Behind the Scenes at the Manning Passing Academy

Summary

The McShay Show: Behind the Scenes at the Manning Passing Academy
Release Date: June 30, 2025
Host/Author: Todd McShay, The Ringer

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Introduction to the Manning Passing Academy

In this episode, Todd McShay dives deep into his recent experience attending the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodeau, Louisiana. Established 29 years ago by Archie Manning, the academy has evolved into a premier event for aspiring quarterbacks across the nation. Todd, accompanied by co-host Steve, shares firsthand insights into the dynamics of the camp, the caliber of quarterbacks present, and the broader implications for the upcoming NFL draft.

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The Evolution and Foundation of the Academy

Mensch provides a comprehensive background on the Manning Passing Academy, highlighting its growth from a small familial gathering to a massive event hosting 1,500 quarterbacks aged 12 to 18. This expansion underscores the academy's reputation as a foundational step for young talent aiming for college football and eventually the NFL.

Mensch (01:30): "The foundation is at Manning Passing Academy, which is four days, starts on Thursday, goes through Sunday. You drive onto the campus of Nicholls State in Thibodeau, Louisiana, and there's quarterbacks everywhere."

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Observing Elite Quarterbacks in Action

Todd recounts attending a high-stakes quarterback competition held during the camp. Surrounded by over 40 top quarterbacks, many of whom are college stars projected to be high NFL draft picks, Todd describes the atmosphere as the "purest form of football."

Mensch (08:00): "I was sitting there on Friday night at this quarterback competition with all those top quarterbacks, like 40 plus quarterbacks who are stars in college football this year, who are going to be the vast majority going to be NFL draft picks."

He emphasizes the genuine competition and lack of overt scouting presence, allowing quarterbacks to showcase their true skills without the pressure of scouts watching every move.

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Key Takeaways from the Passing Sessions

Steve interrupts to highlight the importance of fundamental skills observed during the camp.

Steve (11:26): "It was an interesting part of it, watching what they were stressing. So we make sure, at least I make sure that I'm stressing the same things when I'm watching a quarterback."

Mensch agrees, noting that the camp reinforced the importance of basics like footwork and technique, which are crucial for evaluating a quarterback's potential.

Mensch (12:28): "It was interesting watching what they were stressing... the basics and what's really at the core of evaluating a quarterback."

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Notable Quarterbacks and Their Impressions

Throughout the episode, Todd and Steve discuss several standout quarterbacks:

1. Arch Manning: Descendant of the Manning family, Arch displays a calm demeanor and exceptional talent. Todd praises his balance between seriousness and lightheartedness.

   Mensch (21:23): "Arch is in a different category because Arch was kind of bouncing around a little bit... he's got a really good balance of serious. We're here for business, let's work."

2. Lenora Sellers: From Oklahoma, Sellers impresses with his physical presence and strong arm, though Todd notes he is still developing consistency.

   Mensch (55:40): "Lenora Sellers was really interesting... tough program... good zip on the ball, moves around."

3. John Mattier: Despite initial impressions of resembling a fullback due to his build, Mattier showcases significant arm strength and adaptability.

   Mensch (60:01): "John Mattier... he's built like his lower body of a guard or something and... he's throwing... ripping the ball."

4. Sawyer Robertson: Baylor's Robertson stands out for his mobility and strong arm, despite transferring from Mississippi State.

   Mensch (60:01): "Sawyer Robertson... confident, smooth stroke, trusts his footwork... his father, Stan, was a first-round draft pick."

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The Competitive Edge and Personal Interactions

Mensch shares anecdotes illustrating the competitive nature of the camp, such as quarterbacks strategically waiting to perform their best throws last.

Mensch (43:19): "Nussmeyer waited till the 45th throw to throw, studied every other throw... His deep ball was absolutely beautiful."

These interactions not only highlight individual talent but also the strategic mindset necessary for success at higher levels.

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The Role of Coaches and Mentors

The presence of esteemed coaches like Jon Gruden and Charles Davis adds depth to the camp experience. Their hands-on involvement with quarterbacks underscores the academy’s commitment to comprehensive development.

Mensch (54:13): "He's teaching a drill to these high school kids. And he's, like, sweating and, you know, like, he's in the candy store."

Their mentorship provides invaluable real-world insights and techniques that quarterbacks can apply to their game.

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Potential Impact on NFL Draft Evaluations

Todd and Steve discuss how the experiences and observations at the Manning Passing Academy may influence quarterback evaluations leading up to the NFL draft. The camp serves as a pivotal point for assessing not just physical talent but also mental fortitude and adaptability under pressure.

Mensch (46:58): "If you're going to do this job... to provide surface level to let people know if a player is going to fall or this is backup... it's our responsibility..."

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Future Prospects and Final Thoughts

Concluding the episode, Todd emphasizes the continuous evolution of the quarterbacks and the ongoing development necessary for NFL readiness. The mentorship, competitive environment, and exposure provided by the Manning Passing Academy are instrumental in shaping the next generation of NFL quarterbacks.

Mensch (77:11): "I'm not shifting anything, man... I have a much deeper understanding of all of it... it's our responsibility to do all the little things."

He encourages listeners to stay engaged with The McShay Show for upcoming detailed analyses and mock drafts, promising more in-depth coverage of quarterbacks like Clemson’s emerging stars in future episodes.

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Notable Quotes

• Mensch (01:30): "We grind through these winters, right? It's like the payoff you get three, four months."
• Mensch (12:28): "The basics are that technique are the fundamentals."
• Steve (11:26): "It's probably a good thing to do annually and as an evaluator you're always evaluating yourself."
• Mensch (21:23): "Arch is in a different category... he's got a really good balance of serious and lightheartedness."

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Conclusion

This episode of The McShay Show offers an in-depth look into the Manning Passing Academy, revealing the intricate processes of quarterback development and evaluation. Todd McShay provides valuable perspectives that not only enhance the listener’s understanding of the NFL draft landscape but also highlight the essential qualities that make a quarterback successful at the professional level. Whether you're a dedicated football fan or new to the sport, this episode delivers rich insights into the future stars of the NFL.

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For full 1st Round Coverage and to subscribe to The McShay Report, visit the provided links:

• 1st Round Coverage
• The McShay Report

Transcript

[Todd McShay]

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[Steve]

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[Todd McShay]

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[Mensch]

Men, you know me, you've known me a long time. I can't stand leaving New England in the summer. We grind through these winters, right? It's like the payoff you get three, four months. Beautiful weather every day. 75 and sunny, it feels like. And I especially can't stand leaving New England to go to Thibodeau, Louisiana, where it's 93 degrees, 100% humidity, storms every day. But this year I broke the rule and I decided to go down for the Manning Passing Academy. And I was pleasantly surprised. It was a great experience. I'm excited to share it all today. And you know What? We get 297 days to the draft. So it feels like a perfect time to talk all about this. Men. You good?

[Steve]

I'm good, man.

[Mensch]

I know you are. You always are. Hey, play me some of that sweet summer beat that. We need Tucker now. I've been working with Archie Manning for a long time. Like, I don't know, 10, 12 years. Every year he'll text me his list and we'll go back and forth. I've helped him and he shared that with the whole camp. And I was, I was honored for him to bring it up. We've got like a lot of.

[Steve]

That's pretty cool, huh?

