2026-1-2- KSR - Hour 1

Summary

Podcast Summary: KSR – Hour 1 (January 2, 2026)

Hosts: Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon, Nick Roush
Podcast: KSR, iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)
Date: January 2, 2026
Episode Theme: UK Football Reset & Women’s Basketball Triumph

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Episode Overview

The KSR crew (with Matt Jones out on vacation) kicks off 2026 live from downtown Lexington, diving into a pivotal moment for UK athletics. The show unpacks the start of college football’s transfer portal season, major quarterback news with Cutter Bowley’s departure, and the Kentucky women’s basketball team’s massive upset over No. 5 LSU on the road. Throughout, the hosts discuss the evolving landscape of college sports, player valuation in the transfer era, and the mood among fans after a season of big changes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. KSR Crew: New Year, New Studio Vibes

• Show begins with Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon, and Nick Roush in the iHeart studio, Matt Jones and others still on break.
• Hosts joke about handling the studio basics and being a bit "rusty" after the New Year’s Day off (04:13).
• Plans to open up the text machine again, reflecting on recent interactions with listeners and notable guests earlier in the week (04:18–04:30).

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2. College Football Transfer Portal: Season Opens

• Nick Roush sets the scene: “The portal opened 10 hours ago, and I think there are more than a thousand names in it. I don't know how it happened so quickly.” (05:03)
• UK is hosting “probably two dozen or so” transfer visitors over the weekend, with high-profile offensive linemen and former five-star RB C.J. Baxter (Texas) among them (06:40).
• Observations on how quickly deals and visits are arranged—hints at the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that shapes roster moves (05:22).

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3. Cutter Bowley Transfer Shock Waves

• The main football headline: Starting QB Cutter Bowley (hometown favorite, LCA product) announced his intent to enter the transfer portal, catching much of the fanbase (and hosts) by surprise (07:13–08:53).

• Emotional reactions:

  • “I got to admit it hurt. It hurt to hear that.” – Ryan Lemon (07:20)
  • “It kind of stung, yeah.” – Ryan Lemon (07:40)

• Internal dynamics and NIL:

  • Disagreement between Bowley’s camp and new OC Will Stein about his value; Arizona State reportedly offering much more (in the $2–3 million range) than UK (08:53).
  • New staff wants an open quarterback competition—Bowley felt he had already “won” his spot but wasn’t willing to go through another battle without stronger assurances (08:53–10:42).

• Nick Roush analysis: Both sides acted reasonably; Bowley leveraged his worth, Stein stuck to his plan. “From everything that I've heard from both sides of this equation is that...he worked with them. Right...they worked in lockstep with him...” (10:03).

• Contextual look: Stein likes to “bet on his evals,” prefers not to “overpay” even in this unstable portal era (16:14).

• Outlook: “We needed the reset. Now we're in the middle of it and a lot of unknowns, but we'll see how it plays out.” – Drew Franklin (18:24)

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4. Transfer Portal Strategy & Player Value

• Ryan and Nick unpack the economics of the transfer portal and NIL, warning about the ripple effect of overpaying—even 10 players by $50k each is “missing out on adding players because you’re just overpaying to keep them around.” – Nick Roush (16:44)
• The new staff, with Oregon connections, is leveraging their network for higher-upside players: “If you mean to tell me that Kentucky’s got two SEC starting left tackles visiting on day one...that’s welcome.” – Nick Roush (17:16)
• Faith in Will Stein’s approach: “He’s got a lengthy enough resume where you can trust him in this process. Probably more so than the way the last staff handled their quarterbacks.” – Nick Roush (13:43)

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5. Women’s Basketball: Kentucky Stuns LSU

• “With all due respect to Bowley...Last night, Kentucky women’s basketball had quite a win, and I enjoyed watching it. Went down to number five LSU...” – Drew Franklin (31:18)

• Game summary:

  • UK wins on a step-back game-winning three by Tony Morgan: “She just pulls up from right in front of the bench, knocks it down.” – Drew Franklin (32:49)
  • Massive rebounding advantage: “Clarice Drack... Asia Boone off the bench with five threes. Great game for the Cats.” (35:17)

• Impact for the program: “That just kind of sends note to everybody in the SEC. Look, Kentucky’s legit. You know, it wasn’t no fluke last year. We’re here to win.” – Ryan Lemon (32:40)

• Lane Kiffin/Lane Mulkey moment: LSU introduced new football coach Lane Kiffin via awkward courtside hand-holding with Kim Mulkey, which the hosts found hilarious (32:56–33:47).

• Complaints about television coverage: “They probably could have found a channel for it somewhere, right? It was on SEC Plus, you know, just streaming only....That game...should have been somewhere more people could've seen it.” – Drew Franklin (39:04)

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6. Lighter Moments & Listener Calls

• The hosts share New Year’s stories: Ryan slept through midnight with a migraine, Nick did a “fake” ball drop for his kids (26:53).
  • “We just fake the ball drop early...got good and worn out. Everybody was out of my house by 9.” – Nick Roush (26:52)
• Parenting pro tips and sympathy weight gain jokes in anticipation of Drew’s impending fatherhood (45:20).

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7. Listener Feedback

• Calls congratulate the women’s basketball team and critique the lack of coverage for such a big win (46:32).
• Discussion about the ongoing transfer strategy, including possibilities for Oregon players following Stein to Kentucky (49:24–50:09).
• Emphasis on emotionless, business-first roster building: “Get a GM, take some emotion out of it. It's a numbers game. It's business now.” – Drew Franklin (51:01)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

“The portal opened 10 hours ago, and I think there are more than a thousand names in it. I don't know how it happened so quickly.”
— Nick Roush (05:03)

“I got to admit it hurt. It hurt to hear that.”
— Ryan Lemon, on Cutter Bowley’s departure (07:20)

“We needed the reset. Now we’re in the middle of it and a lot of unknowns, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
— Drew Franklin (18:24)

“He’s got a lengthy enough resume where you can trust him in this process. Probably more so than the way the last staff handled their quarterbacks.”
— Nick Roush, on new OC Will Stein (13:43)

“That just kind of sends note to everybody in the SEC. Look, Kentucky’s legit. You know, it wasn’t no fluke last year. We’re here to win.”
— Ryan Lemon, on Kentucky WBB’s win at LSU (32:40)

“She just pulls up from right in front of the bench, knocks it down.”
— Drew Franklin, describing Tony Morgan’s game-winning three (32:49)

“They probably could have found a channel for it somewhere, right?...That game...should have been somewhere more people could’ve seen it.”
— Drew Franklin, on TV coverage for Kentucky-LSU women’s basketball (39:04)

“We just fake the ball drop early... got good and worn out. Everybody was out of my house by 9.”
— Nick Roush, on parenting New Year’s Eve (26:52)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment or Topic | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:10 | Intro, studio setting, show rundown, pregame Alabama preview | | 05:03 | Transfer portal opens, "over a thousand names" | | 06:40 | Breakdown of transfer targets, especially C.J. Baxter | | 07:13–08:53| Reaction to Cutter Bowley’s transfer news, internal dynamics | | 10:00 | New staff’s approach to Bowley, communication and evaluation | | 13:43 | Will Stein’s track record, trust in portal QB process | | 16:44 | Portal/NIL math: the value in not overpaying, program-building approach | | 18:24 | Reflection: time for UK football to hit the reset | | 31:18 | Kentucky women’s basketball upsets LSU, game summary | | 32:49 | Play-by-play: Tony Morgan’s game-winning three | | 32:56–33:47| Lane Kiffin’s “entrance” holding hands with Kim Mulkey, hosts riff/comment | | 35:17 | Detailed WBB recap: Boone, Drack, Key, “triplets” size advantage | | 39:04 | Complaints about SEC Network not televising WBB game | | 45:20 | Parenting/New Year’s stories, lighter moments | | 46:32 | Listener calls: Women’s basketball praise & coverage critique | | 49:24 | Will Oregon players follow Stein to UK? Listeners inquire | | 51:01 | Concluding remarks: football program as “business,” sticking to evaluations|

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Episode Tone

Conversational, lightly humorous, passionate about Kentucky sports yet businesslike when discussing roster moves. Good mix of serious sports talk, fan perspective, and light “life” chat moments.

