazing at it. The reason that this is going to be valuable, it's like Bobby Petronic was worried about hearing about Colin Simmons on the flat. What is going to lead to Colin Simmons and Lance Jackson and really all these guys that are super fast piling up tons and tons of stats is if Texas can flush the quarterback and move him off his spot and then allow the fast guys like Colin Simmons or Rashin Biles to chase him down out in space. So I got a couple examples here that we're probably not going to get to until Connor gets back. But I went back to 2008, I looked back at some of the sacks that like Brian Arakpo and Sergio Kendall were getting. And everybody remembers the sacks where it's like they beat the like future NFL tackle from Oklahoma or the Texas Tech dude. They just beat him off the line and blew by him and raced in and speared the quarterback from the blind side or whatever. Everybody remembers those. What you may not remember is a lot of the other sacks did not look like that with a lot of the other sacks looked like was initial inside pressure or even outside pressure flushes the quarterback. Then the quarterback's like, I gotta get out of here. But then once his eyes go down and he's no longer a threat, a serious threat to pass, then he's just like a play thing for the ultra fast sprinting guys like Colin Simmons or Rasheed Miles to run down. And so I don't know if you want to play these or not, but they're like a couple Sergio Kendall sacks where the first one. The first one Sergio Kendall is playing as a spy. It's like one of Harold Perkins Sacks from his freshman year. Quarterback gets flushed, Kendall chases him down. It almost looks like a scramble, but you realize the quarterback got taken down like four yards behind the line of scrimmage, Right. That's not the sexy things we think of with like big sacks for these guys, but these win games. Here's Oklahoma State, right? Quarterback gets chased, has to roll out. Sergio Kendall runs down the line, chases him down. These guys, these guys that are like blazing fast athletes are often super good at chasing, chasing guys down. Colin Simmons is the greatest chase down pass rusher maybe that Texas has ever had. So if you put quarterbacks into positions where he can chase them, it's going to be awesome. And that's how he's going to pile up a gazillion sacks. So that's what I want to hear about is that sacks internal. Internal pressure.

[A]

Bobby Petronic. I don't want gains of 3 in the flat. I want loss of 7 behind the line of scrimmage.

[D]

What. What is he talking about?

[A]

There's flats. He's talking about if Simmons is in the flats.

[D]

If the quarterback gets chased out of the pocket, he's not gonna, he's not gonna get past the line of scrimmage on Con Simmons.

[A]

I think he's talking more about True Mint where Simmons is out in the flats. Not necessarily getting.

[D]

If you chase the quarterback out of the pocket, Simmons will chase him down behind the line of scrimmage.

[A]

Yep.

[D]

There's a team called Georgia. It's been really, really good at limiting teams to loads of gains of 3 in the flat and I don't think their success is anything to sniff it.

[A]

Yeah, what about this? QBs aren't the only ones who. Players who end up in the flat with the ball. My argument was this. If Colin Simmons is on a pin your ears back pass rush and the ball goes to the flats to like a running back, then he wasn't going to get a sack anyways. It's a, it's a short concept, so just be in and out. Unless it's some big progression at the end. But I get your point is like you don't want Colin Simmons, you want him pass rushing more. But I. The point is I think you'll, even when it's not that clear as him going straight off the edge, you'll still get a lot of really exciting opportunities.

[D]

But I'm not talking about like Sergio Kendall was spying in the first clip. Yeah, but I'm not talking about getting Colin Simmons sacks by dropping him into coverage. I'm saying Rush him after the quarterback. But if inside pressure forces the quarterback out, then Simmons can turn into chase mode. And he's going to get sacks that way.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Not. He can be. He might be the guy that flushes him out because he's. God knows he's gonna get past the tackle a lot. But then that creates the opportunity for Jackson or Biles or whoever. I just. In general, if they are good at flushing the quarterback this year, they will come. They will pile up massive sacks because they have tons of guys who can chase them down.

[A]

Before we go to the next one, let's hear a quick word from Academy.

[D]

I call my style skate to the party. Can't go wrong with Nike slides.

[A]

Gotta show off the muscles.

[D]

You gotta show a little bit of the thigh. Right now at Academy, get up to 30 off Nike and Jordan clothes, shoes and backpacks.

[A]

Thank you.

[D]

Are you showing off your runner thighs with your summer attire? You're back to school.

[A]

Absolutely. I also, I would describe my style as skate to the party as well. So.

[D]

Hey. Also Rex, I absolutely will attend Legacy Ranch games this fall. I got my Legacy Ranch Pop Warner coach shirt. If camp tonight, I will graciously accept nachos.

[A]

All right, next thing you want to hear, the safeties are taking the Mus champs scheme like fish to water.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

You have an inverse of this coming later.

[D]

But I, I put this one up. I, I was, I got into an argument on X as I'm prone to do, where people were like safety is a big question mark for this team. And I was like, I don't think safety is actually a big question mark for this team because I think McDonald is going to be amazing. And then I, I love, love, love Derrick Williams in his fourth year coming back, getting my champion, getting in over him. And then I think they have a number of guys there that are promising like Johnson, Rebel now Kobe Black, Jonah Williams. They have other guys too that we haven't even heard much about. Zealous Hicks.

[A]

I thought you were pretty curious about it in the round table thing we did because there's a couple times where you mentioned wanting to see like.

[D]

Well, now I've gotten nervous now. Gotten nervous because I'm like, I'm like, did I take too much for granted? Yeah, probably not. But this team is going to be awesome if it goes like I think it does in the secondary and I want to get some positive reinforcement of my assumption.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

That they've absolutely got. Derrick Williams and McDonald are killing it and the other guys are know what to do.

[A]

Yeah. Solid Six mans. Yeah, we'll see what the inverse of that could look like a little bit later. Also, you want to hear Muschamp has some lethal sub packages they've been installing. Why that?

[D]

It's just fun. It's like that's whenever a team gets the. The best Texas teams usually have sub packages that are lethal for like third down. Mus champ loves those things and they have so many good coverage guys and pass rushers that it's. It'd be like remarkable if they didn't have a dime third down package that's just like length and coverage on everyone and then like four or five impossible to stop pass rushers. Like they have that capability. So I'm looking forward to hearing about it.

