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See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
Who Made the Most Money in the College Football Playoff? Matt Miller on 2026 NFL Draft
00:39:10
Who Made the Most Money in the College Football Playoff? Matt Miller on 2026 NFL Draft
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- [00:00]
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This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace.
- [00:02]
Matt Miller
Last year I went through many different life changes. I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling in the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself.
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Matt Miller
Living a busy life, navigating a long distance relationship, becoming a first stepfather, Talkspace made all of those journeys possible. I could speak with my therapist in the office. I could speak with my therapist in the comfort of my home. I was never alone.
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- [01:01]
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- [01:30]
Matt Miller
And how about that Pollock interception in the end zone.
- [01:33]
Co-host David Pollock
Well, it's David Pollock and I think people are going to learn what kind.
- [01:36]
Matt Miller
Of ball player he is.
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Co-host David Pollock
He's got a heart of a lion.
- [01:38]
Matt Miller
I'm real proud of that kid. This is C Ball.
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Sponsor Announcer
Get Ball, college football's top show for.
- [01:44]
Matt Miller
Football analysis, predictions and coach interviews. Now here's your host, three time All American, seven time Emmy Award winner.
- [01:52]
Co-host David Pollock
What up everybody? Welcome back in to Seaball. Get Ball. We ain't going nowhere. College football is is coming to a close obviously, but the college football season lasts longer than ever and we're going to continue to talk about all the news, the breaking stuff, break down all the college football changes because obviously we're still sorting out the transfer portal, everything that goes with it. We'll talk about specific teams and the off season and the halls. They got the goodies that they got that excited about and then every Wednesday I think you're really going to enjoy this too. Matt Miller is going to join us and talk NFL Draft. I think it's Just the NFL draft is so fascinating. Just the. Obviously you go from straight from college to the draft, and I. I know Matt, and we'll bring him in in a second. Like, he's watching all of these games, and he's a huge fan of college football. Been covering, you know, the draft with ESPN. Been covering the draft for, shoot, I think, like, 15 plus years.
- [02:45]
Matt Miller
So.
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Co-host David Pollock
You're getting old, Matt. You are getting old, brother. It stinks when you say, like, 15 years, doesn't it?
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Matt Miller
I say old enough to have watched you in college. And like, so, like, I mean, I was in high school when you were in college, so that's okay. Hey.
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Co-host David Pollock
So. So all you got to do is say, hey, you're older than I am. That's all you had to say. It was like, hey, you want to call?
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Matt Miller
It's actually got to be probably close. But, yeah, I've been doing it for a minute, but this is going to.
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Co-host David Pollock
Be doing it for a hot minute, so learn it. So. So what. Where do you people go during the season? Like, do y' all just stay in a cave like you. You draft people, or, like, locked in multiple screens? What does the college football season look like?
- [03:22]
Matt Miller
You know, ESPN calls it witness protection, that they basically send us away after May 1st. It's like, see ya. And then we kind of crawl out of our bunkers the end of August. But, you know, I. Over the course of my career, I used to travel a lot. I like to go to games. I like to see players in person, and there's still a value to that. I have found that I'm more productive if I can be home for that weekend, if I can watch five games, six games, be home for Sundays. Because I think something that people, and we probably don't talk about this enough with my job is we also have to watch the NFL, because for me to speak intelligently about what the Las Vegas Raiders need with the first overall pick, I have to be watching on Sundays to know what those teams need as well. So I have found that staying home with my, you know, split screen going and an iPad going is probably the best way for me to be productive. But technology is a beautiful thing. When I got into this professionally in late 2010 at Bleacher Report, you had to beg, borrow, and steal to get tape from teams. I mean, you're. You're calling colleges, players, agents, basically anybody you can to try to get a DVD of all 22. Thankfully, now I can just pop up on my laptop or my iPad and watch an entire game in like, 30 minutes. So it's definitely made the job a lot easier.
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Co-host David Pollock
You know, Matt, there's a million dudes that just said. Did you really just say that? Oh, I have to watch NFL too, right? Oh, I'm sorry, Matt. Like, pour one out for me all day Saturday and watch college and then do it all day. Like, we feel. We feel really bad for you, Matt.
- [04:55]
Matt Miller
It's a tough gig, you know, when. When my friends will be like, do you want to go do something on Saturday or Sunday? I was like, I can. I have to work. They're like, oh, okay. Yeah, you gotta. You gotta sit on the couch for 12 hours to watch football. But, you know, I. I tell folks I've watched some bad football in the last 15 years. It's not always fun. There have been some, you know, Cleveland Brown, Jacksonville Jaguar games back in the day where you're just, you know, toothpicks in your eyes, trying to stay awake. So it's not all always exciting. But it does beat having a real job.
