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- [00:00]
Todd McShay
One of the hardest parts of being an evaluator is knowing when to let go. Today is the day that I let go. It's our new in season flagship show, Rough Draft. And one day soon you might be watching this thing on Netflix. Who knows? Just 189 days until the NFL draft. Men, you good? Great.
- [00:21]
Steve
I love that opening.
- [00:23]
Todd McShay
Hey, Tucker. One time now, kid. You know, a year ago, Mitch, I would never have guessed that you were about to be a Netflix star. No. 1 Hollywood on exciting news. Exciting news. Ringer Spotify partnering with Netflix. I think you can. Everyone's seen it now on social media, all over the Internet. It's a. It's a big deal. We're excited for it. More details will come. This episode is presented by Duluth Trading Co. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam finger. Duluth Trading Co. Crafts hall of fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer louder and tailgate longer. Bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals. And free swinging shirts tailor made for cornhole tossing. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duluth Trading Company. Listen, Haas, Evan, Holly, Cole, Marie, always trade back. We're my first question when Jeff Chow called me to talk and we got done with our conversation, sat down for a second. Marissa's like, well, what about the chat? I was like, oh shoot, what about the chat? What, what about their live show, their Saturday night Reaction show become our favorite thing that we do. Our flagship show is Rough Draft and you're here with us today and we appreciate you being here. Our probably most fun interactive show of the week is the Saturday night Reaction show. And, and we've got a great group. The chat keeps growing, the audience keeps growing. We literally just had our best and biggest audience for our live show on a Saturday night that we've ever had and we're coming up on year October 22nd mention it'll be our one year anniversary. So it's all happening and we're excited and we're excited for whatever comes with with Netflix. But I did put in the question, like we can bring the chat over. They said they're already working on it. So I'm not going unless we're bringing the chat with us in some way, shape or form because we appreciate everyone who's become loyal members and part of this show that we're building. Next, I want to get to Saturday night. Speaking of which, right.
- [02:52]
Steve
Some big games, man.
- [02:54]
Todd McShay
Man, talk about like they're not like the primary rivalry necessarily, but two like historic rivalries in college football. The prime time, game seven, 30 eastern time. We're going to break into the end of these games. You've got usc, Notre Dame. Think about the history, the battles, right?
- [03:14]
Steve
Can't wait, cannot wait.
- [03:17]
Todd McShay
Then, well not then at the same time simultaneously we get that, get the, the multi screen going here as we're watching and screaming and, and reacting just as you are at home. It's Alabama, Tennessee, Tennessee at Alabama this year. I, I remember the first time I went down with Mike Godfrey, Ron Franklin, right, And I remember like sitting in a, at a, at a Waffle House and, and Mike Godfrey explaining to me because I'm this Northeastern kid at the time time I'm, you know, I'm fresh out of college. I went to school at Richmond in Virginia, capital of the south, so they proclaim. But I didn't have, and I grew up a Michigan, Ohio State guy because my grandfather and, and so, so I didn't have the, the total understanding of some, some of the southern traditions and the history and the rivalries and I knew obviously the Iron bowl in Alabama, Auburn. But when it was explained to me I was like, oh, this thing's special. It's the third week in October. You better bring your cigars and get ready to light them, right? So it's just going to be a special night on Saturday. So we, we encourage everyone, if you haven't joined, not only come, come hang with us through the, the end of those games and then we wind up doing like a two hour reaction show when, when the games are over. But get on the chat too. It's a fun group. This episode is brought to you by Viori. As an analyst, I'm a rankings guy. I scope the landscape, look at all the prospects and then make the call. And looking at the Vuori Sunday performance jogger, it's safe to say I found your new favorite jogger. Soft, lightweight, four way performance stretch. The Sunday performance jogger moves with you. No restrictions. And get this, we just landed a deal for friends of our show. They're offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet@VIori.com SL MC exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions and and we're excited for that. And then finally as we transition to today, this is our second edition. We're calling it 1.1 Rough Draft 1.1. We're, we're fired up men. Came up with the name Dan Comer Our, our, our do it every, do everything guy behind the scenes came up with the concept. Like we're, we gotta, we gotta keep the NFL draft involved all year long. There are, I love these shows that are going all year long. That's kind of how we started this whole thing. But we got to keep the focus on college football as well. So we found our balancing act and Rough Draft on Thursdays every week during the college football season is our new kind of home and our flagship show. So here we are in that. But accompanying that is the McShay report. Please, if, if you're not subscribed to it, like this is a good time to do it. This is the first for me. Today is the kickoff to our NFL draft coverage as we incorporate it inseason college football and it's the quarterback rankings I have yet. We did a preseason, we watched all the tape, went to the Manning Academy, all those things. But we didn't know what we don't know and we now we know a lot more. I mean my gosh, I can't remember, I can't remember a year we've had Jaden, Jaden Daniels go from day three to pick number two overall. We, we just had Cam Ward go from, you know, a fifth round grade by a lot of NFL scouts to the number one overall pick. Like that happens. But to see this much turnover and so many names that are on this list that weren't in our summer list and see some of those names that were atop the summer list falling all the way down in the rankings. Like this is, it's been a wild couple months of college football and, and it's changed the draft landscape drastically. So we're going to like in 30 seconds now, we're going to jump into my top 10 quarterbacks for the 2026 NFL Draft. And I promise you this, there's a standard here like my appreciate the way I show my appreciation to our audience. It continues to grow is I pour it all in and I know Steve does the same. I can attest to that. Like I grinded, Marissa's mad at me. The kids are like what's, what's your deal? Like, I'm not putting. But there was a lot to go through because there's a lot of new names. So like I, I'm giving you everything I got. And, and hopefully it's, it's what you come, you've come to expect from this show and from the McShay report. So if you're not subscribed, go Google, Google the McShay Report. Pull it up. Put in your email if you want to subscribe for free. The premium stuff is going to start rolling out now because. Because now it's like, put on your big boy pants, you know? All right, so that's all the, the nonsense at the beginning of the show. Let's just dive into it. Bench, let's go.
- [08:01]
Steve
Can't wait.
- [08:03]
Todd McShay
The theme today for these quarterback rankings, and we're going to go through the top 10 and I'll mention some, Some honorable mentions, some guys that are kind of still on the, you know, on the, on the radar, if you will. Legitimate guys. Not like, I could give you 20 names, but legitimate guys that could maybe crack in. The theme is game experience. We've seen it. We've seen it. Right? We've seen it in recent years with ni. With nil Transfer portal, the landscape has changed a little bit in terms of guys being able. It's a luxury now, Steve. It's a luxury that quarterbacks back in the day did not have.
- [08:44]
Steve
Correct.
- [08:45]
Todd McShay
And so like you wonder, you know, you. It begs the question, would Mark Sanchez with 13 starts or Mitch Trubisky with 13, even Trent Richardson kind of on that cusp as things were changing?
- [08:56]
Steve
Anthony Richardson.
- [08:56]
Todd McShay
Yeah, and I always do that. Anthony Richardson, Yeah. So Trey Lance, Dwayne Haskins with 17 and 14, respectively, would that have changed? Would Trey Lance have, have. Would he have transferred from North Dakota State to one of these big type programs, Right. And gotten paid $2 million, $3 million a year or first final year and gotten another year, 12, 13, 15 games of experience?
- [09:20]
Steve
Yeah. Whatever it is. Yeah.