[A]

So to you it's like maximization of resources. It's a sign of that. They're really taking advantage of what they have. I agree.

[D]

That could be a game changing element. Just wait. If you're looking possible in third down.

[A]

Yeah, if you. If we can do good work on first and second and then get into these crazy looks. And then the keyword there is kind of Dime Rabbit. So 6db, but also a bunch of pass rushers, which we have more than enough pass rushers on the field too. So. Cool. Any other final things about.

[D]

No. It's like having like for old baseball guys, when they had. When you had like the dominant seventh, eighth inning guy and then the ninth inning guy, like Jeff Nelson and then Mariana Rivera, you just turn it into a six inning game. The Yankees would just turn games into six inning games. And if they got past the sixth inning with a lead, it was just over. That's what, that's what you get when you have like a lethal third down package. If you just make it like a. You just reduce the game.

[A]

So. Blake Cooper, I'm glad you're able to catch it live, man. Arnaldo. Will Justice Terry have a breakout year?

[D]

That'd be great. It seems like maybe we're just waiting to see how camp goes because he couldn't do anything in the spring.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

What was wrong in the spring?

[A]

I don't remember. But it wasn't playing and it was kind of quiet until they couldn't keep it quiet anymore. Anymore.

[D]

I've been nervous about him a couple times and then I'll hear that, like just as soon as he can play, you're gonna see something special.

[A]

He doesn't make me nervous. I know. There's always that thing with like the five star that's kind of in and out. You do, you can worry about, but he's not. Like, Jonah's one. That makes me nervous. He's not one of them.

[D]

For whatever reason, I'm getting less nervous about Jonah because it seems like he might just pick one.

[A]

Yeah. It's gonna be football.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Good morning, fellow Longhorns. Just want to give a shout out to Tech SAGS live for kicking me out of the comments because I reminded them that they were a mediocre athletic program. Was that it, Speedy man? Was it just one. Was it with just one comment in the chat? Whenever we get rivals, it's never just one comment.

[B]

Were you.

[A]

Were you spamming the boys over at Tech tags? All right, let's get into the. What I do not want to hear. I think this is. This is valuable. By the end of the year, this secondary is going to be amazing. Sounds good on its face. What does that actually. What is that actual code for?

[D]

Ian, they're not good right now.

[A]

Yep.

[D]

We got this on Arch Manning and I was like, what is this? Yeah, it was like last fall, it was like, Arch Manning is. He'll have his. He'll have his bumps and bruises and his. His grind.

[A]

But no, he's a young first year

[D]

starter, so by the end of the year, he's gonna be awesome. And it was like, what are you talking about? He should be awesome now. Yeah. And then he was. He was. He was at times abjectly terrible. Early on, dude, I was close to

[A]

being like, I don't know if it was UTEP or Santa. I don't know what it was. But it's like, if we have one more game of this performance, there's a real talk of having to pull him. They turn out being very accurate with that statement. Almost too accurate on both ends of the extreme. But you do need to worry about that. Potential arguments when you have, like, Jelani, who's a very old player, trying to go the NFL. Derek, who's an old player. Bo is experienced. These aren't freshmen too. So if you hear these kind of like freshman phrases, it just means that they have not figured out the scheme yet or getting them to execute it. So be very wary of future amazingness, I guess.

[D]

Also, this is not Indiana schedule. This is not the Big Ten. Like, theoretically, you could be a team that peaks at the end of the year and figures it out at the end of the year and then wins the championship, like Miami almost, sort of almost did last year. You cannot do that with Texas's schedule.

[A]

Right.

[D]

It's too tough. Early and often to expect to make it if the second. The secondary needs to be great early in the year. Unless other dimensions of the team are really great, like most particularly the offense. So if we're betting on how Texas is going to make the playoffs this year and it's like either they're going to be, let's say you have to pick, they're going to be great from the get go and defense in the secondary or they're going to be great from the get go on the offensive line and offense in general and they'll just blow everyone out with points. Which one of those sounds more likely and reassuring?

[A]

I don't know what sounds more reassuring, but more likely is probably be the defense. But what's better?

[D]

Yes, we're already getting a little bit of. We already got like a last minute pre, pre fall camp deal that was like offenses, you know, they have a lot of three and outs.

[A]

Yeah, they just. Yeah, we, we slid that in and I just said on the round table, what do I want to hear that the offense is executing and. And doing that. And it was the opposite of what I wanted to hear a day later. And you gotta be wary. They will Trojan horse. There's some odyssey. They will trojan horse it where it's all these positive things and then they'll just slip in kind of some reality at the end. And you need to really pay attention when they do those quick tone shifts.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Some of that is covering them for themselves.

[D]

Just immediate. Like, yeah, the offense actually sucks, but we think that it'll be good at some point.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And you're like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not again.

[A]

Yeah. And you can't be at some point. And then they're like, you know, Arch, Arch was out for the spring after everything that Sark said. And every single presser was like, totally doesn't matter. You know, he was, we don't need our quarterback in spring. Oh yeah, don't be silly, guys. And then they're like, well, it turns out, you know, Arches March was hurt so we didn't have all. It's like, no duh. You want your quarterback to be available during spring.

[D]

There's another thing too where he was like people were saying he was not the best in Manning camp. He got out shown at Manning camp.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And part of me is like I camp evaluations of quarterbacks. I think you can just wipe your butt with them. But I would rather hear that he looks super sharp and awesome.

[A]

It's the elite 11 problem. Like when your quarterback wins elite 11 you're like, man, what a legitimate competition. And then as soon as they don't do well, you're like, well, it's. It's the underwear Olympics. It doesn't really matter. The problem with those camps are, are you hearing the showing information from media or, like, trained eyes? Because what the media will do is they will show. You'll see Arch's best throw from the camp, and it'll be shown widely in Texas world. And then an OU media guy will take his worst throw and that'll be shown there too. So it's really hard to even kind of parse what happens there unless you know what you're talking about and you're there with your eyes.