[Mensch]

Really cool. Like, we're sitting there in the coaches meeting and he's announcing all the people that are there going through, all the high school coaches, the college coaches, NFL coaches and scouts that are all there in attendance helping out as you have 1500 quarterbacks from grade seven through high school. Right? Wow. And so. So that's really the foundation of the Manning Passing Academy. It started 29 years ago and it was, from what I was told, it was Peyton, Eli Cooper. Cooper, the wide receiver. The other two, obviously quarterbacks. And I Think whether it was year one or year two, it expanded or it was Philip Rivers and it grew from that. Basically the old man, Archie was like, hey, like my boy, my boys are hanging around too much. We know the feeling, like, I gotta get him, get him ready for college, but like, we gotta. So let's bring in a couple coaches and look, let's work some drills. And they've turned from that into almost 1500 quarterbacks from all around the country. First come, first serve. This is not a you're invited, you made the cut. It's first come, first serve. Here's registration date, whoever signs up. Now, obviously there are probably a handful of guys that are friends of the family that, that are allowed to come too. So it was really cool. So the foundation is at Manning Passing Academy, which is four days, starts on Thursday, goes through Sunday. You, you drive onto this, the campus of Nicholls state in Thibodeau, Louisiana. And there's, there's quarterbacks everywhere, 12 years old to 18 years old, with their backpacks on, with their green Manning Passing Academy T shirts, flicking their ball up in the air, walking around, you know, with their stupid haircuts that all the kids, including my, my son and A.J. my stepson, they all have it and they're walking around their, their, you know, their slides and their socks and, and they're sneaking over to Chick Fil A on campus when they can. But, but it went from four family members to 1500, you know, 12 to 18 year olds. And so what happened was Arch would check, Archie would check with me and, and other people obviously in the NFL, like, who are the quarterbacks that people want to see? Who are the best quarterbacks in the country? Who are the guys that I, that I should reach out to to bring them down? And so it kind of grew and it kept growing and to the point where almost every quarterback that we're going to see drafted this year and probably next year was in Thibodeau, Louisiana this past weekend for four days. Starts on Thursday and Sunday. And they were there as camp counselors. So I'm just, I'm laying all this out. So, so our audience has an understanding and thank you everyone for joining, like, subscribe, all that stuff, you know, do what you got to do. Follow Mention is usually my promo guy, but I'm not here for it today. Not. I'm here for Mensch. I'm not here for all. I'm not here for schedulings and the thank yous and the, Please join our, like, we'll get to all of that I'm just appreciative that everyone is actually taking the time to watch this and hopefully I can share what honestly I was expecting it to be kind of a cool trip and to get some stuff out of. Turned out to be one of those like I'm sitting there on Friday night at this quarterback competition with all those top quarterbacks, like 40 plus quarterbacks who are stars in college football this year, who are going to be the vast majority going to be NFL draft picks. And it's like the purest form of football, man. I literally at one point, depends on the part of the country you're in. Goosebumps. If you're from the, the north and apparently if you're from the south, chill bumps is what they call them. I'm literally sitting there as the sun's going down. It's starting to get dark. The lights in the stadium, stadium are on. I've got 1500 campers who went through 2A days, okay. On the right, sitting in the stands. I've got probably 3,4000 parents. But, but honestly, like people from the community that know about this and have been around this for the last 29 years. The Manning Passing Academy that make it a point. Hey, Friday Night Lights. So we, everyone shows up. Okay, so one side's all mostly adults and little kids and the other side's the campers who are all going to go on. Not all, a lot, a lot of them go on to be the next stars, right? And they're looking down on this field and I'm literally, I'm getting goosebumps now thinking about it. And I'm standing on the 50 yard line with Archie Cooper, Peyton and Eli and a handful of coaches and the best quarterbacks in the country. And they're warming up and I'm sitting there. I'm literally like. It was like a field of dreams moment, you know what I mean? Like that pure, like just playing catch, warming up. Just. There's no, there's no scouts in attendance necessarily. I mean there's a handful of them, but it's not about like putting, it's not about winning a game. It's not about making my coaches or fan base happy. It's like I'm just here to get better and compete and just play some ball. And it was awesome. And so, so that's kind of the backdrop of the camp. And so I get down there in the first session on the, in the afternoon, the campers are all checking in, getting their like, you know, towel and they're, they're bedding and getting that all set up and over on the field. Eli and Peyton have made it a tradition before the, the first coaches meeting was at 5 o' clock central time and so at 3 o' clock central time. And I was late because the damn flight. And I won't say the airline because I love the airline. I think it's the best airline out there, but I was late. So I'm racing in there and catch, catch the back half of it. And it's Eli and Peyton just playing catch, talking with, with all the top quarterbacks. Nussmeier, Lenora Sellers, Cade Clubnik, Arch Manning, who's been there since he was 4 years old. You go down the list. John Matier now at Oklahoma, all the guys that we've talked about on the quarterback evaluations. Sam Levitt, Arizona State, Sawyer Robertson, Baylor. We'll get to him in a minute. Luke Altmire from Illinois, Damon Williams is going to be a starter at Washington. So they're all down there and they're throwing and so there was like two facets of this and I promise we'll get to the quarterbacks in a minute, but I just want to give everyone the feel for it. The first facet is you're there and you're getting to watch in person and talk to and actually stand on the field and listen to Nussmeyer busting balls of Sellers and Sellers busting Club Nick's balls, you know what I mean? And like, and like missing a throw and getting either down on themselves or like whatever and like actually getting to know these guys, not in an interview like I did for, you know, a decade and a half with ESPN on a Friday before a game when they're buttoned up and they kind of know what to say, but you get a little bit scratch behind the surface a little bit. Actually seeing them in their environment with their people doing the thing they love and just kind of who they are. And that part was awesome, right? Also getting to see them throw in different drills and, and competitions and all that. But then there's a second part and it's the foundation of the camp because it's, it's a, it's a camp. The Manning Passing Academy is a camp for those 1500, 1500 aspiring college quarterbacks watching Club Nick with Eli Manning working on a three five step drop sequence, sliding with their feet and their base underneath them, keeping their shoulders square, eyes up right like, and drilling that. So what they've learned, paying it forward to these young men and, and like just seeing them interact and Then seeing Eli and Peyton go from drill to drill and bouncing around, just sweating, pouring, but laying it all out there. Giving these kids an opportunity not to take a picture, not to sign an autograph, to actually impart their wisdom of 30 or so years in the NFL and all the other years in their life onto these like maybe a 12 year old or 16 year old, you know, like, but, but as I'm doing it, traveling around with Jon Gruden and Charles Davis and Todd Blackledge and a couple GMs. They're there because they want to be there. They're there, they serve a purpose, they're there to gather information. But you know, at least one of them I talked to was like, I kind of don't want it. You know, I'm not trying to publicize this thing, you know, I'm not trying to publicize my presence at the Manning Passing Academy. It's not about that. So. But there were two NFL GMs there and plenty of scouts and some of the scouts were, were drilling, not a lot of them, but a handful of scouts and they were part, they were coaching and all that. So, so you're having these conversations with guys who are preparing for the season, guys that are, have played the position, coached the position, all of that and watching guys who are playing the position, currently teaching, guys who are trying to learn to play to college and again, like, I don't know, I, I, I went down hoping to get to see these guys throw in, in a, in a non game setting and to get that evaluation and I got like 10 times more than what I expected to get.

[Steve]

Right. Can I interrupt you there real quick?

[Mensch]

Please do.

[Steve]

I was wondering what are you going to take from that portion of it with the counselors and the campers? And you sent me a bunch of videos and I'm looking through the videos and what I took from it and I was wondering if you did the same thing is some of it's not earth shattering or eye openening, but it's a good reminder to focus on what's important to these quarterbacks. When we're going through our evaluation process of you can get caught up in all the off platform and what these guys can do. And when you're watching Eli talk about keeping his feet under him and moving a little bit, not a lot to avoid pressure, making that one step while you're keeping your eyes downfield. To me that was an interesting part of, of reminding me and it's probably a good thing to do annually and as an evaluator you're always evaluating yourself, but reminding you of the basics and what's really at the core of evaluating a quarterback is are. Are the basics are that technique are the fundamentals. And to me, that was a really interesting part of it, watching what they were stressing. So we make sure, at least I make sure that I'm stressing the same things when I'm watching a quarterback.

[Mensch]

Yeah, there were a lot of different elements and a lot of different, like, layers to the onion, as they say to. To peel back I. From. From that standpoint, Steve, it was like it became clear in the passing sessions, right. Which guys totally have. Totally trust. And when things like when they're doing this, the four throw competition, right, on Friday night, for example, now all of a sudden you've got, you got a crowd and you got all. And, and. And you've got probably more impactful because they're so used to throwing with crowds around, right? And you can't see any of them. But like, if I'm Garrett Nussmeier, I got Arch Manning, I got Sam Levitt, I got Lenora Sellers, I got Kate Clubnik, I've got all these guys standing right behind me. They either just threw or they're getting ready to throw. And I'm like, so I got four throws to try to beat them. So now I'm competing. So here we go. But there's kind of a lot of chaos because, like, everyone's like, move back before each throw. So now I get four throws to show. Do I bel. You know, like, where do I stack? So pressure's on and you like, honestly, if you and I are thrown into a trash barrel in the back of my office here, you start like, all right, let's go.

[Steve]

Oh, yeah.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Fuck you. Fuck you, Mitch. I'm bet I'm better, right?

[Steve]

Yes.

