Florida State Contracts, Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy Joins, Colorado Preview, 4th of July & Michigan Issues

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Triple Option – Episode on Florida State Contracts, Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy, Colorado Preview, 4th of July & Michigan Issues

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Triple Option
• Hosts/Authors: Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, Rob Stone
• Description: Hosts Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II, and Rob Stone delve into the dynamic world of football, offering insights from championship leadership, player perspectives, and extensive sports coverage.

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1. Michigan Scandal: Leadership Under Fire

The episode opens with the hosts addressing a significant scandal involving the University of Michigan's football program. The discussion centers on allegations that former Michigan assistant coach Matt Weiss engaged in identity theft by accessing private information of over 2,000 athletes and 1,300 students and alumni from various institutions between 2015 and 2023. This revelation has implicated high-profile figures within the Michigan administration, including Coach Jim Harbaugh, Athletic Director Warde Manuel, and former President Santa Ono.

Notable Quotes:

• Rob Stone [04:36]: “No matter what happens, something just keeps coming back to bite him in the butt.”
• Urban Meyer [05:02]: “We fired over water or in your backyard or what?”

The hosts express deep disappointment, especially Mark Ingram, who shares a personal connection as Weiss was his former running backs coach at the Ravens. The incident has cast a shadow over Michigan’s recent successes, leading to questions about the program's future and leadership integrity.

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2. Florida State Contracts: A New Era of Restrictions

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to dissecting the controversial contracts Florida State University (FSU) is presenting to its players. These contracts include stringent clauses such as:

• Automatic Extensions: FSU can extend a player's contract without renegotiation based on performance metrics like winning a national championship or winning the Heisman Trophy.
• Financial Penalties: Players face fines up to $2,500 for losing team equipment and severe penalties for breaches related to injuries, limiting their ability to appeal.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Ingram [09:16]: “So if this is legit, this goes through which I. I'm so skeptical, then the days of Florida State are numbered.”
• Urban Meyer [12:10]: “If this, the recruiting, it's over. You can't recruit. And in case you haven't noticed, college football is about recruiting.”

Mark Ingram criticizes the contracts, arguing they strip players of leverage and expose them to undue risks, thereby deterring top talent from committing to FSU. Urban Meyer echoes these sentiments, suggesting that such restrictive measures could significantly harm FSU’s recruiting efforts and overall program stability.

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3. Interview with Jim Nagy: Oklahoma's General Manager Perspective

In an exclusive interview, the hosts welcome Jim Nagy, the newly appointed General Manager (GM) of the University of Oklahoma football program. Nagy, with a rich background in the NFL, shares his vision and strategies for his role in college football.

Key Highlights:

• Role Definition: Nagy explains that his primary responsibility is to support the coaching staff, streamline roster building processes, and implement NFL-style player valuation systems.
• Hierarchical Structure: Emphasizes a collaborative relationship with the head coach, Brent Venables, ensuring a unified approach to team building without imposing undue influence.
• Player Evaluation: Introduces a grading system based on color codes to assess player value, aiming to identify talent beyond traditional star ratings (e.g., three-star vs. five-star recruits).

Notable Quotes:

• Jim Nagy [22:54]: “There's no succinct way to sum it up because there's a lot of parts to this job.”
• Jim Nagy [25:26]: “We’re bringing a grading system which most, most college programs don't have. So that's where I think we're going to have value.”

Nagy highlights the importance of structured evaluation and retention strategies in an era where player mobility via the transfer portal is rampant. His NFL experience brings a fresh perspective to Oklahoma, focusing on building a resilient and dynamic roster.

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4. Colorado Football Preview: Navigating a Challenging Season

The discussion shifts to the Colorado Buffaloes, led by Coach Deion Sanders, now in his third season. The hosts analyze the team's prospects amidst significant roster changes and high expectations.

Key Points:

• Transfer Portal Impact: Colorado has seen a substantial decrease in player stability, with only 26 commits compared to the previous year's 43.
• Key Players: The departure of star quarterback Caden Slater and other top performers like Travis Hunter poses challenges. However, incoming talent, including a five-star freshman and Juju Lewis, offers hope.
• Win Predictions: Utilizing BetMGM's analytics, the hosts predict a win total of six to seven for the season, reflecting both the potential and uncertainties surrounding the team.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Ingram [48:05]: “You had lost your dur. You lost Travis Hunter, arguably the best player in college football recent.”
• Urban Meyer [51:38]: “They went out to work and they left. And in between those two hours, it was go time.”

Urban Meyer and Mark Ingram express cautious optimism, noting that while the team faces significant hurdles, effective coaching and strategic player acquisition could lead to a successful season. The focus remains on building a cohesive unit capable of overcoming the odds.

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5. 4th of July Celebrations: Family, Friends, and Fireworks

Towards the end of the episode, the hosts share their personal ways of celebrating the 4th of July, emphasizing safety and family time over extravagant fireworks displays.

Notable Quotes:

• Mark Ingram [39:16]: “Man, we just have great vibes. We have family, we have friends over. We throw good food on the grill.”
• Urban Meyer [41:01]: “For almost 40 years, this was my favorite holiday. And it still is because this is the calm before the storm.”

Urban Meyer highlights the importance of family gatherings and enjoying fireworks displays responsibly, while Mark Ingram adds a humorous touch about managing children’s activities during the festivities.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Triple Option provides an in-depth look into pressing issues within college football, from administrative scandals at Michigan to controversial player contracts at Florida State. The insightful interview with Oklahoma’s GM Jim Nagy offers a glimpse into the evolving role of general managers in collegiate sports, while the Colorado football preview sets the stage for a season filled with both challenges and opportunities. Throughout, the hosts maintain a balance of professional analysis and personal anecdotes, ensuring listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of the current football landscape.

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Transcript

[Rob Stone]

The fourth of July weekend is upon us. We understand that Mark likes to blowtorch his fireworks.

[Mark Ingram]

Crazy, legendary, dumb fireworks show.

[Rob Stone]

There should be, like, Mark's firework flamethrower.

[Urban Meyer]

I'd avoid that one, man.

[Rob Stone]

Make good decisions, people.

[Mark Ingram]

Safety first. Safety first.

[Rob Stone]

Light it. Welcome to the triple option presented by Wendy's. Try Wendy's new frosty fusions with flavors like caramel crunch, Oreo brownie, and pop Tart Strawberry light. It's going to be some things being lit this week. Yeah, it is July 4th week. Happy July 4th week, everybody. Yeah, especially down there in Florida, man. I know how there's those fireworks stands just kind of pop up in the month of June and July, don't they, Mark down there? Hey, everywhere you turn, man, buy your fire.

