CFP Championship Reactions: Undefeated Indiana wins the 2026 CFP | The McShay Show

Summary

The McShay Show – CFP Championship Reactions: Indiana Wins the 2026 CFP

Podcast: The McShay Show (The Ringer)
Date: January 20, 2026
Featured: Daniel Jeremiah & Chris Simms
(Notes: Todd McShay, nominal host, is absent. Jeremiah and Simms lead this show. Summary skips ads and non-content intros/outros)

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers an in-depth breakdown of the stunning 2026 College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship, which saw the Indiana Hoosiers complete a perfect season with a win over Miami. The conversation covers the game’s pivotal moments, standout players, the improbable Indiana football turnaround engineered by Kurt Signetti, implications for NFL draft prospects, and key takeaways on scheme, coaching, and player evaluation.

The hosts also pivot to early NFL Draft talk, Senior Bowl intrigue, and audience Q&A on players, positional value, and scouting philosophy, maintaining a mix of sharp analysis, light-hearted rapport, and authentic industry insight.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Indiana’s Miraculous Turnaround and Victory

• Historic Context:

  • Indiana, previously one of college football’s perennial cellar-dwellers, posts an undefeated season and wins a national title.
  • Kurt Signetti’s transformation of the program within two years is dubbed “the greatest turnaround we’ve ever seen.”
  • Comparable to LSU’s 2019 run and Joe Burrow’s iconic single-season play.
  • Daniel Jeremiah (02:09):

    “One of, if not the worst programs in all of college football… in two years, Kurt Signetti comes in and turns this whole thing around.”

• Quarterback Play: Fernando Mendoza

  • Transfers in, exceeding all expectations; plays with poise, precision, and delivers clutch performances all season.
  • Grew up close to Miami campus. The personal stakes (Miami alum family, spurned by Miami) raise the drama of beating them in the title.
  • Daniel Jeremiah (04:19):

    “All he wanted to do was be the Miami quarterback…”

• Defensive Mastery and Scheme

  • Indiana deftly mixes personnel, relies on a core 13 defenders, emphasizes discipline and technique.
  • Scheme built for control, exploiting offensive tendencies, and keeping their best players on the field.
  • Jeremiah (17:31):

    “Only 13 guys playing on the defensive side consistently… That was part of their brilliance… gives us a schematic advantage.”

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2. Miami’s Resilience and Key Storylines

• Carson Beck’s Performance: A Mixed Bag

  • Miami’s QB, a high-profile transfer, had a hot-and-cold game, showing flashes but failing in key moments.
  • The hosts dissect Beck’s body language and pocket performance, noting NFL-level concerns.
  • Beck’s struggles against Indiana’s zones and lack of vertical-passing threats were exposed.
  • Chris Simms (10:32):

    “His body language tonight sucked. Sucked.”

  • Simms (11:38):

    “The reason Miami’s in this game is Mark Fletcher, the offensive line, that outstanding defense… Carson Beck didn’t do enough.”

• Mark Fletcher & Miami’s O-Line

  • Running back Mark Fletcher and the physical right side of Miami’s O-line (Maui Noah at RT, Inez Cooper at RG) were pivotal.

• Coaching Decisions

  • Critical 4th-down calls, aggressive strategy, and adaptability under pressure gain praise for both coaching staffs.

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3. Critical Game Moments and Tactical Analysis

• Momentum Swings & Play Calling

  • Indiana opens with a rarely-seen, pass-heavy drive to “loosen up” Miami’s defense.
  • Key sequence: Indiana’s block punt, bold 4th-and-5 conversions, and Mendoza’s late-game heroics.
  • Jeremiah (27:35, 31:30):

    “They came out… 7 of the first 10 plays from scrimmage for Indiana, they threw the ball... Sig comes out… pluck him inside run. Brilliant enough because… we get two plays.”

• Physicality Decides Title

  • Both agree the more physical team wins in the CFP—this year, Indiana.
  • Simms (43:59):

    “Physicality is a thing. The most physical team… seems to win the playoffs.”

• Turning Points

  • Miami’s blocked punt gave Indiana the edge, but Miami kept counter-punching.
  • A “sneaky brilliant” call on a crucial run against Miami’s front (33:36) became the game’s most pivotal tactical moment.

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4. NFL Draft Implications & Senior Bowl Buzz

• Rising Prospects

  • D’Angelo Ponds (Indiana CB) – physical, undersized but “most helped by playoff run.”
  • Riley Nowakowski (Indiana TE), Messador and Bain (Miami defenders), Keonte Scott – multiple Senior Bowl invites.
  • Jeremiah (21:40):

    “I don’t think a single player benefited more from the College Football Playoff draft wise than D’Angelo Ponds… every time we come on, it’s like he had a bigger receiver, he was physically matched up... always competitive as hell.”

• Players Drawing Critique or Debate

  • Carson Beck’s draft status (QB3/4), the importance of taking Senior Bowl invites, and mixed evaluations for some defensive prospects.
  • Miami’s Reuben Bain: concerns about length, but production and playoff performance may quiet doubters.

• Major Senior Bowl Notes

  • Several players from the championship game (Bain, Messador, Scott, Surratt, Ponds) committed to the Senior Bowl—a sign of competitiveness and hunger.
  • Debates over those opting out; praise for those embracing competition.

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5. Coaching, Leadership, and the “Indiana Model”

• Culture Change
  • Indiana’s rise attributed to Signetti’s culture, consistent accountability, and maximizing limited resources.
  • Discussion of whether other programs can copy this blueprint, with skepticism (“Signetti might be one of one”).
  • Chris Simms (65:41):

    “If you’re another program and you’re smart, you’re looking at any way you can duplicate that. And I’m not sure you can.”

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6. Listener Engagement, Scouting Philosophy & Draft Process

• Trade-back Philosophy

  • Lively interactive poll about taking Reuben Bain or Arvell Reese, invoking “always trade back unless it’s an elite QB” as a guiding team-building philosophy.

• Talent vs Traits – Big Board Talk

  • Pledge to create a “Top 50 best football players” board, focusing on play over measurables.

• NFL Draft Preview

  • Speculation on top picks (Mendoza consensus #1), edge rusher evaluations, positional scarcity (tackle, edge, corner), and a look ahead to the upcoming draft cycle.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Indiana’s Transformation:

  “It’s the greatest turnaround we’ve ever seen in a college football program, period.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (02:09)

• On Scheme Versatility:

  “These 13 guys are going to play because if we can keep them all on the field… it gives us a schematic advantage.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (17:31)

• On Carson Beck’s Struggles:

  “His body language tonight sucked. Sucked… I can’t imagine an NFL QB at a playoff doing that.”
  — Chris Simms (10:32/11:07)

• On D’Angelo Ponds’ Draft Surge:

  “I don’t think a single player benefited more from the College Football Playoff draft wise than D’Angelo Ponds.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (21:40)

• On Signetti’s Approaches:

  “Signetti’s brilliantly gone off-script… we got one shot to have this unbelievable culmination to the greatest story in college football.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (27:35)

• On the Clinical 4th-Down Play:

  “It was the sneaky, brilliant call of the entire game. They used the defense’s aggression against them and popped one.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (33:29)

• On NFL Front Office Mentality:

  “If I’ve got an opportunity to get above-market value to trade out of a spot — with the exception of quarterback — almost always I’m trading out of that spot.”
  — Daniel Jeremiah (70:34)

• On Tom Brady Scouting Mendoza:

  “Tom Brady on the sideline watching you and deciding whether or not they’re going to make you the first overall pick. That is unbelievable pressure.”
  — Chris Simms (50:19)

• On College Football’s Most Physical Wins:

  “The most physical team in the playoffs seems to win the playoffs. That’s just the thing.”
  — Chris Simms (43:59)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Indiana’s Championship Legacy & Signetti’s Impact: 02:09 – 05:00
• Mendoza Backstory & Miami Recruitment Drama: 04:19 – 05:49
• Carson Beck Critique & Miami Offense Analysis: 09:31 – 15:46
• Indiana Defensive Identity & NFL Prospects: 15:46 – 23:28
• Senior Bowl Invites & Draft Stock Discussion: 14:54 – 29:42
• Game-Changing Tactical Moments (crucial run, 4th down): 31:03 – 33:29
• Halftime & Momentum Shifts: 34:46 – 41:00
• Fourth Quarter Drama & Resilience: 41:00 – 44:29
• Draft Philosophy / ATB Q&A (trade-back, positional scarcity): 68:12 – 75:07
• Senior Bowl and Class Evaluations: 81:26 – 84:47

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Tone & Style

The episode is candid, lively, and insightful, blending deep analytical football discussion with locker room banter and genuine appreciation for the game’s underdog storylines. Both hosts show respect for the grind—from coaching to player development to front-office scouting. Listener contributions are embraced, and the show’s community vibe is strong.

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Takeaways

• The 2026 Indiana Hoosiers title run will define college football “turnarounds” for years.
• Individual player reputations—Mendoza’s poise, Ponds’ draft rise, Beck’s inconsistency—are evolving fast in this draft cycle.
• The Senior Bowl’s value is reinforced; some prospects are making money by competing, others risk stalling by opting out.
• Scouting wisdom: covet elite QB play, trade back whenever possible otherwise, but above all, focus on football players over athletic “outliers.”
• Looking ahead, NFL teams and fans should track which seemingly “undersized” or positionally “imperfect” players—like Ponds—might be Sunday difference-makers.

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For Listeners

If you missed the live show, this episode offers the smartest look you’ll find at the national championship’s tactical story, Indiana’s incredible rise, candid player evaluations, and the start of NFL Draft season—all captured with humor, respect, and a love for the game’s unpredictable magic.