[D]

I disagree. I disagree. The guys that are. Know what they're looking at will see something. Like, some guys just look different throwing the football, like Quinn yours or other guys, they just look so good throwing the ball. And it's like, well, we put them through drills that make them think and make them deal with pressure, and we see what they're made of. It's like, you didn't see anything because you'll. You'll take guys that look so good in those settings and you put them in an actual football game and they fall apart.

[A]

I can, Yeah, I agree with that.

[D]

I've seen it so many. There's this one in particular that drives me nuts to this day. It was that dude from. He was like, Louisiana to IMG to Ole Miss, Shay Patterson. He ended up. I can't remember. That's the right name. He ended up in Michigan.

[A]

Patterson ended up in Michigan.

[D]

And they were like, I. I watched him at IMG and I was like, he moves around good, but he kind of withers in, like, any kind of pressure or whatever. I don't think he's really a progression passer. I think he's like a mobile, dual threat, gadget shot play kind of quarterback. And then my editor at the time at SB Nation took that out of the article and he's like, hey, Ian, we, I. We had a bunch of guys see him at camp, and they're saying it's the opposite. They're saying he's like, razor sharp. He's like one of the best progression passers you'll find in college football. And that's actually his strongest point. And I was like, no, I watched the actual game. I don't think so. But I wasn't the editor. Yes. Freaking. What?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I do agree with that part, but I'm saying the problem with the fan Sidedness of those camps is you're seeing selected clips through whatever party or team.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

You know you're seeing. So it's like if you just watch Texas World you're just gonna be like Arch killed it. I saw three awesome throws. If you watch the A M. Guy there, Arch will look like the worst quarterback. So it's. Those camps are hard to parse and they, they can translate in some ways like natural athletic ability. But you're right, they don't necessarily go with playing football.

[D]

I'm just saying like you can listen to the experts too. Like somebody that's like lives, eats and breathes quarterback mechanics like Trent Delphi or something and they'll tell you a dude is awesome in camp and like he's the guy and then he will suck.

[A]

You do have to be wary of trainers. Yeah, you're battling your kids over there. He's just gonna go screaming his kids downstairs. You have to be wary of trainers because they're seeing the quarterback almost 100 in a non game context. So they're seeing them work out on the field, those kind of things. So that's a major factor. So you got to learn all the different camps and what their motivations are and what they see of the players and when they see them. To go forward, you all should do a segment where you translate pressers. When Coach Sark Co. The do the coach speak? I'm a big fan of the press conferences. I think there is things to glean from them particularly when I think they're lying. I think is is helpful. I know Paul hates the pressers. He. He wouldn't even listen to him if he didn't have to for work. He thinks they mean nothing. But I think they do subtly admit things throughout them or they're too rosy on something that feels like they're covering up for something. I think there's some things you can get from pressers even though it's by design a marketing tool. What do you think Ian?

[D]

I. I do play that game sometimes the interpret coach speak on impressors. But it usually happens when I get to one or two points of frustration. One where I'm like I've had it with the coaching staff and I'm tired of their coach speak through like you guys don't have a left guard or two when I get really frustrated with the media and I feel like their questions are really stupid and aren't getting at the heart of anything and they have no idea what the actual problems are. Yeah. Hopefully we get to neither of those Two places this year, but, you know, usually we do.

[A]

Yeah, it. It is a cynical exercise for me as well. Generally. Very rarely do I hear something positive and go, that's 100 true. Even though it could be. So that's a flaw of my thinking. Oftentimes I'm just. I'm a negative Nancy. All right, the next thing you don't want to hear, you can play anyone next to Biles and it'll work. Sounds good. Why is it not good?

[D]

See, this is the classic coach speech. This is like a classic, like, inside source where you're like, how are the other linebackers looking? And it's like, man, all of them are solid. Biles is good. And you display him next to Biles, it's going to be great. That means none of them are good. That's what that means. If you hear something like that, you want to hear specific people with specific attributes. Also, you know, I'm. Please, nobody blame me if something like this happens. I swear, every fall, the turf monster and a non contact injury takes out a starter that we were all expecting to have a major role on the team, like Troy O' Mary Jr. Angelao. Where's some other ones?

[A]

Baxter.

[D]

We expected Baxter. Geez. Yeah. It might have ruined his career.

[A]

Yeah,

[D]

that happened to Jaden Blue once.

[A]

No, he didn't go out for the season.

[D]

We might as well have. Who else? Who else did we have?

[A]

Don't say that, dude. Poppy Patronic's evil.

[D]

Dude,

[A]

I'm not. I'm not even putting that on screen.

[D]

If I think this is one of the spots where you really, really. Christian Clark. Yep. You really don't want to hear that at linebacker because especially if it's like, it's Biles and a bunch of Jags.

[A]

So it's the. It's the law that Ian has done. The more guys you can name to fill a spot is the less likely. Yeah, it's the less. Less likely. Yeah. You actually have a player. You want those things concrete. You don't want that middle ground. Even though it does sound good, because you're like, wow, that means we have in tremendous depth.

[D]

It's like, yeah, last year, Andre Kojo, which I think, like, some people were like, that's a big loss. And I was like, is it really? It was.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, it absolutely was.

[D]

Patronic drops DJ Grant. What a blast from the past. I was there. It was back when they used to do open practices on this, like, grassy knoll by the. Things were primitive back then. This is like in 09 and it was like DJ Grant is going to be the new flex tight end and now we can move Jordan Shipley outside, right? No. And they're doing like thud tempo scrimmage and D.J. grant is going out to the flat and Earl Thomas comes down like a missile. Like I'm on like the grass to the side. It's like 30 yards ahead of me. Earl Thomas comes in like a missile. Bam. Takes Grant's legs out, blows one of his knees out. And then Earl Thomas just kind of walks away. Like he's like, like, you know like when a dude like drops a bomb at the scene of a crime and like kind of just saunters away cool early so nobody notices. That's that was Earl Thomas's walk leaving it and we're all watching it. We're like, ah, well, so much for that.