[Mark Ingram]

I just had the U Haul truck pull up to my driveway last night, loaded up a whole.

[Rob Stone]

Wait, what U Haul truck that'll drop that stuff off?

[Mark Ingram]

Truck. You see Amazon when it gets there, you should see what it looks like when it leaves the before and after Mark gets to the U Haul truck.

[Urban Meyer]

We fired over water or in your backyard or what?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. So I have a good friend of mine, Jacoby Ford, he has a little dock right on the river, right on the lake, and we go out there, we just blast off and the whole lake be watching and they be clapping. Round of applause. I should put a tip jar out there.

[Rob Stone]

You should. I am a sucker.

[Urban Meyer]

We have the Sarasota fireworks right off our back dock here. I mean, I'm looking right where it's going to be.

[Mark Ingram]

It's funny. It's just funner when you light them off.

[Rob Stone]

Is it? Is it, though? I don't know, man.

[Mark Ingram]

Safe. As long as you're safe.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. I don't trust me or the people I hang out with, so you have to, like. I'm gonna get to the.

[Mark Ingram]

We get the blowtorch with the wind resistant.

[Rob Stone]

What, you got a blowtorch?

[Mark Ingram]

Well, because you can't be down there with a Bic lighter. Like. Like with wind.

[Urban Meyer]

Like, is there tequila being served? That's where I'd say probably get away from that blowtorch.

[Mark Ingram]

Oh. Oh. Tequila happens before, early, and often and after, but not during.

[Urban Meyer]

All right.

[Rob Stone]

Oh, boy. All right, so we're working on a new blowtorch sponsor. This is good. This is great. Happy July 4th week, everybody. On this week's edition of the triple option, presented by a great partner, Wendy's, we're going to look at Colorado's UPCO upcoming season, we're going to do a deep dive on Oklahoma football with their general manager Jim Nagy. Really cool conversation. We're going to question some of the tactics by Florida State University lawyers and yes, there is more legal activity around the University of Michigan and Coach Harboth, as always, thanks for joining us. Please Rate subscribe at Apple Podcasts Spotify where it is you get your podcast as well as across social media. We can be found at 3x option show new episodes coming away every Wednesday on YouTube you can and wherever it is you get your podcast like subscribe, share, tell your neighbors that you shoot fireworks with down by the Creek to watch and all that other good stuff. All right, so he hey, happy July, by the way. What happened?

[Mark Ingram]

Wow.

[Rob Stone]

What happened to June? Happy July.

[Mark Ingram]

And it is July 1st.

[Rob Stone]

July means the college football season starts next month.

[Mark Ingram]

Wow.

[Rob Stone]

But again, it's, it's off the field headlines and chatter that take center stage. Two opening topics we're going to start in Ann Arbor. Coach Jim Harbaugh Former coach Jim Harbaugh how surprising. Athletic director Ward Manual former president Santa Ono. They were added to the hacking lawsuit that has been placed against former Michigan assistant coach Matt Weiss. The attorneys claim that Harbaugh and others knew that Weiss was viewing private information back in December of 2022, but was still able to work as co offensive coordinator during the play game a week later. Weiss was fired in January. So just essentially days or weeks later he is charged. This is ugly stuff though. Identity theft from 2015 to 2023, according to an indictment, he had access to social media, email, cloud storage accounts of more than 2000 college athletes and 1300 students or alumni from schools around the country to primarily find private images of women. Ugly stuff. Listen, we all know there's some bad people out there, but this is another, another wrinkle, another claim, another potential scab to the resume of some really good Michigan people. And man, they, they can't mark, they can't seem to get themselves away from all, all these scandals as of late.

[Mark Ingram]

No matter what happens, something just keeps coming back to bite him in the butt. Like you have this national championship season and it's stained. You have, you know, this program who is trying to be successful and it just keeps getting stained one after another. Like stuff just keeps popping up on them. So man, it's, it's tough being a Wolverine right now, man. No matter you can't get away from it as far as you can get away from it, it comes back to bite you in the butt, man.

[Urban Meyer]

I would say this market Rob, though I'd Pump the brakes. I've read this thing over and over again and, and as egregious it is that this, what this coach was doing, you know, to start dragging in an AD and a president and Jim Harbaugh, I'd pump the brakes on that. You know, I've seen this before. Obviously if this guy did do that, that's horrific and it's probably jail time. It's probably. That's how serious that is. I was reading that significant jail time. So. But to start dragging in others, you know, I pumped the brakes on that and you know, we have witnessed and I guess in the next 60 days what's going to come down from the NCAA for the, for the COVID violation recruiting and then the science dealing in this and a lot of coaches have already lost their jobs and have show causes on them. I, I'd like to bring up the President Ono. Is he employed?

[Rob Stone]

I don't think so.

[Urban Meyer]

It looked like, remember Mark, he was a president that left.

[Rob Stone]

He was going to go to Florida, right, Coach.

[Urban Meyer]

And then the board of trustees unanimous voted him in and then the board of regents said that's not happening. And I believe he left his spot at the Wolverines and someone said he turned down a faculty position or something. So that might be another topic for another day. But I wonder what happened there. This just going on, man.

[Mark Ingram]

This just hurts me though, Stone, because like Matt Weiss, he was my runnings back coach at Ravens, man. Like, oh, he was. I didn't know that, man. Yeah, so it's like, was that going.

[Urban Meyer]

On when you were there?

[Mark Ingram]

No, not that I know of.

[Urban Meyer]

I mean on the dates, on the.

[Rob Stone]

Dates it said it's 2015.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, I was there 2019 and 2020.

[Urban Meyer]

Holy cow.

[Mark Ingram]

So yeah, he was my runnings back coach, man. It was crazy dog to think about because I mean, normal guy, great.

[Urban Meyer]

What was he like?

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah, it seemed like a cool dude, man. Had a family. Like, wow. Just, just. It's just, man, you start hearing stuff about people, you know, bro, you know, it's just like it hurts a little bit.

[Rob Stone]

And also if you're a Michigan fan, like, can I just get some clarity? Like can I know where, where we stand right now? Like just these constant delays of just give us the punishment or let us live or let us play, man. Like, let's solve this.

[Mark Ingram]

This is give us the punishment. Let us move on.

[Urban Meyer]

You know what's amazing? There is punishment is the recruiting is. I think they're doing really well. I know I just got a DJ the other day. Got a five star.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

So but if, if stuff happens, if they do get punished, oh, you know, the recruiting is going to go downhill and those players are going to want to leave, you know.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. While we're talking about recruiting and players leaving or players coming in, some interesting wrinkles have come up. Courtesy of Rev. Share. We know it's a hot topic athletics. This summer, CBS Sports Chris Hummer was able to get his hands on a contract that Florida State football is asking their players to sign. And there's a couple things that, that raised our eyebrows and caught our attention.