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Final Takeaways

• UK football is entering a new era, with Will Stein leading a more analytical, business-driven portal strategy focused on value for money and potential upgrades.
• The transfer portal is changing everything: money, movement, fan expectations—no more guarantees, even for “hometown heroes” like Cutter Bowley.
• Kentucky women’s basketball is making national noise, proving themselves with a huge SEC road win, and shifting the focus of Wildcat fans beyond just football.
• The episode expertly balances transfer turmoil, basketball triumph, and community feel—with time for jokes, listener feedback, and a little life advice sprinkled in.

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Transcript

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

What's up?

[Drew Franklin]

It's Cam Jordan. I'm back with season three of your favorite podcast, the off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast. Tap in every Wednesday to hear conversations with my friends and stars from the NFL, the sports world in general, and entertainment about everything from teams and players making waves to pop culture. And I'll take you inside my journey through my 15th season in the NFL. Looking forward to you joining me this season. The season of more on the off the Edge with Cam Jordan podcast. Catch new episodes every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance.

[Nick Roush]

Only pay for what you need.

[Ryan Lemon]

Liberty.

[Danny Shapiro]

Liberty.

[Nick Roush]

Liberty.

[Ryan Lemon]

Liberty.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro.

[Ryan Lemon]

We were in the car like a rolling stone came on and he said, there's a line in there about your mother.

[Drew Franklin]

And I said, what? What I would do if I didn't.

[Nick Roush]

Feel like I was being accepted is.

[Ryan Lemon]

Choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I knew something had happened to me in the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Danny Shapiro]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories on my 13th season of family Secrets. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's health and gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. I'll be talking to top researchers and clinicians and bringing vital information about midlife women's health care directly to you. 100% of women go through menopause. Even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it? Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Drew Franklin]

From.

[Ryan Lemon]

NBA champion Stephen Curry comes Shot Ready. A powerful, never before seen look at the mindset that changed the game.

[Drew Franklin]

I fell in love with the grind. You have to find joy in the work you do when no one else is around. Success is not an accident. I'm passing the ball to you. Let's go.

[Nick Roush]

Steph Curry redefined basketball. Now he's rewriting what it means to succeed. Order your copy of the New York.

[Ryan Lemon]

Times bestseller Shot ready [e-mail] Comedy Up.

[Drew Franklin]

Broadway in Lexington invites you to celebrate New Year's Eve with Lexington's own Lee Kimbrell for two shows only on December 31st. Then from Netflix is a joke catch Ray Lau. January 2nd and 3rd and January 8th through the 10th, don't miss AGT finalist Aaron Belial. For tickets to all comedy off Broadway shows, call 859271 joke or visit comedyofbroadway.com KSR the first show of 2026. Wow, what a pop that got. Didn't expect that. Drew Franklin here with Ryan Lemon wrapping up the week where it is vacation season where without Matt Jones, we without Shannon, the dude without Mario without Billy. But we're here, Rick and studio. We did take off yesterday to enjoy the new year, New Year's day and a lot of college football which we will of course talk about. But yeah, they left us alone for one more day. Matt will be back tomorrow.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

For the pregame show bright and early. 9:30 playing Alabama tomorrow. That's, that's on our list of topics too. But today we are in downtown Lexington in the iHeart studio. It is the beginning of transfer portal season in college football. That'll be a big part of our show as well. That Alabama game, New Year's Eve. Lot to get to here on ksr. We are brought to you by our good friend TJ Smith, personal injury attorney. Ryan, if you call tj, what will he do?

[Ryan Lemon]

You know, he's going to sit down his chair, relax and make him pay.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, he might even stand up doing it. Whatever it takes to make him pay. Shout out to tj. Also shout out to the Clark's pump and shop phone line. 502-280-2287. We want to hear from you on that because we have a lot of big news to get to. Lots of big news across multiple UK sports. Also the a vision glass text machine. Here we go. Ryan, I've had a day off. I'm a little rusty.

[Ryan Lemon]

Okay, I've got it in my pocket. Let me get in my pocket here.

[Drew Franklin]

502.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

7.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

36. 30. Nope. Excuse me. 502. 7. 35.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

36.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yes.

[Drew Franklin]

80.

[Ryan Lemon]

See, there you go. It just takes us 15 years to figure it out. We got it.

[Drew Franklin]

And I have to note, we've had that all week. We've not used it one time. Have you been getting texts? Maybe we should use that today.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah. Well, early on in the week. We used it a couple times. People sent us some but you know, we had some great guests on and people were asking them questions. We used a couple of those when I think Willie was on one time.

[Drew Franklin]

JP was a great guest too.

[Ryan Lemon]

JP was really good for us.

[Drew Franklin]

Great to hear from him on Old tales back in the day. He might have not might have. He definitely confirmed the plane incident on team turmoil. It was good to get some confirmation on that 20 something years later and then a little bit what he's done lately. So it was good. Here from JP and today we have another guest brought in. Another one.

[Ryan Lemon]

How about that?

[Nick Roush]

Hey, the nickel.

[Ryan Lemon]

The chrome dome wonder himself.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, we, We.

[Nick Roush]

We got a fresh head shave going in today.

[Ryan Lemon]

It looks really good.

[Nick Roush]

Got the straight razor out because the transfer portal open and, you know, you.

[Ryan Lemon]

Had to look your best.

[Nick Roush]

Exactly, exactly. Got got to look my best for portal season. But yeah, it's exciting. There's. It's. That's a lot of stuff happening. A lot of stuff happening. But hey, we're. We're hitting the ground running. Portal visitors. The portal opened 10 hours ago, and I think there are more than a thousand names in it. I don't know how it happened so quickly. It's. I'm. I'm shocked how they, they. They make their decision so fast.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously there were no conversations illegal, so in the middle of the night, so much has happened. Ral and I were downstairs enjoying a nice Starbucks. Got our nice beautiful red cups here. This was I bought today. You know, he made the trip from Louisville. You know, nice $16, two cups of coffees here. But no way I bring that up. We're down there just on our computers where we came up, and it's just already the news is just one after another, visitors departures. It's going to be busy keeping up with this for two hours while we're on KSI the rest of the day.

[Nick Roush]

And it'll. It'll be fun because we're not going to stop the show for every single announcement of who's going in or what players visiting. But I shared five names at 1201 last night, and I think we've doubled that number of visitors since. So the good. I think part of going into this that I was a little apprehensive about is a. It's. It's a new coach, so you don't know how they're going to handle. And then the new coach is also in the college football playoffs.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Danny Shapiro]

Well, how.

[Nick Roush]

How's he going to do all that? Will Stein flew from Miami to Lexington, and I believe his offensive line coach, cutter left, which. Who's also an Oregon assistant, believe he's with him.

[Ryan Lemon]

So.

[Nick Roush]

So they're here for the first weekend. I don't. Oregon Miami or Oregon Indiana is next weekend.

