Andy Staples: New Coaches Shaking Up SEC & Surprise Playoff Picks

Summary

That SEC Football Podcast

Episode: Andy Staples: New Coaches Shaking Up SEC & Surprise Playoff Picks

Date: August 7, 2026

Host: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike), with guests Cole and Andy Staples (On3)

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Overview

This episode dives into the new generation of SEC coaches, the shifting landscape brought about by NIL and player movement, and fresh playoff predictions that might surprise fans. Andy Staples joins SEC Mike and Cole to break down which programs are adapting best, provides insight from SEC Media Days, discusses quarterback battles, and offers bold prognostications for the upcoming season—all in the podcast’s signature conversational, humorous style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter & Netflix Experience

• The hosts and Andy reminisce about their recent experiences as Netflix personalities at SEC Media Days.
• Andy Staples shares the surreal nature of being told to dress for “55 million people” and the differences in perks (like first-class tickets) among guests.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Colin, what's the dress code?"
    "Just wear something you'd want to be seen by 55 million people in."
    — Andy Staples [00:28]

2. Pete Golding’s Media Day: Openness & Tampering (02:00–03:50)

• Andy praises Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding’s candid answers regarding his relationship with Lane Kiffin and the realities of coaching transitions.
• Golding’s take on transfer tampering was particularly direct, paralleling it to how journalists wouldn’t leave jobs without a new offer:
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Would you ever leave your old job, quit your old job without being offered or interviewing for the other job? ... Then why are we expecting people to do this?"
    — Andy Staples relaying Pete Golding’s answer [03:19]

3. The New Generation of SEC Coaches (03:50–05:17)

• Discussion centers on the “generational shift” in coaching as figures like John Sumrall, Will Stein, and Pete Golding represent new blood in the conference.
• Staples observes these younger coaches are unfazed by NIL and the transfer portal since they've “never known any different,” contrasting with some veterans.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "This is what life has been for me the entire time I've been a head coach… I’m just dealing with it as it comes."
    — Andy Staples on new coaches [04:00]

4. What We’ve (Not) Learned at Media Days (05:17–07:18)

• Andy points out that with so much roster turnover, even coaches are still figuring out their teams—Kirby Smart at Georgia is an exception due to his high school-focused recruiting.
• Possible quarterback leads mentioned: Austin Mack may be edging Keelan Russell at Alabama, based on subtle media cues.

5. Quarterback Battles & How Coaches Decide (07:45–09:04)

• Hosts discuss the media anointing certain QBs based only on spring games, though coaches see much more in practice.
• John Sumrall’s plan to use both quarterbacks early in the schedule as a practical approach before settling.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Just because you start game one doesn’t mean you’re gonna start game twelve."
    — Andy Staples [08:00]

6. Coach Personality Types: Letting It Rip (09:04–09:39)

• The panel notes that newer coaches, especially on the offensive side, are still finding their voice with the media.
• Defensive coaches tend to be blunter, while offensive ones are more reserved.
• Mike Elko (Texas A&M) delivers “quote of the media days” on player motivation:
  • Memorable Quote:

    "How do you keep your players from getting satisfied?"
    "I show them the trophy case. It's empty."
    — Mike Elko via Andy Staples [09:39]

7. Potential Breakout QBs & Surprise Stars (10:11–12:14)

• Asked to name a potential “Trinidad” (unexpected QB breakout), Andy singles out Keelan Russell as the type who could emerge late due to his athleticism and tools.
• Andy relates this situation to Johnny Manziel’s unexpected rise in 2012, emphasizing how traits don’t become assets until shown in real games.

8. SEC Roster & Position Previews (Byron Brown, Auburn, Tennessee, etc.) (12:31–16:37)

• Auburn’s Byron Brown: Andy is bullish, especially impressed by his running ability—“terrifying in the open field”—and sees Auburn’s deep running back room taking pressure off the passing game.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Byron's a hell of a lot better quarterback than Nick Marshall in terms of throwing the football, but he's a scary runner too."
    — Andy Staples [13:05]

• Tennessee Playoff Hype: Cole share’s his pick, Andy notes the addition of DC Jim Knowles and a dynamic RB (Desean Bishop) elevates Tennessee’s upside.
• Discussion on Tennessee QB Faison Brandon’s accuracy and arm strength—a quiet potential superstar.