[Urban Meyer]

It really raised our eyebrows.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. Just there is a full article out there on, on cbs sports.com we just pulled out some of the kind of, some of the extra eye raising, eyebrow raising moments. A team can extend a player at the end of their contract without renegotiation. As a side note, this is just kind of away from what Florida State is. Many schools do provide players a window to negotiate after every regular season. Some programs, and there's some in the SEC have begun writing in a quote first right of refusal clause which allows them to match a higher offer if they receive one from another school. This all goes to our main theme which we're going to get to in a second. Back to Florida State. They could drop a maximum fine of $2,500. $2,500 a comma is involved on the first offense if a player lose team equipments. First offense if a player loses team equipment such as a pair of cleats. Those are some expensive cleats, my friend.

[Urban Meyer]

The one that's actually, Wait, stop there. That's actually on paper.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

We didn't, we didn't see the contract. Right.

[Rob Stone]

It is in the deal again, according to the report. Yeah. And, and what the CBS Sports journalists saw. And then there's this one. A section covers breach of contract, including quote, illness or injury which is serious enough to affect the value of rights granted to the school. Listen, lawyers are going to lawyer, right? And I'm sure Florida State just, just took their, their, their legal nerds and said, hey, let's get ahead of the curve. Let's just throw stuff in. Let's get our, let's get our power. Let's get our Ducks in order. Let's, let's be above the conversation. But then when this stuff falls on Mike Norvell's desk, coach, he's got to be going, wait, what, what are we talking about here?

[Urban Meyer]

Let's paint the real picture. Let's paint the real picture. Mark. Mark Norvell Excuse me. Coach Norvell is a friend of mine. We won that golf thing again this year. Good dude and obviously great coach. So. All right, let's just paint the picture for the listener that in the old days, I think it's changed a little bit now. But Mark, you're one of the top players in the country. And then the head coach has got to come in and do something called close. He's got to come in and you know, if you're not early, commit all that. So I'm just going to paint the picture. December, it's early January, you're still undecided, you're down to three or four schools. You got Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, I'm going to roll in there. And then you got Mack Brown and they're all going to recruit you. And as they walk into your house, your mom usually puts some food down there, maybe some tea or something like that, and we start talking about academics, your network, opportunity to play, opportunity get you ready for the NFL, et cetera, et cetera. And then by the way, you ask the question or else he throws, which I can't believe this. If you lose a pair of shoes, it's going to cost you possibly $2,500. And if you get hurt in one of the most violent sports and tough sports out there, you're going to be in breach of contract. What's the response, Mark?

[Mark Ingram]

I'm going to be like, coach, just give me a copy of that and I'm going to talk to you later. Ok? Like, bro, like for one, they can extend me, Coach. So say I have an amazing Heisman season, we win a national championship and I outplayed my value. Right. They can extend me without my consent. So now I'm getting underpaid. Then you talking about you could cancel my pay. If I get hurt playing for you, you can find me. I can't appeal it and that's only one time offense. Coach, if I do it again, they talking about doubling the fines. So it's like I'm not signing that deal. Coach, for one, I'm giving away all my leverage. Like we talk about this new nil era and this rev share era, like there's supposed to be some give and take, some balance here. Now we're giving all the power back to Florida State. They're doing, they want all control and not necessarily fairness according to this article.

[Urban Meyer]

So if I'll make this statement, if this is legit, this goes through which I. I'm so skeptical, then the, the days of Florida State are numbered. Well, it won't happen. It won't happen. It can't happen.

[Mark Ingram]

No chance players are going to go there because for one, it gives, this contract gives Florida State way too much control over your future and your money. It exposes you to risk injury, discipline, loss of leverage, all that. So if you're a top player and, and you're got Florida State on your visit and they give you this, I'm sure there's another university that's going to give you better conditions and treat you like a, you know, a partner, not an asset.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I think what's happened, Rob, is the pendulum swung so far that the players could leave anytime. Unlimited transfers, nil. No limitations, no guardrails. And now it's swinging back. And some people that shouldn't be involved are getting too involved and they're putting this power struggle that. I've never seen anything like that again. If this, the recruiting, it's over. You can't recruit. And in case you haven't noticed, college football is about recruiting.

[Rob Stone]

It's probably a lot like those, those cell phone agreements that you get or the mortgages where they're just like, just, just initial here, initial here, sign here. This is just a nothing. Don't, don't worry about that. But I guarantee you what is happen, every major college program is going to go, hey, let's go look at the Florida State roster real quick and let's go see who's on it and who the recruiting and let's just go remind them, maybe give them a subtle little nudge like, hey, you might be giving up A, B, C and D. And we don't do that at X University. You might want to reevaluate some things.

[Urban Meyer]

So Norvell & Co. What's amazing, Mark, this Chris Hummer guy, the CBS Sports there, there's anonymous sources that said there's even worse contracts than this out there, which I can't. There can't be anything worse.

[Mark Ingram]

Right.

[Urban Meyer]

Or I can imagine that there can be the, the recruit walking in recruits Harm is saying gtfo. Get out, Mom.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah, for this one.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

Starter. But like you said, you know, you said that you're hoping that this thing is you saying this thing's like a cell phone agreement where you just like scroll, hit, agree and continue. Hopefully not. Hopefully these players are smart enough to have someone reviewing this deal before they sign it, you know. Sure.

[Rob Stone]

But if it's like one of these 20 page, 30 page things, you're right, you're right.

[Mark Ingram]

You have to review it because you are, you are.

[Rob Stone]

And that's why you have representation. That's why you have a lawyer. And that's why lawyers are going against lawyers and that's why lawyers always seem to have nice second home.

[Mark Ingram]

Because if it's me, I'm asking, I need, I need some time. Give me a copy of that. I need to review this and then when I see what is actually happening in this contract, I'm coming back with some more player friendly clauses in the deal. And if you don't have the player friendly clause, if you're not willing to negotiate, institute the player for any qualities that I'm, that I'm, that I'm, that I'm requesting. I'm probably going to leave and go to another school.

[Rob Stone]

Let's hope that the players have the time and the ability to really go through them and care about them, you know, or that I'm sure the third uncle isn't doing that right coach? When you really need that third uncle.

[Mark Ingram]

The third uncle is not the third.