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Co-host David Pollock
It. It does beat having a real job. Well, we're fresh off the national championship, man, and obviously, huge game, you know, going to be. Going to be a storyline. We thought it'd be good. Just like, let's just jump in and talk about the players from that game. And I think we can't. We can't not start with probably the. I'm assuming the number one pick in the. In the NFL draft. Obviously, there's some. There's some needs at the top of the draft for quarterback, so Ty Simpson's available. We'll go through the list of guys probably a little bit later on. But, like, what did you see from Mendoza? This playoff run or others that you were at that spot, maybe, But Mendoza, clearly number one.
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Matt Miller
To me, he is, yeah, clearly number one. And I think it's funny that Tom Brady and Mark Davis, the, you know, owner and principal and minority owner of the Raiders, were in attendance for that game. And he. I mean, he played a heck of a game. You know, the toughness, the poise, I think the athleticism that he showed in that game is something that has been there at times this year, but isn't. It's not a hallmark of his game. Right. And he's. He's a big player, 6 foot 5, 225 pounds. But you don't. You don't look at him and think, oh, that's Josh Allen or that's Justin Herbert. But he did play with some really good athletic ability, especially against a Miami front four that has been unstoppable all year. So I think the decision will be easy. It's made easier because Dante Moore decided to go back to Oregon. I think had he entered this draft, we would have more of that classic conversation about, you know, Jared Goff, Carson Wentz. You know, we've had those years where there's two guys and you. You kind of have the back and forth this year it's a 1 quarterback class. And I don't think any team's going to be able to talk the Raiders into trading out of that spot. When, you know, they trade a third round pick for Geno Smith last year, that doesn't work out. You've got some weapons. You have Brock Bowers, Ashton Genti, Max Crosby on defense, obviously, but it's a team that needs a quarterback. They we can look at what Drake may has meant for the New England Patriots in a very short amount of time. If you get it right at quarterback, it covers up some of those other weaknesses and then you have time to build. But having that most important piece first is hugely important.
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Co-host David Pollock
I think people are going, wait a minute, I saw Dante Moore get beat like he stole something by Indiana. So why are you telling me that? That's going to be a. That would have been a debate if Dante Moore came out. I think people are going to say that.
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Matt Miller
Yeah. So it's all about potential versus him. And I think with Dante Moore versus Fernando Mendoza, it's potential versus production. Because Dante Moore is 20 years old, he started 20 games, and it's the idea of how much better can he get now. That's a dangerous game to play. We've seen that before. There is a number of 25 starts. And it's funny how much I hear people say this now because like two years ago I was one of the only dudes saying 25 starts. 25 starts in college is basically your line of are you going to be successful in the NFL or not? Think about Anthony Richardson, senior Trey Lance, Mitchell Trubisky. The list goes on and on. Find me a quarterback who started fewer than 25 games in college. That's good in the NFL. It just doesn't exist right now. And so I think for Dante Moore, it would have been that conversation DP about potential and the kind of dynamic way that he plays, you know, the arm strength division. There's a game against Iowa where the weather's just terrible and he throws a pick and it's, you know, it's like, what's going to happen? The way that he bounced back the poise of maturity he played with, I think was really impressive.
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Co-host David Pollock
So I did throw to set up the field goal was absolutely stupid. You couldn't have thrown it through a window, 50 yard, 40 yards down the field any better.
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Matt Miller
Right. And so it's that. It's those moments with him. With Mendoza, it's more just. It's kind of boring because he's so good. His receivers dropped six passes this year, which speaks to their talent, but it speaks to his accuracy. Like, the dude is just. He kind of bores you to sleep, but then you realize, oh, my God, he's 24 of 26 with four touchdowns. You know, it's just. He's so efficient. We're not gonna hop on here or NFL live and gush about his arm talent or his athletic ability. He's just super, super clean and super efficient.
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Co-host David Pollock
Yeah. And he just said, indiana, jump on my back. That's. That's going to go a long way with Tom Brady making a decision with the Raiders and wanting his. Wanting a winner, like, more than anything. I can't imagine that while also being a great kid. Like, just phenomenal kid.
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Matt Miller
Like, you want him as the face of your franchise, you're never going to have to worry about anything because he's just like, he has it all figured out.
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Co-host David Pollock
Well. And that's where I think, when you look at teams that are led like that, man, from the top down, when the leaders are the best people, it's really hard because it's hard for coaches to, like. Coaches can only do so much. They can't penetrate a locker room. The players have to do that. So I think what he just proved, like, if you're wondering, hey, I'm in Oakland, like, can he turn my culture around? Yeah. I think you just saw it, right? Like, so that probably goes, you know, out the window. How about the guys that were chasing his butt all over the field the other night? Like, a guy like Reuben Bain, number four, that. That we talked about all season long and just being a freak show.
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Matt Miller
Where.
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Co-host David Pollock
Where does he. Where does he fit in this draft conversation? To start it all off, yeah, he's.
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Matt Miller
My number five overall player, so he's way up there. And it's. It's interesting to me. And, you know, I know the draft media wasn't as big when you were coming out of college, but I'm sure you heard things like, oh, my gosh, like, you don't meet the. The measurables. Right. What's, you know, six.