Transcript

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

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[Chris Simms]

I'm great, man.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Tucker, roll that beat, please.

[Chris Simms]

Listen, I, I actually look back at this, that's probably the best play. That's probably the best national championship game since the Tua game in two, 2017.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You might be wrong.

[Chris Simms]

There's blowouts. I mean, nothing but blowouts.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I was at Georgia. TCU? No. Jordan. Was it GCU? Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

11 points last year was the closest game, I think, since the Tua game.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

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[Chris Simms]

Yeah, that was a great battle. And I thought it was game when Indiana blocked that punt. I was like, you can't. You just can't have that happen. This is gonna, this is where it all unravels. And Miami just kept coming back, kept getting off the mat.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. Wow, that was a lot to take in. That was a lot to take in. One of the greatest turnarounds we've ever seen. You know, the greatest turnaround we've ever seen in a college football program, period. One of, if not the worst programs in all of college football, depending on what statistics and numbers you want to look at in history and what record book you. You trust in, believe in. Excuse me. And in two years, Kurt Signetti comes in and turns this whole thing around. And he does it. Last year with Curtis Rourke, good, serviceable, solid quarterback. They get better in the portal. They bring in Mendoza, who we talked about this summer, talked about this guy could potentially be a first round pick. And some people like what? And it just, it's been like, like machine, like the entire season. Undefeated. The most impressive run we've seen since 2019 and the best Quarterback play for a college. A single college football season we've seen since Joe Burrow, LSU in 2019.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

Single season. You can debate it if you want.

[Chris Simms]

I think Jaden Daniels. When you look at the rushing numbers, Jaden Daniels is pretty impressive.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, I'm not even talking like stats or I'm talking about the guiding of a winning program. And just, you know what, you're flawless, you know?

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, no, I hear you.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And the culmination tonight, as we talked about earlier with Mendoza growing up a half a mile away, family, Miami alum and dad. Miami alum. All he wanted to do was be the Miami quarterback. All he wanted to do was be the Miami quarterback.

[Chris Simms]

Did you hear Herbie say? I think it was Herbie. Maybe it was Fowler say that mom was done with the Miami program after they didn't recruit his, his, her son out of high school.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, they wanted to talk to him about transferring from Cal.

[Chris Simms]

That's fascinating, is it not?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Of course it's fascinating because if they.

[Chris Simms]

Were talking to him about transferring from Cal, was that before or after they were talking to Carson Beck about transferring from Georgia? I was like, oh, that's a little. I had not heard that. That was an interesting nugget to me, man.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Spite has fueled a lot of engines in my cars, man. I am. I'm a spike guy. I love it. So when I hear that, that's just like, oh, now you do. Nah, we're good.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, mom was like, all set with that.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It's what, it's what burns the competitive fire. If someone doesn't believe in you in the moment where you know you're, you're going to go do something and they don't see it or they don't. They don't want to partner with you in it and they, they don't believe in it enough to say, you know what, we're going to take a risk here. Let's go. Then you bet your ass they come back calling n. I'm good. Yeah, I'm good.

[Chris Simms]

And then it's one thing to do that, it's another thing to beat them in the national championship. That's, That's a whole, That's a whole another level.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, it's like, no matter what you, Whether it's religion or the stars or whatever it is, I mean, like, yeah, the, the fact that it ended this way for that family and that young man to have this opportunity, and I think we should, we should start with Carson Beck, who, yes. Throws the interception on the last drive of the game. And it's, it's not the ending that they wanted, but my gosh, when they put that money into that young man and kind of the early returns and not knowing how his elbow was going to respond and some of the off the field stuff and, you know, I don't think it was until August where they kind of knew, oh, we got, we definitely got the right guy. Everyone in the building loves this young man. Forget the outside noise. He fits here. Might not fit in Athens very well, and that's fine, but he fits here. And, and, and to see him after two games stretch with the interceptions and the mistakes and just a couple of comments after the fact, it's like it's reared its ugly head again. This is the Carson Beck that we kind of. There was a lot of concerns about then. I told you, I talked to a couple scouts who were like, yeah, but was he wrong? Is he maybe trying to fuel the fire of like, hey, this is, this is the bar. This is the excellence. Let's match it or, or either match it or we're not going to make the run that we expect to make. And everyone started to match it. And this team went on an unbelievable run end of the regular season, into the postseason. Very fortunate to get in on, not because of resume, but only because it was them versus Notre Dame. And it feels like in the history of college football, Notre Dame always wins. That there's always a. Yeah, that's fair. We don't care if you played head to head. Forget about that. That was early in the season. Notre Dame's finishing strong. This rich and traditional, you know, like all that bull that doesn't exist anymore, you know, and nor should it. It doesn't matter what era we're in. Like, it's a single season. So the fact that they get in and then make this run and beat the team, A and M. Kyle Field, man, gusting winds. Tough day. Get the win. Ohio State, best team in the country. Right, but they just lost Indiana. But they're still the best team in the country. Right? That's the mindset. That's what everyone thought Then Oregon, kind of the sleeper team. Maybe they've got the number one quarterback. Knockout blow.

[Chris Simms]

That was Ole Miss. They beat Ole Miss. Indiana.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm sorry, Miami. Yeah, Indiana. That's right. Ole Miss. Ole Miss was the Disney story.

[Chris Simms]

Ole Miss was the great ending. Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But it was also the Disney's like, oh, maybe.

[Chris Simms]

Oh, right, right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Ole Miss is destined. Knocked them off. Sorry. I was going down the Mendoza Train, which was Alabama, then Oregon. So it's been an awesome run. It was an awesome run for Miami this year. And if it was Mario, Crystal ball carries this on. It will be Carson Beck and this team that I can't stand. The U is back. And I won't do it because I've got a blue thumb tonight. If you're just starting to watch the show. Yes, I sliced my hand and had six stitches earlier today. But you know, it's late in the season. Everyone's playing with injury.

[Chris Simms]

All right, listen, are we doing the. We're going to do the rosy recap of the season right now for Carson Beck. Are we going to be. Or can I be real about the Carson Beck experience?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Go.

[Chris Simms]

Kind of meh. Like he helped himself more than he hurt himself this year. I think the Ole Miss game is a. A big step for him. So it's not like I don't think that he improved his draft stock or became a better player this year. But there are things I'm eager to see the tape from this game because it there Indiana is playing all kinds of zone and Carson Beck with all those snaps and all that experience should be a quarterback that's able to decipher and pick apart that zone with short to intermediate passes. But he wasn't able to, I'm guessing.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

This tape because he had all the time in the world. You're right.

[Chris Simms]

My. He had time. My guess is that he also wasn't doing that was because Indiana wasn't respecting the vertical passing game at all, which has been a real weakness for him. And I'll tell you this about him. You know, he's done some things that I think they've kind of cleaned up his image this year. But his body language tonight sucked. Sucked.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

There's that prep school face again.

[Chris Simms]

It was like, listen, I just don't know what to say about it. I want to be. I don't want to be the old guy yelling at the clouds and act like this is the biggest thing that's ever happened. It's not.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It's not.

[Chris Simms]

It's a small part of what we're talking About. Okay, I want to be upfront about that. But it's also. You're a guy who already has a kind of a reputation for this, and he was. I mean, at one point, they went for a fourth down. He was like walking off the field with his head down. And I. It was just hands on the helmet. It was just you. He was wearing his emotions on his sleeve. I can't imagine NFL quarterback at a playoff. You know, like, you just. You can't. You can't do it.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I.

[Chris Simms]

It will. I think it will wear thin with teammates pretty quickly with the way. The way he handled himself. Again, kid's got a good frame.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

He.

[Chris Simms]

He moves pretty well. He's got a strong arm if he can figure out the downfield touching accuracy. But it wasn't a great performance tonight. He started to show up again late and started to get it going. And I was. I was kind of optimistic. I thought to myself, maybe this is it. Maybe this is the Carson back story where he really, you know, makes something happen here, leads Miami to a championship and. And just kind of writes the ship. But he didn't. He didn't make enough plays tonight. Like he was.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

The.

[Chris Simms]

The reason Miami's in this game is Mark Fletcher, the offensive line, that outstanding defense, Carson Beck didn't do enough. And that's just the reality of it. And, and listen, it's. It's a tough spot to be in against that Indiana defense. I get it. It's no easy task. That Indiana defense has made everyone else look bad.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But here's what I'm curious about. I don't disagree with you. What I really want to see on the tape, and we've got a whole draft season to uncover it because he's. If he's not the third quarterback in this class, he's the fourth of the fifth.

[Chris Simms]

Oh, yeah, he's. No, he. I think he's. He's in the mix to be. Yeah, I think he's the third. I definitely think he's the third quarterback.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Okay.

[Chris Simms]

But what I was more in there.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. Because. Because Malachi Tony first. Un. Like, this is. Don't even view this as any kind of shot. Malachi Tony's game is the quick game, screen game. Like shortened yards after catch. Right. Occasionally, yes, he'll get down the field and make a big play, but when they're going to, like, intermediate in verticals, it's typically two CJ Daniels and Keelan Marion. Right? Yep. Yep. And is this a C.J.

[Chris Simms]

Daniels and Marion problem? Is that.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Is that what you think Is I. I don't know. Because Carson Beck had time tonight.

[Chris Simms]

Oh, yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And what I didn't see a lot of in the broadcast and maybe I just missed it, was what was going on behind.

[Chris Simms]

That's what we got to see.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Because when you're watching TV, it looks like it's all 22 because it's from this. It's a sideline view, but it ain't all 22.

[Chris Simms]

No.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Focus more on the offensive. You know what's going on in the backfield in the first, like, five yards of the defense. What I want to see was what was going on behind the TV camera. And I don't know until I watch it. Yeah, that's just.

