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How Notre Dame can BREAK THROUGH in 2026 | Garrett Nussmeier Senior Bowl Surge
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How Notre Dame can BREAK THROUGH in 2026 | Garrett Nussmeier Senior Bowl Surge
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Well it's David Pollock and I think people going to learn what kind of ball player is. He's got a heart of a lion.
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I'm real proud of that kid. This is C Ball get ball. College football's top show for football analysis, predictions and coach interviews. Now here's your host, three time all american, seven time Emmy award winner.
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A
What up dudes. Welcome on in to see ball get ball. As the off season continues. We had a, we had a snow blizzard here in Georgia and by, by that I mean like we had an inch inch or two. Everything could possibly shut down and schools can shut down but we made it through. We survived a snow gate for us which, which was fantastic. Got we got a little trapped indoors this past weekend but it was all good. You know C ball git ball. I think we're going to continue to attack the off season, like, piece by piece. And obviously Davo gave us something to talk about last week, but I think. I think we're going to also take like a team a week and kind of, you know, a team that let's. Let's do the team profile. And today we're going to talk a lot about Notre Dame because their coach has been in the news a lot, whether for assault, which he had charges against him for assault, which was absolutely not true, not founded. It was at his son's wrestling match. I think somebody filed charges and obviously nothing came of it. But that had Marcus Freeman in the news a while back, and then the NFL jobs and Marcus Freeman, you know, going and interview for NFL jobs and. And very. I love his response, by the way. And Marcus Freeman feels like a very, very candid person. If you've ever been around him. Like, he was like, I utilize these conversations for a reason. Like, I, I want to use them to gain knowledge about myself and how organizations are ran. Because, remember, organizations in college are ran more like the NFL more and more. What better way to learn from it than asking questions? Oh, well, how would you set this up? Structured. How can I do this? How can I do that? Like, kind of getting to know the NFL job. And I'm not saying he won't take an NFL job at some point, but I think it's smart what he's telling us right now. I think it's smart the way he's using, you know, his off season. And obviously the Cardinals job was the one that I kept getting. People send it to me. I'm like, he didn't take it yet. I get it. I hear the smoke. And where there's smoke, there's fire sometimes, but there's not right now. And Notre Dame, that would have been obviously a cherry on the kaka Sunday, right? Because didn't make the playoff after winning 10 straight games. You know, being ranked in the mix. Marcus Freeman, man, 43 and 11 in his tenure at Notre Dame, that's really good. Like, Broughton very much brought the respect back. And those 10 wins were. Were really, really good. And remember, early, those were close losses, like, really, really close losses to Miami, who played for a national title, to A and M, who Miami barely beat in the college football playoffs. So they had two really, really good losses on their resume. And I think if you, if you looked at this Notre Dame team throughout the season, one thing was abundantly clear. Moving forward, you got your qb. Like, the most important spot is taken care of. And C.J. carr, we had him on the show, you know, during the season and it was awesome to hear him talk about, like, why he chose Notre Dame. Carr. Does the name sound familiar? Lloyd Carr, coach at Michigan. Family lines connected to Michigan. He was like, dude, I love the way Notre Dame talked in recruiting. I love the way they jumped on me. They recruited me first and it just meant something to me. And it placed, it was special and the place was cool. Like, that's a great start right there to have that guy that not only has the arm, has enough of the mobility to throw in the quarterback draws and the scramble and stuff, but I think you have your face and your dude and other guys will want to play with him. As you saw with the, with the transfer portal. First of all, according to rankings, one of the ranking systems, they had the number two ranked class in the nation. That's signing high school kids. You got to specify now, right? Like transfer portal versus versus high school. So they did a great job recruiting. And I think another thing too, man, that I really, really like and this will be talked about more during the season. Like last year they lost, they didn't go to the playoff. Notre Dame didn't go to the playoff last year because they scheduled their best two opponents to start the season at 1 and 2. To me, that's the reason why, like, if they played those guys middle of the season, late in the season, we might be having a totally different conversation about how Notre Dame season went. But breaking in CJ Carr and another thing, breaking in Chris Ash as a defensive coordinator, like that was a big part of an early to me feeling out process and an underrated thing that we'll be talking about. Adding Aaron Henry as their co defensive coordinator from Illinois. Like he's been at Illinois for the past couple years. Calling the defense. I love how Illinois runs their defense. It fits perfectly to what Notre Dame has been and what they were under golden a couple years ago. Man to man, aggressive, different fronts. Like really, really cool how they do their system. So that I think that's a sneaky off season. We talked about the portal a little bit with them too. And addressing the defensive tackle was huge. I mean, absolutely enormous. Going to Pittsburgh, going to Oregon, not losing a starter into the portal, absolutely enormous. So I think it's, you know, Brett, you could jump in here with Notre Dame and Brett Rollins, who's, you know, writes it on three, obviously writes a pff. Like, I think Brett, knowing you, like to me, the first piece, having C.J. carr, like having that Guy because last year we were talking about who's it going to be for Notre Dame. Like who's the guy? Is it this guy that committed to Nebraska then obviously left, like went some went somewhere else obviously now because he got beat out. But now that they have their dude, I feel like, man, now, now we build, now we build around that, that cat.
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B
And you mentioned the how they play, how they lost the first two games. It's also how they played that first game because think about how they played the early part of the Miami game. It was we're protecting this guy. Yes.
