PMS 2.0 1297 - LIVE from the NFL Combine, Tyrese Haliburton, Daniel Jeremiah & Rich Eisen, Ian Rapaport, Field Yates, Molly McGrath, & Visit Indy

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Pat McAfee Show | PMS 2.0 Episode 1297

Title: LIVE from the NFL Combine, Tyrese Haliburton, Daniel Jeremiah & Rich Eisen, Ian Rapaport, Field Yates, Molly McGrath, & Visit Indy
Release Date: February 27, 2025
Host: Pat McAfee, ESPN
Guests:

• Tyrese Haliburton – NBA Player, Indiana Pacers
• Molly McGrath – ESPN College Football Reporter
• Rich Eisen & Daniel Jeremiah – NFL Network Hosts
• Ian Rapaport – Sports Media Member
• Field Yates – NFL Scouting Expert
• Chris Gall – Executive Vice President, Visit Indy

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1. Introduction and Setting

Pat McAfee welcomes listeners from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, marking the second day of the NFL Combine.

Notable Quote:
"Combine is an NFL spring break where so many things happen... and we're so incredibly lucky to be here."
— Pat McAfee [00:00]

2. The Starbucks Altercation

Pat introduces a recent altercation at a local Starbucks involving media members Ian Rapaport and Jordo Schultz, the latter’s father owning Starbucks in Indianapolis.

Notable Quote:
"Allegedly, Jordo Schultz smacked Rapaport around, leading to an investigation by NFL security."
— Pat McAfee [05:09]

3. Guests Overview

Pat expresses disappointment over Ty Schmidt (half of the Toxic Table) being absent and introduces Austin Connor and Mad Mel Kuiper as interim hosts.

4. NFL Combine Highlights

Discussions revolve around on-field activities focusing on defensive lines, linebackers, and special teams. Pat shares his experiences interacting with future punters and kickers, emphasizing the unique spectacle of the Combine.

Notable Quote:
"It's like a home run derby, basically, and guys are competing against each other."
— Pat McAfee [00:00]

5. Potential Media Altercation: Schultz vs. Rapaport

The core segment delves into the alleged fight between Ian Rapaport and Jordo Schultz over a coffee order, highlighting tensions within media circles at the Combine.

Notable Quote:
"Nik Rapaport said, 'Enough is enough. I feel threatened here,' leading to NFL security stepping in."
— Austin Connor [06:22]

6. Tyrese Haliburton's Insights on NBA and NFL

Tyrese Haliburton discusses the perception of the NBA compared to the NFL, defending the quality and work ethic within the league. He emphasizes the desire to perform and contribute positively despite external narratives.

Notable Quote:
"People are allowed to get on there and say whatever they want about our game... But we're doing pretty well for ourselves."
— Tyrese Haliburton [10:11]

7. Travis Kelce's Future and Personal Life

Pat shifts focus to Travis Kelce, discussing his relationship with Taylor Swift and addressing rumors about his potential retirement. The conversation highlights Kelce's commitment to football and his professional ethos.

Notable Quote:
"You can't deny the greatness of Travis Kelce. He's one of those top-tier tight ends."
— Pat McAfee [62:46]

8. Draft Discussions and Prospects

The panel analyzes the current draft class's depth, debating the potential of top prospects like Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter. They discuss the strategic decisions teams might make based on Combine performances.

Notable Quote:
"Abdul Carter is running a four three, that makes sense for what Jeremiah sent over. Most pressures vs Ohio State last season, Abdul Carter with seven."
— Chris Gall [43:44]

9. Insight from Matt Rule (Nebraska Head Coach)

Matt Rule shares updates on Nebraska's football program, discussing recent performances, coaching strategies, and the team's preparation for the upcoming season. He touches on the importance of discipline and adapting to modern recruiting and training methods.

Notable Quote:
"One Nebraska's in a great place. We broke the nine-year bowl drought. It was like playing the best teams in the league last year."
— Matt Rule [99:37]

10. Visit Indy and Indianapolis's Role

Chris Gall from Visit Indy emphasizes Indianapolis's significance in hosting major sporting events like the NFL Combine and the Indy 500. He discusses the economic impact and the city's infrastructure that supports large-scale events.

Notable Quote:
"The Combine has been here since '87. We have them booked through '26. $10 million in economic impact for our city."
— Chris Gall [157:08]

11. Road Conditions and Stadium Hosting

Pat touches on Indianapolis's notorious potholes, drawing a parallel to the challenges hosted cities face. He praises the city's ability to host events seamlessly despite infrastructural issues.

Notable Quote:
"Indiana's roads are by far the worst. These potholes are so deep, they're like three, four feet deep."
— Pat McAfee [26:05]

12. Interviews and Interactions with Guests

Throughout the episode, Pat interacts with guests like Ian Rapaport and Molly McGrath, discussing their experiences at the Combine and sharing light-hearted moments, including humorous attempts to navigate the Starbucks altercation.

13. Wrap-up and Conclusion

Pat summarizes the day's events, expresses gratitude towards the guests, and teases upcoming segments. The episode concludes with discussions about local Indianapolis establishments and the unique culture surrounding the Combine.

Notable Quote:
"We're the dumbest group of humans that get to do this every day, and we can't thank you enough."
— Pat McAfee [57:16]

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Conclusion:
This episode of The Pat McAfee Show provided an in-depth, live coverage of the NFL Combine from Indianapolis, blending serious discussions on player performances and draft prospects with entertaining anecdotes about media interactions. Guests offered valuable insights into their respective fields, enriching the conversation around the Combine's impact on the NFL landscape. Pat McAfee's engaging hosting style ensured that both seasoned listeners and newcomers found the episode informative and entertaining.

Transcript

[Pat McAfee]

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to Lucas Oil Stadium in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana, the forever home, hopefully, of the Combine. Day two here starts right now. Combine is what the topic of conversation is not only here in Indianapolis, all around the NFL, but also on the Internet. There was an altercation at a Starbucks here in Indianapolis yesterday that has certainly caught some headlines. We'll address that and let you know what we have heard between two insiders who both wanted the same coffee. One of the insiders owns the coffee. The other one was merely there having a meeting supporting the other's father. And allegedly there's some disagreements that all the way led up to a call to NFL security. So there's an investigation happening currently about a Starbucks that happened with a couple media members. But that's what combine is, baby. It is an NFL spring break where so many things happen not only with the D line and the linebackers that are going to be working out on the field today, or the kickers and punters and snappers that worked out on the field yesterday that was not to be televised, even though I was told it was televised, ended the show early to go host it on television. I thought that seemed to be a miscommunication somewhere. It wasn't findable, but there is clips everywhere, which is so cool to be able to talk to future punters and kickers and holders. I very rarely get to do that. I don't go to a lot of kicking camps anymore, although I have friends that like the Coles and Nick Novak, I believe out in San Diego. Former NFL great. He does these kicking camps. Really get to hang around the kicking community much anymore. And going to those kicking camps is always fun because you're just watching these dudes hit these bombs. You know, it's a home run derby, basically, and guys are competing against each other. You're able to go there. I think it is a spectacle or it could become a spectacle. And the NFL agrees. And they've had this showcase together the last two years that pins kickers against each other and punters against each other. It was a great day. I was lucky to be a part of it. Certainly thought I was going to be hosting the thing. Sure. And when I got down there, that was a piece of information I was finding out in real time. So instead of like having to host or do any of that, I just got a chance to enjoy and chit chat with these guys and try to give some game and maybe some motivation and some help. So the combine is a beautiful place. A lot of things happen. A lot of Information is learned. A lot of players change their careers, maybe even franchises change the trajectory of their entire city. And we're so incredibly lucky to be here. We got great guests throughout the day. Rich Eisenhower, Daniel Jeremiah will be joining us here in a matter of moments. They are obviously the hosts of the actual combine on the field, the two people with microphones. Dj. Now, the previous person that held his seat went on to be a general manager in the NFL because of how much work and effort and intel and intelligence you have to have to have that particular role. We'll be excited to pepper him with questions. And it's not just, you know, the show today. And we are incredibly bummed that one half of the toxic table is not able to join us today. We would like to send our love to Ty Schmidt, T's and Bees. We'll see you hopefully, Ty.

[Ty Schmidt]

Love you, Ty.

[Pat McAfee]

Love you, Ty. But let's go to the toxic table. Ladies and gentlemen, AustinConner and Mad Mel Kuiper making an appearance. Thank you for stepping in for Ty, who obviously had that late thing this morning. You look great. You look like you're in maybe mid form, mid season form right now.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, I appreciate it, Pat, you know, always great to join you guys. Combine week. I want to go out and say, you know, it's kind of like my conference championship weekend. Obviously the NFL draft is going to be the super bowl, but conference championship weekend, nothing better than, you know, weekend and Indy. Not only do we have fights between insiders, you know, which we'll talk about.

[Pat McAfee]

What are your thoughts on that, man? Because you've been coming here a long time, so you understand.

[Boston Connor]

Absolutely. A long time. You know, you get a young, young pup like Jordan Schultz who, you know, he's trying to really put his stamp on the game. Apparently Ian Rapport, you know, well respected in the industry, has lot of sources, you know, a lot of people he's trying to talk to. Try to talk to an agent. Goes up to a counter, local Starbucks had like a Venti caramel macchiato or.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, I believe is what he ordered with Splenda. I believe.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, with Splenda. A couple Splenda could be a sweeten low. Can't exactly remember what kind of, you know, zero calorie sweetener he decided to go with. Jordo Schultz steps in, says, no, he won't have a Fenty. So rap sheet says, okay, I'll have a grande, you know, caramel macchiato. No, he won't. No, you won't have one of those.

[Pat McAfee]

All right.

[Boston Connor]

I'll take a tall and, you know, we'll be done with this. I'll get out of there. Jordan Schultz, again, this is. According to my sources, I wasn't boots.

[Pat McAfee]

Allegedly. Allegedly. Much like what's going on at a University of Mississippi, just like we said yesterday. Well, there was the grandstanding. Police hopped out on their high horses. I don't know. It was good to see. We weren't even a full show back. And we called them out almost for them, hour and a half into the program yesterday. It was great. But what we're saying is this is all alleged, but certainly with some people talking about some realities.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, without a doubt. So he's said, no, you're not going to have any coffee. Not in my house. Okay. You've been saying a lot of about me. You've been refuting a lot of the stuff that I've been saying. He said water only for this guy. Rap Sheet gets a small, you know, plastic cup of water because Jordan Schultz's.

[Pat McAfee]

Dad, obviously, he owns Starbucks.

[Boston Connor]

You know, Jordo Schultz is the heir to the Starbucks empire. He smacks the water out of his hands and says, do something about it. Rap. Do something. Get in my face. Do it. He. According to Pro Football Talk, he said fuck about 15 times, at least. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

In his dad's cafe.

[Boston Connor]

You know, Dad's cafe. You could.

[Ty Schmidt]

Well, then he refuted that report.

[Boston Connor]

Well, he did, but, you know, I.

[Pat McAfee]

Wouldn'T swear in my dad's passion project, Dad's cafe.

[Boston Connor]

Or you could even take that as far as, say, I mean, Rap Sheet basically disrespected this guy in his own living room.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

You know, you're going to come in here with. With mud on your shoes and walk.

[Ty Schmidt]

Through my living room, Falls on his table.

[Boston Connor]

Exactly. Jordo Schultz smacked him around a little bit. Allegedly.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, he's in his kitchen making pancakes. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Cooking bacon in his underwear.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, there it is. That's basically what was happening.

[Boston Connor]

Shout out Danny San Sushi or whatever. Still. Still bringing it. Yeah, still bringing it. And then obviously, Rap Sheet, you know, he said, listen, enough is enough. I feel threatened here. This guy's got crazy eyes. Right now. I'm gonna have to call NFL security. NFL Security came up. I don't know what eventually happened. I think they took Jordo Schultz out back, beat the shit out of him with a couple lead pipes.

[Pat McAfee]

Behind his dad's house.

[Ty Schmidt]

Exactly. They called him Big Dom. They called him Big Dom.

[Pat McAfee]

You know, well, Big Dom don't do that. The arrow. Big Dom is a handshake he's not an ankle breaker.

[Boston Connor]

I don't know if this is breaking news or not, but I believe today after the the the men kind of go through the drills on the field. Jordo Schultz and Ian Rapenport are going to fight to the death at the fifth yard.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. That's combine.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That'll be fun.

[Pat McAfee]

That's combined and those for those that are new to the show. We're not 100 sure if that's going to happen. That's just all being. That's alleged at the moment. Yeah. There's a chance one of these people clip the end of that.

[Boston Connor]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Say on espn, it is being reported by a man wearing a purple suit.

[Ty Schmidt]

Great suit.

[Boston Connor]

Saw Nick Sario wearing purple yesterday. Said, God damn, that looks good. I'm going to wear that tomorrow.

[Pat McAfee]

We don't know if they're fighting to death, but should. But we don't want them to die. We don't want either of them die. We want to shake hands. One half of the Hammer Cowboys, Tone Diggs is here. And ladies and gentlemen, the face of the Indiana Pacers who just had to sit through all of that.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Sorry, I'm just learning about it.

[Pat McAfee]

It happened at Starbucks here in your town. Ladies and gentlemen, Olympic gold medalist face of the NBA. Well, well, I put you in a terrible spot. Tyrese Halliburton.

[Ty Schmidt]

We are doing the face of the NBA conversation.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. No, no, we are not going to do that. That is earned. Obviously. That happens naturally. That is not something you give to yourself. Tyrese, fresh off a 33:11 three night. Obviously the 11 assists, three rebounds. Need to get those up a little bit. I think you could probably had a triple double if your groin was healthy. You went into the groin 50, 50 questionable going into game. Everything we know about NBA is what.

[Ty Schmidt]

They'Re going to sit out Mad Mel.

[Pat McAfee]

They're going to sit out con man.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

They are going to sit out and get paid.

[Pat McAfee]

Especially in the middle of the season. How much money they're getting paid? 82 of these things hurt groin. Tyrese Halliburton says I'm playing big game. We're in the middle of a hell of a stretch. We're top four hottest team in the NBA right now. One of the best records in 2025. Oh, must I remind you Eastern Conference finalists last year. As Tyrese pulls up from the other side of the court. How do you feel about the team? And thank you for playing through a groin injury or groin. Whatever you had going on, you're the man. We appreciate you here. In Indiana.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, we're playing well right now. You know, we're just fighting to get, you know, home court advantage in the playoffs in the first round. So every game is big right now. So we're trying to win every game.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. So a lot of people watching our show right now are going to say are at the NFL combine while we talking about the NBA. Do you think that that is a natural conversation that's happening? Like, do you guys talk about the NBA where it sits in the zeitgeist of professional sports? Do you have any of those conv. Amongst each other?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

No, no. We know who we are. We don't really trip off that. I mean, we understand. I understand I'm here at, you know, football program. We talk about a lot of sports, but.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, a lot of sports program.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

It is a sports program, but.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, we're a sports program. Remember?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Sports program. Heavy football.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, football.

[Ty Schmidt]

Football first.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Maybe a little bit of hockey.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. We do like the hockey. Hockey is awesome.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Because they try.

[Pat McAfee]

See, that's the narrative. Why is that the narrative? Yeah, I think it's Suban. But whatever I did, I did see that he put over the NHL in a big way, and it got a lot. A lot of views. And he was Talking about the NBA's potential culture issue that they have.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

You guys obviously all saw that he was putting it over his sport. But I think he said a lot of things that maybe other people potentially think, which is why he went so big. How do you feel about the narrative that is about the NBA? Because you just. I mean, grunge. Whatever. I don't. I don't know what your injury was. Groin strain. Can I say.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I was gonna say groin soreness more than anything.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. But don't just get sore in your groin without strain.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Makes the narrative better. So we'll go astrain.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, it has to be torn off.

[Ty Schmidt]

The bone and you play through it, correct?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

33 through it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I can't believe this guy's got one half of a groin. Now. Lance Armstrong of groin. Because he lost one half of his groin, which is crazy to think about. Played through it last night. But why do you think the narrative is that, like, legitimately? Because you disagree with that wholeheartedly. I think anytime we call you, you're like, that's not true about our league, though. Like. Yeah, I think there's a lot of things, maybe misconception about the league that you disagree with.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Oh, 100%. I mean, people are just allowed to get on there and say whatever they want about our game. And it just takes one or two people to agree. Hey, retweet. And it's like the cool thing to say. The NBA has a problem with what we do. But you know, we're.

[Pat McAfee]

We're.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

We're doing pretty well for ourselves, I'd say.

[Pat McAfee]

I'd say. I would say as well. And I too well as well. That is what people are saying. It's like this much money and then we're not going back to back nights. And then obviously back in the day, these guys you to play. And then there's the nostalgia speech. That's happening too. You're hearing all these things, I assume.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, for sure, for sure. I'll talk about what the all Star game has become and how that's such a problem. And you know guys, you guys love the sitting back to backs. I don't think that's as true as.

[Pat McAfee]

LeBron put a show's great thing. So I think what Tyrese is saying is like that gets a couple people are doing that and everybody assumes that.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

That is across the generalized.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, it's like the whole league's doing. That's not the case.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, 100%. We talk about this all the time. I agree with that 100%. Guys want to play, we want to perform. We've got a lot of. We got older guys who are, you know, towards the end of their careers, high level hall of Fame guys. We got a lot of young guys coming up in the league too. So I think. I think we all want to play.

[Pat McAfee]

How's quality of play right now? Obviously All Star game is what it is. Pro bowl is what it is too. I mean there's the NHL got it right with four nations. It just so happened to be at the exact same time as yours. So it went absolutely bonkers in that entire thing. But whenever you talk about quality of play, how do you feel about it? Because like football guys are throwing the ball better, catching the ball better, running the ball better, seeding the ball better, blocking the ball better, tackling the ball. Like everything is better. That's sports. Kicking the ball better. I mean evolve through everything. Do you feel like that has happened with NBA? Because my argument about LeBron Jordan is always that they play two different sports. I'm not a basketball guy. Football stooge. Watch watch the lake show growing up because I was insomniac kid. They were on late night Kobe shotgun. I mean it was an entire thing. Don't know the league inside and out. But when I watched that last dance with Michael Jordan and I saw some of the highlights that were happening, I was like, hold the phone now. Like, I didn't watch basketball back then. I'm from Pittsburgh. Okay. Wasn't like all the way in on. It's like the sport has evolved so much, it's tough to compare. I think both would play well in both eras if they were to be talked about. But how do you feel about the current state of the game in the NBA?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Well, that conversation's interesting, right? Because when you compare arrows all the time, I feel like football, you don't really do that. Like, you guys don't really talk about how this guy would fit if he played in the 90s. Like, that doesn't. That's not a conversation.

[Pat McAfee]

It's not a normal convo. But like Dan Marino, modern day would be.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, but it's outrageous. The same in any sport. Top guys are going to continue to be top guys throughout eras. But I mean, time travel doesn't exist. And I'm.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, you don't know.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Maybe.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Not that I know of. I haven't been. Not that I've been in front of yet. You know, hopefully one day.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Hey, man, there's a lot of old heads I got. I guess I have things to say about me.

[Ty Schmidt]

So after your next contract, they'll introduce you to it.

[Pat McAfee]

I heard about that. I think that's a potential Halliburton thing. Not just Tyrese, right? That heads and have a lot to say.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Oh, yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Family business, if you will.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel Mike.

[Ty Schmidt]

Ole Miss.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel, do you have a question for Tyrese? So the quality of play, though, I think it's.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I think it's up. I think just like any sport, I think guys make shots at a higher level. We got so many guys who shoot the three well, can do so many different things well. But it's just. Again, it's easy to create a narrative that we all play the same. Everybody shoots too many threes.

[Pat McAfee]

You do the league.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

That's not true. That's not true. The league is a copycat league. Right.

[Pat McAfee]

It's like the NFL.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

When a team wins a championship, you strive. Teams are going to start to play more like them. So in the last decade, the warriors won a championship. How'd they do that? They shot a lot of threes, made a lot of jumpers. Teams want to do that now Boston's won a championship. They got five guys on the floor at all times that can shoot threes. So more teams, we got to shoot more threes to keep up with what they do.

[Pat McAfee]

So you think that this is actually a decision trying to win? Like, competitive juices are making these decisions just like in the NFL. Like right now, the Eagles just won. Ponded, pounded for Saquon. Is the show like AJ Obviously. Incredible. Devontae phenomenal. They help with the box, obviously, because you can't bring absolutely everybody. But it's ground and pound football over there. Yeah, that's how they play.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

People are trying to win championships, so it's the same.

[Pat McAfee]

But the amount of people that are going to now do that because of the success that they're having.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

But like in the early 2000s, right, like, and Shaq's dominating teams are trying to get three, four centers because they know they're going to need all of them to go foul him and try to stay in front and do their best. You got to try to keep up with the championship team. So Boston wins the most. They won a championship last year. They shot plenty threes. You can't play them and shoot all twos and expect to win that game. It's just math is not going to, it's not going to work there. So you got to shoot more threes. That's how it's going to be.

[Pat McAfee]

So everybody's trying to chase the top and that's how I kind of get to that point. And he called out Boston, so I know Connor will get to his point. Mad Mel, eager to ask a question?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, just curious. Do you think, you know, we talk about everything with the NBA right now and how guys are maybe, I don't want to say entitled, but you guys make a shitload of money. And I'm like, listen, you, you earned that money.

[Pat McAfee]

Change your life.

[Boston Connor]

Do you think though, when Luca gets traded, is that kind of a wake up call for the entire league? Like, hey, maybe ain't sweet, okay? Like, this guy is, you know, a future, you know, a top five player in the NBA and out of nowhere, literally out of nowhere, he gets traded. Did that send kind of a shockwave across the league? Like, okay, maybe I, maybe I can't be sitting out back to backs anymore because if this guy can get traded, I sure as hell can get traded as well.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I mean, I feel like we all operate that way on a daily basis. I think the Luca thing might have been eye opening that nobody's really, nobody's really safe. You know, everybody can be, can be traded. And you know, I think you see trades happen every year, but you don't see them to that magnitude where top 10 player gets traded for another top 10 player, you know, like, that's very uncommon. So definitely came as a surprise to the NBA world. But I think people understand what comes with the business and everybody's gonna be fine where they are.

[Pat McAfee]

You've been traded and we're very thankful for it. Like here in Indianapolis. I will say, the way you go about leading the Pacers is so good for this city. Like, I think you're perfect for this city. Do you agree with that?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I appreciate it.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I love it here. You know, I'm a Midwest guy, so I feel like I fit in, Fit in very well here.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, but you also got the flash, too, like flair. Yeah, you do got the flair. I like it. You're a showman.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I appreciate that. I appreciate it. It's good. I'm a fan of small market teams being good. I think it's. I think that's good for the league. That's cool.

[Pat McAfee]

It is. Yeah, it is. Now let's. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Boston Carter has a question.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, you mentioned, you mentioned the NBA chance, Boston Celtics, and I think we can all agree no one's beating them in seven again, you know, they're looking. I think most of us can agree that that's probably the case. And one of the biggest things we've talked about here is kind of the face of the league. And Jayson Tatum, who, you know, is turning 27, I believe, already an NBA champ. He's the only American last year who was first team all NBA. And he gets the most hate by far out of any of the superstars, it feels like who doesn't really deserve it. Obviously there are some guys that, you know, people have problems with embiid and things of that nature, but that's mostly because they don't play. Tatum's one of those guys that does not sit out back to back, didn't.

[Pat McAfee]

Play right in the Olympics.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

And yeah, to, to the Olympic point. You know, I kind of think the reason that Jayson Tatum doesn't get that much love is because Steve Kerr. And Steve Kerr is the problem for many, many reasons. The things that he does and, you know, talks about and appears on, but mostly I think because Tatum didn't get that USA push, you know, we just saw with the Four Nations Cup. The Tkachuk brothers are two of the faces of the NHL now. And I think a lot of people didn't like them before the Four Nations. Now they're kind of the golden boys of the NHL. And Jayson Tatum didn't get that opportunity so, Steve Kerr, thanks a lot. But there's a graphic that was pulled up about Jason Tatum versus, you know, some of the greats. There it is. LeBron, MJ, Kobe, KD is on there, and he's the only one with all of those accomplishments. But for some reason, he gets so much hate.

[Pat McAfee]

Why do you think? Who made this graphic?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I want to say it was the NBA Muse, not Sentel.

[Pat McAfee]

Rest in peace. Extra underscore Muse. Great graphic here.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, fantastic.

