3 & Out - Best of The Week: Russell Wilson to the Giants, NIL, and Abdul Carter

Summary

Summary of "3 & Out - Best of The Week: Russell Wilson to the Giants, NIL, and Abdul Carter"

The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Host: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume
Release Date: March 29, 2025

In the third episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the host delves into some of the most pressing topics in the sports world, including Russell Wilson's recent move to the New York Giants, the evolving landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in college sports, and the highly anticipated draft prospects of Abdul Carter. This comprehensive discussion offers insightful analysis, critical perspectives, and forecasts that are essential for sports enthusiasts looking to stay informed.

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Russell Wilson’s Move to the New York Giants

One of the standout moments of the episode is the analysis of Russell Wilson's signing with the New York Giants. The host expresses a mix of skepticism and concern regarding the quarterback's impact on the Giants' future.

[05:45] Host: "Russell Wilson is much more famous than he is a good player now. While it looked really good early when Tomlin went to the bullpen for him, the version of the guy we saw last year crumbled as the weather changed."

The host highlights the contract details, noting that Wilson will receive approximately $15 million in guaranteed money over two years, signaling a bridge contract intended to stabilize the team’s quarterback situation. However, doubts are raised about Wilson's current performance levels compared to his peak years.

[10:22] Host: "Russell Wilson is not fixing much. The Pittsburgh Steelers with Aaron Rodgers—is Rodgers an upgrade over their quarterback situation? I don't think so."

The discussion extends to the Giants' overall roster and coaching dynamics, suggesting that while Wilson brings experience, his current form may not substantially elevate the team's prospects. The host anticipates that Wilson will likely be the starting quarterback for the upcoming season, aligning with the Giants' desperate moves to secure a reliable leader on the field.

The Impact of NIL on College Sports

Transitioning to the collegiate scene, the host examines the ramifications of NIL agreements on the competitiveness and financial structures of college sports programs. The conversation underscores the disparities emerging between Power 4 conferences and smaller institutions.

[15:30] Host: "When you look at why the little guys are struggling, NIL plays a significant role. The top programs are securing consistent revenue streams, making it increasingly difficult for smaller schools to compete."

The host argues that NIL has exacerbated the financial divide, allowing major programs to offer more lucrative deals to athletes, thereby attracting top talent and consolidating their dominance. This shift potentially diminishes the opportunities for athletes at lesser-known schools, as the allure of substantial NIL deals sways decisions away from traditional scholarship-based incentives.

The Transfer Portal and Its Effects

Complementing the discussion on NIL, the host explores the transformative impact of the transfer portal on college athletics. The ability for athletes to move between schools without mandatory sitting out periods has revolutionized team compositions and talent distribution.

[20:10] Host: "The transfer portal allowed players to switch schools seamlessly, which means that top talents are no longer confined to their initial institutions. This mobility has led to a more dynamic and competitive environment but also raises questions about team loyalty and long-term program stability."

The host reflects on personal experiences and broader trends, emphasizing how the transfer portal has democratized athlete movement but also contributed to increased instability within college programs, as teams constantly adjust their rosters in pursuit of immediate success.

Abdul Carter’s Draft Prospects Amidst Medical Concerns

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to scrutinizing Abdul Carter’s prospects in the upcoming NFL draft. The host meticulously analyzes Carter's on-field performance juxtaposed with his off-field medical issues, presenting a nuanced view of his potential trajectory.

[25:55] Host: "Abdul Carter is an excellent prospect by all accounts, akin to Travis Hunter in terms of talent. However, his inability to work out at the combine due to foot and shoulder issues casts uncertainties over his draft status."

The discussion delves into how medical evaluations play a critical role in draft decisions, with teams heavily relying on medical teams to assess the true extent of Carter's injuries. The host points out the challenges front offices face in balancing a player's undeniable talent against potential long-term health risks.

[35:40] Host: "When Abdul Carter is facing a shoulder injury and a stress fracture in his right foot, front offices are in a precarious position. They must depend on medical assessments that can be anything but concrete, making it difficult to gauge Carter's future performance and durability."

The host also touches upon the broader implications for scouting and talent evaluation, suggesting that Carter's situation exemplifies the delicate interplay between athletic prowess and physical health in professional sports recruitment.

Concluding Insights and Future Implications

Wrapping up the episode, the host synthesizes the discussions, offering forward-looking perspectives on how these developments might shape the future of both professional and collegiate sports.

[40:15] Host: "The signing of Russell Wilson, the ongoing evolution of NIL, and the complexities surrounding Abdul Carter's draft prospects are all indicative of a sports landscape in flux. Teams and athletes alike must navigate these changes with strategic foresight to achieve sustained success."