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A
Oh my gosh.
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B
I think you know, 90 on the year. Yes, yes, we're in that game. So you know the schedule and the way it works and, and we can get to the schedule here in a little bit. But the thing that you mentioned that you kind of glossed over a little bit, but I think is ginormous. And not necessarily for this next season, but for the program moving forward. Is the recruiting piece number two overall in the Rivals class. I look back in the last 10 years, that's the first top five ranking they've had in the last 10 years. Highest prior they've only been been in the top 10 one time, it was sixth.
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A
So that's a level Marcus Freeman 100%.
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B
Like that previous regime said couldn't happen.
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A
And he said left and went to LSU because he couldn't do that. Yeah, like that, that 100. And that is, that is Marcus Freeman's personality. That is who he is. That is his swag and that is his freaking coaching. Like when you watch this dude, he has evolved. Like he understands who he is. You watch Kirby Smart copy his little thing he did, remember, like running on the special teams, running off like stealing timeouts. Like I think that Marcus Freeman, he knows exactly who he is. He knows what he wants to be. The records got changed for them next year too. Like right, like now they're not the records. The rules to enter the college. But here's the thing. Notre Dame fans, by the way, Notre Dame, like you should embrace this. Like all these people that hate you that talk so much trash about you join a mother freaking conference. Like that is so amazing because it's relevant. Like it makes you more relevant. And you could just be like kick rocks bro. I don't have to join a conference. We have access to the ACC. Oh wait a minute. If we're in the top 12, guess what? We got a guaranteed bid. Like it's good to be a Notre Dame fan. Like it's good to be Notre Dame.
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B
So that's. That was actually the first question that I wrote down when we were sort of discussed. This team is a 10 and 2 Notre Dame in the 2026 College Football Playoff. Yep.
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A
And.
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B
And because they're going to be at least number 12.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Well, barring some craziness.
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A
Well, and that's what, you know, we shoot this same guys, me and you, that thought we wouldn't see an undefeated team, and we just saw it with Indiana. But like, it seems like there's more parity and losses on the ledger for sure. But I don't know that I can find two losses on that schedule. And at Lambeau Field is pretty cool kickoff, by the way, with Wisconsin. I like that. And here's the thing. You got, you got, you got BYU game seven, which is. Which is a big one because Bears coming back and that dude is a monster.
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B
Like, you got to go byu.
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A
You got to go at byu, which is tough. And then game eight is Navy, which is. Which is not fun. Never. But I tell you what, Notre Dame has handled them the last couple of years. Like, yes, wapa open hand slapped to the grill. And then you've got Miami, game nine. I bet you every single Notre Dame fans go, man, like, could we not have done this last year? Like, could we not have space this out? Could we not have not done our hardest two games to start the year? That's actually better for Miami because Miami's got Mensa and all these young guys and new guys that they're going to be breaking in. I think it's really good for Miami that they get Notre Dame way down the schedule. Like, that's a big time win for Miami. If I'm a Miami fan, I'm jacked about that.
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B
Temperature might be a little. I don't know how in terms of date. I forget what date range you're looking at there, but it might be a little bit. Weather might be a bit. Bit of an issue.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But cold. But the schedule, like in Syracuse late, like the last game at Syracuse, like we saw my. What that did to Miami a couple years ago, that's always an interesting game because I think Syracuse can be maybe a comeback team with. And that might be against their former quarterback like Angeli. So, you know, that's one where a little interesting. The Wisconsin opener is interesting, but outside of that, it's Miami at home, SMU at home at byu.
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A
I'd say SMU late in the season and for the first time, no USC on the schedule. And things have to get very weird to not have USC on the schedule for Notre Dame. Like going back to 1926. The circumstances are Covid and World War II. Like there's a three win three, like three year stretch from like 43 to 45 and then 2020. Like it was very strange looking at their schedule today going, man, they're not playing usc. Like it's just.
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B
Yes, it is odd.
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A
It's. It's very weird. Like it kind of takes you by surprise. I think the number one thing, if I'm going Notre Dame, like what do I need to see and what am I most worried about? I might be most worried about. I just lost the best two running backs maybe in college football, period. And is a nia's Williams who we've seen in spot duty. We saw him a couple of years ago in the championship run being a good receiver out of the backfield and we've seen him at nine yards per carry basically, you know, last year. So you know, that, that to me is the interesting part. Like it feels like Notre Dame always figures that out and they, they'll have a good back. More importantly, they'll have a really good offensive line like they always do. They'll have a good tight end like they always do. Faison, obviously wide receiver and great house are coming back. So this is a, this is a group that you definitely. I'm going to have confidence in the offense and I think the additions on defense too. Through the portal with the edge, with the inside the D tackles like Notre Dame is going nowhere. It was very specific.
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B
Yes. And I think I even saw Pate put him in his preseason number one team. But they were very specific in the transfer portal and I do like the. I like them like sort of one's trash is another's treasure. Not necessarily trash, but the two receivers from Ohio State, one, the Porter kid that was a five star kid like, hey, can you find a role because he's big six four kid that, you know, you just lost Malachi Fields who had a really good Senior bowl and had a really good year for you. But outside of that, like OC and QB coming back year to year, first time under Freeman that that's happened. But the price and love thing that you mentioned, because I'm sure there are Notre Dame fans that know their roster in and out be like, hey, Williams and this guy and that guy and we haven't seen it. Yeah, we've seen those two be. I went and looked. They had 63 explosive runs, five explosive plays as pass catchers and then Price had two kick return touchdowns.