[Rob Stone]

Uncle to break out the bifocals. And like, hold on a second, let's take a look at them. Amendment A1.

[Mark Ingram]

You have to have legit representation to do it. Like, you know, nil savvy attorney. Just hire an attorney. You're getting paid anyway, so hire you an attorney. Pay him, you know, a couple, couple grand for them to review your contract. But can't be the third ankle.

[Rob Stone]

Back in your day playing in the NFL, were there, were there certain teams, gms or, or lawyers that you had to deal with or agents that kind of had some reputations where you're like, oh, this team is interested in me. Let's really read the fine print because they have a tendency to do certain things well.

[Mark Ingram]

That was the thing. They gave you the contract, you reviewed the contract and if you didn't like what was in the contract, you negotiated the contract. And there were some things that they're willing to bend on. There were some things that there weren't. I had fair. I had clean negotiations throughout my pro, throughout my time in the NFL. So I went to, you know, some first class organizations with the Saints, the Ravens, even the Texans. Like they, they treated me well when I was there. So I was fortunate enough to have done good business with these organizations and fair business where they gave me a contract and we negotiated contract. Oh, you don't want to pay me the, the guarantee? Well, hey, we'll give me active roster bonuses. If I'm healthy and I'm playing, I get X amount of money per Week, you know what I mean? If I hit these thresholds and yards or touchdowns, I get this amount per week. I mean so.

[Rob Stone]

But that's gonna, moving that to the college conversation. That's asking a lot of a teenager. Again, this is why you need the representation, unfortunately. But that's asking a lot of a teenager to.

[Mark Ingram]

Everything's asking a lot of a teenager these days. They are getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. So now as a teenager you have our brand, you are entity. So you have to have the right people surrounding you. And a lot of these kids, they don't. But you need to have some type of representation around you to be able to protect you from a contract that lose. That gives you that, that you lose all leverage. You lose the fact to negotiate to extend your contract. You lose the fact to appeal a disciplinary fine. You know what I mean? So you have to be able to protect yourself and hopefully these kids, they're to whom much is given, much is required. So now you need to be able to protect yourself as such.

[Urban Meyer]

I hope, I hope there it becomes a standardized contract. But I don't again, this is, I don't, I don't see it happening every.

[Rob Stone]

So it's almost, it's almost too easy and too simple. Right Coach? Makes too much sense.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah. But I, I can see everyone, everyone's out for themselves right now. And I get it. It's a money chase right now, man. I mean let's just. I know we talked about a few times. The Wolverines are projected a 25 point million some million dollar a loss in revenue or a loss in just a budget loss. And you see teams dropping sports. So this is a, it's a.

[Rob Stone]

And, and firing employees. Right? Like universities are in scramble mode right now to try and find this money and that this is just one year. Guess what? They, they gotta keep doing it every year. How they're gonna generate this money is insane. And that's kind of the new dynamics of, of college football. And there's new positions in college football Coming up next. We're going to dive into what exactly a college football general manager does. Oklahoma's GM Jim Nagy joins the triple option presented by Wendy's. And we do want to note that we recorded this interview just prior to the passing of the historic house settlement which paved the way for colleges to pay athletes. That's coming up next on the triple option. If you love Wendy's classic Frosty flavors, we have got some big news for you. There are all new Frosty Swirl and Frosty Fusion flavors. So yeah, it's the same creamy treat that you've always loved now with a flavor refresh. So what are these new flavors?

[Mark Ingram]

Well, stoner, thanks for asking. There are a lot so I'm just gonna list them. Okay, we've got the Frosty Swirls, Strawberry Brownie Batter and Caramel. Then we've got the blended Frosty Fusions, Caramel Crunch Oreo Brownie With Swirl Thick Brownie Batter sauce and Crunchy Oreo Cookie Pieces and Pop Tarts Strawberry with a street Strawberry sauce and chunks of Crazy Good Pop Tarts pieces.

[Urban Meyer]

You know your flavors. Not to mention that yes, you can still get your classic vanilla. Try them all and find your favorite.

[Mark Ingram]

Are you going to be a Strawberry Swirl Girl? A Caramel Craze Fanatic Brownie Batter Buff Pop Tart, Strawberry Fanatic Oreo Brownie Steak?

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

Well, good news. There is a zip intro from ZipRecruiter. You can post your job today and start talking to qualified candidates tomorrow. And right now you can you can try Zip Intro for free at ZipRecruiter.com.

[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Jim Nagy]

Unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun.

[Rob Stone]

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[Jim Nagy]

Turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Rob Stone]

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[Unknown]

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[Rob Stone]

See mintmobile.com welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's Rob Stone. Mark Ingram, the second Urban Meyer back here with you. We've been seeing more and more programs, whether it's in college basketball and obviously here in college football, hiring general managers for their football team. What exactly is a gm? What's their role? Great question. To answer some of those, we head out to Boomer Sooner Country. We welcome in Jim Nagy, the general manager of the Oklahoma Sonars football team. Jim, thanks for joining us. And number one. All right, let's give you a snapshot. Your, your wife takes you out to some summer get together in Norman and you meet some people you've never met before and they say, what do you do? And you go, I'm the Oklahoma football general manager. And they go, that's nice. What is that? What does that mean? I have no idea what a general manager does and I'm sure it changes from school to school. But if you were to be asked what do you do in Norman? Tell us what it is.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I've been asked that a few times. Appreciate you guys having me on. I'll say this, there's no succinct way to sum it up because there's a lot of parts to this job. But really here more than anything to help the coaching staff, you know, and help help build this roster and streamline the process and, and really bring, you know, everyone says they're trying to go to an NFL model. And yes, my background is in the NFL. I've never worked in college football before. But I think there's some process things that we can, that we've brought to Oklahoma that I, that I think are going to help the evaluation process and certainly the valuation process. We've never had, never had to really value players. So again, it's going to be a really fun collaboration. It already has been over the last three months. Just getting in the building with the coaches certainly been energizing for me. I've been out of a football building for the last seven years, running the Reese's Senior Bowl. So just getting around coaches and players again has been awesome. It's been a big move moving from the state of Alabama out here to Oklahoma. But more than anything, just helping out this coaching staff, you know, and they've been, they've been really receptive. You know, we're trying to make their jobs Easier in places. These college coaches got a lot on their plates. I think, I think the biggest part right now that people are forgetting is that there's an actual retention part of the job, right? Like Coach Meyer used to get, get guys on campus, and you basically had them, you know, you had them for four or five years, and now that's not the case. So, you know, we, we can get into it, you know, kind of how we're doing that and how we're buying more time for our coaches to do their jobs. But, but yeah, man, we're just here, here to support, support the coaches and build this roster.