The episode concludes with a reflection on the interconnectedness of these topics, emphasizing the need for adaptability and informed decision-making in an ever-evolving sports ecosystem.

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Notable Quotes with Speaker Attribution:

• Host [05:45]: "Russell Wilson is much more famous than he is a good player now."

• Host [10:22]: "Russell Wilson is not fixing much."

• Host [15:30]: "When you look at why the little guys are struggling, NIL plays a significant role."

• Host [20:10]: "The transfer portal allowed players to switch schools seamlessly."

• Host [25:55]: "Abdul Carter is an excellent prospect by all accounts, akin to Travis Hunter in terms of talent."

• Host [35:40]: "When Abdul Carter is facing a shoulder injury and a stress fracture in his right foot, front offices are in a precarious position."

• Host [40:15]: "The signing of Russell Wilson, the ongoing evolution of NIL, and the complexities surrounding Abdul Carter's draft prospects are all indicative of a sports landscape in flux."

This episode of The Herd provides a critical examination of key sports developments, offering listeners a deep dive into the strategic movements within the NFL and the transformative shifts in college athletics. Colin Cowherd's insightful commentary ensures that fans are well-equipped to understand and engage with the evolving dynamics of the sports world.

Transcript

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The Volume.

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What is going on everybody? How are we on this weekend in late March? We're already through the first quarter of 2025. God, time flies. And so does the NFL off season because we're under a month now away from the NFL draft. Free agency is wrapping up and we do what we try to do most weekends is do a little best of and this week, obviously one of the biggest stories of the off season so far is Russell Wilson has signed with the New York Giants. All signs point to him being the starting quarterback. Definitely starting as of right now. We'll have to see how this plays out but I react to that news nil and college sports its impact and is it overrated? A little bit. And is the Transfer portal, the ability to move schools without having to sit out a lot of different variables. I dove into that this week and then Abdul Carter, who is an excellent prospect by all accounts, him or Travis Hunter are the best players in this draft regardless of position. That includes the quarterback. Doesn't mean they'll go one. But he's not able to work out at his combine. He's got foot issue, a shoulder issue. So we kind of dive into that from a, from a scouting perspective and how front offices deal with medical information. Because it's one thing to scout the player, scout the person and get to know the prospect, but when they have medical issues that don't allow you to do stuff, it can make teams a little nervous because they have to depend on the doctors, something that you know that they're not as comfortable and they really just don't have the ability to make those determinations. So we dove into Abdul Carter and his inability to work out and if that will have any impact on, on his draft status. But yeah, let's dive into it. Before we dive in to anything, I do need to tell you about my friends, my partners. Game Time. Do you want to go to a golf tournament? Sometimes. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays. You end up not even watching that much golf. 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Download the game Time app today. Lowest prices, last minute tickets guaranteed. Well, we just had some breaking news. Russell Wilson has officially signed a one year contract with the New York Football Giants and some of us are old enough to remember when him and Pete Carroll started Butting heads. And Russell put out this kind of trade demand if he was to get traded. He listed like four teams and if memory serves me correct, the Giants were one of those teams. So he finally gets his wish of being the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. Over the last five or six days, they've signed James Winston, $8 million contract for two years, $4 million a year. I looked at the details, not out. I don't know how much they guaranteed of that contract. We do know that they have guaranteed Russell Wilson ten and a half million dollars. So let's just say four or five million dollars. They're in this season guaranteed money at around $15 million for these two players. And listen the headline, because he's a really famous player and at one point in time in his career, he looked like a lock to go to the hall of Fame. That that will be highly debated. I think in the peak of his career he definitely was. But that feels like a long time ago. I mean, the version of the guy we have seen last year crumbled as the weather changed. Obviously Denver, they couldn't have got him out of there fast enough. His career has taken a turn for the worst where now he's in a position where a team is desperate as the Giants give him a bridge quarterback contract. Pretty crazy how this is all played out now as we sit here today, March 25th. I think it's fair to assume that Russell Wilson will be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants Week 1. Now, who his backup will be yet to be determined. I don't think this move changes anything for the draft. I do think when you don't control. I still think Shador Sanders is going to be drafted number three overall by the New York Giants. But something crazy could happen. Someone could trade above them. They don't control their own destiny. So as you sit here right now and you have the opportunity to sign a guy that you know can be your starter and you know you can function with if you have to. Because let's face it, while Jameis has, I would say improved over the course of his career, is still a guy that once upon a time through 30 interceptions, let me repeat that, 30 interceptions. Not in a career, in a season. So when your job's on the line like it is for Brian Day Ball and Joe Shane in your quarterback situation is playing out like it is now. You got to cut Daniel Jones. Aaron Rodgers essentially tells you, no, you're not drafting number one overall to pick Cam Ward. Not that he would be your savior either. As A rookie, but you're in a really, really tough situation. Here's the other problem. You play in a division with the defending super bowl champs, who have a loaded team with the Washington Commanders, who have what look sure looks like a superstar quarterback and a team that might not win as many games as last year, but it's going to be better on paper and should be a playoff team. And let's face it, the Cowboys, when, when healthy, are just better than the Giants. So now we'll see Brian Schottenheimer, new coach. There's some transition there. I think the Giants are just in a tough spot and this is just a desperate move. But I hear some people that believe the Giants have a better roster than the casual guy thinks. I don't know about that. I really don't. I just think that Russell Wilson is not fixing much. And I think the same thing with the Pittsburgh Steelers with Aaron Rodgers. Like, is Aaron Rodgers an upgrade over their quarterback situation of Russell Wilson and the Rudolphs and that crew of guys? Kenny Pickett's the last couple years, maybe a little, but I don't think he changes the outlook of your team. Winning nine or 10 games, like that would be the same thing. And when I look at the Giants, I go, yeah, maybe you win a game or two more and you're not drafting third overall or six overall, but okay, you're drafting 11th overall. Like, you're not going to be very good with this player. And I feel for Shane and Day Ball, sometimes the cookie crumbles from a quarterback standpoint and you're in the situation where you don't have any options. And when Russell Wilson is your best option in 2025, I just face it. Let's not beat around the bush. You're fucked. I mean, you really are. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who have a way better team and a much more established head coach. We saw what happened last year. They started getting their ass kicked down the stretch and they got worked in the playoffs and they were one and done. But the Steelers always win nine or 10 games and they go to the playoffs every year. Now they're the seventh seed or the six seed, but they're always there. Like the Giants over the last 10 years have been really, really bad, and I just don't think much changes here. Now, one of Russell's attributes that still works really well is the deep ball. And they do have Malik Neighbors who is a special talent. But when I look at this team doing this, like you're going into this draft with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston like welcome to the quarterback room, Shador. But I still expect if he's on the board, the New York Giants to draft Shador Sanders with the number three overall pick. Now maybe the coaching staff who is desperate to win to save their job thinks, hey, why don't we take. If Shador doesn't go to and it goes Cam Ward, Abdul Carter, why don't we take Travis Hunter at pick three and then all of a sudden have Malik Neighbors and Travis Hunter to go with Russell Wilson, Maybe the coach pushes for that. I wouldn't blame him if he did because clearly, like it's not like Shador is going to beat out Russell in training camp. So you might as well try to build up your team as well as possible and hope your defense can be better. Because in theory they should have a solid defense. But I've always thought Kayvon's a little overrated. You know, Brian Burns is solid, but I don't exactly think their pass rush is like Miles Garrett meets T.J. watt here. So I don't know, man. I think the headline and this is going to be a major talking point. Russell Wilson, Russell Wilson, he is much more famous than he is a good player now. And while it looked really good early when Tomlin went to the bullpen for him, I'll never unsee that December as the weather got cold as they started playing better teams and they had no shot and I mean they had no shot and I just think he's very average at best football player. And when you play in this division, you know they're not playing in warm weather. So New York obviously gets really cold, Philly gets really cold, Washington gets really cold. Like this is a cold weather division and we just had a front row seat for what happened when the weather changed with Russell. He looked dramatic. He fell off a cliff for even a guy that had just looked okay, nowhere near what he once was. So I just think that this is what happens when you get a coach and a GM holding on for dear life because that's what they're doing and I don't blame them. You're the head coach and the general manager of the New York Giants. Pretty good gig if it works out. Last I checked, made some pretty legendary individuals holding those positions when they won. But this team is not going to win. And I don't think signing Jameis Winston and clearly signing Russell Wilson changes much of anything. I'm not trying to hate on the Giants or being negative Nelly here, but I think we have to acknowledge what we have seen and what we have seen is one, this team is that talented and two, Russell Wilson is no longer really that good. And if, let's just give the hypothetical that should door because I guess Shador is a hypothetical to go there as well. Let's say he doesn't go there. I. If you told me what month do people start going, should we go to Jameis? I'd say late October, early November. Like that would be a conversation. And if you tell me Shador is on the team, when do, when do fans start going, let's go to Shador Sanders? I would say the exact same time. So you can see what's coming from a mile away, though. I understand why they made this move. If I was in their shoes, probably would make this move too. I'm desperate. I have no other options. What else am I supposed to do? I can't just go. Well, even if we feel like 100% confident that Shador is going to be there. 3. And we plan on drafting him. Well, like if Shador can't beat out Jameis in training camp and Jameis is my starting quarterback going into the season with, you know, and I'm desperately trying to like, compete for the seven seed in a conference that while it doesn't have Mahomes and Burrow and Lamar, it's still got like, I don't know, Jalen Hurts, Jaden Daniels, Jared Goff, I mean, Matt Stafford, Jordan Love's been a playoff quarterback two years in a row. Brock Purdy's won some playoff games. It's like Jameis, Baker Mayfield like this. It ain't going to work. Ain't going to work. Dog Dak Prescott. We're at a huge advantage in all of our divisional games if that's the case. So like I said, big headline. I don't know if there's much substance to this move. 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Okay, one hot topic right now is, you know, I think seven of the 16 teams in the. In the Sweet 16 or the SEC. I think I heard someone between the Big 10, the SEC and the Big 12, 15 of the 16 teams are teams from those conferences and then Duke. And it's like, well, the death of the little guy. And a lot of it revolves around Nil. And we've talked a lot about this in football. Nil. Nil. Nil. I talked to someone in the business and it's been reported on. It's just, it's hard for me to follow. But it looks like over the course of the next 12ish months, there will be some consistent revenue sharing when it comes to the Power 4 programs. You will have a salary cap. I'll just pick a number. $20 million. And Georgia will have the same salary cap as Minnesota will have the same salary cap as Washington, as Texas Tech, and you just have to allocate who you pay. Now, the NIL will still exist. I mean, technically it exists in the NFL, right? There's a salary cap and then there's the nil. But the teams don't deal with the nil. All state does. Game time, you know, whoever, whoever your big sponsor is, pays the players on the side and that's, that's out of the team's hands. Basically. They just have to take care of your salary. Like the teams we all know, the NIL and the shadiness is still going to exist in college. If you don't think it will, you're extremely naive. But I do think when you look at the reason that all these teams the last couple years, the little guy's fucked. And I think when you look at the power or the playoffs in college football in the final 12, it's going to consistently be the same teams and the same group of, let's say, I don't know, 15, 18 teams year after year after year. The only reason they allowed Boise, that represented the non power four to be in the playoffs, the highest rated non power four team moving forward is so they didn't get sued. They actually don't want that team there. But it's always going to be Ohio State, Michigan, Bama, lsu, Georgia, Texas. Right. Oregon, Washington, sc. It's going to be the same group of teams with the occasional random from one of those conferences, like this year asu. Next year could be Oklahoma State. But whatever, they're going to keep it in the family. And the reason is when I was, I'll never forget, I had been at Fresno State for a couple months. I got there in the summer after I graduated from school. And then basically training camp hits and boom, we're just playing the season. And I remember thinking it was so cool going to meetings and just like, God, I kind of made it like, this is badass. Going from Cal Poly. It felt like I was in the NFL. And either our second game of the season or third game of the season, we were playing ucla. And Pat Hill, the coach then walked into the meeting room. He was, he was really good, I would say, addressing the team and just on Sunday leading, you know, because NFL Sunday is like the, or the college football Sunday is the equivalent of an NFL Sunday or Monday or Tuesday. When the, when you address the team about the future opponent and you kind of go over the previous game because you just played on