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A
So we've seen some Williams, in fairness to him, yeah, we've seen some of him but you know, else carry the.
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B
Load and be those at that level.
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A
Hey, we've seen Leonard Moore, we've seen the safety tandem. Like you're bringing in some defensive tackle help. Like and what you said is right, not only that you go to Alabama to get, to get some to help in the secondary. You, you didn't bring, yeah, but you didn't, you also didn't bring guys in. You, you brought what you talked about with wide receiver from Ohio State. Like you're bringing guys in with discernible talents and traits. Like way guys that were really, really are really, really talented, haven't got on the field yet, haven't gotten their playing time. But you know, if it clicks and if it's the right system, bam, it goes through the roof. It's unlike, it's not like a high school kid, man. Like you're bringing in, you're bringing in a guy that's a year older. But also you know exactly the kind of talent and you're betting on the talent.
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A
Like as opposed to the Indiana route that did more I bet on the guy that I saw play on the field in college football. So it's a combination that in high school recruiting like everybody's learning this new wave and how they're going to do their styles and how they're going to pay and how they're going to fill holes. But I do know one thing. A lot of times you got to overpay when you have really, really big holes. But to fill the hole at defensive tackle was absolutely enormous for Notre Dame to go get two in the portal that make it and two different styles to go with my secondary that I know is going to be top shelf and really good. Now, man, I got some, I got some good pieces to do something special and I think we're talking about Notre Dame next year. I don't think we're talking about them being on the edge of being in the playoff. I think we're saying okay, Notre Dame's in. Who else is getting in? That's how I feel about Notre Dame for next year.
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B
And you mentioned the secondary piece. Like there's Leonard Moore and then there's a big old gap in terms of next man up at corner in all of college football. Jagasaw at offensive line. Will he actually get healthy? Like we didn't see him this year?
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A
Hopefully he's not going to ride an ATV this off season accident.
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B
Right? Like be smart, get healthy. Because I, I mean you when you try to look and see an update with him, it's very at least what I looked at non com like you don't really know. And did he have another cert? Like I didn't really find up definitive things with that. But he's a hyper talent, you know, big time talented kid would make that office that much better. Yeah, one other thing too, like just sort of picky football stuff itself for two years in a row. And I realize it's not necessarily historically a Denbrock thing, but for two years in a row Notre Dame has been last in the power four and play action percentage. And yes, Car wasn't good. He had three picks on 50 play action drops. He had three on his other like 270 dropbacks. I just feel like now when you don't have the explosive element with Love and Price, that's something that you can add to create easy things for your qb. Create Efficiency, possibly even create more explosive plays that you evolve with having OC and QB coming back for them.
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A
Well, I think that's a, I think that's a valid point when you watch them this year. But I also think what's a valid point is you went from Riley Leonard, who couldn't do a lot of the throw game and his main thing was run. So that's what you did. You used him. And then you had price and love. Who are your best two commodities? You use them. You're breaking in car, obviously. But like, I think Den Brock's proven himself to be pretty dang good, too. I think he'll be, I think he'll be all right. And either way, listen, Notre Dame, it's going to be a great year. Like, all that pissed off nature that you had a year ago, like, we're going to funnel it. We're going to get back to the basics, baby. Some blocking and tackling get weird in the postseason, baby. Let's go, let's go. I think they'll be back there.
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B
I think we'll be talking about them potentially being one of the buy teams.
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A
Well, agreed. Especially with that schedule. All right, on to the next. Every Day Counts Nutrition. You've heard me talk about this, guys. If you want great products, ridiculously good products, clean products, creatine, if you take vitamin D and K, if you, if you do the apple cider vinegar pills, which I do, by the way, I take apple cider vinegar every single day. For inflammation, for gut health. For gut health. Like everyday countsnutrition.com if you type in ball 50, you get 50% off. Okay, so all these great products, all these things you're probably taking already. So there's your code right there on the screen. You can see it. It's Everyday Counts Nutrition. It's bringing you today's show, which is we're thankful for. But great products, ridiculous prices, they're going to hook you up with 50% off if you use the code. So you are welcome. It's a January present heading into February. All right, how about the Senior bowl, man? Like, we don't, we're not, we don't talk a ton about the Senior bowl and have it in the past, but, man, like, what was the temperature? Like, negative 20. Those, dude, those dudes look cold. Like, they looked really, really cold. It was not an offensive juggernaut performance by any stretch of the imagination. And to me, we're not going to sit here and break this down seven ways to Sunday. There's just one thing that, that, I think that's worth talking about. I just remember being on this show last year and I remember going on McElroy's show and I remember going on McShay's show and I remember asking them, like, who would you take over Nussmeyer in the country? And the list was very, very small because Nussmeyer a year ago, just a calendar year ago, throws for over 4,029 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. And like the dude was, was absolutely ice cold. He was a ball. He made a couple throws a game that would make you go habit habitat. What? Like you're not supposed to throw that. Like that's not a human. Can't throw that with anticipation. Comes into this year, gets bench. He was sloppy. Like, obviously he had this abdomen injury. So like he was, he was injured. You could tell he was injured. The ball was not getting pushed down the field. So now this is what happens when you get to combines. This is what happens when you get the Senior Bowl. The scouts are all going to talk about it. They're all going to go, okay, all right, let me go back and look at the year before. Like, that's the way it works. Like, that's exactly how it works. And they're going to go back and they're going to see nuss. And if I'm Nuss Meyer, there's, there's a really good thing about what he just did at the Senior bowl, getting MVP and all that stuff. And his tight ends could have helped him out, by the way. He could have been better, his numbers could have been better. But there's a really good thing about it. The quarterback class is as unproven as we've seen in a long time. Long time. So you got Mendoza and then you got Ha. I don't know. I don't know who's next and nobody, nobody else does either. And whether it's Simpson, whether it's Chambliss who's going to be in the draft, probably like, who is that guy? That's next Nussmeier, the Senior bowl week. He just had the game. He just played. Obviously he's kind of proven maybe he's a guy to be considered. And it's not by this year's tape because he got benched. Like, he did not look good at all. But if you go to last year's tape, it was pretty good. It was, it was high level quarterbacking and with no run game, with a lot of, with no defense that could stop a nosebleed, like continued to put things Together and be really, really good. So Garrett Nussmeier was the MVP of the game. And Garrett Nussmeier probably made himself some money and just reminded people like, hey, you know, I'm not, I'm not a bum, okay? I was a little bit dinged up. I was hurt. I was hurt more than was led on to be. So that's my takeaway from the Senior Bowl. But Brent, let's jump in here. Let's get to some numbers. Don't lie if you don't know. Brent working for pff, we always do the numbers every Monday and break them down. You got some numbers on Mendoza?