[Pat McAfee]

But with that being said, rest in peace to Sentel.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Dude, we're gonna miss you. We're gonna miss you. And for the people that said that was a bad account, you're completely wrong. But why do you think Jayson Tatum gets so much hate? And why do you think people don't like him? Because he is one of those kind of perfect guys, even though he doesn't do that much media.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's unwarranted. You know, he's obviously like that graphic you saw. He's an elite player in our league. Coming off, he's the best player on the best team in the NBA, you know, off a championship. So I feel like it's. It's not. It's not right for the. For the hate that he gets. I mean, I think part of it could be he went to Duke and he plays on the Celtics. Polarizing. Polarizing teams. But, I mean, Jason's a good dude. He's got a shoe. He's elite. Like, he's got everything, you know? So I don't really understand it. I think us as players, I think he has the respect from his peers, and I think that's what means more than anything as an NBA player, the respect you get from your peers. And we know when we play Boston, you got to be ready and game plan around Jason Taylor.

[Pat McAfee]

He mentioned the Olympics. You and he were the two guys that didn't see time. You know, he got in, but he wasn't. Like, he didn't play. And the way you handled it was like, maybe the greatest NBA superstar led his team to the Eastern Conference finals. Perfect, like, is the. Perfect is king here in Indiana. And then you get on Team USA and it's like, all right, I understand my role here. You're going to be a vibes. Like, literally a vibes guy. Like, that is literally what you became for that particular team. And everybody talks about doing that, saying, if I was put in a position, I would do it. You actually did it. Did you become tight with the guys on the team because of that? Like, what do you think was a benefit of the way your Olympic experience went? If that makes sense.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, I think my favorite part was just being able to be around the guys, go to practice, and see how these guys work on a daily basis, see their habits, and be able to grow relationships. You know, ever since then, I have relationships with all those guys. And Golden State was here. I went to dinner with Steph, and before we. Before the Olympics, me and Steph had no relationship. I actually think he. I thought he didn't fuck with me. And then I was like, yo, are we cool? And he was like, yeah, of course. You know, Steph's, like, the best guy ever. But that goes down the line with all those guys. So just being around those guys, getting to grow relationships and getting to learn from them, that was my favorite part of shit. I was there. I'm 24 years old, so just trying to learn as much as I could, and, you know, how that can help me, you know, be a good player in the NBA.

[Pat McAfee]

You're a great teammate, Dornier brother. Yeah. Go American.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Great American, Louisiana.

[Pat McAfee]

Go American.

[Ty Schmidt]

Great American.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, Tyrese, we appreciate the hell out of you. We know you have to travel. You're in the middle of a season right now. We thank you for stopping by, hanging out. If our show has shifted an hour earlier window, you'd have been able to hang out longer. Instead, you're heading out right now, actually, so you're the man. And the Puma fit is sweet.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I appreciate that.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Says who?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, says Pat F. One race tonight in Miami.

[Pat McAfee]

No, actually, he's a racing jacket.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

No, IndyCar.

[Pat McAfee]

Are you getting him with a shirt? He's hopping in. That one right there. That funny car that's up there. You're rolling in the wrong place. Tyrese, right here is right here. Right here. That one that's kind of diagonal.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

IndyCar. Big IndyCar guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Mario Andretti.

[Pat McAfee]

Joseph Newgarden you were talking about earlier.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yes, yes.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I'm actually trying to be a dork for Halloween, so could I get this full outfit? What are you talking about?

[Pat McAfee]

Look at me. This is what every NFL team's looking for. This is a five.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. You have no idea, pal.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

You guys need to figure that out. How can we get you to do the combine?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I think we probably make that happen. We're here in the morning, and I think we could just kind of mosey down. You gotta work the security people, just like you have to at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which you're talking about the Indy 500 you gotta have a lot of confidence when you're walking by these security people, because once you get in the building, I think everybody thinks you're okay. Getting into the building. Impossible, as you found out this morning.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

It's. It's a doozy. There's a lot of people there, though. It's the biggest, biggest single day sporting event in the world, isn't it?

[Pat McAfee]

Well, you talk about Indianapolis motor speedway, Indy 500. Indy 500. Yes, absolutely. It is. For this, though, for the combine, getting into the building, tough. I think we could get on the field. I think we could get on.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

We could get you on the field.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I would love to. And if I tear my acl, I can finally sue this place and get my money back. It kind of be the perfect you deserve it day. You know, all those taxes to build this hole just for them to, you know.

[Pat McAfee]

This place is beautiful.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Stadium. This is a great stadium.

[Pat McAfee]

It is beautiful. Thank you. And you come to all the Colts games, which is very.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I'll be at the Colts games. Yeah. I came from. We came from Morgan Wallen.

[Pat McAfee]

That's right. We're here for.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

My mom came here for T. Swift. You were here for years.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's a great concert.

[Chris Gall]

Stadium.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a great stadium.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Royal Rumble, Great.

[Boston Connor]

Why weren't you in the Rumble?

[Pat McAfee]

That's a great question.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I don't know. You know what? I'm gonna tell you the truth here. I wanted to be in the Rumble, and me and Triple H talks about it, and then he was like, kind of. He was just like, yeah. A lot of people asking if you're going to be in the Rumble. And I just laugh in their face. And I'm like, what the fuck?

[Pat McAfee]

Middle of season, bro.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

And he's like. Because I think he's a little scared about me doing the middle season. Remember when Brunson, we got in there and he pushed himself up at the broke hand?

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Triple H kind of had a heart attack, so.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, it's not just Triple H. Triple H also hears from a lot of people immediately afterwards, like, hey, what do we do? What do we. Can we have a little bit of.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Well, SummerSlam. SummerSlam is supposed to be here in the next, like, five years. Right.

[Pat McAfee]

And I believe WrestleMania.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

WrestleMania is during the playoffs. So that definitely.

[Boston Connor]

That'd be worth it, though, right? I mean, you.

[Pat McAfee]

WrestleMania grand stage now.

[Boston Connor]

You break your back.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Like, how would I. How would I. How would I have got out? How would I have got eliminated from the Rumble? You think I'm taking that Bron Breaker Spear.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Watch your mouth.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

What he say?

[Pat McAfee]

He said, bring in Jason Tatum. Listen, not in this city. You.

[Chris Gall]

You know, remember? It was in this city, actually.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

This guy. Bro, are you trying to. You're trying to bait me to say something negative?

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no, not at all.

[Ty Schmidt]

Chris. Ever. Situation going on here.

[Pat McAfee]

He has to leave. Literally, he has to leave.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

What time is it? Oh, yeah, I gotta go.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah. Hey, Tyrese, we appreciate the hell out of you.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Appreciate you.

[Pat McAfee]

You're the man. And I think the Puma looks cool. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Enjoy the race tonight.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, I know. I love it.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

You got a plum suit over there.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, I've seen you. Hey, you can never wear plum again.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

What you mean?

[Pat McAfee]

You know exactly what.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

You make some, you. You win some, you lose some, you have some. You know, not every outfit you put on is, like, that was hot. This one, that's just weak.

[Pat McAfee]

That one is. This one is that. How do we feel about this one? Today you looked in the mirror, you said, you know, I'm killing them today. Shout out, Puma.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah, for sure. And I'm getting on the plane. Cozy. Watch the Wire. Go to sleep.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, great show. Great show. I'm on season five.

[Boston Connor]

Talk about the count.

[Pat McAfee]

All Star break.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah. I'm on season five right now. Elite Television, without a doubt.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Severance.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

What show you think I should go to next?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Severance.

[Pat McAfee]

Severance is really good. It's slow, though.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Severance.

[Ty Schmidt]

Severance kind of sucks.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Have you seen Severance?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It takes a little to build.

[Pat McAfee]

It's very slow, but I like it. I watched. I watched three episodes. I got it. I understand. It could be great. Too slow for me. Me. Too slow for me. But they. You could see why it would be great. Like, it is a very. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Nine apps in the first season. It takes six to build the place, and it takes six to build seven, eight, nine. It's a crazy concept you got.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm not a. I'm not a series guy. He is a serious guy. Like, I would not watch series. I don't do that. But that one watch couple, on his recommendation, you could see how it would be great. Once again, I'm. I watch wrestling and football. Something in basketball.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

And basketball. Say, calm down.

[Field Yates]

Of course.

[Pat McAfee]

Something a little quicker.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Blackhawk down documentary.

[Ty Schmidt]

Watch that unbelievable lioness.

[Boston Connor]

Watch Prison Break. You'll love it.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I heard it's a good show.

[Boston Connor]

You'll love it.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I'm going Sopranos.

[Ty Schmidt]

White collar's coming back.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, I'm not watching that.

[Pat McAfee]

That was a very loud pop right there. I don't Know if he might. That's another one.

[Chris Gall]

Good luck, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Just kind of dud.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

All right, guys.

[Pat McAfee]

That was a good one, too.

[Ty Schmidt]

Hey, good luck.

[Pat McAfee]

Swivel. Be careful.

[Ty Schmidt]

Stay out of those places.

[Pat McAfee]

Hand on a swivel at Starbucks, please.

[Boston Connor]

Hey, don't throw your back out loading baggage onto the plane wearing that gear.

[Pat McAfee]

Good point. He walked in with that jacket. We have a very. Kind of the people here. We got a suite upstairs. Shout out to Foss. Shot the ESPN and Indianapolis, which is funny because the Colts don't own the stadium. So NFL.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, we do.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, that's right.

[Pat McAfee]

Indianapolis does.

[Ty Schmidt]

Colts nation.

[Pat McAfee]

The NFL has to work, work with, like, the actual city. Like, people that work for the city. The people that work for the city all. They're pretty on board with our particular program. You know, everybody else kind of, you.

[Boston Connor]

Know, not as much.

[Pat McAfee]

No, not as much. You know, so it's like the people that have the place are our people. And Tyrese is the same. He's treated the same exact way as the people. Like, he is beloved in this city. Tyrese is great for this city.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Perfect.

[Pat McAfee]

But he walked in in that jacket earlier in our suite, and everybody was like, that's a big jacket.

[Ty Schmidt]

Well, I thought he drove his Ducati here.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, he could have. That gets back to your point. The NBA players make a lot of.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Money potholes in this city.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know, ladies and gentlemen, men who host this. Yeah. Driving on a moon. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I mean, you just can't do it. You can't own a nice car like that.

[Pat McAfee]

We haven't talked about it in a while because we hammered it for so long on our show whenever we weren't on espn. But like, the potholes in Indianapolis are most like. That is what they are. And I know there's other cities that have bad potholes and other states have bad potholes because I always. Because I'm from Pennsylvania, any four season climate, normally gonna have bad roads and everything like that. And everybody thinks theirs are the worst. And I just. I think I've lived in West Virginia. I've lived in multiple cities. Indiana's roads are by far the worst. I mean, these things are so deep. They're like three, four feet deep.

[Ty Schmidt]

We went on vacation, came back. I thought there was a small mortar war.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, pond, baby. Oh, a pond just started. Or like, you know those videos where the sinkholes. Yeah, like you think that is in the middle of the road. And then there's so many of them that kind of hit. You can't even crash 218 wheelers on the.

[Boston Connor]

Exactly. I was gonna say they're making their way onto the highway now, which is great, because it makes it very safe. You know, when you got a shitload of semis going by and everything. It's awesome. It's phenomenal.

[Pat McAfee]

Crashed a semi into another semi, I guess. These potholes. I saw one this morning. They were giving.

[Field Yates]

Giving donkey tours to the bottom.

[Pat McAfee]

That's what I'm saying. It's messed up. That's what I'm saying. It's like driving on a moon. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is two men that have already been to the moon and probably been back. They host the NFL Combine. They host the future of the NFL, ladies and gentlemen, from NFL Network and from the Rich Eisen Show. And we can move some sticks. Rich Eisen. Daniel Jeremiah, Michigan. Man's gonna bring in a ball. Well, well, well.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, he's a mission at heart.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

How you doing, Rich?

[Boston Connor]

Whatever you want to go.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Come on.

[Boston Connor]

DJ on the game. How you doing, DJ?

[Ty Schmidt]

Mr. Sticks.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. There we go. There we go.

[Matt Rule]

Get this mic, you.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. God, it's good to see you guys.

[Ty Schmidt]

It is great.

[Ian Rapaport]

Hey, let's do it.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, the Combine's here. It is here. Let's go, boys. Let's go, boys. Let's go, boys. We're ready.

[Chris Gall]

We're ready.

[Pat McAfee]

This is Daniel Jeremiah, Super Bowl. This is all eyes on dj. This is. Hey, Rich Eisen, let's go ahead and run that 40. Let's be smooth as hell. Let's compliment everybody that's out here, because there's a chance that there's any hall of Famer at any time walking onto this field. And this is you guys on TV for, what, 45 hours straight, calling people do exercises. Right, Rich?

[Ian Rapaport]

We should raise money. It should be a telethon. It's funny. Anytime a. A large man runs really slow, I get a text from Warren Sapp saying, there's your pace car.

[Pat McAfee]

I appreciate it. You've been under 604 times. I think we did the history.

[Ian Rapaport]

Is that right?

[Pat McAfee]

2016 is your fastest. I think if we get the. If we. If I read the stats right, you've been under 604 times throughout the history. A lot of times you've run. I mean, like, 20 times. It feels like. Do you know how many.

[Ian Rapaport]

I always tell.

[Pat McAfee]

There it is.

[Ian Rapaport]

There it is. There's the.

[Pat McAfee]

Let me see.

[Ian Rapaport]

I see.

[Pat McAfee]

Have.

[Ian Rapaport]

I see five beautiful fives up there to the left of the decimal point. That is fantastic. Look at that form. What do you think of the Form.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's really good.

[Ian Rapaport]

Is it?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Top notch.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Being in a suit too.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, it's four under six zero, right?

[Ian Rapaport]

It's four under. That's four under six.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. I thought you said five. I was talking. I could do math.

[Ian Rapaport]

How many of those did you time, DJ?

[Chris Gall]

Just a couple. But I did get one under, under six. So I don't know if that was 2018. It might be 2018.

[Ian Rapaport]

That sounds about right. He's got a nice trigger finger.

[Pat McAfee]

I was giving the punters yesterday and the kicker is good. Like, I got my stopwatch right here. Yeah, you can just delay a little bit and give a guy a point one. All of a sudden, he goes from four six to a four seven. That's a good punt. Let's keep this guy around. But what you've done for St. Jude with this run, Rich, run.

[Ian Rapaport]

Thanks.

[Pat McAfee]

Cool thing, bro.

[Ian Rapaport]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Indianapolis is very lucky that you choose or you get to do it here, I guess.

[Ian Rapaport]

Let me tell you, it's. It's been. It was like anything else born out of. On television. Born out of complete boredom sitting in the old RCA dome two and a half hours before shooting Total Access. Back when you were probably a scout or something like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Absolutely.

[Ian Rapaport]

Where were you in 05?

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, I was. I was 05. I was with the Ravens.

[Ian Rapaport]

You were at the Ravens. So it's me. I'm sitting up in the stands. Terrell Davis, who was thinking about doing TV at the time, sitting next to me. Oh, this is great. I get to tell the story the way normally I have to clean it up. Now I've just realized where I am right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Welcome to my show. We never get to see yours, you never get to see ours. But you know the. You know the vibe.

[Ian Rapaport]

I do know the vibe. So. So I'm sitting there and I'm just totally bored hearing the hum of the air conditioning and the lights in the old RCA Dome, just stared down at the 40 yard dash and I don't know why I popped in my head about running it. So I turn to Terrell Davis, I say, td, how fast do you think I can run it? He laughs. He goes, you can't run for shit. And I swear to God, I said, go fuck yourself. Watch me.

[Pat McAfee]

It was a spite run.

[Ian Rapaport]

It was a spite run and I went down and I was just dressed, suited and booted, lace up, up, you know, dress shoes. And I went and ran it and had no idea that the crew that was on break was actually recording it. And they surprised me with it that night. And then the next day, you know, we had Joe Gibbs on, and a whole bunch of other coaches came in judging, evaluating, and they said, did we see you running a 40 yard dash last night? So right away, they immediately popped the 40 yard dash up, and they were all making fun of me and having fun with it, and I just thought nothing of it. Next year, I show up, and the first person I see at the RCA Dome is the freshly minted NFC champion coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Holmgren, who goes, are you going to run it again? And I'm like, no. And he said, why not? And I'm like, I don't know. He goes, well, you got to beat your time. And I'm like thinking to myself, here is the NFC champion head coach just coached in the super bowl, like, questioning my sense of competition. I have to run it, so I.

[Pat McAfee]

I gotta prove myself.

[Ian Rapaport]

I did. And that's when I. That's why I ran it again because of him. And. And I just remember him also saying, just, just don't wind up there. And he pointed at the training table. And so I just kept doing it over and over and over again. And, you know, now it's 20 years.

[Pat McAfee]

Come on, dude. That's awesome.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Hell yeah, Rich.

[Pat McAfee]

You've done so many good things, too, with that, obviously, raising a ton of money, because I don't know the exact amount for ST.

[Ian Rapaport]

It's over 7 million for the life of it.

[Pat McAfee]

Much more than a shit ton. That is a lot of. That's amazing. It was a spite run to begin with, and Coach Holmgrow kind of motivates you to continue it. And then he points at a training table. Have you ever hurt yourself doing it?

[Ian Rapaport]

I have, as a matter of fact. Because, you know, running it. And, you know, my wife is always sitting at home hoping that I don't embarrass myself in the family name. And then Dion was always part of our crew, and I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of him. Leon Sandcastle. As a matter of fact, he did run the 40 with me one year as Leon Sandcastle and was step for step with me in the Leon Sandcastle Afro. Running backwards, backpedaling.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, that's tough.

[Ian Rapaport]

That's a tough look.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a tough look.

[Ian Rapaport]

But, you know, for comedy, Pat, you know, anything for comedy.

[Pat McAfee]

And also for Dion. Sandy.

[Ian Rapaport]

Yeah, it was good for the brand on everybody's part, except for me. But it's all good.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no. Good, good, good. But.

[Ian Rapaport]

But. So one year I ran it. So Slow twice. And I ran it a third time because I just wanted to run it faster. And I popped my hamstring in the middle of it.

[Pat McAfee]

Not good.

[Ian Rapaport]

And I thought to myself, well, we're just not going to air it this year. And Mike Mayock said to me, you've got to air it. You got to air it. I'm like, why? And he goes, because it shows. You know, you're just like everybody else. You're just. You're running as fast as you possibly can. Who cares if you got hurt? And just show it. I'm like, okay, you're right. So we did it. And as soon as it airs, he goes, hey, looks like there was a sniper in the dome. And he goes, bill Polian was up there with a rifle. I'm like, well, wait a minute. You told me to show it just to set me up.

[Pat McAfee]

Like what the hell that was. That's. Everybody's had that happen in football, in sports, you know, So I think you stepping up to prove yourself that I'm not just a TV guy.

[Ian Rapaport]

Thank you, Pat.

[Pat McAfee]

It's such a good mentality to start that entire thing. Hell yeah, we appreciate you. Now let's talk about some 40s that are going to be happening here this week. And I legitimately can't wait to watch you guys spend a weekend with you. It's like a weekend watching a golf tournament. That's, I think, how you should view it. Probably. I assume you already do as a host, but that is how I view it. Something great happens. There's some noise. I'm gonna go ahead and look. Other than that. Got some background noise with the wife, with the daughter doing a thing. What do we need to keep an eye out for this week? What is like the most spectacular jaw dropping thing that you project to potentially take place this week?

[Chris Gall]

Well, I think there's gonna be some four twos. So we had the runner last year with Xavier Worthy ripped off the record. I think that's probably going to be safe, but I think there's three. There's three guys that have a chance to get close. Maxwell Hairston, corner from Kentucky is kind of my favorite. Keep an eye on him as somebody that might run that thing down. Bond from Texas to wide receivers.

[Pat McAfee]

Crazy if they go Xavier Worthy from Texas, four two one, to Isaiah Bond, four two, whatever, from Texas. It's like, what's the training going on down in Texas? These guys are just faster than any humans that have ever existed.

[Chris Gall]

Well, I think also you just looking at the track programs in high school how much better they've gotten in the resources and track clubs. And these guys are, they know how to run. You know, it used to be football players and you're trying to train and learn how to run a 40. These guys have been, you know, coming out of a stand since they were 8, 9 years old. And they're legit fast. So those guys are fun. And then defensive line, it's, it's a stack class. You know, defensive tackles is loaded. Edge rushers is loaded. Linebackers. Today, Jihad Campbell from, from Alabama, who can, he is, he can rush off the edge, he can play off the ball. He's going to, he, he's going to run low.

[Boston Connor]

4, 4.

[Chris Gall]

At that size, it's impressive.

[Pat McAfee]

It is impressive. If we got good D tackles, that means we got a lot of big meat moving fast. Always, always create good moments for NFL combine clips. Now, Mad Mel obviously dialed in, has some questions.

[Chris Gall]

Yes, yes.

[Boston Connor]

DJ Obviously this, this time of the year, the reason I love it so much is it just kind of gives me an opportunity to put my nuts right on the table, let everybody know, hey, I, I know this inside and out, okay? Kind of, I assume you're the same way. Maybe not as colorful, you know, as the way I do it, but Adam Schefter was on the show yesterday kind of talking about the athletes in this class and basically said, hey, listen, a.

[Pat McAfee]

Guy, the top 10 here, please.

[Chris Gall]

Rich's going, he's getting what?

[Ty Schmidt]

It's fine.

[Boston Connor]

I mean, I get it, I get it, you know, it happens.

[Pat McAfee]

But this guy's trying to do a little scouting.

[Boston Connor]

The difference between 10 and, you know, maybe the guy who goes to 10, the guy goes with 35 is, you know, very minuscule, if you will. He said, you know, listen, a guy you get in the third round might be just as good as the guy you take at 11. Do you agree with that sentiment? Do you think this class itself maybe isn't as deep as classes in the past? Or is it kind of one of those things where, you know, personally, I believe, hey, not as great of a quarterback class. A lot of people are, you know, not going to get as excited about it. But do you buy that, that maybe there's 10 guys with a true first round grade that everybody else you might be able to find, you know, day two, day three, kind of. What's your take on that?

[Chris Gall]

DJ first of all, have you had your pumpkin pie yet today?

[Boston Connor]

Obviously start every morning. You know, a lot of people, listen, I want to get this out of the, allegedly that whipped cream Whipped cream, not whippets. All right? I'm not emptying a whipped cream bottle and then sucking the, you know, the CO2 out of there, getting all jacked up on Google.

[Pat McAfee]

Nobody should be doing.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, I'm not doing that. Okay. So, yeah, okay, sue me. I had half. A. Half a pumpkin pie and about two cans of whipped cream.

[Ian Rapaport]

I don't mean to evaluate. I don't think that is the actual chemistry of what you suck out of a whip at CO2.

[Field Yates]

Oh, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

But if. How do you know?

[Ian Rapaport]

I know carbon dioxide is not in that.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, no, it's not.

[Boston Connor]

But if that's all you got is an empty, you know, you know, whip it can or.

[Ian Rapaport]

I know my chemistry.

[Pat McAfee]

Boston.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Okay, fair enough.

[Pat McAfee]

Fair enough. Back off, Michigan guy. I forgot. Anyways, anyways. Pumpkin. A lot of pumpkin. And then 10. 10 to 35.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, it is. It's the way I phrase it. It's. It's a starter draft, maybe not a star draft. So there's a bunch of guys very evenly graded.

[Pat McAfee]

I like that.

[Chris Gall]

So you're going to find, you know, there's going to be a lot of similarity, I think. I think I would push it back maybe more towards like 15. Then you could probably even go further down the line, like 15 to 50. You're going to see a lot of, you know, similarly graded players. That's why on the media side of things, it's hard to. It's hard to stack your board because you're not with a team. And so every team is going to have the same grades on these guys. But I'm going to prioritize the needs that I have. So I think you'll see players get picked that'll be wildly different than where they are on boards.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

So who do you think are the stars then? Like, if you're, if you're saying, you know, it's a lot of starters who are like the, the top guys, like the blue chip dudes who are going to go in and be immediate, you know, huge factors for teams.

[Chris Gall]

I mean, I think there's two stars in the draft. I think it's Abdul Carter and I think it's Travis Hunter. I think those are like the blue chip elite players.

[Pat McAfee]

Tyler Warren.