[Urban Meyer]

Hey, Jim, thanks for joining us. And I don't know if I even told Rob and Marcus, but I had a school come see me this year and asked if I wanted to be the GM and a couple other phone calls, and you start to think, okay, they actually came to see me. And so I said, yeah, we'll meet and I'll sit down with you guys. And I said, okay, what is the job description? They said, well, basically, you handle all the, you know, you meet with all the agents of the 17, 18 year olds. And I thought I'd rather step on a rusty nail and pull, pull it out myself. I mean, what in the. But that's, if that's what you got to do, Jim, God bless you, brother. But what is the high. I, I've, I think a lot of people are asking, what's the hierarchy in college football kind of generally? Is it athletic director, gm, coach, athletic director? You know, once again, I, I, I think it's probably different, but what's the hierarchy that you expect?

[Unknown]

Yeah, it's, it is, it varies, it varies by school. Again, I, I actually spoke to a couple schools in the off season before I took the job at Oklahoma, and, and part of it was the structure. You know, that's what drew me to Oklahoma because it is going to be a true split structure between Coach Venables and myself, and we're going to work in tandem. And when I came out for the interview, I mean, I tried to be really intentional with my communication with Brent that if we move forward, we got to be on the same page. Being in the NFL, that's truly the most critical relationship in the building in my mind, general manager and head coach and, you know, really stripping the ego out of it. And, you know, I said to Brent, when we're, you know, in terms of putting this roster together, I went all the way back to 1996 when I was, you know, an intern with the Green Bay Packers. And I had the, I had the good fortune of, of driving our general manager Ron Wolf from Green Bay to Milwaukee one day. You know, there's not a lot of flights going, going in and out of Austin Straubel Airport in Green Bay, Wisconsin. So we had a little road trip and you know, I'm 22 years old, 21 years old, whatever. I was, you know, a little intimidated in the, during, during the car ride with the hall of Future hall of Fame gm, but he was, as he was getting out, I asked him, I said, Mr. Wolf, do you have any advice for, you know, a young guy like me if I ever am fortunate enough to be in a position like yours? And he said, don't ever force players on your coaches. And I've always taken that to heart. And so that was part of the conversation that, that Coach Venables and I had when, when I came up for the interview. You know, there's a lot of high school players out there. It's, we're, we're going to be in lockstep with who we're bringing on this football team. So, you know, the nice thing with, with our new scouting staff is we're going to have layers and layers of cross check, which that's one thing I don't think has existed in college football before. You know, the, the really, the assistant coaches have had all the autonomy to go out and recruit the guys they want to recruit and watch the tape and, and ultimately it's been the head coach's decision on who you take and who you build the roster around. So we're just bringing that structure. You know, we're bringing a grading system which most, most college programs don't have. So that's where I think we're going to have value. And again, really more than anything, it's the manpower. So we're going to have a staff of 8, 9, 10 guys watching tape that are experienced, proven evaluators. And again, I don't think there's a lot of schools in college football that have that. I don't know if there are any right now. I think there's probably some that will go in that direction. But the great thing is the buy in, the coolest part of the job so far has been the buy in from the assistance. Right. Like, I didn't want to come in here and just blow this thing up, you know, watching tape and maybe not agree with, with where they were at with some of their, some of their assessments on players. We haven't done that, you know, We. These guys have worked really hard on the 2026 class, but they're hard. There have been some times where we've had to finesse it and pivot a little bit right and get on some new players. And the coolest part is they have taken that and ran with it. And we've gotten some commitments here already in June from players that we didn't get on until a month or two ago. And I credit the coaches because they went after them and they recruited their tails off, and that's always going to be a big part of this. Like, we can evaluate the players and a great belief in our new staff's ability to do that and find value, but at the end of the day, you still have to recruit them. You know, you still got to love them up there's. You still got to make these guys feel like Oklahoma is going to be their home. So. Yeah, sorry to get long winded, but. But that's, you know, that's kind of. That's kind of where we're at right now with everything.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah. No, Jim, we appreciate your time, man. New role gm. That's great. But you were running the Senior bowl and built it to the top college All Star game. Why do you pick Oklahoma and why this position?

[Unknown]

Absolutely. I knew. I thought you were going to go there, Mark.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

You left the great state of Alabama to go to Oklahoma, man. Like, what are we doing?

[Unknown]

Yeah, man. It's my wife's hometown, Mobile, Alabama, so. Yeah, I mean, it was a hard. It was a hard decision to leave the Seattle Seahawks when I did back in 2018. That was a great organization. Really incredible culture with. With Pete Carroll and John Schneider, but that was a family decision. That was really. My son was in eighth grade. He was getting ready to play all his high school sports, and I was going to miss all that. You know, being a scout, you're on the road a couple hundred nights a year, so that was really a family thing. And then, yeah, we worked our tails off at the Senior Bowl. It'd always been the best All Star Game, but, you know, we felt like there was some improvements to be made and. And, you know, I think we took that thing to. To another level. Really proud of what the staff did there over the last seven years. But then, yeah, when the phone rang, I, you know, I interviewed for the Jets GM job back in December. Obviously didn't get that, but that was a really cool opportunity. And then. And then the phone did ring from some college programs, and I'd never even thought about working in College. You know, my goal from the time I was a little kid was to work in the National Football League and again, fortunate to have been able to do that for a couple decades. So, you know, the plan was maybe to get my daughter through high school down there in Mobile. She's got two years left. This was not an ideal time to make the move. I mean, to tell your 16 year old who grew up in the same house and has her group of friends that she's now moving to Oklahoma. I didn't. So this decision wasn't made lightly, man, at all. But again, it was Oklahoma. And so when I came on the visit and met the people and you walk in the building downstairs, similar to Mark where you were at and coach where you were at at Ohio State and floor, you walk in the door and there's all these seven national championship trophies and seven Heisman trophies, like everything has been done at Oklahoma. We know we can do it here, right? And I believe in scouting, I believe in my profession, I love my profession. I know the value of scouting and I know what that can add to a great coaching staff that we already have here. So that's really what it was. You know, I wasn't going to make this jump to a level I never really intended to work unless we were going to win at a really high level. You know, we plan on winning championships here. So I felt like this was a place that could do it, where we could do it. And now here we are.

[Mark Ingram]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Rob Stone]

Jim Nagy, the general manager of the University of Oklahoma football program. You talk about value, you know, back in the days and even, you know, today, one way to value players. He's a five star, four star, three star. You talk about how we value players. So tell us what that process is for you guys to come up with the valuation.