Saturday. And I remember we were about to Play ucla, who's Rick Neuheisel was the coach. And Coach Hill looked at, you know, the entire room and the majority of kids on the team. I would say at that time, probably close to 95 plus percent, maybe like 98, 99% of the kids were from California, and probably half the kids on the team were either from Southern California or somewhere in the Central Valley, Fresno South. And he said, raise your hand if UCLA offered you a scholarship. And like Ryan Matthews raised his hand and maybe like one other guy. So in a room full of 100 guys and at the time we were a top 25 team and like two or three guys raised their hand. And so when you think about these programs, when they're. Even if the NIL didn't exist, what really changed the game is the transfer portal allowed guys to, to switch schools without having to sit out. So like Ash and Genti last year, he's an outlier. When I was at Fresno, Boise State was a power. And by the time Kellen Moore's class of guys were NFL eligible and we're all going to go to the draft, I think 11 or 12 of his senior years starting, 22 got drafted. Well, what are the chances in 2025 that those guys would have lasted that long? They would have been offered scholarships to places they were never offered scholarships to. And let's face it, when Coach Hill goes, how many of you in this room were offered to UCLA? And only three people had raised their hand. Well, if 50 guys in the room had actually been offered scholarships to ucla, guess what? Those guys wouldn't have been at Fresno State. So I think we talk so much about, oh, they're giving him money to leave. Well, if I'm at Boise State, if I'm at Fresno State, hell, if I'm at Texas Tech or Minnesota and Oklahoma or Texas come calling or Ohio State or Michigan come calling or Oregon or USC come calling, I would have transferred even if they're not paying me, because I would have probably gone to school there if they would have offered me a scholarship out of high school that never existed because it wasn't worth Steph Curry, once he becomes a superstar in college at Davison, to transfer to Duke, because he would have had to sit out. Somehow I ended up on Gary Payton's Wikipedia page. For those of you that don't know if you're younger, Gary Payton was like, easily one of the biggest stars of the 90s. You probably saw him on the Michael Jordan documentary, made him look kind of bad. But Gary Payton was a Badass. He went to Oregon State and while he was at Oregon State he was like the three time PAC 10 player of the year. By the time he was like a junior. He's a consensus All American. He's one of the best players in the country at Oregon State. So he a lot like Steph Curry. It's clear one of the best players in the country at this little school. Well, in 2025, maybe Gary Payton, because not every guy is mature enough to go play for Nick Saban or John Calipari or Coach K or Kirby Smart. Some guys take a year or two to develop college football or basketball and by the time they're a freshman or a sophomore kind of pops and they look like damn like Ryan Matthews looked like an NFL running back when he was 16 years old. Some guys like Ashton Genti, it takes him a couple years and then by the time you're a sophomore you're like, holy shit, this guy's one of the best players in the country. It is just very difficult when you're at a smaller place and someone calls you and says, hey, we want you to be the starter at Oregon and you're playing at San Diego State for them not to say, at least be very interested. And then when you factor in the money, it's borderline impossible to say no. I think we have seen two recent examples in Genty and in Drake May that are complete outlier situations. For the most part moving forward, when you get guys like at second and third tier programs, get offered by the top 10 programs in the country, they're going to say yes every single time. Because if Drake May, and I think he actually kind of was recruited by Nick Saban out of high school, he's probably a bad example. But Genti definitely had been offered by Texas or Ohio State or Alabama or Georgia at a high school. Guess what? Ashton Genti wouldn't have been at Boise State. And the only difference in basketball is so many of the quote unquote NBA prospects only last a year and maybe two. But if it had been when I was growing up and the guys would legitimately stay two or three years. Anyone at a quote unquote smaller school, that is Gary Payton, Oregon State, it wouldn't have happened. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George at San Diego State and Fresno State would have lasted there six months and they would have been gone. So I think we spend so much time talking about the money and obviously that is what gets the deal done. But the transfer portal up until the last couple years didn't exist. Like it does now. You can just transfer and play immediately. That's a game changer. One other thing I've seen a lot of people, I, I don't really care about college basketball. I gamble on it during the, you know, during the tournament, but it's not like I watched it during the season. But you just, you know, I'm on social media enough. I see the big stories and what matters. And obviously, like, I'm sure anyone listening to this saw some of the clips of Dan Hurley just, I mean, over the course of the year he's had some comments, called himself the best fucking coach in America, and everyone freaked out about that during the season. I think they weren't getting calls. I mean, he did just win back to back national championships. Then he storms off the court this week and he like, Baylor's about to take the court and he says, like, hopefully you guys don't get screwed by the refs. I think he dropped a couple F bombs like we just did. And basically everyone that talks about sports now is calling him a douchebag and saying that he needs to calm down and he's just, he's just a loser, essentially. Even though again, he's won back to back national championships. If this was the NFL, I would agree. And when Sirianni did some of his stuff a couple years ago, his antics, even this year when he was like screaming at the fans, I think it turned a lot of people off, including myself and even Sirianni, I think would have to be the first to tell you, like, yeah, it's a bad look, but in college, like your coaches need to be the stars because the players don't stay there that long. Even in football where it's mandated that you stay three years. Think of all these superstar players Nick Saban had over the last 15 plus years. I could probably list 25 first rounders off the top of my head with, with ease. Potentially like 30 or 40. Yet the longest they ever stayed was three seasons. Nick Saban was there 17. Coach K coached for like 40, 50 years. Same thing with Jim Boeheim. The coaches in college sports are your stars. In the pros. The difference is Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean Payton. These guys are really famous and they make a lot of money, but they aren't even remotely close to as famous as these superstar players. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, you name it. Why? Because those players are in the league for 15 years, two decades, a long time. So when you look at college like, I need some big personalities as coaches. That's the way the business works. I'm glad Dan Hurley is a nut job. You know what? We need more nut jobs at coach in football and in basketball. They are the big personalities. So like I understand people being turned off by it. I don't really care. But if you don't understand the importance of having some crazies who are great, right? If you're just crazy and not winning, no one cares. This guy just went on one of the greatest two year runs in the history of the sport and I promise you this, like they ain't going to be down for long. And here's the other thing. They were toe to toe with Florida that many consider beside Duke the best team in the tournament. So I like Dan Hurley. I find him enjoyable.