[Chris Simms]

Just how I feel coming out of it, though, with Carson Beck is not. I don't want to. I'm not here to bash him. There was a couple plays he made in this game that I was like, all right, here we go again. We're going to get it rolling. And this is a great Indiana defense. And I mean that. That's a great Indiana defense. And a great coordinator throws a lot at you, and it's tough. And they may play a lot of zone, but it's. You don't know who's coming, who's dropping all those things. Very smart guys on the back end. All of that stuff is true. But it was kind of me. It was. I wanted. I wanted him to do a little bit more.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It was kind of me, I can tell you this. And we. We'll get off of Carson Beck because there's way too much, way too many other amazing aspects of this game.

[Chris Simms]

Yes.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Carson Beck has an open invitation to the Senior bowl in mobile, Alabama, in two weeks. Less than two weeks, actually, about 10. 10 days. He would be flying up there. If it's from Miami, take it. Please take it. Go.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I know you've had 43 starts. I know you're the most experienced quarterback in the College Football Playoff. Trust me, no one said it more than me with the 2,881. I can't wait to get that number out of my head. I never have to use it again. It was mostly shtick after the first few times I used it. I mean, I love it. I only kept bringing it up because it kept annoying you. And Stanford take that opportunity.

[Chris Simms]

Riley Leonard did it, man. And it didn't help him. Don't tell me it didn't help him.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Show what. Because everyone in Miami can talk about who you are and what I. I don't like words, man. We Live in a society full of words and word salads and all these words and these like, stand on your business.

[Chris Simms]

We have a podcast. But I, I, I still get your point.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's a good point, too. That's a very good point. But you know what I mean, like, I do. I get it.

[Chris Simms]

You could say whatever you want, but are you gonna show up and put the pads on a mobile and show and take one more opportunity and then build on that and go to the combine and keep building on that? Because the kid's got talent. He's a talented quarterback.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And there's some other stuff I want to bring up about, about the Senior bowl and some guys in this game, but let's, let's keep it on the field for now. Indiana defensively, man, and here, I'll just say it right now, one guy who allegedly, there are five other guys that played in the game tonight that are well known players, that are awesome players that I'm told are, even after playing tonight and after all the experience and the games they've played, they are going to Mobile, which is rare. Yeah, a few guys sprinkled in from Notre Dame and Ohio State did it last year. I'm told there are three or four of them who are like, what do you mean? It's an option. I got invited to play in the Senior Bowl. Yeah, I'm, I'm there. There's, there's football going on that I was invited to go play and I can compete. Yeah, I'm there. It reminds me. Messador Bain and Keonte Scott from Miami, Surat from Indiana, and d' Angelo Pons is the young man I want to talk about next. Yeah, all five of those guys have talked through their agents and people there and like, yeah, we're good. Yeah, we'll be there. Make sure my helmet makes it okay. I wanna, I want a new helmet where I can put all the other stickers on. All right. Right now I, who knows who got dinged up tonight? Agent, some other agents could get in people's heads, all that stuff, but it was almost like, why are you asking? Yeah, yeah, I'll be there. Well, play the last game and we'll. Okay. All right. Yeah, I'll be there. So when I look at a guy like Pons and I watch every single week in this College Football Playoff and then throughout the season. Yeah. 5, 9. What is it? 5?

[Chris Simms]

179.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

79, I think is the number. My gosh. He's matching up against CJ Daniels and he's right. Right hand Jabbing him to the face, physical, technically sound. That technique, down to nothing. Compete, compete, compete. It reminds me the my. Those Miami guys and these Indiana guys. There's a reason these two teams were there. And it's not just the quarterbacks, I promise you. Quarterbacks were really, really good. Mendoza was flat out brilliant. These were teams agree. They were built on competing and focus and down in and down out. For Indiana, it was technique and it was sound. It was everything. Right. And then playing hard and like. And only 13 guys playing on the defensive side consistently, like they didn't have a lot of depth. That was part of their brilliance is these 13 guys are going to play because if we can keep them all on the field, no matter if it's 1st and 10, 3rd and 15 or 4th and 1, it gives us a schematic advantage. It allows us to. That multiple personnel allows us to match whatever you're trying to do.

[Chris Simms]

Yep.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And that compete level from both of these programs reminds me so much of what Pete Carroll built back in that dynasty. You remember going that senior. I don't know that you went, but covering that Senior Bowl, I was there. Maluga, Cushing, all those. Those defensive studs that were drafted early and everyone remembers the liners and the Lindale whites and the Reggie Bushes and the. And the wide receiver. But like those defenses were stacked. Those guys were in Mobile a couple weeks later, you know.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Similar DNA and Ponds kind of embodies it. And now Fisher had an awesome game and the defensive front reminded me of like this is gonna date me. But and I mentioned earlier T. I'll never forget doing that TCU Wisconsin Rose bowl with red rifle Andy Dalton. Right?

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And they got no respect. Wisconsin was going to roll them. Wisconsin had like an 80 pound per offensive lineman advantage over the defensive front of TCU's. Well, TCU was one of the best defensive coach team under Gary Patterson and all of college football. They were undersized, but they were quick, they were nasty, they were technically sound. And it's what we were watching tonight from Indiana. Down in, down out, everywhere. They're supposed to be all season long though. It's pretty awesome.

[Chris Simms]

What do you Tangelo pounds? What do you think about him?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

What do you Pawns but I love.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, sorry.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's kind of my favorite part of the show now, Hans. It's because it's a. It's definitely a northeast like mass. Mass hole thing. Like we don't. We just say names wrong and we don't care. Whatever.

[Chris Simms]

And I'm not used to being on like I don't. I'm like I don't have your history.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It's the best and it's what I want this show to be. We'll be awesome in every other area but we might screw up a name because we're. Because we're hot headed and running around and we know the numbers. Where do I think he gets drafted?

[Chris Simms]

You said yeah. What do you think of him as a prospect?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Upton Stout. But I actually like him a little bit more. I want to see what he runs. I loved Upton Stout last year. I was thrilled he got drafted in the top 100 at 100 overall. Upton Stout's gone on to have an awesome rookie year in the NFL or went on.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah. There are guys like listen and this is not the same role. I think up in south probably a better comp but Jalen Petrie, I was watching him with the Texans this weekend and it's just he's not big enough to be that nickel safety and play that close to the line of scrimmage and all the dude does is make plays. And this is what I see with this kid too.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

He just players one of one Petrie's like it doesn't make sense that he's always playing like almost defensive end. Like I don't understand how he gets away with it. Yeah but he always does and he just makes big plays. But I hear what you're saying. It's a.

[Chris Simms]

To me it's a. Are they big enough to do this? And there are rare guys that are that the size isn't as much of their outliers and that's why you get concerned about it. But there are guys who are smaller guys that can play big. It's just a thing I'm trying to.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Think because I feel like every single post show we've had in the college football I don't think a single player benefited more from the College Football Playoff draft wise than d' Angelo Ponce. Interesting because think about the every time we come on it's like he had a bigger receiver tonight. He was physically matched up what was there so they had to buy the first week. The first game was they beat two big Big Ten teams. They beat Oregon. Oh no. They beat Alabama. Yeah right. Yeah. Alabama had who would he physical?

[Chris Simms]

Isaiah Horn would be there.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Isaiah Horton. He got physical with Isaiah Horton. That's what it was. Oregon doesn't really have bigger receivers but I saw him like do like he was. There was some physical. There were some physical plays and it's just like he's Playing bigger again.

[Chris Simms]

And so that's the Ohio State Big Ten championship game. Man, he was competitive.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's what it was.

[Chris Simms]

And I know that Jeremiah Smith had big numbers, but he was competitive as hell in that game.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yes, that's what it was. I knew I, I knew there was a third game I was thinking about. So Pons is a player that, that jumps out, but it's not just him. Like Fisher with big plays. I don't know if you're numbers. Go ahead.

[Chris Simms]

I'm gonna push back on that really quickly because you know what we're not hearing about and we haven't heard about in the last two weeks? Arm length. Reuben Bane, I think, has just solidified himself as a pick. Like we're not hearing about it anymore and we will again if he goes down and he measures those arms measuring mobile and they're 32 inches or whatever, we'll hear it again. But in terms of draft stock, I haven't heard about Reuben Bain's arm length in. In a minute. And I think a lot of that has to do with how he's played.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's a good point. But yeah, but I mean, both of them.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, there was a lot of guys making money tonight. Messador is making money. I think Hemby's making money. I mean, there are, there are guys out there and. And it wasn't like people were just showing up. It was fun to watch. Keonte Scott had a couple nice play.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Like there was that tight end from Indiana has made some money, man.

[Chris Simms]

You talked about him in our. We did the draft and we were ranking guys and you brought him up and I was like, yeah, he's kind of a nice player. The more I watch him, the more I like it.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Riley Nowakowski, underrated prospect. He was a, he was a Wisconsin transfer. Okay, yeah, three years there, 18 catches or I guess it was two years that he played 18 catches for 131 yards. Made the comment Wisconsin just didn't see my value. So I wasn't transferring to go get something bigger and better. Although it turned out to be much bigger and much better. I just wanted, I wanted someone to look at me and say, I see more in you than what is being. Is what's. What's coming out in the product. And Signetti did and that program did and they brought him in. He had 31 prior to tonight, 30 catches for 370 yards and two touchdowns. After two years with just 18 catches and 131 tonight in the first half. I don't know what his Final numbers. Maybe you can pull him up. He might not even had a catch in the second half, but he had two catches for 17 yards and had that rushing touchdown.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So he's another guy. Yeah. I'm on Moton, by the way, just because we're bouncing around. He was an app. He might have been the best defensive player on the field tonight. He was an absolute terror. Number 99 for Miami, Torre for the middle linebacker.