[Unknown]

Sure, sure. You know, we've got a, we've got a grading skill we're going to stick to. We've got to, you know, in the NFL there's a numbers based grading skill, there's a color based scale. I think the color based is a little easier for everyone to get on the same page on. So that's what we're going with, going with here. And that's going to also dictate how we spend on players as well. You know, you vary too much from. If you don't have a structure in place, you're going to be all over the place with paying players and then the next thing you know you're going to be over the cap. So you know, the cap was just put in place here recently with the revenue share where it's all guaranteed money. So. So yeah, it's good. We're going to value it just like we would in the National Football League. And that's where you find your value. You know, I think, you know, Mark, what were you coming out of high school? Were you, were you a big time five star guy? I didn't follow that stuff.

[Mark Ingram]

I was three stars. I had a big senior year, I got an Alabama offer and then that's how I got my four star.

[Unknown]

So that, that's right. Yeah, that's right. So again, I, you know, I, I respect everyone that works at those services to put the stars on, on guys. I really do. I mean, they have hard jobs to do as well, but we're not going to pay any attention to that. You know, I think, I think what we saw this spring, which I think was a really good way to do it, is we graded the players on our new scale. And then when you get to OB season is when you see where you can get value. Right. Because I think what's going to set the market for a lot of these players in terms of what they're being paid and what agents expect to be paid is the star system. Right, Right. I think five stars want to get paid like five stars. So when you get into the OV season, we might have the same grade on a five star and a guy that's a three star. And when you look at where they're taking their OVs to, if they're going to Ohio State and Oregon and Texas and Texas A and M, that's going to be a certain market.

[Mark Ingram]

Right, Right.

[Unknown]

But then if the same graded player is getting offers from some group of five schools, you know, we know where we're probably get, what direction we're probably going to go, you know, because you're look, because you're looking for that value. And if you look at, if you look at National Football League rosters and dig back into their high school backgrounds, man, that league is littered with two and three star players. So they're out there. You know, again, it's just we, we need to identify those guys and, you know, trust our evaluation. So that's, that's really not to share too much of the, too much of the trade secrets there, but that's how we're going to attack it.

[Rob Stone]

So I want to wrap up with this one and Coach, you know where I'm coming with this. I know, Coach, when you were out on the Road. You saw dudes that maybe had a two star or a three, but you're like, I can see his heart. I. I can see his grit. I can see his leadership. Right. Like, that's just something, I think. I don't know what it is, but you know it when you see it. Is that fair, Coach?

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, it's a mindset. Absolutely. So there's a mindset grade.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. How do you. How do you find. How do you find that and put that into your. Your evaluation to value a certain player?

[Unknown]

Yeah, Rob, that's. That's probably going to be the hardest thing for me because I'm used to being on the road. I'm used to being those boots on the ground and, you know, in the buildings. I've been in Coach Meyer's building, you know, a million times when he was coaching. And you develop those relationships with the coaches and so you can trust what they say about their players. And then you go to practice and you let your. You let your eyes do the work. Right. You observe things. So that's going to be the hardest part. But that's. That's all educating this coaching staff. And they've been doing it. They know what to look at. But again, maybe sharing some of our experiences from. From the way we attacked it in the NFL, but there's no doubt about it. There's no doubt about it. We just had a young man here on an official visit recently who had lost his father real recently, and to sit across from him, he's in a room with three guys with 60 years of NFL experience, myself and a couple of our assistant GMs, and he's opening up about that experience and how he wants to play for his dad in the fall. And, man, that. That stuff's powerful. You know, that stuff. That stuff's really, really powerful. And, you know, when going back to my time in Seattle, we really. Pete Carroll's big thing was, like, finding guys that. That have been through adversity. You know, if we got to the combine, that was like his first question he shot at every player was, talk to me about the roughest thing you've ever been through and how you work through it. So, yeah, we're going to value that. We're going to. We're. We're not just going off the tape. We're not, you know, we're really going to value what our coaches, when they go on the road and they go into these high schools and they see what they see and hear what they hear. That's going to be a huge part in our evaluation process as well.

[Rob Stone]

Well, Jim, good luck with the new gig. I know there's, there's a lot riding on this season in Norman. We, we wish you well. And listen, if there's one thing you accomplish this summer, you find your way to Coach Stoops house, all right? That's, that's got to be your goal. We'll, we'll put in a good word for you. That's the place to be in Norman. Coach Stoop's castle. It's the best. Jim. Jim Nagy, General Manager, University Thanks, Jim Ball Program thanks, Jim. Have a great Appreciate you.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Thank you, guys.

[Rob Stone]

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[Mark Ingram]

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[Urban Meyer]

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[Rob Stone]

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[Unknown]

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[Mark Ingram]

You can Venmo this or you can Venmo that. You can Venmo this. So you can the Venmo MasterCard is.

[Unknown]

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[Jim Nagy]

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[Rob Stone]

Welcome back to the triple option presented by Wendy's. Rob. Mark Urban, back here with you. The triple option. Now time for the treat of the week presented by the Wendy's. Try Wendy's new frosty fusions with flavors like caramel crunch, Oreo brownie and pop tarts. Strawberry 4th of July weekend is upon us. We understand that Mark likes to blowtorch his fireworks. How do you celebrate mark, the 4th of July before you start igniting pyrotechnics.

[Mark Ingram]

Man, we just have great vibes. We have family, we have friends over. We throw good food on the grill. We have probably, I think last year we had 20 something kids running around the yard in the pool.

[Rob Stone]

So a lot of chlorine needed this weekend.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, we hopefully that your kids will, you know, treat their home, treat our home as your home and not piss all in the pool. You know what I mean? So. So no, we just spend time with family, friends, good people and we just eat good, listen to good music and we just spend time together. We play games. And then we get everybody together, we go to my boy Jacoby's house and we set off a fireworks show. Crazy, legendary, dumb fireworks show.

[Rob Stone]

I want to get you like there should be like Mark's firework flamethrower, right? We should, we should create something like that. That's a great side hustle. I'm full of side hustles this week for you.

[Mark Ingram]

I should, I should start charging admission, but I mean, you could just look up in the air and see it, so.

[Rob Stone]

That's true. That's true. Coach, what do you do? You just sit there and you laugh? You laugh at your adversaries?

[Urban Meyer]

No. For almost 40 years, this was my favorite holiday. And it still is because this is the calm before the storm. As a coach and a player, I mean, you Get a break from the off season program. You as a coach used to get three weeks off. And this is right in the middle of it. And so for. That's all I remember is this was family time and as best you can, just stay away from everything. So we have two granddaughters here in Sarasota. And we got the firework display. I'm not going to blowtorch it myself, but right out Sarasota Bay. We get to watch it. It'll be beautiful, great food and hang out, probably do some boating. But we hear some weather is happening. Headed this way, but all good, man. Slice of paradise here.