[Drew Franklin]

So he's Going to have some Thursday or Friday.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. So he's going to have some time to be able to be here, host some visitors, kind of lay the groundwork and then move forward. But probably two dozen or so, give or take guys will be on campus. And the one that we learned about while we were sitting at Starbucks, Drew, was C.J. baxter, former Five Star running back, number one running back in the country who spent the last couple of years at Texas. Got injured but he's going to be visiting a lot of offensive linemen from the sec. So very exciting. Lots going on, lots happening.

[Drew Franklin]

A lot of big fish already out there listing Kentucky as a place they're going to visit.

[Nick Roush]

Love big fish, but we should start.

[Drew Franklin]

With the 65 fish from Hodgenville that is leaving Kentucky. Big news yesterday, Ryan Lemon, Cutter Bowley.

[Ryan Lemon]

I got to admit it hurt. It hurt to hear that.

[Drew Franklin]

It hurt you. You felt it now you're still.

[Ryan Lemon]

I felt that, yeah. Because I really, I really think he's going to be a great quarterback in the sec. I mean I really do.

[Nick Roush]

I.

[Ryan Lemon]

We saw just kind of glimpses of it this past season. I you know, he's a Kentucky kid, played these last couple years right down the road at lca. So this one kind of hurt a little bit. It kind of stung, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

While we were watching the Rose bowl yesterday, news breaks the Cutter Bowley will enter the transfer portal today. I guess he was thinking about it before midnight. Threw a lot of people for a loop. Even a lot of us here at KSR expected Bowley would be back. But ultimately it sounds like might have been a little little disagreement internally on his value. I think the Bowlies want and can go out and get a little more than what Will Stein was probably ready to pay him. It's looking like Stein well definitely going to get a quarterback now. But even before the Bowley exit it's looking like Stein wanted a competition. So Boli saw. You know, I just went through a competition with Stoops. I was promised it was going to be fair. In hindsight that was all Calzada, all camp. Boli still wins it and he's just not going to line up for going through that process again. Arizona State is a school that is reportedly been interested has a big offer there. I think more than what UK could have done for him. But Nick Roush, the big news yesterday and to start portal season is UK definitely quarterback shopping now as Bowley exits the Kentucky kid leaving so many fans were excited. Whatever you think of his game, it's just more fun Having one of our own. And it would have been great to win with Boli if we could have gotten to that point. But we'll be trying something new and he's off to new pastures somewhere.

[Nick Roush]

I would like to start by saying the best part of this story is that whether you liked Cutter Bowley and wanted him back, or whether you hated Cutter Bowley and are glad to see Will Stein pick his own guy, quote, unquote, you had evidence to back up your argument. Right. You had data points. I mean, if you just watched the last two Louisville games, you would say, why would anybody want that guy to be their quarterback? But then you watch some of the other games. I mean, you know, he had the freshman record, he broke the completion percentage, record, SEC touchdowns record. So there was. There was some good to like there. And there's also reasons why, of course, Will Stein and the new staff would say, you know, we're not sold on you and we're not going to guarantee you anything. And that was something Wilson said on this show, Right. A couple of weeks back, was that he's going to be in here to compete. And that kind of pressed him a little bit, but he said, no, you're going to be here to compete. From everything that I've heard from both sides of this equation is that a. Stein was very accommodating. Accommodating is not the right word. But they were. He worked with them. Right.

[Drew Franklin]

Like, they didn't show him out the door.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

The first. They were having conversations.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. As soon as Stein knew he was getting the job, Bowley was the first player he talked to. When he showed up in Lexington, he had a meeting with Bowley and was like, hey, so who do you like? You know, like, he wanted the quarterback's perspective on the personnel on the roster. So I think they were with Bowley. They. They worked in lockstep with him. But, you know, we saw what happened last year. It was very odd, too, because this time of year ago, Stoop said, hey, you're going to get a chance to compete. Fall camp happens. And instead of giving him a chance to be QB1, they just talked about how he was the best player at camp, which makes no sense at all.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Nick Roush]

Like, it's like, this guy is awesome. Well, is he. Is he going to play? No, but he's awesome. So, like, that part, I could understand why the bullies were skeptical and worried that they would bring in somebody else and he wouldn't get to play. And if you have a chance to get guarantees elsewhere, double Your money. I could understand why he would take that. I also thought it was, you know, he got. There's a new agent that got in the mix in the last month. So, you know, I felt bad for my man Adam Mocket, because when he came in here with Matt a couple of weeks back, when you guys were out, you need to kind of get pressed into it. And we were all. We were operating under the assumption, like, hey, it's a. It makes sense for Cutter Bully to come back. We think the money's good enough. We think he's going to do it. It's trending in that direction. If you were making me handicap it, you know, plus or minus 250 that he's back at Kentucky. But you know what upsets happen.

[Danny Shapiro]

Yeah.

[Nick Roush]

Things. Things change in the transfer portal. And it's. I. Like you said, Drew, I think it is kind of. It stinks because for so long, we Kentucky football fans have been reliant on transfer portal quarterbacks, and you finally recruited one from high school that flashed, and it's like, okay, will you bring in a quarterback coach who's been able to develop guys? This all makes sense. But in the transfer portal, things don't always make sense. Right. Dollars and cents are what makes the most sense. And so, you know, best of luck to Boli. He's going to get paid. Well, early reports are that it's. It's going to be Arizona State going to go out to play for Kenny Dillingham. But Arizona State's quarterback is a free agent. You know, maybe he might want to play for another former Oregon offensive coordinator.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah. Even if you hate to see Bowley go like Ryan Lemon here, who's really upset, the names being thrown around and who Stein is looking at. You know, they got to visit and go through everything. But as you mentioned, Arizona State's quarterback, Sam Levitt, top three transfer portal options. Top two could be top one in some people's eyes. Yeah, I mean, that is one of the biggest fish you can go out and get. And it's been reported there's interest on both sides. If you trade straight up with Arizona State quarterbacks, I bet it's for sure a win.

[Nick Roush]

And you get Jaden Quaintance out of that trade, too.

[Drew Franklin]

We love Arizona State. We should go visit that place. That's another reason Bowley should consider Arizona State in addition to the market.

[Nick Roush]

No kidding.

[Drew Franklin]

But it's not like Stein. You still have to lock something down. But it's not looking like they're just going to try to settle for another bully, they're aiming for the biggest targets out there. Several names. Hoover from tcu, even though he looks like an Indiana lean. Biggest names on the board. Kentucky's going after him.

[Nick Roush]

Well, and here's the other thing to run is I'm sure there's a lot of people listening who are like, gosh, but this portal with quarterbacks, you never know what you're going to get. Well, here's what Will Stein did with the transfer portal. Quarterbacks at Oregon, Bo Nix, damage goods, Heisman Trophy finalist and is now on his way to be in the one seed for the Denver Broncos.

[Drew Franklin]

He kind of became a joke middle of his college career about, you know, all the starts at Auburn starting since day one, and then goes to Oregon.

[Nick Roush]

And found new life, damaged goods. Dylan Gabriel. Oklahoma told him to walk so they could play Jackson Arnold. I think Will Stein did better with Dylan Gabriel than I think he did, than they did with Jackson Arnold at Oklahoma. And then this year, Dante Moore got benched at UCLA by Chip Kelly and now Dante Moore has Oregon in the Final Four. So I think Will Stein has, he's, he's, he's got a lengthy enough resume where you can trust him in this process. Probably more so than the way the last staff handled their quarterbacks.

[Ryan Lemon]

So the. Is the Nova side, kid, is he expected to fall, come to Kentucky? Is some kind of.