[Chris Gall]

No, I love Tyler Warren. He's my fifth overall overall player.

[Ian Rapaport]

But you got Gen T2, my third player.

[Chris Gall]

That's what's so weird about this.

[Ty Schmidt]

Upgraded the same as I have the.

[Chris Gall]

Same grade on Warren and Levelan. Again, that's my three of my top seven players. Two tight ends and a running back.

[Ian Rapaport]

Why isn't Travis Hunter being just. We're previewing this, but I hope you don't mind us using the Pat McAfee Show. Real estate is sort of a rundown meeting here. Okay, very good. Why, why isn't Travis Hunter number one overall? Because he is a unicorn. And by the way, he just came up with a sound bite of the week as far as I'm concerned. He was asked at his press conference while I think while you were talking to Tyrese here that, you know, are you going to return punts and kicks? And his answer was, I already have two jobs, Beast.

[Pat McAfee]

That is a sick bar, that is.

[Ian Rapaport]

I already have two jobs. Like everybody back off. I'm a friggin unicorn. So why, why isn't he considered first overall?

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, he's second for me. And that more is about how special Abdul Carter is and the position that he plays. I just, I'm going to value somebody who can go get the quarterback. In a league where I rank it quarterback, pass rushers, that's one and two of the most valuable assets you can have. And we're coming off of a Super bowl that we just witnessed. What happens when you have dominant defensive front players? Now he's unique in terms of all the different things he can do. I'm not convinced he can run it out there. 100 snaps a game in the NFL playing against, you know, that competition for the long, you know, prolonged season. I think he's going to have to. To major in minor and you got to figure out which one of those he's going to major in, which one he's going to mine.

[Pat McAfee]

So I think if you were to like Chuck Pagano for instance, he said if you can get a lockdown corner guy that can go on an island, you go ahead and do that and then give him a couple plays on offense to take advantage of his skill set, especially with the game coming back to being a physical one. If you can go man on the outside, which I think obviously everybody wants to be able to do, but if you can go man or have a guy that can go man, I mean, that's a game changer for the rest of the box to try to stop the run, which I think is where the game's headed. But I'm very fascinated by Travis Hunter because, you know, you ask these people, is he a wide receiver, is he a cornerback? And you ask him, obviously he says, I'm different. He said, I'm different. People say, never been done before. Nobody ever done it like I do. And he's I'm just different. A lot of good bars coming out of Travis Hunter. And I think he's uber competitive. Everybody says all he does is like, ball doesn't really go out.

[Chris Gall]

He's supposed to be a great kid.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Works his ass off. Like he's 113 snaps a game, I think, or is some sort of record in this entire thing. So his durability has been fantastic. The way he's come through, you know, the prime university to be a professional athlete, it's like feels like he is a can't miss type of guy.

[Ian Rapaport]

100% at one of the positions. Right. And at one point, best too.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Ian Rapaport]

And at one point of his career, you'll. You'll figure which one he's going to major in specifically. And then, you know, that's why I don't know how you pass up on him. Like, period. End of story.

[Chris Gall]

I just. The only thing I would push back.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, dj, listen. Listen to us. Okay.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Chris Gall]

By the way, we haven't even got to Will Howard yet. I would have had that on. My bingo card is already coming up with Pat. It's coming.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll give you a short amount of time so you can't explain. Thank you. Thank you.

[Chris Gall]

But I mean, Abdul Carter, we watched him with one arm so good in the playoffs dominate.

[Pat McAfee]

We were there. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

It was dominant.

[Pat McAfee]

I got some hemo stats on Abdul Carter.

[Chris Gall]

You want to know something crazy? And this is, this is fully, you know, recognizing Travis Hunter and his greatness. I'm not so sure if they raced that Abdul Carter wouldn't win.

[Ian Rapaport]

Really?

[Chris Gall]

Abdul Carter, I was told when he has a full Runway to get healthy and run, that he'll run in the four threes.

[Pat McAfee]

Unbelievable. As a pass rusher. So that makes sense for what Hembo sent over. Most pressures vs Ohio State last season, Abdel Carter with five. Most pressures vs Oregon last season. Abdel Carter was six. Most pressures vs Notre Dame last season. Abdel Carter was seven. That was when he was injured or whatever. Okay, then. Most pressures in 2024 inside two and a half seconds. Okay, so you talk about his speed inside 2 1/2 seconds. Abdel Carter had 37 of them. James Pierce Jr. Had 29 inside 2.25 seconds. Now we're getting this is crazy turnstile tackle type thing happened there. He had 29 of those. So basically only 8 of them were between 225 to 2,5. And the next closest was James Pierce with 19. So he has as many in 2.25 seconds as Pierce had in 2 and a half seconds. You're talking about just getting to the quarterback immediately. He's running a four, three, this guy.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, but we're not going to see it here. We'll have to wait till it's pro day.

[Pat McAfee]

No, but just in life. That's what.

[Chris Gall]

That's how explosive he is. That's just how dynamic and he plays through pain.

[Pat McAfee]

Now I got the foot thing now, right? What's his foot thing?

[Chris Gall]

So I guess they thought he might have to have surgery then. The latest we heard today was that he's going to put that he doesn't need it. He's going to be able to go with the pro day and full go.

[Pat McAfee]

Eight weeks. Like, if Schefter's report is accurate, which we assume it is, Schefter said he had two options.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Option one is get the surgery, get a bolt. Here it is right here. Option one for Carter would be to have the preemptive surgery, have a screw inserted his right foot and be expected back in eight weeks. Option two for Carter would be to bypass the surgery, conduct his protein, prove to interval teams that he doesn't need it because he's probably had this for a long time without even knowing it. Maybe they checked it here in medical and my first reaction is like, eight weeks, brother. It's February. You go ahead and get that thing done.

[Chris Gall]

Who cares?

[Pat McAfee]

And then you go into a season, especially if you're a top, let alone a top one guy. But if you're like a top five guy, like, obviously there's a difference in money, but what you're about to do in the NFL is about to be a difference in money. I'd get healthy, but I feel like they probably just assume that it's not that big of a deal. Is that what's.

[Ian Rapaport]

Apparently option two is chosen this morning, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, that's what I heard. Yeah. So do you know anything about that?

[Chris Gall]

No, it just said that this morning the information that was. It wasn't as serious as they saw yesterday. I don't know how that information changes from one day to the next.

[Pat McAfee]

Different doctors, right? In a different medical, different imaging, I guess, really? Isn't that the thing, Rich?

[Ian Rapaport]

Yeah. And then that. That's what this is all about. Like, I remember again back in the day at the RCA Dome when I was just strolling around the combine for the first time, and they used to split up the medical rooms by division, like AFC east, doctors were in one room and central and what have you. Central. Anyway, long story short is I went in there, started talking to some doctors, which probably wouldn't happen today. One guy told me that he in previous combines, saw an X ray and told a guy, you know, you broke your leg back in high school. And the guy's like, no, I didn't. And he showed it to him. He goes, yeah, you did. You just didn't know. You know, I'm like, they find stuff that other places just don't.

[Pat McAfee]

Wasn't there somebody's heart? There was a heart thing somewhere, wasn't there?

[Chris Gall]

I think Maurice Hurst out of Michigan, they found something with him that, you know, heart related. And fortunately, he's had a long, long career here.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, like, one team deemed him. No. And then other teams were like, yeah, we'll take this guy in top 10. Like there. It's an interest. Interesting philosophy from doctors having with Kansas.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

City with Trey Smith.

[Pat McAfee]

There it is. That might be.

[Chris Gall]

That's why he fell to the sixth round.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

His knee was all screwed up. And some of the doctors said this might be a problem. And obviously he's been fantastic.

[Ian Rapaport]

And I guess just to bring this conversation full circle, Mad Mel, you're the first person to talk about nuts on the table at the combine since Chris Jones.

[Pat McAfee]

That's on the field, brother. That's on the field, brother.

[Chris Gall]

That was a. Sitting there watching.

[Pat McAfee]

Go.

[Chris Gall]

Oh, man, he pulled his. That's not his hamstring.

[Pat McAfee]

Let it fly, D.J. you need to do that in there. You talk about quarterbacks.

[Chris Gall]

Yes, sir.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, 46 minutes into the hour. Got an out at 57. So I think you have more than enough time.

[Ian Rapaport]

We're good.

[Pat McAfee]

To explain.

[Chris Gall]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

I looked at your. Can you put his mock first. First round up there again? There is a name that I. I don't know if we have exact control. Yeah, there it is. Yeah, I don't see it. Do you guys see it? Am I missing any. What are you looking for a national champion?

[Boston Connor]

Is it four Ohio State guys I see?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I see Abuka's on there.

[Pat McAfee]

I see Henderson. I see Donna Jackson dog.

[Chris Gall]

This is the Will Howard show of record.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, I'm.

[Chris Gall]

I'm.

[Ian Rapaport]

Yeah, okay. He's not up there.

[Pat McAfee]

He's not. Isn't he rich? I don't see him. What is the deal? Like, I love Shador, by the way. Incredibly tough. I liked Shador up there. Cam Ward. I like Cam Ward up there. Like, I am not. This is not taking away from them. This is just saying Jackson dart number three in this draft is what's kind of being talked about. And then Will Howard how do you have him viewed?

[Chris Gall]

He's right in. He's right in there. It's not. He's not far off from Jackson Dart on grade wise for me. And I'll give you. I'll give you some good Will Howard news because I. Because I knew I was going to see Pat and I knew. I talked to teams that have interviewed Will Howard this week and said he's been exceptional, that he's been awesome in the room. And I went back and I wanted to watch kind of the last tail end of games because that's when he caught fire. So after you get through the process, you watch all 330 guys we have here, now you have time to go on a little deeper dive. And the first one I started with. I want to start with Michigan. I know. Didn't go. It went the way you wanted it to go.

[Ian Rapaport]

Oh, very much so, yeah.

[Chris Gall]

Did not go to Ohio State. Wanted that one to go. But can confirm watching that tape, he took a vicious hit.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris Gall]

Early in that game.

[Ty Schmidt]

He's right on the sideline.

[Chris Gall]

And. And he was not. He was not the same later on beyond that.

[Boston Connor]

And he was a Kansas State still.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. As a Wildcat. So seeing that, I kind of excused away some of that performance because I don't know that he was all right in that game. And then he got hot and played exceptionally well. My only concern with him really is just I want to see the quarterback throw live and see the ball come out of his hand, just to see, you know, if there's enough pop and there's enough juice. Because these receivers at Ohio State create so much separation.

[Pat McAfee]

Agreed.

[Chris Gall]

That there's not really. Those tight window throws. There's no need for them. You don't really have to make them.

[Pat McAfee]

There's a couple strikes. There's a couple strikes. I mean, we were on the field watch the last four games.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It's unbelievable.

[Ian Rapaport]

He's eyeballed it.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, that's the thing. So we. And I'm not saying you had the same thought as us actually on CJ Stroud, but, like, when we do these field pass games, me, AJ Darius, a lot of other people, and I'm very lucky at the punter position. I've watched a lot of football from the sideline. Like, I've literally watched a lot of football. So you see some of these guys and you look like, oh, that's a Sunday guy. Right. Like, that is clearly a different guy. We saw CJ Against Georgia, and he had ran more than he had for the Rest of the season, it was like, that's the guy right there. That is the guy. For Will Howard, it was just like, as we were watching him, I'm like, nobody's really talking. He's six four. He's got the size 240. He's got it all the boys like. And whenever things go south, especially with a transfer guy that got paid a bunch of money, especially with all the egos that could potentially be in that building, they could have turned their back on him. Instead, he had touchdown celebrations with dances. With all of his skill, he was able to handle personality, and then he was making these throws. Now, granted, that guy's unguardable. So is everybody else. Except for against Michigan, right, Rich?

[Ian Rapaport]

Well, no, I mean, like that ball. Listen, he balled out, and in the playoffs, there's just.

[Pat McAfee]

No.

[Ian Rapaport]

There's no two ways about it, and there's no two ways about it. He was hurt. Michigan. Michigan really hurt him in that game. And I. C.J. stroud had the best workout of a quarterback I think I've ever seen at a combine.

[Pat McAfee]

He's here, right? And he threw.

[Chris Gall]

He was unreal.

[Ian Rapaport]

He threw every throw. He was dynamite. He was amazing. My only question is, Will Howard, when he throws here, is it going to be really weird for him? Because I don't think he's played in this building.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, wow. All right, that's true.

[Ian Rapaport]

This is the home of the Big Ten championship, and I don't think he is.

[Pat McAfee]

Is this going to be the first.

[Ian Rapaport]

Time he throws in this building?

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, let's. So let's stick on that note, shall we? Sure. Let's stick on that note with Michigan. How many did Jim say yesterday? Maybe four. So it's.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's Mason Graham, it's Kenneth Grant, it's Colston Loveland and Will Johnson.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Okay, so are we going to be able to continue to replenish all these guys up in Michigan? Are we a little bit worried?

[Ian Rapaport]

When you say we, what do you mean? Like, collectively we?

[Pat McAfee]

No, I'm just saying, are we? If I was able to, why would I be worried?

[Ty Schmidt]

Why would I be millions for break?

[Ian Rapaport]

Well, when you say you. I didn't give.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, I thought it was you.

[Ian Rapaport]

No, no, no, it wasn't me.

[Boston Connor]

You own Oracle, right?

[Ian Rapaport]

No, no. You know, I. I own something that Oracle, I think, created, you know. You know, 200 billion.

[Pat McAfee]

What is that?

[Ty Schmidt]

What is Oracle Database?

[Boston Connor]

Cloud computer.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's. What.

[Ian Rapaport]

It's a great company. It's outstanding. And it's.

[Pat McAfee]

It's.

[Ian Rapaport]

It. It's A. It's a revenue generator, Pat, you know, but yes, the Michigan did splurge and it's fantastic, you know, and they finished awesome. That was great. You know, January 1, 2024, beating Alabama in the Rose bowl and December 31, beating Alabama twice in the same year around beating Ohio State. And it was just. Those were just great days in my life, Pat.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, you guys beat Alabama twice and Ohio State twice in the same year. I mean, that's.

[Ian Rapaport]

Well, yeah, I mean, in an actual calendar year, the first day of the year and the last day of the year was beating at Alab. Yeah. And then Ohio State with, you know, a. A walk on quarterback and you know, five losses and it's just. Honestly, I'd rather talk about all that.

[Pat McAfee]

Can I.

[Chris Gall]

Can I ask Pat a local question here?

[Pat McAfee]

Sure.

[Ian Rapaport]

I think that's a great idea, whatever it might be.

[Chris Gall]

Do you guys have a recommendation for a good smoothie spot?

[Pat McAfee]

Tropical smoothie cafe is the right.

[Chris Gall]

Because I've heard coffee shops not safe these days. So if I want just a little something to point interesting, I would love a.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Stay away from Starbucks.

[Pat McAfee]

Speaking of. Holy, holy. There he is.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, my gosh, he's got a guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Come on.

[Ian Rapaport]

Come on now, ladies.

[Pat McAfee]

Got stitches on his face. NFL Network.

[Ian Rapaport]

NFL Network's greatest Americano. That is Ian Rapaport.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, let's go to this. Gonna eat lightning and crap thunder in order of venti. All right, so let's. Let's go to the tail of tape first here real quick. We do have one of these just so we know exactly who we are. Oh, my God. Who we are. Chit chatting with here. Growing offensive, but not that far off. Yeah, okay. Okay. Nonetheless, Starbucks standoffs captivated the world. Allegedly, you know, had a little face to face a disagreement. Rapaport, one of the participants. Rap sheet joining us now.

[Ian Rapaport]

Unknown Unlimited is the other one.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, okay. All right. We see it rap. Okay. Rap Unlimited. We wake up this morning.

[Ian Rapaport]

Oh, yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

We know that the whole world knows about everything that has taken place. What's the mindset like? And where do we go from here, Bob? Okay, so last night.

[Ian Rapaport]

Stand more to your left.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. And back up a little bit. It looks like you're in a mug show, by the way.

[Ian Rapaport]

That's why. That's why you didn't get touched. Did you see that black, you see that? Move back.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Good feet. Quick shoulder roll in there too. All right, go ahead, sir.

[Matt Rule]

So last night when it all broke.

[Pat McAfee]

Everyone in the world text me wanting.

[Matt Rule]

To know details and it Was all. I mean, it's all out there.

[Pat McAfee]

Florio basically wrote the whole thing, so there's not much to add.

[Boston Connor]

Wow.

[Pat McAfee]

And then woke up this morning and.

[Boston Connor]

Everyone in the world has texted me.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, well, we all are happy that you're both okay. We'd like to let that be known. With that being said, what is next? Are you guys going to shake hands before you get out of town or what do we think? I mean, I.

[Ian Rapaport]

He's going to the. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf from now on.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Not another penny. Actually.

[Matt Rule]

A lot of great coffee brands at Duncan is Duncan.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey. We're happy you're okay. We love you. Are you all right, man? You're gonna be okay.

[Matt Rule]

I'm okay.

[Pat McAfee]

We miss you. You had a great season. We were watching. Miss you guys too. Ladies and gentlemen, Rap sheet body armor. Yeah, Smart. I wish you would had a neck race on today when you walked off. All right, boys.

[Ian Rapaport]

Duncachino.

[Pat McAfee]

This. This first hour is wrapping up and we'll be heading into a hard out and you guys will probably go off into the world that you are going to do. Rich, we'd like to wish you absolute best of luck, as you call 45 hours of all this legitimately, we appreciate you doing it, let alone during the season. Okay, so obviously I'm on TV a lot. I do a lot of. During the season, boys and I do a lot of. We're very lucky to do it. You do the same exact shit. And you have NFL game day morning on Sunday, which is like a four hour show.

[Ian Rapaport]

I think it is indeed.

[Pat McAfee]

So the way that you go about doing what you do and your work ethic is something that I admire massively.

[Ian Rapaport]

Right back at you.

[Pat McAfee]

And what you're doing here every single year does not go unnoticed about like how the length of it and everything about it. They got it right. With you as the first hire for NFL Network. Just want to let you know how is the mindset going in?

[Ian Rapaport]

I'm fine. Fired up. It's. You're 22. I heard you're coming on tomorrow, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. 3:15. Fantastic.

[Ian Rapaport]

Very good. Right off.

[Pat McAfee]

They got a camera?

[Ian Rapaport]

No, dude, we will. We'll have a camera for you.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll make sure. Showcase was not a show. Just learned that on the fly in the moment. But it was lucky to be there. Rich, I appreciate you and I can't wait to watch all of the preparation and hard work that you put in over the last few months kind of be on display throughout the entire combine.

[Chris Gall]

You're the man I appreciate you guys.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, Somebody's running a couple four twosies. He said. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That's crazy.

[Ty Schmidt]

Smith's the one name you didn't.

[Ian Rapaport]

I won't be one of them.

[Chris Gall]

He's one of the three.

[Ian Rapaport]

I will not be so quick.

[Pat McAfee]

We got, like 20 seconds for DJ. What does he need to look out for? Maybe from your standard today, we talked.

[Ty Schmidt]

About Kenneth Grant and then Shamar Stewart. There was a couple other Shamar Stuart.

[Chris Gall]

Is going to work out and Jihad Campbell, too.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, we talked about this.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Anybody not going to work out?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Mason Grant.

[Chris Gall]

How much time do you have?

[Ian Rapaport]

No. My God, we're out of time.

[Pat McAfee]

It'll be a great combine.

[Ty Schmidt]

This episode is brought to you by Lifelock.

[Pat McAfee]

During tax season, your personal info travels to a lot of places.

[Ty Schmidt]

Between payroll, your tax consultant, and the IRS.

[Pat McAfee]

If your W2 gets exposed, that's just.

[Ty Schmidt]

The ticket for identity thieves.

[Pat McAfee]

That's why LifeLock monitors millions of data points every second. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix.

[Ty Schmidt]

It, guaranteed, or your money back. Don't let identity thieves take you for a ride.

[Pat McAfee]

Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com podcast terms apply. It's magical for the city of India, and obviously there's a lot of news that comes from here. There's a lot of dreams that come true. There's some nightmares for some teams and some players. There's medical reports, there's conversations, there's mingling, there's tampering, there's magic. In Indianapolis this week, and we can't thank you enough for joining us here on ESPN, ESPN, Disney Plus, YouTube, and TikTok Live. We are the dumbest group of humans that get to do this every day, and we can't thank you enough. Now one of our guys is missing, and it's a shame. If you could send out your T's and P's to Ty Schmidt, we'd be incredibly grateful for that. We think he'll be back soon, but we're not 100% sure. The toxic table is representing still at Boston. Connor rocking an undertaker hat in a Tim Robinson T shirt. You look amazing here for day two of combine, pal.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, thank you very much. I'm glad we had Tyrese on. So I wasn't, you know, the worst dress person here, but this is. Yeah, this is my favorite shirt. You know, it's got kind of the. Everything you want in one person. It's kind of exactly what you're looking for when you're coming to the combine. You know, you want someone who can pull off all these looks, you know, the. The what the hell with the fantastic fedora flap. The. The hot dog. We gotta find this guy. The I don't want to be around anymore guy. I mean, it really is the dangerous driver.

[Pat McAfee]

There's no coffin drop. I don't. I don't think coffin cork tv.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

We are still trying to save coffin flop. But no, it's just got some of the most iconic ones. We don't have all of them, but it's impossible to fit all of them onto one shirt. I mean, you got everything. You got the sloppy stakes or wherever it is, slap them up, you know. But, yeah, it's one of my favorite shirts. I appreciate it.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, no problem. You look great. And obviously any Tim Robinson gear is welcomed on any particular program that we have. If you have a Detroiters thing coming up next, we can't wait to see it. Now, joining you at the talks table, not Ty Schmidt per us, it's actually Mad Mel Kuiper. Mad Mel, what are your thoughts on Rich Eisen, Daniel Jeremiah and the combine as a whole here, pal?

[Boston Connor]

You know, just. Again, absolutely unbelievable being here in Indianapolis. It's just great being around a bunch of people who look up to you and, you know, have said, you know, man, this is the reason I kind of got into this. Guys like you really paved the way for me to be able to kind of break down the combine, look at all the different prospects and go through their intangibles, their athleticism, all the requisite abilities are going to need to perform in the NFL. So it's nice, you know, kind of coming here. And I mean, I, you know, I don't want to pat myself on the back too much, but basically being the king of the city for a week.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. And you're the king of every city, we think. And speaking of, there goes rap. Rap. We love you rap. Careful, Rap.

[Boston Connor]

What a couple days for that guy.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Careful.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's not a Starbucks cup.

[Pat McAfee]

Yep. And I don't think there will ever be another star. We love you rap. Love you rap.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Java House rap.

[Pat McAfee]

1/2 of the Hammer Cowboys. Tone Diggs is here. Tone, big day today at the combine. A lot of things are going to happen here.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, a lot of big human beings moving quickly today. There was a couple guys that I picked out that, you know, are going to be working out today that are going to work out really well, starting with Kenneth Grant. He's a D tackle out of Michigan. He's 6, 3, 3, 42. He actually said yesterday that he dropped to 330 for the combine so that he could run in the 4 7, 48 range at 330, 340. So he is going to be a huge people mover to watch today. Another one is Jalen Walker who was the Buckeus award winner. He actually won that over Abdul Carter for the best defensive player in the country. He's 62250 and they say he could probably run like in a 44 range linebacker out of Alabama. Jihad Campbell who is an off ball linebacker but he came out of high school playing edge. He is 63250 who's also going to run in the 446 today and his take like you when he sees the ball he just go gets it. He's awesome. And then the last one out of Texas A and M Shamar Stewart who is just a freak, he is 66, 280 and they think he he's a five star coming out and he think he could run in the four fives today at 66 like 270, 280. So yeah there's a lot of freaks, a lot of them out of the SEC coming out today who are going to run.

[Pat McAfee]

Well of course you're on ESPN so you're going to say that that makes sense.

[Ty Schmidt]

One was from Michigan though. But no, there's going to be a lot of big dudes running fast and that's kind of been the tradition not tradition the way that the the draft has gone. A lot of guys getting bigger and a lot of guys getting faster.

[Pat McAfee]

A lot of workouts, a lot of meetings, a lot of medical. Also a lot of people speaking to the media. We heard Brett Veach speak on the Travis Kelce future conversation and speculation. We heard coach Andy Reid speak on the speculation of Travis Kelce's future and I decided to reach out to source says who know and say like hey what's are we still are we are we playing next year? To my source says and message was my dog. Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point. Three source says says I'm coming back for sure. Gonna try and get to the best shape I've been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can't go out like that. Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point and guess what. One more exclamation. Wow. Huge. Okay so so that's the Travis Kelce future conversation.