[Chris Simms]

Torre, like, oh, I love him.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

He might be 46 years old and.

[Chris Simms]

He'S had, he had the injury last year. I get it, I get it. But these are. Some of these guys we're talking about are going to end up being mid round guys.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Seventh year, he played six years at Rutgers. He start. He started his career at Rutgers in the year 2019. It's 2026. Right. But he's just an awesome. Would you see that one? Playing coverage in the first half, I thought it was a safety coming in from like, you know, middle midfield. He comes racing over the sideline, knocks the pass away like three plays after he just tore over to the sideline and ripped someone's face off. I don't. Listen. He's a day three guy. I get it. And Right.

[Chris Simms]

That's what he is.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Durability and all that stuff. But some guys just can play ball. And there were a lot of guys on the field tonight.

[Chris Simms]

I'm not betting against them.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Let's go back and recap this thing. Some interesting things to me. Okay.

[Chris Simms]

In.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And I alluded to this earlier but didn't want to give away too much and I wanted to focus on the game going on. It was interesting to me that in the. Whatever it was 10 days off between the, the semifinal game and tonight, Signetti brilliantly went off script. Not wide ranging, like bonkers, but they came out and they recognized Indiana's coaching staff did with Mike Shanahan. Right? Mike Shanahan.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We always get the first name wrong. Mike Shanahan. Man, we can't just line up and pound this defense. We, we. We're. We're gonna have to loosen it up. It's kind of like, it's kind of like that jar that's been hanging out in your, in your, in your cabinet for a while. Like I'm gonna have to bang it against the, the counter a little bit. May brother. A stronger guy can like loosen up and then I can come in and do the twist off thing, you know. That's what they did seven of the first 10 plays from scrimmage for Indiana. They Threw the ball. This is a team that is built run RPO play action, set all that up. And they went back to a lot of rpo. This was not the NFL scouting night for Mendoza.

[Chris Simms]

No.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You know what I mean?

[Chris Simms]

Yes.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We can get into that a little bit. But this was. We got one shot at this. What's our best chance to win? We're not, we're not highlighting or featuring anyone here or what their skill sets are for the next level. We've got one shot to have this unbelievable culmination to the. One of the greatest stories in the history of college football. Indiana turning this program around in two years. The worst. Losing his program by some record books in the history of the sport.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

Just to try to put a finer point on, on your. On their play calling. Indiana this year passed 379 times and ran 614. They are, they've been a run heavy offense all year. So to come out and throw the ball that many times. Seven out of the first ten. Is that what you said?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Every brilliant game that Mendoza has. We're. Oh my gosh. Can you believe it? When Mendoza 21 of 23.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

When he, you know, 19 of 21.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It's never in the 30s. Right. But they come out and they throw seven of the first 10. Let's wear these guys down and let's do it on the peripheral screen them here. You know, let's make them run. Let's wear them down so that then we can start popping inside. So I thought that was pretty cool early on. But they come out and they do that and it's a defensive battle. Two great defenses battling. Even like that first, the first series after Miami had the ball, they got a first down, had to punt Miami's defense like they, they created the third and long. And it seemed like to me, I don't know if you had the same moment. It seemed like to me on that third. And it was a third and long. The speed of Mendoza. And thanks for everyone in the chat. We. We just, we just hit a thousand people in this chat. And by the way, it's a Monday night for Tuesday workday on a long weekend, so we can't thank everyone enough. And we'll take some questions after the. Tate's on there. Take. Go to bed.

[Chris Simms]

I didn't want, I didn't want to wrap my boy out, but someone about 10 minutes ago wrote, I'm gonna tell on Tate.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

My gosh.

[Chris Simms]

It'S probably one of his boys.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Bring. Bring your iPad down and go to bed. All right, what was I. Oh, so, so. Oh, this is the moment I had with Mendoza. I was like, it felt like he was like he had the, oh, like welcome to the league rookie moment. Like, oh, this, the speed of this defense and the violence of this defense might be a little different tonight, you know, and. And Ohio State tried to do that with the, the late hit on the first play, remember? And he got knocked down and like looked like, oh, no, is it all over? But this was like, oh, this is happening faster. And it was pretty cool to see. And it was cool to see kind of the response and no shying away from Mendoza. But it's still. This is a defensive battle. But Miami is like the first four drives, it looked like they were about to start a drive and then it stalled. Punt, right? Then IU is an 85 yard drive for a touchdown. Third and eight after this. They had a third and 13 on this drive, right? The first touchdown scoring drive of the game. Bane flinches.

[Chris Simms]

There's like three of them, by the way, but Bane was one of them.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Bane flinches. He goes from third and 13 incomplete. And I don't know if Mendoza knew that he was offsides and just took a shot at it down the middle of the field or not, but I kind of didn't think he did in the moment. This is outside of the 4th and fives from Signetti. This was the sneaky brilliant moment of the game. Remember, back to this.

[Chris Simms]

I cannot agree with you more. I know what you're going to say. Go for it.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Sig comes out and he saw because they were, they were foaming at the collective mouths. Messador Bane. Third and third and 13. We got Heisman. Let's go get him. Right? And then it's third and eight. And so the same mindset, okay? And Bane now revved up. This is on me. I'm going to get it back. Pluck him inside run. Brilliant enough because you're in that field position now where if we even pick up three or four here, if I'm going for fourth and five in the fourth quarter twice, I'm going fourth and four here. He knew. Let's use their upfield steam and angst against him. Let's pop one. If we don't pop one, then we'll, then we'll, we'll have a fourth down and we'll go for it anyway. We get two plays.

[Chris Simms]

But for me it was the alignment.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Calm versus the fury. You know, he.

[Chris Simms]

Heatherman in that situation was walking guys up and dropping them. But when you Walk guys up in the gaps like that before the snap. It makes it that much easier for the offensive line. Oh, that guy's in my gap.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm.

[Chris Simms]

It's not like you have linebackers and different alignments and they're flowing over the top. Everyone was at the line of scrimmage. They're trying to. They're trying to hide what they're doing. Doing. They're trying to mask what they're doing and who's coming and who's not coming. But when you run at that front, it's that much easier to identify assignments as an offensive line. And all the blockers are like, I got this guy. He's right in my gap. So all of a sudden, this thing that is going to help you in an obvious passing situation is a detriment when they run the ball downhill at you. And it was just. I think they'd seen this. I thought they had seen it up to that point of, oh, in this situation, this is what we're going to get. They're going to walk their guys up into these gaps. And these linebackers, when they get downhill, are a real pain in the ass. But they're going to be dropping at the snap now. They're going to be in the gaps. They're already going to be declared about which gap they have. Great, let's run it at him.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And they did.

[Chris Simms]

It was a brilliant.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It was. I'm telling you, it was the sneaky, brilliant call of the entire game. Because they agree with him for 21 yards there.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, I was. I couldn't agree with you more.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And then there were also. Just to. Just to go back on the stuff that we talked about, we kind of joked about Saban getting after Cristobal and Crystal Ball needling him back about getting makeup. Were you thinking this where you're getting makeup, Tough guy, you know, and. But two plays, two penalties on that drive for Miami, like, there we go. And what do we say before 36 on Frederick? And, yeah, we said, of course. I mean, and honestly, like, don't give us credit. Everyone was saying it, the only way you're going to beat Indiana is if you played that Texas A and M game clean.

[Chris Simms]

Right?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And Ohio State clean. Two penalties on that drive lead to the first touchdown of the game. Now it's all of a sudden 10 nothing. And it felt like because Miami gets the ball back at that point, too. I wrote this note down. 14 plays on that drive, 85 yards, 14 plays. At that point, when Miami got the kickoff back, they had already they had only run 14 plays offensively as a team in the game.

[Chris Simms]

Like 26 yards rushing or something at that point or in the first half it was.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And so now the defense is worn down, the offense feels disjointed and it felt like a freight train. Was like they hadn't hit. It wasn't going downhill yet, but they were kind of getting speed going, going up the hill and about to go over it. Right?

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And that's when Miami went for it. They get the ball back after. That's 10 nothing. Miami goes for it. Fourth and one in its own territory. And honest to God, I, I sent, I think I sent a text to you guys. I, I sent it out on X and threads. Like that wasn't that. That was actually a no brainer. It was like their own 30 yard line or something. It wasn't gutsy. It wasn't B. It was the only decision because if you.

[Chris Simms]

I thought it was guts. I thought it was gutsy, but I liked, I like the decision. I thought it was gutsy, but I liked the decision. I thought you had to be.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I didn't even. I, I didn't. Crossed my mind, yes, you can punt, but I was like, you can't give that ball that. The Miami defense had been on the field for like 10 of 17 or whatever it was or. No, it was like. Yeah, all but like four or five minutes they were washed. And this is what Indiana does. They take your sword and they bend it around because you make a couple tactical errors, a couple penalties, you do a couple things and you're playing a great game and all of a sudden your own sword is just digging into your, into your abdomen. And what they were about to do was turn it right.

[Chris Simms]

Yep.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But they go forward on fourth and one. Right. And I think that led to a field goal before.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So it's 10 to 3. No, no.

[Chris Simms]

What's the field goal?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Field goal opportunity and he hit the crossbar.

[Chris Simms]

This is what I wanted to ask you.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

33 seconds left. They let the clock run down, by the way. They let the clock run down and then they called a timeout. So they could have had much more time if they wanted. It was 109 was left when they had completed the pass before it. So 33 seconds. They missed the field goal. It was fourth and two. Should they have gone for it there? I mean, hindsight's 20 20, so you can't, you know, like, don't factor in even if you think.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Honestly, I kind of felt like my gut there was let's get three.