- [09:22]
Todd McShay
And I mentioned those names because they're the warning sign. They're the cautionary tale of like, I don't care how talented you are. I also did this, Steve. I didn't tell you about this. I spent about an hour today going through. I went through every single starting quarterback in the league. There are 32, obviously.
- [09:42]
Steve
Okay.
- [09:42]
Todd McShay
I, I took 25 of them. I feel like there are seven teams that are in total flux at quarterback in terms of what their future holds.
- [09:49]
Steve
Okay.
- [09:49]
Todd McShay
I narrowed, but. But it's still a huge sample size. It's practically the entire league at quarterback. These are guys that, like, you feel like we've. This is our guy. No question about it. This guy's not quite there yet, but he's our future. They're all guys that, like, when you think of that team, yeah, he's the starting quarterback. And, and things are going okay. Like, we, we're not in an urgent situation. Right now to replace our starting quarterback. There's 25 of them. Okay. Listen to this bench. And this, this drives home the point of game experience and how critical it is. It's not the only thing, but it's critical.
- [10:29]
Steve
I'm gonna want to write this down.
- [10:30]
Todd McShay
Write this down. Of the 25 guys. Of the 25. And this has changed. It used to be a lot of guys come in the league with 23, 20. What was the parcels number? Was it 25, 27 starts? The minimum. So my point is 30s now become kind of the number and maybe even growing. Okay. There were only six of the 25 that had fewer than 30 starts. Three of them experienced the struggles that you would kind of expect in this day and age if you didn't have high number of starts. And all three of them, it's also important, note to note, had 25 or fewer starts. Those are Caleb Williams with 23, C.J. stroud with 25, and Sam Darnold with 23. Okay. All three of them. I mean, Stroud had a great year and then like, his regressed.
- [11:25]
Steve
Right, Caleb.
- [11:26]
Todd McShay
So all three of those, I think we can. We can easily say without any debate, they've had early career struggles. Those are the only three of 25, Steve, with 25 or fewer starts.
- [11:40]
Steve
Wow.
- [11:41]
Todd McShay
There are three that are between 26 and 29. Okay.
- [11:45]
Steve
And Darnold had to switch teams to kind of get his footing. By the way, he didn't find multiple times. Right. Did not find success early on, especially with the team that drafted the Jets.
- [11:54]
Todd McShay
So now we've got the three that are between 25, between 26 and 29 and starts. Okay, you ready?
- [12:01]
Steve
Yep.
- [12:02]
Whole Foods Market Advertiser
They're all.
- [12:02]
Todd McShay
They're all unicorns. They are. Yeah.
- [12:08]
Steve
Yeah. No, hit me.
- [12:10]
Todd McShay
Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and. And Drake May, talent wise, they. They're just on a different plane than just about everybody else. Okay.
- [12:19]
Steve
Yeah.
- [12:20]
Todd McShay
Yep. They are.
- [12:23]
Steve
They are. Yeah.
- [12:25]
Todd McShay
Then everyone else, 19 of the rest of those guys were between 36. So it wasn't like 31, 32, 36 and 61 starts. Pretty remarkable. So when you read the McShay report and you go through and you see what was like, all right, I understand you put the school. I understand you put the verified height and the verified weight for the seniors. That's national and blessed. Okay. Got us the verified heights and weights. I understand why you put the estimated heights and weights for the underclassmen that didn't get verified by scouts, but why are you putting in career starts? It's critical match. Because Five of the first name names I'm about to go through on this list all can return for the 2026 season and be and are eligible for the 2027 draft. Five of the six and all of them have a number of starts. Even if you add we're at six games. Just about everyone on this list has six starts this year and you the minimum six remaining. If they stay healthy, maybe seven. If they play in a bowl game, maybe up to eight. If they have a conference championship in a bowl game, maybe up to 10 or 11 more games started this year if they make a run in the College Football Playoff. Okay so with that said, I'm going to start with this and I'm going to make it pretty simple. I dug in deep and I feel and I feel really strongly about it at this point. But it's also we're had third week in October.
- [13:56]
Steve
Snapshot, snapshot right now.
- [13:58]
Todd McShay
Snapshot. But like feel pretty good about it right? There's been enough played where I feel pretty good about this. I'm not saying there might not be there could be some movement within but there's a, there's a 1 and a 1A in this year's quarterback class. As of today, both of them could go back to school next year. Both of them. I would encourage to go back to school and be a part of the 2027 draft with you because, because of all the reasons I just said yeah, but the, the one in the 1A in my opinion. Dante Moore, Oregon Lenora Sellers, South Carolina. And I started this in the open by saying one of the hardest things as an evaluator to do is kind of let it go. Come to grips with what you saw in the summer isn't what you're seeing now. Let it go. You're not beholden to that. In fact, mistakes happen when you get stuck on your preview previous grade because it's based off of previous information and the information is vast majority of which is the tape. Dante Moore Dante Moore is the best pure passer in college football. Smooth stroke ball just, just floats off his hand. Good energy on the ball, knows how to layer it, knows how to lead receivers and and I think this is important note he throws an incredibly catchable ball which leads to receivers going up and making plays on the ball or receivers getting yak because of, because he's led him and it's just, it's an easy pluck and transfer. Okay. He also does this is something I'm picking up on more and more. He does a lot of subtle Things in the pocket, whether it's with his eyes or with his, you know, a slide or a climb, that. That's beyond the 11 starts. And I should have mentioned Dante Morph. Oregon is listed estimated at 6 foot 3, 206 pounds and has 11 career starts as of today. Okay.
- [16:02]
Steve
And five of them came, just to be clear, five of them came two years ago at a different school with a different coordinator. Because I think that's important when you're talking about Oregon and what Will Stein's done with quarterbacks. Will Stein hasn't had this guy for forever.
- [16:14]
Todd McShay
No question. So those are some of the, the positives. The. It's undeniable that he's unshakable. I also want to say this. Watching on Saturday with Red river going on and then Indiana, Oregon and kind of going back and forth and two screens, I just, I walked away feeling underwhelmed from, from Dante Moore. And I think it's fair to say he didn't have his best game. But I also think it's fair to say after watching the tape he didn't have a lot of opportunity in that game. And when he did, I thought he actually played pretty well. That offensive line sucked for him.
- [16:57]
Steve
It did. I was really disappointed in that office line.
- [16:59]
Todd McShay
That was probably my biggest takeaway. The other takeaway was I didn't think the Oregon receivers did a good enough job getting off of coverage. Yeah, like, I'm not, I'm not deflecting blame because I've got him as QB1, slightly ahead of QB1A in this Lenore Sellers. I'm just saying that's what the tape told me. And so it's important to say like, yeah, that was a disappointing result, but it didn't change my opinion on Dante Moore.