[Ty Schmidt]

So he's probably coming back.

[Pat McAfee]

I think, I think he could probably, I think he could say, I think you'd say Travis Kelce is coming back to play football yet again. And I think, you know, he had that idea, I would assume before the super bowl whenever he did media day, he said, in three years I see myself playing football yet. But then with the way that game goes, knowing that he is an Ohio guy who's a football guy with how everything has gone and what his career has been. Remember, remember the Chiefs weren't always good. When he was on that team, he had to persevere. He had to continue to grow, evolve. He got better as a player, as a human, I would assume he would predict as a professional, everything. And then he's gotten to the point now where he's in goat conversations with anybody that's talking about tight ends. That's a situation that doesn't happen to many players in the history of the game. And obviously he has represented our sport fantastically while dating the most famous person on earth. Yeah, we love Travis. Now, obviously, whenever he you're in the public eye, there are going to be things that are going to come out from people's mouths that aren't as positive all the time. There's going to be reasons for people to find to hate Travis Kelsey. There's going to be reasons for people to find to hate the Kansas City Chiefs. There's going to be reasons for people to hate Taylor Swift. Even though a lot of it makes no sense to me sometimes if you're just on the top of the mountain, people are going to throw rocks at things that shine. Shout out Taylor Swift for that particular quote. But what, what you can't deny is the greatness of Travis Kelce. You can't deny that he is one of one. You can't deny that he is an anomaly. You can't deny that the guy loves ball. Fully committed and in the Andy Reid, accountability driven type building. I don't think enough credit is given about this guy being an absolute dog day in, day out. Showing up to work, already great already rich, already has a resume already in the hall of Fame and it's like he's a guy that loves ball and we love Travis and I'm excited to see him get back on the field, get in the best shape that he's been. I'm excited to see what that means because a lot of people think he could potentially get distracted by Taylor. I think he gets motivated by Taylor. Yes, I Think like those two being together makes them both want to continue to grow and get even better. I'm excited to see what he looks like coming back next year. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

And look what they do every offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs, they reload. You know, I assume after the game there, there are probably some thoughts like, hey, if Rasheed Rice is out on that field, if we are fully healthy and no team by the time they get to the super bowl is fully healthy. But I assume those thoughts creep in. He just started kind of coaching Rasheed Rice up like he was off to a historic start for the Kansas City Chiefs. Rashee Rice before, you know, he was out for the season then even just look at his brother. You know, when his brother Jason lost the super bowl to the Chiefs, he came back for a year. Obviously last year year the Eagles lose to the Bucks in the first round, he ends up retiring. I bet Jason Kelce probably wish he didn't retire.

[Pat McAfee]

He's open about it.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, exactly. So it's one of those things too. And if, if you were to talk to the closest people around him, I bet their advice would be like, hey, why the hell would you retire? You guys are still in prime position to go back to the Super Bowl. It's not like after that loss, you know, they're going to completely crumble. They still have Mahomes, it's still Andy Reid, their team is still unbelievable. Guys still want to go to Kansas City and you know, ring chase and kind of be in the conversation as one of those top four teams in the league. And it feels like the Chiefs are going to be right back where they were last year. And Kelsey being in the best shape of his life, I'm sure they're going.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

To be even better.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

And they were the one seed, so who knows?

[Pat McAfee]

We talked about how, you know, everybody said they were playing bad as being the chip on this team that's in the middle of a dynastic run back to back world champions. And then people are saying this team's not good, this team's not good. All that does. And I think AJ brought it up when he was there super bowl week at Radio Row. He is on a cruise right now for Ohio State in the middle of the Caribbean. He'll be back next week. But he chit chatted about how, you know, all you people that are saying you hate the Chiefs and you think they're bad and all that stuff, like you are their motivation. Like when those guys get to the top of the mountain, they're trying to Find chips to put on the shoulder. So now getting your ass beat in, but in your stage, that is your state, the super bowl has become your residency. And play bad, get your ass beat. People chirp loud it's like there's almost like a, I assume a resurgence that's about to happen in that Kansas City building. Do you feel the same, Mad Mel?

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, without a doubt. And then also people, you know, on top of it are cherry picking plays, you know, from, from the game when they're getting killed and saying, oh, this guy doesn't care anymore. You know, this guy doesn't want to play hard anymore. And I think, you know, a big part of it too is they talk about, hey, the media aspect. He's going to be able to get whatever, whatever job he wants. He's going to be on whatever pre game desk he wants. He's in the next, you know, Happy Gilmore movie, all that kind of stuff. So why would you play? You're going to be one of the biggest stars on the planet. All that stuff. Still going to be there. Okay? This guy isn't going to wake up tomorrow and all of a sudden not be able to play football anymore. Not want to play football anymore. I think you mentioned it's a big part of it. You date someone like Taylor Swift, like you're not just, you know, riding coattails and saying, oh, well, you know, she's a billionaire. I'm going to be able to do nothing. And you know, he's very wealthy on his own, but you see how hard she works, touring everywhere, having 150, 200 shows a year, going to every single continent. If you're in love with someone and you're around someone all the time, like, guess what? That's, that's reigniting that fire in, in your own body to say, hey, you know what?

[Pat McAfee]

Like Connor, I could be a better me.

[Boston Connor]

I'm going to get in the best shape of my life. Okay, we're not that. We just lost in the Super. Super Bowl. Who's. Listen, the Chiefs are going to be around, okay? They're going to have an opportunity to win another super bowl next year. It makes sense. I mean, Kelsey's going to play until the wheels fall off.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel, you do love love, don't you?

[Boston Connor]

Who doesn't?

[Pat McAfee]

There are people out there that want the devil.

[Ty Schmidt]

Satan.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Satan. I bet he does.

[Pat McAfee]

I think he does love love, actually, with himself. So there is. Yeah, I guess it'd be more of an infatuation, some people. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah. Lust, I suppose you could say.

[Pat McAfee]

But A lot of people said that their relationship was all bullshit, but it turns out that their relationship might be the greatest thing that has happened in, like, the zeitgeist of the most famous people on earth. And then also for Travis Kelce to be like, oh, I can. Because you watch greats. He is one in the NFL. How they work, how they go about doing their thing, how you can continue to learn and evolve and get better as you go through. People are always trying to take shit from other people. You know, like Tyrese said the biggest thing about the Olympics was watching the other guys work and how they go about doing their things. Like, whenever we get to go watch WWE do their thing and we see them do stuff, and it's like, you can learn from that. I'm assuming that Travis is learning a lot of. About a lot of shit from Taylor, because she is. We're talking about the one here and her work ethic. And I've heard some songs, you know, through my wife, and she's dated some bums, and it's not worked out without a doubt. I think the reason why. Why this is going to work out is because Travis is not a bum. He's Ohio guy, football guy. He's got a work ethic, you know, he wants to continue. So I love everything about.

[Ty Schmidt]

Let's not forgot. Mahomes is in his revenge hair era as well.

[Pat McAfee]

So he's been waiting to cut that hair for years. Last year, he said in that quarterback documentary, he said, I don't want to be the dad with a mullet. You know, I kind of. I want to cut my hair, but we're winning, so I can't. It's hard for me.

[Ty Schmidt]

He cut it pretty quickly.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he couldn't wait as soon as I. Game was over.

[Ty Schmidt]

He looks a lot younger, too.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he looks good. Like, I think this is exactly what he potentially thought. Like, maybe sometimes he pulled his hair back and was like, I. I can look like. Like an adult if I really want to do it. And that was his words, not ours. Correct. And he did. He pulled the trigger. And on Texas Tech, that kid buried that putt. Did you say a full court putt?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That was sweet.

[Pat McAfee]

Patrick jumped up with the thing. Looks like he's obviously.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

He had a shiny.

[Ty Schmidt]

He loves it.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Cross on, too.

[Pat McAfee]

He does. He's good. Hey, I. The Chiefs is still the Chiefs, I think, even though the Eagles is definitely the Eagles, without a doubt. Yeah, we need to remember that the Eagles is definitely the Eagles.

[Ty Schmidt]

I bet you the Chiefs probably take a couple alignment in this draft.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. That's what Andy Reid did the last time they lost in the Super Bowl. To a team that got a lot of pressure and were able to do their thing to an offensive line. They reloaded the offensive line, so let's assume they'll do the same this offseason. Coach Matt Rule from Nebraska, formerly of the Carolina Panthers and Baylor and Temple will join. Join us in about 25 minutes or so. Okay. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is ESPN fantasy expert, draft guru, football genius, ladies and gentlemen, Field Yates.

[Field Yates]

Good to see you.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. What up, dude? Good to see you, dude. I was clean. All right.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, good D puffs all the way around.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was pretty clean. That was pretty clean.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's a good shirt.

[Field Yates]

That was big. That's big.

[Pat McAfee]

The dap.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, worked on it. I knew Matt Mel was going to be. I couldn't let him down.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, so we need to. It's wrapped around the cord. The cord. No other way.

[Ty Schmidt]

There you go.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

There you go.

[Pat McAfee]

We kind of set you up to fail there.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It's okay. That was rich.

[Pat McAfee]

And you gotta lift that. Yeah. And you can tighten if you need to. There we go.

[Ty Schmidt]

That was rich.

[Field Yates]

We good?

[Pat McAfee]

Better feel. Do you look great.

[Field Yates]

Thanks. Appreciate that. Means a lot.

[Pat McAfee]

Field. Somehow you look younger this year than he did last year, doesn't he, man, Mel, he does.

[Boston Connor]

He does. Clean shaven.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, that's what it was, right? I haven't shaved in a while, so it doesn't make much of a difference, unfortunately.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's actually a two week, five hour Valentine's Day.

[Field Yates]

Valentine's Day. I shave right before the big night out.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so let's talk about this time of year. Obviously, very exciting for you. Draft boards, you know, potential draft picks, combine scouting. What is your big takeaway? What are you into right now? What is the big conversation point around field? Yates rating?

[Field Yates]

I love. I mean, I love the combine wicket, not just because it's here in Indianapolis, but also because it allows you to fill in some of the blanks on some of these prospects. You know, players that are further down the board, I don't think are going to move as much for me, but some of the players at the very top, you're trying to get a great feel of. Hey, I might think this guy is the 10th best player in the draft, but maybe some people around the NFL think he's closer to 15 or 20. And some cases, as ridiculous as it may seem, you guys all know this. Now, like, there are some positions and some players that the difference between 44840 and a 4, 5240 could be the difference between going 10th or 20th overall. He's not going to work out this week, but Will Johnson, cornerback from Michigan, is like a good example of somebody that I'm thinking of when I talk about the difference of a, you know, 5, 100 of a second that this guy who was a great player for his entire college career. But if you just look at historical trends, there aren't that many four, five or slower corners that have gone in the first like 8, 10, 12 picks.

[Pat McAfee]

So it could be safety in there.

[Field Yates]

Which is a ridiculous thing to do, truthfully. Like the guy was such a great player at Michigan, but the league has told us, and we see it every year, guys slide down just a little bit because of a 40 yard dash or, you know, the three call, whatever it might be.

[Pat McAfee]

Xavier Worthy just ran a 4, 2, 1. They're saying two more guys are about to run four twos, including another wide receiver. That's, that's why the corners have to be.

[Field Yates]

Gotta be fast.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it's like it is, it is a, it is a unicorn island out there. You gotta earn. Now I'm not, this is not me downgrading anybody's football ability, especially old buddy Will up at Michigan. I'm not saying that. But having enough, being able to put your ego aside enough to move positions to go to the NFL is a big part of this whole thing as well. I think learning about the guys personally is what a lot of these coaches kind of want to find out about here at the combine. How have you heard about those things?

[Field Yates]

I've heard more feedback already this week about the interviews than anything that's taking place or probably anything that will take place over these next few days. And usually it's, it's not like the average. It's usually the guys that you sit there and you say to yourself, I don't know if that guy's that great of a player, but at least I know the floor is high because of the human that he is. Or there's a guy that seemingly has all the talent in the world and you just don't feel like, like when you make this guy or maybe not with the un alier, some of these guys already are extremely well paid. But like for some of these guys, they're going to become overnight millionaires. And listen, we all, at a certain age of our life, 22, 23 years old, if you handed me a seven figure check, it'd be hard to keep your focus and motivation Anybody that's going.

[Pat McAfee]

To get a seven figure check from this draft is already a millionaire.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, that's probably true.

[Pat McAfee]

Good point.

[Field Yates]

Right?

[Pat McAfee]

That is. That's the world that we're in right now.

[Field Yates]

It's true. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Which goes back. Hold on though. That goes back to like trying to find people that still are dogs, still work hard.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, totally.

[Pat McAfee]

Still want to go and get it, you know, because they've been rich for a while. Caleb Williams was trying to start an investment fund. That's right. Yeah. Before he got drafted. It's like, this guy has enough money to start a fund before he even gets drafted. It's like, how's he going to continue to maintain motivation? It's like, well, he's chasing greatness. It's like not everybody at every position is doing that though. And you got to find those guys.

[Field Yates]

Totally. You know, I actually used a couple years ago and I wasn't doing this role for espn, so I wasn't as deep in the weeds on the draft coverage. But Pukinakua obviously becomes this unbelievable fifth round pick. And so what I told myself going.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Into last draft, great double bowler, allegedly.

[Field Yates]

Guy does it all. I said, I need, I'm going to start surveying scouts and just say, like, give me a player that fits the Puka Nukua mold. Not in the sense that you think he's going to become an All Pro right away, but regardless of how talented or not talented he is. Your bet on the person and you're just saying to yourself, like, I'll take 22 of those guys and feel like I got a shot. And so I started to do that exercise this year as well. And I'm not talking about guys that are going to go necessarily in the first round, but it is interesting when you hear the guys that are going to go in the first round, like, I just got the first name that comes to mind. He goes. Travis Hunter goes. No doubt. He goes. Do you understand the discipline it takes to not just play 115 snaps a game is ridiculous? Literally nobody else does it.

[Pat McAfee]

Right.

[Field Yates]

But twice the positional meetings, twice the film study, like just the conditioning is a huge aspect to it. And he was like, I don't care.

[Pat McAfee]

Can't be putting any bad things in your body. There's like a level of professionalism that has to be there.

[Field Yates]

Totally.

[Pat McAfee]

And they, Every human body would break down.

[Field Yates]

They almost said like, you know, he. Maybe this isn't the perfect word, but it's almost like he's almost boring in some ways in the sense that like it's ball and more ball. Right. Like, there's not a lot of distraction in Travis Hunter's life, which with the amount of money that I'm sure he's making and the amount of people that I'm sure want a piece of him for him to avoid that distraction, I think only reinforces why not just one of the best prospects in the draft, but also probably one of the best people in the draft. You can count on whether he goes one, probably somewhere between one and four by the time it's all said and done.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so this is a question for what you guys do. Yeah. Okay. The whole draft mock thing, why are people saying this is a deep 3 to 5 draft class? If it's a deep 3 to 5, why aren't they 2 or 1? Like, I don't know what that means. I don't think I know exactly what that means. Like, hey, the fifth rounders, really good this year. Well, why aren't they fourth rounders? You know, I don't think I fully understand. So can you understand the. The framing whenever that's said, as opposed to what my mindset is like, well, if they're betting, then why aren't they right?

[Field Yates]

Why don't you just move up the board? If they're so good in the third, why don't they just become second or first? It is a good question. And I thought about this because I, I was going through, I keep like a sort of a running document of these guys because the process begins for the draft really basically, like May of the preceding year. So guys like Travis Hunter and Shador Sanders, who you knew were going to be highly regarded prospects this year, you start looking at them initially, not doing every last bit of homework you're going to do on them, but you start to get a sense. And I think, like, I was realizing, like, I called a lot of guys when I was looking like, you know, has the look of a third round pick, and you're like, what does that even mean?

[Pat McAfee]

Yes.

[Field Yates]

And it's like, I think where I.

[Pat McAfee]

Landed was a slower 40, a little.

[Field Yates]

Slower wide receiver, but has great, you know, has great hands. Right. Or like, you know, he's a smaller guy, but he's tough and he blocks. And you're just sort of like, is that the spectrum you should be evaluating these players on? Because it does feel like that has become the theme of this class is that you'd much rather have a bunch of bites at the apple from, call it 75 to 150, as opposed to the team that has two first round picks which interestingly enough, we have no. There have been no traded picks for the first time in a long time in the first round. There will be at some point, but it's a very clean draft in terms of the order to begin.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, you trade whenever you're desperate for a certain position and that position has not been talked about in high regards. Which leads to mad Mel, I assume.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, that's what I wanted to ask you about, Field. Obviously, you know, in your most recent mock draft, you didn't have any trades in there. Yeah, you know, didn't have any trades in the first round.

[Field Yates]

But you made that rule, Mel.

[Boston Connor]

Well, I had to, you know, because. Because we don't know. But when you look at this draft and everyone's talking about, hey, what are the Tennessee Titans going to do with the first pick? Do you feel like we're going to have next to no trades in the first round? Because team just aren't going to be as desperate to, you know, give a, you know, an absolute ransom to move up when we might only have, you know, 10 to 15 guys with true first round greats.

[Field Yates]

I think we'll end up having some trades at the top for this reason. It kind of reminds me of where we were from, like picks 9 through 12 last year where at 10 the jets end up trading back to 11 with the Vikings. And you're like, why, why, why are you moving up one spot? It was just to beat the Broncos, Right. It was to ensure the debt that Denver didn't move ahead of the Vikings and potentially draft JJ McCarthy, who as we know was Minnesota's preferred target there. Like that could happen at the top. If you look at the order there, like if the. Let's imagine a world in which the Giants and the Raiders don't land a veteran quarterback. They need to draft the quarterback early. Right. Well, the jets may be in the same boat. Like if they go into the draft with only Tyrod Taylor and Jordan Travis, who was their fifth round pick last year, they're probably saying to themselves, we'd like a young quarterback too. So if the jets call the Jaguars and say we're trying to get ahead of Vegas, that might cause a chain reaction that might lead to Vegas calling the Patriots and saying, we're trying to get back ahead of the Jets. So I think we'll see some tinkering there. And because you're right, like, and now I'm starting to wonder whether I should even use this contract anymore. There's not as many guys that like in every single draft class would be regarded as clear cut first round picks. You might see some movement there in the 20 to 32 range.

[Pat McAfee]

Just because.

[Field Yates]

Some of it's just because. But like a few years ago like the Bills moved up to get Dalton Kincaid and the Jags moved up to get Anton Harrison. Like you start to see that.

[Pat McAfee]

But also the guys, the teams that are on the earlier pick side of that particular trader, like yeah, we'll take a little bonus because we're not 100% sold on somebody. So it's an easier deal maybe to get done in this particular draft class if you start listening the way it is. So maybe there is more action than we expect because it's easier to kind of finangle around.

[Field Yates]

I do think it's one of the best parts of the draft too. Like I just, I find it always like exciting when you got Travis going one there.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I do. Yeah, you got Travis going one. Which then would lead Cleveland saying we're not passing on Abdul Carter.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, no, though this mock was before Shefte came out and basically said like the Browns are taking a quarterback at number two. You might as well. I wouldn't go as far as Sharpie, but like we're thinking about like the Browns and Cam Ward might be the fit there. You know, I feel like the two players, the two non quarterbacks are the two best players in the draft. Obviously if the quarterback hits, it's more valuable. I just, I haven't had the same level of confidence in these two quarterbacks as I had with the three at the top last year for sure. But Even I think JJ McCarthy would be like a healthy debate with these two players. JJ obviously was the fifth quarterback taking but I viewed him as the, I.

[Pat McAfee]

Mean you're talking about a number three overall pick right here. Like whenever he's saying I don't feel as good about as last year's quarterbacks or whatever, like people are going to say he's talking down on these still number three overall pick. Yeah, like this is not it. Yeah, this is not it.

[Field Yates]

And they're going to go high. Like I think the floor for either of these guys is probably like I just can't imagine both of them don't end up in the first seven to nine picks and it could end up being first two out of three picks. And the reality is that like in the case of a team like the Giants, I say this all the time when the owner comes out and says after the season we're keeping our head coach and our gm. It means they got to get something done the next year or else they won't be around beyond that season. So if you're the Giants and you don't swing a trade for Matthew Stafford or find somebody on the veteran market, you're not going into next year with. They don't have a quarterback on the roster right now. But you're not going back on. You're not going to like, re sign Drew Locker, Tom DeVito, yeah. Tommy Cutlett and say. Hey.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey.

[Field Yates]

So.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. How do you feel about Italians field?

[Field Yates]

I love them.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Field Yates]

I don't know how you could.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Connor has a question. You know what?

[Field Yates]

I had some good meals down in Epcot. I know you're at Disney last week, right?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Field Yates]

Italy and Epcot.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh.

[Field Yates]

Maybe the best food offerings in the entire place. Did you get there or.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, I just. I didn't make it to the whole world thing.

[Boston Connor]

Ah.

[Pat McAfee]

I should have, but we were there with a daughter. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Around the world.

[Pat McAfee]

I want to do the. The drink around the world.

[Boston Connor]

Boozed up.

[Field Yates]

Gotta do it.

[Pat McAfee]

But then if. Yeah. I think mackenzie's got to be a little bit older. Yeah. Probably have a couple friends. Yeah.

[Field Yates]

That's what we did. Our three year old was. I mean, that she was in her happy place. It was great, dude.

[Pat McAfee]

It was awesome.

[Field Yates]

The best.

[Pat McAfee]

I had such a good time down there.

[Field Yates]

Oh, it's awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

Watching her just lose her mind was crazy. And then I just cut. Everybody at Guardians of Galaxy look like the biggest.

[Field Yates]

How did that go? It worked.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I look like biggest asshole of all time. But when he got on the ride and then kind of when you, when you cleared the room.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, you forget pretty quick.

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

So obviously right now everyone's kind of waiting to see what happens with Stafford and, you know, Rogers and some other guys.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Do you think it is possible where, if there is none of those, you know, quarterback sign in those first three picks between, you know, Cleveland, the Giants and Tennessee, who I think we all consider teams that are looking for quarterbacks, that there's a trade up to one.

[Pat McAfee]

Where.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Where let's say Tennessee ends up being, you know, a Stafford or a Rogers destination, where they might end up moving the first pick or do you even see where, you know, even if the Giants were to get a Rogers or something along those lines, that they still might just take a quarterback because they don't want to be or expect to be up there in the, you know, next few years.

[Field Yates]

I think what's interesting for Tennessee is that they might be able to drum up a bidding war between Cleveland and the Giants and not, I mean not that either one of them would would for sure make that move up there. But just because, you know, you'll hear this often. I think DJ may have said it just a few minutes ago as well. Like, I think the league on average views Cam Ward as a higher rated prospect than Shador Sanders. But if the Giants say hey listen, we're, we're bigger Shadors Shooter Sanders guys than Cam Ward guys or bigger Cam Ward guys than Shooter Sanders guys and Cleveland might see it the same way, then you're not going to settle. Right. Like teams view quarterbacks. It's almost like it's like how hunting like you got different preferences than other people do what you actually want in that player. So Tennessee might be able to say, hey, if we think Cleveland and New York are both, you know, they would both take Cam Ward without a problem but would bypass Shador Sanders might be able to create some leverage there and potentially move down the difference that Tennessee has in those guys. They both all three teams need a quarterback. But first year gm, second year head coach and Brian Callahan, they don't need to solve the quarterback situation right now to make sure make sure that they're still going in 20, 26 and beyond. And while will Levis, you know, there's more questions than answers so far. Still young enough and it was a highly drafted enough player. You could probably talk yourself into another year of trying to develop him a little bit further.

[Pat McAfee]

I'm fascinated by you know, like if the Raiders draft a quarterback which everybody's assuming or maybe they get a veteran quarterback depending upon who's skiing where. Yeah they go when and all that type of stuff. It's like you go to a team with Tom Brady is the one of the owners. Like that's a pretty good spot seemingly. Even though you wouldn't expect that in the Raiders are like we need a quarterback. We need a quarterback in this world. Be nice to go to a place with Tom as a potential mentor automatically. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

And everyone wants a young quarterback and Sam Darnold sitting there at what, 27, 28. It's not like he's 35. Like you could get him for 10 years.