[Mensch]

So in those moments, and I heard a couple guys come back and be like, after that, after that first throw, my footwork was out the window and very. But that was the first line and I was interesting, you know, and so to watch these guys, like, in these different moments, because they, they spend the off season drilling, they, they watch the tape that we watch. They have coaches, more importantly, that watch the tape we watch. And they're like, we got to keep our base, we got to keep our footwork, we got to shorter, shorten the stride, all those things. But to see them in those moments, like, which guys really trust their tech, their footwork and their technique, if you will, which guys are. How far along are they in it? I'll be totally honest. Like, Arch Manning grew up in the Manning family and has. Has every resource in the world. His combination of all the things he does from the arm, arm strength and the ability to get velocity on the football and drive the ball down the field, combined with the mobility and the creativity and kind of that free freedom that he plays the game with is what makes him special right now. Is he as advanced right now in terms of like the consistency with his footwork and all that? No, he's still growing. Was he 20 years old? He's still growing and physically and like. And so, like, there's still. Some throws are a little bit. So there was a lot of that and there were certain guys were all like, oh, yeah, they don't totally trust it yet or they haven't drilled it in or maybe they're just a second year player, you know, so that, that part was interesting. But like, like, when covering, give me.

[Steve]

A feel for how much time you actually got to see the college guys, the, the counselors throw each night. How much time there was about two.

[Mensch]

Hours each, each day.

[Steve]

Wow, that's better than I thought, actually. I thought it was one of these things that just wrapped at the end of camp and maybe you saw 10 to 15 minutes you're talking about may.

[Mensch]

Maybe, maybe it was an hour and a half. Like, it felt like I. When it, when.

[Steve]

That's good, man.

[Mensch]

Oh. When they were done, I felt like I'm satisfied.

[Steve]

Right. Good.

[Mensch]

That makes sense.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Mensch]

Now and again, I didn't make. I, I flew out Saturday, didn't make the, the last one, but, but yeah, but I, and honestly, like, this kind of happened last minute and, and I, I think we both need to be there next year. I, I'd like to talk to Archie and I always do this on, you know, on the show and. But like, maybe, maybe we do a show down there or maybe we just go down and help out and do. Do whatever we can. But they were even t. Like, I'm catching now, catching the ball. Like, like I was catching the ball and throwing it back 40 yards for like 40 minutes, sweating my tail off and like just getting a punch.

[Steve]

You can't throw 40 yards now.

[Mensch]

Barely the first one, I was like, oh, boy.

[Steve]

Throw hopping.

[Mensch]

Well, the first group that came out were throwing. They were thrown to a bucket. And I noticed there was one guy, there's one high school coach, I believe, who was behind the bucket and he had to retrieve. There were three guys rolling to their right, trying to throw in the bucket on the move. And Inevitably, they were all missing or like, even when they hit it, the bucket would fall and the balls would go spraying. And I'm standing over watching one group with actually was Peyton and Tyler shuck. And we'll get to shuck in a minute. And. And I'm seeing this guy getting flooded, so. And one ball kind of came in my direction, so I picked it up and I tossed it back to him. And then I'm like, I gotta help this guy out. This is a disaster, you know? So I came over and I'm like, here, I'll. I'll help. So I was grabbing like one or two balls each. Each time the three guys threw. And the first group was running, they were like respectful gentlemen and they were following through on the drill and they were running towards us. So it was like a 15 yard throw as they're kind of circling back to be. Get in the back of the line and do it again. Then the second group of entitled brats.

[Steve]

Are drifting, and I could.

[Mensch]

All I could think about was my son. Like, if he were. No, they're not drifting. They're throwing the ball. And then they're like. I'm like, no, no, no. The deal is you come. But I didn't say, so now It's. Now it's 40, you know, and I'm like. And I have a warm. And I'm like, all right. By about the eighth one, I was okay. But the first seven, six or seven, it was. It was a grind anyway, so. Yeah, but the other thing, too, man, like, going and doing games was always, always valuable to me because then I felt like I had something like a story. I had an understanding of the. I've sat in a room for 40 minutes. I talked to him, what makes him tick, background, all that stuff. And it's something that I could like. It's not just a helmet and a jersey with a name on the back. It's a human being that I've gotten to know, even just a little. But, like, I got a feel for who that human being is. That took over 15 weeks and traveling thousands and thousands of miles to 15 games. It took all of that to maybe get eight or nine quarterbacks that were applicable for the draft. This I got. And I actually got to know him just as much by being around and listening to them and the interactions and watching them coach. I got more out of that. I got more out of that. And so now I feel like I, On a. On a different weird level, kind of at least know who they are, how they interact, how they tick. So that was. That was valuable to me.

[Steve]

Well, let's stay on that for one second. Who had the. Or, you know, it's. You might not want to rank this. I am very interested in Sam Levitt because of how young he was, how young he is. Was there one guy or two guys that stood out in terms of the way they carried themselves? And if they walked into the locker room club.

[Mensch]

Nick and Nuss Meyer were the. Were.

[Steve]

The guys were different. Okay.

[Mensch]

They were the guys.

[Steve]

Elaborate a little bit on that.

[Mensch]

Like, just the way the club legitimately, like, could coach high school.

[Steve]

Interesting. Yep.

[Mensch]

And was, like, very beyond, like, every. I want to make this clear. Every single one of these guys, like, did awesome and, like, gave. Gave of themselves.

[Steve]

Right.

[Mensch]

And, like, did what was required and beyond every one of them, man. But there were a few. You would get to their drills. You're like, oh, he's like, he's gonna make these kids better today. He's gonna show, you know, and so it wasn't like, well, this guy knows his stuff better than the other. It wasn't that as much as like, I'm gonna impart everything I got into these. This group of kids, they're gonna move on in eight minutes, and I'm gonna do the same thing again to the next group of 10 kids club. Nick and Nussmeier were two probably the more impressive, you know, when it came to that. But I. Yeah, Arch is in a different category because Arch was kind of bouncing around a little bit. And. And the. The Mannings have, like a, you know.

[Steve]

There'S a comfort lever there level there for him. It's not necessarily negative, but there's a comfort level. This is his, you know, whatever, you know, camp. He's been there a bunch.

[Mensch]

Yeah.

[Steve]

It's not something that's new to him.

[Mensch]

Something like that. Yeah.

[Steve]

And not that everyone feels they have something to prove, but he clearly doesn't have anything to prove at this camp. So it's a little bit.

[Mensch]

Let's get into it trickier. Let's get to go down the. Let's go down the line. First of all, I do want to mention. And. And I'm not here to. To, like, this is of all positive show. Truly. We get 296more days to start, you know, chipping away at dudes.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Mensch]

And. And doing what scouts do and come up with the negatives and. And be cynical and all that. It was disappointing that Drew Aller from Penn State.

[Steve]

I was going to ask you this.

[Mensch]

And. And. And Mendoza from. From Indiana now transfer from Cal. Were, were not there.

[Steve]

They weren't there at all, right?

[Mensch]

Correct. Okay, how do I put? Aller made his choice and for three years has, has opted not to come. Mendoza was there last year and was absolutely awesome. Great kid. Everyone loves him. Coach Signetti apparently preferred him not going.

[Steve]

Interesting. That's interesting.

[Mensch]

They had a.

[Steve]

You want to leave that alone or do you want to go?

[Mensch]

Yeah, I think, I think we can leave it alone.

[Steve]

Okay.

[Mensch]

Honestly, it's not, I, I, I don't want by leaving it alone for people to be like there's something going on. There's nothing. It's, it's coach's preference.

[Steve]

Right. It's not worth getting into it too much.

[Mensch]

First year there they had a workout. Still trying to make sure he's up to speed. Transferring from Cal. Okay. And then, and then, you know, Signetti does it his way and, and that's it. And respectful. Like had contact with Archie and talked to, I know like Blacklidge and different people. Like but, but at the end of the day, coach made a decision. Mendoza respected it. But the good news for Mendoza is he was here last, last year. He was there last year and they just rave about like, no, no ill will. I totally understand it. Had made the right decision. If that's coach's choice. Yeah. So, so that's why you won't hear those two names. As guys who we have already done scouting reports on and are projected to be higher, if not first round draft picks next year. Those two were not in attendance. Al and Mendoza. So arch. Like what a great dude, man. Like not a good young man. Like a great young man, comfortable in his skin. Talk to him for I don't know how many minutes. Like genuinely curious where I lived, stuff about my life, you know, thanking me for being here. Means a lot to his family, his grandfather. Just, you know when you like you meet certain people and they're oh, this is different. And I'm telling you there's something to the quarterback position. Over 20 plus years of doing this, dudes that are comfortable in their skin, that's important. As a 20 year old that's as comfortable in skin as I can ever remember. Up there with like the top guys that I've been and like there I can think of the top of my head like Momes was one of them. Russell Wilson. I know like people have their thoughts on Russell Wilson, his personality and all that stuff, but when I met him, when he was 22 years old, Wisconsin after NC State and all that, like I was A. Oh, okay. Blown away by him. Andrew Luck, like in that I put him up there with some of those guys and I'm not leaving guys. I'm just first guys off the top of my head.