[Rob Stone]

Do you guys have. I don't think you know about it, Coach Mark. You might, but your kids are a little younger. Life360. You guys know what that happens.

[Mark Ingram]

We have life360.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah. Life360. That's going to be my July 4th.

[Mark Ingram]

It's going to be like your kids.

[Rob Stone]

It's going to be like my. My Netflix. It's going to be my YouTube TV. It's going to be my Fox. Just. Where are they now? Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why are they south of the border? Well, yeah, that young. That young man has been at the beach for a long time. Yeah, that's gonna be me watching four teenagers on Life 360.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah, Life 360.

[Unknown]

Wow.

[Mark Ingram]

It's a great app.

[Urban Meyer]

So who's gonna be with you?

[Rob Stone]

My wife will be equally stressed with me.

[Mark Ingram]

Both you guys are gonna be watching this.

[Rob Stone]

And then my dog will be cowering underneath something. Just absolute miserable when people start shooting stuff off.

[Urban Meyer]

But the kids won't be with LA.

[Rob Stone]

And on the beach, the kids won't be there. They were. Are you kidding me? You think. You think teenagers want to hang out with their parents on 4th of July?

[Urban Meyer]

Cool. Parents.

[Rob Stone]

We're awesome. And we have no chance. We have no chance.

[Urban Meyer]

I've hung out with Stoner before, Mark.

[Rob Stone]

I'm all right. I'm okay, Coach. It's not bad either.

[Mark Ingram]

See, that's why you got to have a spot where they want to throw the party there. Like, hopefully the kids still want to, like, invite all their people over and they want to throw the party here. I could just. I could just monitor when they get older.

[Rob Stone]

It's a tricky balance, Mark. It's a tricky.

[Urban Meyer]

You know what happens? You know what, you know, you get to look forward to is once they get their own families out, they all want to be with you.

[Rob Stone]

Yes.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

That's what's kind of cool down. Shelly and I now is. It's. It's the opposite where teenagers scatter post teenagers come home.

[Mark Ingram]

Because I think, like, I'll speak for myself. Like, you thought you knew everything. You thought your parents wanted to, like, like, control you and not let you do stuff. And then you get older, you're like, damn, my parents were all right. They knew what the heck they were talking about.

[Rob Stone]

All my kids have all the answers at this age. Right now. They know everything about everything. I'm like, bro, you. You know nothing. Whole lot of stuff.

[Mark Ingram]

You know nothing about a whole lot.

[Rob Stone]

You know nothing about a whole lot of stuff. Mom and dad will take care of you. All right. Time now for the triple option crystal ball brought to you.

[Mark Ingram]

Where's that ball at, man? Where's that crystal tiny.

[Rob Stone]

It's deep in the. Deep in the recesses of my huge podcast studio. The triple option crystal ball is brought to you by BetMGM. BetMGM is giving you the chance to win a prize every day during the baseball season. Step into the batter's box for BetMGM's swing for the fences free to play game. Visit BetMGM app to access the game and you'll score a prize if you hit a single, a double, triple, or a home run. So this week we're gonna use the crystal ball to look into a program that has had that spotlight directly on them the last couple seasons. Coach prime up there in Boulder in Colorado. The expectations this season, guys, understandably so. According to BetMGM, much lower. BetMGM is setting the win total six and a half.

[Urban Meyer]

Oh, ouch.

[Rob Stone]

Ouch. Man.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm looking at their schedule, Mark. This is gonna be a tough one, man.

[Rob Stone]

It's gonna be a tough one. So bet MGM sets the regular season win total right now at six and a half. The over coming in at plus 150. The under is at minus 185. So again, six and a half. Right? So this will be year number three under Coach Prime. Member. Year one went four and eight last year. Overall, it was nine and four. Closed with the bowl loss to byu, but did finish the regular season nine and three. And that was with Shador Sanders at quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter playing both sides of the ball. And they had three of their top four wide receivers that are now gone in the NFL. They had no ranked wins last season, guys. He has dipped into the transfer portal like we know he would, but clearly not to the same extent that he did in years past. He has 26 transfer portal commits. Remember, last year was around 43. One of the big ones, though is Caden Slater. The transfer quarterback from Liberty put up almost 8,000 total yards and 77 touchdowns as a three year starter. He's also got a five star freshman coming in and Juju Lewis. So we'll talk about Colorado, but as always, let's start with that schedule that you're already looking at, Coach. And it begins with Georgia Tech.

[Urban Meyer]

There was a time Georgia Tech was not, you know, it's had an incredible. Paul Johnson had it moving, then it kind of fell apart. But Brent Keys got him going. I, I, I don't know. It's at Boulder though, it looks like. So that's a tough trip for Georgia Tech early in the year. You have altitude issues. I'm putting 0.5 there.

[Rob Stone]

I knew you're going to start.

[Urban Meyer]

What do you think?

[Mark Ingram]

0.5 is crazy. I'm, I'm gonna say, man, it's just, it's just all up in the air right now because we don't know what Colorado is going to look like.

[Rob Stone]

We'll give a 0.5. That's fine.

[Mark Ingram]

Okay. That's fine.

[Rob Stone]

The Dell, let's give them a one. The Delaware blue one.

[Mark Ingram]

That's one and a half.

[Rob Stone]

And then they hit the road at Houston. I think Houston is really a program on the rise that we're going to be talking a little bit more about in the coming years. But a road trip at Houston, we talking another 0.5.

[Urban Meyer]

No, I see a W. Ow.

[Rob Stone]

All right. Home to Wyoming.

[Mark Ingram]

W. Three and a half.

[Rob Stone]

All right then. Versus BYU. And obviously BYU is going through a whole lot at quarterback right now and late stages.

[Urban Meyer]

Yeah, I read that, Mike.

[Rob Stone]

But BYU is, boy, a program athletically, the whole program, not just football, but everything athletic for BYU is on the rise. They're playing the money game. They're going to be great in basketball again. But home to byu, another point five.

[Urban Meyer]

So it's four. They're four.

[Rob Stone]

So let's just give them four with all those zero point fives.

[Mark Ingram]

With that, I'm going over if we, if they have four wins by, if they have.

[Rob Stone]

Well, well, hold on, hold on. Yeah, yeah, we might be, I don't see if they win another one because now we're going to Fort Worth.