- [23:22]
B
Yes. First off though, Lee Hunter, I think, was another big winner.
- [23:25]
A
Yeah.
- [23:25]
B
Senior bowl, literally.
- [23:26]
A
Big, yes. Big dude.
- [23:29]
B
Ability to do what he does at his size. And then Max, that got the right tackle from Arizona State, like he was the only guy all season who kind of semi held his own against David Bailey and Romela Height and had a really good week.
- [23:40]
A
The best part about that guy, and we're not going to, we're not going to go in depth on all this stuff. The best part of that, but that guy is he didn't even play high school football. He was a junior college kid. And then all of a sudden played offensive tackle and there was a viral clip. My favorite thing about Max was there was a viral clip of him getting rushed and the guy punches him and he punched him right back in the face without hesitating. And I'm like, that dog bites. Give me that guy. Like, I love guys that have a little bit of that prick in them, but all right, give me some numbers, Brent.
- [24:05]
B
All right, so Mendoza obviously in 2024, like he did have 3,000 yards passing, which was 29th in the FBS. But at least from a PFF grading standpoint, very sort of. Okay, 77 overall grade. He was 53rd in the FBS in overall passing grade in 2024, 16 touchdowns, which was like 67th. More turnover worthy plays than he had big time throws. And then obviously that completely flipped. New place, new system. Third overall grade, not over 90. PFF grade. Big time throws, all the yards, 41 touchdowns. All the stuff that we saw from him, that's going to make him the number one pick, which also randomly I think people are discounting him as a number one pick. And I, I completely like, disagree, disagree. Like I would take him over a lot of the recent first round picks in the NFL. Caleb Williams at the court, not him, not, not Williams, Daniels and Drake. May like outside of those three, there's not many that I would, that I would put ahead of.
- [25:05]
A
You know what though? Like, I want to, I want to hit that what you just said there, right there, which I think is important. And this is why the transfer portal is more rampant than ever. And you're going to continue. Styles and systems can make a player really, really good or can mask what they can do. Like, if you watch Cal's tape, like me and Brent did last year when he went in the transfer portal, like, you could tell this dude was special. Like, literally you could see the release, you could see the size, you could see the extra element of playmaking.
- [25:34]
B
Like, their processing was quick.
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A
You could see there was a lot of things to love about that. So all these guys. And we'll break this down on C ball, get ball. Throughout this off season, like watching some of these guys in the transfer pool that a lot of people don't necessarily talk about as much, but like all they needed was a new home, new qb, new, new system to which they're thrown into. And then all of a sudden it's a sprinkled in there and then the secret sauce starts to kick in and hey, maybe you'll be Indiana.
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B
So basically what I wanted to look at was, all right, who are the candidates? To be that guy, to be the person who was just kind of here and we knew about them. But then they become, not necessarily Heisman Trophy, undefeated number one pick type, but on the, you know, sort of preeminent stage and looked at as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. I did not get to the young guys like JKS Underwood, Barebach Meyer, CJ Car. Like, I didn't go young guys. I went strictly either transfer or guys with new systems at their current place. So I've got like six different ones. Who do you think I put as the clear top two candidates for this leap, for the. To take that big leap in 2026 and be this. That level of QB.
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A
The hard thing I'm going to say about that is because if you think about Hoover, he's already there. He's already at that level. So does that, does that not take that into account or does it.
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B
So actually he's one of them. He's one of those two. Because Josh Hoover, who is now obviously Indiana, he was 49th in the FBS in overall PFF grade last year.
- [27:12]
A
Like a lot of yardage, 10,000 yards.
- [27:15]
B
Like a lot of yardage numbers. But in terms of you and specifically with Indiana, you look at the system and maybe he doesn't, obviously get to the first round pick Mendoza level or number one Pikmin does level but like looking back at Curtis Rourke. Curtis Rourke was, you know 29 TDS, 5 INTs.