- [17:25]
Steve
I really felt like his inexperience showed at times in that game because of the way Indiana rotated coverages and mixed up coverages and, you know, the way that, you know, Dante Moore is probably going to be better at adjusting protections as his career progresses. It was one of the things where I looked and I said, this kid, he's going to be QB1, I think, or he's in the mix to be QB1, whether it's this year, but might be next year because of just those things. Those are the things he's going to get better at. But also in watching that tape, I'm watching Decorium or the young receiver too, and some of the other receivers that maybe haven't played a lot for in that Oregon system and they're not reacting well to the coverages either. They're not seeing blitzes and finding gaps and voids in the coverage like they need to. And give Dante more, more of an option. I thought play 36 in the end of game. They brought Indiana, brought pressure off the edge and, And Dante Moore threw an absolute dart outside the numbers down the left sideline. You see the talent. I mean, he is. You can look at that, that tape against Indiana and be like, I don't know. Well, just remember that one earlier at a whiteout game against Penn State. That's a. The toughest environment you can play in. Man. Say what you want about Penn State this year, that nothing had gone on at that point, and that environment was brutal. And he's the same kid that rolled to his right off play action, you know, slipped Deni, Dennis Sutton, got outside of him and hit the crosser in stride in overtime for the win. Like the onions, as you like to say, the absolute onions on this kid. Like, that's the same kid. And I get there every. The one thing I reminded myself throughout this whole process of going to these quarterbacks was, let's not, let's remember, not everyone's perfect at all times. And you can get into the situation of like, when you're evaluating, you're like, well, that's off. And that this is often. This is like, you can start to get down. What does the player do? Focus on the positive. What can he bring to the table? And Dante Moore is a talented dude. He's the second best quarterback in, on my, my board. But he's, he's. I love him. He's awesome.
- [19:11]
Todd McShay
I'm assuming Lenora Sellers is one for you. Hell yeah. We'll get to him in just a second. I, I do want to say this. I don't see anything glaring in terms of, like, he's inexperienced. He didn't see that. Like, I think that. I think the field vision, I think the processing, I think, I think they're all good right now.
- [19:29]
Steve
Yeah, they're gonna get better, I think.
- [19:31]
Todd McShay
But yeah, I think he needs some rinse, refine, repeat, you know what I mean? I think he could be a quarter count faster on certain things. I think, I think he'll learn from a mistake and keep. You know what I mean? Like, and he's got a, he's got a, A tutor, if you will, in Will Stein who's proven. Give me some time to work with your kid and I'll get you where you need to go. So that's going to be an Interesting decision to make. But I want to make this perfectly clear. Like if Lenora Sellers and Dante Moore dropped into the 2026 NFL Draft tomorrow, they're not getting out of the top 10 picks, period.
- [20:08]
Steve
I agree, I agree. They might not get out of the top five, but we'll see.
- [20:13]
Todd McShay
So there's, there's that as a backdrop. I want to switch over to Lenora Sellers, who I've got is one A I. Here's the thing that I want to make perfectly clear. I would. I kind of saw a little bit of the struggles. I watched the games. It's parts of them he had. The injury comes back like there was just. It kind of felt. And I know the supporting cast isn't there. I know the blocking up front has been really bad. And so it's kind of like I. Maybe we just put this on the back burner. I'm not sure what. Where Lenores is. I sat down and just dove into his tape yesterday for like, oh, like probably an hour and a half. So.
- [20:53]
Steve
Hold on, wait, you.
- [20:53]
Todd McShay
I.
- [20:54]
Steve
Because I just want to make clear this. Were you before you watched the tape, you saw the numbers, right?
- [20:59]
Todd McShay
I actually didn't look at any, any players numbers. Did you consider taking him off your.
- [21:03]
Steve
Board just because like maybe he needs.
- [21:06]
Todd McShay
I. They're a bit like when he got had the injury very early in the year when I was watching kind of like it's a one man show and all that. I'm like, yeah. And honestly, if I'm being totally honest, like in the back of my head I started thinking like, maybe this is a situation like I can't love the coaching staff more, you know? You know, I know you know where I am with Shane.
- [21:29]
Steve
Like, but this is weird. It's getting weird.
- [21:32]
Todd McShay
Yeah, maybe, maybe this is a transfer situation. Maybe he goes, you know, like, I don't know. And I'm not, I don't want him to. But. No, but, but this is based off of like just watching games and, and, and had. Having watched his tape last year and how raw he was, especially early in the season, I saw the progression. But I came, I came away from watching this tape this year. Even as like recently as, as the LSU game this past Saturday. I'm like, oh, he's improved. It's not just he's running around. I'm watching a guy who has drilled home the things that I was asking him this summer, saying, I need you to work on these things. I need you to find a better base. I need you to, to play with more balance I need you to stay in inside the pocket, go through your progressions more. I need you to, to, to kind of cut down on some of the crazy and, and, and, and understand where the blitz is coming from. Remember he had those like, like the first three games he played, defenses were coming at him front side and it was like, it was like sack, fumble, sack, you know, and, and I'm not seeing that much anymore. I'm seeing a significant improvement. I'm seeing more poise in the pocket. I'm seeing a guy who's like, clearly, like you can't see my feet here, but like clearly keeping his feet under him. And, and the result is some of the, they're not easy throws. Some of the throws that you'd like to see a lot of consistency with. He's now to a level where it's like, oh, and I'm talking like 15 yard outs or like in break 12, like throws that like aren't, they're not layups, I don't want to say, but they're like mid, you know, mid range jumpers.
- [23:14]
Steve
You need to consistently make that throw at the NFL level to be successful.
- [23:18]
Todd McShay
Starting to do that. I'm seeing a lot of progression in his game. I love now that now the, the, the, the result and the scoreboards not. Hasn't been perfect and, and he's having to overcome some stuff and so he's has to do some of the things he's doing. But that's also what, what we've asked of him. Keep it in your bag. Be ready to pull it out of your back pocket, but don't make that your thing. I'm gonna go on the record and say this. You ready? I, I see a similar. Whether it's. I'd like to see another year from him. He's got 18 starts right now, which means if he, if they play out the rest of the season, we're looking at 24, 25 starts.
- [23:57]
Steve
Right? Right. One more year, man.
- [23:59]
Todd McShay
One more year gives you 37. And now you're in the range of all these, these 19 guys that I looked up that are having success. We're in that 36 to 61 start range. Right? Yeah, but, but I also, regardless of when he enters the league, I see a similar arc for him as Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts where, where early in his career. The mobility. He's not gonna have all the answers to the test. The mobility is going to allow him to kind of buy him time and get out of some problems and, and, and move the offense it's going to be a little bit crazy and scattered and all that. And it was with Lamar and it was with Josh and it was with Jalen. But that time that his mobility and his. I mean, I want to make it. He is a uniquely gifted talent at the quarterback position. He makes plays and throws on tape that very few other guys can make and nobody else in this class can execute. That's why he's 1A in this group, even though he's got. But I also want to say this. I'm starting to think even at the end of the season, that I may look at it and say, you know what? I think he's more advanced as a passer than Lamar Jackson. I think he's more advanced as a passer than Jalen. Hurts. When both of them were entering the NFL draft coming out of college, and that's saying something.
- [25:32]
Steve
I agree.
- [25:33]
Todd McShay
Don't forget how, how much advancement, how much growth those two quarterbacks have had in the NFL. And even, Even Josh. But, yeah, even Josh. So that's kind of how I'm starting to see that. I'm seeing, I'm seeing it very differently than I did this summer. This summer. And, and, and this summer, I kind of scoffed at people who were making the. In. One of our good friends who's in the NFL, as a scout said, you know, I see kind of Jalen Milroe, and I kind of scoffed. I'm like, no, like, I see maybe like, yeah, like the thick frame and he's a runner. But like, I think he's. I know he's more advanced as a passer. All that stuff. I now, like, if someone were to say that to me now, you'd be mad. I'd be mad. And I, and I, in my, my immediate response is, go do your job.
- [26:28]
Steve
Right.
- [26:28]
Todd McShay
Because you're not doing your job because you haven't watched the tape and you haven't seen the advancement from what he was a year ago.
- [26:36]
Steve
So this is strange. And because I've going into it, there's a lot of the same feelings, and it's pretty clear how much I've liked the Norris Sellers in the jump. I mean, he's been my quarterback one from day one.
