Ringer Tailgate – March 5, 2026

Episode: "Breakout Performers: Who Won the NFL Combine?"

Overview

This episode of Ringer Tailgate dives into NFL Combine reactions, standout athletic performances, and the implications for top prospects and college football programs. Hosts Tate Frazier, Van Lathan, and Joel Anderson mix sharp combine analysis with irreverent banter and offbeat college football commentary. The show highlights both the spectacle and the scrutiny of the combine, examining the intersection of athleticism, draft stock, and football culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Combine Athleticism & Track Talk

• The episode opens with Joel Anderson reminiscing about his elite youth sprinting days and the overlap between track speed and football prospects.
  • [00:41] “I realized being here on the East Coast... I've never been to Penn Relays. It's my dream to go cover all the big track meets.” – Joel
• The hosts relate freakish track speed to combine performances, referencing historical high school sprint times and crossover athletes.
  • [01:57] “Louisiana, Texas, there are some freaks… tailbacks at 215, 220 who win track meets.” – Van

2. Standout Combine Performances

• Sonny Styles (Ohio State LB)

  • [05:52] “Did you expect this from Sonny Styles… it looks like he’s going top three in this draft?” – Tate
  • [05:57] “Obviously, hell no.” – Van (on expecting Sonny’s numbers)
  • [06:39] “43.5 inch vertical jump. Highest by an off-ball linebacker since Cameron Wake in 2005.” – Tate
  • The group debates whether an off-ball linebacker could ever go No. 1, balancing highlight athletic metrics vs. positional draft value.
  • [08:35] “Sometimes if you don’t do freakish things on the football field…people can lose track of what kind of dynamic athlete you are.” – Van

• Kenyon Sadiq (Tight End)

  • [09:43] “I did not have him at a 4.3 [second 40]. I did not have him at that.” – Van
  • [11:29] “We have to start talking about… when we're talking about explosive athletes, the football vs. basketball comparison.” – Van
  • [11:56] “Fastest time ever for a tight end, right?” – Tate

• Jeremiah Love (RB)

  • [18:25] “He seems like the big winner of the weekend… had a nice interview, ‘I’m going to Chick-Fil-A and getting a chocolate milkshake’…” – Tate

3. Bias Toward “Freaks” and Combine Training

• [13:38] Discussion of “teaching to the test” at the combine, where specialized training translates into eye-popping but sometimes misleading numbers.
  • [14:24] “A lot of the combine performances that you see now are teaching to the test… these are specific athletic feats that they are coached to.” – Van
• Reference to Mike Mamula, the “original workout warrior," as an early case of a player drafted too high on combine numbers alone.
  • [16:30] “I remember when Mike Mamula… blew all these drills off the chart… got drafted in the top 10… he just kind of got hit with the workout warrior tab.” – Joel

4. Who Really Won the Combine?

• Panel weighs whose stock rose the most:
  • [19:09] “David Bailey… ended up testing out more athletic than I thought… but Jeremiah Love… just looked so explosive, so skilled, so cool.” – Van
  • [20:07] “What’s a good comp for him? What if Shaun Alexander was explosive?” – Joel (“Pure runner,” “twitchy as hell.”)
  • Bandies comps like Curtis Martin and DeMarco Murray.

5. Quarterback Discussion – Big Board Update

• Focused segment on prospects and combine risers:

  • [22:01] “Taylor Green… changed his life this past weekend. Fastest 40 time, set new vert jump record…” – Joel
  • [52:32] Updated Joel’s QB Big Board:
    • 1. Fernando Mendoza
    • 2. Ty Simpson (“Big Daddy”—see extended nickname debate at [23:35])
    • 3. Taylor Green
    • 4. Garrett Nussmeier
    • 5. Carson Beck
  • [53:44] “We think Mendoza goes one, and then Ty Simpson, we’re thinking like 15–25 range.” – Tate
  • [54:28] “Ty Simpson, Mac Jones, they’re both coaches award guys… not MVPs, but they try hard.” – Tate

• Extended riff on film analysis, media groupthink, and whether Todd McShay is “stealing” Joel’s takes.

  • [24:21] “If I identify something for months and it starts moving into the ether, then it’s proof that I know a little something about the game.” – Joel

6. What Combine Results Actually Mean

• [56:31] “What’s the best value at QB… a guy who maybe doesn’t have the tape but has upside?” – Van
  • Attention to Haynes King, who “ran a 4.46” ([57:10], Joel), but Van questions its value for projecting real QB future.
• Combine numbers can boost “gadget” potential but don’t necessarily translate to long-term starter success.