9. Vanderbilt: Will They Fall Off? (16:37–18:08)

• Host brings up Vandy as a team forecasted to regress; Andy argues they’ll stay tough, citing their strong lines and stable staff even minus star QB Diego Pavia.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Vandy would kick your ass up front… that's not going to change. That's not going to stop."
    — Andy Staples [16:56]

10. Boldest Takes & Playoff Predictions (18:21–18:33)

• Andy’s Tennessee Legend Bold Take:

  "Shane Beamer will not only coach himself off the hot seat, but the Gamecocks will be in the playoff."
  — Andy Staples [18:23–18:32]
  Hosts are simultaneously startled and impressed by the confidence of this prediction.

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Notable Quotes

• Andy Staples on generational coach shift:

  "They don't have any set notions about what it's supposed to be. They're just like, I got this job. I gotta figure out how to keep this job." [04:39]

• Andy Staples on coaching with NIL/Portal:

  "I don't know any different. This is what life has been for me the entire time I've been a head coach." [03:59]

• Mike and Andy Staples on empty trophy cases:

  "I show them the trophy case. It's empty." [09:39]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:28–01:18 — Netflix media day stories
• 02:00–03:50 — Pete Golding’s media day answers; tampering in college football
• 03:50–05:17 — Generational change in SEC coaching hires
• 05:29–07:18 — What coaches (don’t) know about their rosters
• 08:00–09:04 — Quarterback competition philosophies
• 09:39 — Mike Elko’s “trophy case” quote
• 10:11–12:14 — Breakout quarterbacks/comparisons to past surprises (Manziel)
• 13:05–14:22 — Byron Brown’s impact at Auburn, running back depth
• 14:22–16:37 — Tennessee playoff optimism and analysis of new QB
• 16:56–18:08 — Will Vanderbilt actually experience a big drop-off?
• 18:23–18:32 — Bold prediction: South Carolina in playoff

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Tone & Style

This episode is packed with friendly banter, insightful anecdotes from SEC Media Days, and a willingness to make bold, fun predictions. Andy Staples blends sharp analytical observations with humor and storytelling, making complex issues about roster construction and coaching transitions approachable for any fan.

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How to Follow Andy Staples

• Twitter: @Andy_Staples
• Show: On3Sports YouTube Channel
• Website: on3.com

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Summary Takeaway

The SEC’s new wave of coaches are adapting quickly to an evolving college football environment defined by NIL and the portal, while old-school approaches may no longer be as effective. With quarterback competitions open and several teams re-tooling, surprises are likely—look out for new contenders (maybe even South Carolina in the playoff, per Andy!) and breakout players who thrive in a season where the only constant is change.

Transcript

[Dave Ferenthold]

A cool and crisp Modelo tastes good, but that fought for every rebound Modelo or that just clocked out Modelo. That Modelo you earned is just better. That Modelo is the mark of a fighter. Drink responsibly. Being reported by Crown Import, Chicago, Illinois.

[Mike]

Welcome to Hot Take Central.

[Cole]

You should be used to it. Fellow Netflix star andy Staples of On3. What's up, man?

[Andy Staples]

That Netflix thing was crazy. I don't know. I don't know if it was like that for you. I, I do remember talking to, to Colin Orcutt who worked on that thing, and we both worked with him on that. And I remember the first time I taped with them, I said, colin, what's the dress code for this thing? He's like, oh, it's, it's, you know, kind of casual, but don't, don't wear like a T shirt. He's like, basically just wear something you'd want to be seen by 5. By 55 million people in. I like, Excuse me. He's like, well, I don't know if he's going to do that. Well, but that's. How many could see it.

[Cole]

I didn't know if I was going to get kidnapped or. Because I was like, I didn't know those people. So I just flew to meet them. But it. The funniest story I have on that. They flew me out. I've never flown first class. It was only like a 45 minute.

[Andy Staples]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. They didn't fly me first class.

[Mike]

Anyway.