- [26:47]
Todd McShay
Yep.
- [26:48]
Steve
Not that that really matters, but going into this, I saw the numbers. He was 15 for 27 for 124 yards on a pick. And the pick he threw against lsu, he like, you can't make that throw. That. It's a bad, it was a bad decision. Right. But I, when I saw the numbers, it Was like, all right, take a deep breath. Maybe it's time. Maybe like Sellers, you know, maybe he needs to go down the board a little bit. Maybe he's going to have to go back for a year. And then I watch this game and I start counting drops and I started counting throwaways because of pressure. Three drops, five throwaways. I mean, it's unbelievable what he had to do. And then you see the throws he's making and again, got to keep it moving. I'm not going to get into this too much, But Todd is 100% right about this kid's improvement on touch, throws, timing, throws, all of that stuff. You're seeing it. And to me, when you add, when you're adding the, the development as a passer. And I do believe that he's farther along than Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen were at that point in their careers. And both of those guys, by the way, Allen played at Wyoming and, and Jackson played at Louisville. Like this kid's playing SEC defenses every week. I want to say that too. I think he's farther along than those two were at the time. Now credit to them, they've turned themselves into, you know, great passers at the NFL level. But I, again, we're talking about Sellers. I think he's farther along in the process. So he's just a player that I'm super excited about and will continue to be super excited about. It's not about the stats, man. If you watch that tape, you come away impressed.
- [28:08]
Todd McShay
Number three on my list. And this may surprise people because it's not what the mainstream is saying right now. And I may, I may be wrong. And I certainly hope he goes back to school and has the opportunity to do so. Number three on my list is Ty Simpson, Alabama quarterback. Estimated 62208. Just six starts. Let me tell you what I've seen from Ty. I said this before, what I expected to see from Garrett Nussmeier in his second year as a starter with the pedigree that he has with his dad as an offensive coordinator and a former quarterback coach in the NFL and also an NFL quarterback. Nussmeier, the mental portion, he's still doing all these things, but like the pre snap awareness, the understanding of what defenses are trying to do to him, the anticipation, the instincts, like it's what I expected to see of Nussmeier. We'll get to Garrett in a little bit, okay? And sometimes I have to remind myself watching his tape. This doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense.
- [29:18]
Steve
How Inexperienced he is to be doing what he's doing right now. Right.
- [29:21]
Todd McShay
You can't be playing at this high of a mental level and with this kind of like, instincts only game experience. Iron sharpens, sharpens iron. So how did he get here? It's pretty awesome to watch, right? He's got this beautiful blend of footwork, urgency, and instincts to his game. And he's doing stuff with, like, touch and anticipation and layering that I'm not seeing from any other quarterback out there. Like, when you blend all those things.
- [29:55]
Steve
Yeah, he's the guy right now.
- [29:58]
Todd McShay
Okay. The other thing I love about him, he takes the fight to you defensively. Do you know what I mean? Like, there's something like every time they snap the ball because. Because he's Is prepared and because he knows what they're trying to do and because he has the answer, there's no doubt. Hesitation. He just. It's like this urgency and it's like, you know, and I walked you through the other day. We. We talked about, like, the. The. The first drive against Georgia, how impressive that was and the elements of it taking off and running. Now you got to deal with me. You got to. I'm planting that seed with. And then. And then the throw. And then the deep throw to his star wide receiver, Ryan Williams. Drop comes right back, hits to the left side. Like, he's just. There's a confidence in him that, like, where's it coming from? And everyone says, well, he's got the best wide receivers in the country. Nah, no, he.
- [30:58]
Steve
It's more than that.
- [30:59]
Todd McShay
I. I love that. I love his receivers, but Ryan Williams has been dropping the ball and he's been in and out of the lineup. Jeremy Bernard's awesome as a slot. Isaiah Horton's an awesome ex possession perimeter guy.
- [31:13]
Steve
I love Horton. Yep.
- [31:15]
Todd McShay
But he doesn't have Jeremiah Smith and. And Carnell.
- [31:19]
Steve
True, true.
- [31:21]
Todd McShay
And they're not playing. So anyway, I recognize. Here's the important part and we. And if you want. If you get into the. And I break it down in. In great detail in the McShay report. So. So go and like, you can get all this and see everything that I. That I wrote down and get like, this is kind of. This can be your guy, like, guide as the rest of the season goes and kind of make your own notes on like, you know, this improvement, you know, taking steps back. But for each. Each quarterback, I did a top qualities and then followed up with like, still want to see, like, what is it the scouts want to see from him? You got A second half of a season for. Still want to see like, honestly, it's just finished the way you're starting. But it's important to note while this wasn't on like weaknesses, like, listen, his arm isn't going to get stronger this year. He's not going to get taller, he's not going to get bigger, he's not gonna get faster. All those things are like adequate to, to maybe above average, you know, depending on each. Each trait. But when you play the game at this level.
- [32:33]
Steve
You.
- [32:33]
Todd McShay
You can overcome that stuff. And I look at a guy like Baker Mayfield, I look at, you know, there's a lot of guys in the league now that aren't 6, 4, 2, 20, you know, so. So I get it. Like Fernando Mendoza's number four on my list and Fernando six five, 220 pounds. 225 pounds. And I hear all the hype and I hear all the stuff and I think he's actually playing better than he did a year ago. And here's the part that I want people to remember. And sometimes it pisses me off and sometimes I like, I remind myself not to get caught up in the mud in the fray. Right? But you're rolling now. Sometimes I'm just a Boston boy and I kind of get. And I'm Irish and I got like hot blood and this feels like a.
- [33:14]
Steve
Therapy session right now. You got. Oh, it is your chest. Like I'm just letting you go because it just feels like you gotta get.
- [33:20]
Todd McShay
Well, the Nussmeier stuff pisses me off off a year ago because it's a QB one and now I had him QB one last week. I had him QB one in week one. I had him QB one in the summer and he wasn't even starting. I just knew and it was like, shut up. Well, well, with. With Mendoza, I think it was thaml. Thaml came out and said to. By the way, can I just say.
- [33:37]
Steve
Really quickly, are you going to Mendoza now? Can I just say something about Simpson really quickly?
- [33:41]
Todd McShay
Sorry. Yes.
- [33:42]
Steve
Quarterback four on my board as well. Also same grade as Dante Moore. Same great as Dante Moore, as Ty Simpson.
- [33:49]
Todd McShay
Ty Simpson, Yep. Love him.
- [33:51]
Steve
Guy classic baby face killer, man. You would look at him and you're like, not big enough. Not, not, not.
- [33:57]
Todd McShay
I did at the Manning camp and it just.
- [33:59]
Steve
He's just not that guy. And then he.
- [34:01]
Todd McShay
I came back and. And I remember rip your.
- [34:03]
Steve
Rip your Adam's apple out. Like in Roadhouse.
- [34:06]
Todd McShay
Like that's all these other guys who are either body beautiful or running like gazelles or, or throwing the ball 80 yards like all these other guys at Manning Passing Academy. And I was, I remember making the comment to you and to Tucker and to Connor and to Dan Offline, like, like, it doesn't matter, but it's kind of like one of my underwhelming was. Was like, those are really Georgia and Alabama starting quarterbacks. Like, they just don't look, you know, so I'm blown away by it, and I love it. But back to Mendoza.
- [34:37]
Steve
Yep.