[Steve]

Right. You're gonna take a lot of shots. Like you know, Jaden Daniels, when you look at him and, and all the stuff they went through at Arizona State, like, you have to be able to say, you have to be able to put that in the past, put that aside and say I believe in myself enough. Tom Brady, you know, Tom Brady is a terrible athlete coming out all that. You have to believe in yourself enough. You have to be comfortable enough in your skin to get through all that adversity that is, is most definitely going to come your way as a quarterback.

[Mensch]

Yeah. And then on the field, like just a calm, a calm way about him. Obviously he's been there, he's been there his whole life since he was, can remember throwing a football. So like obviously it's nothing there is rattling him. He's the Texas quarterback. He's a, you know, Manning family, all of that. So not surprising. But like, and I kind of just allude to it, alluded to this before, like still, still working on like consistency of like footwork and, and, and ball placement and all that stuff. Good. Like I would say he was good, you know, like really good. But like there's, and it's encouraging to me to be quite honest, like there's still growth here. So with game experience and, and more and kind of drilling it in and you know, he's, he's working it like he's going to keep getting better. That like instead of people like, well, you know, I thought this guy maybe was a little bit more pinpoint and his footwork was a little bit more consistent. Like yeah, those are like three fifth year players or three year starters or like I think, I think this guy's going to keep getting better, which is what you want to see. And we already know what the baseline is and we did a whole show on it. And just by the way, if you're listening or watching right now, like if you want to go on YouTube or Spotify or, or Apple or wherever you get your podcasts, just look up the McShay show and we, we've done a breakdown on like I think maybe seven or eight guys already at the quarterback position. So a lot of people probably may be jumping into this. Maybe they'll be watching this in August. But like the reports are there full film breakdowns of all these quarterbacks and, and From Mench and I. We watched it separately and gave it all there. So. So please do go back if you haven't watched or listened to that to get a feel and. And mentioned helped me through this today in terms of each of these quarterbacks reminded like, all right, here's the. Here's the macro. While I'm diving into the micro from the last four days. But, but, but, yeah, but there's. There's stuff to go back on. But I remember what finishing his tape, Steve, and being like this is. He's. He just completed like phase one, but there's probably two or three more phases to go. Right.

[Steve]

What's your line again?

[Mensch]

The repeat, rinse.

[Steve]

I gotta remember it.

[Mensch]

Rinse, repeat, refine.

[Steve]

Right. We're on the rinse. We're the beginning of the R probably.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Rinse, refine, repeat. I guess you want to refine before you repeat it, but yeah, rinse, refine, repeat. Here's something interesting.

[Steve]

Here we go. Like it. When you, when you do this.

[Mensch]

I think at the end of this season, Arch Manning is going to have a decision to make that actually don't think that I know that there's going to be. And everyone's going to want to know is he going to come out? Is he going to the 2026 draft?

[Steve]

Already sense a shift in tone from you because I didn't feel like that was even a possibility a little while ago.

[Mensch]

Something I think we should keep an eye on. Austin is a very small place for a bigger city in a city that's growing rapidly. All eyes of Texas on. Of Texas are on the quarterback of Texas. Someone I was talking to there said it's not. It's not Colt McCoy's Texas anymore. It's different in a couple different ways. And he literally can't go grab a bag of chips or, or a bottle of water at a convenience store without. Without this. So there's g. There might have. There might be some. Go ahead.

[Steve]

If Vince Young. If there were, you know, if the social media was the thing that it is now when Vince Young was there, this is kind of what.

[Mensch]

And if Vince came back after winning that national championship against usc, that's what he is.

[Steve]

Right.

[Mensch]

So there's gonna. I, I would. I, I would. I don't know. It's just something I thought about. Watching him interact and hearing some of the stories about what it's like to be at Texas right now.

[Steve]

How exhausting for a young man, by the way. Sorry.

[Mensch]

And he's. He's wonderful about it. And he's used to it to a certain degree, but I think it's like, there.

[Steve]

Interesting.

[Mensch]

So. So there. I don't know. I. This is my own thought and my. Just something I put right back here. Like if he were to leave, maybe it would have something to do with like, it's weighing the option of. We're the Mannings. We believe in full development. Eli Shoot came back for, I think his fifth year at Ole Miss.

[Steve]

He. I think he did right.

[Mensch]

Yeah, that's what I was told.

[Steve]

I remember when he went back, I was stunned.

[Mensch]

I was having some of these conversations with different people and they're like, remember, Eli was fifth year. The Manning family, as we have covered in great detail on this show and go back to the Arch Manning full breakdown. They believe fully in. In the developmental process and we're watching it like in front of our eyes. The last couple years, we've talked about the Bo Knicks and the Jaden Daniels and like the guys who are coming out with 55, 57, 61 starts and, and the success they're having early in their career. Okay. And so it's just re. It's reaffirming what we know about, like, more game experience is critical to your early career. And, and, and if things go poorly early in your career, there may not be the second contract that you'd expect. You may have lost your job, you may have lost your confidence. So they have been from the jump 29 years ago when the Manning passing academy started. The family has kind of set the precedent of we're going to be prepared when we get to the NFL. Now, obviously, money's not the thing that it is for some, for some PE people in this same position. You can't. You have to assume it's not much of a thing for Arch. And quite honestly, he's. He'll probably get offered more money from Texas than he will in his rookie. An NFL team is allowed to pay him for his first year playing rookie quarterback in the NFL. So it ain't a money thing. It's. Is he developed on one hand? Is he ready? Is he ready to step in? Because you know he's going to be the first overall pick. And when he's. When you're. The first overall pick, you know you're starting week one. No one's even asked, is Cam Ord going to start week one? Hey, starting week one, okay, versus Is it time to just move on to the next step and develop there? So just a thought. I just, I love the fact Cooper's one of the all time, guys, man. His dad. And as someone else was telling me, and I don't think it. You may have mentioned it, his mom, Arch's mom is like a track star. Former track star. And so everyone jokes like, yeah, he was a wide receiver, but mom's a track star. He got. That's where he got it from. Right. But the thing that. And Peyton's got all the commercials and he's hysterical. And I really enjoyed my time talking to. To Peyton, but Peyton's like, you know, more on business and on, like getting better and help, you know, like. Like that. And Eli's the, you know, the youngest of the three and kind of, he'll. He's gonna. He's gonna get a little shot in here and there and he. He's actually like, funnier. Even though Peyton's got the funniest commercials maybe of all time for like one recurring type role. But Cooper is like, he had open mike on Friday night and in the coaches meetings, like, legit. Could be a stand up comedian. Like, he's. I didn't know it was in the Manning DNA to be that. Like, I always knew it was funny. And this is my first, like, extended time around Cooper. But I think having that as your dad, even though you're in this Manning family and like, the pressures that come with it in the spotlight and all that has kind of kept Arch. He's got a really good balance of serious. We're here for business, let's work. And like, life's okay, you know? And that was interesting to watch. I really enjoyed my time with. With Cooper and, And being around him and. Yeah, it's just. It's going to be fascinating to see what happens there.

[Steve]

Okay. Love it.

[Mensch]

Yeah. You good?

[Steve]

Did you see the. Did you see the clip of. I forget who was asking him, but someone asked Peyton about whether or not Arch text some questions.

[Mensch]

No.

[Steve]

Or call. No, not text him. Sorry. Calls him and.

[Mensch]

Right.

[Steve]

It might have been.

[Mensch]

I don't know if it was on McAfee today. Today's. This is Monday.

[Steve]

No, this was a while ago.

[Mensch]

Oh, okay.

[Steve]

He's like, you know, he doesn't call me or text me as much because I'll get a text or call about the two minute drill and then I'll call him and say, this is what I'm looking for in the two minute drill. But that. And he'll, you know, he went on for about three minutes and he's like. But then I got to call him back and say, well, unless they took a timeout because you can expect an exotic blitz if they come out after a timeout and yada, yada. And then, oh, wait, are we in the red? If we're in the red zone, this is what you're going to, you know, and he's like, so sometimes, you know, I think arts is like, yeah, I don't need a book every time I ask you something. But it was interesting to me that, you know, to have that resource is insane.