[A]

That was probably unnecessary. Utah Horn circled back Ian asking about how confident you are about Texas beating.

[D]

Oh, you and A now not that confident both together.

[A]

Is there one team that makes you feel less confident?

[D]

Neither of them. I don't feel super confident on either. Oklahoma, like Sarkis kind of got them figured out on the one hand. On the other hand, he's only played Oklahoma with a decent healthy starting quarterback like twice and lost both games.

[A]

Yeah, that's a real factor.

[D]

And then also just Oklahoma is like they are going to be so sold out for that game. Like even with Michigan and Georgia coming ahead of Texas for them, I still think they're going to be sold out for Texas. So that one makes me more worried

[A]

about OU than A M though. Is that. Do you agree?

[D]

No.

[A]

Why do you. What do you think is particularly because

[D]

A M is also going to be sold out to beat Texas. It's going to be in Kyle Field. I don't think Texas will lose both

[A]

games, but that's all like perimeter stuff. Is there anything that's on field that you think they're significantly upgraded from last year?

[D]

Yeah, I think both those teams are going to be good. I think OU is going to be. I think they're probably going to be a little better than last year overall. Certainly better than the Duncan team we destroyed. And then A M. It's hard to tell. I, I think it's possible A M is better than they were last year. I think it's possible they're a little worse too. That one is a little harder to tell.

[A]

Maybe some 30 year gelling benefits there too. I don't know. I, I think to me I feel more confident about A M now. At some point we have Been on a win streak there. Eventually it'll end, but I don't know. I. There's a M so late in the season that I don't dive into them at the level this early at all. They become more crystallized to me about mid season when I start actually, like, looking at their stats and. And watching like they're all 22.

[D]

That's the other thing is that game is. Yeah, it's. It's a different deal at the end of the year.

[A]

Everyone has a role and a part to play.

[D]

I couldn't quite find the right phrasing that would tip this one off. This one is a cousin to. The more guys you can name at a spot, the less likely it is you have someone great. This one is kind of like that, but it's also like, Texas has a gazillion legitimate dudes on defense overall. And I don't. I. You don't want to just like. You don't want to be that inclusive. You need to have dudes that you can count on, and then you need to have dudes that are like, here's your role. Make sure you master this role. Maybe next year you'll be the guy that gets to do more.

[A]

Are you worried this game could get kind of schizophrenic with, like, trying to maximize every individual talent?

[D]

Yeah. Scheme or packaging or whatever. Yeah. And I think must Champ is a little bit capable of that. You really want them to be able to just, like, line up in, like, their main 11 nickel guys and then just stuff anything from anyone.

[A]

So just kind of a crystallized identity.

[D]

Crystallized identity, yes. That's exactly it.

[A]

Yeah. Because you can get into trouble with all these different future NFL players of trying to feature each one of them, and then you're just kind of like checking boxes on the sidelines, like, make sure we get into this look so he gets a moment. But it's not really tied to game flow. Sark can do that on offense sometimes, so.

[D]

Yeah, I should maybe repeat that one on offense tomorrow.

[A]

Yeah. So I. I agree that you could get. We have so many stars. You need to. But you need to pick, like, your three that you want to ride with. All right, before we keep going, guys, let's hear about Drew Smith. If you run a business in Texas, it could be real estate, construction, manufacturing. You should talk to fellow Longhorn Drew Smith with Hub International. So here's a problem businesses can have. Most businesses outgrow their insurance, but they never update it. So you just kind of check that box early on. And you never look back at it. Drew Bill's coverage around the business you actually have today. So he's finding coverage gaps before they become those costly claims when something does go wrong. Hubs dedicated Central Texas claims team. So they're local. Is there to help. In one case, Drew helped overturn a denied fire claim and got it paid in full. And there's many more examples of that. The market is changing fast. But if your agent's only answer and excuse is it's a hard market, that's why they're not doing a good job, it's time to call Drew Smith. It's 210-393-8382. That is 210-393-8382. So make sure you talk to Drew before your renewal, not after. He can help you out much more in that situation. So contact information is down below in the description. Alrighty. Ian, any final thoughts here? Any other things that came to mind that you want to hear or don't want to hear about the defense? You're muted

[D]

in general. I'm really not that worried about the defense. Like it's really hard for me to imagine this defense won't be very good.

[A]

Are there any weird things that you can hear? Like, you know, Austin is actually running the ball pretty well. Is there anything like that?

[D]

No.

[A]

Offensive success side?

[D]

No, I've just. No, I have too much faith in the guys we've watched and in Wilma's champ and in the talent level and the like quality of the defensive line and the code. I trust these a lot. These coaches have all been really good. Like Gideon has been really proven. R2D2 has been really strong since he came aboard. Becton seems to get good results for defenders and also turning like massive dudes like Jafrard into higher energy guys. So it's really hard for me to imagine the defense not being very, very good.

[A]

Is it hard for you to imagine it not being very good very fast?

[D]

Not really. I mean like Ohio State, I could see Ohio State taking it to him a little bit, but that, that's it. Ohio State is just a different thing. You're not must champ. Could like coach 10 more years and maybe not face another outside receiver tandem as dangerous as this one. This is just a different animal.

[A]

We heard too from Sourcing that they're not going to try to reinvent the wheel here. So Texas has had success in defending that offense especially. So I don't think they're going to try anything too new there, which is good. But also the Flip side is like, Ohio State's seen that look a lot. They anticipate it. They have Henry on the outside too.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Last game is it just took one. Like it was just Carnell Tate getting over the top. That's the problem too is like they don't necessarily. If the off installs right, they don't necessarily need to put up 3:30. It's just whenever they do, because they were. They were not calling anything downfield.

[D]

But when they did, you know, Ryan Day and Steve Sarkeesian both do. If you just like our guys over the top.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

They spread the ball.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And they're like, no, we're tough. We'll prove it to you. Yeah. They. Both of them do that. And either of them. Neither of them do it consistently well.