- [34:40]
Todd McShay
Like, it was Pete Thamble who did the whole thing and sent us a. A nice note about, like, you know, I've talked to some other scouts and, and they're in agreement with you. Like, this guy's someone to watch. And, and, and I, I said he's someone who could work his way into the first round. So I like Fernando Mendoza. In fact, I kind of feel like I found Fernando Mendoza there. I said, I brought Mendoza to you. I brought Mendoza to you.
- [35:03]
Steve
Not true. Go check the tape.
- [35:05]
Todd McShay
Check the tape. Fine. But not to you. I mean, to the. To the country. The people. Yeah, the country. And so. And I had a higher grade on him than most people. Most people are like. And Thamel reaches out like, yes, some other scouts are talking about that he talks about on his. His podcast, the College Game Day podcast. And, and it's like this, this is real. Like, he's a day two guy, but there's some. There's some elevation here, and here are the things he has to improve upon. So, like, so when people now are like, well, I got him number one overall, and maybe he will be because maybe Dante Moore goes back to school, maybe Lenore Sellers goes back to school. Maybe Ty Simpson with his six starts to date, heading into the third week in October, going against Tennessee, third weekend in October, I should say. Maybe he goes back to school, and so maybe he is the first quarterback off the board. And honestly, according to these rankings, he's the number one guy. He would be the number one guy if those three guys go back to school. But he's also an underclassman. And I, honest to God, I think he needs another year and for all different reasons. All. All four of these quarterbacks.
- [36:16]
Steve
How many starts does he have? Do you have that down there?
- [36:18]
Todd McShay
He has 25 starts, the most starts of these guys. So number one.
- [36:24]
Steve
Yeah.
- [36:24]
Todd McShay
Lenora Sellers has 20, has 18, Ty Simpson has six. Fernando Mendoza has 25, which is more than some of the seniors I'm about to get into. Okay, so it's not about game experience. It's about I, I, I'm seeing him progress and I like what I'm seeing. Okay. He's got the prototypical frame as I talked about. 65225. Combination of juice in his arms, his arm and like Daniel Jones, like mobility as we've already talked about. I don't want to beat a dead horse. And I said this the other day and I truly believe this. One of the most attractive parts to him as a prospect is he has this combination of traits that actually forces you. With his RPO ability, his mobility, his ability to see the field as a taller quarterback and the ability to drive the ball and throw it at all three levels, he probably right now is the most capable. I should, he, he presents, if developed correctly in the NFL, the opportunity to have a quarterback that challenges you defensively more than most because of those, those traits. Now is he there yet? No, but he's getting closer and I like that they're still, still utilizing the rpo. But I also like that this, this last game against Oregon, there's a lot of perimeter throws. He excels on outbreaking sideline stuff.
- [37:53]
Steve
Touching, timing, man, touch timing.
- [37:56]
Todd McShay
He's got the energy to get it there, but it doesn't all, they're not all fast balls. Get the ball out on time. Receivers break, kind of let it come in the back shoulder fades. He's excellent on all those things. And he's got receivers who are really like pro, pro ready in terms of routes, sideline awareness, body control, catching the ball, like you know, the pluck, pluck. So I see all those things but I'm not ready to be like we're there yet. And so that's why I have him fourth on the list. Like he's cut down on the Mendoza moments, but there's still like, there's still.
- [38:34]
Steve
One against Oregon, one against Iowa.
- [38:37]
Todd McShay
Yep, one against Iowa. So like that's part of it. But there's also, I want to see more like precision and consistency on like intermediate middle of the field stuff. I don't think that's quite there yet. So there's, there's, there's been growth and there's more growth potential. Okay.
- [38:55]
Steve
Two things that I want to point out is that he's played really well in their, you in their biggest games. He played really well against Illinois. He was outstanding and he played well enough for, or to, for them to beat Oregon on the road. He played well in that game. Also has two game winning touchdowns, Iowa and now Oregon. That, that's something that, that, that I, I think really helps him out. I will also say this right now. I love you to death if you continue to go on like this. This is going to be a four hour pod. And I want to remind you that people can go to the McShay report and they should go to the McShay report if they want to get all of the good stuff. Okay? Don't give away everything for free, McShay. That's what you're doing right now. You got to keep it going a little bit. Just a little bit. And I want to say it like maybe a couple things. Every quarterback I know how much work you put into it. We all do. But maybe, you know, give me 10 seconds on every guy.
- [39:43]
Todd McShay
I feel like someone's whispering your it's date night in the McShay house. And I get the feeling that I'm being that you're, you're helping.
- [39:49]
Steve
This is supposed to be the quick pod every week.
- [39:51]
Todd McShay
And you're, you're, you're helping, you're helping Marissa right now.
- [39:54]
Steve
I don't know how.
- [39:55]
Todd McShay
Get me out of here. The McShay show is brought to you by FanDuel. This college football season is delivering weekly showdowns you don't want to miss. And right now, all customers on FanDuel can score a 50% profit boost for this week's big match on campus between Tennessee and Alabama. And the best part, you get paid instantly when you win. Use your boost on bets like spreads over unders, team props and so much more. Don't wait. Visit FanDuel.com McShay to download the app and boost. Your next Bet must be 21 and older and present in select states or 18 and older and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in required bonus issued as non withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms@sportsbook.fanduel.com gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat In Connecticut, there.
- [41:05]
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- [41:33]
Todd McShay
This episode is brought to you by Duluth Trading Co. Ready to give rival tailgates the foam fingers. Duluth Trading Co. Crafts hall of fame game day gear to help you grill hotter, cheer louder and tailgate longer. Trust me, like I'm a scene at the grill. I know what this is all about. They've got bibs loaded with pockets, gusseted pants so you can crouch without snuffing out your coals and free swinging shirts tailor made for beanbag tossing or some like to call it cornhole. Stay comfortable from preseason to playoffs in the toughest tailgate attire around. Only at Duth Trading Company. All right, number five on the list. So number one is Dante Moore. Number two is Lenora Sellers. And it really one and one A Number three is Ty Simpson. Number four is Fernando Mendoza. And I also want to state I envision all four of those quarterbacks they continue to play like this, continue to kind of show progression that all four quarterbacks, whether it's 2026 or 2027 very likely to hear their name called in round one.
- [42:37]
Steve
I got Mendoza 42 and I, I think you're right. I think you're right about the. Where they're going to go.
- [42:41]
Todd McShay
All right, Garrett Nuss Meyer's number five. He's the hardest one and I, and I'll go. I'm going to go into detail on this one and then I'll, I'll kind of list the other guys and we can have a. You can kind of throw some stuff out and we can go back and forth and then you'll have to read the McShay report to get the rest of it. I'm. I'm caving dementia Garrett nessmeyers these are, these are verified numbers now these are from national blessed O list they've scouts.
- [43:04]
Steve
I was wondering if you. I don't have this number. I want to hear what this was.
- [43:07]
Todd McShay
6,005 for his site. So he's just under six one. I saw that. I saw that match prep school face two 204 pounds. So like undeniably undersized but not insurmountable. I agree 20 starts as of today so he'll have about 27, 28 starts it would it would seem which. Which is still sub 30. 36 starts like we talked about 19 starters in the NFL but he doesn't have a choice to come back and he. And he waited it out like it won't. It'll be circumstance wisely and his patience and, and with a lot of these other guys they didn't grow up with a dad who played in the NFL. And coaches, the quarterback positions enough offensive coordinator, so I'm less concerned with him, but that's where he is. I think he's the best pre snap prospessor pro processor in college football. I love the way he anticipates throws. I think he's deadly accurate at times when he's in rhythm. I think he excels placing the ball to in a place that receivers can go make a play on it. And I think he's especially good when. When DBs have their back to him. He's got this innate feeling, feel for.