- [27:35]
A
So, so efficient.
- [27:37]
B
Very efficient. Almost a 90 PFF passing, you know overall grade, things like that. So I Hoover was one of the two sort of clear jumped out of the. Jumped out of the screen candidates for me.
- [27:48]
A
Who was.
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B
Who do you think would be the other one? Let me. I'll give you a hint there. He's going to a place that produces high grades and high level QB play consistently.
- [28:01]
A
Well I think it's interesting because Levitt's numbers were bad last year. So like I think Levitt makes that jump because he's got Lane Kifflin. He's got it simplified like that dude could go absolutely berserk and banana. So is he on the list?
- [28:16]
B
He is. He is that guy. Like he's to me the clear choice because what's interesting so I said that Mendoza was 53rd in the FBS in 2024. Sam Levitt was 53rd in overall grade in 2025. So like he's that level. Like we kind of thought he was the top three guy heading into last year and then injuries and injuries stuff around him all it just didn't go how you thought.
- [28:41]
A
Hey hey. And never ever ever ever underestimate the power of an elite back.
- [28:50]
B
Like especially in college with.
- [28:52]
A
With an edge like like you could the difference in the way that they played with Cam Scatter Boo versus they didn't like it's a. It's a tone setter like everyone needs a tone setter when you've got that guy in the running back spot man. Like it makes everything easier. But Levitt's a dude now like that he's got some like him and Lane are perfect for each other. Like that is a perfect marriage because they both got swag through the roof. He's got some Jackson dart to it man. Yeah like he' got some. He's got some of that bigger than life confidence Swag all that stuff to him that that I agree. I think. I think he's got a chance to be great. I I didn't know if you'd go source b2 but his he was obviously.
- [29:35]
B
So he was way up there already.
- [29:37]
A
That it probably took him out of the mix.
- [29:40]
B
Yeah. In terms of this that like that leap from one year to the next.
- [29:43]
A
So would Mess taken out of the list to them.
- [29:46]
B
Yes.
- [29:47]
A
Because he had already produced so well.
- [29:49]
B
Yes.
- [29:49]
A
Okay what about Byron Brown is like.
- [29:53]
B
The third highest graded QB is second highest graded QB returning in college football.
- [29:56]
A
Okay. So all the guys that are graded high, we're not, we just. We can't put them in there.
- [30:00]
B
No, I'm not. Yeah. This is not for this discussion.
- [30:03]
A
I like that.
- [30:04]
B
This is a different level and Raiola.
- [30:06]
A
Could have been that guy. If you saw if Dante Moore would.
- [30:09]
B
Have left, he may have been one of those. Yes, he would have been on this list. But looking at Lane, the lowest graded QB season that he's had in that Ole Miss tenure was Dart's first year in 2022 and that was right at 80. But corral two years of nine elite grades. The other two years with Thart elite grades. Trinidad this past year elite level grade. So like you're gonna see, like you're gonna see Levitt as long as he stays healthy and he's the guy that he's jumped. Now the other like those are the two easy choices. I think I'm gonna give you four others though that more so because of new system. Which one of these guys, he's already elite too.
- [30:51]
A
Okay. I mean technically when it comes to his numbers and stuff, is he.
- [30:55]
B
Is he that elite at least from a PFF standpoint? Yes, very much so.
- [30:59]
A
All right.
- [31:00]
B
And also with big time throw rate is one of the best in over the past two years. But these are four guys that like middle of the pack. Can somebody take a leap? First one. Nico. I am Aliaba72 Gray last season. Chesney comes in, new coach, new system. That's one second one. Lenore Sellers, he's. I mean when you look at. That's an consistency with these mates.
- [31:30]
A
That's an obvious played.
- [31:32]
B
But now in the Kendall Brow system is less more with the way their system works is less more for him.
- [31:37]
A
There's not one that you're going to give me that, that, that I think has the. And you brought in peak at tackle.
- [31:43]
B
Yes.
- [31:43]
A
So that makes your offensive line better. You've got wide receivers. You got better wide receivers. Like obviously oc Like I think that it's going to be hard to beat that name because you also know the upper echelon talent of Lenora Sellers and the running ability and tackle breaking like that dude, he's a human pinball. Like it's like tackling a tree stump.
- [32:03]
B
Bo Prabula who's now at Virginia like could you be that Chandler Morrison and have a much more consistent season because he was hot at the start at Mizzou and then it got struggle bus after that and Then last one, I think is an interesting one because of the talent too, like you said, but maybe not necessarily what's around it, but the talent that he has individually is Avery Johnson, now with a completely new coach and system at Kansas State. I know, I know you've been frustrated with his inconsistencies.
- [32:32]
A
Well, I, I, I get frustrated. Like, let me tell you something, there's probably no other kid that, when I watch that I go, when it's third and long, like, just go ahead and punt it. Like he, I just, the, the, the, the, the making the plays through the air and I don't know what his numbers were, but like on third and long, man, I just, I did, I literally felt like it was an uphill battle and he couldn't do it. Now listen, let's be honest. A lot of drop balls the last couple years by those guys, like, they dropped so many passes and missed so many opportunities that drive you absolutely insane. But Avery Johnson, from a talent standpoint, I mean, my goodness, like, you watch him run, he can throw it. Like there's a lot to his game to like. And maybe new system, you know, maybe that's something that can. The new coach, the new system and who he has obviously, like this, I think he's going to be a very, I think he's, I think he could put him in a similar position to what he played with and be very successful at that place. Right. Like, yeah, but, but, but, and this, this, this ticked me off. And you're going to remember what I'm talking about. Game one, Iowa State, the third, fourth down and short.