[Nick Roush]

I'm not anticipating that. No. No backup.

[Drew Franklin]

For those that don't know the name.

[Nick Roush]

He was a top 10 quarterback a couple of years ago, but hasn't. He was the backup at Oregon and a lot of Oregon insiders said, hey, watch, watch him fall and stay in the uk. Heard that early on that probably wasn't going to happen. And then Jacob Polachek reinforced that yesterday. So, yeah, scratch that one off the board. I think there's another thing, too. Most guys announced that they were going to enter the portal before it opened. More names are going to enter that fray, so.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, sure.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. And whether it's quarterbacks you want to get or whether it's Kentucky football players, right now, I think there's 14 departures. I would think that would get to around 20 or so or more. You know, that's just a rough estimate. There's a, there's a couple of guys deep down in the depth chart that.

[Drew Franklin]

I'm like, they just don't know it yet.

[Nick Roush]

When's this announcement coming?

[Drew Franklin]

They just haven't had that meeting. The great reset over there at uk. But you know, with Stoops, we thought got to bring bowley back. Got to have something the fans like and some excitement. But as we're seeing with these names, the script completely changed when you put Stein in there and what he can go out and get and some upgrades, some new excitement from the fans. I mean, the names, Levitt names were saying right now with Stein, let's be honest, if Stoops had lost Boli, they're not picking up the phone when Stoops is calling. So it changed everything. When Stein gets in here, the options you can go get to run the.

[Nick Roush]

Offense in what, what. And here's the other part that makes this situation kind of messy is that, you know, when numbers get thrown around Ryan, like, I'm hesitant to believe a bunch of them, but, like, essentially, Stoops was willing to really pony up for Cutter Bowley. And Mitch Barnhart even told Stein, we can pony up to keep Bowley. Sam was like, I don't, I don't. I don't want to do that. I don't want to pay this guy north of $2 million to be back.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, Mitch tried to get another negotiation. Let the man cook. We don't need another bad guy. Come on.

[Nick Roush]

And so, like, the old guys, the. The guys that were under the light, they were willing to pay him a lot of money to stay because they valued him that much. Verstan, the. His valuation was not that high. It was a seven figure offer, but it wasn't in that territory. So, you know, you got to stick to your guns. You got to draw a line in the sand. Because the other part, too, if you start overpaying guys. All right, run. Can we do a little math here?

[Ryan Lemon]

Okay, let's do it. Math, my specialty.

[Nick Roush]

If I overpay 10 guys, 10% of their value, how many players are you missing out on?

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, who knows?

[Nick Roush]

Exactly. Yeah, at least one. But like, like, let's just easy math, though. If it's 10 guys who should be getting paid $100,000, if you pay them $150,000, you're missing out on adding players because you're just overpaying to keep them around. So the new staff, the new front office apparatus, they're all trying to stick to their guns with their valuations. And the other part that's kind of nice, too is the coaches that Stein is. Has brought in, they come from prestigious programs and they have connections to those prestigious programs. So you're seeing a lot of LSU offensive linemen come in, right? Like, there's Jay Bateman was at A and M and at Florida, I think, particularly At Florida, you're going to see some of those players coming up here and visiting. So it's all. These guys are damaged goods to a degree. You can poke holes in a lot of it. But if you mean to tell me that Kentucky's got two SEC starting left tackles visiting on day one of the transfer portal, heck yeah, that's welcome. Yeah, it's a lot better than fishing in the G5 water. So there's a lot, there's a lot going on. There's a lot happening and I'm sure that it brings a lot of uncertainty. Drew a lot of anxiety, but new coach, we don't know exactly what he's going to do, but I think he's earned a little bit of cachet from his time at Oregon and I don't know, winning two college football playoff games as a play call over. You can kind of trust him to make the right moves when this, this portal really gets rocking.

[Drew Franklin]

And the alternate was what just keep losing home games. I mean, we needed the reset. Now we're in the middle of it and a lot of unknowns, but we'll see how it plays out. I heard little, little radio scuttlebutt here. I heard Arizona State a little north of 2 getting up near 3 range for cutter. So, I mean, you just can't expect UK to pay that. And that's why I think Stein did the right thing. He's got a budget, he knows what he's shopping for. He has connections, quarterbacks he wants to bring in. I don't think he did anything wrong by putting an offer on the table that the bullies didn't like. And I don't think the bullies did anything wrong by seeing that offer, saying, hey, this place is calling me, others are calling me. You know, we're going to go step away and try something new, too. I know a lot of people are heard of Kentucky, boy leaves Kentucky, we like the one of us. But. But if you're in this case, both parties are doing what's best for them and can't judge them for it, you're.

[Nick Roush]

Going to get double or triple your money.

[Ryan Lemon]

I mean, it's hard to turn that down.

[Drew Franklin]

There are worse places. If he ends up there, that's just one that is reportedly interested. But I mean, there are worse places to go to school and make a lot of money. We're just a couple and they just had a very successful quarterback that we're naming as a transfer option.

[Ryan Lemon]

We just had. We're a couple weeks away from us saying on this show that Cutter Bowie needs to be involved in the search process for the next coach because he's that valuable to our program. Well, now.

[Nick Roush]

Well, that's because he got the best.

[Drew Franklin]

Offensive coordinator in the country.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. And, and that's, that's the. Mark Stoops has not had a three. He never had a 3,000 yard passer. All right. Will Stein, his last. He's had two 4,000 yard passers in his last three quarterbacks. Like, it's just you're playing a different. It's just, it's different. So like of course we really propped up Bowley and you know, I like Bowley a lot. I thought he had, I liked what he had between the years. He was tough. You know, he had some juice at.

[Drew Franklin]

The position that we hadn't had in.

[Nick Roush]

A long time and his teammates really liked him. Like he had those good intangibles and a lot of physical traits that you could build on. And I wanted to see like this would have been a real bet on himself situation. Right. Because he wanted to be at Kentucky. He's the team he grew up cheering for.

[Ryan Lemon]

Right, Right.

[Nick Roush]

But it would have been a bet on yourself. So do you do the bet on yourself? It's a really tough schedule where there's some uncertainties about like how good are the guys going to be in front of me, around me or do you go to the Big 12 where it's a league that's pretty easy to win. Outside of Texas Tech and byu, defenses aren't all that great. Like I'll go sling it around and go make some more money in the desert. I mean you got to think too. I don't know if he visited out there, but going from here to there this time of year, we're all familiar.

[Drew Franklin]

It's one of the best places you can go to school, let's be honest. Yeah, especially if you're quarterback. I think they enjoy their time.

[Nick Roush]

You're 21 years old.

[Drew Franklin]

That's where he ends up. A lot of. A lot of RPM picks going in today for that. But there's still lots play out. His phone ringing other area from other places as well. We'll get our phones ringing here at the on KSR and the Clark's Pump Shop phone line. 500-228-02287. We ran long there in the first segment. A lot of bully talk podcast. But we'll be right back with a short segment, a lot more portal talk and a big the Cats. We'll get to that more. This is KSR Holiday football has arrived.

[Don Franklin]

With the Draft King Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. The unexpected can turn game day into payday with Don Franklin. And don't forget, DraftKings now has your back with an early exit. I love this because it can help you. If a player you have in a player prop goes down in the first half, they'll wipe it off and they'll act like it never even happened. And you still get paid in cash. That's the DraftKings difference. So download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use my code KSR. That's code KSR. New customers can bet $5 and get 200 in bonus bets. If your bet wins instantly. In partnership with DraftKings, the Crown is yours. If you have a gaming problem, call 100 GAMBLER in New York, call 877-8-HOPE in wire text hoping why 467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas. Pass through per wage attacks May apply in Illinois 21 + age and eligibility varies by restriction. Void in Ontario. Restricted supply bet must win to receive bonus bets, which expire in seven days. Minimum odds required. For additional terms Responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio limited time offer.