- [44:17]
Steve
Joe Burrow was outstanding at that.
- [44:19]
Todd McShay
Joe Burrow is the best I've ever seen.
- [44:20]
Steve
Yeah, he was outstanding at that.
- [44:22]
Todd McShay
He's got a lot of that. Okay. But he's a spitting image to me of Baker Mayfield. I said it in the summer and I continue to say he's a spitting image of Baker Mayfield. I'm talking the suddenness, the quick trigger, the urgency, the aggressiveness, the like. I dare you to stop me. The problem with, with nuss is he doesn't have the arm that Baker has. Baker has a big time arm for a smaller quarterback, for any quarterback, but for a smaller quarterback.
- [44:55]
Steve
Okay.
- [44:56]
Todd McShay
And so some of the throws of Baker's gun sling in Texas high school football, good luck getting it. He can actually execute. Nussmeier can't always. Okay, right. Here's the most important takeaway. Here's the news. There's been a lot of different reports and speculation with, with Nuss Meyer. It is a, it's a. Call it an oblique, call it a stomach muscle injury. Can't get anyone on the record to definitively tell us when that occurred, how long he's been dealing with it. But, but the tapes, the tape tells me what's going on. The encouraging. Well, let's just say this. If you, if you like. I went and watched the coach copy tape. The Ole Miss game was, was frightening. And you know, it's an injury, so it's like, it's frightening, but it's like it's not. He didn't forget how to throw a ball. He didn't forget how to rip it. He didn't all of a sudden, like, he didn't like lose his ability to get velocity on the ball. It just wasn't there. And so now I'm watching, I'm like, I'm doing close ups. I'm like pulling the screen out at the end of throws. Slow mo pausing it. Like, is he wincing? Is he grabbing anything? And he's not that I saw Right.
- [46:14]
Steve
I didn't see that either.
- [46:17]
Todd McShay
That old mistake was kind of like the pin. Like we saw signs of it. That old mistake. Balls were hanging in the air, no juice on out throws. Like it was scary. But then he had a bye week and then South Carolina. I'm here to tell you, he. It's not 100%, but you could see the swagger, you could see the taking off and running. You could see that like that time off helped it heal and I saw him ripping the ball more and there's more juice and energy at the end of throws. So my hope is, because I'm pulling for all these guys that that was a beginning of. What we're going to start to see is a steady progression back to the level he was in terms of driving the ball, which was never elite, but it's good enough to be in the NFL if he does all the other things he's capable of doing. Now the mistakes, he kind of cut down on them early in the year. In the last couple games you've started to see some, some more interceptions like that. That goal line won against South Carolina. Just. Yeah, that can't have that.
- [47:20]
Steve
He was feeling himself again though. He did against Texas. You were right.
- [47:22]
Todd McShay
He had the long run right before.
- [47:24]
Steve
He was like, oh, here we go. And then he just like trust the pre snap read too much, never saw the safety and threw it right into the safety's hands. Field defender.
- [47:33]
Todd McShay
If I'm holding on to one that I can't fully let go, it's Nussmeier. But I had him at QB1 and now I've got him down to QB5. So I'm, I'm a realist and I'm being honest. I still see something special in this cat. And so I want to see if he continues to get healthy. I want to see how the season plays out and, and you start to look at like they got opportunity, like all these guys got opportunities, some more than other Vandy. This week is going to be a of a game by the way. We'll get to that in a second. A and M then, and then, and then November you got Alabama and Oklahoma. So he better be right or else things are going to come off the the rails real fast in, in Baton Rouge. But. But I'm. But he's the one that I'm kind of hanging on to. I want it. I saw a glimpse of him this past weekend and I'm just hoping for his sake that it keeps going in that direction.
- [48:32]
Steve
I almost feel bad saying this. Okay. I Get the Baker Mayfield comp. I really do. And I. Because there are a lot of things that are there and I like Nussmeier and I want to like. I like the way he plays the game. If he's Baker Mayfield, he's Kmart. Baker Mayfield. Not only is the arm strength not there, he's not the same kind of runner as Baker Mayfield.
- [48:50]
Todd McShay
He's not built like he's faster than Baker.
- [48:53]
Steve
Oh, I don't know, man.
- [48:54]
Todd McShay
Baker's not fast. They're both. He's a better runner. Biggest similarity.
- [48:59]
Steve
Baker Mayfield's a better runner. I'll tell you that.
- [49:01]
Todd McShay
Baker Mayfield is a slow ass runner. They're both effective runners.
- [49:05]
Steve
I just saw him scrambling first down against San Francisco. I'm telling you right now, man, that.
- [49:10]
Todd McShay
I'm not falling into your trap.
- [49:12]
Steve
I'm not falling into your trap, okay?
- [49:14]
Todd McShay
He's not as strong.
- [49:15]
Steve
Like, the build is not as strong as Baker. Okay? He doesn't have the same arm strength. And there is only one Baker Mayfield. And I am telling this right now, in terms of swagger, there is one. Nuss has got some to him, don't get me wrong. But Baker Mayfield's got more swagger than any other quarterback on the planet. I'm just telling you, he's got.
- [49:31]
Todd McShay
This is Nuss. Meyer's a little bit.
- [49:32]
Steve
He's again, Kmart, Baker, Bayfield, if we're going to go there. Also too careless with the football. 9 to 5.
- [49:39]
Todd McShay
Are there Kmarts anymore? I don't know.
- [49:41]
Steve
Do people even know what that is? Walmart.
- [49:43]
Todd McShay
Walmart, sure. Yeah.
- [49:45]
Steve
I think Kmart's a New England thing. Whatever. Kmart is like Walmart if people don't know. Okay? Yeah. But also, Nuss, 9 to 5 touchdown interception ratio this year. Last year he had four games with two or more interceptions. My man is careless with the football and he's smart and he can make some plays and I get it. But he starts to do that thing where he's like, oh, look at me go. And now we're slinging it and everything's working and all of a sudden it's not, you know, he gets ahead of himself a little bit. Garrett Nussmeier, number eight quarterback in this draft.
- [50:13]
Todd McShay
All right, well, while you're feeling yourself, Mr. Mench, that's why.
- [50:16]
Steve
That's why my FanDuel pick of the week.
- [50:18]
Todd McShay
Why don't you. Why don't you share?
- [50:20]
Steve
It's the under in the Vanderbilt LSU game, which I believe is 48 and a half. I really. Look, Vanderbilt's put up some points, but they weren't great. That offense wasn't great against Alabama once Diego Pavia fumbled that ball looked good early but slowed down late, didn't score in the second half. I like that LSU defense still. I'm concerned about Nuss Meyer in the passing attack, but I'm even more concerned about that LSU running game. Vanderbilt's defense is damn good. I don't know if people realize that 48 and a half seems like a pretty tough number for those two offenses to get to. I think that's gonna be a low.
- [50:50]
Todd McShay
Scoring game at FD Sportsbook. Get involved, man. Like, I love that app. I'm on it all the time for a bunch of different reasons. I feel good about this one, but. But like, you're gonna have to show me something with your picks because they've been trashed this year now that we're going at it.
- [51:06]
Steve
By the way, I love that. I'm like, I'm like cover for you because I've been worse than you. You haven't been great. You haven't been.