[A]

Yeah. I just worried about that moment where it's just like you're lulled to sleep all game and then they're like, we do have the scheme for this. And then they execute. We'll see. I wonder if they're going to be that boring. I mean, they were kind of arrogant last year in their offense where basically the idea was we'll kind of lie dormant and then whenever we need to turn it on, we will. And they just didn't. So they didn't have those kind of reps. They played these kind of closer, tight games against good teams. And then when they needed to score, it didn't happen as easily to them.

[D]

I think they didn't trust saying, maybe

[A]

there's some of that, but it's in. Sure. But it, it was still like, you need reps of attacking good teams. To me, it just felt like we were, we can win the bar fight. A little bit of the Midwestern ego we hear of. Like, we. No, we actually like to play boring football, dude.

[D]

I swear, Lou Holtz, like Brooke, Ryan Day's brain, Lou Holtzer, Jim Hart, maybe in conjunction.

[A]

They all have that, though. That's like a Midwestern thing. Signetti's dropping 19 days.

[D]

Not actually from the Midwest, though.

[A]

Yeah, but he's. It's how Sark says y' all all the time now. It's like you become. You become ingrained in the culture. Sir, came out in sec. Media day. What's up, y'?

[C]

All?

[A]

I'm like, all right, He's. He's in the club. What do you think of Signetti's line of 1980s action movie quotes to everything. What have you heard? He just says wild. Like when they're like, hey, man, you're gonna. You're gonna be the hunted this season, he's like, well, I'm gonna bring a bigger gun. Like, he just said. He keeps dropping these, like, these quotes that I'm like, I know you're thinking these up at night. They sound cool. Until you realize that you're having to craft these. He certainly has earned it. He's incredible. But he's getting a little bit tricky.

[C]

Just.

[D]

He's getting big for his bridges. Did y' all see that Notre Dame and USC are probably going to renew after all. And part of it is that Signetti didn't want to play Notre Dame and got him dropped from Indiana schedule. Is that right?

[A]

Is my audio Blake Bryant says my mic is off. Are y' all hearing that in the chat or. Ian, do you hear that?

[D]

Yeah. Hear what?

[A]

Is my mic sound different? Do I sound quiet or anything?

[D]

No, I might hear, like, a buzz, but.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. Chad, tell me if you guys agree with. All right. No, y' all are good. Okay, here. You would turn up the volume, Blake. Maybe that's what's going on here.

[D]

I think this is a Blake audio problem, not a. Not us.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

But, yeah, Signetti, the dude. They. They schedule all cream puffs early in the year and build up momentum. So, yeah, it's just.

[A]

He's just getting corny. His quotes are getting corny, even though it's like, dude, he can clearly back them up, but they're just so, like, rehearsed. But college football, like, eats it up. They're like, man, wow, cool. It's like, the first time I heard it, I'm like, oh, this is. You know, that's witty and sharp. And then you hear it, like, the ninth time, you're like, he's practicing these. All right. And you're gonna have the offensive version of this for tomorrow's show, correct?

[D]

Yep.

[A]

So tune in for that. And, of course, also, we'll have camp notes. A lot of great stuff. We have, like, eight guys going to camp today, so you are going to get a ton of stuff. Let's. Let's talk coaches poll top 25 here. Any major thoughts kind of off the bat, Ian? First things first. Our Tyler Horker took over for Joe. He points out that Texas plays seven top 25 teams. The only team that also has seven is Arkansas. So these are. Arkansas and Texas are going to play the most top 25 teams. As of right now, this changes. But today, Texas would have the most challenging schedule from here. How do you feel about that, Ian? Feel pensive, reflective?

[D]

I don't quite understand why people are so high on Oregon. I do hear that a lot. I think it's because they're, like, talent accumulation, but I don't know that their talent is actually as good as people think it is.

[A]

Why is that? I'm gonna. Here, let me try to adjust. Can y' all hear me better now? Whenever I talk? I'm trying to play with the audio volumes back here.

[D]

I can hear you louder now.

[A]

Yeah, okay, you can hear me louder now. Chat. Let me know.

[B]

All right.

[A]

And continue with that thought.

[D]

Like, they have, like, these really fast receivers like decori and Moore and Evan Stewart that are like, oh, you know these guys. They're so fast. But are they actually, like, good, skilled receivers? Kind of like Ryan Wingo, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It's like, if. If Ryan Wingo was supposed to be so good last year, how come the only time he's open is when we screen him, Scheme him open on a screen from, like, an unbalanced form, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Like, pure speed is not really that as valuable as people think. They have some of that in, like, the secondary, too. Yeah. I just don't.

[A]

Those are the big two. Oregon's roster is considered to be just as good as ours by their experts.

[D]

Yeah. Okay.

[A]

But also, both teams kind of have this problem of when they get to the top of the sport, not. Not finishing. Saw you jumped into some arguments about that on Twitter with Bud Elliot. He had to get you a piece, dude.

[D]

Bud was cruising for a bruising.

[A]

Yeah, Bud did.

[D]

I don't think he recognized me either,

[A]

but he was like.

[D]

He's like, are you, like, watches SC Network only, dude? I was like, I'm. No, I'm your former colleague, dude.

[A]

I didn't even realize y' all were colleagues.

[D]

My picture is like, this, like, crew drawing that my daughter did of me and her and my. In my header is Captain Bruising.

[A]

So Bud basically did this. He did a top 25 poll, but he put Texas at, like, seven or something. And. But he did a note at the bottom of the graphic. It was the only note. He was like, Texas would be 2 if I trusted Sark. And so it's like, okay, that's fine. But then the flip side was our EVM vith was like, okay, that's fine. If you don't trust Sark, like, that's reasonable. But you're giving Oregon a lot of credit for not doing much when they get to the top of the sport. He counters with, well, like, Oregon didn't struggle with Kentucky and Mississippi State and all of that. But then he Did a little interesting tactic, too. What was his.

[D]

He said, that's what I seized on. Like a pit bull.

[A]

Yeah. So explain it.