[Drew Franklin]

With the American Express Platinum card, I can unlock experiences like no other.

[Ryan Lemon]

Since I'm always booking my next trip.

[Drew Franklin]

I love that I can earn points on travel.

[Ryan Lemon]

Plus I get a resi benefit.

[Drew Franklin]

So you know, I'm hitting the restaurants everyone's talking about. And you can find out your welcome.

[Ryan Lemon]

Offer after you apply, which could be as high as 100. 175,000 points for experiences like no other.

[Drew Franklin]

There's nothing like platinum.

[Ryan Lemon]

Learn more at americanexpress.com Explore Platinum Terms apply.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

You know, the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday. As two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac, we're giving you all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle. And you know we don't hold back. So come be reasonable or shady with us each and every Monday, I was going through a walk in my neighborhood. Out of the blue, I see this huge sign next to somebody's house. Okay, the sign says, my neighbor is a Karen. No way. I died laughing. I'm like, I have to know you are lying. Humongous, y'.

[Drew Franklin]

All.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

They had Some time on their hands. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[Ryan Lemon]

We were in the car like a Rolling Stone came on and he said, there's a line in there about your mother.

[Drew Franklin]

And I said, what. What I would do if I didn't.

[Nick Roush]

Feel like I was being accepted is.

[Ryan Lemon]

Choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I knew something had happened to me in the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Danny Shapiro]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with me from season one or just joining the Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that shape our identities, test our relationships, and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Drew Franklin]

Welcome back. Ksr Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon. Nick Roush had a long first segment there as we're reacting to the big news on our day off.

[Ryan Lemon]

That's a good segment where you guys were cooking a little bit.

[Nick Roush]

So lots to say about bowling.

[Drew Franklin]

It's A big. When QB1's leaving, that's big news.

[Ryan Lemon]

A QB1 who grew up going to the games here, wanted to play here. He was our starter last year. He's young. Tough to see him walk away.

[Drew Franklin]

We'll do a lot more portal talk throughout the show because this will just keep happening. News breaking all morning, but I want to check in. Did you. Is your New Year's all right? You know, we heard on. On Wednesday, your New Year's are kind of. They've been a little chaotic over the years. You good? You feeling all right over there?

[Ryan Lemon]

I didn't know we were going to get to this. Oh, no.

[Drew Franklin]

That pause. That pause in that look.

[Don Franklin]

Oh, no.

[Drew Franklin]

I don't know anything. To our listeners, I'm genuinely asking. Ryan, how's your face?

[Ryan Lemon]

We've not talked about it.

[Drew Franklin]

And there's a look on your face. You have the floor.

[Ryan Lemon]

We went to Rodney's for dinner.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay, check.

[Ryan Lemon]

I started getting a migraine.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, no.

[Ryan Lemon]

Went back to the house. I didn't even see the ball drop. I crashed, fell asleep. Did not even see the ball drop.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay. That's not bad. A lot of People don't see the ball drop with the stories you told Wednesday. I thought you had another night of cleaning up vomit or something.

[Ryan Lemon]

Let, let totally let you down. I woke up at like 2 in the morning and yoga girl to sleep on the other couch. We both just slept.

[Drew Franklin]

That's fine. Nothing, nothing wrong with that. I was even in a moment at dinner where we were kind of done. It's 10:15. We're like, well, this is awkward. Are we just going to sit here till 12? I don't want to go somewhere else. And I even threw out to the table. I'll go home and go to bed right now. And I didn't even have a migraine. I'm just 40, so no, I'm not judging you at all for going to sleep early. I thought you were going to tell me the Alabama slammers came out again or something crazy.

[Ryan Lemon]

All I saw was like a little bit of the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game. That was in Miami. That was it.

[Nick Roush]

So I have three children under five. Five years.

[Ryan Lemon]

God bless you, young man.

[Drew Franklin]

So you and Brooke went out on the town.

[Nick Roush]

So we, we're doing the new. It's a, it's a fun parent trend where you, you just fake the ball drop early.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, I like that.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. So we had, we invited our friends over with their kids. I bet there were 14 screaming children in my house. Infants just, you know, it's all the parents.

[Drew Franklin]

Right.

[Nick Roush]

We got a bunch of pizzas, we're drinking some beers and then we, I don't know, we got like a sheet or something to hold up balloons and gave them the glasses and the, you know, the little, the little tiaras.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Nick Roush]

And we put on like a two minute timer to count it down. And they really didn't know. We had to really hype them up. But the last 30 seconds they were hyped. We played the music, we were celebrating, were knocking balloons around. So it was great. They got good and worn out and everybody was out of my house by nine.

[Drew Franklin]

And then I just move.

[Nick Roush]

I was, I was flipping channels, watching football and, and all of the Ryan Seacrest country music, all of the bad TV shows.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, see, I had a friend in college who faked the ball drop so he could kiss two different people in different room. This is completely different. Nice party.

[Nick Roush]

It's not checkers. And yeah, the wife, she was, she definitely did not see the ball drop. She was passed down on the couch.

[Drew Franklin]

See, these are the parenting tips. Yeah, I saw one recently. I made note of. It was a TikTok this woman, she took her kid to the arcade. She was like, they have no idea what's on the screen. Why would I put money in this? So the kid is just riding the motorbike. The motorcycle's great. Insert coins and he's having the time of his life. I'm like, I got to remember that one. It's been like a couple hours there and didn't spend a quarter.

[Ryan Lemon]

Definitely did that many times. Put them up on that motorcycle and just let them go. They think they're driving. Why does that sound as to display.

[Nick Roush]

The controller that's not plugged in.

[Drew Franklin]

All right, well, for more parenting tips like that and transfer portal news, we'll be right back. It's Drew, Ryan, Nick, and rick. This is KSR on the first day of 2026. I am not Matt Jones. I am Drew Franklin and I'm here with Ryan. With Ryan. Was that Tim the Tool Man?

[Ryan Lemon]

It was Tim the Tool Man Taylor.

[Drew Franklin]

Doing his home improvement over there. That was impressive. I thought I had a good Tim the Tool Man. Now I'm going to be a little self conscious about mine. That was a good one. All right, let me tell you about Cornbread Hemp.

[Ryan Lemon]

Tell me about cornbread.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hey.

[Drew Franklin]

Because we have some big news we haven't even talked about yet that I wanted to lead with, but Cutter Boley news took over right now. Let's talk about the big news out of Florida. Cornbread Hemp.

[Ryan Lemon]

Cornbread Hemp.

[Drew Franklin]

You can pick it up. Kentucky's finest infused wellness products are in your neighborhood. They have the cornbread seltzers that offer relaxation without the hangover sleep gummies to support deep relaxation and a restful sleep. And their oils and topicals are offered, offered daily. Well rounded relief. They're all over the Sunshine State Fresh market. Total wine. Our boy Gary in Orlando, we told him the other day he can go get them Cornbread Hemp the good life. We love it here in Kentucky and now you can find it in Florida. Go get you some Florida Cornbread Hemp.

[Nick Roush]

Cornbread Hemp dot com. I tried some of those seltzers. Nice.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, I love them. Yeah.

[Nick Roush]

There's one or two.

[Drew Franklin]

Beer's kind of on the hot seat at the Franklin house.