[Cole]

Drink tickets.

[Andy Staples]

What?

[Cole]

And then the way back, back, back, ass of the plane.

[Andy Staples]

I got to make a phone call. I got no, I got no drink tickets and no first class. There was none of that. There's.

[Cole]

They buttered me up.

[Andy Staples]

There's a middle seat to la.

[Mike]

I love, I loved how we, we went to that movie room to watch the first episode at Media Days, you know, and we're heading down and there's

[Andy Staples]

a group of girls and they looked

[Mike]

at Mike and I said, oh, he was on the net. I was like, go. His big headache fit this damn thing.

[Cole]

It never.

[Andy Staples]

Oh, man.

[Mike]

Well, hey, you're telling me a little bit about Pete. We haven't, we haven't heard Pete Golding's comments or anything like that, but I

[Andy Staples]

heard it was good. You know, he gets asked about Lane Kiffin and you can see for a second he's like, should I do what the Sid coached me up to do or should we do this? And he's like, you could tell in his mind, he's like, Effort. We're doing it. And really good, thoughtful answer. Somebody asked about his relationship with Lane Kiffin, and he said, hey, look, I know people think we should probably. We're supposed to hate each other. We're in regular contact.

[Cole]

We.

[Andy Staples]

We talk pretty regularly. And he said he was talking to the. The AD Keith Carter recently and said, didn't everybody win here? Like, do when you look back on. On the fact that you hired Lane Kiffin, do you feel like you made a mistake? No. He got you to the playoff. And he said he was talking to some fans in one of their caravan stops, and he said, if I'd have told you five years ago, you're 11 wins in the playoff, but your coach is going to leave, would you have taken it? And they're like, hell, yeah, we'd have taken it. And so he had that one. And then he got asked about tampering, and he did. The answer, he was coached, I don't know. I don't really get into feelings about tampering. We have a compliance department. Blah, blah, blah, blah. And then Dan Wolkin from Yahoo follows up with another tampering question. He said, what should change? Or anything you would change about the tampering rules? And again, Pete kind of looks around. He's like, am I gonna do this? Yep, gonna do this. And he looks at Dan. He goes, okay, you're a reporter. Would you ever leave your old job, quit your old job without being offered or interviewing for the other job? And Dan's like, no. And Pete's like, then why are we expecting people to do this? And then he went off. It was. It was really good. Really good.

[Cole]

And I think it's clear here at SEC media days with John Sumrall, Pete Golding, Will Stein, we're getting, like, the new blood. And it's just like a different style of coach.

[Andy Staples]

It's a new generation. Yeah. And it's got. Summerall said something interesting today that I hadn't thought about. Somebody was asking him about dealing with player movement, nil, all that stuff. And he goes, my first year as a head coach was 20, 22. I don't know any different. This is my. This is what life has been for me the entire time I've been a head coach. So I'm not acting like it's the end of the world because I wasn't around when this stuff didn't happen. So I'm just dealing with it as it comes. And I think that's the way to look at it. And if you look at the Hires in the sec. It does feel like a generational shift. You know, Brian Kelly leaves and Lane moves, but then Pete Golding becomes a head coach. Napier is probably the outlier, but Sam Pittman was the oldest coach in the SEC. He goes, Ryan Silverfield's a young guy. He's early 40s. And Will Stein replaces Mark Stoops, who was kind of. He was the dean of the coaches. So, yeah, they are a different generation and makes me feel old because they're all younger than me. But it is, it's interesting because they don't have any set notions about what, what it's supposed to be. They're just like, I gotta, I got this job. I gotta figure out how to keep this job.

[Cole]

Is it.

[Mike]

Well, let me ask you, we're three days in immediate days, what would be the biggest thing you've learned about the teams we've. That we've talked to? And, and what would be, I guess, the biggest question mark you would have with those teams?