[Mensch]

It's insane. But also to have that balance of my dad's actually the clown on the. And I mean that in this nice. But like, he's, he's the, he's the jokester, keeps it light on the mic. When, like, Rocco Beck comes up. He's announcing all the. Who's coming up to throw. Like Rocco Beck. He's like, I woke up this morning and there was a, there was a dead horse's head in my bed. You know, he's like, and he's like, I don't even know if I can get away with that. Like, to have that balance, I think is, is, is good for Arch. But, yeah, it's going to be the number one story up until he makes a decision. And if the decision is to leave early, then the whole thing's going to explode and it's all going to be about the art show if he doesn't. But between now and when he makes that decision, you know, the, the number one storyline in the 26 draft is, is Arch coming out? So I just wanted to kind of share that. Like, I just wonder, I just wonder.

[Steve]

All I'm thinking about right now is when LeBron left Cleveland to go to Miami. And, you know, all the fanfare that was around that decision and how that was handled. I mean, it's, it sounds like it could go down that path in terms of how, how, not necessarily how that was handled, but how many people are watching him to see what he does.

[Mensch]

Yeah, yeah. And I've got some other interesting stuff I don't, I, I, I know I kind of, you, you can tell in my tone, I've got some really interesting, good stuff that will be applicable at some point. And if you're watching or listening right now, like, I'm not going to just come in with a Brinks truck and back it up and, you know, and just load, unload all of it. I'm not withholding it on purpose, but I think there are going to be times where it's more applicable. I think there's some interesting stuff with some people and power decision makers and connections. And there's like a lot of things out there that I glean that I've kind of put in my back pocket that if you continue to watch the show as we get closer to the draft and throughout the season, I'm gonna reveal some things as they become pertinent, let's put it that way. So now I can stop hemming and hawing and we'll move on from Arch outside quarterbacks.

[Steve]

You're going through, by the way. How many are we gonna go?

[Mensch]

No, let's just rip through some and see where it goes. We're already at like 35 minutes on the show. That's fine. Outside of Arch for for obvious reasons.

[Todd McShay]

This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. There's one thing I'm going to make sure I pack for my summer vacation. It's my Apple card. I can earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase, including fuel for my car and booking places to stay. Plus, I don't have to worry about fees, including foreign transaction fees, which is perfect when I'm planning to travel abroad. To get an Apple Card for your summer travels, apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch Variable APRs for Apple Card range from 18.24% to 28.49% based on credit worthiness rates as of January 1, 2025. Terms and more at applecard.com Nuss and.

[Mensch]

Nussmeyer and Club Nick were the guys and I mean that in all not not necessarily they threw the best or they're the most NFL ready or I just mean like they were the guys. Every coach was talking about something they did. There were stories about them the way they carried themselves. You put a bunch of alphas in the room and and you can always tell in that moment it doesn't mean they're always going to be and that other guys won't emerge and they're in different and club Nick's been there for this is fourth year at Clemson Nuss Meyer this is his fifth year at lsu. They've then and probably their fourth and fifth years respectively at the Manning passing academy. So like they know the guys and Nuss Meyer's dad is Doug and and Doug has worked with all with the Mannings and their family friends. So like it's like when you go to that camp it's like well that's the, that's one of the counselors you know nephews or that's the head counselor so like, they're obviously in more of a comfortable environment for themselves. But aside from any of that, like, they just were kind of the guys. Okay. Nussmeier is kind of like at that frat thing going like, look, looks like he's like up for a good time. Always kind of cracking jokes. Not even crack, but like, you know, just kind of going in one of the guys. Right.

[Steve]

And.

[Mensch]

And everyone kind of seems to gravitate towards him a little bit. He's six two. He's a little taller than me. Like I, I always do that thing. He's a full six two, well put together, but still has got like that college face and kind of the hair and hanging out and all that stuff. But from like throwing, man, he threw a nice deep ball and then. And he's just, he's a dog competitor. Like, don't get fooled by like the baby face thing. The lights come on. We got four throws to make this mother bleeper drills. The first three, one of them on the roll to his left ball middle of the target. It was a you throw. You know what I mean? It was, you know, like, it's kind of like. Yeah. And rolling to his left, not to his right. Watch this.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Mensch]

You know, and then he goes back for the fourth throw is deep ball into. Into like a netted bucket and hits like the back of it. Yeah. Know. And so like very easily could have been all four. But the coolest thing happened there. I. Let's call it 50 quarterbacks. I. There could have been 40, there could have been 55. I don't know. The college quarterbacks, maybe they're 30. I don't even know. It just felt like 40 something. They all. So they finished the first round of this competition and then there's only like five or seven guys that go into what they call the playoffs. And then so Nichols State is there with connection with, I think Nike. And they're. So they're moving the targets around to do round two of the playoffs. Right. But in the meantime, they bring out, I don't want to say the sponsor wrong. It might have been Keynes, whoever it was, they bring out a basketball hoop with the sponsor on it. And so it was kind of like an intermission show. And so all, let's call it 45 quarterbacks get one shot. You're standing on the 30. It's in the back of the end zone. So a 40 yard throw into a basketball hoop. And I can tell you from standing on the 30 yard line where they're throwing, it looks Like a hole that, that it's that big, you know, like I. We joke around or we mess around the backyard sometimes and there's a basketball hoop there and we'll be playing catch in the side Y in the street. And every once in a while you try to hit it in. Like you get one from like 10 yards away, 15 yards away. You're like, ah. So I know, like there this time it wasn't. You weren't in order by alphabetical and going through where they were grading you. It was just like, everyone gets a shot at this, right? So the guys start going and, and. And some guys were close, some guys hit the backboard, all that stuff. But I noticed one guy's hanging around the back kind of near me, and he's kind of flicking his ball and he's looking because there's as. I, like, I can't help. I can't shut off my brain with this stuff. I'm like, you got to start a little left. There's not a big win, but every ball is starting to do this.

[Steve]

Like reading a putt, right?

[Mensch]

Because a lot of throws were going, yes, it's reading a putt. And it's better like when you're playing in a scramble to be the fourth putter in your group because you got the line by that.

[Steve]

It's going to break here. It's going to, yep.

[Mensch]

But it's still a 40 yard line with a football into a basketball hoop. And the third and the 40th and the 43rd and the 44th guy to throw. If there were 45. Yeah, it helped him slightly, but he's. And then the couple guys were like, kind of hanging around too, and nuts, like, have you. Have you gone yet? And they're like, no, no, Europe. And then he looked around, he's like, you gone yet? All right, go ahead, Go ahead. You go ahead me. And he waited until all other 44 or whatever the number was, quarterbacks through. And I didn't videotape any of it. I'm like, okay, you know, like, this isn't. I'm trying. I got some videos of guys dropping back and making certain throws. I just want to kind of. For our show and all that. I'm like, if I miss this and don't record it, I'm going to be pissed at myself. Because he clearly was waiting to be the last one. He wanted to get a line on it and all that. So I'm fine. I pull my phone out and I'm like, yeah, I'll take it. Who cares. He'll probably miss it. And I'll probably delete it in three minutes. And so I pick it up and you could say, I think I should. I sent it to you in the text and I don't know if we're going to run it here. Hopefully we are. And it's kind of the back of Sellers, and I'm kind of looking around and all of a sudden he throws it and I'm like. And he nailed it. And it wasn't like, off the back, but it was like. It was pretty cool. Does that make him a better quarterback than anyone there? No. Like, does it. Did he get the correct line? Like, no, he got a better feel for it. It was just something cool about. He waited to go last. And I watch all these other guys and, like, now I'm like, I got a tape just in case. And he hits it, you know, and then he's like, it was pretty cool.

[Steve]

It's. I don't think. It's not nothing. It's not nothing. It's a. It shows a little bit of the competitiveness. It's about his. His. You know, we didn't even talk about.

[Mensch]

Give me every. Give me a lot of edge.

[Steve]

Right?

[Mensch]

Give me every little. Well, by the way, we're in the state of. And so there were two. Two players are high.

[Steve]

Yep.

[Mensch]

We're in the state of Louisiana. There were two players that got a. Like an ovation that was louder than the rest. Even when they just came up to do a drill. It was arch and. And.

[Steve]

And n. Yeah.

[Mensch]

Yeah.

[Steve]

It's not nothing, man.

[Mensch]

It's nothing.

[Steve]

It's all. It's all a little bit of something. You know what I mean?

[Mensch]

It's all intertwined context, which I. I.