[Nick Roush]

So tasty.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, just put you in a good spot. Especially do it right before bed. Just help you doze off.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah. And you know, you don't got a pound. You know, like eight beers. It's like, no, let me take a seltzer. I watched that, the new Knives out movie. After having a couple of those seltzers, and I was on the edge of my seat.

[Drew Franklin]

I fell asleep 20 minutes in because of the seltzers. I was feeling too good. I will say I had a few too many of the seltzers over. What was that? Labor Day? Memorial Day. I was making ribs. Kind of forgot the ribs over there. Needed to dial back a little bit, but good stuff. Cornbread hemp. Congratulations, Florida good friends. Ron Lemon, Drew Franklin. It's good to have Nick Roush here today. He's very, very, very knowledgeable on the. On the football and very chatty and had some good parenting tips, you know.

[Ryan Lemon]

Now, like Nick said, it's changing by the second because people announce it on social media. Remember, we used to have to stand by the fax machine and wait for the fax to send over who was coming, who signed, who's transferring, all that.

[Nick Roush]

I like that. Freddy. His way of. Instead of announcing offers on social media, you would get letters in the mail and you would stick them in your back pocket while you were walking down the hallway so people could see who was. Who was sending you letters.

[Drew Franklin]

That was before you could do an Instagram graphic with 20 logos on it. Imagine envelopes in your pocket.

[Nick Roush]

That mullet, too, from the back.

[Ryan Lemon]

Freddy's got 15 envelope stuck out of his back pocket.

[Drew Franklin]

I miss Freddie. We need to go see him again. Go get some of that lunch.

[Ryan Lemon]

We do need to go birthday right before Christmas. We need to have a birthday lunch.

[Drew Franklin]

For you if you're listening. Lunch soon.

[Danny Shapiro]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Let's get to the biggest news, though.

[Nick Roush]

Oh, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

With all due respect to bowling.

[Nick Roush]

Yep.

[Drew Franklin]

Last night, Kentucky women's basketball had quite a win, and I enjoyed watching it. Went down to number five, lsu, Kim Mulkey. Wearing one of her best, shiniest sweaters. Lane Kiffin was in the building. LSU led for over 31 minutes, but.

[Nick Roush]

Did they lead for the last one?

[Drew Franklin]

They did not leave for the last one. The Cats went down there and stole a victory. Maybe the toughest game on the schedule at lsu. Tough spot to open the conference. And they went in there and got a big win. It came down to the final seconds when Tony Morgan will step back. Three down, one makes it. I'm calling it a buzzer beater. They reviewed it and added a split second, but when it. When she hit it and the lights go off and it says final on the scoreboard, we're celebrating it. I'm calling a buzzer beater. Even though they end up giving LSU another look, that didn't work. But Ryan, just a thrilling win. For the Cats went into that game ranked 11th, knocked off number five ranking. Won't be updated till next week, but what a start to the conference.

[Ryan Lemon]

You know, Kenny Brooks has had this team, you know, on the verge of doing something special all year last year, and there's no secret they, they, they think they have a final four caliber team. And when you go beat LSU at LSU like they did yesterday, that just kind of sends note to everybody in the sec. Look, Kentucky's legit. You know, it wasn't no fluke last year. We're here to win.

[Drew Franklin]

Morgan had the game winning three. Kind of looks like broken down offense. I was starting to worry a little bit what we were doing, and then she just pulls up from right in front of the bench, knocks it down.

[Nick Roush]

I, I just. As awesome as this was, it really was amplified by Lane Kiffin, which.

[Drew Franklin]

Good point.

[Nick Roush]

If you haven't seen the video of Lane Kiffin's arrival, which, you know, he's been at LSU for a while, but there hasn't been, you know, like Will Stein, you bring him out, he does the why they hadn't had any sort of public celebration for Lane, and there was a lot of talk that he would go to the Sugar bowl to watch Ole Miss governor. He ends up deciding against it. Goes to the women's basketball game, huge matchup. And how he show how they present him is they have him walk on the court with Kim Mulkey.

[Drew Franklin]

Not just hands, not side by side.

[Nick Roush]

They are holding hands as they walk through the tunnel.

[Drew Franklin]

And are they the new it couple in Baton Rouge?

[Nick Roush]

Who. What did. Whenever she told him, all right, now, honey, we're gonna hold hands now. Like what, what was his face when he learned that he had to hold her hand while walking out?

[Drew Franklin]

When I took this job, I didn't think this was gonna be part of the parade of my. You know, he's done the, he's done the bowl game in the booth, been with the governor. He probably never thought about holding hands with Kimoki.

[Nick Roush]

Well, I bet that's why they agreed to play his payout. Playoff bonuses, you know, like, hey, if your Ole Miss keeps winning, you got to deal with Kim Loki. We'll give you that extra money.

[Drew Franklin]

Okay, there, there was a little bit that added to the excitement. See him, Kim Mulkey over there, so mad, you know, she's just so, what's the word? Just so energetic and showing so much colorful. So it felt good seeing her lose it there. In the end, as they Lew that lead, LSU didn't score or didn't have a made field goal for the final five minutes. That's why Kentucky won, dominating them on the glass. Tiani Key stat line.

[Nick Roush]

17 and 16 with nine offensive rebounds.

[Drew Franklin]

Insane former Drew Palooza guest earlier this year. Tianna Key. We saw this coming, yes, but she had some big offensive rebounds. Clarice Drack, who's been awesome all year, she hit some fade away in a tie game I didn't even know she had in her bag.

[Nick Roush]

Oh, she's got some dirt kind of stepping. It's awesome.

[Drew Franklin]

Nothing but net. Got fouled, missed the free throw, but that put Kentucky up too. Then on the other end, you know, Clara giveth clareth. Taketh away a horrible foul on a three pointer. Up to really bad fouls. LSU's best player, Williams, who was also unstoppable on that end. She makes all three free throws. I thought Clara's mistake had cost Kentucky the big opportunity. And that's when Morgan gets the big three. Asia Boone off the bench with five threes. Great game for the Cats.

[Ryan Lemon]

I got a big target on their back now, man. Like, you know, they go into LSU and win other schools now. Like, I know they got to bring their best game or Kentucky can steal one from them.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, I know we have a lot of games left. Nick Roush. Kentucky does control its own destiny in women's SEC basketball.

[Nick Roush]

Here's the other part, too. If you're not embedded in the college. Women's college hoop scene yet, just the SEC this year is kind of like SEC men's basketball last year, where you have a bunch of opportunities to get big wins because the league's loaded. I wanted Kentucky was 11th. Is that right?

[Drew Franklin]

Drew number 11.

[Nick Roush]

And there were six SEC schools ahead of them. So, like there. There are plenty of big fish. It's just awesome that you caught an early one early on. Where.

[Ryan Lemon]

Right.

[Nick Roush]

I believe through the first eight games of the season, LSU was averaging more than 100 points a game. I mean, they are. They've been putting up big numbers. And not against us. Not against us. But shout out. Shout out to Tony Morgan for burying the big shot. And like you said, Asia Boone from three. Because we knew they had the size. Drew, I just wasn't sure. You lost Georgia Amore. You're going to have the card play to do, it turns out. Yeah, yeah, we can go win some big games with Kenny Brooks this year.

[Drew Franklin]

How about that size? Ron Lemon. We watched Matthew Mitchell's program closely. We were good buddies with Matthew, written for him at Houston, but he always lacked a post presence. He had a lot of great players, some still making money in the wnba. But now Kenny Brooks has gone and he, you know, he's added a lot of size. Had it last year when they had a good run. And now Clara Strax having an incredible season. Tianna Key, even Hassett who didn't play as much last night. But you know, she's been. Was good last year and been good this year. So they've. Kentucky women's basketball finally went out and got the size that it takes to compete.