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Co-host David Pollock
My arms are too short. Exactly.
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Matt Miller
And that's what Ruben Bane is everybody's going to say his arms too short. A report came out right before the Cashew playoffs that his arms were 32 and a half and it's gonna, it's gonna kill his NFL draft stock. All he did every game and the casual playoffs was dominate and take over games. And so I like to think that he probably saw that and said, okay, watch this. These arms might be short, but they're powerful and he plays with awesome leverage and he could play inside, he could play outside, hand down, standing up. And everyone knows that you have to stop him and they can't. And so I love that about a player when you know, all right, four is the guy we got to watch. We got slide protection. We're probably moving our quarterback a little bit because of him and you still can't shut him down. So whether it was pressures, hits, sacks, I mean he's just, I mean he had an interception in week one. Like he just does a little bit of everything. So I, I love him as a player.
- [11:31]
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- [12:32]
Matt Miller
It's going to be silly season. I keep a sticky note. I'm sitting in my office, right? There's a sticky note right on my computer monitor and it says draft good football players because it's that time of year where we're going to start talking about arm length and hand size and a hundredth of a second in a 40 yard dash when like I think what matters more is September to, you know, January 19th. Who are the good football players? Sure, you have to be Big, strong, fast. But ultimately it goes back to just when we watch these guys play on Saturdays, who is the best football player. And Reuben Bain, I mean, he should have got more Heisman consideration. Like, that's how good of a player he was this year.
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Co-host David Pollock
So, Matt, I'm going to tell you a quick story to get to know my personality a little bit. So when I was coming out, I'll never forget Mel Kuiper, and he was obviously the guy and he was like, short arms. Short arms, short arms. I don't know that he projects well. He's got short arms. I kid you not. When I went to the combines, Matt, I stretched my arms out and I made sure I did not stretch them all the way out. It's the dumbest decision I've ever made. But I was so pissed off about hearing, like, you know what? I'm gonna take my T Rex arms and I'm gonna go kick the crap out of everybody. And I wasn't thinking about, hey, I'm costing myself money. You're an idiot. I was just like, I want to prove these guys wrong. Like, and so I think it, you know, it's interesting. I think the more you. The closer you play inside, the less arm length matters. But when you do get to those tackles, man, I did notice because I loved going against tall guys at 6, 9, 6, 10, because I was naturally underneath them like that. That was a good thing. I appreciated that. But when you do do pass rush and they start dropping and they can hit you from 17 miles away and you can't, it does start to make a difference.
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Matt Miller
But when their shoulders get rolled back and you can't reach them, it makes a difference.
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Co-host David Pollock
Yeah, but I was. But I tell you what, man, the thing, the thing about Reuben Bain, like, you can tell Jason Taylor is his coach. Like, you can see, like, great pass rushers to me, you've got to. You've got to have your move. But great pass rushers also have to have a great counter move. And I think, like, what I like about Bane is the answers to the test. And when I say that if I get high hands, he's going to swipe, like. Because I know high hands, they're coming up here. If I beat the hands up here, then I win automatically. Like, low hands is a different animal. So you watch him and you watch the technique with Jason Taylor. And same thing with Mezador. What about Mezador on the other side? The thing about Mazador, that's a different looking body, like, and nobody's probably Going to be like, hey, that, that guy's stumpy. So what about Mezador on the other side?
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Matt Miller
I think he's a first rounder as well, and probably right now I have him at number 21 overall. So he has been a riser this year, though. I mean, Bane, we knew he was a known commodity coming into this year. Mesador was one of those guys. He felt like every week you're watching him climb the board and then you get to the playoffs, it's like, okay, it's best versus best. Because you know, Miami early in the season they had Notre Dame, but they didn't have a super tough schedule. They didn't have, you know, the Big Ten or the SEC schedule where every week I'm watching you against an NFL player, we didn't get that with them. So to see them in the, in the playoff, where you are going against great players week in, week out, and, and he was as dominant and maybe more dominant than Bane at times. But to your point, like, they both have counter moves that are so well developed at this point to where even with Bane, if you hit, if you time it up right, his ability to, like, we'll see this drill at the Senior bowl combine where they have to run the ring and you got to keep that arm down, the inside shoulder down. He. He is elite at that. You know, the hip flexibility, the balance. And I see that from him. With Mezador, it's more about power. Like, he is going to counter you with power and he's going to run right through your chest and you better be ready because you can't, you can't finesse him. So those guys that we were talking about, those long arm tackles, you better have some sand in your pants because once he gets through that arm, you're going to have, you know, £280 on your hands. That comes with a big bull rush.
- [16:25]
Co-host David Pollock
I think people don't realize that like Mezador, 6, 3, 2, 80. Like, you watch him, you know, all year, it's hard to put him to perspective. But like, to play at that size, to be that quick off the rock, like, I think people just kind of forget about it. What about some other guys in, in the. That's going to be in the draft that come from the national championship game? Who's the next guy on your list that you're like, yeah, like he's. He's going to be a baller.