- [33:38]
B
Yes.
- [33:39]
A
I need you to give your body up and that to me, man. Like, I need to ride with you. And if I'm going to ride with you, I want to see you put your body on the line. I want you to Mendoza for me. I want you to Bulldozer men. Men bulldozer somebody, right? Like, I need you to see you Sam Levitt somebody. Like, I want to see you Byron Brown run somebody over. Like, these are guys that made those plays. Sourcebee will lower his shoulder to get a first down. Like, yes, I want to see that. The fact that he didn't do that rubbed me the wrong way and it blinds my, it clots my decision making now because I need that in my dude, man.
- [34:14]
B
Colin Klein was that.
- [34:16]
A
Colin Klein was a manimal. And absolutely my greatest call. That was my greatest call on espn. Like I called Kansas State to beat Oklahoma and it hadn't happened like at home. I wore purple on college game Day. And I was like, this will happen. It's the first time in four, whatever, 40 something games Kansas State's gonna do, beat Oklahoma. That was, that was one of my greatest. And it was because of the. I was watching Colin Klein. I'm like, this dude's a mule. Like, I love the way he does. I love the way he runs and plays and like, I can ride with that dude. But.
- [34:47]
B
All right, so let's go. Maybe what, in terms of order, how would you put those. Who would be your top three out of the names that I. So I gave you Levitt, Josh Hoover, Nico, Lenoris, Prabula, Avery Johnson. Who would be your sort of top three that could potentially take a Mendoza esque leap and be one of the top graded, top statistically, all that sort of stuff. Guys in college football next year.
- [35:11]
A
I feel like, I feel like, I feel confident in Indiana just because of their system and who they are and what they are. And you add Marsh, but obviously you lose some dudes now, but Becker's still going to be there. So I think you're betting on that system to be very low turnover, high completion. Like, I just don't think, I don't think I can take that away from, from Hoover.
- [35:36]
B
Okay, so you put Hoover one.
- [35:37]
A
I would put Hoover one. Okay, who was the other guys?
- [35:40]
B
So Levitt, Eco, Lenoris.
- [35:44]
A
And Lenoris would. I would put next, I think with lsu, now that you added Seaton, I think that was big time because you have a, you have an elite level talent now on that offensive line. Instead of bringing guys together and saying, like, we're going to work this like with, with, with Tim, I mean, yeah, figure it out. Like, now you gotta, you gotta do that. I go, okay, one spot's taken. Now I need all the rest of you. Seven transfers or whatever it is on the off. I think it's eight or nine on the offensive line. Like, I need to figure you guys out, but I got that one figured out. And so that's probably where I would go. I would go next. I think that's big time. And obviously the receivers, they brought in, Lenoris, I don't think he, they're set up to succeed as well as the other systems. Like, I trust those other systems a little bit more, but I like, like Lane's pedigree speaks for itself. You can think what you want about Lane. Lane doesn't produce bad offense. You can think what you want about Signetti. Like, I don't know how you could have any negative thoughts about his offense. Like, he's got to produce. So I would say that there's less higher talent that I'm betting on with Lenores, and I'm not as much betting on the system. I'm betting on that they improve the talent and that he has a return to like more of what he was a couple years ago.
- [36:53]
B
Yeah. And I think, like the way that offense works and the. I hate to use the word sort of simplicity of it, but it somewhat is. And that that just accentuates the talent part of it. With Lenores, I did write two other. Just. I was randomly looking through, looking through all this list, like, okay, who's. Who can take a leap of somebody that we're going to be talking about, say week 10 is, you know, one of the top 10 QBs in college football that we're not talking about at all. Right now, out of nowhere, I got two guys. Amari Odom at Syracuse. If Angeli comes back or doesn't come back and isn't right with the Achilles, that dude's talented. Went from Kennesaw to Syracuse, big time talented kid. And then Grunkemeyer, who's going to be at Virginia Tech with, with.
- [37:37]
A
He started to figure it out and.
- [37:39]
B
Play really well those last couple games. And it's like, okay, you go in there that whole, that whole deal and you get things rolling. Maybe that's somebody that we're looking at.
- [37:48]
A
And I tell you what, Syracuse proves what the proved what they were a couple years ago as an offensive system. And I think last year, if Angeli doesn't get hurt, they would have proved it again.
- [37:56]
B
They had won three in a row.
- [37:57]
A
Yeah. And they, they just like backhanded Clemson. Remembering that defense, like, just absolutely slapped him. So anyway, I like those, but.
- [38:06]
B
All right, Hoover's our choice in terms of the leap year candidate. Second would be Levitt. I thought that it's two. Those were the two clear ones in terms of change. It was interesting to think about these other guys that changed systems, too.
- [38:18]
A
Yeah, no doubt. Let me tell you something. That's why Brett Rollins is really good at his job, because he does. No, I'm serious, man. Like, he does that stuff. He reads into this stuff. He learns it, like, and brings up.
- [38:30]
B
Probably thinks way too much about it, actually.
- [38:31]
A
He's an absolute nerd. Like a straight freaking nerd that studies this stuff and the numbers inside and out. But, like, those are the conversations, man, that, like, that's a list that we'll put together. We'll put that list out and I think people will love that. Like the quarterbacks that are going to take the leap, you know, this next year. So those are the ones.