[Steve]

Actually wanted to talk to you about. That is that. To me, there's. There's certain milestones within the draft process. Right. I think there's the regulars. When you're looking at tape, there's a regular season, then there's the playoffs, how these guys play in big games, all that. Then you get to the All Star games, most notably the Senior bowl, and you're looking for how they compete against the best. Who shows up, how they're competing against the best. We get our first measurements, then you're looking at the combine and look at those numbers, and then you're hearing about more and more interviews as you're going on. It seems to me that this would be kind of the meet and greet in that process for these quarterbacks and just getting to know them a Little bit personality wise. And you know, when you look at it that way, when you're looking at it from a draft standpoint, is there anything when you go back next year, do you be. I, I might do this slightly different or be like I have. This is what it is. This is just going down there and getting to know these guys. And you don't want to put too much pressure on it in terms of footwork or all of that. It's just a good feel. Because it seems to me that you feel like this is going to be an important part of the process going forward.

[Mensch]

I think it's a really good foundation and it's a. Just like Nussmeyer waited till the 45th throw to throw, studied every other throw. I. If you're going to do this job and we have an audience that relies on us to give them the best and most complete information. We don't have the medical reports or the psychological team and the, and the, the character backgrounds, but we get a lot of them to make sure we're covered and we can provide surface level to let people know if a player is going to fall or this is ba ba ba. But it's our responsibility when we realize that there's good information to be had if we're going to make this the smartest community, if you will. If that's our mission for this whole show is to make this the destination. If you want to be smarter when you talk about the draft, if you want to get insight, if you want to get information that's behind the scenes that people aren't like, it's our responsibility to do, to do all the little things. I don't want to get on a plane and go to New Orleans. I absolutely adore New Orleans. I love it for about seven months a year. I think it's an awesome. I love the food. I love the people.

[Steve]

Not July necessarily or June.

[Mensch]

Yeah, late June, early July is not the place when you live in, when you live in the. The coast of Massachusetts, it's not the place you want to go. But if it can make us better and in turn help us with our mission statement, you better be sure I'm dragging your ass from New Hampshire down to Louisiana next year. Because I just, I went on the recon mission and I'm reporting back to the, to General Mensch. Like, here's here. There's stuff here to, to make a, to make our, our forces better. Right. So that, that's the whole deal here. Club Nick, like central casting. Hollywood would, you know, six to Great shape. Like clearly been working his ass off. You can just tell. Physically like ready to go, mentally ready to go. Really comfortable with himself. Really confident, but not arrogant. Not like really approachable. Really. Like, of all the, the counselors, which are the college quarterbacks, the best, he gets the A plus grade for his job as a camp counselor. What does that mean, the big picture? I don't know, but it gave me a glimpse into who he is as a person, his passion for it. And Eli and Peyton don't have to still do this thing, even though it's in their name and for their family. Like people. Tyler Schuck, I'll get to him in a minute. First guy in, first guy in 29 years to come back as an active NFL player. And in his rookie year when he's kind of swimming in it, his wife, he and his wife just bought a place in the New Orleans area. He's talking to me about, he's talking to me about like he's building furniture and back outdoor patio stuff and his back's hurting him. I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, Tyler, you gotta hire people now. You can afford it. Like, this is like you're the, you're, you're the industry, you're the business. Like you got to protect the business, but like taking time away from all that stuff because he sees the importance in it and he wants to be around the guys and he wants to give back a little bit. So like Club Nick's kind of got that same vibe to him and just some guys just appreciate this game, love this game, want to be around this game and also want to do their part. That's what this is. This is a big celebration of that, man. Manny's don't have to do. They can sit on their fortune, sit on their fame. They can do and a lot of other people do, but they've grown this thing to help. And Tyler Schuck was there because he saw that and it felt good. And so he's there to help again. And Club Nick is the same way.

[Steve]

It's a really cool fraternity, man. It's a college quarterback.

[Mensch]

It is absolutely a fraternity and it's a first. And that's why when people choose not to come, I'm not as much. Were you afraid to compete? It's like, man, you're missing out on an opportunity because this is a resource and unlike any other position and probably any other sport, but I can speak to this one, the quarterback position, like, it is such a tight knit group and These guys, the vast majority, not all talk and share, just like coaches, just like coaches from all over the country were flying to Norman when Lincoln Riley was doing different things with the guard tackle pole to combine it with that air raid. Do you know what I mean?

[Steve]

Yes, exactly. I mean, just the. The contact you make, the relationships you could build that maybe you can lean on later on, whether you've had a rough game and someone reaches out and says, hey, man, like I. You got this, whatever it is, like. Or, you know, maybe it's not during the season, maybe it's after the year. Or I saw this. Or, you know, have you seen this against this team? Or all of these things that could happen 10 years down the road. It's just about building. It's like anything else in life, man. It's about building relationships. It's about being around people that love to do the same things that you love to do and about how you can help them further themselves and how you can further yourself. Further yourself as well. I mean, it's. It is basic stuff, but really important, fundamental, foundation stuff.

[Mensch]

Everyone I talk to there kind of sees what I'm seeing, too. This is going to be a breakout year for Club Nick. Last year was a steady elevation and improvement. I did certain times you just see a guy you're around, a guy you're around, you see them physically growing, you see the development, you see the confidence and the comfortable in their skin and all those things. And it wasn't just me. It was other really smart people there who have more information and all that stuff. And it's also a young roster. And we're going to do a show on Thursday on Clemson. Right. And I'm pumped to do that, focus heavily on the defensive side. But this is all of a sudden a team that won 12 of their last 14 before that Texas game to win the ACC title, get in the CFP. And now you've got a leader and a general who clearly is putting in the work to get better mentally, physically, all the different ways. So, I mean, if you're a Clemson fan watching this, like, get excited because this dude like this, I mean, I'm talking to GMs, I'm talking to analysts, I'm talking to coaches, I'm talking to Gruden. I'm like, guys who have been like, this is their life.

[Steve]

And you know, what was Gruden like? Was he a kid in candy shop down there?

[Mensch]

Can't help himself.

[Steve]

Yeah, that this is his thing.

[Mensch]

Like, he must have been help himself with anything. He's doing, and I love it. Whereas I'm standing there was me. When I took a picture of it, it was pretty cool. I put it on Social. It was me and Gruden and Todd Blackwood, who I worked with for a handful of years. Just like Blacklidge and. And. And CD Charles Davis are two of the best human beings in the world.

[Steve]

Yeah.

[Mensch]

Right. They're all dog competitors. They all got, like, you know, they'll. They'll. They'll talk nice and all that, but then, like, you can see glimpse, like. But, like, just hanging out and sharing notes and talking about life and talking about family and talking about, like, what the quarterback's footwork and all of it. But Gruden's there, man. He comes over and we hadn't seen each other. I'm with CD And Blacklidge, and he comes over. He's like, shay, right? And then we stand back and we're talking about something else, and he's. His wheels are spinning. He's like, Todd McShay. And I'm like, we all just start laughing face. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we get going on stuff, and he's calling an old friend of his that's friends with Blacklidge and Play was a guard for Blackledge, like. And then. And then three minutes later, it's like, where's Gruden? Oh, he's in there with whatever quarterback and he's teaching a drill to these high school kids. And he's, like, sweating and, you know, like, he. Candy store.

[Steve]

I bet.

[Mensch]

Candy.

[Steve]

I bet that's really cool to watch, too.

[Mensch]

Yeah.

[Steve]

You know, someone who's, you know. Yeah.

[Mensch]

It was awesome. I threw the ball 40 yards back to some campers. He's in there, like, teaching a. Like, like drilling down to the littlest thing, but. Clubnick nussmick. As I said, there were some other guys. Lenora Sellers was really interesting. Right.

[Steve]

Okay. I'm fascinated.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Across the board. Everyone you talk to just love the guy. Like, smart. Tried to leave. I was told a story. Tried to get out of high. Not get out of. Tried to leave high school two years early to get to college. Like, what? You know what I mean? Like, let's go.

[Steve]

He's big enough.

[Mensch]

Yeah, let's go. Let's. You know, And. And then you, like, look at him physically, like, my goodness. Not like. Like, we'll get to John Mattier from Oklahoma. I legitimately thought that the Mannings brought in a couple fullbacks to, like. And Mattier was one of them. And I was like, oh, like, but I feel like you could say the.

[Steve]

Same thing about Baker Mayfield, by the way.

[Mensch]

He was totally. But even, but even thicker and Oklahoma quarterback, all of that. But. But Sellers, really thick, sturdy, strong Bill, what you want to see in your quarterback, right? He's probably 62 as well. It's interesting. It's his first camp there. Coming off being a first year starter, not as advanced in terms of like drilling home the footwork.