7. On “System QBs,” Supporting Casts, and Overvaluing Traits

• Debate about what makes a sure-thing quarterback and how prospect evaluations still rely on seeking “the next Josh Allen.”
  • [64:57] “Quarterback is the most volatile and least certain position… you can litter the podcast with names of can’t-miss QBs who missed.” – Van
  • [68:56] “A lot of QBs could have done what Mendoza did last year.” – Joel
  • [69:01] “I don’t like couldas. I like what happened.” – Van
  • [70:15] “People are looking at QB now to defeat flaws in team building—but for that to work they almost have to be perfect.” – Van

8. Sentimental Combine Moments & The Life-Changing Impact

• [73:23] “I always get almost sentimental… a young man has changed his life… Mike Washington… ran a 4.33, the fastest running back at the combine… he was on the bench crying… He’s going to get drafted, it’s going to change his life. I always find that beautiful.” – Joel

9. College Football Headlines

• [77:00] Mississippi passes bill to make NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) payments tax-free, trying to keep up in SEC recruiting wars.
  • [78:08] “Ole Miss’s story… is they’re the black people of college football: gotta work twice as hard to go half as far.” – Joel

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“It’s one thing to know somebody is fast, but then it’s another thing to see like Megatron run a 4.35… Always surprising when someone is that dominant…even if you know they’re a good athlete.”
— Van Lathan ([05:57])

“We have to start talking about explosive athletes—the football versus basketball comparison… fourth-three in the 40, bro. Nuts.”
— Van Lathan ([11:29])

“The slow people and the unathletic people are not risking it anymore… There’s a real bias toward freaks.”
— Joel Anderson ([12:05])

“Teaching to the test… That is kind of what happens in an NFL combine now…they are coached to…run that 40.”
— Van Lathan ([14:24])

“If I identify something for months… it’s proof I know a little something about the game.”
— Joel Anderson ([24:21])

“When I think of guys that really improved their stock… I think Jeremiah Love. He just looked so explosive, so skilled, so cool… He’s going to be a star in the NFL to me.”
— Van Lathan ([19:09])

“I don’t like couldas. I like what happened.”
— Van Lathan ([69:01])

“You’ll lose a lot of money trying to predict what a woman will like.”
— Joel Anderson ([50:24])
(During an extended and comical digression on celebrity couples and aesthetic standards)

“Being quarterback is some weird shit, man… I don’t think it’s smart to ever make any definitive case against a quarterback ever. Because you just don’t know.”
— Joel Anderson ([72:03])

“I always get almost sentimental… a young man has changed his life… He’s going to get drafted, it’s going to change his life.”
— Joel Anderson ([73:23])

Running Gags, Banter & Podcast Chemistry

• Extended “who did Joel diss?” leaderboard, with hosts tallying up playful “disses” thrown at celebrities, analysts, and even entire groups (e.g. Destiny’s Child, Jermaine Dupri, Todd McShay).

  • [25:21] On the "diss" list: Tom Segura, Jermaine Dupree, Lyle Lovett, Todd McShay, various quarterbacks, and even the city of Bristol, CT [84:16]

• Ongoing inside jokes about proud moments, failed attempts to book comedian guests, pop culture references (Pleasure Principle video, Bill Bellamy), and the struggle to “politic” in media.

• Comic riff on ESPN cafeteria culture vs. “getting it out the mud” at The Ringer.

  • [83:01] “The ESPN cafeteria… breakfast was good… That’s one of the things I miss about ESPN the most.”

Quick Reference Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | Highlights | |---------|-----------|----------------| | Sprint/Track Chat & Combine Crossovers | 00:41–04:34 | Joel’s sprinting history, speed metrics, regional differences | | Sonny Styles Combine Impact | 05:21–08:35 | Styles’ vertical jump, positional value, late-blooming hype | | Kenyon Sadiq & TE “Freak” Metrics | 09:43–11:56 | Historic tight end 40, physique talk | | Who “Won” the Combine | 18:09–22:01 | Jeremiah Love, David Bailey, stock risers | | QB Big Board, Tape vs. Traits | 52:07–54:59 | Mendoza, Simpson, Green, Beck, Nussmeier rankings debate | | Combine Overhype Discussion | 13:38–17:31 | Teaching to the test, Mike Mamula parable, training specificity | | Life-changing Combine Stories | 73:23–74:42 | Mike Washington’s emotional moment | | NIL Headlines & Mississippi Law | 77:00–79:35 | SEC recruiting, state tax policy | | Extended Banter/"Diss" Tally | 24:21, 33:12, 84:16 | Nickname arguments, pop culture, playful beefs | | End: ESPN Cafeteria, Wrap-up | 83:01–84:38 | Nostalgic facility talk, wrap-up jokes |

Final Thoughts

This episode captures both the exhilarating spectacle of the NFL Combine and the skepticism with which draftniks view outlier performances. It balances irreverent personal anecdotes, barbershop-style debates about “true” athleticism and value, and just enough college football policy updates to satisfy the sport’s most ardent followers.

• Biggest Combine Winners: Jeremiah Love (RB), Sonny Styles (LB), Kenyon Sadiq (TE)
• Quarterback Watch: Mendoza clear No. 1, with Simpson and Green as high-upside risers
• Theme: Freakish performances create hype (and real opportunity) but won’t erase the importance of tape—and context in which those statistics are achieved.

The hosts’ chemistry and playful bickering, alongside their thoughtful analysis, make the show enjoyable and insightful for casual and hardcore listeners alike.