- [16:48]
Matt Miller
You know, this might surprise people, but we just talked about. I have the note, the draft, good football players note. I love d' Angelo Pons, the corner from Indiana. And apparently this is the measurable show, because the big thing for him is he's undersized and people are going to say, oh, he's only a nickel corner. I actually don't care. He does not commit penalties, he does not miss tackles. He picks the ball off every game. It feels like he is just a baller. And when I watch him, I'm reminded of guys like Tyron Matthew and Chris Harris who were such elite inside players. And with Pons, I do think there's some honey badger there where he could play a little bit of split safety if you needed him to. But what he does, just from a football IQ standpoint, the timing, he's feisty. I will always love guys that are just great football players. And I, other than Mendoza, I think you can make the argument the Ponds was the most important player to Indiana this year. Just what he meant for that defense, the big plays that he made continually. You know, you go back to the Oregon game, first pass the game, pick six, because he jumps a route. And that's all film study. You know, that's him being prepared, knowing the route combination that's coming, baiting Dante more into that throw, that. That's the type of guy that, again, we'll get caught up with height, weight, 40 times, but he is just instinct. Yeah, other people will. Other people that do my job will get caught up with that. I will stand on the table for Ponds as just being a great football player. And I think that translates. Interceptions in college translate to the NFL. And every year there are players that get knocked. Caleb Bullock was one that got knocked because he was. He was undersized. Well, he goes to the NFL, plays for the Houston Texans. All he does is pick off passes. Like it's a. It's a translatable skill that these guys have.
- [18:27]
Co-host David Pollock
Yeah, I think when it comes to pawns too, like, it's just. It's fun to watch the instincts, it's fun to watch the ball skills. It's fun to watch him, by the way, they put him at wide or put him at running back and flared him out a couple last game and threw it to him and you saw it. But. But another thing about, about him that, that I appreciate or that I really enjoyed watching was watching him against Jeremiah Smith in the Big Ten championship game. Because you're talking, by the way, they were high school teammates. Did you know that?
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Matt Miller
Yeah, I did not know that until then.
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Co-host David Pollock
Yeah, they played high school football together. So he, he saw what, what Freakazoid looked like and probably learned, like, I got to find ways to win. Like, it can't be with my size and my speed. Like, I better find ways to beat that dude. I think that absolutely helped him probably in college football. But, like, I love watching guys like that compete. Okay, you say I don't have measurables. Okay, well, here's the thing. And I get that. Bane, you say I don't have measurables. Well, how do I compete against the guys that have measurables? Like, how do I still find ways to win? Because it still goes back to, like, what are your superpowers? Because some people's superpowers, it has nothing to do with their height. It has nothing to do with their length. They still find ways to win at an elite level. Pawns to me. Vision, ball skills, feel for. For bodies around him, tackling ability. Like, I get it. There's some of the things that are missing, but I'm getting all of the other things. I'm not missing out on some of those other things, too. So I trump. Like, I always. My thing is always, what's your superpower? Like, what's your superpower? And sometimes the superpowers can overpower. Like, the generic height, weight, and speed crap that we get. That drive me nuts.
- [20:10]
Matt Miller
No, that's well said. And it's funny because on the other side of the field, Counte Scott from Miami, like, they have their own version of that. This dude who's just probably the best blitzing nickel corner that we've seen in college in quite some time, but he also makes plays. You know, he can play inside, he can play outside. He's tough. I think he will be around. Player blitz, man. The blitz is. I think he had five sacks this year. Just the timing, and there's some swagger to him, and you expect that from Miami, right? But there's some swagger to his game where everyone in the stadium can know he's coming on that blitz, and he's still going to get there. The timing, the speed, I mean, he's. He's so much fun to watch. Both those players are like, I. I had a blast watching them. I saw. I saw Keonte Scott committed to the Senior bowl today. I'm hoping that he's able to. To be there. You know, it's been a long season for them. Hopefully he's there because just being able to watch him in person with the foot speed that he has, the. The way that he plays physical, the line of scrimmage, this could be a. You know, next couple weeks he could really boost his stock coming off such a strong cfp.
- [21:11]
Co-host David Pollock
Yeah. And remember, Miami played four games. Like they add an extra. Right. Because. Because they had to play the first round, then they played the second round, third round, and the championship. So I get it if some people are like, I just beat the crap out of my body. Scott, if you don't remember, if everybody's listening, he's the one who caught the pick six. Right. He got the pick six against Ohio State.
- [21:31]
Matt Miller
Yep.
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Co-host David Pollock
And that was, that was pure instincts. Because again, if you're doing your job, Matt, you're not supposed to go underneath that. You're supposed to go outside, fit that ball, make it turn back inside to all your help. But guess what? I don't give a crap. Sometimes when you blitz, I don't give a crap. Like, just make the play. Like. And to have a knack for the five sacks, for the picks, the hard hits, like the coverage, you definitely, you ain't lying. He's a, he's a heck of a football player. Like, fun guy to watch. Like a ball player. I guess we are. Well, I guess I didn't realize it, but we're talking about all the guys that don't meet the measurables. That's perfect for me, by the way, because I was a guy who didn't meet the measurables.