[Andy Staples]

I'm not sure how much we've learned. And I remember talking to some coaches at Big 12 media days about this a couple weeks ago. They're like, we don't really know our teams yet. I'm not sure how y' all are expected to know our teams. And I think that's probably the case with a lot now. Like Pete Golding, I think, probably has a little better sense because he brings back quite a bit from, from a really good team. But they're not. A lot of teams like Kirby Smart can say that because Kirby Smart took the fewest number of transfers and he's recruited most of that team out of high school. So he's got a really good pulse on what he has. Nobody else does. And so I'd say the one, the thing that I learned, based on what anybody actually said, it seems like maybe Austin Mack has a little bit of a lead on Keelan Russell in the Alabama Quarterback Derby. Based on one. If you're kind of parsing what Caleb says. And then he, he kind of just straight up said it on espn. So I thought that was interesting. But the other question, just more questions like asking Sumrall how do you feel about your offensive line? And Sumrall seems allergic to bs and you could tell. He's like, I, I'm not really sure yet. I didn't like the way they. They looked in the weight room when I got there. He said they're stronger now. He's happy about that. But he's. He said he's still not sure who's quote, unquote, above the line, which is, you know, basically the guys you'd feel comfortable putting in in a game. And I think in at the college level, if you have eight or nine guys like that on an offensive line, you feel great. I don't know the Florida's there yet. I don't know if they have five or six yet. That they feel that way. They might coming out of camp, but that's the biggest question mark for me, for their team, because I feel like most of the other parts of the roster are pretty solid now.

[Mike]

No, I'll let you go. I'm sorry I keep interrupting you. Sorry, Mike.

[Cole]

I'm used to.

[Andy Staples]

I love the dynamics. I love it because this reminds me of my show with Ari on three. Because I'll start to talk and Ari just. I'll be moving us to a different segment or I'll be moving us to an ad. To an ad. And he's like, one more thing. No, not one more thing.

[Mike]

You can always tell when Mike starts crossing his arms.

[Cole]

Well, to your point of like the unknowns and everybody kind of assuming everything. I feel like this year in particular, we're doing that with a lot of the quarterback competitions. Faison, he's already been anointed. Jared Curtis has already been anointed. Keelan Russell by many. Anointed. But.

[Andy Staples]

And the thing is, we do it based on. We saw the spring game, but we didn't see any of the other practices. Tramell Jones at Florida is the same thing where if you just saw a spring game, it's like, what is. What are you even trying to decide here? But that's not what. What they saw every day. So it is going like, those are going to be really. And summer. All I thought was the most interesting about that because he's like, look, just you start game one doesn't mean you're gonna start game 12. And that they have their schedule set up in a way where I think he can play Philo and Jones, they play Florida Atlantic, then they play Campbell, then they're at Auburn. I think they're going to have a chance to play them both, see them both in a game situation and have a really informed decision when they go play Auburn. I actually think Alabama's in a different spot because East Carolina's first game, that was a good team last year. Now, I granted, they lost a lot of the portal, but they could still be solid. So you got to be somewhat careful with them. And you're at Kentucky week two. So if I'm If I'm Kayla boy, I probably want to have the decision made going into the first game.

[Mike]

I'm a little disappointed with Golis on the podium. I really thought he had a chance. I didn't think this Steiner recliner would be the guy that we're talking about.

[Andy Staples]

He's. He's just not. He's not ready to let it rip.

[Mike]

He isn't.

[Andy Staples]

He is. He's one of those guys, like, he will let it rip, like, in private and. And he's great and he's very intense. So I want to see that public, but I feel like offensive coaches are just less likely to do that.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Staples]

Defensive guys are like, ah, whatever.

[Mike]

You know, it kind of reminds Mike Elko was like that very conservative at the beginning. Now he's starting to loosen up.

[Andy Staples]

Mike Elko had the quote of the whole thing because somebody goes, how do you keep your players from getting satisfied? He goes, I show them the trophy case. It's empty. It's like every Aggie fan's like, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, and all the Texas fans, we told you,

[Cole]

hey, you just said something interesting and it made me just think of a question. Just because you're the starter week one doesn't mean you will be week 12 last year. Now, will this ever happen again? Maybe not. But Trinidad, unbelievable. Came out of nowhere.

[Andy Staples]

Yeah.

[Cole]

If you had to pick this year's Trinidad, and again, maybe not the best player in the SEC perhaps, but a guy that doesn't start day one, that is a top three quarterback by the end of the year, who would that be, you think?