[T-Mobile Representative]

You can count on T Mobile to help keep you connected from big cities to small towns on America's largest 5G network. Switch the T Mobile, keep your phone and they'll pay it off up to 800 bucks per line via prepaid card. Learn more@t mobile.com heap and switch up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlock device credit service port in 90 plus days with device and eligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months There's a type of.

[Larison Campbell]

Soil in Mississippi called Yazoo Clay. It's thick, burnt orange, and it's got a reputation.

[Microsoft Representative]

It's terrible, terrible dirt.

[Larison Campbell]

Yazoo clay eats everything, so things that get buried there tend to stay buried until they're not. In 2012, construction crews at Mississippi's biggest hospital made a shocking discovery.

[Microsoft Representative]

Seven thousand bodies out there, or more.

[Larison Campbell]

All former patients of the old state asylum, and nobody knew they were there.

[Microsoft Representative]

It was my family's mystery.

[Larison Campbell]

But in this corner of the south, it's not just the soil that keeps secrets. Nobody talks about it. Nobody has any information. When you peel back the layers of Mississippi's Yazoo Clay, nothing's ever as simple as you think.

[Microsoft Representative]

The story is much more complicated and nuanced than that.

[Larison Campbell]

I'm Larison Campbell. Listen to under yazukle on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Margie Murphy]

In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare.

[Larison Campbell]

Someone was posting photos.

[Microsoft Representative]

It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body.

[Larison Campbell]

Parts that looked exactly like my own.

[Margie Murphy]

I wanted to throw up.

[Microsoft Representative]

I wanted to just.

[Margie Murphy]

It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the Internet and to the front lines of a global battle against deepfake pornography.

[Microsoft Representative]

This should be illegal, but what is this?

[Margie Murphy]

This is a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide. I'm Margie Murphy. And I'm Olivia Carville. This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeremy Hobson]

We live in a divided country. I am a lifelong Republican with all kinds of different people.

[Microsoft Representative]

You know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother.

[Jeremy Hobson]

That's why we started the Middle with Jeremy Hobson. It's about bringing voices not from the extremes, but from the vast middle into the national conversation.

[Larison Campbell]

Anna, I'm calling from Las Vegas.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Each week we bring together an all star panel. Mark Cuban, so great to have you on the Middle.

[Microsoft Representative]

Thanks for having me. Jeremy.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Neil Degrasse Tyson, welcome to the Middle.

[Larison Campbell]

Thanks for having me.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And hear from ordinary Americans from all over the country on the most important issues.

[Larison Campbell]

Hi, my name is Venkat. I'm calling you from Atlanta, Georgia.

[Jeremy Hobson]

And when you subscribe to the Middle, you. You also get an episode each week called One Thing Trump did that focuses on just one item from the avalanche of news.

[Microsoft Representative]

We should be examining what our government spends its money on and are these jobs necessary and what are we doing here? But that doesn't seem to be what we're doing in this situation.

[Jeremy Hobson]

Listen to the Middle with Jeremy Hobson on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Microsoft Representative]