[Pat McAfee]

One get game that last game, last two games. Last two games.

[Field Yates]

Influential couple of games.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Field Yates]

Sam came out really young. He was the. I think he was the youngest of those five quarterbacks that went in the first round back in 2018. So it seems weird to think that he's still whatever very much in the prime of his career. Whatever you define as prime as. But Sam will do well for himself in a couple weeks here.

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead, Tone.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, While we're talking quarterbacks, I wanted to ask you about Quinn Ewers, because this time, not this time last year, but let's say after the draft last year, he was basically a guaranteed first round pick. And then it came out, we thought he was playing all season long with a sprained oblique or whatever it was. Comes out he was playing all season with a torn oblique. People you're talking to, does that make a difference? Like, are they watching his 2024 tape differently and maybe reverting back to 2023? Is his stock going to rise because it came out that he was playing all year with a torn oblique?

[Field Yates]

Yeah. I think some people that I talked to had a general sense that was what Quinn was dealing with and they admired the top. I mean, to play through that.

[Pat McAfee]

Absolutely. Texas boy. Yeah.

[Field Yates]

And, you know, like, Texas had somebody, we all know, they had arch weight in the wings. It wasn't like he played because the only option Texas had at quarterback was him. And if, you know, he's letting his entire team down if he doesn't play and they're going to go whatever, five and seven or something. Quinn was. Had an interesting year this year. The Michigan game back in week two of the college football season looked great. We're in this time of the NFL, we're not all. But so many of these quarterbacks have the ability to impact you with. With their legs. Right. These guys are probably better athletes now than they ever have been, with some exceptions, Stafford types and a few others. But for the most part, you think about some of the best quarterbacks in the. In the AFC and M2 championship games, it's Jalen Hurts and Jaden Daniels and then Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, four guys that can really impact the game with their legs. So Quinn's not really going to do that. The arm strength is the one, the part that's come into evaluation with that, with that context because, like, it's hard to throw with. Yeah, it doesn't look like a canon arm, but when you've got really little ability to kind of torque, you know, your frame and drive footballs, it's going to look like it did for much of this past year. So I think this, this week we're talking about the interviews at the beginning of this segment. Like, this would be a good week for Quinn in that regard. Right. Like, he's got some natural leadership skills and he'll do well. Like in terms of meeting with coaches and getting a better feel for the kind of person he is. If I had to guess right now, probably feels like round three for Quinn. But that could be influenced a lot by not just the interviews this week, but also the medical evaluations. His doctors say, hey, I know you're playing through it for the past four months, but it's not going to be an issue come OTAs or minicamps.

[Pat McAfee]

I'll tell you what, if you're looking for a guy who loves ball, especially at the quarterback position, which you're going to want playing through a very significant real injury, especially at the quarterback role, would be a good place to start the conversation. He's been a star since, what, high school? I remember when that mullet getting millions of dollars had to travel up to.

[Boston Connor]

Ohio State, skip a senior year.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Field Yates]

The original nil. Right. He was the first guy that put it on the map, really.

[Pat McAfee]

And he evolved from the 17 year old into this 22 year old that he is, or 21 year old, whatever he is with, you know, dieting and life happening and football happening and everything. It's like, you know, a lot of guys that I think could be great, like Cam Ward, every time I see a video of him and the way he operates, it's like it feels like he's a good leader. Feels like. And then Shador Sanders toughness and that in itself of leadership, and then everything he's been around is like, he could be a great pro. You know, I think there's a lot of guys where it's like, these guys can be great pros, as opposed to each year there's a conversation like, this guy will be a great. Right. That's kind of the difference. Yeah.

[Field Yates]

And I think that this year too, like, and we should probably remind ourselves of this more every year, but like, where you end up and who you end up with can influence your outlook so much. I'm not like, I think Jaden Daniels, you know, the best recent example, like, I think Jaden was probably due for success, probably anyone he went. But I think that his success somewhere else might not have been quite to the level that it was in Washington last year with, you know, coach that had been there and done that and a coordinator that had been the head coach and called a lot of plays and some good veterans around him. And so I think this year, like the fit for these guys will influence the outlook so much more. Probably the best example from last year's class, truthfully, is Bo Nix, because Bo had a ton. I mean, he played forever in college, had a ton of experience. And it was, it wasn't that Bo didn't have a lot of good tape.

[Pat McAfee]

It was.

[Field Yates]

The question was, did Bo do enough things during his time at Oregon that if that was all he was capable of doing at the NFL level, would they travel? Right. Like the average depth of his targets at Oregon last year, a lot of it was just dink dunk and let the guys do the hard work after the catch. Right. But the reality for Oregon was that they said, like, why would we bother? Like, do we need Bo to go bombs away when we're crushing teams every single week, putting up 45 points and throwing for 450 yards. And then in, in Denver, he showed like, you know, he had a couple of ropes this past year, like him and Marvin. Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And Sean Payton's offense was perfect for him.

[Boston Connor]

Perfect.

[Field Yates]

He had, you know, the offensive line was amongst the best in the NFL. Like, that was.

[Pat McAfee]

You talked about Bo playing a lot of football, which I think is a big deal. That's becoming the new, like, talking point for some of these quarterbacks who played a lot of ball. Cams played a lot of ball five years. Chador's played a lot of ball. Jackson's played a lot of ball. Wills played a lot of ball.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, a lot of guys, a lot of experience, really. Like, if you think about the guys that probably have a chance to go early amongst, at least in terms of the quarterback construct, like Jaylen Milro, like a two, two year starter is probably the least experience.

[Ty Schmidt]

I'd say there's a lot of.

[Field Yates]

But that's, but that's still, I mean, two years, that's. You know, we've seen guys in recent drafts, one season and they're getting taken.

[Ty Schmidt]

Tyler Schuck's been there for eight years.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Field Yates]

Tyler Schuck, who. Man, that, that guy's interesting. He's gonna have a good week out here throwing the ball. Like he, he really, it's really natural for him. He was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school way back in the day. He ended up at Oregon Texas second and finished up at Louisville this past season. 26 on, I think September 28th, so the age will be a factor there. But I don't know, I tend to think of it with these quarterbacks that are playing until 35, 36, like you could have a decade of Tyler Schuck if you believe enough in the player.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Weedon came in at 27.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, exactly. Playing Pitch for the Yankees. If when you look at a guy like Jaylen Milro who maybe didn't have the greatest Senior bowl, how, how much can he kind of erase that this week at the combine? Or is that kind of, hey, Hayes in the barn. This guy's got tiny hands and he played like at the senior boy.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you think?

[Boston Connor]

Well, you know, I. His hands are small, very small. So guess what? He better be going to a warm weather city. Okay. And I don't know, you know, do you, do you want to.

[Ty Schmidt]

So fast?

[Boston Connor]

Do you want to draft?

[Pat McAfee]

So he's faster than everybody. He is.

[Boston Connor]

But do you want to draft a quarterback in the second round who your game plan is going to be? All right, hey, listen, we're going to give you 40 carries today maybe, and we're not going to throw the football.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, it's power football world.

[Field Yates]

I'd like him. I would. And this takes a. This takes the right starting quarterback ahead of him who's willing to let somebody else take a package of plays away from him. But I like Jalen right away as getting like almost like a platoon role for a team at quarterback. Because you're right, the passing down in Mobile was inconsistent. It was inconsistent this past season. If he runs, I don't know if he will run, but it's going to be amongst the fastest times of any player here this week at the combine. And if you get an offensive coordinator, and I tend to think right now we're sort of seeing the haves and the haves nots in the NFL. Like you just watch a game and, you know, if the coordinator knows what he's doing, one that knows what he's doing with this guy will find a way, way to take advantage of this speed because, you know. Yeah, I know we're. I just mentioned we're in this era of like incredibly athletic quarterbacks. He'd be on the short list for most athletic the minute he walks into an NFL.

[Pat McAfee]

I think, I think every coach that either coached at Alabama or played against Alabama, I forget, said he would be the best running back in the SEC if he was a running back. I mean, it's like not even a question. Yeah, Bill O'Brien tried to make it happen, which actually gave his spite to Jalen Milroe. And obviously Alabama was able to win a lot of games with Jalen Miller at quarterback. And that is a good thing. But in college ball, in NFL ball, it is different. I mean, that's just a matter of fact. The way it operates, the way it goes it's like Jalen gets on a team. Put him as an X back. Yeah. Take some snaps, have him do push, push if you want to do. He's incredibly strong and he is loved in that locker room. The boys love Jalen Milro. Yeah.

[Field Yates]

Spent a little time around him both at the Senior bowl and prior to that. He's an easy guy. I mean, he comes from a background, military parents, super disciplined. Like, the guy is a great leader. Like, I, you know, I really do believe the right team will have Jalen Milro, not just find success, but, like, sooner rather than later. Like, I just. If you look at all the singular traits that the various players in this class have, his rushing ability is one of the more undeniable ones. And he's got a cannon down the field as well. He's got to totally refine the short, intermediate passing game work, but he can chuck it down the field. And you can just imagine some mad scientist offensive coordinator who runs the ball with him 12 straight times and the next thing you know, fake the run and just bombs away for a 50 yard touchdown.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I can't wait to watch how it all pans out. You know, there's going to be a lot of guys that get drafted that suck, too. That's true. Let's never forget that. Most of them work out.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Most of them, usually.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Percentages tell us a lot of these guys right out here, they can be selling insurance. They're going to be doing very well, though. Strength coach. There's gonna be a lot of strength coaches out here. Yeah. Some big boys coaches, future coaches.

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, you bet.

[Pat McAfee]

But out here, too, there's gonna be hall of Famers. Oh, yeah, right.

[Field Yates]

It's the beauty of it. Like, there's been probably less buzz around this draft class in total compared to last year. It's just because the talent to the top is not regarded as the same way. I think this is a great draft for scouting departments that know what they're doing, man. Like, I bet the Rams who have done a great job.

[Pat McAfee]

You're a former scout, right? Is that correct? Correct.

[Field Yates]

Yeah. But I can't take too much credit for, you know, it was the Chiefs before they were what they are now.

[Pat McAfee]

But you are a scout.

[Field Yates]

I worked.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Field Yates]

I worked for the Chiefs for a couple of seasons and then things got a lot better. So maybe I was the problem, not the solution.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Ty Schmidt]

Hey, but Bill, last season during the draft, Bill Belichick trusted you, so.

[Field Yates]

Yeah, yeah. Bill, who? I worked with the Patriots prior to the time in Kansas City. And that was very, very cool to see Bill take a look at that top 50 and use it during the the extravaganza. Which Green Bay doing it.

[Pat McAfee]

Spectacular.

[Field Yates]

Spectacular. Excuse me. That was a bad one.

[Pat McAfee]

There you are in the right, you know, the right type of word.

[Field Yates]

Too busy thinking about this great point I was going to make that probably won't be that great. This is a draft that I can imagine the teams like the Rams who have nailed the draft in recent years by just finding guys in all parts, like all corners. Right. Like it's the first round pick Jared Verse was great, but like second round pick Braden Fisk and then, you know, two years ago, Puka Nuku on the fifth, like Cam Kenshins in the third round last year. They're probably sitting there saying, that's a good point. You guys don't like it, we'll take round three for five and just feast.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that's a good point. You said it wasn't going to be a good point. That was a great point. That was a great point. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

They're going to have a great draft.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I mean, I think pick four is.

[Field Yates]

Looking good right now. I think there's two quarterbacks could end up, like, if you. If you end up. If you have to settle for one of Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yes, please.

[Field Yates]

Sprint that card in.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, please.

[Field Yates]

I'll let you do the honors of sprinting it in.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, that'd be fantastic. I want one of those.

[Pat McAfee]

What do they got? Compensation and opportunity, they said.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That's right.

[Pat McAfee]

That's a variable.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah. There was a new update about T. Higgins, though, that they're not going to rush to T. Higgins, allegedly.

[Pat McAfee]

That's because T. Higgins allegedly not going to be let out of the building down there. So why would you, you know. True. Yeah. That's an interesting leverage play there. Probably by all sides. Excited to see how it all works out. Draft season is the greatest. And that's when we get a chance to watch this big brain on this baby face operating at size level. We appreciate you, ladies and gentlemen. Field. Yay. Appreciate you, man. You look really cool. You look really, really cool. Really, really cool.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

All right, Phil.

[Field Yates]

Appreciate that. I look really cool.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Always do.

[Boston Connor]

Always a pleasure field. Yep.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

See you soon, Belmont Hill guy. Cookies and milk.

[Ty Schmidt]

Thank you, Phil.

[Field Yates]

Hey, no more milk and cookies anymore.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, they're. They're getting tougher.

[Pat McAfee]

What do you mean? I got rid of it.

[Field Yates]

It's gone.

[Pat McAfee]

Wow. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

Elon got rid of it.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

No, I believe the host came through.

[Pat McAfee]

Cookies. Yep. The Milk's fine. The cookies getting a little pricey.

[Ty Schmidt]

I was listening to you and Field's podcast earlier on the drive in. It's pretty good.

[Boston Connor]

First draft. Great show.

[Pat McAfee]

You mad Mel. You. And of course I remember.

[Boston Connor]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I know that that happened.

[Ty Schmidt]

Fantasy focus or first draft, please.

[Boston Connor]

Not a fantasy guy. Okay. Not doing that.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I wasn't sure which part.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah.

[Boston Connor]

First draft, you know, twice a week.

[Pat McAfee]

I believe we got a potential far sitch brewing with the program.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, no.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, no.

[Pat McAfee]

What? Allegedly.

[Ty Schmidt]

With what?

[Pat McAfee]

Which, if you check the tape, I think we're. I mean, we got to cover the biggest news.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Serious.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah. Potential. I mean, it's being. Yeah. And I. Hey. Been down this road before. Got to talk about everything that's being talked about.

[Boston Connor]

It's all out there.

[Pat McAfee]

Especially if the whole world's being talked about it. Especially if you use any names.

[Ty Schmidt]

No names.

[Pat McAfee]

No names, obviously. Situation. If real. Allegedly not a good one. Which we said we tied it to the football. I mean, that's. Hey. When you're talking daily sports world and you're talking daily topical pop culture stuff. I mean, that's gonna happen. The far. We're okay in the kitchen, though, by the way.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, the far. When we said some things that we didn't say anything.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we. We feel good in the kitchen. Just would like to. That is our winning cr. This is happening. This is allegedly. The reporting, though, was everywhere. So we feel a. Okay. Joining us now, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who had his time in the NFL, did not work out, came back to college ball. We assume it will work out because when he's coaching at college, he has success, has done it everywhere he's ever been. Now he's at Nebraska. Ladies and gentlemen, the head coach, Coach Matt Rule. Yeah. Good to see you, coach. Coach, how are we? Nebraska. Nebraska's an Adidas school. I'm.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

See you, coach.

[Pat McAfee]

Nebraska's an Adidas school. Always got some clean shoes. Right behind you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Good work, Connor.

[Pat McAfee]

Boom. Connor. Good work. Oh, and the wire's in there. The wires wrapped around the thing. We gotta. No, it's ours.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Field did that?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. It's happened the last three times. Coach. Good to see you. Coach. Good to see you. Okay. How do we feel now?

[Boston Connor]

We're.

[Pat McAfee]

We're all the way back in the college ball full time. Last time we chatted with you was transition going into Nebraska, I do believe. How's life? You're giving a lot of great takes on the state of college football. And what has changed since the last time you were in college football. How do we feel now? Where are you at right now with college ball and the Nebraska program?

[Matt Rule]

One Nebraska's in a great place. You know, it's winning time. You know, we, we broke the nine year bowl drought. You know, not what we want, but we made some. We made some.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, okay, let's go.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's always been year three for you.

[Matt Rule]

It's been year three. So a little pressure on me, right? My wife's already planted some different things. I'm like, honey, let's wait till we win before we start spending all that money.

[Pat McAfee]

So it happened at Temple, happened to Baylor. You know, you get your culture in there, get your guys in there, have to flip over. That's why you get hired as a head coach at a place is to change the culture and do your thing. What is it about this particular year, maybe this particular team, where you're at, where it's like, yeah, we're, we went, we go to a bowl game last year, but it's winning time now. Why do you think that with this.

[Matt Rule]

You know, because we, you know, we, we played the best teams in the league last year. We played Ohio State, Great team, lost 21:17, lost a bunch of games at the wire and people start talking about a curse and all these different things. I told the guys, I said, forget that. It's, it's, it's a, it's more tough talent. It's us being bigger, stronger, better. So year three young quarterback, he's, he's going to be really good next year. Really good defense, got some weapons. Portal's been good to us, so I think we'll be pretty good.

[Pat McAfee]

What are you in the middle of spring ball right now?

[Matt Rule]

Matrils match so I'll be here tonight. I flew here today. Support the boys. Fly back tonight. 5:30 tomorrow morning on the mat.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's go. Let's go.

[Matt Rule]

Old school.

[Pat McAfee]

Matro is like a. The, I don't want to say death camp pretty close. 5:30am though, is a. The boys aren't sleeping the night before because they're scared. They're miss the alarm. And if you show up late to this, it's over. That's where you're at right now.

[Matt Rule]

It's not good, but it's a. You know, I told the guys, I've talked to a couple of guys when they come out here, they're like thinking about running the 40. They're nervous like, man, what if I run this, what if I run that? Sometimes you just gotta go do it so early on in their college career, man, twice a week show up mat drills, lay it on the line, show, show what you can do. It's hard. Embrace hard things, you know, kick the drill's ass and see what happens.

[Pat McAfee]

I should have done the research but obviously didn't even know you were out here until you sent me a message and I'm like, yo, if you. We would love to talk to you, coach.

[Matt Rule]

I saw coach Pagano right there. That's. I said coach, thank goodness you're back in coaching. Football needs men like Chuck Pagano.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, I love that and we agree. And he is all the way back in. He's excited. You can see a little glow and a little bounce about him that he's back in the world. You football guys are certain. Certainly a different animal, different breed and everything like that. But getting you to come on here, I appreciate it. Your guys, how many guys I should have done more research do you have out there and what do you think is going to happen with your dudes during this combine experience?

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, we have four guys at the combine. Ty Robinson, our great defensive tackle is going to run today. I mean he's one of your kind of guys. Like you would love this guy. The guy's tough, hard nosed, blue collar, great athlete. Went to, gonna go to medical school when he's done. Medical school, baby. Donald Varga, I don't think so, but a real guy.

[Pat McAfee]

So.

[Matt Rule]

And you know we have Thomas Fedoni, tight end, we have Isaiah Nawar, receiver, and we have Tommy Hill, corner. So we have four guys here, a couple other guys that maybe should have been here. So first time in a long time to have this many. So we're starting to get the thing up and running.

[Pat McAfee]

That's awesome. Tony has a question for you, coach.

[Ty Schmidt]

You are in the news recently, you and Tech for you know, the spring game, whether you guys are going to do the spring game or not. So I gotta ask you about that. Was it because other teams looking at the film of your spring game guys not getting enough time in the spring game so they want to transfer in that spring portal window. What was the thinking behind the spring game? I don't know if the announcements been made or what has been happening with your spring game, but you're definitely in the news for the maybe not playing the spring game this year.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, what the hell's going on? Yeah, I was kind of the first.

[Matt Rule]

Guy that said it. Yes, it took a little bit of heat and then all of a sudden everybody starts coming in behind. Hey, that's a good idea. So I think it was two things. Last year we had our spring game, Big Ten network, everyone's watching, it's re aired.

[Pat McAfee]

Re aired. Re aired.

[Matt Rule]

And all of a sudden I got a line outside my door on Monday.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, coach.

[Matt Rule]

So and so called me from here. So and so called me from there. So, you know what advantage does it, is it for me? I love our fans. We're going to do something for the fans. But what's the advantage of showing all my young talent and letting other coaches come in and try to tamper with them? And to be quite honest, and this, you know, I'm not a perfect guy. I sat there watching, watching the FCS playoffs, watching those great teams in Montana State, and some kid makes a play, and I'm like, who is that guy? So I'm like, why would I. Why would I, you know, why would I put my guys out there? I mean, I want. I want to. I want my guys to be taken care of. But that's a tough time. April, May, man, we gotta get ready for the season. So we'll make some changes.

[Pat McAfee]

That two portals is crazy. And I'm experiencing this right now with Rich Rod going back to West Virginia because these guys come in the first portal, then they get a spring with Rich. Now right now they get a spring with. Hey, it's gonna be run a little bit different, I think, than what it had been being run like around here for a little bit. And then right after spring, you're only a couple months out from the season, guys can hit again and it's like that needs to be. What is your thoughts? How do we fix this? One portal, time one transfer window. One.

[Matt Rule]

One portal. Think about it. Basketball has one portal. So why would basketball have one and we have two? It's because our. Our season is different. I get it. But whether it's in, whether it's in January, December, April, just keep the April one. Yeah, but.

[Pat McAfee]

But like, then you're a couple months out.

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, I mean, how many people leave in April and have a lot of success two months later? Like, I literally could if I want, I could. I could say, who am I playing week one and see who goes in the portal from them and take them and then know what they're going to do against us. So. But I'm with you. Whatever is best for the student athlete. But I think we should pick one. I don't want to negotiate a contract with a guy in December and then renegotiate again in April. Like, you sign up with us, you should sign up for the year. Coaches sign up for the year. And so let's do once a year, whatever's best. If it's April, if it's December, I will say this. I thought it was terrible for the. For the. For the young men, not just for the teams with the young men. The guys had to make a decision, do I play with my team in the College Football Playoff, or do I go in the playoffs or to go in the portal? Because that's what's best for me. So I think one portal window would be way better.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that College Football Playoff timing of the transfer portal window being in there was weird. And then some schools were letting their guys be in the portal, and then also on the team, some places weren't available. I don't. That was a weird scene popping out there because, you know, whenever people stop playing in the bowl games, it was like the. We're gonna go to the toto toilet bowl out here. Guys not playing because you want. Want to get hurt. College Football Playoff game. It's like there was conversations of people not playing it. It's like, come on, man. This is what we're here for. No doubt. It's literally what the entire year is all about. You. You and I, and I think anybody that watches college ball excited that the players are getting compensated. But there's a ruling coming, right? That's supposed to put some guardrails on it. Have you heard anything about that? And how do you think of that? Like, where. How many years until we get this thing kind of straightened out? Because you are old college football guy that was. Been around a long time, and also professional guy who's been around the professional operation, which I think is good for you, especially how Bill and Lombardi feel going back to North Carolina. They feel like having the NFL experience is a good thing, not a bad thing. I assume you feel the same way, but how many years do you think until there is some sort of, like, what the hell's going on?

[Matt Rule]

I think. I think this. This winter is the first time that I feel like, you know what? We might get a handle on this. I think, you know, Commissioner Sankey in the sec, Tony Petitti at the Big Ten, who obviously comes and talks to us. I want the players to be taken care of. What I don't want is guys playing at four colleges in four years, because, you know, hey, I'm the highest bidder now. I'm the highest bidder. The one thing in football is the desperate team sets the market. And so if a desperate team comes in and they're trying to steal you away from me. And hey, I'll give you $100,000 more, but it's not a good situation. Like there has to be some guardrails. And I think we're starting to figure out we're on the precipice of a being right, where, hey, we can sign some contracts, multi year deals maybe. But if you do want to leave, like a coach leaves, they pay a buyout, maybe there's a buyout. I don't know if that's going to happen, but I'm feeling better that it might happen.

[Pat McAfee]

Big Ten kind of running shit. Oh yeah, Mad Mel has a question for you.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, speaking of that, you know, early in the season you said how, hey, listen, the Big Ten is best conference in college football. Paul Feinbaum, obviously, you know, mouthpiece for the sec, kind of of takes a potshot at you and says, hey, you haven't done anything yet. Why don't you just focus on winning at Nebraska? And then I loved it how you, you came back and, you know, you dunked on him pretty good after, you know, I think it was after Ohio State 1. But like Pat mentioned, the Big Ten kind of dominated the College Football Playoff. When you look back at the last season in the new Big Ten, you know, different travel, all that kind of stuff, do you guys feel like you're where you're at, where you need to be in order to complete compete? You know, with Oregon and USC and Ohio State and Penn State and kind of all these other places who have basically said, hey, listen, we're all in. We're going to, you know, boosters, all that kind of stuff. We're going to put as much money as we need to to kind of get this thing going in the right direction.