[Steve]

Which is why this is a great thing for him.

[Mensch]

Great thing for him to be around these guys to see not only to pick up from like Eli and Man and Eli and Peyton, but also to watch the other guys and the guys who have been here. Like I remember I went to Michigan football camp as a kid and I was there. I don't think it was Gerb who. I don't, don't remember who was it. But like I'm watching the guys who are the guys and I'm, I hear all the coaches and all the drills and I hear all that stuff but I'm really learning from like the four or five alpha dogs there. What are they doing? So I, I think, I think when we see Sellers next year, if he's not part of the 26 draft or doesn't pull a Tyler shuck and decides he's going to come back to help. But if we see him next year, I think you're going to see someone who's a little bit more confident in his footwork, who's more consistent with it in those moments is going to rely on it more. But I again, like, and I'm not just saying it to be play nice. Like some of the throws he made, like his deep ball, absolutely beautiful. Some on the move stuff like holy smokes, his cat can be different. He's just not quite there yet. And a little bit more like introverted in the coaches of it. Not that a little bit more reserved, a little bit more you know, he's not. You could see a difference. You go from club deck to Sellers and there's a difference in how they're. They're coaching younger guys and, and the way they're care. He's kind of feeling it out still in every aspect of it. But he's smart, great, great kid, hardworking looks the part. Unbelievable athlete, can make special throws. I'm honestly, I think you and I are in the same on this. There are certain guys. I'm just really excited to see his growth over the next two, two even three years in the NFL. Like I just want to see how he progresses. Because he is a special cat in terms of talent and he's smart and he's hard working and he's good. He's.

[Steve]

Who was more impressive physically when you met them, Josh Allen or Lenora Sellers?

[Mensch]

Oh, Allen, because. Because Sellers is about my height, maybe an inch higher. Allan is 65, if I remember correctly. And like, and he's not. He wasn't as big then. He was a little bit more slender.

[Steve]

He was right now.

[Mensch]

Right. But he still was like this big. I grew up on a farm out in California. I can throw the. And like, the first time I met. Well, the first time I met him was at the Mountain west championship game. Didn't spend a ton of time. But then the second time where I spent more time with him, standing next to him and talking to him as he's coming as going into workout. And then he goes and just rips the ball effortlessly, like 70 something yards. And so there's. That's different. This is more. It's not Lamar, It's. I don't know. Jalen hurts like, you know, but. But Josh, Yeah, Josh is different too.

[Steve]

Give me the quarterback who we haven't done, who hasn't been part of our series yet. And you're looking back now and saying, man, we got to get to him.

[Mensch]

Sawyer Robertson. Baylor.

[Steve]

Baylor. Yep.

[Mensch]

Blew me away mobile enough. Not, Not a statue, not stuck in sand, but not a. Not a running threat. Okay, pocket.

[Steve]

Listen to 220. Is he that big? Is he.

[Mensch]

I think he carries his weight well. He might be 2:15, but he's in the neighborhood. He'll be 220 when he goes in the NFL. But yeah, 6, 4, 2, 20. Looked apart. He won, he came out. And everyone was. And I even heard Peyton go to one of the directors and it's like, hey, you know, I, I just think next year was like, the target should be a little bit bigger. We're not here to embarrass because the first handful of guys, the first handful of guys were missing, were missing a lot. And then he came up and he won the first round. I, I think he hit all four throws. He did. If someone was there and correct me if I'm wrong, but like, I'm almost positive he hit all four throws. But it was like I had seen him throw earlier in the night before the competition. I'm like, should have done his report, should have studied his tape. Just really like pocket passer light enough on his feet with his footwork, anticipation, getting the ball out, placing it well, good understanding for layering Trajectory just. I was like, damn, I like this guy. Now to give the backstory on him.

[Steve]

Now you're seeing it in June, by the way, not later in the process. I love that you're seeing that in June now instead of.

[Mensch]

It may have been October before. We're like, we probably need to do so now I'm like, I'm taking July off. Everybody, I'm done and I'm making men should take July off too. But we're going to be back in August. But at some point before the season starting, I'm going to get to Sawyer Robertson's tape. So just a back backstory on him. He transferred to Baylor after three seasons at Mississippi State. Okay. And it was one year as a starter and then he started four games in 2023. So it was like this escalation. I haven't done. I haven't done much Baylor tape. I haven't gotten into like my preseason college, like all of that. But I'm really excited to see. Because he chose Baylor for a reason. He transferred to Baylor for a reason. And I'm excited. And yeah, I wrote confident, smooth stroke, trusts his footwork. Like in the moments where the pressure was on. Everyone's looking at him. It was drilled in. You can't escape it once it's drilled in, you know? And I found out too, his father, stan, was a first round draft pick of the, of the expos in 1990. No word, you know. And his cousin is Jarrett Stidham. No way. Yeah. I didn't know. Okay. Yeah.

[Steve]

I had no idea.

[Mensch]

Well, nuggets everywhere. Mitch, you love your nuggets. Let me go rapid fire, just to get through a few guys. Yes. Go and jump in wherever you want. Like if I'm gonna let you go.

[Steve]

And then I got a question for you at the end. I think that'll be good. We'll just get your thoughts out.

[Mensch]

John Matiere. I told you he looked like a fullback. I. I hadn't even gotten there. I haven't gotten in this stadium. And I already had someone from the staff being like, have you seen this mater guy? I'm like, what? He's like, he's like a. He's built like his lower body of like a guard or something and. Or linebacker. I think he said lower body of a linebacker. And he just, he flicks it and it just rips, you know? And I'm like. So I go in and he's throwing.

[Steve]

Is he built like that up top? Is he? Is he? Is it? Remember how concerned we are about guys who are a little bit too ripped in their follow through flexibility. Not an issue for him. Okay.

[Mensch]

Not an issue for him. More Baker. But like accentuated in the lower and like the arm angles. All the stuff we saw on tape and the footwork is. It's, it works just fine for now. There's gonna have to be some improvement, obviously, but he drills it in. It's not like I'm watching a guy do like three five step drops and do all the things right there and then it doesn't translate to practice. It's just kind of who he is. So at some point there's gonna have to be like a, a, a coming to Jesus meeting or just, let's refine what you. How you do it. But like, I don't think there's change in what he does. That was an interesting takeaway for me. It's just who he is. He likes to flick it and kind of bounce away. He like, you know, like. And he's, he's just as comfortable doing that as he is like, so that was interesting. Yeah. I wrote football footworks all over the place, but works well enough at this point. He's just ripping it. The. Oh, the ball. Just ripping it. He's just the ball. I love that note. Right? It's just ripping it. It's a like. And I'm. I'm on my phone typing quick. It's just ripping it. The ball hums off his hand. You know, I'm not saying he throws the fastest ball the Boats V, but they're just like, you know, some guys.

[Steve]

You'Re gonna hear it hit receiver's hands. You're gonna hear that. That.

[Mensch]

Yeah. And you're gonna hear it coming. You know, I'm excited to see like, you put. You put. Is it Kaden Ott, the running back? Jaden. Jaden in the backfield with him. It's gonna be fun to watch Oklahoma this year. It could be a totally different look. It's going to be a totally different look than what we saw with new offensive coordinator coming with mater from Washington State. Sam Levitt. I like this guy, man. Arizona State quarterback. It was interesting talking to a couple people, including like, Blackledge covered him when he was at Michigan State and he was like to see the transformation of like, tough program. Things not going well? Didn't know of any. There were like three quarterbacks kind of rotating in and out. Really interest, like. I'm shocked to see where he is now. Like that fast. It happened that fast and he had to win the job last season. Really good zip on the ball, moves around. Well, not like sudden twitchy, but that stuff we saw on tape. Everyone I talked to just like really liked, like, encouraged, like his tools. He's going to keep getting better. Had a really like, calm, cool, almost like California vibe to him.

[Steve]

He's young.

[Mensch]

Yeah. Until the balls snapped. I told you when we watched tape and we both kind of agreed on this. I don't know who coached him in high school or growing up. It's. The shit's been drilled into him and it's like, yeah, it's kind of chilling. Throwing the ball. Everything's good. Get up there.

[Steve]

But this like his rep, like muscle memory. Yeah.

[Mensch]

And like. But with urgency.

[Steve]

Right.

[Mensch]

So it was like this. This interesting juxtaposition of like cool cat, kind of calm, kind of all that. But like, when it's his rep, it is go. Luke Altmeyer. Illinois liked him more than I thought. And there's some people there really support this guy. Apparently, like, like really good. Good, good people. Good. He's a little bit smaller, right?