[D]

Is that he was like. He was like, sark has these, like, no shows and mediocre games. And he's like, Oregon. He was trying to. Because Oregon, like, they keep going to the playoffs and getting their doors blown off.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And so he's like, reaching for something to counter that. It's like a comparison to Sark. And he's like, well, Oregon beat down Texas Tech. Texas Tech was better than any SEC team last year.

[A]

Keyword any.

[D]

And I was like, texas Tech was better than what? Texas Tech is what? Yeah. Better than any SEC team. Then he does. Bud, I really don't like this. I really. This is really not good. Like, God, y' all call me out if I ever pull something like this. He quote, tweets me so that you see, it starts a new thread, Right. Unless you click back through the old one.

[A]

It removes context. It sends your minions after the person. Right.

[D]

Well, I didn't. They didn't. That's not how it worked for him. Yeah, but he's like, I. So he has my. My post of Texas Tech is what? And then he, quote, tweets it, and he's like, texas Tech is better than Oklahoma. And he has all these reasons for why Texas Tech is better than Oklahoma. I'm like, that's. Yeah, they might have been better than Oklahoma last year. Better than any SEC team. Yeah, that is. That is not impressive.

[A]

That was nefarious tactics.

[D]

That is not impressive. Anyway, Oregon should be good next year. I don't really. Oh, here, I'll just say this. I remember a time you had this coming, Buddy. I remember a time when Elliot, Bud, Elliot was always having to explain to people why the SEC really is. Was stronger than the other conferences. Then this school, Florida State, was very publicly rebuffed and excluded from the SEC and expansion. Ever since then. Yeah, ever since then. Bud doesn't seem to believe in the SEC as much, and he seems like he's always downplaying the SEC as a power conference.

[A]

There's also media value in taking the other side. So, like, once the consensus happens of, like, SEC is the best league, which everyone would. All the experts would generally argue with. True. Well, now there's money to be made on the no, it's not side. And there's arguments now legitimately about the Big Ten being stronger at the top proven through championships. But also there was this.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But there's also this incentive, right? Like when the whole media crowd is over here, you can, you can go left and it can help you, help you out too. You can get a little bit more eyes that way.

[D]

I don't know if that's what he. I don't know if that's what he's doing.

[A]

I don't know if it's always that like you thought of. You're like, I should switch to get more views. I just think it becomes self reinforced forcing once you do and then it like crystallizes the word of the day. Then you become in that camp more. What do you think of kind of the 3, 4 and 5? Do you think Notre Dame at 5 is solid? The coaches are going kind of off of team, but it's like with the schedule, it feels like Notre Dame is going to finish higher than that.

[D]

Yeah, it's hard to overrate Notre Dame before the playoffs next year because it's like the. They have like, I'll pull it up real quick. Their schedule is very, very favorable. They're gonna have to really wet the bed to not make it. It's like, yeah, North Carolina at North Carolina. If, you know, if Bill Belichick cranks back the time clock, you know, maybe they're a disaster.

[A]

Their actual like admin is like a total disaster right now. It's hilarious.

[D]

They're playing Rice. They're playing Wisconsin Week 1 in Lambeau, which is gonna like sell tickets. But like is Wisconsin any good anymore? They have the service academies or one of them. They have Navy. They got Stanford, who's been trash for a while at byu. Here are the three interesting games at byu, Miami and at home and SMU at home. So if they go one and two in those three and then just hold serve and their other games, then they're going to be 10 and 2. And then by rule, right, by those new rules that they created, they are automatically in the playoffs.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[D]

So like that's just.

[A]

What do you think about. You think A M&OU are fairly placed just so we can have rival talk? I don't really think it's that interesting.

[D]

I think Tyler, hold on. Tyler says 10 and 2. Notre Dame misses out again. Tyler should know better than me because he was just over there. Tyler, isn't the new rule in effect where Notre Dame is like, what, top 12? Then they're automatically.

[A]

I didn't they get the caveat or did it not get finalized where that can't happen to them again or is that next year?

[D]

I think if they're top. Okay. Yeah. Tyler Says he's arguing that 10 and two Notre Dame could be number three. But Tyler, they're not going to be number three team if they're 10 and two. Yeah, it's not gonna.

[A]

When do they play the good teams? Is that later in the schedule.

[D]

They play Miami and SMU in November,

[A]

but both at home had this great situation where they like play a good matchup early on and if they won it, it was proof that they're great and they could coast. And if they lost it, then they can just say, we've grown as a team team since then. But that's a little bit different if they have to play.

[D]

They're also. They're a good November ball team. A lot of times when you get to November, it's like, who's got size and depth and run game and run defense.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And like it's gonna be. You don't really want to.

[A]

That's the whole point.

[D]

That's like.

[A]

That's the whole thing. What do you think? Ole miss at 10?

[D]

This is fine. I think LSU will be better looking across the other SEC.

[A]

Why do you think the coaches poll are suspicious of lsu?

[D]

They're jealous or they don't like Lane or he hit on their.

[A]

I think there's a little bit of punishment in. In that ranking. There's a little bit of like, well, it's the first year, which I think is matters less and less the farther we get into the nil era. And then number two, you didn't do it the right way. Even though all the coaches that voted on this would have done the same thing to go to lsu. So I think there's punishment there. What about tech at 12?

[D]

That's. I think tech is gonna fall off this year.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

A little bit. I don't know if they're gonna win the bit. I think they may like lose the Big 12 championship game.

[C]

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[B]

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[D]

Maybe that'll look silly, but I just don't know if they're.

[A]

Do you think SBE is going to be a huge difference in that? Like, do you think they would be?

[D]

Yeah. Spending 4 million on a bust is tough.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

They were counting on him playing. They, like, they have to rush Will Hammond back now. And Joey McGuire. Like, part of the appeal of Soresby is that Maguire just chews up quarterbacks and gets them all injured all the time. It's like every year, McGuire, starting quarterback misses time because he uses. He abuses them with, like, like, quarterback run game stuff. He was like, running Tyler Shuck, like, 20 times a game in September to try to get wins. So it's like that. That worked at, you know, DeSoto or whatever, Joey. But you can't do that against college defenders.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I think their defense will also take a little bit of a step back. They. They're going to be good, but I. I think maybe the biggest thing for them is Cedar Hill. Yeah. For Joe McGuire, the biggest thing for them is that I think all the negative attention around that program is not something that anyone there is used to dealing with. And I think that's going to drip into that building and manifest in unexpected ways for them. It's not like Texas, where you get there and you're immediately public enemy number one and you sink or swim. And it's like the whole culture is used to it.