- [51:12]
Todd McShay
I'm four and two in the last two weeks with a. With a four leg parlay hit.
- [51:17]
Steve
Very.
- [51:17]
Todd McShay
Get out of here. I haven't been good.
- [51:19]
Steve
Very small samples.
- [51:20]
Todd McShay
I missed a Mr. October Fanduel. They walk down the hallways of Fanduel and they're like, what's up with Mr. October? We good? Let's get him that ad ready. I'm Mr. October. I'm just heating up four and stop. The last two weeks. Four leg parlay hit. So get on board. I'll release my four leg parlay this week. I was releasing him too early in this, in the season. We're doing it on Wednesday. Made no sense. I got to get more information. I got to get my brain off of all this stuff and I gotta like get my brain on. Let's. Let's make money. And I do that on Thursday and Friday. I take a deep breath.
- [51:57]
Steve
Sounds like an excuse to me.
- [51:58]
Todd McShay
Not an excuse. It's results this week. My early play of the week. And people are going to be shocked by this because I've been ripping.
- [52:07]
Steve
Oh, that smile. Here we go.
- [52:08]
Todd McShay
Ripping. The. The athletic director. And I was tempted by this one.
- [52:13]
Steve
Too, by the way. This was a tempting one.
- [52:15]
Todd McShay
I've been ripping this whole. This whole program. I like Penn State plus two and a half at Iowa. Yeah, I think, I think it's a wake up call. I think that. I think it's a bunker mentality.
- [52:28]
Steve
Circle the wagons.
- [52:30]
Todd McShay
But player leadership right Also this, this Ethan Grunkmeyer kind of the era begins. Dual threat guy, a little bit more juice. He looked kind of, kind of good and kind of poised from the very limited sample we've seen this year. I, I think and I know Iowa found an offense apparently and all that stuff but I think Penn State's going to come out and play some big boy football this weekend. So at McShay 13 later in the week I'll get you my four leg play and probably two or three other winners like whatever I could pull up for you. All right, let's move. Let's move on men is right. I don't want to. It's not that I don't want to give all of it away. I'll give you the, my, my rankings. I'll give you the list right now and I want to give a little bit on the next guy. Yeah, you got to go read it. I get so excited because I poured my life the last 70 hours into it. So yeah. And no one wants to listen and yes, you're right. Six is John Matier, 17 starts. I was surprised. I thought that number was gonna be higher. 17 I did two. Carson Beck, Miami, 32 starts. He's number seven on the list. Number eight quarterback and, and hanging on. Cade Clubnik, Clemson, 34 starts. Sometimes it is what it is. Number nine. My guy Sawyer Robertson still like what he's doing. Big game this week. TCU both four and two teams kind of just hanging around the chicken coop. Right?
- [54:01]
Steve
Yep.
- [54:02]
Todd McShay
Texas Tech, go ahead, slip up. We only got one loss in conference. And then Drew Aller. I've dropped to 10 and I think I've 35 starts. I and his season unfortunately season ending injury is his tape evaluation is complete. It is honorable mention guys just to keep an eye on and there's. There's the list right there. So you got Dante Moore and Lenore sellers are 1 and 1A. Ty Simpson, Fernando Mendoza are kind of that next next group, Garrett Nussmeier. Right now let's see how this thing finishes. John Mattier is the one I wanted to talk about. Very brief briefly and I'll throw to you. We know the qualities I've been talking about this guy for basically since August. Like quick, trigger, aggressive, up tempo gunslinger. Has the mater moments got to cut down on those things. All of that I'm just fascinated by is this decision to rush it and come back for Texas. Like that loss felt like more than just a loss. It felt like it. I. It felt like it exposed some stuff that like the lack of a running game, the offensive line problems. Like it felt like it exposed some stuff at Oklahoma. And I think with Matier it made everyone kind of question the reality. Is he gonna be the same guy? He's back and he's playing, he's grinding and my God, I love this guy. Like just love everything he's about. Love his competitiveness. I've given you specific plays from Washington State and this year I, I just, I believe in John Mattier at a hundred percent. I just don't know if he's going to be at 100%. And then what does that evaluation look like? And I also want to mention like he does have another year to come back to Oklahoma if it doesn't go well. But he also plays with this aggressive style at his frame and he's got full back legs and all that stuff. But like if he doesn't learn to protect himself and see kind of the bigger picture on some plays in terms of game, the situation and also like his career, I start to worry and so how does this look? I don't know. There's no, there's no crystal ball here. I want desperately for John Matier to his thumb to get right and the accuracy to come back where it wasn't quite there last week. But I'm also looking the schedule and it's like, it's hard not to be like I'm worried. You want to hear this mensch? Yeah, we talked about this.
- [56:27]
Steve
It's crazy. It's.
- [56:29]
Todd McShay
No, it's not crazy. It's brutal. Go for it. He's got a six pack of either opportunity or like things like that wagon that they roll out pre game is going to. I've seen that wagon in person flip.
- [56:44]
Steve
Over before and this season could take a real turn for the Sooners. It could take a real turn South.
- [56:49]
Todd McShay
Carolina, which is going to be like at South Carolina. Right at South Carolina, that place gets worked up. Sellers like they have similar problems both programs. I like Oklahoma is a better football team top to bottom, no question about it. But Sellers is healthy Mater, what is he? I just want to say this. South Carolina on the road. Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, lsu. No team in the country has a harder six pack of games in the regular season left than Oklahoma with John Matier. And so all you can do is hope that, that his thumb continues to heal. It's not an issue. And last week was just a byproduct of him not doing good versus good being in practice, some rust and just like the, the emotions and everything that went into the legend that is Matier and this and he played great for a stretch early in the game and then it just unraveled. So he's the most fast because honest to God he was on a trajectory where it's like be damned what scouts say in general managers. I told I'm gonna put this guy with around one grade because I believe in him and see things in him that like I'm willing to die alone on that mountaintop.
- [58:14]
Steve
Yeah.
- [58:15]
Todd McShay
But it's going to be an interesting final two two months of the season.
- [58:19]
Steve
Right now the way it stands right now, I'm throwing out the Texas tape. I'm putting zero stock in it. I don't care about it right now. We'll see.
- [58:26]
Todd McShay
I didn't see these games back.
- [58:30]
Steve
Yeah, he comes back and he presses and he didn't practice the week before which I think is a huge deal when you're going against a Texas defense with, you know, it's. It was a big deal for him. That was not John Matiere at his best. And you're right, like how healthy is he? We're going to see going down like. But right now I'm not worried about the Texas State.
- [58:47]
Todd McShay
It was. I'm not worried about the Texas tape either. I'm total agreement with you, Steve.
- [58:51]
Steve
Okay. I.
- [58:52]
Todd McShay
But like all of these guys, like I'm, I all of them, like there could be some fluctuation slight here and there. Maybe you, if you're 1A you go to 1. Maybe if you're 3, you go to 2. Maybe if a couple guys leave, Fernando Medo goes first quarterback, take it, whatever it is. But I'm telling you right now, Ty Simpson keeps playing the way he's playing, he's going to be a first round pick. I'm telling you right now it's trending towards Mendoza as a first round pick and might go pretty early if the right team falls in love with them. I'm telling you right now, those two cats I started off the show with, Dante Moore and Lenore sellers, they're top 10 and as you said, maybe top five whenever they come out. I know that Nussmeier, there's some question of like is he going to get back But I also have all of last year's tape to know what the velocity and all that stuff is. So while I won't get to see the progression and if he, if he has a. The injury gets, you know, re injured and he takes another step back, at least I know what he is and I got to Make a decision off of that and assume that that gets healthy and he goes in the NFL and he's probably going to be drafted in the second round and he'll be viewed as a backup that could become a starter. I kind of know all of that. I know what Beck is now and I'm glad I got to see, I've gotten to see it Miami, that he's back to the Beck that people thought like, yeah, he could be a high draft pick. I know what Allen is or Aller is, Drew Aller. I know all these guys. The one that of all 10, that the wild card, the wild card of this entire quarterback class right now is John Matier.