- [22:11]
Matt Miller
Same. I mean, clearly. Right. I stopped in high school, so. Right. Yeah. They said short and slow. All right, go write about the draft instead.
- [22:19]
Co-host David Pollock
But I'm really tough.
- [22:21]
Matt Miller
Yeah.
- [22:22]
Co-host David Pollock
Good facial hair. I'm tough. All right, so what are we going to be talking about this whole draft cycle now? Big picture, looking ahead. Yeah.
- [22:31]
Matt Miller
You know, I think unfortunately, and you know, you've been in these meetings just like I have been where you, you say that, you know, you got the production crew saying, all right, what. How do we sell this draft to the fans? And this year it's, it's light. It really is. It is not a quarterback draft. It is not a wide receiver draft. At the top, I think this is kind of a meat and potatoes class. And last year was too. But this is going to be a trenches draft. It really is. You know, we'll see when you know, David Bailey from Texas Tech, Ruben Bane from Miami, they're going to go in the top 10, most likely. Now we'll see a couple offensive linemen. Francis Moaga from Miami, the right tackle, he has a chance to go in the top five or six picks as well, but it's going to be a trenches draft. Utah. Both of their offensive tackles could be top 10 picks Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomo. So it is really that year where if you're one of these teams, it's like everybody loves fantasy football and offensive firepower. This is a year where if you need a tackle, a defensive end or a linebacker, this is a really, really good draft for you. Running back Jeremiah Love is my favorite favorite player in the class, but positional value says he shouldn't go very early. Caleb Downs from Ohio State, safety, my second favorite player in the class. Positional value says he shouldn't go early. So that's gonna, I think be a big part of this conversation for teams and for us in the media is, okay, how do we do we throw out positional value in a draft that is weak on those key spots? Quarterback hurt.
- [23:48]
Co-host David Pollock
Does Genti hurt?
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Matt Miller
Maybe. So here's what's fun. Genti might, but Bijan Robinson should help. So it's like Genti's situation was just so bad that I think you could look at it and say, okay, like that maybe is an outlier because of this situation. You know, you've got. Right. And there was no, no harmony between the coach and the offensive coordinator. Obviously Chip was fired, you know, mid season, so I think he'll get a pass on that. But you know, first round running back is, is an interesting conversation these days because of what Saquon has meant to the Eagles, what Bijan has meant to the Falcons. Jameer Gibbs with the Lions. So there's, there's now starting to be a little bit more of an uptick in the value that those guys bring. Especially, and I think it's important too, especially in a draft where there's gonna be folks to say never take a running back in the first round, say, okay, who would you like your team to take then? Do you want them to take a defensive end that maybe never projects as a starter or a defensive tackle that's a two down player? Or do you just take the running back that is going to be a three down player even if it's not the positional value that you would like at maybe pick number nine or number 10 overall, but he's still just a really good player and probably the best player on the board.
- [24:57]
Co-host David Pollock
So who are the teams? So we mentioned Mendoza. So is Ty Simpson the next clear quarterback? Where does Carson Beck come in? Like who's the, who's the top four or five quarterbacks? Because the top of the draft has a lot of teams that need quarterbacks. And if there's One thing that we do know, Matt, and it doesn't take me bringing on an expert like Matt Miller to answer this. People are going to overdraft quarterbacks. Like they are going to reach for quarterbacks because it's the most important position. I get it. It's going to be the most important position. It's a guy who touches the ball every play. So I mean who are those guys?
- [25:32]
Matt Miller
Yeah, I mean I think Ty Simpson from Alabama. He entered the draft after one year as a starter. He was a four year player at Alabama. One year starter. His name is going to be interesting.
- [25:40]
Co-host David Pollock
That doesn't hit Matt Miller's 25 starts.
- [25:44]
Matt Miller
Here's the interesting name though. Trinidad Chambliss. We were talking about the CFP and who stood out, who made money. Chambliss, the quarterback from Ole Miss replacing Austin Simmons. Let's remember before the season it was all about Austin Simmons replacing Jackson Dart. He's a two sport star. He's going to blow up in Lane Kiffin's offense. Well, he got hurt and didn't look very good before that. Here comes Chambliss and all he does is takes that team to a victory in the college football playoffs and is prolific in terms of yards. What he does as a passer, he is the interesting one to me and he has applied for next year eligibility. We'll see what happens there. If he, if he gets into the draft instead of college football another season I think we could see him get into the late first round just because of the need and because of how well he played this year. And, and now we've seen with Jackson Dart that offense, I mean there's some translatable skills from that offense to the NFL.