[Chris Simms]

Really?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Let's get three at this moment, let's just get three.

[Chris Simms]

Everything is, it's a 49 yard field goal. I, I, it's not a gimme 50. Yeah, yeah. I don't like to give it to Mendoza. There's. I like, I, I, you can't pont. But I don't like to give it to Mendoza that much farther back. Like, I hate it. The end of the first half got squirrely to me too, by the way. I don't know what Indiana was doing. Very uncharacteristic for Indiana at the end of the first half where they got the ball, ran it, then passed it and then only had two seconds left. It was, and it looked like there was. Signetti was talking to someone on the staff that there was a little bit of miscommunication about what exactly was going on there. So that, that was uncharacteristic for them too, because I thought you have Mendoza 33 seconds left. I think you had the ball in your, you know, your own 39, but that's, you know, you could make something happen there and get a field goal attempt.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So it was kind of, it got.

[Chris Simms]

A little weird at the end of the first half to me.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But then the second half starts, right? Indiana gets the ball. Miami gets a stop. Tony then gets a 17 yard punt return. Then he gets a five yard catch. Then, then Fletcher, 57 yards the right side, right? That right side we've been talking about all year long. Maui Noah, massive right tackle. Could be a tackle, could be a guard in the NFL, whatever it turns out to be. Awesome physical right tackle. And Cooper, Inez Cooper, right.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

At right guard. They run off the right side. Bang, hit it. 57 yards. Touchdown. Now we got a game. Now it's 107 and you're saying, could we just hit the 49, 50 yard field goal, whatever it was anyway then. So you feel like you're getting momentum, right?

[Chris Simms]

Yes.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And then they get a stop. Miami does get the ball back, but they get stopped. Go to punt. The, our mystery man from a year ago who was, who was the best defensive player on IU and the only guy that anyone actually knew his name.

[Chris Simms]

Mikhail Camara.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Mikhail Camara. Hands up. It was a, I don't even think it was a blocking assignment error. It was, it was an individual like failure to do your job. Error. It was in the puncher, held the ball too long and blank bog. Now it's 17. Now it's 17. Three right.

[Chris Simms]

And he rolled into it.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It was a really or 17 7.

[Chris Simms]

Kamara took advantage but the punter like I'm assuming that he was supposed to roll to that side. But it couldn't have been that far. I mean it was.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It was a breakdown.

[Chris Simms]

Bad breakdown.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But then Miami response. Long drive late third or third quarter early for. It was a first play of the fourth quarter. They scored a touchdown. But in that I saw Beck start to move in the pocket a little bit more instead of just hanging there and waiting for it to come. Start to move a little bit more. He moves. And what does that do? It allows C.J. daniels to uncover. I'm telling you when we go back and watch this tape, something was going on that secondary. Great discipline, great coverage. Miami receivers not uncovering. Beck had too much time in the pocket to be that ineffective throwing the football tonight. But he finally moves a little bit in the pocket. 25 yard catch. That's the longest catch of the night for Miami at that point. And that was late in the third like last minute of the third quarter. Tony gets that nice gain on this. On the screen after the the jet sweep motion. They looks like they're going to pitch their right to Fletcher back to Tony. Nice gain. Two runs later by Fletcher touchdown. That's an 81 yard 10 play response to the block punt touchdown. Massive. Still a game 17 by the way.

[Chris Simms]

That might have been Miami's best play call of the night. Was that that Fletcher touchdown where they kind of offset him. Pit Tony in motion.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yes, it was two motions on created that. That the design. Exactly in those motions. Then Indiana gets the ball and Miami gets a stop. But they don't because it's 4th and 5 and Signetti is just the all time onions. I don't care. I Trust my guy. 4th and 5 back shoulder to Becker. Then they get down inside the. Inside the red zone deep. 4th and 5. Mendoza takes it runs Elway helicopter, if you will. It's mentioned call if you love it. It's. It's a.

[Chris Simms]

He doesn't get spun around but he does extend.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But it was extend and the long.

[Chris Simms]

Put it on the line. Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And then, and then. But then Miami in under 3 minutes 91 players like this second half was wild as we recap it. You know.

[Chris Simms]

It was. Yeah. Miami, whatever you want to say. Miami was resilient. Yes. They didn't play the clean game that they wanted. They wanted to play. They had that big mistake on special teams but they never ever were out of it. They just kept coming it. They just, you know this was a heavyweight fight again. This is one of the best national championship games I can remember. Remember those Clemson was. The Clemson Alabama games. Those back to back national championship games that were awesome. And then to. Again, this is right up there for me in terms of like how good those games were. Can I ask you something? We need a poll. Do we have we had a poll yet?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We.

[Chris Simms]

This Indiana team beat last year's Ohio State team. Dan asked me beforehand. I struggled. Dan Comer was coming with the tough questions tonight.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

No, no, no. Wow. No. That Ohio State team turned out to be magical in that playoff. They weren't all season. It turned out to be a magical group.

[Chris Simms]

Interesting.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But my gosh, it would. Oh, that would have been fun.

[Chris Simms]

I don't know.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It would have been fun.

[Chris Simms]

I don't know.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Judkins and Henderson, the way Chip Kelly is dialing that thing up and Will Howard went on or he was on a heater. I'm clicking it right now in the poll. Ohio State 2024. Oh, they. Oh, this is. This is recency BIAS now it's 78%.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah. Just to ruin your vote.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's a great.

[Chris Simms]

I don't know. It's a great. That's a toss up.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Right?

[Chris Simms]

That's what a battle that would have been.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

They beat. This Indiana team beats the Michigan national champion from two years ago.

[Chris Simms]

Here we go. Michigan man. Saying that sort of. I think you're a Michigan man.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm a retired. But yes, long time ago. Not just because of recent stuff. Same thing.

[Chris Simms]

We. Same thing though. I'll say. Physicality is a thing, man. The most physical team. And I thought Miami was super physical tonight, but the most physical team in the playoffs seems to win the playoffs. That's just the thing. Like Ohio State was the most physical team last year and I really believe that Indiana was most physical team this year.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Did you get a chance? Congratulations, Kirk. Congratulations. Fernando. Congratulations, everyone. Indiana, congratulations. Casey Whitel, our good friend.

[Chris Simms]

Yep.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Who has been grinding me about IU football for like 20 years, man. And about 18 of them I'm like, why am I. My thumbs deserve a rest. But Casey is one of the great all time men and we love the Whitel family and so congrats to IU alum and everyone out there. I mean if you, if you hung in there as an IU football fan for your lifetime or post grad lifetime. I can't think of a program out there more deserving of. Of of what happened this season and what happened tonight. So that's Pat Coogan.

[Chris Simms]

Pat Coogan who lost last year. Playing for Notre Dame with the starting center for Notre Dame last year. Could have lost two. That would have been heartbreaking.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Would have been all his fault. It would have been Coogan. The curse of Coogan. It would be like Bucky Dent.

[Chris Simms]

That sounds like a, like an Irish bar in New York City, man. The curse of Coogan.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Oh, curse of Coogan.

[Chris Simms]

But yeah, no, he gets. And he plays a big part in it. It was that. That's kind of a, you know, all the storylines that are involved in this, that's kind of, that's one of the cooler ones to me.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'll say this about our chat that I appreciate. It's national championship night and like you either get the show or you don't get the show. I'd say it's 70, 30 college football night. But the third, there's a strong 30 and it's growing as the night goes on. NFL and NFL draft. Today was a monster day in the NFL. We don't need to cover all that. Everyone else in the world has. I do think Brian Dabel would be an unbelievable fit in Buffalo, but we'll see what happens. He's from Buffalo, obviously Josh Allen first years relationship there, got some of the best out of him and helped get him in his growth. That would be interesting. But the Buffalo job opens up after Sean Mc McDermott winds up getting fired. I paused because is it. Was it nine years and eight of those seasons to the playoffs, two AFC championships, never could take that next step. And this was his worst roster yet. Interesting.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah. And, and I agree with you on Dable, but like at the McDermott, Brandon Bean gets promoted.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be. I'm just saying it's always fascinating. I think Brandon Beat actually does a terrific job. Oh yeah, I really do. I have a lot of respect for Brandon Beat. I'm just saying it's interesting. The power dynamics inside every organization.

[Chris Simms]

Right?

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[Chris Simms]

I'm looking for a perfume that's not too perfumey.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I got you serum moisturizer or moisturizer syrup.

[Chris Simms]

Let's get into layering. My concealer is making me look worse. Sounds like the wrong shade. Let's get you meshed.

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[Chris Simms]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

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[Daniel Jeremiah]

But my point in saying all of this is it's like I can almost feel it in the air. The breeze coming off of 3 inches storm. It's official, man. Congratulations. There's 94 days to the NFL draft. The senior I'm had. I've had conversations with a couple scouts. I've had very interesting Senior bowl conversations. I've got a lot of stuff on Wednesday I'm gonna release the first like true deep dive. Let's go. NFL draft. Okay. So if you're not the the newsletter, the McShay Report, please Google it. We we got a thousand people on this chat still at midnight 04 and only 164 likes.

[Chris Simms]

Still no one hitting the like button.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Kind of a travesty. But I'm not here to beg for for likes in life. But what I am here to tell you is Wednesday if you're interested in like just getting a whole bunch of buzz all over the place kind of stuff and stuff getting you ready for the Senior bowl which officially kicks off the NFL draft season. There's gonna be a lot of fun stuff in there. We're gonna have a show on Thursday. But I wanted to get to a couple things before we go and I'm in no rush, honestly. We can go an hour if you want. Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

I want to ask you a couple things or one thing.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It was interesting. The Brady with a with Raiders gear and Mark Davis the owner and a contingent. I think Spy Tech was there. The gm.