- [60:29]
Steve
Agree.
- [60:29]
Todd McShay
Because depending on how that brutal six game stretch of, depending on how those six games go and that, that, that second half of the season and that brutal stretch run, that could make him a first round pick or kind of a second round. Or do you stay? Do you go? Yeah, truly. So that's fascinating.
- [60:51]
Steve
I hear you. He's moved down my board too because other players have moved up. You know, that's, that's just the reality of it. And I think that's what you're getting at is other players are, are now elevated ahead of him. You know what I mean? Like Ty Simpson's a great example.
- [61:03]
Todd McShay
I just hope we don't look, I hope we don't look back at last Saturday in the Red river rivalry and his competitiveness and his eager to, to win and to be there for his guys and all the things you love about John Mattier. I hope we don't in December, January, March, April, look back and say, boy, I wish he didn't play in that game. Yeah.
- [61:30]
Steve
Can I bring up one other name? One other name?
- [61:32]
Todd McShay
Yeah.
- [61:33]
Steve
Cade Club Nick. Tough start to the year. I think he's had too much of this offense. He's not played well. I mean he's, he like look, this was a guy I thought could be the first quarterback and he's not in that conversation anymore. He's just not there. But I look at the arm strength, I look at the release, I look the way he moves. He's starting to get right. Granted it's North Carolina, but he was outstanding against North Carolina. Against his weaker competition, he's starting to play a little bit better. He was good against BC and it's good to see. Yeah, the last two weeks he's been great, but he had clean pockets. Yeah. Well, look at this. Tell me like this and, and these guys haven't worked out, but don't get so don't get me wrong and maybe they will, But Tyler Shuck, 40th overall last year, Will Levis 33rd overall in 2023. Drew Locke 42nd overall in 2019. I look at those, those type of players and I think someone's going to see Club Nick early second round and be like this is, you know, a lot of he like played a lot of games at that level and he's got the talent. I think someone's going to take a chance on him in that early second round. As it stands now.
- [62:34]
Todd McShay
I don't shuck is 64, 220 pounds, could run ran a four five something at the and and has a big, big, big time.
- [62:44]
Steve
They're all bigger. I get it.
- [62:46]
Todd McShay
And, and more. And, and Club Nick K. Club Nick has mobility. Club Nicks are my overrated. I, I, the more I watch, I think it's good. I, I think it's solid.
- [62:55]
Steve
I like it.
- [62:56]
Todd McShay
I think, I think the anticipation of some of his throws, I don't see the same energy at the end of his throws as I see with a lot of these other guys.
- [63:03]
Steve
Okay. I, I like it.
- [63:05]
Todd McShay
I think, I think he could get stronger in his lower body, which will help him break some tackles, but much more importantly generate some torque from the hip.
- [63:13]
Steve
And do you have his, what's his verified size? Do you have that?
- [63:16]
Todd McShay
6014. 204 pounds.
- [63:19]
Steve
He's smaller than I thought. Yep. I still I, I see. I, I just, I think someone biggest.
- [63:24]
Todd McShay
Thing with club I wasn't gonna get it. The big is I want to see less caffeine in his pocket presence.
- [63:34]
Steve
He gets out a little too quick.
- [63:36]
Todd McShay
I, I, well, inject like all of it. I want to see a little bit more calm, a little bit like talking about someone who just can't, like there's just not enough calm to his game. And when I say that, I mean like the, the sniff of a, of a pass rusher. It's not that he takes off too early. It's like he gets frenetic.
- [64:01]
Steve
He gets, yeah, no, I see it.
- [64:03]
Todd McShay
And then, and then the footwork breaks down and or the decisions start to get rushed. Yep. So that's like where I think he can improve. But we're now in 34 starts and so he's going to be at like 41 starts when he's done. So I, you know, I love Club Nick and I love Nussmeyer and I really enjoyed, like being around them, seeing how they operate, like their love for the game and all of it, like I'm pulling. I'm pulling for all these guys. But, like, I. I started the year like really hoping and believing that those two guys could take that next step. And they haven't. And that's cool.
- [64:36]
Steve
Just haven't they just.
- [64:37]
Todd McShay
But at this point, I find it hard to believe that he's going to be a top 40, top 50 pick. If I'm being totally honest, I think.
- [64:44]
Steve
A lot of it. I should be clear too about. A lot of this depends on who comes out. I mean, if everyone comes out, it's going to be hard for him to get in that range. If everyone comes out. I mean, I have the quarterback. Eight, I think, or seven. So it's gonna be hard for him.
- [64:57]
Todd McShay
One final thing before you talk about a lot of organizations right now. Who's, like, literal fate, potentially the next, like, decade of their organization. Who's come, who's leaving, who's in, who's out.
- [65:11]
Steve
Yeah.
- [65:12]
Todd McShay
Because if this draft has Sellers and Dante Moore and Ty Simpson, maybe they're not ready and all that, but you've got two organizations already with two first round picks in the Rams and the Browns.
- [65:22]
Steve
Yeah.
- [65:23]
Todd McShay
Who need their future quarterback for very different situations. And there are other teams that are going to be drafted at the top that need court. So, like as a gm, you just sit back handcuffed like it. Because this year's class could be like, really good. The 2026 class. Or it could be another like last year. Truly.
- [65:45]
Steve
Yeah. No, 20.
- [65:47]
Todd McShay
And if. And if this year's like last year, it means 2027 has got Dante Moore, Lenora Sellers, Ty Simpson, Arch Manning, in no order, obviously. Even if DJ Lagway has an emergence, like Julian saying, not to mention the receivers. Fernando Mendoza, John Mattier, like all those caps could be. And don't forget this point I started the whole show off with. These guys have a different luxury than the past quarterbacks. Nil money. They're not going to take that big a pay cut to come back for another year. And if they have people around them in their camp telling them, hey, that idiot McShay just did a study. It's 36 to 61 starts. Those guys are the ones that are leading the league. Unless you're a unicorn. Right. All right.
- [66:41]
Steve
Yeah.
- [66:41]
Todd McShay
This is a fun show. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please go to the McShay report.
- [66:44]
Steve
You can kept it under two hours. I'm proud of you.
- [66:47]
Todd McShay
It wasn't that bad. It was like one hour.
- [66:51]
Steve
It wasn't that bad. It wasn't that bad.
- [66:54]
Todd McShay
You guys are man, you Dan Tucker's not at Tucker's not as bad, but he'll get a little, you know, in here and always take the over. Always take the over. I mean, there's so much money on the Uber.
- [67:08]
Steve
Hey, yeah, sorry my Internet crapped out at this Airbnb.
- [67:11]
Todd McShay
Well, the beauty is you don't even know you're still part of the show because we haven't finished yet.
- [67:15]
Steve
Yeah, we're still going five stars. Yeah.
- [67:18]
Todd McShay
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- [68:18]
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