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, I think this will be the first year where we're on a level playing field. And it's this new settlement, right? So we're going to be spending the same amount of money on our roster that everyone else is. You know, Ohio State, Oregon, they made huge investments last year. Good for them. We've been making big investments, but not at the level they were making at because they were just ahead of us. This new thing now will kind of even things out. And I will say this, kudos to Arizona State, places like that that won at the level they did. Well, I mean, Kenny's, Kenny's a coach now.

[Pat McAfee]

He's a real lot of respect from all you, I assume, huh?

[Matt Rule]

100% like that team played really well. But long term, I mean, if you want something, I got to invest something into it. And so we're at a point now in Nebraska. We have the best facilities in the country, elite fan base. Being in the middle part of the country now in the Big ten is a good thing. Like I don't have four hour flights. I have a two hour flight to la, a two hour flight to Penn State.

[Pat McAfee]

I feel pretty good about two hours to LA from Nebraska.

[Matt Rule]

215. Depends on what plane.

[Pat McAfee]

That's. Hey, that's a. You don't got a heavy jet stream coming, you know what I mean?

[Matt Rule]

Going this way, going this way. Going. No, no, going this way, coming back.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah, do 15. I don't know. Gumpy and I did a six hour flight from here to San Diego because we had a 4,000 knot headwind, I think is what they told us. We were just sitting in the sky. Just sitting in the sky. It felt like forever. I believe we're coming up to a hard at here, like here in a matter of moments. Like right now. Did that just happen? Oh, I thought it was 55, 54, 35,325. Okay, so we got 15 seconds. Seconds here. I thought we 54, 30. Got it. We better. Two weeks break, coach. Yeah, coach, two week break. And I didn't want to cut you off because you're giving such a great answer. I was actually looking at the clock. I was thinking to myself, we're in trouble. But whenever we continue this program after the heart out, we'll still be live on YouTube, ESPN Plus, Disney plus and TikTok Live. How much social media have you been doing? You've been doing the dances, you've been doing the TikTok and coach rule.

[Matt Rule]

So I walked in the, I walked in the training table the other day and Harper Murray, our all American volleyball player, was sitting there with my nine year old. She said, coach, we're gonna go do a TikTok now. I'm an anti TikTok. I won't let the kids have it.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Smart.

[Boston Connor]

Love it.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You get it.

[Matt Rule]

And my nine year old's like, what are you gonna say to Harper? And I was like, oh, have fun. So I've had to download TikTok. And I found my daughter.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh boy. All over.

[Matt Rule]

She finds people in the facility. I saw 35 of my football players doing TikToks.

[Pat McAfee]

Why'd you feel?

[Matt Rule]

Well, one of them did it in the facility. Facility. Which is a hard no. So our strength coach did a tick tock workout this morning with the freshman. They were pushing plates. Pushing plates. With their bios and all their cool stuff on there that they love to post. Everywhere they're pushing the plate with their bio.

[Pat McAfee]

That's amazing.

[Matt Rule]

I gotta tell you the last part. I know we have a harder. They were doing wall sits at the end and every freshman had to get out and do a 10 second tick tock dance while the rest of the guys did the wall. Welcome to old school.

[Pat McAfee]

That was literally a. You ended that answer. You ended that story right at the end and even got our pop in there. That's good TV work. That's good TV work right there. Okay. We're still live, obviously, on the Internet and everything like that. You said, welcome to old school. Yeah, Coach Rod, I'm talking to him. Same exact thing. I think a lot of people are kind of scared to go that way. A lot of the old school coaches and a lot of the good teams aren't. So how have you stayed committed throughout all of the. Because I'm assuming there's a lot of people that have said, you know, maybe you do this, maybe you don't do that. And you say, yeah, we're doing TikTok workouts this morning. You think it's cute? Okay, that's cute. Oh, it's funny. Yeah. Go ahead and read the entirety of the entire. As we roll in there. How have you been able to maintain that? And don't you think that's a necessity to win in football? Like, I think in football you need to be disciplined, you need to be tough, you need to be bought in. Like, I legitimately think that. And they're trying to change it, it seems like. And if you change it, you're not going to win.

[Matt Rule]

They're trying to change it everywhere. I think a couple things, I think, I think back to all the great players I've coached. Christian McCaffrey, Stephon Gilmore, Deion Dawkins in college, Hasan Reddick, those guys all wanted that kind of stuff. Like they wanted to get coached. When you coach Christian McCaffrey, you'd sit there and watch a play and you were so locked in because he's gonna come over and say, hey, did I read that wrong? Like, he wanted real feedback. So all this soft stuff, all the research says it's wrong. The best people in the world don't want it that way. So I think it's. I think it's my job to do what's best for the players. And if. If they don't want it and they want to transfer, you know, so be it. But, you know, we always say hey, I'm gonna treat you like my own son. When my son comes home with a seat, Julie Rule comes across the couch and swinging on him. So, like. Like, we're gonna treat our players the same way.

[Pat McAfee]

We're pushing sleds with a big C on top of it. Wow. It's pretty heavy sled you got here. Yeah, I think that's. I mean, I think it's a necessity, football. I. I legitimately think it is. And if you don't have it and you lose it, it's gone forever. So you trying to set your culture. That makes sense why year three potentially becomes the time. Go ahead, con man.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, new necessity, too. And I should have done more research, and I should know this, but, you know, like, the GM role in college is now becoming a thing. Andrew Luck is back in Stanford. You know, Pat mentioned Michael Lombardi with Belichick at unc. Do you guys have a gm? Is that something where you guys have a working relationship and what exactly, you know, is on his plate versus yours? Or is it very much so, like, a working relationship? You're giving him stuff like players from Montana State. Hey, go and call this guy immediately. How has that relationship been?

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, when we came back in, you know, Sean Patton has been with me. With me forever. Took over as the gm. Brilliant, smart. And Mike Lombardi has always been a great friend of ours, a resource. His house down the shore is, like, two towns up from mine. We always go to see Mike, and he's a great, great man. Has helped me for years. Sean recently moved into a new role where all he's doing now is, like, contracts, analytics, because it's a big role now, dealing with agents. Like, I'm here.

[Pat McAfee]

He's. He's.

[Matt Rule]

He's in the. The hotels here talking to agents. They're talking NFL guys and college guys at the same time, because that's the new. The new normal. And we just hired a guy named Pat Stewart from the New England Patriots. Was with us at Cleveland.

[Pat McAfee]

Excuse me.

[Matt Rule]

With us at Carolina. He'll be our new gm. So we're just taking our personnel department, which used to be four guys, then it was eight. Now it's. Now it's the NFL in college.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah.

[Matt Rule]

And it's. It's what you need to have a chance.

[Pat McAfee]

Rich said that yesterday. Like, everything you're saying, Rich, Rod has been saying, like, for the last, you know, since he's got back to West Virginia. We're hearing him at the press conference. He said, raquel, my daughter and I were looking at the Guide or whatever it is. I don't know if you still have that. From 2006, whenever we're here. He said I had 10, 10 members on the staff. He said we had two gas on offense. I think we had two gas on defense. We had one equipment manager guy with everything else. And we somehow were able to do it then. So I assume we're able to do it now. Now it's like 50. You got a consultant, you got advisors, you got these people. You got this expert. You got nutritionists. Ours quit. We'll have a new one. I believe we'll get a new one. We'll get a new one in there. But it's like Nate's big, big operation now. Big business, obviously. I think he's probably the reason why. Right, that's right.

[Matt Rule]

That's right. We had the same statement the other day. We were sitting in our mat drills and the players hadn't run in yet. And there might have been like 90 people in there. And Phil Snow, who's like my mentor in coaching, you know, he's 68, DC, DC, DC for years. And he was like, matt, you know, we used to have 12 people out here. What the hell? Why we have all these people. But it's a new world, right? Everyone and everyone wants to get involved in it. People will work for not a lot of money to get their foot started. And. And it is big business. And we're spending a lot of money. We're spending $20.5 million on athletes this year at Nebraska. I mean, just think about that now.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, let's go Nebraska.

[Matt Rule]

So you need to have the best volleyball players. Volleyball players, I mean, they are real deal. I wanted to fly here yesterday and come here last night. And they're like, we have a new coach, Danny Busboom Kelly from Louisville Elite coach, former player there. They're like, nah, coach rule. Danny has the plane. You'll get it tomorrow morning. And I was like. I was like, I get it. I get it. Like volleyball is volleyball.

[Pat McAfee]

Nebraska selling that stadium. Yeah, that's right. Stadium there. Last question here from town. We appreciate you, coach.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, Coach, you made some coordinator news kind of at the end of last year, bringing in Dana Holgerson. And now I believe he is going to be your full time oc. Is it nice having like a former head coach on the staff as well? And then how is him and Dylan Raiola's relationship and through the offseason off season?

[Matt Rule]

Yeah, I think, you know, we lost our.

[Chris Gall]

We.

[Matt Rule]

We beat Wisconsin, week 11 to go. You know, it was. We hadn't meet him in 12 years to go to the bowl season, which was awesome. The next week we lost to Iowa, and it was like. It was like a gut punch, you know, the way we lost.

[Boston Connor]

We knew that.

[Matt Rule]

Yeah. So. Which I respect. Trust me, I respect. But the next day, Dylan was like, coach, I'm all in. And. And Dana was like, I'm all in.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Matt Rule]

And they both were kind of like, hey, if he's in, I'm in. It wasn't anything about me, but that. That felt great because I think they have a great relationship. Dana's what I'm not. Dana's aggressive offensively. He wants to. I mean, there's. Sometimes he calls things. I'm like, oh, my war over doing that. Dana, he's like, but it works, so I love it. So I was so happy to get him. And you're right. You know, when you're a head coach, I can't pick up the phone and call up Coach Ference, be like, hey, coach, you know, what do you think I should be doing here? So to have someone else who's been there, who knows what that feels like, is a great resource.

[Pat McAfee]

He's electrifying, too. Yeah. He's electrical. We got to see it at. Obviously at West Virginia. And then when he goes down to Texas Tech, I believe, and does his thing. It's like watching him, chatting with him. Loves ball. God, he loves ball. Ryola is going to be a guy, huh?

[Matt Rule]

He's going to be a guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he'll be a guy. Already is, I guess. But you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Is he cutting his hair now that Mahomes cut his hair or no?

[Pat McAfee]

No.

[Matt Rule]

It's funny, you know, if I'm being honest, I think he was going to cut his hair anyway. And then when Mahomes didn't, I was like, okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, no. That's all the situation. Hey, listen, if this guy's in your culture, in your building, I got respect for him. You know, a lot of things to be said about him because he is very popular and obviously he was committed somewhere. And then he goes to Nebraska, family ties and everything like that. But he went out and played. There was a ball. I think I did it on game day. There was a throw where guys coming. Guy is running right in his face, okay? Just. Just running right in his face. And he's sitting, gets in there, takes it and delivers a go ball down and it's in the bucket and he's a freshman. It's like, this guy's got it like that's the thing. You don't know if a guy has or not, especially if he's highly recruited or getting the money. It's like I think there's a couple plays that I saw where I'm like this guy's going to be a guy. And it's because I think Toph and you get to see more of it. But if you're able to sit in the pocket and take a big time shot and deliver a ball, it's like that's a separator. I think, you know, we're here in Indianapolis, racing is the thing. Indy 500 is a big deal. There's a lot of drivers that can go 198, 199 can't go over 200 miles an hour. So that's like the separator, like, hey, over 200 miles an hour. How do you feel? Are you comfortable? Are you not comfortable? Are you gonna get in here? They're going 230 here at Indy 500 and everything. 225, whatever it is. So it's like a separator. I think the separates quarterback position is can you take a shot and deliver the ball? Like do you courage? Can you do it physically? Can you do it and then once again play clocks running, can you get back up and go deliver again? I watch him do that a lot and with the way you talk about old school football, you have to love that about this highly recruited guy, I would assume.

[Matt Rule]

I love the kid and he came there, his parents trusted him to come here and he came there. Not because of my offensive philosophy, because I'm not renowned for that. It's the other part. I do not want him showing up someday as the first pick and going to some team in New York or some team in LA and all of a sudden for the first time in his life experiencing adversity. So yeah, he has fun, he runs around, he celebrates, he does other things. But he's in there every morning at 6 and when he doesn't do something right, he's hearing about it from me. And if he misses a nutrition appointment, he wants to show up to throwing. And I'm like, no, you're not allowed to throw today because you missed your nutrition appointment. So he's getting all that stuff. So whatever team gets him in three years, they're going to get a guy. And so yeah, you would hope that.

[Pat McAfee]

That would happen everywhere.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, places that does.

[Matt Rule]

But I'm just saying be 19 and be famous, right? Be 19 and be famous. He's 19, he's famous. But I'll say this. When my two daughters walk in the building, like, he stops whatever he does. He's like Vivie Leone. And when he sees the ad son walk in, he knows their names. He sees my wife, Miss Julie. He's a great kid. Social media paints people different ways. I wish, you know, I wish all of our kids were like Dylan is. And you know what? He's a work. We're all works in progress. But if tomorrow warning the natural isn't good, he's going to hear about it and he'll do it again the next day. So. So don't worry about him. He'll be fine.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. That is awesome news. And I'm thankful to hear that there's dogs out there still, and it sounds like there's gonna be a lot of them coming from Nebraska. Can't wait to watch how your guys do. Thank you for making time for us. And we can't wait to watch year three with Nebraska. Like, we've seen year three of Baylor, year three at Temple. You know, there's a chance. What does game day make an appearance out there.

[Matt Rule]

Last year I said you'd be there, and I didn't quite pull my weight, so just give it time.

[Ty Schmidt]

Okay?

[Pat McAfee]

I feel good. Love to go that river. In Brazos, you do that thing on the side.

[Matt Rule]

You do that thing on the side where, like, you're in the end zone. You guys.

[Pat McAfee]

You guys.

[Ty Schmidt]

Playoffs.

[Matt Rule]

Like, has a coach ever walked over and talked to you in the middle of a simulcast?

[Pat McAfee]

No, I don't think so.

[Ty Schmidt]

You ran by saving the O line coach.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Justin from. Justin Fry yelling at you.

[Matt Rule]

But Fry's an old Temple guy. Fry and I work together, so if you're from Temple, you don't care about anything.

[Pat McAfee]

He was. He was giving me this because I picked against Ohio State.

[Matt Rule]

Oh, that's different. I'm talking about when I come over and say, pat, what do you think, bro? What do you think?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Matt Rule]

Should we go for.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah. We would certainly love that. That would certainly be.

[Matt Rule]

I'll just put. Write that down.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Remember that.

[Matt Rule]

Remember that when the time comes.

[Pat McAfee]

That's College Football Playoff, actually. That contract is up. Actually, we don't know if that's ever going to happen again. It was a great time.

[Boston Connor]

Hell of a run.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

We got to see a lot of iconic games, bro.

[Pat McAfee]

We're just there. Obviously, you get to do it all the time, and I. But, like, just being there, feeling the college, college world is just different, isn't it? It's great to Be back in the college world.

[Matt Rule]

I love it.

[Pat McAfee]

I love everything about it at Nebraska. They fill up, what, like, hours before the game kicks off?

[Matt Rule]

And here's the reason why. They show up an hour before the game to watch the kids that might not get in the game, but they're still Huskers. And that's a loyalty unlike anything else. Like. Like they show up to watch Johnny and Steve just watch Patton go and give him a cheer. I mean, there's just a different level of loyalty to their team.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, sounds like it has the makings to be great now. I was certainly lurking.

[Boston Connor]

Listen, I will say, because I was. I was one of the big, like, hey, this. Nebraska, Iowa, like, this isn't a rivalry, okay? We could play. Play it the day after Thanksgiving. That's horseshit. It's a rivalry now. It is. I'm bought in.

[Matt Rule]

If I may say two things. One of the best moments of my life as a college football coach was at the end of the first quarter, looking up and waving at those kids. I'm telling you now, that was.

[Pat McAfee]

That's cool, isn't it?

[Matt Rule]

That was. That was. That was as powerful a thing as I've ever been through in my life. And thinking about, like, what are they going through? Like, I'm sitting here, like, in pain about the third down call, and I'm like, what are we talking about? So that was amazing. And I have a lot of respect for Iowa and coach ferencing all those things. And, you know, I know it's a rivalry, and I. But I never talk about rivalries. I'm like, hey, this game, this game, this game. But after this year, after. After the after, I'm gonna tell you.

[Field Yates]

Right now.

[Matt Rule]

North Philly, Matt Rule might be back.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. Okay. We like that. Them Johns need to feel it, everybody. That's right. When you think about, like, the hospital, because I was very lucky here to be a coat. There's a lot of community work, work. You know, you go this. Hospitals and the kids obviously going through it, but the families, like, the families, the anxiety, the amount of time, everything that they're not able to do because they're fully focused on their children, let alone being scared at all times, and it's over. So, like, when I see that wave and they show the. The thing, and it's obviously the kids, the parents watching the kids be happy and have that moment, like, legit, I. I get just like, you. Like, the first time I saw it, I was like, it's interesting. And then you're, like, kind of really Start thinking about it. And now that I'm a dad, it's like the chills that you would get probably in that moment. Iowa is a beautiful place, creates beautiful people. But I'll tell you what, they're in it now against Nebraska because there's a little sauce coming from North Philly. We appreciate the hell out of you, Coach. Good luck out there. You're the man. All right, we're gonna take a break. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're in this thing together. Thank you, Coach. Adam Scott, L.A. operating the jib. Absolutely beautiful. It's not about what you do. It's about how you bounce back and get better. Scott and this jib have been nothing short of magical. He's from Louisiana, so each evening he's used to eating a little gator. Okay, you have a little gator nugget. Logator Hosta. He's come up here to Indianapolis to help us out and run this jib, and he's done a fantastic job. Whenever Foxy cuts to this shot right here, boom. That is coming from sky, Louisiana. Coming from a jib that is in the lobby of Lucas Oil Stadium that is currently the host of the NFL Combine and hopefully will be forever. This place is electrifying. This place is alive. It is the second on field day of workouts for this year's NFL Combine. We're lucky to be here. The toxic table looks so different as Ty Schmidt is out with something. Hopefully he'll be back soon. We send our best wishes. The talk stable at Boston, Connor at Madmel Kuiper Mad Mel, how you feeling about today, pal?

[Boston Connor]

Absolutely fantastic. I'm ready to get down there and get some measurements that maybe not everybody else is going to be looking at. You know, we'll just leave it there. I don't necessarily need to go in, but, you know, we got a lot of beef down there. So we're going to, you know, guys, take the field in about 30 minutes here. We're going to get down there and kind of, of, you know, get the tape measure out and be looking at some things that maybe not every scout, maybe not every draft Nick is. Is going to be looking at. That's what I'm. That's what I'm really interested.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, yesterday I saw you had your eyes on the punters, kickers, and snappers as I walked down there, ended the show early, went down there to host the specialist showcase that I thought was going to be on television. Should have been on television. Very electrifying was nowhere to be found. But we did get some clips out of it all, and I got a chance to be back around kickers, punters and snappers. I had a blast down there. And I know you were evaluating with a keen eye. I was.

[Boston Connor]

Maybe, Pat, you could dive into this a little bit more. I think the biggest takeaway, especially when you talk about the ipp, the international player program, had a lot of guys from, you know, different pathway.

[Pat McAfee]

I think it's international player pathway, pathway, ipp.

[Boston Connor]

Well, I always call it the program. Okay. So they can call it the pathway if they want. Back when I, you know, kind of mentioned in the NFL, hey, we need to get, we grow the game game. We need to make this thing more global. I called it the program. Now it's the pathway. Either way, guys need to learn how to catch the goddamn football. That's kind of my big takeaway. Maybe, maybe you, you know, but. Well, listen, I'm just saying, hey, growing up in America, you know, you're playing in the backyard with your buddies. There's certain athletic maneuvers that we all do growing up that we're comfortable with. These guys aren't doing that shit.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. They got different sports.

[Boston Connor]

They do. They're playing Gaelic football. They're, you know, hey, let's go have a kick. They're not having a catch. They're not doing any of that kind of stuff. So obviously catching the football, that's a pretty big deal if you're a punter.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I agree. And a couple of the international pathway, player pathway, guys, program, ipp, those guys perfect practice predict or you get it. Yeah, yeah, whatever it is. Yeah, yeah, whatever it is. There was a couple international kickers. Kid from Germany, Lenny Krieg, I believe his name, didn't miss a kick. Kid named Johnny from Italy missed like one kick, I believe, throughout the entirety of the day. So the kickers are doing a good job. I believe in the international pathway. The punters, I think the biggest thing is catching the ball because when you're a punter, you have to catch a snap and then you also have to hold. So, like, that is a big part of the gig. If you're not a good holder, you're not going to make a team if it's anywhere close. Whenever it comes to punting, there a lot of big legs. Yesterday I saw some bombs. It was awesome to watch the guys and of have to perform with maximum pressure on them in front of a lot of NFL legendary coaches. There's legendary special teams coaches there yesterday. Bones is there Formerly of the Cowboys, formerly of the Rams. Like one of the most famous special teams guys of all time. Darren Simmons, who's been with the Cincinnati Bengals, I think, for 22 years. Randy Brown has been with, I think, the Ravens for like 18 years. Was there this guy named Henry, who I just met yesterday, has been with the Dallas Cowboys for 100 years. He was there scouting. Riz was down there. He just changed the kickoff rule. It's like he's Danny Smith. I think he was just watching. I think he was just watching. These guys were running the drill and thought of these drills for the specialist showcase. So I was honored to be a part of it. But, yeah, watching the balls go was awesome. There's some pressure kicks that took place for some of these kickers. Some guys stepped up. Borealis down there in Miami, he started out a little slow, got hot, hit a ball yesterday on the track. Man, they were covering that. That would have been good for like 66 or something like that. 65. Kid named Loop, I believe, who's maybe from Michigan State. He did great. Kid from Florida state. Had a 62 yarder to win it or 61 yarder to win the showcase yesterday. So I think there's a lot of great things there. The punter from Alabama, who is an Aussie burnup, he was by far the most consistent and best performer. But there were some other guys that, like, whenever they're just spinning the ball to themselves and hit, it's like, wow, those guys are hitting a ball further than I could ever imagine hitting a ball. But with the snap, and the snappers did well. I thought there was a couple misses, but they snapped like 400 snaps or something. I forget the number, which is an insane number. They were just out there doing it. But the guys look like they were scared of the snap. And if you're thinking about the snap, most. Some of the guys, not all the guys, but most of the guys, if you're thinking about the snap, you're not thinking about the punt. And if you bobble the ball, you're not able to get the punt in a position to punt it so that you have less time. And it's like, I think they just all need to work on their hands. Like, if you come over here to America to be a punter, we understand that you probably have kicked a ball before, you have a strong leg, but your hands are going to have to sync up a little bit. You're going have to catch up a little bit on catching a ball, which you can with the jugs. Machine. So I think there's a lot of promise out of the guys that were there yesterday, but I think there is some things they're going to have to work on before they become NFL guys.

[Boston Connor]

Burnett makes sense. Obviously, he's an Alabama American, you know, so he's been in America. He's. He's been in an American locker room where, you know, he's maybe not playing hacky sack with the boys or whatever. Okay, listen, I love hacky sack. I mean, who doesn't love hacky sack? But I'm just saying he's had to kind of be a little bit more of an athlete. And you mentioned it, you know, on top of it, if you're, if you're focused on, you know, the snap and you can't catch it, you know, we don't have a rush out there, you know, then you put eight, nine guys who want to take your head off and kill you on top of it. You better be very confident. Confident in your ability to catch the football and get that thing off.

[Pat McAfee]

It was fun to watch some bombs, though. It was fun to watch some of these guys do their thing. And like, that Alabama kid looks so calm, so big, was able to catch. He's an Australian guy. He looked very comfortable doing it. I think that's the big separator right now, these international guys. And then obviously there were some American boys that held down everything out there. So I'm thankful to be a part of that today. D tackle, linebacker, right? Tone Diggs. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

D tackle, linebacker is going today.

[Pat McAfee]

The.

[Ty Schmidt]

They just got done or looked like. There's a lot of stuff coming in Twitter right now of the measurements. So I assume right before they come out to the field, they're doing all their measurements. So all the guys were getting their measurements done today. Mason Graham came in at six foot, 300 pounds, he's only gonna bench. He's got, he's got those 32 inch short arms. So he's gonna be great on the bench, but he's not running or anything like that today. But there are going to be some freaks out there today. We talked about, you know, Kenneth Grant From Michigan, the big six three, 240 pounder who said he, he's going to try to run like 4, 7, 4, 8 today. And then you have Jalen Walker from, from Georgia who won the Buckus award out there today. He's gonna, he's gonna be awesome. He's an athletic freak. Shamar Stewart from Texas A and M, he just, he just measured it 66270.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so he's listed 66 290. So he's in best shape he's been in a long time. Look for him to run real fast.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, he was a five star coming out. One of the top d liner coming out. He, he's an incredible mad mel.