[Chris Simms]

I'm pretty sure he was.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm pretty sure I saw him. Interesting. That contingent was there in Miami Hard Rock Stadium with Mendoza playing right.

[Chris Simms]

Think about that, man. Like, sometimes we. I think we lose focus on. On the basic things. Think about the pressure that young man is under and trying to win a championship for Indiana in football, like, football, that's. That's unthinkable. Two years ago, so he's trying to do this unthinkable thing. He's had this tremendous season and then you have, on top of that, Tom Brady on the sideline watching you and deciding whether or not they're going to make you the first overall pick. I mean, that is unbelievable to go out and perform at that level with that kind of pressure on you.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. You know, welcome to the rest of his life.

[Chris Simms]

I know, I know.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But it's worth.

[Chris Simms]

I just think it's worth noting sometimes. Do we just accept that these guys are able to do this?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. Yeah, I, I guess you're like, whatever.

[Chris Simms]

Just be great, whatever. If you want to be a quarterback, you get that's what you got to do.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I get it, but what are you.

[Chris Simms]

Looking at right now?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I'm telling Tate to go to bed.

[Chris Simms]

Every show with date, by the way.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, it's time to go to bed, Tate. Anyway, I. I hear you, but, like, it's pretty cool. And, and it's time like, it, like he won that Heisman and, And now it's. Now he's. He's a professional player. There's no more classes and all that. Like you are. This is about a pro life, you know?

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, I'm sure that. I'm sure that class load was pretty heavy for Fernanda Mendoza this year.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, it's like Carson Beck said, I've graduated two years ago. That was awesome. It was like liner said. What do you have, like ballet or something? The one classroom, everyone was like all worked up back then. The difference in what. Where. Where. Where the world has changed. Right. Yeah, I just thought that was interesting. I don't know why.

[Chris Simms]

Not unexpected, though.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You know what I found interesting about it is Tom Brady with Raiders gear on. I think that's the first time I've seen him in a public. In another team stadium. Almost like, yeah, what are you gonna do about it? I am here to watch Mendoza because I feel like outside of that one time in the press box last year and they did like a report on. On like what his role is with the Raiders and they did some like, digging and he. He gives like, you know, certain amount of help each week and put. It's always like everyone's speculating what he's doing, but it hasn't been in Your face. This felt like, yeah, Marino's here. He's, he's, he's doing, he's like, plays a big role in the Miami front office and behind the scenes. And so like when we go the combine, we go the Senior Bowl, Dan Marino's there with his Miami gear and everyone's just gotten used to that. This is the first time where I had that moment where I'm like, oh, so he's, he's owning that. He's not, he's owning his, his ownership stake in the Raiders and he's doing it. Tom Brady. I've told you no. I've had the great fortune of meeting a lot of like people who are the top or amongst the very few at like elite level in whatever the profession is, whether it's CEOs, general managers, quarterbacks, players. Across, like, I've just been very fortunate by my job has afforded me that opportunity over the last 25 years. And they all have the same thing. Head coaches are the same. There's always like, there's purpose in what they do and it's not messaging to try to manipulate a situation. It's like intentional, intentional behavior, intentional words. Because there's, there is a message as a leader of this company that I'm trying to get across. It felt like the first time this, tonight was the first time where it was like intentional. Tom Brady, that's my guy. If it is this guy. And I want to be here and I want to be here and I want to show this is. You got me in the broadcast booth for 18, 19 weeks, whatever, 20, 20 plus weeks, including preseason, postseason. But, but now where I am tonight and what's going to happen beyond the NFL season, which is wrapping up, you're getting Tom Brady, the, the ownership, whatever, 10 ownership stake part of building this Raiders organization. I thought that was fascinating.

[Chris Simms]

He better be his guy. I mean, if anyone, anyone's going to appreciate the way the Mendoza elevates at critical points in the game. I mean, we talked already about the passing attempts being low, but again, Iowa, Penn State at Oregon against Ohio State and again in this game, when he needs to make a play, he'll make an unbelievable scramble for a touchdown. He'll throw a back shoulder throw. Doesn't matter what else has happened in the game, it doesn't matter how close it is. He's just cold blooded in those moments. And I think Brady will appreciate that as much, if not more than any other evaluator.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Brady was more pinpoint accurate, but got a lot more pinpoint accurate as his career went on, Remember him in, like, 2001, 2002, 2003. I'm just saying. I'm saying. And. But Mendoza is more mobile.

[Chris Simms]

You can go into all the traits. But you asked Brady what the most important thing was.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Brady cares about is here and here.

[Chris Simms]

And that's where he checks all the boxes. And that's.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

There are very few guys that have come out in the draft here and here that kind of emulate who Tom Brady was.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, right. Yeah, he's a gamer. I mean, that's.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

You know, and it kind of felt like Tom was coming out and saying, yeah, yes, I see that. Yeah. Almost like Raiders Jersey. Unless he's declaring something. Intentional behavior. Right. I don't know. And everyone's probably. And I'm not looking at the chat like, yeah, no, McShay. Like, yeah, I understand. Like, of course the Raiders are picking one. He's the number one overall pick. But. But Tom's been very vocal about quarterbacks not being ready. And in terms of finding the right guy, that was interesting to me. We do have the Senior bowl coming up. And I did mention Ruben Bane, Akeem Messador, Keonte Scott from Miami, Elijah Surratt, and d' Angelo Ponce from Indiana. Very fascinating couple conversations this past week. A lot of agent stuff going on. A lot of guys initially in, then pulling out. Some guys, as expected, like, David Bailey's not playing. Got invited. He's going to be probably most likely a top 10 pick. Some other guys, like, you know, do they have an injury or didn't he have an injury? Cassius, how legitimately has a hand injury? Can't play. But there are other guys who just have decided not to play. Jermod McCoy decided not to play in the Senior Bowl. Hasn't played football in over a year. Stand on the 2024 tape. Would have been a really good opportunity to show teams where you are. There's another guy that I was. I was really surprised. Who was it?

[Chris Simms]

I feel like it's been happening in recent years. This is not new with the new staff, by the way. This is a problem that has been developing, I think.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. No, but I'm actually after. Oh, yeah. Cassius Howell was the other. The other guy with the hand injury. That was legit. Oh, no, no, no. Who. Who was it? While we're here, there was another. There was someone else. Let's just empty the bag. Michael Trigg. Oscar dealt.

[Chris Simms]

Really?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. I don't know. Maybe. And it's gonna be mentioned. Oh, Anthony Hill Jr.

[Chris Simms]

Good inside linebacker. Class you might want to set yourself apart.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Well, his tape, his tape was wildly inconsistent this past year and quite frankly, disappointing. So what better opportunity than to go to Senior bowl and show because he is very athletic and he does have the traits to go there and have an excellent week. And guys that maybe have fallen from late first to second or third can work themselves back up with a really good start to the draft process at the Senior Bowl. Interviews there on the board, coaching staff, buzz on the field, looking good in one on ones, different types, types of things. And then you go work out well at the combine. All of a sudden you get this, this head of steam going into the draft. I'm going to have an entire article about all this stuff. But nothing made me happier than having that conversation with an unknown source. We'll say, saying, yeah, like, if they come out clean on Monday night, they're like, kind of confused as to why. Like, why. Why wouldn't they play? You know, that's awesome. That speaks to exactly why that when you watch Corey Heatherman's defense for Miami this year, a lot of talent, but it's not like it's not some. Honestly, it's not as talented as Ohio State's defense, but violent effort. Motor is five, six, seven guys, hats around the ball at the end of every single tackle. That starts with the players. Man, coaches can yell and scream and motivate and put on videos and all that stuff. When Alabama's best teams always had the big guys up front, own the locker room. They were the old men in the locker. You know what it's like, you walk in there, there's two or three guys that you answer to and they don't even. And they don't have to ask you. It's just, it's. It's an expectation. They're the old grizzly guys in the back corner, but when they put that helmet on, they are nasty. And when I hear that Bain and Messador are like, yeah, I'm in. I'm like, why isn't Anthony Hill or Jermod McCoy, you know, like what? Yeah, so that part's interesting. The other thing I'll say is I'll leave it with this. Mendoza has an open invite, but very likely not going to. And, and totally understandable. Beck has an open invite and I told you about that. There are already six quarterbacks there. Sawyer Robertson from Baylor, one of my favorites, Garrett Nussmire, who I'm thrilled about, and we'll get into him on Wednesday, Thursday. Nussmeier Taylor. Taylor Taylin Green from Arkansas, Sawyer Robertson. My guy gonna be a day three steal. Luke Altmire. Diego. Diego Pavia and Cole Payton.

[Chris Simms]

North Dakota State, right?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

What? North Dakota State. Sorry. Yeah, Mendoza. Then everyone's aware. He's not very likely not going to go. Beck should. And I'm. I'm imploring him too. The final one is fascinating to me and I. I asked this question. Is it Ty Simpson? Like, no, no, Ty can't. Ty has a connection with the people running the Senior bowl now, like family. But Ty, since he was 10, 11, 12 years old, it was a dream of his to play in the Senior Bowl. Ty absolutely physically possible could. Would go play. Ty was banged up a lot more than people thought he was. He was banged up a lot more than people thought. At the end of the season, it wasn't just. It was a byproduct of the past. Protection starting to break down and opponents figuring out and a byproduct of the run game just wasn't there. So it was all on Ty. And. And Ty's top receiver just decides that he's not really a factor or any. So like. But that took a toll on his body. Multiple things that he's kind of recovering from right now. Chief among them is rib cartilage damage, I'm told. And they don't soar. Like, whatever. I'm just told from people who are. Who know. And he's going to be just fine. But we saw the hit and everyone's like, dude, check himself out. Or he get bench. He still can't throw a football. He's probably two, three weeks away from being cleared to even throw a ball. But Ty would be there, which is pretty cool. Like, guaranteed. It's devastating to him that he can't. Trinidad Shambliss is the last one.