- [26:32]
Co-host David Pollock
How many starts too because he played for Ferris State. So those, those count obviously like he's over that 25 start mark which I think is, is important. You know, if you're looking at experience and seeing that, I bet you he's. He won a national championship. And by the way, like I am firmly convinced of this, if you put Mendoza on any of the final four teams, they win a championship. Whoever that team is, if you put them on every team but Alabama. I think everybody has a chance to win a national championship but the only guy I'm going to buck at is Trinidad. Because again, what's your superpower, Matt? Like what if you're going to be short, fine. You better have other discernible traits. And to me it's not Kyler Murray. He is. The comparison is not Kyler Murray. For him because he is a point guard. Like that dude. The ball comes in, the ball comes out. That doesn't happen for Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray's best attributes is the second reaction plays, but the first reaction play. Like that dude, Chambliss, man, like, you talk about negating rushes, operating in strengths. That dude gets the ball out, sees it, feels it. But then guess what, man, Against Georgia, when I need just a sprinkle of the magic, I don't want to live in the magic, right? Like, I don't want to live in the secondary play. I want to live in the first reaction play. But the hardest play as a defensive guy to defend is always that next play that's not drawn up. When he runs backwards 30 yards and outruns Dalen Everett and, and makes a play like, it's just, it's silly. So, like, it's not, it's not the razzle dazzle. To me, that's his superpower. To me, it's get the ball out to his playmakers immediately.
- [28:09]
Matt Miller
No, absolutely. To me, it's Russell Wilson. Early Russell Wilson. Not where we are now, like when Russ broke in. Because like you said, it is that, hey, if you're short, you gotta be able to find your passing windows. And you better have an arm that can buy you some time, you better have legs that can buy you some time. And he has all that. The Georgia game, unfortunately, was his best game. That was, that was him saying, this is who I am as a player. Like, this is what I bring to the table. And that was an elite performance from him. And you could, I mean, even the loss to Miami, I thought he played really well given the circumstances. Right. Of like, what he was doing.
- [28:39]
Co-host David Pollock
I thought he ran out of time. If he had more time, I feel like he'd have won.
- [28:43]
Matt Miller
Yep. So he's, he's the interesting name. I'm not a Carson Beck fan and I will say that is like, I, I applaud him for a great college career. He had four bowl games and with him throwing an interception when his team had a chance to win, that's just, it's just, man, the play under pressure just. It's just not there for me with him. So. And I think that matters. Like, this isn't a freshman or sophomore where we're saying, okay, the clock will speed up, he'll be all right. This is a fifth year senior. The clock is as fast as it's going to get for him. And the play under pressure. And even, even in that win over Ole Miss, we saw it you know and I know he runs the touchdown end at the end, but he was leaving clean pockets all night.
- [29:26]
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- [30:23]
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- [31:23]
Matt Miller
Because the pressure gets to him. He drops his eyes, he does panic, he throws interceptions. We saw it in 2024 at Georgia. We saw it this year even though Miami protected him pretty well. But I think he is, he is someone when he had Vlad McConkey and Brock Bowers, they made him look like more than he was once they were gone. You see the accuracy issues and just in terms like putting the ball on the guy. There's a lot of times where players are saving him with some of the ball placement. So I hope I'm proven wrong. Anytime I'm critical of player. My genuine hope is that I'm wrong and they become hall of Famers and I can say one day, man, I was wrong about that. Guy. Because that happens, it happens often in this industry. But I, I don't, I don't see the, you know, the processing speed for him to, to step in and be a starter in the pros.
- [32:07]
Co-host David Pollock
If you don't know Matt Miller and his past, which I do because I'm a big fan. Wrong. About Josh Allen. Josh Allen, you were super duper high on. So we're going to take, we're going to, we're going to be on the positive side for now. We'll find some of the other ones that you missed on later on. But right now we're going to stick with the positives. When you, so you got Mendoza, you got Beck, or you got, excuse me, you got Mendoza, you got. Simpson is back the third quarterback in this draft.
- [32:34]
Matt Miller
I would put Chambers at three if he comes out.
- [32:36]
Co-host David Pollock
And then I think Chambers and then.
- [32:38]
Matt Miller
You have conversations about some guys got hurt this year. Drew Aller from Penn State, Garrett Nussmeier from, from lsu. I think they have to reenter the conversation as we do get into the next three months of East West Shrine Bowls coming up next week, Senior bowls coming up next week, combine pro days. When I got started in this business, one person told me, and I'll never forget this was quarterback evaluation starts in January. What they do in the fall is proving to us they're good enough to play in the NFL. Everything else happens from January on about work ethic, aptitude, iq, character. That's the stuff that's going to make or break a lot of these guys. Like we know, you know, we know who the quarterbacks are now. It's that you start to separate guys out. And so we'll see. I mean, it's not a class where if you're, you know, if you're a New York Jet fan, this probably isn't super exciting to you. You're probably thinking about.
- [33:30]
Co-host David Pollock
Right.