[Mark Ingram]

You're going into the Fort versus You're.

[Rob Stone]

Going to take it on tcu. No.

[Urban Meyer]

Yep. No.

[Rob Stone]

Then you're home to Iowa State.

[Urban Meyer]

No.

[Rob Stone]

No. Then you're at Utah. Utah has to be better this year.

[Urban Meyer]

No.

[Rob Stone]

So we're stuck at four, by the way, versus Arizona. Home to Arizona. Let's give him one, huh?

[Mark Ingram]

Five.

[Rob Stone]

Five at West Virginia.

[Urban Meyer]

I don't know. I know. No, I think Richard's going to get that place cranked up, man.

[Rob Stone]

Coach Rich, Rod, you know, what's. What are they going to be then? Home to Arizona State. By the way, the team that won the Big 12 last year and went to the national playoffs. No, at Kansas State. One of the favorites to win the Big 12.

[Mark Ingram]

Listen, man, fast start.

[Rob Stone]

We're here at five. We're hanging at five in the number six and a half.

[Urban Meyer]

Talk to me, Mark. Damn.

[Mark Ingram]

Listen, it's all about the cohesion that we find. Like with Colorado, this, this, this. This Slater kid. He goes out, he has experience. You know, they have. He. He gets it going.

[Rob Stone]

Yeah.

[Mark Ingram]

You know, they get an offensive line that could protect the quarterback. They have a defense that can.

[Urban Meyer]

So you're saying over.

[Mark Ingram]

I'm not. I'm saying we don't know, man. I'm saying we don't know.

[Urban Meyer]

You get paid to say no.

[Mark Ingram]

Right? I'm going over because I have faith in Dion. I feel like they gonna get this thing together. Let's just be honest, though. What is six and a half? I say six, seven wins. I think that's a good season for them right now.

[Rob Stone]

I agree.

[Mark Ingram]

You had lost your dur. You lost Travis Hunter, arguably the best player in college football recent. And then I just think their coaching staff, man, they have a lot of coaches with a lot of experience. They went and got Marshall Falk. They went and got Dimato Pico or one of the D linemen I play with. So you got this coaching tree of experience and knows how to communicate with players. They've hit the transfer portal. They went and got a quarterback. They trying to shirt this offensive line. They were lasting sacks per game last year. So it's a lot of things that have to go right. But I think with the coaching staff, with the players, with the mindset and the strategy that Deion has, I feel like they gonna get this thing going. Let's just be realistic. Six or seven wins, that'll be a great season for Colorado this year. As long as they look the part. They're two deeps. If. If there's injuries that happen, they have two deeps that can go in there and still play formidable football. They're not. If they're running the football, not getting bullied in the trenches, if they're protecting the quarterback, all those things. If they do those things, I feel like it'll be a successful season For.

[Rob Stone]

Prime Year 3 Coach Year 3 is always a tricky one. And with that, that spotlight that always seems to find Coach prime and the way he's gone about it and with his kids, with the program and winning the Heisman, this is probably going to be his. You think this is going to be tougher than year one for him in Boulder?

[Urban Meyer]

I do. Because he set a stand, you know, now, it depends. Once you hit a nine win, that's almost like, okay, let's. The crowd will probably start to thin out if they start losing, and then you got some issues. You know, they've been the talk of college football. And the other thing I want to point out is that this Colorado team, we don't know what it's going to look like. We knew last year was going to look like. You had Travis Shidor. You had a certain look to it. This will be completely different. They don't have the transfer portal, the 40 guys. It's much less, which, I mean, you're reading it. That tells their stability in the program. When you start flipping 45, 50 players every year, I. I still don't know how that worked, but we got to see.

[Mark Ingram]

We got to see.

[Urban Meyer]

I'm with Mark on this. I think. I think it's going to be right around there, and it's amazing. Again, Vegas, who in the hell does that for Vegas?

[Mark Ingram]

Because they are people who make a way above our pay grade. Because they'd be right on it.

[Urban Meyer]

I mean, because they know the backdrop. There's a lot of. I remember when I was coaching, I'd hear stories like, how do they know that?

[Rob Stone]

So, yep, by the way, if Coach prime pulls it off, I. I think he needs to get his due in the terms of his coaching chops.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes. This is a. A credibility year for Dion's coaching. You lose Travis, you lose Shador. And now it ain't about Flash. It's about coaching. It's about leadership. It's about teaching. It's about adjusting. Like I said, they have those coaches, so, like, it ain't. I got faith in them, but you know what I mean? It's not about Instagram clips. It's not about none of that. Not about celebrity power. It's about, can you get this team looking like a football team that's going to be through coaching. It's not going to be through star power. It's going to be through building your roster, building the chemistry. And I have faith in Dion. I have faith in his coach that he's assembled. I think they're going to do it, man.

[Urban Meyer]

So I Want to add one last thing, Mark? Because I got to go backstage of the whole scene and I got the. And so did you. You met with the players. But I went and watched them practice and it's as uncomfortable sometimes as I. As when I see the watches and I see the. The cars and all the flash. That's just not me. But the. When I saw what went on behind the scenes, I agree with you. There's a culture there. He is tough on a man. He is demanding of that team, and that's what blew my mind. And I remember calling you guys, I said, guys, this is not a 1 in 10 program. First of all, I saw Travis Hunter.

[Mark Ingram]

Yes.

[Urban Meyer]

I said, whoa. Why? You didn't have to be an idiot not to see that one.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

But they had good looking players, they had fast receivers, and their coaching staff worked really hard. There is not a one way that I always evaluate a team and their staff. There's no, there's no waste of time.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

They went out to work and they left. And in between those two hours, it was go time.

[Mark Ingram]

Yeah.

[Urban Meyer]

I've left other practices like, this is awful. Come on, let's go, let's go.

[Mark Ingram]

There's substance in that program for sure. They're building men. Yeah, there's substance. So that's why I believe in Colorado.

[Rob Stone]

That's why it starts at the top. Right. It starts with Coach Prime. He's had some health issues this off season as well. So. Coach prime, we're always thinking about one of our favorite human beings, not just in college football, but in general. So stay healthy, get healthier, be strong. Coach Prime. Get those wins, baby. Get those wins. Three. Everybody, enjoy your fourth of July week. Stay away from people with flamethrowers and firecrackers in their back pocket. Make good decisions, people. Especially my teenagers. Follow us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast, as well as across social media at 3 Safety Options Show. Thank you as always to our great sponsors, BetMGM, ZipRecruiter, Wendy's. Happy birthday, America. Enjoy your week, guys.

[Mark Ingram]

We love you. We love you, America.