- [38:47]
B
There we go.
- [38:48]
A
Alex Golish absolutely loved his. His video. Like, we saw Dabo, and we've seen quite a few people start to jump on. And listen, by the way, all the folks that jumped on the socials and came at you, boy, for. Why don't you. Why are you just singling out Ole Miss? I'm not singling out Ole Miss. Dabo did, okay? It's very simple. Dabo did. And Dabo brought receipts and said, suck it. Like, I don't know what you want me to do. Like, this is the first coach that had a player that was in sociology class that was. Started texting him and telling him, oh, here's a $1 million contract. Here's what he sent me. Like, hey, check it out, coach. Like, this is what they're sending me. Oh, Pete Golden. Yeah. Jackson Dart, Trinidad, Shambliss. They're all messaging me, bro. Like, I. You know, I got it all. So, like, you don't need to come at me with the Ole Miss. I don't care what program it is. It has nothing to do with that. But when you file a claim at the ncaa now, people can attach claims to it. And Fresno State quickly did. So, like, yes, I hope Dabo started a swarm of things to come. And there's a big freaking difference. For all you out there that are confused by this, there's a big difference between recruiting a player that is in the portal, recruiting a player that is not in the portal, and recruiting a player that is signed, sealed, delivered, signed a contract in class, met with his coaches, and wrote down his goals for the next year. Like, that's the kind of stuff if we don't fix it. You lost me. Get the heck out of here. So, just for you guys, but Alex Golish taking a new job at Auburn. Interesting to see. I'm sure Adam Rooks will be in our chat at some point, but just here's what his take is on, the tampering and how he feels about it. You operate ethically with what you feel like is right.
- [40:38]
B
Is it right to call a kid.
- [40:40]
A
That'S on somebody else's roster to go get him? It's not.
- [40:43]
B
I think in a lot of ways, what goes around comes around.
- [40:46]
A
In the fall, you got to go line up and play. And I'm a strong believer in the football gods will find you at some point. And generally, they'll find you at the end of a game or they'll find you on Facebook, 4th and 1, and I think you got to do things the right way, and the right way is. Is doing right by the young people and doing right by your program. I. I just. I love every single bit of what he just said. I wonder if Auburn fans do or they. Like, I don't know, man. Like, I kind of want my coach to be a little bit on the edge, right? Like, I kind of want him to tamper and follow the trends that are in college football, because obviously, it's abundant. It's happening a lot. And this situation, it felt really different when the guys already enrolled, already signed a contract, and coaches are sitting. A lot of coaches don't have the onions to text a kid. And obviously it wasn't a problem with Ole Miss.
- [41:48]
B
But, you know, I couldn't help but think. I couldn't help but think the.
- [41:55]
A
The.
- [41:56]
B
The football gods have been pretty cruel to Auburn over the past couple years. So Auburn fans are like, coach, don't bring them into this, please. Especially not on a fourth and one.
- [42:07]
A
Man, it has been rough. Auburn fans. Auburn fans have had it tough, man. Like, they've had. They've had it tough. And, like, just that identity crisis of, like, what are we, you know, like, where are we at in this college football world? Because it doesn't feel like we're near the top or the middle. Like, we're not. Auburn doesn't fight to go to bowl games. Like, that's not who we are. Like, we're Auburn, the proud history. So obviously a little bit confused who won the weekend. Different kind of a weekend. So Brent's got a bunch of choices that we can choose from. Obviously, there's less clear, you know, winners this time of year. I was trying to think, what's our. What's our choices for who won the weekend?
- [42:50]
B
Got some choices, but for. Was the. The fumble issue against Georgia that happened at the goal line? Was that fourth down? I can't remember now. Or was it third?
- [42:59]
A
Remember either. I thought it was third, to be honest.
- [43:01]
B
Yeah, it might have been third down, but. Because if he had said that and then, you know, because that had just happened, then. Yeah, you. You don't want to go with that juju. All right, so first off, in terms of who won the weekend, I know who didn't, and I don't know his name. And I'm sorry, but. And I just saw the clip. I don't watch. I didn't watch, but the dude got his toupee knocked off.
- [43:21]
A
Oh.
- [43:22]
B
In the ufc, boxing, whatever that was. I Don't know. I'm sorry, bro. Like, you're gonna live with that. That's gonna live on the Internet forever.
- [43:31]
A
And you know what?
- [43:32]
B
So he didn't win the weekend.
- [43:33]
A
He didn't win the weekend. The worst part about that, Brent, is he said that he used the wrong product on his hair, and it took his hair out. And so then he went and got a toupee. Really? Really? Like, ain't nobody buying that, brother. No, nobody is buying that. That if you didn't see it. It's a boxer that got drilled in the. In the noggin. And when he got drilled, the hair just kind of back like, it was. It was really bad, man. Really bad, bad moment. But, like, that. That explanation, he should have just went here.
- [44:14]
B
You should just. Just go with the shine. All right, so I've got four choices in terms of who won the weekend. I'll let you pick the one that you like the best. So first off, one that happened today. So Gus Malzahn retired. He's going to step down from being offensive coordinator at Florida State. So happy retirement to coach Mazon, former guest of C Ball. Get ball. So I think that's when you retire. It's after all that he's done as a coach. That's one. All right, two. Nicholas Pollock. After we talked about this last week, dude went and got three D1 offers, and his phone's blowing up like crazy after he put. We talked about the dunk. So I think, you know, including Nimro Uno from Wake Forest. That's. That's a. That's a good. That's a pretty good weekend.