[Pat McAfee]

You look lose 20 pounds, you can jump higher and run a lot faster.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people were saying, you know, hey, this guy, you know, his production wasn't the best in college. Not big gaudy sack numbers, but if this guy goes out and runs a 4 4, you know. Yeah, I think there can be a lot of teams interested in it.

[Pat McAfee]

You lose 20 pounds, you take a 20 pound weight off of your back, you're going to be able to run faster and jump higher. I don't know why. Maybe he didn't do it in college. Maybe it was different. He was getting different information or whatever.

[Ty Schmidt]

When you look at his tape, he doesn't look 290. So I don't know if that was like a program.

[Pat McAfee]

They were lying about him being bigger.

[Ty Schmidt]

Maybe potentially being heavier. Because when you look at his tape like he is like he looks fit, like he doesn't look overly fit. But Kenneth Grant from Michigan, he did say he dropped like 15ish so he could run a 48 and jump higher at this program.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Joining us now is somebody that has obviously covered all of these guys in college ball. Absolute legend in the sport of college football, now becoming one quickly in the draft world. Ladies and gentlemen, Molly McGrath. Thank you. Molly, Molly, Molly, Molly. So good to see you. Good to see you too. Hold on. Connor will get you the app.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Pros, pro.

[Pat McAfee]

I just want to let you know Connor got that for everybody else. Bud, you, yeah, you take that home. I was, I'm a pro.

[Molly McGrath]

I can mic myself up. I do this for a living.

[Pat McAfee]

Ladies and gentlemen, Molly McGrath.

[Molly McGrath]

Thank you for having me, guys. This is quite a. A sweet set you have.

[Pat McAfee]

Not bad, right?

[Molly McGrath]

No, I had to come down here.

[Pat McAfee]

And do an actual site survey. Me and a tape measure, right? That's a factual statement.

[Molly McGrath]

Well, I mean, this is a home assignment for you. This is pretty sweet. This is the house that Pat McAfee built.

[Pat McAfee]

Molly, you saw the wall. This actually says the building or house that was built by these guys. These are the guys you know, Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, Joseph Dynam. Boys, I was very lucky to be an Indianapolis Colt. But yeah, to your point, the people of Indianapolis run this building. So when I came down here with a tape measure, the CIB the city improvement board was like, why are we doing this? There's enough space for your show. And they're the ones that said, I should do it right here. So we are incredibly lucky and thankful to be here. Why are you here now? You're part of the draft coverage, obviously, for espn.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

But we assume you know everything about everybody because all the college football stuff. What do you have going on this week?

[Molly McGrath]

It's such a great assignment. So last year was my first year covering the NFL draft for espn. So the guys going on stage, their names are announced, they shake Roger Goodell's.

[Pat McAfee]

Hand, they dap him, hug him. Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

They jump into his arms, and it's like the best moment of their lives. Their whole career has come up to this moment. And I'm standing there ready to interview them, and it's like the most electric interview that you could ever do. And so it's such a cool moment to be a part of. I did that for espn, doing it again this year, so it's an honor to be a part of such a special moment. And I know these players so well. You know, I know. I know their families and their moms and their girlfriends. I know, you know, certain things. Like, a big part of me being here this week is meeting with GMs. I'm just kind of networking and I have a lot of great information. I'm trying to get their information for coverage leading up to that moment, for coverage leading up to the draft, to do reports for our crew. And it's kind of a give and take relationship with GMs, where it's like, hey, I can tell that this locker room doesn't love this guy.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

I can tell that his teammates really love him. I can tell that this guy's really tough. Hey, coaches say he doesn't watch a lot of film.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

So in being like, with these players week in and week out, with becoming.

[Pat McAfee]

An insider, I'm a little bit of an insider.

[Molly McGrath]

But it's like off the record conversations with GMs. And so it's like a little bit of give and take and don't go to Starbucks.

[Pat McAfee]

Insiders are brawling.

[Molly McGrath]

I saw Ian Rapaport at a coffee shop a couple hours back, right before he came here.

[Pat McAfee]

That was not a Starbucks.

[Molly McGrath]

It was not a Starbucks. It was at the Westin. And I wanted to ask him if he felt safe, you know, but he looks.

[Pat McAfee]

What if you would have walked up to him and been like, I got something to say to you, that would have been amazing. Well, I appreciate your professionalism and your due diligence that you're doing. You feel like you know the college players very well. How versed were you with the NFL? How verse were you with the NFL and everything like that as you dove in last year and how do you feel now?

[Molly McGrath]

I think that last year I was a fan of the NFL and then when I got this assignment, I was like, all right, I need to get up to speed on team needs, GMs, coaching changes. Like what these teams are looking for in the draft. Yeah, exactly. And now with a second year under my belt, I feel so much more well prepared because I approach the college football season completely differently every week as I'm like requesting players and talking to guys on the phone, I'm talking to all the draft prospects that these teams have and then I'm at the games and you look, you go to college football games, they're GMs all over the sidelines. That's a time to really pick those guys brains and to give them that information, you know, and say like, hey, this guy's legit. And this guy, his teammates don't love him. He's a little full of shit. Like those kinds of moments that you can establish a relationship.

[Pat McAfee]

Molly, you're a weapon, absolute weapon. You, you are. And the amount of time that you put in and the amount of travel because where you live to everything, it.

[Molly McGrath]

Is a crazy decision. Yeah, I make some terrible decisions.

[Pat McAfee]

No, you don't.

[Molly McGrath]

I truly do.

[Pat McAfee]

Before the boys have their questions for you.

[Molly McGrath]

Oh, I love it.

[Pat McAfee]

I need to ask about. Good, good decision. Great decision.

[Molly McGrath]

Okay.

[Pat McAfee]

Since I think last time we really seen you, you become full mama.

[Molly McGrath]

Oh, yeah. Oh my. Since we last worked together, I've created two humans.

[Pat McAfee]

Congrats. Yeah. Two humans.

[Molly McGrath]

And they both speak and walk and talk and it's. It's crazy. I have a two year old and a four year old, two little boys. I don't know if they're watching this, but when I like have my makeup done, I'm mama tv. And then when I'm home, I'm just like mom. Because I'm a different.

[Pat McAfee]

You love it. So for me in my life, it's the greatest. Like watching my wife. Mom is so cool.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

And I heard, you know, you, I think we're talking about at the beginning of, with your work schedule and being a mom, we want to let you know we think you're a badass. And we think it's a good thing, not a bad thing. So you need to never even. Never Even let that cross your mind, you kill it. And how you're momming from afar. At least I've never met your kids, your husband, great dude, but like, you're crushing it, Molly. And you should be very, very, very, very proud of yours. Now, with that being said, let's turn to the conversation. Mad Mel Kuiper has one for you.

[Molly McGrath]

Oh, Mad Mel.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, Molly, just curious, you know, Amish, obviously you know this. You haven't been doing this a whole bunch of years. I have been doing this for 30 plus years. So if you need any tricks of the trade, be happy to share those with you. Have you noticed when you're trying to get this information, have you been going to the restaurants, everyone says, like, hey, nothing is. Nothing is figured out, or no one, no information has passed unless these GMs and coaches have a couple booze cocktails in them right at St. Elmo's. So have you been doing, you know, kind of that aspect of it or have you been over at the convention center kind of bebopping around, trying to get information that way?

[Molly McGrath]

It's a little bit of both. I don't know if you can tell I'm exhausted because I was up until like 2am last night. That's Indianapolis closing down the bar. But that's where those relationships are established. You're having a drink and you're just getting to know people as, as parents, you know, and as professionals and those kinds of things. So I'm exhausted. It's been already a long week and we're, I don't know, like not even half halfway through it. So it's a part of that. And then it's going through the convention center, grabbing people, going up to them, saying, hey, I covered college football. I know these guys intimately. If you need to know anything, like, feel free to reach out to me. Can be a mutually beneficial relationship.

[Pat McAfee]

So we're literally watching you blossom your NFL career right now. Like, this is happening.

[Molly McGrath]

It's a great segue. And you know what? Like, I covered college or I mean, an NFL game, one of the Monday Night Football games early earlier this season, the Cardinals Chargers game. And it's amazing how many players remember you from their college careers and they feel like a bit of sentimentality with it where they're like, hey, you covered me in college. How are you? I remember you. And so you kind of already know all of these athletes so well. So it's really cool. It's a great segue into covering the NFL. I think that's something I want to do eventually in my career. I love college football, especially with the playoff. Like, there's no better assignment assignment in the world than covering college football for ESPN right now. But eventually, I want to start to work more in the NFL because I know these guys so well.

[Pat McAfee]

We'll dive into college ball at the end of this because what an electrifying season. Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

So much fun.

[Pat McAfee]

So many top five matchups throughout the year with the realignment and the players and more teams going in there. Herb street, whenever he got the Thursday night job, obviously he's one of the faces of college ball, if not the face of college ball over the last three decades. He thought that maybe, you know, they wouldn't take him as serious enough because he's a college guy. And I and everybody else that played in the NFL were like, herbie, we watch game day every Saturday in every single building. We all know you from college football. We're all in there. So I think there's even more of a respect for the people that covered college get into the NFL, and I think Herbie didn't believe that. I think you should think the same thing. Like, a lot of respect for everything you've done, because you've been there since they were like kids. Yeah. To becoming men, you know, and you've. You've told their stories, you've helped a lot of people. And Herbie did the same thing. It's like, I think the players actually have more of a trust and you said a sentimental value with you than maybe others. I think it's a great transition into the NFL.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

And the coaches and the players are all fans of football, so they all watch a ton of college football. So when I came to the combine last year, the first person I see as I walk into the convention center is Andy Reid, and he points to me and goes, no, you cannot leave college football. And I was like, don't worry, Coach. I'm not leaving, but thank you. And he's like, I'm a big fan of your work. And I'm like, I'm a big fan of your work.

[Pat McAfee]

That's awesome.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah. It was one of those cool moments where I was like, how the heck does Andy Reid know who I am?

[Pat McAfee]

Molly.

[Molly McGrath]

That was sick.

[Pat McAfee]

Molly. Biggest games every year for, like, the last. I don't. I don't want to do that whole thing.

[Molly McGrath]

But you, since I was with you, you launched my career.

[Pat McAfee]

Those Thursday nights, Thursday night Remy's.

[Molly McGrath]

The Remy's.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

We.

[Molly McGrath]

We grew through that.

[Pat McAfee]

Adam Amin, Matt Hassell, back myself, Molly McGrath.

[Molly McGrath]

We had a lot of fun.

[Boston Connor]

It was a lot of fun.

[Pat McAfee]

They were. They were. Lights go out.

[Ty Schmidt]

Was that Tulane or Memphis when the lights.

[Pat McAfee]

The power went out in East Carolina? Yeah, that's what it is right there. Yeah. And they had a gymnast, like a cheerleader gymnast when the lights were out, that was doing a hundred yards worth of back handsprings and backflips.

[Molly McGrath]

Oh, yeah, I remember.

[Pat McAfee]

And we're, like, talking in the booth, like, trying to kill time, and I'm like, I don't have enough say at this point, but we need to be showing that.

[Molly McGrath]

Dude, this is good television.

[Pat McAfee]

Dude down there in pitch black while lights are coming back on. He might have just done a thousand backflips, but I feel like I learned a lot that season. And you were ready to be the star way before we got there on that Thursday night. I'm excited. You've gotten all the recognition you deserve. Connor has a question for you.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

So you saw Rap Sheet this morning. He was, you know, probably pouting a little down. Have you been able to talk to, like, Schefter about kind of the insider gaming? Have you also just been on your phone for, like, 20 hours a day to practice kind of how much you have to actually do that?

[Molly McGrath]

You got to get the screen time.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

You ring her on all those types of things.

[Molly McGrath]

So I'm. I'm not trying to be an insider where I'm trying to break news. I'm more trying to be an insider for context, because I want these coaches and GMs to trust me inherently. And that's a part of covering game broadcasts. Right? Like. Like, coaches tell me stuff every week that's off the record. That would be breaking news if I were to tweet it out. But I want them to know that they can trust me.

[Pat McAfee]

So journalism.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah, Capital J journalism. So these are the kinds of conversations I'm having this week where I'm being told things that are off the record. That would be breaking news, but I'm not revealing it. I know it for context. I know it for how to approach my conversations with players, with other GMs, and what the teams are looking for. And then there's a lot of stuff that all, like, embargo until draft day. Hey, are you cool if I don't. If I don't use any of this until our draft coverage begins? And then I can reveal what you're really starting to look for. And some of them say yes, some of them say no. But it's. It's establishing the Trust. I just want them to trust me and know that I'm not gonna, like, spill their secrets or tweet anything out. I think that's, like, the biggest value that I can bring is just to be trusted.

[Pat McAfee]

That's not just a big J. That's also big journalism as well. That's right. That's right. And refresh my memory here. And, boys, you might remember this. Didn't she start, like, sports media school at Boston? Like, yeah, I did not start the sports media. Basically, you did something. I started a role.

[Molly McGrath]

I started a, like, sports reporter role. I was the cheerleading captain, so I was sassy as hell and went into the athletic director's office.

[Pat McAfee]

So what does that mean, sassy? We had a lot of this. I just.

[Molly McGrath]

I knew what I wanted to do in my career. Like, I. I went to the athletic director. I went into his office, Gene DeFilippo at the time, and I said, hey, these are my goals, and this is how I need you to help me get there. And I'm going to create a student reporter position, and I just want your, like, you to sign off on it. I'll do all the extra work. And I had people help me get there. Right. None of us got to where we are without help, help from other people and support. So he supported that. And I created that role, and it. I. I think it exists to this day, which is so cool.

[Pat McAfee]

Hell, yeah, that is cool. And also, it takes a lot of, you know, courage, confidence, intelligence, foresight to go and create that role. And then for the execution part of it, you've crushed it now. Speaking of college football, Andy Reid never wants you to leave. Tom Diggs has a question for you.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, I do. So we. We always talk to Shefty, and I'm wondering about the difference between the sideline and then this kind of the draft role. We talk about, like, with Shefty, like, how transactional, like, all his relationships have to be. Like, with all of his sources and all these GMs and coaches and stuff like that. What is the biggest difference between those relationships? And then when you're talking to the college coaches, like, gathering information for the game, is that more of, like, a relaxed situation?

[Molly McGrath]

I think they're similar.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

I think it's all about people that you're working with liking you, trusting you, rooting for you, trusting you with certain information. With the draft, it's obviously a little more sensitive, because with these picks, there's money on the line and jobs on the line, so you want to be really sensitive and with that, like, I go into conversations with GMs and I say, hey, this whole conversation can be off the record if you want, but with the coach. You don't start a conversation with a coach going into a production meeting saying, hey, this is all off the record. Usually it's all on the record unless they say, hey, don't say this. You know, so it's a little stricter and a little tighter, I think, with the NFL. And you don't want to, like, piss people off because you want to keep those relationships. In college football, it's a little more fair game unless you're instructed specifically not to say something.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's talk about college ball. This past year, 12 team players off. It was start with 12, count down, down to one to crown a CFP national champion.

[Molly McGrath]

I didn't. I didn't sing long, but, yeah, it was awesome.

[Pat McAfee]

Why didn't you pay attention to the song?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Do we have.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't know if we have it. I deleted that one. What the hell, man?

[Ty Schmidt]

That's it. All you keep.

[Molly McGrath]

That's a next year thing.

[Pat McAfee]

More schools get a shot to shine, and it's more games and a lot more fun. Starting with 12, count down to one. That's how we crown a CFP national champion. That's how we crown a CFP national champion.

[Molly McGrath]

Good job.

[Pat McAfee]

We didn't create that. We didn't create that.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

If only the network God did.

[Pat McAfee]

Sounds like AI maybe helps, but I think there was some people in Nashville, but 12 team playoff. Obviously you've been covering college ball for a long time.

[Molly McGrath]

Your thoughts on what it added to was incredible. The 12 team playoff was so much fun.

[Pat McAfee]

Blowouts. I still thought it was awesome.

[Molly McGrath]

Okay, like some blowouts. Round one. But then the. The quarterfinals and semi, like the semifinal games were great. Electric. You know, it's. It was. It was so much fun. It was a grind. It was a grind to cover every round. And, you know, when you're on site for these games, like for college football, we get there, you're there for almost a week. So I just wasn't home for like a month and a half. But, you know, there are other people taking care of my children. My husband is.

[Pat McAfee]

He's fully capable.

[Molly McGrath]

I am a mother. But it was fantastic because the games were awesome and it was so unique because I covered Notre Dame from the first round all the way to the national championship game. And when else do you get a team four games in a row, and you get to follow them through the course and through a run like that. And get to know the coaches, the players intimately. I basically knew every player on that team really well. I'd interviewed all of them at some point. So it was, it was really cool to be able to experience that.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we agree, like, we got a chance obviously, with our simulcast field pass operation to be there for all the games except for one. We didn't. We had all Ohio State's games.

[Ty Schmidt]

Boise, Penn State.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, we, we had festival. But you're right, each week it was.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah, we did Ohio State.

[Pat McAfee]

We were right, you guys. Sorry. We were right in the middle. We were right in the middle of all of it. And the reason why you're going to do so great at the NFL and why you do so great at college is because you do spend a week at all these places. Yeah, we fly in there day before. Yeah, we're going to practice. I'm not doing games. Yeah, we're not doing games. We do the field pass, but we in the booth and on the main broadcast, what was the numbers that were coming in for some of those games? 28, 20 plus million. I think just so many games. And I think viewer, I don't want to say fatigue, but maybe viewers being new to the flow of college football. Yeah. In the playoffs and how late the.

[Molly McGrath]

Games were going into January.

[Pat McAfee]

Bingo. Yeah. So I think there's still some things that can get worked out, but man, we loved it and it was electrifying.

[Molly McGrath]

And those games felt larger than life. Life. Especially on campus. The on campus games were my. That was my favorite. Cold, cold, freezing cold at Notre Dame. But that was so cool to be a part of something like that.

[Pat McAfee]

Agreed. And like the, the people. That's college football. The pageantry, tradition and environments are a massive piece of the product, I think.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Like, obviously the football is being played on the field. The football, it does matter. And if you're good, it's going to be better. But the environments are what make college football. College football.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

So them showcasing that I think was a big deal. Boy, it was cold, though. It was. We were pitching hard.

[Molly McGrath]

Don't be soft. It's fine.

[Pat McAfee]

No, it was you at Ohio State, Tennessee. I.

[Molly McGrath]

Well, I was at Notre Dame and it was single digs. It was pretty cold, but I had an electric jacket on. Oh, you have to like get with the.

[Pat McAfee]

You know that we don't.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah, I know. This is sideline reporter info. I had an electric vest, I had electric gloves. You're holding a mic, your hand gets cold.

[Ty Schmidt]

Pat didn't have gloves at all.

[Pat McAfee]

So I have gloves or A head?

[Molly McGrath]

No, he's a tough guy. He doesn't wear sleeves either.

[Pat McAfee]

Sure. We're in a stadium. Lucas Oil Stadium. It is a beautiful time. And also spring is cracking seemingly here in Indianapolis. You tell Punxsutawney Phil to eat shit?

[Ty Schmidt]

Sure.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. You didn't think that was coming. It's the coldest winter we've had. Coldest. We talk about how far you travel. You live in Washington.

[Molly McGrath]

I do. I live in Seattle. I'm crossing time zones every, like, three days. Days.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

What?

[Molly McGrath]

It's wild.

[Pat McAfee]

Very wild.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah, It's. That's been tough. I think the time change is the toughest part because sometimes I'll have 7am Eastern meetings. So I'm waking up at 4 and I'm on Zooms. Just, like, trying to keep my life together.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, you're doing a great job. Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

It's fine. We're dealing with it. There might be a move in my future with my family, but it's not.

[Pat McAfee]

Something just as a human that. Not as much as you, but travels and works a good bit. Convenience in and out of these places is. That is the name of the game. That is you. Traveling back to Washington every single week is just absurd to think about. But there's only one person that can pull it off, and that's the person that walks into Boston College, says, we need this to happen, change everything, and then change the course of football coverage and your life. Molly, you've absolutely crushed it. We appreciate you so much and thank you for stopping by. Good luck with the draft coverage.

[Molly McGrath]

Thank you. Thank you. So good to see you guys. So good to see you in person, dude.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. I mean, only on TV and on the Internet throughout this entirety.

[Molly McGrath]

That's our lives. It's fine. All right.

[Pat McAfee]

That is our lives. And what, you watch ESPN draft coverage. You'll be on it?

[Molly McGrath]

Yep, I'll be on the ESPN draft coverage. I need to find, like, if anyone wants to sponsor me, you need to find, like, a sick little, like, chinchilla coat. Like, a coat. We're going to be in Green Bay.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

It was cold in Detroit last year.

[Boston Connor]

It's gonna be cold.

[Molly McGrath]

I was wearing, like, extra layers. It's gonna be cold. You have to embrace the place. Right? So I have to have some cheese head.

[Pat McAfee]

Put a cheese head on. Put a cheese head on the head.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah, that'll be a good one.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Overalls, and there are a lot of overalls out there.

[Ty Schmidt]

American gangster.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

You can get the Frank Lucas coat.

[Pat McAfee]

From America and the hat.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Look into it.

[Molly McGrath]

That's one way to, like, be trending on the Internet. That or getting a fight in a Star Starbucks. So it's like, I'd rather be all.

[Ty Schmidt]

There he is.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, surviving the fight is Ian Rapaport. Good to see him walking by here licking his wounds. All right, so you're going to be in the lead up to the NFL draft coverage as well on espn. How's. What are. Where will we see you talking about what you're learning here today and everything like that?

[Molly McGrath]

I have no idea. I'll be on espn.

[Pat McAfee]

They're.

[Molly McGrath]

They'll send me out before the draft and maybe I'll do some stuff ahead of that, some pro days, things like that. I'm also doing college basketball coverage right now.

[Pat McAfee]

Now, really?

[Molly McGrath]

I was just in Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama. Tuscaloosa. Sorry, I flew out of Birmingham.

[Ty Schmidt]

No, there's a couple.

[Boston Connor]

I think there's a couple.

[Pat McAfee]

I was in England.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That's one.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's the only one I can think of.

[Molly McGrath]

Yeah, I just got back from Europe. I just came back from Europe covering the Pinky Flyers. I was in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night, and now I'm going to Knoxville for Alabama at Tennessee on Saturday. That's a really big one. So with my travel schedule, I just don't go home.

[Pat McAfee]

No, we'll keep grinding.

[Molly McGrath]

It's fine.

[Pat McAfee]

It is admirable and it is awesome. You're getting to the top, Molly. You're already there. You're the best. Ladies and gentlemen, Molly McGr. Than you guys.

[Molly McGrath]

You guys are the best.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you, Molly.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

What other Birmingham popped in your head there?

[Ty Schmidt]

I just know there's more than one.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

See?

[Ty Schmidt]

You know what I mean?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, yeah, I guess. But like, Birmingham, college basketball.

[Boston Connor]

Birmingham, New York.

[Pat McAfee]

Watching her operate.

[Ty Schmidt]

She a dog.

[Pat McAfee]

That Thursday Night Football thing was crazy because, you know, she's telling stories for different college football shows that are happening and interviews and sit down and do that. But then on the game, she's. She's not only, like, doing the drops before halftime at the beginning of the game, which I think a lot of people just expect. She's working constant movement, constant working everything. And she knows every storyline for every player. And, like, if anything happens, she drops, like, reminders. Hey, remember, like, she's like a producer. While also, it's. Molly's a beast dog. Molly's an absolute beast. The NFL is calling, though.

[Ty Schmidt]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Andy Reid going. Don't.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, no, sorry.

[Pat McAfee]

Don't you. Not now. We need you in college ball. It's like Certainly we do. But she is a G. Molly's an absolute G. Speaking of, I believe Indianapolis, Indiana has brought some things. Oh. Through for us, and this might be the visit indie people. Yeah, I believe that's Chris Gall of Visit Indy. Don't know this guy's name, but I should. Hey, how you doing? How you doing, man? Hey. I'm over here.