[Andy Staples]

Well, I think if it's somebody like, it would be somebody who's very traitsy toolsy, like somebody who's athletic, who might be able to keep plays alive. Well, that sounds like Keelan Russell. And especially on a day when you kind of got a hint that Austin Mack's winning the competition or is leading a little bit, we never know until the games get played. I talked about this on my show today. 2012, you know, Texas A&M moving into the SEC, new head coach and Kevin Sumlin new quarterback. And they. Johnny wins the job, you know, they. And they know within a few weeks of the season open that Johnny's going to be the guy. But, like, if you talk to Cliff Kingsbury, who was the offensive coordinator that year, he'll tell you they didn't know how to call plays for Johnny. They had an idea of what they wanted to do. But what Johnny did once he got on the field, which, remember, you didn't See, until week two against Florida because their Louisiana Tech season opener got moved because of a hurricane. So they didn't see what he could do until the second week of the season against a Florida team that wound up winning 11 games, I think, that year. So they immediately scrapped their offense after that because, like, holy crap, we got something special here. And then changed the way they called it. And I think that's. That's the part you don't know. Because you don't know until you see the guy in a game live where people can tackle him, because that changes everything. Cole's. Tell me to wrap it up. See, because Cole's an ESPN personality, so he will have somebody who follows him around to all these radio hits, and they'll. They will keep his schedule. They're holding the schedule and they'll keep it. And they'll. As he's talking, they'll stand behind him and they'll look at the host very sternly and they'll stare into their eyes and be like, two more minutes. One more minute.

[Cole]

I asked.

[Andy Staples]

Wrap it up.

[Cole]

I asked one too many questions of Greg Sankey. I thought his publicist was gonna pass out.

[Andy Staples]

Oh, yeah, well, no, no, no, no. See, Greg is. Greg is usually his. His assistant, Catherine, who's the nicest person in the world. She's the best, but do not cross her.

[Mike]

No, I sensed it, man.

[Andy Staples]

Do not cross.

[Mike]

We're wrapping it up right now. But let's talk about a good. I mean, I saw Cole came back. Let's talk about a good athlete. Knoburn. Byron Brown.

[Andy Staples]

I appreciate sinners centers are the best athletes on the field. I'll hear, I'll hear. No, no anti center bias here. All right, Byron Brown, let's talk.

[Mike]

Let's. Let's talk.

[Andy Staples]

You got cold best. That's their center at Auburn this year. He came from USF too.

[Cole]

They like their coals down there.

[Andy Staples]

They do.

[Mike]

I did. I. I thought I was like, how sweet. The only Auburn player where he gets a kicker. You know, Cole's favorite athlete.

[Andy Staples]

That's right. But Byram is. Yeah. Byron's exciting because when you get him in the open field running, he's terrifying. And it's interesting, you know, y' all know who their first SEC opponent is?

[Mike]

Florida. Yeah.

[Cole]

Yeah.

[Andy Staples]

When's the last time Byron played an SEC team? Florida, like. But no, I, I am curious. Can he be as effective as a passer in the SEC as he was in the American? And the thing is, though, if you run like that, you're as good at running and Also remember Auburn has Jeremiah Cobb back. They got USF's best running back. They got Baylor's best. They got somebody who was a leading rusher on their Big 12 team last year. I'm blanking on who it is, but deep running back room is all I'm saying. They're going to run the ball well this year, which I think is going to make it easier for Byron to throw. And I mean if we think about Auburn teams of the past, like they had a cornerback playing quarterback and he was throwing to wide open receivers because everybody was terrified of Nick Marshall running the ball. Byram's a hell of a lot better quarterback than Nick Marshall in terms of throwing the football, but he's a scary runner too. So I do think he's going to be productive through the air.

[Cole]

I've got Tennessee as a playoff team. Is that crazy?

[Andy Staples]

Well, I tell you what, I wasn't thinking that way. And then Josh Hyple gets in here and he's talking about golf balls and mustard bottles and I'm like, where is this loose Josh Hypo coming from? Does he know something we don't? Now I listen. The defense should be better. Defense was their weakness last year. You go get Jim Knowles, that should be better. They're going to run the ball well. Desean Bishop, but like it's funny because everybody's waiting for DGG to announce. Maybe he's already announced for Tennessee.