- [33:30]
Matt Miller
Also that, you know, if you're a fan of the Browns, you're wondering, do we run it back with Shador Sanders for another year? Because this, this is a one quarterback draft and I, I think that will be. You asked earlier what are we going to talk about for the next three, four months? It's probably that is, is your incumbent quarterback better than the options in the draft? Meanwhile, 2027 looks like it's going to be an all time great draft at multiple positions. So how many teams punt on this year just to get to next year?
- [33:57]
Co-host David Pollock
Yeah, that's not a good position to be. And you're like, man, I got a good pick and Then crap like, I don't have a guy I'm gonna get. All right, what about some other guys? We covered Trinidad, David Bailey, we saw him. You touched on him saying, a top 10 pick. But, my gosh, man, I thought he was a good player at Stanford this year. I was like, that dude's a special player. Like, going to Texas Tech, just proving his worth. You saw it against Oregon. Like, he didn't take a backseat. Like, he was. He was. He was the man making plays.
- [34:29]
Matt Miller
I'll tell you, early in the year, a friend of mine plays quarterback in the NFL for the Chiefs. You've probably not heard of him, but Patrick Mahomes likes to give me a hard time about football players. And so he goes to a Tech game and text me. He was like, david Bailey's gonna be a top 10 pick. And I was like, okay, sure. Like, all right. You know, you're a homer. It's cool that you've got your logo on the jerseys. I get it. You gotta hype up your guys. Well, he was right. David Bailey's gonna be a top 10 pick. That dude. The speed around the edge is so special. And, you know, 632-50255 he's right in that build of guys like Will Anderson who have had a lot of success with that speed around the edge. And, I mean, you could speak to this better than I ever could, but I think when you have speed, you also have to have some power to your game. And that's what I like about him. It's not just. He's not just a speed rusher. You know, he's not £230, just, you know, running circles around guys. There's actually some power to his game, and I think that's the difference between, you know, being able to step in and play right away. Like James Pierce with the Atlanta Falcons and Jalen Walker, both a little bit undersized guys, but they have enough of a power element to their game that they were able to come in and have that early success. And I think Bailey is going to fit into that same bucket of. No, he's not 6 5, 275, but the speed is elite. And then there's enough power and enough leverage that he's going to still be a really good player.
- [35:48]
Co-host David Pollock
And the spin. I like the spin. And I feel like the timing. He's got a timing. You can't teach timing to a. It's like a quarterback. You see quarterbacks all the time. You mentioned Drew Aller. Like, I watched him in his offense And I'm like, nothing marries up like your feet to where receivers are. And I'm like, I'm frustrated about watching the timing of it. You watch Mendoza and it's like, it's like an orchestra. It's like, holy cow. Like, foot in, ground ball out. Like, he gets it. Understands leverage when somebody's playing inside leverage, somebody playing outside leverage. That's the thing about Bailey that I really, really like. He understands like when to hit that spin, how to give you enough speed, then convert to power. That's the biggest thing. If I can win with speed and get that tackle bailing now, I can hit him in the mouth and I can run power. And one thing, as a pass rusher, man, I always struggle with guys who don't, you know. You remember the old proverb, know thyself. Like, I remember talking to Nolan Smith coming out of college. He's at Georgia. And I'll never forget, man, I was like, nolan, who do you watch in the NFL? And he was like, miles Garrett. I was like, stop watching Miles Garrett, right? I was like, you're not Myles Garrett. That's a freak show. That's a different freakaz or human. I was like, you have, you have some quick twitch to you. I was like, but you bull rush too much. I was like, I was like, you're down the middle of people at 2:30. Like, use your speed to then use your power. Like now we're getting them, we're getting them bailing and we're not going down the whole center mass. Like, work angles of the guy, cut him in half is how you really, you know, Russ, a passer. Anyways, I really like that about Bailey. Like, I, I see the, the thought process and boy, did he benefit nicely from playing with other good guys. Because that pocket, man, my, my sophomore year, I break the sack record at Georgia. Like, I'm like, Matt, I'm, I'm a big deal. Like, next year I got 13 and a half sacks. Next year we're going for 15 to 18, right? Jonathan. Golly, how can I not remember Jonathan Sullivan? My three technique was drafted in the first round. He got on the next year and them sack numbers went down. It was so hard because the pocket, they could step up when you pressured from the outside and you don't necessarily get those numbers. So I do think he benefited greatly from having, you know, guys on the, on the, on that interior with them that were just, they were ballers.
- [38:10]
Matt Miller
Well, those guys, Lee Hunter probably gonna be a second round pick. Romela Height probably gonna be A second round pick. And same for Miami, right? It's Bain and mezador. And number 99, that defensive tackle for them. Yeah, Moden.
- [38:22]
Co-host David Pollock
Oh my God.
- [38:23]
Matt Miller
He might have been the best player on the field Monday night. Like other than Mendoza, Moten was everywhere. I kept writing down in my notebook. 99, 99. It was like, who is this dude? Like I, I had not watched him individually and that is on my to do list this week.