[Ryan Lemon]

It's like Kenny Brooks made a decision. I may not have the fastest team in the world, but by golly, I'm going to have the tallest team in the world. And he went out and get these big girls that can play. You know, Matthew would have like maybe one. Brooks has got like four or five. You know, he's bringing them off the bench.

[Drew Franklin]

Calls him the triplets out. Rebounded LSU 45 to 29 and second chance points 18 to 4. That in the fourth quarter. Defense, that's, that's why they were able to get the win.

[Nick Roush]

And it reminds me of 80s basketball where you had to have the bigs to be.

[Ryan Lemon]

Yeah.

[Nick Roush]

To be great.

[Ryan Lemon]

Right.

[Nick Roush]

You could be good without them. But in women's college basketball you got to have the bigs to be great. That girl from Iowa State's awesome. Have you all heard of Stephanie Okeechukwu?

[Drew Franklin]

You're gonna have to tell me about that one. Is she related to the Chiefs third string quarterback?

[Nick Roush]

She is seven feet tall and she signed to play with Texas Tech.

[Ryan Lemon]

Seven feet tall.

[Drew Franklin]

I saw this on Twitter yesterday.

[Nick Roush]

Seven foot three. Yes. It was going around Twitter because the, it was like watching the Florida guy in high school where he's. I mean she is just a foot taller than everybody. It's, it's it.

[Ryan Lemon]

I almost like a high school girl right now.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah, that's going to be. Going to Texas Tech my next year. She looks like a comic book character where they're just twice the size of everybody else. Or if you know when you would play NFL blitz and you get the cheat codes and you get like the giant heads.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh yeah.

[Nick Roush]

Or something like, like those are the.

[Drew Franklin]

Guardian caps before the guardian caps.

[Nick Roush]

Yes. She miss Stephanie over here. It looks like she's just a different. Unbelievable.

[Drew Franklin]

Well, she couldn't have done anything to key last night. She was getting every rebound. Remember? I think it was Indiana. There was a clip where Diabate is in the lane with five people and he ends up with the ball. Yeah, he was doing that last night. She was absolutely surrounded, was still coming down with it. Had some big offensive rebounds that, that changed the game. So huge win. Huge win, win. Katie Brooks was fired up too.

[Nick Roush]

The fist pump.

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, yeah. Good for him. I do have a complaint. Why would you know, I understand that Kentucky, lsu, women's basketball isn't the Rose Bowl.

[Ryan Lemon]

I know what you're going to say.

[Drew Franklin]

But they probably could have found a channel for it somewhere, right? It was on SEC plus, you know, just streaming only. You know, I was able to go get it and find it and watch it over football. But that, that game to. Yep, you know, top 15 SEC teams in the SEC opener. That should have been somewhere where more people could have seen it. That's my one complaint.

[Ryan Lemon]

I don't know what the SEC network was showing instead of this basketball game, they're trying to showcase women's sports, women's basketball. You had these two high profile teams, perfect opportunity to put them in the grand stage.

[Drew Franklin]

Yesterday I enjoyed the guy calling the game too. He sounded like Kenny Rice. I actually had to look up to make sure it was not Kenny Rice. He kind of had that old school broadcasting voice that you don't hear as much. I think his name was Lynn Rollins. He's like an LSU legend. So that just added to the fun. Put him on a channel next time, one that matters because Kentucky is in first place.

[Nick Roush]

Kentucky, first place. First place.

[Drew Franklin]

Play Missouri on Sunday at noon. I think it's actually Tiani key poster giveaway day.

[Ryan Lemon]

Oh, is it?

[Drew Franklin]

So get in there in the World Coliseum on Sunday.

[Nick Roush]

I don't think Missouri is the sec. Very good. Missouri.

[Drew Franklin]

Let's keep controlling our own destiny. We'll control our own destiny. Here on ksr, it's Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon, Nick Roush, Rick Ryder, behind the. Behind the computer screen. We'll be right back after this.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Poynter, Chair of Women's health and gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. On this show, I'll be talking to top researchers and top clinicians, asking them your burning questions and bringing that information about women's health and midlife directly to you. 100% of women go through menopause. It can be such a struggle for our quality of life. But even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it? The types of symptoms that people talk.

[Drew Franklin]

About is forgetting everything.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I never used to forget things.

[Drew Franklin]

They're concerned that one, they have dementia and the other one is, do I have adhd?

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

There is unprecedented promise with regard to cannabis and cannabinoids, to sleep better, to have less pain, to have better mood, and also to have better day to day life. Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Poynter on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening.

[Danny Shapiro]

Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, host of the hit podcast Family Secrets.

[Ryan Lemon]

We were in the car like a Rolling Stone came on and he said, there's a line in there about your mother.

[Drew Franklin]

And I said, what? What I would do if I didn't.

[Nick Roush]

Feel like I was being accepted is.

[Ryan Lemon]

Choose an identity that other people can't have.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I knew something had happened to me in the middle of the night, but I couldn't hold on to what had happened.

[Danny Shapiro]

These are just a few of the moving and important stories I'll be holding space for on my upcoming 13th season of Family Secrets. Whether you've been on this journey with me from season one or just joining the Family Secrets family, we're so happy to have you with us. I'll dive deep into the incredible power of secrets, the ones that shape our identities, test our relationships, and ultimately reveal who we truly are. Listen to Family secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

You know the shade is always shadiest right here. Season six of the podcast Reasonably Shady with Gisele Bryant and Robyn Dixon is here dropping every Monday as two of the founding members of the Real Housewives Potomac. We're giving you all the laughs, drama and reality news you can handle. And you know, we don't hold back, so come be reasonable or shady with us. Each and every Monday, I was going through a walk in my neighborhood. Out of the blue, I see this huge sign next to somebody's house. Okay, the sign says, my neighbor is a Karen.

[Drew Franklin]

No way.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I died laughing. I'm like, I have to know. You are lying. Humongous, y'.

[Drew Franklin]

All.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

They had some time on their hands. Listen to Reasonably Shady from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The moments that shape us often begin with a simple question. What do I want my life to look like now?

[Danny Shapiro]

Dr. Joy.

[Dr. Elizabeth Poynter]

I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford, and on therapy for black girls, we create space for honest conversations about identity, relationships, mental health and the choices that help us grow. As cybersecurity expert Camille Stewart Gloucester reminds us, we are in a divisive time where our comments are weaponized against us. And so what we find is a lot of black women are standing up and speaking out because they feel the brunt of the pain. Each week we explore the tools and insights that help you move with purpose, whether you're navigating something new or returning to yourself. If you're ready for thoughtful guidance and grounded support, this is the place for you. Listen to therapy for black Girls on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Drew Franklin]

Welcome back in to ksr. Drew Franklin, Ryan Lemon with special guest Nick Roush here on the first show of 2026. Ryan Lemon having a good time in 2026 so far.

[Ryan Lemon]

So far, so good. I'm shocked. There were people actually out in our offices today. I thought it would be empty when we walked in today. There's people actually doing work today.

[Drew Franklin]

I did. I was surprised, too. I met Nick downstairs and on the way up, I was like, probably gonna be pretty empty walking. There's people everywhere. I even said, what are you all doing here?

[Ryan Lemon]

Gotta get started on the sales on the new year. I guess.

[Drew Franklin]

So I guess only Matt, Billy, Mario and Shannon take off January 6th.