[Chris Simms]

He's going.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

He's offered and they've got a spot for him. And my understanding mess up his lawsuit.

[Chris Simms]

Is that, like, does.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

That's my understanding. This is. That's exactly what I said. He said, well, he's. He's already. He's already failed. There's already been two denials by the ncaa. I only knew of one of them. Apparently there's a second one.

[Chris Simms]

There was a verbal and then there was an official.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So now he's in. Do you remember when. When Chambliss. When this happened and I said, don't do it, Trinidad.

[Chris Simms]

Oh, yeah, I remember.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And I could be wrong. And maybe Trinidad wins this because now he's suing. My understanding is. And go to. Go to Thammel. Go to like, I'm just telling, they're.

[Chris Simms]

Making a labor argument now in the.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

League are telling me and they're talking to all the people involved and it's just like the Brian Kelly stuff and the, and the, and the Franklin stuff at Penn State and like I, I, the information is there. I don't have to get triple sourced and all that. I'm just telling you what people in the league are talking about or people in college football circles. This is what's, this is the, what's going on. So he's been denied twice. Maybe it's one verbal one, one in writing. And he's got this technically like a lawsuit with the, filed with the state of Mississippi. If I don't know the timing on it. There's, it's always vague when it comes to court systems and the ncaa. And this is why I implored Trinidad not to be because all the lawyers want this fight. They'll tie you up. Everyone at Ole Miss wants him and he's, he's a good young man and he, and he wants to be back and by the way, he should, he needs another year of college football. There'll be wonderful form. I'm just worried it's not going to happen and then the timeline is going to get all mucked and he's not going to be able to play in the Senior bowl or so the invites there. There's real hope that he could come play and I can't think of another player who A, would, would bring more energy and excitement out of the list of people who still could potentially come or B, could have like benefit. Go out there and show I'm better than Nussmeier. Nussmeier is healthy now. I'm better than Beck. If he comes and plays, I'm here. Let's go. He's mobile. He's got a big arm. He's like endearing smart. Like, this is a guy who could really benefit. So I'm excited to see how all that plays out. And I've got pages and pages of notes here that are all going to be in that, in that first McShay report as we turn the page in the calendar year to our, our favorite time of year for being honest. These are our favorite shows, these live streams. But, but we're, we're fired up for it. So you got anything else?

[Chris Simms]

Men, Great year for both programs. I'm fascinated. You know, we're not going to get into all this tonight, but I'm fascinated by Signetti's rise and how you look at what's happened in Indiana and I think if you're a smart, if you're another program and you're smart, you're looking at any way you can duplicate that. And I'm not sure you can. I think Signetti might be one of one, but it's going to be interesting to see how teams try to duplicate that. Miami, I don't think we've seen the last of this Miami team or this Miami program competing for national championship as much as I, as I've been hard on Crystal Ball in the past. I am so impressed with the way he guided his team through this. From barely getting in to beating Ohio State, you know, beating that up, you know, that Ole Miss, the team that had everything to play for. And then, I mean, coming really close tonight. I mean coming really close. Congratulations to both programs. What a year.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

The poll, 264 votes, 69% Indiana 2025. Recency bias over 2024. Ohio State. That would be a fascinating matchup. I do want to thank everyone. We still have just around 1000 people in our chat at 12:20 in the morning. Tomorrow's a work day. We appreciate everyone there. MLS Week says that Cole Payton from North Dakota State is going to be QB2 from the senior Bo. Hey, I hope so.

[Chris Simms]

I, I, that'd be awesome.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I didn't have quite the under. I had not given enough respect to the seven year three injury journeyman that was Tyler Schuck until I got to the Senior bowl and then I came back from there. I was like, I gotta dive into his tape and I fell in love. So hopefully we have the same experience with Cole Payton. Let's get to a couple of these before we go because everyone's hung in there. So like I want to not reward, but I just want to interact for a couple minutes. There was a good question here about there's a lot of talk about Arvel Reese because we talked about the linebackers. Right. ATB is talking about Devin Lloyd was my Vonte Mack no matter what guy. Right. I think that's from, yeah, from a.

[Chris Simms]

Movie that I was drafted to be NFL draft day. Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I don't say the name, I just, I'd say it's the movie I wasn't allowed.

[Chris Simms]

Terrible movie.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And so there were questions about him but, but then there was another question. I'm going to find it but essentially. Oh, it was something about would you.

[Chris Simms]

Take.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Reuben Bain or Arval Reese? Fascinating because one could just be an off the ball linebacker and Arvell Reese, he Could be.

[Chris Simms]

I don't believe.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, I know. I'm just, I'm. I'm spitting out the argument for you to make this decision. The other is Reuben Bane, who's a pure pass rusher and been awesome all year, but shorter arms, concerns, sack production's good, but it's not. What. We're not talking about a Miles Garrett or a Bosa or. You know what I mean? What say you, Mench?

[Chris Simms]

I'd love either one of them going. Reese. I just think that he is an off the ball linebacker. But I, I've joked with you about this, but I, I really believe it is the frame of an edge. He's, he's lean for an edge, but he, When I watch his pass rush reps, when he, when he, they send him the speed to power and the length and ability to get off blocks is different. And then you add in that element of him being able to do all the off the ball linebacker stuff. I hope he gets to a place where they know how to use him and they mix it up and they, and they really take advantage of the fact that he can play the quote unquote positionless football and they can do something different them all the time. And because I just think he's going to be an awesome player, I, It'd be interesting to see how he tests. But I think Reese is the best player in this draft and Reuben Baines the top five guy for me. But Reese is the, the top guy atb.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I've, I've. I've come to respect a lot actually, because he has rules, there are laws and always trade backs life. And honestly in his. His handle is one of them. His handle is honestly one of my top. If I, if you were to bring me in for a GM interview and. All right, McShay, tell me some of your like, firm beliefs. After 25 years of like diving in and having access to some really brilliant people and not being stuck in the football think tank and being able to pluck this genius from that, from this, from that and all. And all the technology that we've been able to be on the forefront with because people come and they want to test things out with us and show it. One of my top things would be always trade back.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

With the exception of I've got my guy at quarterback. If I've got an opportunity to get above market value to trade out of a spot with the exception of quarterback, almost always I'm trading out of that spot. It would have to be a premium player that I absolutely believed in at a premium position. And I'm talking like that that big a list maybe that big.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But he's a big believer in you have to. You can't take stay away from Reese. Do you know he's going to be in it like you got to take it. So the jets are in a tough spot because let me ask you something. Everyone in the world was talking about the jets at number two and Dante Moore they're going to take. But now it's like now, now you get the opportunity. I said it was the best thing in the world for you. And I don't think Bane is necessarily worth the third overall pick. My opinion but he is an edge. Or would it be David Bailey? We just put up a poll. Would you take Arvell Reese? This poll. This one's for you for all your hard work ATB. This one's for you. And he's an ATB's even making a. Making a fight now when Bane gets gets older he can kick inside.

[Chris Simms]

I will put Bane kicks inside now a lot. I mean Bane works inside a lot and that's great. I think that's a. That's a plus for him.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah. GMs aren't worried about four years down the road outside no quarterback position A certain extent outside of that it's what. What can do for me now. But you know, but the poll is Arvl Reese or Reuben Bane and I only bring this up and I'm not saying Baines necessarily worth the second overall pick but there's a lot of talk about Reese there. In fact I'm guessing Fanduel right now. If they had their odds up on the NFL draft the odds on favor to be the number two overall pick at this moment would be Arvel Reese. And I and I wouldn't give a huge fight. ATB would. So who are you. Who are you pulling for there?

[Chris Simms]

I mean I love always trade back. It's Reese. It's. And you could say to yourself don't do that and you could stay away from off the ball linebackers. And I tend to agree with him and I. I get what he's saying and that's all fun and games until you're one of the teams that didn't draft Micah Parsons before he went what, 12th? I mean there's guys that are different and he might not be Arvel Reese might not be but what I've seen on tape and when I see his skill set.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Jalen Walker.

[Chris Simms]

I'm taking the shot man.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Now James Pierce falls because of the character stuff flat. I mean, what, I'm pass rusher in last year's class.

[Chris Simms]

Right? But what I'm saying is it's. Yes, you're right. Until you miss out on Micah. And then when you miss that on a Micah, it. It's, you know, you're sitting to yourself like, well, maybe we should have thought. Thought about that a little bit more.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

If you want Ruben Bane for the. Throw that up again. Tuck or Dan, if that was you. If you want Reuben Bain for FanDuel. Odds. It's the only odds we have right now for FanDuel, and we'll work with them intimately. I can't wait. I love doing this stuff. Number one overall pick, Fernando Mendoza's -7000. Bane is -5000. Arvell Reese is -5500. I promise you, if you pulled the NFL, it would be ARVL. Reese would be -5000. Bane would be -9000. Just to give people perspective of. Of what's going on. But it's going to be. It's going to be fascinating.

[Chris Simms]

I also think it's one of these drafts. And, like, I get it. I'm not offended by some of these comments. Someone says, I'm getting Vernon Ghost, Ghost and Vibes, and that's not a very good thing. I mean, always trade back once he's. We. He and I are a lot alike. He said, honestly, I wouldn't want to take either one of them. I would want to pick 8 to 12. It's like, yeah, no, I get it, man. I get it. That's the kind of the spot you want to be in, especially in this draft. But that being said, if you're at 2, you got to take somebody, and if it's Reese or Bane, you got to pull the trigger on one of them. I get it. I'm more of a. I am more of a traditionalist. I am more of the premium position. Guys, I got news for you, David.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Bailey, if we're talking Bane, we better include Bailey in this conversation.