- [38:37]
Co-host David Pollock
And he had been banged up and barely played the semifinal. He tried to play, I think, and couldn't even play. But you know, the one thing about him that makes him different is a, is a defensive tackle that I really like. Most people engage and it's a hop, it's a step, it's a, it's a step. Step. That dude will keep his feet moving. And when he keeps his feet moving, like he goes right through people. He just keeps going like. And then he grabbed and then he runs. He runs. He does not run like a defensive tackle like that dude. I agree. 99. What about other guys that were in the playoff, like Branch from uga? That dude was focused in their offense. And by the way you talk about measurables and going to combines, that's a wee little dude. Like he is not a big man. But let me tell you something, you ain't going to catch him and you can't, you can't even play touch football with him a lot of times.
- [39:27]
Matt Miller
No, I mean what he does, what he does behind the line of scrimmage is so special. And they're going to dump things off to him and just let him create. We can, that can translate, right? His run after catchability, probably the best in the draft. The open field speed, super, super special. He is small and so I think the key for him is going to be going somewhere where they have a plan for him. How do you get him acclimated into the offense? What type of plan do you scheme up for him? Because he's not the guy that's just going to go out and win one on ones. You need to put him somewhere where you can give him some touches. But if he could get somewhere like San Francisco, the Rams, somewhere where they can scheme him up some touches. The Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears don't really need him. But like those offenses where dudes have experience scheming up touches for some of these smaller fast players, he could be, he could be a pro bowl player just because of that. So I, I'm a big fan of his. The size thing is going to come up. Some teams are going to not like that, others are going to be fine with it. So it's just a matter of where he ends up landing. But I think he'll be in that late first, early second round range.
- [40:27]
Co-host David Pollock
Well, I'm gonna, I'm going to continue. This is absolutely on accident, but it's not a surprise. Like one of the guy that I wanted to bring up from the playoff run, we only got to see him one game. But another guy that's undersized. Like I said, I did not do this on purpose. But Cassius, how he's probably a guy that's going to be talked about being a little bit undersized. But yeah, tell me a quicker first step that you saw in college football because that sucker got off the rock with a purpose. His stance is the weirdest thing I've ever seen, by the way.
- [40:54]
Matt Miller
Right. It's like Ashton Genty of defensive ends, but it is a weird stance but it works. And I'm of the belief if you don't. If it works, don't change it. You know, if it's not broke, don't fix it. But the first step is crazy. I think the game that gave me pause about him was the Texas game because their left tackle, Trevor Goosby, he probably would have been the first tackle draft of this year had he entered and he shut Howell down. And that's something no one else did this year. And so that's where you know, now that things are slowing down, you want to go back and study the tape a little bit more and like, okay, what Goosebie did to him, is that something that. Is he just an elite player? He's that good of a player? And, and Howell ran into a guy that's a Sunday player right away or is there something in the technique, something in the, the game plan that maybe allowed him to have those wins when I mean no one else could stop him all season long? I mean he is, you know, 6:2. The leverage that he plays with is, is crazy. But then he's got that shoulder dip and the acceleration when he comes out of that is. I mean it's so much fun to watch him do that.
- [41:50]
Co-host David Pollock
It's pretty solid. It's pretty good. So we're. Hey, we're going to do this again, Matt. Like we're going to, we're going to have you on a lot, man. I really appreciate you. We, we'll be, we'll do this every Wednesday as much as possible because I'm just going to keep a running notebook draft good Football players. That's a good.
- [42:04]
Matt Miller
That's a good. It's that simple, right? So hard.
- [42:08]
Co-host David Pollock
I'm start building the criteria here on C ball. Get starts like find me a guy in the league who hasn't had 25 starts. The list goes on and on. That of stuff that stuck out, man. We appreciate your time and we look forward to breaking it down, chopping it up next week with you big dog.
- [42:24]
Matt Miller
Sounds good, man. Thank you, man.
- [42:25]
Co-host David Pollock
I hope you love that as much as as I did. That was, that was fantastic. Matt's done this for a long time, got a lot of great opinions. So just, just knows the, knows the draft inside and out, knows The Scouts, the GMs, all those things so he'll have more insights. Hey, today's show, thank you so much. Every day counts Nutrition. Go to everydaycountsnutrition.com if you take creatine, if you take, if you're going to get into the vitamin D and K world, if you want to take care of your body, hey, we're giving you a great offer here. C ball. Get ball man. 50% off. Yes, please. 50% off. Everydaycountsnutrition.com C ball 50 is the code 50 off all your orders again, Man, I take creatine if it's one of the best supplements you've ever had in your life. Like cognitive muscle building, the list goes on and on. If you're old, if you're young, if you're a woman, like if you're a man, it doesn't matter. Like that supplement is one of the best vitamin D and K, one of the best things you can put in your, in your system from a, from a standpoint of recovery and health. And so everyday countsnutrition.com go check them out again. Code C ball 50. You're welcome. We'll give you 50% off on your order. So check that out now. Thank you all for joining us. Like always appreciate y' all so much peace.