I had this clip sent to me today from a, from a buddy, and it was number 11 at Penn State in a spring practice doing some, like, stack and shed drills. And I immediately thought, why is Abdul Carter taking part in spring practice with Penn State? And then I had to click on it and I realized, no, that's not Abdul Carter wearing 11. That is lavar Arrington son, who is a true freshman and looks exactly like Abdul Carter and Micah Parsons. Say whatever you want about James Franklin. From a schematic standpoint, no one is going to confuse the guy with Bill Walsh or Bill Belichick. But. And obviously, Lavar went to school at Penn State, but that guy can recruit some past rushers because this kid I'm going to go after I get done recording this podcast, watch some YouTube highlights, looks like, I mean, just from a body type standpoint, looks like a future top 10 pick. You put on 11 at that program. The future is bright because Abdul Carter, you know, sometimes, you know, drafts are different, right? You, you, well, you evaluate the draft based on that current year. Like if you go three, it's based on that current crop of guys. But in these draft meetings, you're constantly comparing them to previous drafts in previous guys in those drafts who are now excelling or struggling in the NFL. It helps. It's like in real estate, you do comps, I'm sure in a lot of different industries. People listening to me, you're constantly comparing deals to previous deals. How much did we pay for this? This is what we're willing to pay for that because it parallels these previous three things we've done. It's no different in football based on measurables production, what style of play you have. If there are four other guys that play exactly like you that went in the second round, like you're probably more inclined to take that guy in the second round than draft him in the top 10. And Abdul Carter, regardless of he was in the 2025 draft or in some of the best drafts of all time as a prospect, he's a legitimate top 10 guy. In certain drafts, you know, I would say a bad draft like this one, he can go pick 1, 2 or 3. In some great drafts, maybe he goes 7 to 10. But he's a legitimate high end prospect. His skill really translates and he does have a lot of parallels with Micah Parsons. Now I think the thing with Micah that was a little confusing, the reason he didn't go in the top 10 Covid year didn't play for the season, don't blame him. But it was just kind of a weird time. And usually when guys like that just play going into their draft year like they're going to go really high. But we talk about this all the time. You can scout a guy as a player and there is no disputing. If you watch Penn State play, especially down the stretch in the playoffs, you're like, this guy is a freak talent. I mean, he's battling with a shoulder injury, so there's no disputing his toughness, just his style of play, like he's really, really good. And I haven't heard anything negative from an off the field character standpoint. So I'm just going to assume like he's viewed as a real high end total package prospect. But when things that are thrown in the Mix like, he still has a shoulder injury that he's nursing from early January. He has a stress stress fracture in his right foot. Those are things, as the area scout, as the college director, hell, as the general manager that are very, very difficult for you to give a concrete opinion on, you are very, very dependent on your medical team. So when Rosenhaus tells Shefter he's not participating in his pro day and everyone goes, why? And Rosenhaus goes, well, because of his shoulder, still doesn't feel great from the Boise State game. And you go, well, is that. Then it's your job to find out, is that the real reason? Or is the story that came out at the combine with the stress fracture in the right foot part of the reason that he doesn't want to risk not looking good, moving around? And so as a scout and as a scouting staff, all you can do is everything humanly possible to accumulate as much information as you can about what's actually going on. But when it comes to a diagnosis like, I don't know anything about shoulder injuries, I don't know anything about stress fractures in right, right feet. It's why Jim Harbaugh got in this back and forth with the local media this year in training camp, because they were peppering him over injuries. And while he definitely doesn't want to divulge anything, he's being told, like, it was pretty easy for him to come. Guys, I'm not a doctor, I don't know shit. I just reiterate what I'm told and there's a lot of truth to that. And I think when you get in these situations, it just sends huge alarms through the front office because it's like, well, this guy's an awesome player and if he's fully healthy, he's a no brainer guy in this draft to take really, really high. And if we were the Titans, if we're the Browns, if we're the Giants, if we're the Patriots, like all those teams are very, very interested in this guy. But to get to the bottom of, like, what is the state of his health and you're not, listen, I have a lot of respect for Drew Rosenhaus, but his job is plain, simple, period, point blank, end of story. To figure out a way to make this stuff go away and make you think that it's not a big issue and make this almost feel like an afterthought. Because whether his foot is healthy, whether it's going to be an issue this fall, that's not his problem. His one prerogative and Objective as the guy's agent is to get this guy selected as high as humanly possible to make him as much money as possible. And I think it puts these people in tough positions. And now you just have to get to the bottom of like what is going on. And we see a lot of times, I think I've given this example before, but I remember when the Raiders would have been like 2015 maybe, they were basically deciding