[Cole]

But 30 minutes.

[Andy Staples]

Okay, I'm assuming he announces for Tennessee. His school just announced it's an indeed school. I've never seen the high school get a shoe contract out of it. A recruiting deal. But the desean Bishop, this is the ultimate walk year for him. Like this is the paycheck year because if he's good, he's going to be a very high NFL draft pick. Tennessee is going to have to pay to keep him knowing what they're paying the other guy and then or somebody else is going to back up the Brinks truck for him. So like if you're to Sean Bishop you're like, all right, I'm, I'm gaining 1500 yards this year. Let's, let's do this and we'll see what the quarterback like. Is it Faison? Brandon? He's very accurate quarterback in high school. Talk to our recruiting guys about that. Like not asked to throw particularly deep but as you saw in the camp circuit, incredible army. So just because you've never asked to do something doesn't mean you can't do it. So in this, in this offense where they can exploit some matchups and get some guys in one on one situations deep down the field. He certainly got the arm to reach him. That would be fun.

[Cole]

We had Brooks Austin on the show, he was talking about how impressed he was with him at the elite 11. So yeah, he got us pretty hyped.

[Andy Staples]

Yeah, his high school offense just didn't ask him to throw downfield as much, but he was incredibly accurate, which I think you talk to coaches, most of them will tell you accuracy, get the ball out on time. If a quarterback can do those two things, you have a chance. If they happen to have great physical tools around that, that's when you can have a superstar.

[Cole]

That's what Mike Leach will always say. You can't teach accuracy.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's it.

[Andy Staples]

Except for Josh Allen. He's the only one. He's the only one who became more accurate.

[Mike]

Well, I do want to ask about playoffs. I mean, Coach Lee was in here, he mentioned it a couple of times. So I think the first team that people bring up when you talk about the biggest drop off is Vanderbilt. You know, do you, do you think that's the case or do you feel like Vanderbilt's still going to make a lot of lives miserable this year?

[Andy Staples]

So Diego Pavia was really special and I think he can be given credit for winning them some of those games. But think of some of those other games. Like Vandy would kick your ass up front. That's not. That wasn't Diego doing that. That was them recruiting and developing good linemen. That's not going to change. It's not going to stop. Now that they didn't lose anybody off their staff. They, you know, it should be very similar what they're doing. They still have Jerry Kill working his magic in the, in the background. Like I'm excited to see what they are because I don't think it was just Diego. Now, are they going to win 10 games? Again, that's, that's an entirely different story. But if we'd have gone to somebody from Vandy and said, okay, here's how you're to. Let's say we did this in 2021, here's how your 2025 will go. You're going to win 10 games, in 26, you're going to win seven games or eight games, they'd be like, oh my God, it's a renaissance. But now like they're, they're legitimately, like they would be disappointed if they won eight games. And that's a great attitude to have. I mean, within the Team internally. That's a good attitude to have, Andy.

[Cole]

All of our media days coverage brought to you by Tennessee legend. They make Tennessee whiskey. The best Tennessee whiskey you could buy. So we're asking everybody for their Tennessee Legend boldest take heading into the SEC season.

[Andy Staples]

Oh, God.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Andy Staples]

Shane Beamer will not only coach himself off the hot seat, but the Gamecocks will be in the playoff. Ducks ducking.

[Cole]

I like that.

[Mike]

Damn, that's good.

[Andy Staples]

That's pretty bold, right?

[Mike]

That's good. I like it.

[Andy Staples]

I didn't even take two shots at Tennessee legend.

[Cole]

Well, all right. The guy that hooked us up over there, he's a big Gamecock, so.

[Mike]

Yeah,

[Andy Staples]

I grew up a Gamecock fan.

[Mike]

There's a Tennessee legend in Nashville.

[Andy Staples]

Rest in peace, Steve Tannehill.

[Mike]

So, yeah, you're in Nashville, right?

[Andy Staples]

My company is, but I am. I. I live in suburban Gainesville.