- [45:00]
A
I'm glad you did that, because I couldn't have done that. I like that.
- [45:02]
B
Well, you can maybe agree that he won the weekend, but anyway, third one. I'm going to go. I'm going to go. Jelly Roll. The acceptance at the Grammys was. Was. You know, there's a sign right here behind me that was. That was pretty impressive.
- [45:16]
A
From. Here's the sign say. I can't read.
- [45:18]
B
It says, love God. Love people.
- [45:20]
A
I like that. Love God people. Hey, you know what? Like, it's really hard to not like Jelly Roll, like, with his story and. And his positivity and stuff, man. It's. It's hard for me to, like, look at that dude and not like him.
- [45:34]
B
Sorry.
- [45:34]
A
It's really hard. So.
- [45:36]
B
And the last choice is a curious one, and this is one that was more of a question mark. I'm not sure if. But the wives and the girlfriends and significant others of the sort of eastern part of the country, south and then eastern, I guess. Like, last thing about this past weekend, no football snowed or iced in most everywhere. Like, that's a lot of quality time with your significant other. Like, did you. Is that a win for them? Is that a not win? Like, I think that was a win. Like, for me personally, all the quality time was a win. But on the other side of that, would they think it was a win because no football snowed in all those things. So there's, there's. There's my choices.
- [46:16]
A
I like the choices. First of all, Gus Bus, tip of the cap. Congratulations. Remember when he joined us on the show last year, he said after that big win, he was like, I considered retiring last year before he went to Florida State. And I think with Tommy Castanellos, it was a perfect marriage, right? Like a perfect Gus Malzon system. But his wife has also had some health issues. And so we've talked about that with. I've talked about that with him. So congratulations, man, that he gets to retire. He gets to walk off. But I think it's always quality time is always a win. And you know what else happens? I get stir crazy and I work out three or four times a day, which is fantastic too. So that was really good about being snowed in. I'm just gym workout, come back for a couple hours. I'm like, bab, I'm going back to the gym. We went out to get like, literally three or four times a day.
- [47:06]
B
So did you do the cold plunge in the pool Saturday 100.
- [47:09]
A
It was 30. It was 38 degrees in my pool when I was in the cold tub.
- [47:13]
B
You are talking about working out, right?
- [47:15]
A
Yeah, baby. Yeah, that working out too, Brent. Yeah, I like that. Wesley, I know you got a. Who won the weekend? What you got for us? Ninja?
- [47:25]
B
Yes, I'll piggyback off of Brent's coattails at fsu. And I'll say that everybody on FSU schedule won the weekend with Mike Norvell announcing he's gonna. I guess it's reported. I don't know if he announced it officially, but the head coach on the hot seat with the transfer quarterback calling all the plays for the offense and all the stuff that head coaches had to deal with, with all the tampering and portal and nil management that we've been talking about, I just think it's a bad mix. And I think that it's. It's a rare breed to be a coach that can handle all those GM duties, let alone calling plays I don't see that playing out very well.
- [48:09]
A
Did you hear that, FSU fans? He said, y' all suck. You're going to win no games.
- [48:13]
B
Yeah. CFP eliminator. I got him in my CFP eliminator today, February 2nd. But, yeah, they've done that themselves almost. In a way. I don't think that bodes well.
- [48:24]
A
Just eliminated him from the College Football Playoff. That's fantastic, Wes. We don't even do that this time of year. We do the Eliminator every week during the season, but Wes. Wes took it over. But before the calendar turned to February.
- [48:37]
B
He was Ashton Daniels with a distracted head coach. Let me just sum it up like that. Is that what you want? Is that what you want? Is that what you want? Like, they're. And I'm not hating on either Bill. I think he's a. He's. He's great at. At all that stuff, but he's a.
- [48:55]
A
Really great play caller.
- [48:56]
B
It's everything else. It's the total package, man. Like, I don't know if anyone could do it, you know, it's not about him.
- [49:06]
A
Yeah. Hey, the chat was pretty lively, man. Yeah, y'.
- [49:10]
B
All.
- [49:10]
A
Y' all be nicer to each other in the chat, by the way. We don't have to yell at each other. We don't have to call names. Like, let's keep it pg, man. Like. But the Canes fans are definitely going at it with some other.
- [49:20]
B
Hey, we got Canes for, you know, Catholics versus convicts, right? That was the. That was the 30 for 30 title.
- [49:26]
A
It was a great.
- [49:27]
B
That was a Miami versus Notre Dame. Yep.
- [49:30]
A
All right, dudes. Well, we will see y' all again. Again. Again. Again. Well, I'll try to continue to say that. We'll see y' all again on Wednesday. Talk more ball. We appreciate y' all joining us. Like, always do the rate, like, subscribe. All that good stuff. College football rules. Football rules the Super Bowls around the corner, I guess. People watch the Super Bowl. Yeah, I watch the Super. The commercials are fantastic. But Seaball, get ball. We will see you all later. Brent Rollins, Big Wes. Wes stepping in there, eliminating Florida State February 2nd. That's fantastic. We'll see you dudes later. Peace. He said, dang.