[Steve]

He's a little bit leaner.

[Mensch]

Yeah, yeah. Not. Not the biggest guy. I wouldn't even. I don't know that I'd say Lee. Yeah. Not physically imposing.

[Steve]

I remember watching Pat Bryant last year, the receiver, and he. Almayer took some shots, man. He took some.

[Mensch]

I think he's probably thickened up a little bit because I watched it. I watched that too. And I do remember what you're saying. I think he's thicker. I'll be interested to see on tape. But I wrote like throws the pill well, like, plus, plus actors. And not like pinpoint all the. But like I. Fifth year player, remember? First two years at Ole Miss, transferred to Illinois, completed like 61 of his throws, 22 to 6. Touchdown interception ratio last year. So like a good year. But it wouldn't be surprising if he kind of did some things this year. He was at a different level. I thought he was kind of here. Like, he's a good player. Maybe day three, maybe he will be. Maybe like a late round. But now I'm like, huh, maybe he's up here. And I just didn't. I haven't done the tape and I don't know what's going on because I'm hearing a lot of stuff and I'm watching and it's lining up. All right. Some other guys, maybe not like, not necessarily prospects right now or whatever, but Demond Williams, what an impressive athlete. Started a couple games last year. He was Will Rogers backup. Will Rogers has been in College football for like 14 years now, but Williams took over. I think he started the last two games or played significantly against Oregon in the bowl game versus Louise. Louisville lost both those games, but he completed like 83% of his throws in that in those two games. Five touchdowns, one interception. Eight to one ratio during the season. Unbelievable athlete. Really good army accuracy's kind of move. Not there yet, but rising short. He's five. I said five. 10. Standing next to him, he's listed 511, 187. I think this is going to be a big year for him under Fish. Jed Fish, my buddy. I really think, like, yeah, he grabbed my attention and grabbed attention of a lot of people there, like, grabbed it because there's a lot of other guys there to be focusing on. And he was like, like, oh, don't miss his rep. Miller Moss from Louisville. I always kind of like Miller Moss at usc. Never really took off. Mostly good stuff from him at camp is the best way I'd put it. Carries himself like a veteran. His tools don't jump out. He's not the biggest, he's not the strongest, he's not the most. He's okay mobility, but not a threat by any stretch. Average arm, average size.

[Steve]

But he now he's in, now he's in the quarterback incubator in Louisville, though.

[Mensch]

And he just hit spots every, every throw. He's, yeah, like the trajectory, anticipating leading receivers come back, route balls out before the break. It's already done along the sideline. Come, come to me. You know what I mean? I'm not throwing to you. You come to me, you come to the ball, that kind of stuff. And then I wrote here, yeah, Brahm, Brahms at Louisville. Can't wait to see the improvement, like, shock from a year before. Yeah. And then two guys that kind of. Remember there's 40 something. So if I'm mentioning their name, there's a reason.

[Steve]

Okay, I know. I, I, well, I honestly believe that if you could, you would talk about all 40.

[Mensch]

Yes. But I had to pare it down. And we're already an hour and 10 minutes in and right. I can hear it. I can feel Tucker and Dan and Connor and everyone behind the window right now pissed off at me because it's like, dude, it's June 30th. What are we doing? Noah Fafita, Arizona. Man, is he small. Man, is he talented. You talk about ball jumping, he's just like a little smaller, leaner version of like matier, but like more refined footwork, but like, and like deep balls and Intermediates and like he almost threw for 3,000 yards last year and, and like 61, but 18 to 12 ratio. And he just lost a first round wide receiver. But like, I think this guy's gonna make some noise. I don't know how good Arizona is going to be. I don't know what the weapons are going to be. I'm just telling you to stand out as one of the most like, whoa, guys, there it is something. And then I'm excited to see Geo Lopez. Last guy I'll bring up North Carolina, Bill Belichick's first quarterback. I had to laugh, man. I had to laugh because you know Bill and like everything buttoned up and he's. It's his signature. I even looked on his bio page. It's the hat backwards, sideways. Okay.

[Steve]

No way.

[Mensch]

Right? And so Bill's first quarterback in college, South Alabama transfer. And like every drill, it's. It's not like it didn't swing that way by accident. Like that's his look. No awesome. But man, can this kid rip it. Like he's short, but he's got this big arm and it like, it's got like a presence about him because every time he came up, everyone's like, what's he gonna do next? And driving it vertically. A beautiful deep ball. But also like the intermediate stuff. He's just a natural thrower of the football. And I could see what Bill saw in him because it's like, I don't care about the hat sideways, backwards. I don't care that he's shorter than Brady and some of the other guys. I've had this guy forget all the other parts from ball leaving his hand to where it's going. This guy's awesome. So it's gonna be fun to see him at unc. Bill's first year, according to true media. I looked this up. Lopez's 8.2 yard per passing attempt last year was 26among all quarterbacks nationally. He was at South Alabama. Also completed 38 passes of 20 plus yards last fall. More than. Yeah, I guess There were only 27 other guys who are in that. In that range or something. So it's gonna be fun to watch. Last thing on Chuck, Last thing on Tyler Shuck. Was good to see him. Did he bring up the combine stuff? Well, it's funny, he came running over, not running. He came over like with intention towards me and I'm like, who, you know, had the hat down. It was a Saints hat. So I'm like, this is coach who, you know, because he looks Older than the other guys, and. Yeah, he is, obviously. But he came over, and it took me half a second, and I just got close. I was like. I didn't even. I was like, what's up, man? I was like, I didn't know that was you. I was like, I guess I didn't expect you here. Saint Scar Ball. That. And. And he was great. Like, you know, just. And then, like, we talked at first, and then we. We talked a lot on the. In the sideline. A couple things that stood out were really cool, outside of him having to build patio furniture and me trying to talk him into, like, how life's gonna have to start to look for you. Yeah. We're trying to protect, like, the franchise here just raves about Kellen Moore and as you. But, like, the details as to why. Because I'm. He goes. I was like, the Brahms, obviously. Awesome. He's like. To see his level of. Of detail. And he goes, the thing, honestly, Todd, that stood out the most. That stands out the most is the number of answers. There's not one answer to what someone throws at you. The number of different answers he's providing. He goes, I'm not an idiot, but I know he's only given me this much of the whole catalog, but to see even within. He goes. And then we're spending time watching Dak. His time with him with Dak, spending time watching Jalen Hurts and what they were doing. Spending time of him with Herbert, and he's like. And he goes, there's two things that. Like that. That really, like, stand out to him. One is what they're now trying to do is kind of a mesh of those things. And what. What will put. Fits best for shock. Right? Yeah.

[Steve]

Tailor the offense to shuck. That makes sense.

[Mensch]

And. And the other thing in Kellen's. He's like, we. It feels like we're in this together because this is his first job as the head coach. And so at every stop, it's not insinuating that he was limited or you would have to do what I do because I'm the head coach. But, like, he never could fully do what he wanted to do. He had to fit the game plan and all those sorts of things.

[Steve]

Yep. That's the job.

[Mensch]

So to see that excitement in him. The other interesting nugget, too, talking about Doug kept saying Doug, he's like. And Doug's awesome. He's O.C. and like, he's like the go between. And we work to get. And I finally clicked. I'm like, oh, that's Nuss's dad and you talk about like the community and the fraternity and now like Nuss Meyer's over there doing all his thing and his dad is now coaching Tyler Shuck, who's coming back to the Manning camp. And it was like this whole thing.

[Steve]

All in Louisiana, by the way. It's kind of cool. Yeah.

[Mensch]

It's probably why you want to show up to this and not opt not to, right? All right, I'm done. All right.

[Steve]

What are we rankings wise? Where was there any shifts? Are you concerned about shifting guys too much based on off the weekend are going to give it a week. Have you made any changes?

[Mensch]

I'm not shifting anything, man. I'm not sure.

[Steve]

I was hoping you're like make some drastic move.

[Mensch]

No, no, not off of this. But I have a much deeper understanding of, of all of it. And when we go back to the tape this year and it will absolutely. I'll say this, truly, there are parts that I will pull that are the important parts to me as an evaluator that will absolutely shape the evaluation as they should. Yeah, truly. So it was awesome and I appreciate everyone who listened and tuned in to hear all of it. And I know I was ranting today and I went on way too long and so let's get out of here. Out of here before I screw it up anymore. We're back on Thursday. Clemson. Are they as good as we think as the NFL scouts thing? All right, later. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C. gambling problem. Call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit MDG help.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gambling Helpline ma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 18778 Hope NY or text Hope NY in New York.