between Amari Cooper and Leonard Williams and they ultimately went with Amari Cooper because they weren't sure about Leonard Williams shoulder and there were a lot of question marks whether he would need surgery. And obviously we're a decade later. I mean currently today you would rather have Leonard Williams on your team than Amari Cooper. But that scares front offices because they don't have medical degrees. They know how to scout players and they know how to, you know, talk about football players and people. But when it comes to the medical stuff, it's just out of their hands. And this goes back to Nick Saban and I'm not acting like this guy's going to plummet or fall in the draft, but these are just issues that, I mean, in a perfect world if you're Abdul Carter and your Drew Rosenhaus don't exist, but when they do, they just set off alarms. The other thing that at least set off an alarm for me was Ashton Genti's pro day was yesterday. So I immediately, I see on social media that he's working out shirtless and he looks like a brick shithouse. I mean he looks fantastic. And I text a buddy that I knew was there and I said, well, what did he run? And he's like, well, he didn't run. And I'm like, well, he didn't run at the combine either. And he's like, yeah, he's just not going to run. Like, what do you mean he's not going to run? And listen, I would say Ashton Genty, unlike Abdul Carter because he's healthy, is like universally like stamp of approval in scouting circles. Extremely well liked. I think you would be hard pressed and people think I'm being critical because I keep bringing up that he's 5, 8. I've never disputed that he's an awesome player. Like, you're not going to find people around the NFL that don't think very, very highly of this guy, the person and definitely the player. And he's like, well, he's not going to run. So he's just not going to run. He's like, yeah, just not going to run. And basically the way it was described to me was it's not worth him running a 4, 5, 2 and falling in the draft. And for him, falling in the draft would all of a sudden be going instead of 7th or 9th or 12th or 10th or wherever, you know, pretty high to maybe like late teens. And that's what can happen because we talk about all the time these measurables and these check marks before the draft don't determine if you're going to go to the hall of fame once you get to the NFL or become a four time pro bowler or be a bust. But they do help determine your draft stock. We have seen time and time again wide receivers who are excellent players run a slow 40. Guys that were like this guy's a first round player and all of a sudden go pick 48, all of a sudden fall to the third round. Two guys come to mind. Devonte Adams did not run very fast, fell to the middle of the second round. Keenan Allen ran really slow, fell to the third round. So like running times as a skill guy, regardless of how great your tape is, can really hurt you. So Ashton Genty is just not going to run. Now when I watched Ashton Genti play, I would say high end speed. Like I don't think he's Adrian Peterson. You know, Jameer Gibbs was a guy a couple years ago who ran a 4, 3, 6. I don't think he's doing that, but I do understand if like yeah, I might on a good day run a 4, 4, 7, but I also might run a 4 or 5, 2. And given that my measurables aren't elite in terms of height, it could cost me millions of dollars. And the one thing that I heard about the workout is like, well, the workout was elite. So listen, I get it, you make business decisions. But I saw my guy. I don't say he's my guy. Fuck. He won't text me back. But an old friend and colleague of mine, Louis Riddick, called him a home run hitter. And I think home, when I think home run hitters, I think guys that would never shy away from the 40. You know, I think one of Lamar Jackson's poor decisions before the draft, now it ultimately worked out because he went to a great team, but everyone knew Lamar was going to fly. And if he would have ran the 40, like what would we guess? Lamar Jackson as a 21 year old coming out of college would have ran the 44, 38, 4, 4, 0. Like it would have been really, really fast. And he refused to do it. Now I think the reason he did was because Bill Poley and said he was a wide receiver and it was like a double middle finger of like, I'm not showing everyone how fast I am, they're going to move me to wide receiver even though that was never going to happen. But fast guys usually run wide because they're fast. And I'm not saying this guy's slow, but it would give me a little pause. Now part of having a great running back in the NFL, you don't need like Saquon Barkley is pretty special. He has elite high end speed. Adrian Peterson outlier had elite high end speed. You can be a great running back. I mean a high end Pro bowl guy. Just stud on my team for multiple contracts and not be that fast. I don't think Frank Gore had ACLS. I don't think Frank Gore would have broke 47 in the 40. It didn't matter. He was an awesome player. I'm not depending on you to run 50 yards consistently in the NFL. If you're getting 10, 15, 20 yard runs, that's great. So like, I'm not saying it bothered me, but it definitely was something that kind of stood out. Not running the 40. And listen, John Spytack I was told was there and that was always, you know, Lombardi used to talk about this back in his podcast days before he got with Belichick at UNC is like Al Davis. Not in a million years would have taken a guy that didn't run a 40. I mean the whole thing with the Raiders was speed. So it'll be interesting if it just people are just completely unfazed. And he definitely benefits from the draft class. But you got Abdul Carter with shoulder and foot and you have Ashton Genti not running the 40. So these are just things that like in these draft meetings, this is what you talk about.