[Ryan Lemon]

Shannon allegedly was returning to Kentucky today. I think today he comes back to Kentucky. He's been gone for like six months.

[Drew Franklin]

That was a long stay. I'm heading out next week.

[Ryan Lemon]

That's right.

[Drew Franklin]

You're going back. I'm still. I haven't had a day off in a long time. That includes holidays.

[Ryan Lemon]

Well, you need to take one before the baby comes because your time off is limited after that.

[Drew Franklin]

I think they call these baby moons.

[Nick Roush]

Oh, yeah, yeah, That's. That's a fun new thing. I'll treat yourself. Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Not treating me. Treating her.

[Nick Roush]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

But I'll probably have a little.

[Nick Roush]

But you're doing all the heavy lifting, so you should treat yourself too. Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Like, I booked a mom to be massage.

[Nick Roush]

Oh, nice.

[Drew Franklin]

But then I thought, well, I'm also going to be there. You're dad to be.

[Ryan Lemon]

Maybe like dad to be dad to be massaged.

[Drew Franklin]

Get a massage.

[Nick Roush]

You've heard the stat, right, that expecting fathers on average gain 10, 15 pounds. Have you heard that one?

[Drew Franklin]

But I've gained 15 in like the last month. I'm not kidding. My T shirts don't fit. Some new pants don't fit. When I had my back issue, they gave me two weeks worth of steroids. He's like, you know, he said, you're gonna put on a little weight. I'm like, dude, I ate a two pound Sam's Club bag of peppermint bark Last night. I don't think the steroids are gonna do any more than that, dude.

[Nick Roush]

I will say, though, if you ever get prescribed one of those steroids, it is just like there's not enough food in the world. I feel like I'm back in. Like I'm a pubescent teenager. Just like, give me all the food.

[Drew Franklin]

And I was on them. During Christmas, we went and got a batch of cookies from this place in Abby's hometown. You know, Dietz's very famous.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Usually those last couple weeks, no. Didn't even make it back to. I'm eating everything in sight. So if you see photos of me, yes, I'm a little chunky. But as Ralph says, that should be expected.

[Nick Roush]

You're just. Yeah. You're what to expect when you're expecting sympathy.

[Ryan Lemon]

Wait. Right? That's what it's called.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Thank you. Make me feel better. Rick, let's get some calls. We've had a lot of news. Haven't gotten to our callers. Who's up first? Dave is up first. Dave, what's up?

[Caller]

Hey. For the last couple days, especially yesterday, all they talked about was the ladies game. Not making. Making one of the regular ESPN channels. But if you can take a little criticism, Man, I don't understand how you go to the C block without mentioning that game. That was the most entertaining women's game I've seen in a long time.

[Drew Franklin]

I deserve that criticism. I felt bad waiting that long. You're exactly right.

[Caller]

I love Phoenix Stevens. But why we don't have somebody at a top 10 matchup like that, you know.

[Drew Franklin]

We understand. Yeah, we appreciate the call. That was an exciting matchup, Phoenix. Our guy covers basketball. Well, yes. The reason he's not there, you can just blame our travel budget. That's not on Phoenix.

[Nick Roush]

We only have so much to spend.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, we're lucky to go to all the football and basketball teams as it is.

[Nick Roush]

Hey, shout out to Steven, though, or Phoenix.

[Drew Franklin]

I do that every time.

[Nick Roush]

Yeah, yeah.

[Drew Franklin]

Steven.

[Nick Roush]

Phoenix. Phoenix. Steven. But Phoenix, he shot his shot. He predicted the upset. And he was only like a couple. He was in that 80. I think his pick was 84 to 80 or something. It was 80, 78. He was right on the money. He shot his shot. He nailed it. Great job, Phoenix.

[Drew Franklin]

He knows, Paul. That was a great job. We just. We just didn't have the travel miles to get him there on. On New Year's Day. I think he was at home with family. McLean County. But that doesn't take away from the win. Like I said, I wanted to lead with it. I just feel like our listeners are probably a little more interested in bowling the transfer portal. But Ryan still excited from that win.

[Ryan Lemon]

You know, we shouldn't be criticizing Phoenix because he. We should be praising him because giving all the publicity that he does give the women's team, he does such a great job. You need somebody like that that's dedicated and puts in the extra effort to promote women's basketball. And he's the guy that does that.

[Drew Franklin]

That's right. He's awesome. Blame me for him not being at a hotel in Baton Rouge. Who's up next, Rick?

[Nick Roush]

Andy's up next.

[Drew Franklin]

Andy, thanks for calling in. Happy New Year.

[Caller]

Hey, Happy New Year, guys. What's going on?

[Drew Franklin]

Oh, this Andy, what's up buddy?

[Caller]

Hey, just got a couple questions throw out there at you guys. Do you think it was more the reason Will Stein didn't want to up the pay for Cutter Bowie to come back next year is that he probably already has maybe one or two quarterbacks in mind or maybe not just the names of quarterbacks in mind, but someone who was his system more than bowling might. And then great question. Give you my second question to hang on. Do you know of any players from Oregon that has been talked about yet that might be coming with Wolf Stein? I want AJ or that Penny guy, the cornerback. So if will start to get a message to him, tell him bring that guy. You guys take it easy. Happy New Year's and I'll get Happy.

[Drew Franklin]

New Year to you. I appreciate the call. Yeah, Finney. I don't know if you saw Ryan Finney there. Freshman defensive back had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the bowl game yesterday. If he wanted to come, we will find room for wants to bring him on.

[Ryan Lemon]

Doors open.

[Drew Franklin]

Matt took a break from vacation to write on KS board that he's hearing 6,7ish. Oh, I didn't do that on purpose.

[Nick Roush]

I didn't do that. Come on.

[Drew Franklin]

Six or eight ish players from Oregon could make the jump. Do you have any names that you're watching?

[Nick Roush]

I don't have specific names but the offensive line coach is from Morgan. You need multi year players to be able to develop instead of just trying to do this thing every single year. So probably some guys who are like deeper down on the depth chart I would imagine.

[Drew Franklin]

What was Andy's first question?

[Nick Roush]

It was something along the lines of he just didn't want to pay more. Really what it comes down to Andy in this you got to trust your evil. You got to trust your own eyes. Players are valued differently based on the beholder. You know, one coach thinks this guy's worth more and another thinks he's worth less. You have to trust your evals in this process because you might think that Joe from Montana State is just as good, if not better. So you gotta. You gotta draw your line in the sand. And I think that's what happened here, is that they like Cutter and. But they weren't willing to kind of go all the way in because it's like, well, we also like other players and we'll play ball with you a little bit. They like, they kind of, you know, they let this process drag out, but they weren't going to budge when push came to shove.

[Drew Franklin]

Yeah, everybody wants both sports. Get a gm, Take some emotion out of it. It's a numbers game. It's business now. Yeah. So if Stein has. All right, I have this amount of money for this exact spot. It's his first team, his first job. He shouldn't be swaying from that already. He's got a budget and he's going to stick to that to build this team. And it just didn't include Stein. And he also mentioned the style of play. I know Bowley's completion percentage is a little lower than what Stein usually likes with how he plays. And, you know, we don't know that he for sure has a guy. But when Stein says anybody in the country wants to play for Will Stein, I think he has the confidence that he will be able to go out there, get that.

[Ryan Lemon]

The GAT guy, no doubt.

[Drew Franklin]

I will be right back. Second hour. Ksr, we want to take more of your calls. More transfer portal to get to. And we still have Ryan's top moments of 2025 that we haven't done. So if you still remember those, Ryan, we'll get to it. KSR.