[Chris Simms]

Man, I love Bailey. I don't think he's a fit for everyone, but I do. I do really like him.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I just think I love our draft crowd. We just went back over a thousand in the chat, 12:30 in the morning. Because we just started talking draft for five minutes.

[Chris Simms]

Right, right, right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We get it. You like, you like our college football stuff. But let's get. Let's get real. And here we're about to get real for the next four months. Yeah. And the Maui Noah Fano stuff's Gonna be interesting at tackle. Do you want a right tackle who could be a guard who's just a better, more dominant football player right now, or do you want the guy who's left tackle and got all the traits Thanos.

[Chris Simms]

The right Thanos right tackle?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yes, technically. But he, but he did, he did.

[Chris Simms]

Play left tackle early in his career. Here we go.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And he's got the traits of a left tackle. What I'm talking. I'm not talking about Utah. To Utah. Caleb Downs, where's he gonna go? I was talking to an executive the other day. He was asking and just. It was fascinating about this draft. Right tight end. No, not a running back in Jeremiah Love, a safety. And Caleb Downs and off the ball linebacker. And Arvell Reese could be the three best non quarterback players in this draft.

[Chris Simms]

I would throw in Kenyan Sadiq at tight end. I would throw him in there, too. He's not quite on that level, but he's up there, man. And when you look at last year' draft, do you think the Bears regret taking Colston Loveland or do you think the Colts regret taking Tyler Warren early like the. The Sadiq? That's going to be an interesting pick.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

But it's funny, we do this every year and, and this is the time of year and it's tough to do before free agency where you start to try to identify team needs. You know, it's part of the mock draft process, but it's also you trying to get your ducks in a row to figure out what teams are looking for in almost every year. You know what they're looking for. Edge, offensive tackle and corner. Everyone's, you know, that's why they're premium positions. There's not enough edges in the world. There's just not enough edges in the world to fill all these team needs. So those guys are going to come off the board. Offensive tackles are going to come off the board. You know it. And that's what makes those three or four players fascinating.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I want to challenge us this year. I'm trying to think of the right time of year. Dan, put this on the calendar. Send it to Marissa, even though she's just a couple rooms down. You guys handle my life. You guys manage my life. I think in early March, when you and I are cranking on tape, I mean, we're done. But again, let's say early March, first week in March, I want you and I to stop down what we're doing. And I want to do a show and a newsletter and I want to put our 50 the 50 best football players who are like all of it. The size, the arm length, the 40 time, the durability stuff. The durability, the character.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Get all that noise out. Give me the 50 best football players in this draft and I bet you, I bet you if we revisit it this time next year, that list was better than the list that we put together after the combine when we had all the numbers, when we got all the character stuff, when we started looking at. Well, he's gonna, he's. Yeah, but he's an off the ball linebacker. I don't know, he might kick into guard. Let's just identify the 50. You give me your list, I'll give you mine. 50 best football players. I don't care who ran a 4, 5, 8. 50 best football players. Upton Stout was one of the 50 best football players last year and I didn't have the onions. I put him at like 80 or something.

[Chris Simms]

Pat Bryant, the receiver from Illinois, I mean I, I loved him and I couldn't put him that high because of the time and that. What a mistake.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

By the way, I've been raised in this business of create your board and believe in your players and your valuations, but then also be smart enough to understand what the player's value is and don't overdraft. Well, Sean Payton's an idiot, right? RJ Harvey is available the next round, in the third round. Pat Bryant's available in the next round. Yeah, I promise you, I talk to more than half the league every year. Don't care. He's one of our best players. We're taking him.

[Chris Simms]

Right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So maybe is that is the way that, is that just the best way? I don't know. I like it, I like. We're going to share a lot of different stuff this year. This is going to be, this is going to be not, it is not the best draft. 2027 is going to be the best draft, draft in the history of NFL drafts. And we're going to celebrate every minute of it starting in, I'm sure July. But I promise you there are a hundred football players that are going to be major impact players. And there's going to be about 50 of them that become big, big time deals. Every class has it.

[Chris Simms]

By the way, your guy Pons might be in that top 50, the way he plays. I mean, there's what I'm saying.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We're going to create this list. We're going to do our tape and it start, literally starts tomorrow morning. It has already started. But like tomorrow it becomes focused, like in by positions. I've got a schedule. Let's go. We get through the Senior bowl watching tape while we're there. If you and Mercen aren't taking me out to these extravagant meals every night, which I love. I know, but we're going to come up with it. And it's going to be our annual thing. The best 50 come up with the better name. And I bet you that's better than our final draft boards every year. Yeah.

[Chris Simms]

It might not be. It might not match up with who goes where. But I bet you when you look back at it. Yep. When you look back at who's playing well. Yeah. Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I love it. And you know. You know who loves it? This chat that keeps growing. I hate to say goodbye. We're pretty lucky. We're the luckiest two guys in the world. Just take care of a couple business things. Gray hairs. Nonsense. Jeremy Goden. Give me a mic, send me to the draft. Are we going to meet up? We're at the Senior Bowl. We're at the combine. Let's figure it out.

[Chris Simms]

Who's. Who's going to the Senior Bowl?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

We need a leader. I. I know there's a few leaders out there. I see them every week. But we need some guys to take the bull by the horns. I can't do it.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, we're not. We're not good like that.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

But I promise you this. If you're there and there's. And there's something. If there's something and there's something going, then if people are there, we will meet and we will greet and we.

[Chris Simms]

Will have a hundred percent.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

It's just. Who mentioned I are.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

So, I mean that ATV is going to be in Mobile. I feel like ATB might be. Might have to captain this. Yeah, sure. God will be in on it. Reach Cole Marie.

[Chris Simms]

Maybe the ghost of Steve Adasio can make it.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Yeah, I'd love to meet him. Anyone creative enough to come up with that? Yes. That's a male piper.

[Chris Simms]

Look at a male Kuiper.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Male Kuiper too. Joshua Dwyer has been on fire tonight.

[Chris Simms]

Caleb.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Oh, Kayla Banks is in Dwyer as of right now. Caleb Banks is in. Listen to this Edge class before we go. Defensive front class actually at the Senior Bowl. Okay. Reuben Bain, Akeem Messador, TJ Parker. I can't wait to see him. Yeah, not in a Clemson uniform. Whatever was going on there this year. Down apples to apples against good offensive linemen. One on one with that length and that power. So Bain Messador, TJ Parker. Zion Young, Romello Height, LT Overton, Derek Moore from Michigan and Gabe Yakis from. From. From Illinois. Plus, and it's not a deep interior defensive lineman, but here defensive line group, three names, two of which you. I mean, I know you know all three, but two of which are kind of became household names. Caleb Banks, not because of what he did this year, but because of the player he was becoming in 2024 for Florida. Underrated prospect even though he didn't play a whole lot. Lee Hunter from Texas Tech is the other name. You know, I'm told. Watch real closely to Chris McClellan, defensive tackle from Missouri. He's going to have a monster week. So right there, that's seven, eight guys along the defensive front. You know what? That's going to create wars.

[Chris Simms]

One on one. I love the idea about Parker getting around that competition too. I hope he gets. He fires him up a little bit. You know, guys can bounce back, man. It's going to be interesting to see how he does. But Lee Hunter, I think is. I'm. I'm not sure how high he's. He can go. I mean he's hit the tape is freaking awesome.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Is Big Citrus gonna be there? Atb? I didn't see his name. Maybe he is. I didn't see his name on the most recent roster. But we'll. We'll get you all that information Wednesday, I believe. Wednesday we're gonna have the. Yeah, Wednesday's the. The newsletter. The McShay Report. Google it. 283 likes Over a thousand people in this chat all night long. Maybe more of you will just jump on and get the newsletter. All you got to do is subscribe, throw in your email. Done. But you're going to want to get the premium stuff now. It's been cute. You've been handing away like candy speaks for itself.

[Chris Simms]

See what he. See what was on there last year.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And then I guess Thursday morning we'll be back. Thursday morning we'll be back and we'll do. We'll. We're going to dive. We're going to do this stuff intensified NFL draft. I got a ton of stuff I want to unleash on you and I want to get your responses and I want to get. We're just going to go full board.

[Chris Simms]

We'll be in Mobile this time next week, right? Isn't it next week?

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Is it?

[Chris Simms]

I think it's next week. Yeah. We're in Mobile a week from today, man. Wow. Let's go.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Let's go. Mench.

[Chris Simms]

Yeah, there's. It's we hit the ground running. We are.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Chris has already had reservations for, like, three straight nights.

[Chris Simms]

I am so excited. So excited.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

And. And Dan Comer's taking Men Shout to go play pool at night. Just where I need my guy mensch.

[Chris Simms]

I have one drink.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

I don't even worry about that. I just, like, remember the days we used to sit and watch tape for four hours. It's like a free fall.

[Chris Simms]

We did. I do. Yeah. All right.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Tonight was a special edition. Thanks for hanging with us. An awesome job.

[Chris Simms]

Thank you.

[Daniel Jeremiah]

Chat. You get like, you guys are the best. We're going to be. Now we roll. Now we roll. This is five stars plus a thumb. Good night, dude. 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 mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY in New York. The new year brings new health goals and wealth goals. Protecting your identity is an important step. Your info is in endless places that could expose you to identity theft leading to lost funds. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Resolve to make identity, health and wealth part of your New year's goals. With LifeLock, save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com podcast terms apply.