[Boston Connor]

Cocktail.

[Pat McAfee]

You got him.

[Boston Connor]

Kidding me, man.

[Pat McAfee]

Chris, thank you.

[Boston Connor]

Thank you very much.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Do you want to sit down and put a headset on? Thank you so much.

[Ty Schmidt]

Thank you so much.

[Pat McAfee]

You'll be great. What we got here? We. We got some steak sliders here.

[Ty Schmidt]

We've got the filet sliders. You'll find those at Hair and Disney's St. El Mo Steakhouse.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

This famous iconic Saint Elmo shrimp cocktail. You're not gonna cry when you have it, are you?

[Pat McAfee]

I'm not gonna breathe. I'm not gonna breathe. Listen, I've been around the game. Whenever you eat this, you can't breathe. When you breathe while eating, it shoots up into the nose, and it's game, set, match. But that flavor is something you can't get anywhere else, which is why people come. They love it. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

And it's been synonymous with Indianapolis. Just like the NFL combine.

[Boston Connor]

We're glad to have it here in.

[Pat McAfee]

Indianapolis for another year since 1987.

[Chris Gall]

So we're glad to have all the NFL folks here.

[Pat McAfee]

We appreciate the hell out of you, man. All right, Chris, let's stick around. Thank you so much. Great service.

[Chris Gall]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah, no problem. Yeah, no problem. That was a good. Sir. That was good service. Okay, so that guy owns St. Omega, obviously.

[Chris Gall]

He owns St. Elmos. Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

Chris, we should have known that. I felt like a big time. I said, here comes Chris from Visit Indy, and Guy I should definitely know, but I don't. He owns St. Elmo.

[Chris Gall]

He owns St. Elmo.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, sir. Thank you. I didn't know who the hell you were when he came up here. Thank you so much for watching, man.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Thanks.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Thank you, sir.

[Chris Gall]

Is there more iconic restaurant?

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think there isn't a more iconic restaurant synonymous with a city. Anytime anybody comes to Indianapolis, Mad Mel's already crying. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Hot.

[Pat McAfee]

But zoom in on those eyes. Get those eyes.

[Ty Schmidt]

Well, that's the thing.

[Boston Connor]

You got to dive right in.

[Ty Schmidt]

Once it gets in the nostrils, you.

[Boston Connor]

Got to dive right in.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Boston Connor]

Go back for some more.

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It's so good.

[Ty Schmidt]

Not like you're pumpkin goodbye, huh?

[Pat McAfee]

You got to can't. You can't breathe while you're eating it. That's the. You guys are making massive mistakes. I feel like.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, no.

[Chris Gall]

I think it's like 24 pounds of shrimp cocktail sauce they serve up annually. Annually.

[Pat McAfee]

Geez Louise. Annually or weekly?

[Field Yates]

Weekly.

[Chris Gall]

Excuse me?

[Pat McAfee]

Weekly. Annually. Be a lot. 52. Tone's eating one right now. He's having a moment right now with a shrimp cocktail.

[Boston Connor]

Part of the experience.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Love it clears you out Mad.

[Pat McAfee]

Mel's trying Connor. I don't know if he has a. Any feeling.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

It is so good.

[Chris Gall]

It hits you.

[Matt Rule]

I love this shit.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, Chris, let's talk a little bit. I don't know. Official title. Head of Visit Indy.

[Chris Gall]

Executive Vice President.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay. We appreciate what you're doing with Indianapolis. You look very, very cool.

[Chris Gall]

Thank you.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you for this. This is a part of the Visit Indy, obviously.

[Chris Gall]

We thought it looked good on your desk.

[Pat McAfee]

It does. It looks amazing. And obviously, people walk in. They're the eye in Indy because Indy is such, like, a collaborative thing, and we are such a welcoming city. Whenever the Combine comes here, what does it bring to the city each year, and what is the goal? Is the goal to keep Combine here forever? I would assume it is.

[Chris Gall]

We had meetings with the league this week. The Combine has been here since 87. We have them on the books through 26 this week. $10 million in economic impact for our city. We want to keep them. We believe there's no better city in the nation. You got IU Health, expanding the convention center expansion all under one roof. These prospects seamlessly walk the media seamlessly walk. Why move this? It's not broken.

[Pat McAfee]

Starbucks gets a little hot sometimes. I don't know about this Starbucks. There was a. I don't know, swivel. There's a little bit of.

[Chris Gall]

I saw that. I didn't.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, it was real. But that's not normal here. Hospitality is the Hoosier way. We host events and conventions literally weekly. The city's used to it. The Indy 500 is the biggest sporting event in. Connor. It got Connor. It got. Caught me. He thought he had it. This. He got it. Got him. But it feels good. Yeah. Oh, man.

[Chris Gall]

We got you a napkin if you need it.

[Pat McAfee]

No, no, no.

[Chris Gall]

They got him.

[Pat McAfee]

That's Indiana looking out. But the Indianapolis 500 is the largest sporting event on Earth every single year, period. Why do you think this place is built? You said a convention, everything like that. But I think it's the people, too. I think the people are very, very used to outsiders coming in. Taking care and then saying, hey, we'll see you next year, or something like that, don't you?

[Chris Gall]

We're sometimes an underdog city. We don't mind that. We like to, you know, achieve higher, higher, higher. It's the people. People make the place pat. The infrastructure were literally built to host major sporting events and conventions. But it's our people, it's our residents. They're hospitable. It's part of our DNA. And so when that visitor comes, whether it's an international media member, a prospect's family, we welcome them. 2024, busiest year in tourism history in the city. City of Indianapolis.

[Pat McAfee]

Welcome back. Okay, now, welcome back. People won't talk about it nationally, but like Covid, whenever the world stops.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

Cities that host things really, really took a shot. Like we took a devastating blow from the world stopping, not being able to host and not having all these things.

[Chris Gall]

Right.

[Pat McAfee]

So us being all the way back. Congratulations to you, your team and everybody.

[Chris Gall]

Thank you. Thank you. You know, it's when you have Pacer Sports Entertainment and the Colts, when you have the NCAA headquartered here, there's a lot of trust. And the oldest sports commission in the nation, the Indiana Sports Corps, we just keep picking away at what events we want. By the way, we'd love to have the draft. We're in conversations.

[Pat McAfee]

Let's have. Hey, commission. Let's get that one done. Let's get that one done.

[Chris Gall]

Love to have another college football playoff national championship. And with the WNBA all star game bouncing here, could not pick a better year in time. Time in Indianapolis history to have that event.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Especially with 22. Yeah. Yeah. She's pretty good. She's pretty good. Mad Mel has a question for you, Chris.

[Boston Connor]

If you were to bring one restaurant to downtown Indianapolis today. We don't have. Yeah, because. Because everyone knows, you know, Elmo's is iconic. If you don't want to get super dressed up, maybe you go to Harry and Izzy's instead. If you're a scumbag like a couple of the guys we work with, you're gonna go over to Hooters.

[Chris Gall]

Yes.

[Pat McAfee]

Out of business.

[Boston Connor]

Yeah, exactly. Rest. So, but is there one restaurant or, you know, attraction, let's say that you're trying to bring to the downtown area.

[Chris Gall]

That's a great question. You know, we'd love to get. There's this technology called Cosm. It's like the sphere.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay.

[Chris Gall]

We've been eyeing that.

[Ty Schmidt]

Those are awesome.

[Chris Gall]

That'd be. We're a sports minded city. You could sit and watch these major Sporting events.

[Pat McAfee]

And we got buildings down here that will certainly be able to. That could feasibly.

[Chris Gall]

Exactly, exactly.

[Pat McAfee]

Get that in there.

[Chris Gall]

Exactly. If I had to have a restaurant concept, though, I'd call it Reggie's. Reggie Miller, Reggie Waynes. You'd have a restaurant in downtown Indy called Reggie's. They'd cook, they'd serve things up. Iconic Reggie across the board. I think that would do well here.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, the name Reggie gets chanted at basically any sport that happens here in Indianapolis. Need the Colts to get good again.

[Chris Gall]

I hear you, I hear you.

[Pat McAfee]

He's from Boston. Well, I also just watch a game. Yeah, but he lives here in Indianapolis, loves the city.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Well, pay taxes for us to come here.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you. Thank you. No problem.

[Tyrese Haliburton]

I.

[Pat McAfee]

Go ahead.

[Chris Gall]

Are his footballs inflated or deflated?

[Tyrese Haliburton]

Godamn.

[Pat McAfee]

That was.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

That was proven.

[Ty Schmidt]

Pull up.

[Field Yates]

Pull up the article.

[Pat McAfee]

That was Science guy. Who's a model.

[Chris Gall]

He is a model.

[Pat McAfee]

He is. Okay, Chris, what's next for Indianapolis?

[Chris Gall]

Well, I tell you what works. Expanding the city. We want that WNBA All Star game to be the best ever. We want that to catapult us into the future. As I mentioned, we're putting about $3 billion in new tourism related infrastructure downtown, making it bigger and better. We want to hold on to the combine. We want to attract the draft, and we really, really want the College Football Playoff national championship to come back.

[Ty Schmidt]

Is there an MLS team coming?

[Chris Gall]

Not yet. We're in discussions.

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, that's a big deal, right?

[Chris Gall]

Yeah. The mayor of Indianapolis has led those discussions with the idea that we could have an MLS team. And it was reported this week the commissioner was here. MLS commissioner. To kick the tires and see the city again. So we believe sports is in our nature and our culture and we could do well with an MLS team.

[Pat McAfee]

Okay, so as the executive vice president of the Taurus Group.

[Chris Gall]

You got it.

[Pat McAfee]

Visit Indy.

[Chris Gall]

You got it.

[Pat McAfee]

What are you running for mayor next? What is. No, you just like helping the city you're from. Like, what is the. How'd you end up here?

[Chris Gall]

Pike High School, Butler University. Was in Hawaii for a couple years helping Hawaii tourism.

[Pat McAfee]

That was probably sweet. Which island?

[Chris Gall]

Oahu.

[Pat McAfee]

You're on Oahu. Oahu.

[Chris Gall]

That's where my mom's side has been and we have family there and so can.

[Pat McAfee]

I didn't know you were an oos.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, I got. I got raised here. Summers in Hawaii.

[Pat McAfee]

Raised here.

[Chris Gall]

Summers in Hawaii.

[Pat McAfee]

Guys, an ooze, obviously.

[Ty Schmidt]

I think you should spend summers here, maybe winters in Hawaii.

[Chris Gall]

That's true. Football, though, had to Go to school and football, but Indy's my home about those things. I love being an underdog and competing with other major cities to try to get these events like the combine and proving. Proving what we. What we build here.

[Pat McAfee]

So you love repping for the city?

[Chris Gall]

Love it.

[Pat McAfee]

It feels like a lot of people do. I got a chance to. Obviously, there's visit Indy, Then there's the Indy 500 festival, folks.

[Chris Gall]

Yes, yes.

[Pat McAfee]

I just learned of the C.I.B.

[Chris Gall]

Yep.

[Pat McAfee]

I just learned of that.

[Chris Gall]

They own these facilities. They do an incredible job.

[Pat McAfee]

The guy. Yeah, Craig, my dude. I don't know if he's here or not. I think he has.

[Chris Gall]

Oh, yeah, Craig.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, Craig's the man.

[Chris Gall]

Helps run this place.

[Pat McAfee]

Yes, he does.

[Chris Gall]

Make sure it's sparkling.

[Pat McAfee]

So the NFL and the NFL Network people, obviously fantastic folks, forced me to do a site survey, even though we had agreed that we would be able to do our show from here. So I come down and do a site survey, and Craig from Indianapolis is the one showing me around. It's not somebody from the NFL. I'm like, craig, who do you work for? That's literally what I said to him. Because if it was NFL people, I was about to be like, come on. Like, what are we even doing here? We already agreed to be here. We're in a stadium. There's enough room for us to set up some seats wherever it is. Craig's like, I work for the CIB here in Indianapolis, which is a city improvement board or whatever. I say, you're an Indy guy. He goes, yeah. I go, is there going to be a spot? Like, why were they acting like there wasn't a spot? He goes, yeah, we got enough room. We got enough room. No problem at all. And he was. Was like. We walk up here, and he goes, do you want to just use the horseshoe set? Or whatever? And I'm like, is that available? He's like, absolutely. And I was like, yes, we would. We would like this quickest site survey of all time. And it got much better. I think we would have been somewhere.

[Chris Gall]

This is prime.

[Pat McAfee]

Prime. We are so lucky. Beautiful stadium. Perfect stadium, perfect place, and perfect people. I think is why I love the state so much.

[Chris Gall]

Listen, and thank you for all you do. You spent a lot of time in this building.

[Pat McAfee]

Come on.

[Chris Gall]

In the last couple of weeks, most months, years. And you're an advocate. You're not bashful about being from here. In fact, some of your colleagues have relocated here.

[Pat McAfee]

All of them? Yeah, all of them have, which is why he's so happy to Pay taxes here, and we'll.

[Chris Gall]

We'll take those taxes and make sure that we keep growing the city and restaurants and museums and more sporting events. So you're a big indie booster and you carry a lot of influence. And when people hear that Pat loves Indy.

[Pat McAfee]

How could you not, brother? Literally, how could you not? I'm very lucky to be here.

[Chris Gall]

And you're raising your family here.

[Pat McAfee]

And my wife's from here. My baby girl was born here. A lot of our families have started here. A lot of Hoosier babies around our business, and we're lucky and thankful for them.

[Chris Gall]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Pat McAfee]

Well, he's just completely said the opposite there, don't he?

[Ty Schmidt]

My daughter was born here, but I'll tell her she was born in Pittsburgh.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, okay. He's from Pittsburgh. That's a lot of pride in Pittsburgh. Very similar type people. But obviously Indianapolis is fantastic. And Chris, great work. We appreciate Pat.

[Chris Gall]

Thank you. Thanks for having me on, guys. Enjoy this shrimp cocktail cocktails.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, hell, yeah.

[Chris Gall]

Great.

[Boston Connor]

Delicious, Chris.

[Pat McAfee]

Keep doing it, Chris.

[Ty Schmidt]

Thank you for everything, Chris.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you, man.

[Boston Connor]

Pallet cleanser there.

[Pat McAfee]

Come on. Appreciate you, Chris. Yeah, no problem, dude. Cocktail. Delightful. Hey, Chris. The real deal.

[Ty Schmidt]

He looks cool.

[Pat McAfee]

He's the one. He's the one that's doing, like, when we're pitching for the super bowl, he's the guy that's, you know, when we're making pitches for the ncaa, he's the guy that's a part of the.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

On the pavement.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, he's the guy.

[Ty Schmidt]

He's cool, dude.

[Pat McAfee]

I don't think I've maybe met him one time before an event because he's like. He's. He's on a move. He's everywhere.

[Ty Schmidt]

I mean, that's. That's Chris football.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Bingo.

[Pat McAfee]

Loves the city of Indianapolis.

[Boston Connor]

Cosm down here, Cosmos. I don't know how he's going to get it done, but get it done, Chris.

[Ty Schmidt]

I don't know if it'd be down here, probably be up north, but all you would need.

[Pat McAfee]

All you. All you would literally need is just big space with a bunch of led boards, right? Correct. You know what it is, technically, should we try to turn this into a cosm before the end, before tomorrow?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Yeah, just relocate the team. Use the whole entire thing.

[Pat McAfee]

What's that? Put.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Put 15 COSMs in this building.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, you're saying this is the space to do. Yeah, yeah, why not? There's buildings right down over there.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Have a bunch of them.

[Pat McAfee]

All right. Hell of a day today, boys. A lot of guests. That's combo that is combine. Somebody has suit over there. They look very important. How about the owner of St. Elmo? Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

What a beast.

[Pat McAfee]

Craig. Yeah. You got little flex. Yeah.

[Ty Schmidt]

I wanted to shake his head. I go to his north side location all the time.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah. Harry and Izzy's. No.

[Ty Schmidt]

1933.

[Pat McAfee]

Oh, yeah. Which is another great.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Fantastic.

[Pat McAfee]

All these being available on door dash is crazy, too.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Can't wait to eat one of those.

[Pat McAfee]

One of these. Yeah. Coming at you. There's a toothpick in it. Yep.

[Boston Connor]

Set. Hut.

[Pat McAfee]

That one's gonna.

[Boston Connor]

That hurt.

[Matt Rule]

That had some cheese on it.

[Pat McAfee]

Toothpick on both sides. Oh. Oh, no. Yeah, both sides.

[Boston Connor]

Better. Because my bun fell off.

[Ty Schmidt]

Are they exposed?

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, I don't think I should do that. Oh, it's okay.

[Boston Connor]

He's just.

[Pat McAfee]

Bingo.

[Ty Schmidt]

That's all we needed anyways.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, my God.

[Pat McAfee]

It's a filet. Right at the guy. Great catch. Great catch. How is that filet? St. Elmo's steak, we just got. That's. You go to steak places? You know, in. I think the first time I went to a nice steakhouse. Grew up on Texas Roadhouse. Sure. Okay. We're going to Texas Roadhouse. That's a big night.

[Ty Schmidt]

Don't forget Ponderosas.

[Pat McAfee]

Boom. Ponderosa. You're 100, right? Horses. Even if we're gonna get. Yeah. Don't forget horses. Yeah, we. That's big night out. Okay. We're having. We're having. We're going to. We're going to pawn the rose and Texas Roadhouse.

[Ty Schmidt]

That was the.

[Pat McAfee]

The triangle. That was it. Hey, birthday. Where are we headed? Well, Texas Roadhouse all booked up. We gotta go to pond roast. Pond roast booked up. We got Chicago, maybe even the ground round.

[Ty Schmidt]

If we were feeling there's a chance.

[Pat McAfee]

You could sneak in there. So then college at Morgantown. I'm a guy at Cheddar's, you know, and there's not really steak place, so I get in the NFL my rookie year, I get invited to go to a dinner here in Indianapolis at Harry and Izzy's, which is St. Elmo's. Like brother sister restaurant. I don't know what is. Same exact ownership, same food, same kitchen. Just different vibes. Same exact kitchen. Yeah.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Like, just next to each other.

[Pat McAfee]

Connect to it. It's just a different vibe. It's like a sports bar, a little bit more young. And then St. Elmo's is like historic. You, like, walk in there, it's like you're a part of something, you know? And that's why everybody comes to Indianapolis. Like, do I need to go to St. Elmo's. It's like, if you've never been. Yeah, you definitely have to go. It's an experience. It's part of the city. But also Harry and Izzy's. Same food a little bit. You know, I think Peyton part of hair and Izzy's as well, potentially. So he was one that was hosting it. So we go in there, we walk down this back room, and I'm getting like, my first taste of, like, these real steaks. And I'm like, this place is awesome. And then the shrimp cocktail comes out. And I've only seen this in movies. Like, oh, shrimp cocktail. You know, going to a moment here and you get like grocery store ones where it's a plastic dipper in there and you get the little thing. So everybody, all the rookies that were invited to that thing. It's the reason why we're invited. Look back on. The only reason we're invited was to get this and just take a big chunk and just. And then everybody just cry their eyes out. And it's like, it's so good. But it'll get you. I mean, it'll get you. And you go back again. It's almost like a. Like an intoxicating feeling. Almost like it's like an adrenaline rush. And then you eat it again.

[Boston Connor]

I love crying when I eat it. Like legit. That's part of it.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, Mad Mel, Big takeaway as we wrap up this glorious Thursday day from the NFL scouting combine presented by Microsoft co pilot, which is Microsoft's AI biggest takeaway.

[Boston Connor]

Very excited to see, you know, what the athletes do out here on the field. But I'll be honest, biggest takeaway is I could eat a hundred of those fillet sliders.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Not even kidding that. I mean, cooked perfection.

[Ty Schmidt]

Set hot.

[Pat McAfee]

Thank you.

[Boston Connor]

I mean, medium rare. I don't know if it's medium rare.

[Ty Schmidt]

It's medium rare.

[Boston Connor]

Medium, medium plus. Yeah, these are delicious.

[Pat McAfee]

All right.

[Ty Schmidt]

And if you just eat them, just the filet, like you can eat a thousand of those.

[Boston Connor]

What do you think? Two out two ounces piece here?

[Ty Schmidt]

Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

Two ounces, two ounce piece of steak.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Aim high. Aim high.

[Ty Schmidt]

I. I had it.

[Pat McAfee]

It dropped out cuz I had to.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Come forward for it.

[Ty Schmidt]

At least it didn't hit the ground.

[Pat McAfee]

No, I know.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

I'm saying I couldn't.

[Pat McAfee]

All right, we got to get out of here. We literally have to turn off the lights. Lights. Oh. Because the things going on. Remember the NFL was like, hey, make sure his lights are off by 3 o'clock we don't need scouts getting any lights in our eyes. Sure. And I thought they were being dramatic like everything else with this network over here. And then I got here and I saw a thousand lights and I'm like, all right, fair enough.

[Ty Schmidt]

The scout suites are now full. They were not full yesterday. They are now all full.

[Pat McAfee]

Fans have also filed in. We're about to have a damn show here on NFL Network and NFL plus plus as Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah will officially kick off the on field exercises of the future of the NFL. We'll be back here tomorrow. I think we got a good one. Tomorrow. I think we got a good one.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Pat McAfee]

I believe Brandon Bean of the Buffalo Beatles will stop by. Boom. I believe there's a few others that are going to make their way over here. You know, it's. It's an interesting time that we're on because they're in the middle of interviews and medical while practice is taking place. So anybody that's able to make time to chat with us, we're incredibly grateful for. And also we'll feel like we'll try to do our due diligence in getting the most out. Hell yeah. That's right. Cuz we got a lot of questions for these guys too, Tin.

[Boston Connor]

Without a doubt.

[Pat McAfee]

Mad Mel, are you going to be back tomorrow? Is. Have you kept. Has Ty texted you at all?

[Boston Connor]

Do you know I've got any text or anything? You tell me.

[Ty Schmidt]

He is aliens landline, so it's tough to get text.

[Pat McAfee]

Yeah, that's a good point. We'll call you. They didn't bring a pumpkin pie up here.

[Boston Connor]

That's kind of horseshit. But you know, I mean, like I said, those steaks. Holy.

[Pat McAfee]

Very good. Yeah.

[Boston Connor]

You know, I appreciate Mike Foss. I think we got McAllisters on the way. Guess what, you're playing second fiddle, pal. Okay.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Thank you.

[Boston Connor]

Thank you though, Mike.

[Pat McAfee]

Dan Morgan, general manager of the Carolina Panthers, right over here.

[Ty Schmidt]

Just stacked.

[Pat McAfee]

Just absolutely jacked. Talking to Bucky Brooks, obviously.

[Ty Schmidt]

How you doing?

[Pat McAfee]

Hey, how you doing, Dan? Great work down there, dude. Know if you can hear us. All right, D. All right, D. I'll go myself.

[Boston Connor]

Dude, steak slider.

[Pat McAfee]

Dad. What up, big dog? How you doing, man? Somebody thinks on this side. Now I'm talking to him. What up, dude? I can't see cuz the lights. But what up, dude?

[Ty Schmidt]

Can't see. That's tough.

[Boston Connor]

Diving in for some more.

[Ty Schmidt]

Oh, we little nap.

[Pat McAfee]

I can't see because of the lights. Hey, you got it. Good to see you Man, I don't know who it is. I can't see anybody.

[Boston Connor]

Good.

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

Good vibes.

[Pat McAfee]

Good vibes, though. Great vibes. Great vibes out of you. I appreciate that. All right, let's get to hel out of here. All the boys in the truck. Great work today, boys. I think today much smoother than yesterday, huh?

[Mad Mel Kuiper]

My mic worked.

[Pat McAfee]

Second day. Normally is lights, LED board here setup or easy in. And you talk about Mike Foss with McAllisters. Mike Foss let Tyrese Halberton just sit outside for about 20 minutes earlier.

[Boston Connor]

Crazy.

[Pat McAfee]

We did Foss. Way to go, bub. Hey, baby. Mike. All right, let's get the hell out of here. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We're in this thing together. Never forget it. Okay, team on me. Team on three. One, two, three. Team. Goodbye. In case you didn't know, these young men are driven. Quite remarkable, magnificent and unmistakable. These are the prodigies, the savants, the ones we've been waiting for. And they are not asking for you to pass the baton. They are methodically planning the perfect moment to take it. A new generation of Toyota drivers are here, and they want you to know one thing. You can't stop my drive.