[A]

I was gonna say, do you think it would. You don't think it'll create some type of bunker mentality? You think it actually will mess them up? Because they do have this idealized version of them themselves. It's like the plucky underdog and that kind of got smashed. But also, they're isolated out in the desert, so maybe they. I mean, they're geographically. They're in a bunker.

[D]

I. I think that that is a hit or miss kind of thing.

[A]

I. I am interested to see that. And also, it's like, I can easily. If they start losing, I'll be like, it's because of. Because of that. It's like no, their defensive tackle can't stop the run. It's probably actually the reason but I will verify it.

[D]

The biggest thing is that the Big 12 is a crab bucket and it's like. It's kind of like the SEC where people. People always dismiss the Big 12 because there's no great teams. But as we all remember, it's like a solid team every week and if you're not on your game you can lose like any. At any point.

[A]

And they do some fun schemes and they do some unique stuff.

[D]

Yeah, they have a lot of. It's usually a lot of good coaches. I. So I don't know if it just depends on if minus sort of speed. They still have the like because like OU would always navigate it pretty well with Lincoln Riley because they just had more resources and Riley knew what to do. I don't know if they. Without source be. I don't know if the resources are quite there and I definitely don't think McGuire is like Lincoln Riley. So I worry about them losing to like. Like Houston. Houston's team is super old. Willie Fritz is just an old school ball coach. Yeah, BYU is good and they actually have some money too. Their quarterback is back and Arizona State. Don't. Don't count out Dilly.

[A]

He needs to have another season because he needs to move up the ranks in the coaching world too. Do you have any thoughts on Michigan? I know you kind of keep track of them from afar.

[D]

It's. It just kind of depends on how Underwood grows this year and how he adapts to the new scheme. I think they're still.

[A]

It's French a starter for them for sure. Oh, I don't know.

[D]

I don't think so. Okay.

[A]

I always try to pay attention if they start somewhere else.

[D]

If they. The people that leave. Yeah, they have. I don't know about them. I think they're still at least a year away.

[A]

Any thoughts on who we play? Tennessee.

[D]

Tennessee is. I think they're too high here because I think they're just gonna be too young at quarterback.

[A]

Have they picked their quarterback yet or are they fall camping it?

[D]

I think they're fall camping it. I don't really know for sure. I. I bet they fire them. Might be really tempted. Just land on the. The guy that runs. If you're gonna have an inexperienced guy either way.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

You might as well be the athletic one. They're. I bet Tennessee is good this year but I just don't think you can really make it to the playoffs.

[A]

I think I got a Job opportunity. I was telling you in pack, but I was talking to a American football coach at University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and so I was asking him about the league, and he was kind of Talking about the NFL's camps there, like the NFL kind of starter league. But he was saying a former Baylor assistant. I don't know what team it was. Former Baylor assistant, shows up, implements the veer and shoot, and has broken all offensive records for, like, that European league. So all we need to do is just go kind of implement the. The high offensive styles in Europe. Dude, you could have a head coaching job just putting the veered shoot in. They were not inoculated to such an offense. I just thought that was funny.

[D]

Interesting. I was watching our Pop Warner team the other night and thinking about that, and we. We did, like, a drill with, like, the quarterbacks throwing it out to the numbers, and it was like, well,

[A]

can't run the veer and shoot.

[D]

Those definitely not gonna be a pure veer and shoot team because the. The ball is not gonna get there.

[A]

Yep.

[D]

And then I was like, in my mind, I was already scheming up ways to formation space, like Lane Kiffin to the wide side of the field for kids to run through. But then we were doing this drill. This is, like day one in full pads, so some grace. But we did some drill where you'd, like, give the ball to a back on a sweep. Then we'd have two receivers blocking two defensive backs, and it was like, all right, live tackling, y' all come down with the right leverage, get off these blocks, and get the sweep guy on the ground. And Connor, it was like a touchdown every single play. And I was like, maybe we don't want a formation space. Maybe we want to get their DBs in one spot and then just go there every time. If their DBs tackle like ours do right now.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

You want them there? You're better off.

[A]

Yeah. On the flip side, sure. Like, I gotta play for my offense, but on the downside, I cannot defend that. Yeah, I just.

[D]

I went to one of the other coaches afterwards, and I was like, I think we're both gonna be coaching on the B team. And I was like, hey, we. I'll tell you, problem number one we got to solve in the next few weeks is the edge.

[A]

Yeah. On defense, Steve, Sarcasm says Indiana's SNC coordinator and Jim Knowles at Tennessee now could be sneaky. I like Jim Knowles. SEC is also the sneakiest but most impactful.

[D]

They poached Indiana's SNC guy. Interesting.

[A]

Yeah. What about Mizzou here at 25, it feels like they just include Mizzou guy.

[D]

I don't know what they're. I keep hearing Paul, Paul keeps going, you know, interesting thing. And then he'll say something that he's forgotten. He's already told us a couple times.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And he'll be like, Missouri loses. I, I guess I need to hear it one more time. But it's like 10 out of 11 starters or something.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And they actually did it a couple years ago where they lost like Blake Baker and then they were still good without him. So they seem to have a pretty good program going. But boy, that I don't know what, I don't know what they're. Maybe I should go do some roster notes on Missouri later today and see if they have like older transfers or if they're just like reloading with their own guys. But that I don't, I don't want a young, inexperienced team from Missouri in my top 25. If I have anything at stake, I don't feel good about that.