[Mike]

That's right. Yeah. Enemy lines.

[Andy Staples]

There are suburbs of Gainesville, believe it or not. Is become that big of a drink in.

[Mike]

Yeah. Do you have any jorts?

[Andy Staples]

I. So I. I stopped wearing jorts in 1997, going into my sophomore year of college. Because East Tennessee, it lasted. My girlfriend was not a fan. My girlfriend at the time was not a fan of the jorts. So I did expel them from my wardrobe. But listen, Gators do wear jean shorts. Let's be real here. I actually met the guy who came up with that saying. It was in 1997, right around the time I was banishing him from my wardrobe. So the 1997 Florida Georgia game, which is the one where Mike Bobo beat Florida, it was the first Florida Georgia game that Spurrier lost. And, well, first as a coach, he lost him as a player. But so they're all drunk, of course, walking into the stadium. And so this guy who was a student, he was an undergrad of Georgia, he ended up being a lawyer working for a bunch of Florida grads. And I don't know how. I can't remember how I found him. It's one of those joys of the Internet back in 2006. But he's telling me the story. He's like, they just got completely hammered before the game. There's a bunch of Georgia fans walking in the stadium. He turns to his right, and there is this kind of stereotypical Florida man in the sleeveless shirt, mullet jean, short cut off jean shorts. And so this guy in his drunken stupor, just points. And my gangs were jean shorts. Within minutes, the entirety of these Georgia students, like hundreds of them, are just jerswear. Jean shorts. It was magical. Magical. And so now wherever I go, people find out where I went to school. And they're like, how many pairs of jean shorts you own?

[Mike]

I bet that infamous photo with the platinum blonde guy coming up, that's. That's exactly.

[Andy Staples]

That had to be him. And my wife, you know, has. She's got two degrees from Florida and she does have a jean short collection. But women can pull it off a little better than men.

[Mike]

They'll probably come back. I'm telling you. I've got a teenager, 17 year old that some of the stuff that's coming back. Oh, you know.

[Andy Staples]

You have a 17 year old daughter? Yeah, I have a 15 year old daughter, yeah. I am constantly mortified by what girls that age wear. Look, I was like everybody else when I was a teenager, if I saw a scantily clad young lady, I was like, all right, now I'm just like, fucking love of God, put some clothes on. Your dad is dying right now.

[Mike]

Like, where are your pants at?

[Dave Ferenthold]

Yes.

[Mike]

This is like, no, it's not.

[Andy Staples]

Yeah. It reminds me of this episode of Married with Children and Kelly Bundy's asking Bud what she should wear to this thing. And he goes, get that dress that dad calls your belt. And that's pretty much everything they wear now. So my mom always said, would you

[Mike]

wear it at church?

[Andy Staples]

And I'm like, so would you wear that at church? Well, yeah, I guess at church these days. One of those. One of those hip churches where the pastor plays the guitar.

[Cole]

Those are always the creepiest ones.

[Andy Staples]

It's getting late.

[Mike]

Mike Rain us in.

[Cole]

Thank you so much, Andy. Before you go, tell our audience how to follow you and how to find the show.

[Andy Staples]

So I'm at Andy Staples on Twitter. The show is at the On3Sports YouTube channel, and of course on3.com. Please subscribe. We love you. It doesn't matter what team you follow. We've got your team site and the best coverage of college football on the Internet.

[Mike]

Thank you so much, man.

[Dave Ferenthold]

Normally in these ads, you'd expect someone like me to ask you to buy something, but I want to ask you to do something different. I'm Dave Ferenthold and I'm a reporter for the New York Times. I'm an investigative reporter, which means that I follow the money inside of government and outside of government. The point of my job is to find things people are trying to hide. It involves talking to lots of people. It involves looking through lots and lots of documents. And if there weren't folks like me to go beyond the surface to understand who is really shaping what the government does. The public will be left in the dark about what the government's doing with your tax money, what the government's doing to you through regulations and spending. If you're like me and you think this kind of journalism is important, seek out a news source that does firsthand fact based reporting. If that's the New York Times, thank you. If that's your local paper, that's great too, because where you get your information matters.