[Larison Campbell]

The volume.

[Microsoft Representative]

This is Nikki Glaser from the Nikki Glaser podcast. Have you guys seen this new commercial from Stand up to All Hate? It's basically Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady going back and forth with reasons that they hate each other. But then when you really listen to them, the reasons for the hate are just so stupid. I don't know. This, this commercial really got me. It's a strong reminder that hate in our country continues to be out of control. So join us at iHeart in standing up to it. If you see hate, speak up, call it out. Your voice is a powerful tool in this fight.

[Larison Campbell]

You can learn more by following hat's upwithhate in Mississippi. Yazoo Clay keeps secrets.

[Microsoft Representative]

7,000 bodies out there. Or more.

[Larison Campbell]

A forgotten asylum cemetery.

[Microsoft Representative]

It was my family's mystery.

[Larison Campbell]

Shame, guilt, propriety. Something keeps it all buried deep. Until it's not. I'm Larison Campbell, and this is under Yazoo Clay. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Margie Murphy]

In 2020, a group of young women found themselves in an AI fueled nightmare.

[Larison Campbell]

Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked.

[Microsoft Representative]

Well, not me, but. But me with someone else's body parts.

[Margie Murphy]

This is Levittown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope about the rise of deepfake pornography and the battle to stop it. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Microsoft Representative]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my cat not here and I go in and she's eating my lunch? Or if hypnotism is real, you will use the suggestion in order to enhance your cognitive control. But what's inside? A black hole? Black holes could be a consequence of the way that we understand the universe. Well, we have answers for you in the new iHeart original podcast, Science Stuff. Join me, Jorge Ham, as we answer questions about animals, space, our brains and our bodies. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.