[A]

I think Veith did a good job. Iowa, Clemson and Missouri with pity votes from the code. I also think, I think when you get to 21 to 25, it's respect votes like, you know what Dabo did at Clemson. Missouri had this fun, plucky run style. U of H like. And of course Iowa is just kind of perennial, perennially there. I think it is kind of like respect. We like, we like how you play ball. Votes at the end. Gotta include Mizzou to give Texas that seventh ranked game. Yep. I agree.

[D]

Another thing with these is that I'm looking at this and I'm like, the order of finish, your order of finish is so much to do with the breaks of the season. And I don't. It was very, very easy for me to turn my brain from predicting orders of finish to predicting who and cannot who and who can and cannot realistically make a playoff run. And so I look at these teams and I'm like, I guess that team might finish there or higher or lower. But when I. What I really care about when I really look at with them is do they have the kind of roster that can win in the playoffs. And so like I look at like Oregon finish really high. They finish high almost every year. But I don't really believe them and believe in them in the playoffs unless those outside receivers are a lot better than they've been.

[A]

Who are your, who are your actual can win the national championship contenders here?

[D]

Ohio State. If saying is I have A lot of questions for Ohio State, but they have some obvious pros. Texas, Duh. Lsu, Miami.

[A]

You don't think Notre Dame can actually do it?

[D]

I. The receivers. I need to see something that I haven't seen before.

[A]

Give us the fast breakdown of Notre Dame.

[D]

It's like the former lacrosse guys, like, one of their number one guys.

[A]

What about Indiana after they took that. That new ruling and got back, like, high production? Fifth year dts.

[D]

They got one, right?

[A]

No, they. They added a second, too. They got two back, huh?

[D]

I think they're gonna be good anyway. I don't. I think diminishing returns on that.

[A]

Sorry, I've interrupted your flow. You think Ohio State? Texas. You said Miami.

[D]

Miami. Did. My. My things in Indiana are. Tight end and quarterback are like, big question marks.

[A]

Horka. Offensive line is great. Wide receiver corpse is as good as it's been ever. Cars a top five qb.

[D]

It's not as good as it's been ever. Tyler, you don't have Will Fuller, but also. Well, if you have a Will Fuller on this team, then I will. I'll put Notre Dame into the semifinals.

[A]

At least Tyler is. Great house still playing for y'.

[D]

All. The great House is not Will Fuller.

[A]

I know, and that's what I'm saying. I'm just asking because he was one. Yeah.

[D]

I think he's been injured again.

[A]

Oh, did he. Like, who else did they take from us? They take. Is it Finley? He was at Alito. It was like a year or two ago. They got another receiver from us. Yeah, exactly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. They've taken a couple players that I've actually liked up there, so. George. But Georgia. You don't think Georgia will get there?

[D]

Hey, Georgia will win the SEC and then lose in the playoffs again.

[A]

So really, only about four true contenders you think are here.

[D]

I feel like somebody's missing here. Right? Yeah. Well, you know, I always look at who's got, like, elite firepower at outside receiver and then NFL defensive line and Georgia. Georgia just repeatedly ignores that. Yeah, I just. I just want a veteran quarterback I don't care about.

[A]

Yeah, you want stability at quarterback.

[D]

Yeah. So Ohio State definitely has a receiver. They might be there at defensive tackle. Texas Tech definitely has it at receiver and defensive tackle, so they look awesome. Miami, I think, has it at receiver. Their best guy is actually inside, but I think getting Barcade from Duke is going to help a ton outside. And then they return last year's defensive tackles who were a lot more impactful than people realize.

[A]

Gonna cannibalize itself because I've seen the take of like, wow, that's a lot of SEC teams. That means we're gonna have a lot in the playoffs. But it's also like, well, yeah, but these teams are also going to play each other a bunch. Is our depth actually a curse?

[D]

We had five teams in last year. Yeah, I. I don't think that's the problem. I think. I think if there's cannibalization, it's of talent. Because Instead of having 25 stars at Alabama, you got five. Five stars at five different programs. That's. That's the thing, I think, that people are overlooking.

[A]

That's the thing that me. Yeah, that you said it right. So when we're like, yeah, the Big Ten's better at the top, but we're deeper, it's like, yeah, but that. I mean, that's great if you're Kentucky, but it's like, if you're Texas or like a contender, it's like, you don't want the league deeper. You wanted those players on your team. So the thing is we kind of use as a selling point is actually the reason why we don't have the Big Ten top of the sport. They're still fairly concentrated at the top.

[D]

Texas has figured it. Texas is fine.

[A]

Texas is not the one dealing. But I'm talking about for the whole league. When we're making those arguments, I'm trying

[D]

to think of who else has. I swear there's another team, but I feel like they'd be in the top 25 of the coaches poll if they were really that great.

[A]

You got to pick one dark horse that's like, they don't have to win the national championship, but they have to get to the semis or do something impressive.

[D]

If D.J. hicks and. Or some of the other young D tackles put it together at A M and Marcel Reed starts to stops making disastrous decisions when things break down. Texas A M could be way up there.

[A]

Devastating. Way to end the show. Absolutely devastating. I was hoping you say USC or something like that, but.

[D]

Well, usc, they lost, like, mai Lemon and who's that other dude they had last year?

[A]

I pay zero attention to us.

[D]

They had. They had two awesome receivers last year and they lost him. And so, like, they're like, our whole program has, like, never been deeper or whatever, but I don't know if they have the receivers again. They have Gary Patterson. If they have. If they have two more NFL guys, like, loaded up in the queue, then sure, I'll take SC to be a dark horse.

[A]

It is camp day, and you can get 75 off your first year. That's a hell of a deal. Hit the link in the description. Of course we're going to have a ton of it guys covering every single aspect of the media availability and then what we saw at the practice in camp. So I'm super excited about that. Make sure because we don't. It's not talking season anymore, Ian. We got real football. Make sure to get Paul's preview, guys. It's incredible. Year after year, never fails. The link is down in that description below. We would appreciate your support of thinking Texas football everyone. Have you a wonderful day. Stay locked in. We got more videos coming at you and coverage from the first day of camp. See you you later. And this was brought to you by Academy Sports and Outdoors.