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Zone 1150 - TexAgs Live
TexAgs Live - Blake Toppmeyer : 07.27.26
00:43:11
USA Today Columnist Blake Toppmeyer gives his thoughts on the SEC Football landscape in 2026, tells us why he is high on the Aggies, and how the month of November will make or break the season for Coach Elko's squad!
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- [00:00]
A
All right, we're back here on texags Live. We are presented by David Gardner's Jewelers. We are in the Rollo Insurance Studio. Let's talk a little. SEC media days and just the aftermath. And now Big Ten media days are starting. Blake Topmeier of USA Today joining us here on the Buppy's Catering and Bartending Hotline. What's going on, Blake? How you been, buddy? Well, you doing great, man. So any takeaways from what you heard? I'll just kind of fill you in on our last segment. I was kind of surprised that A and M finished fourth in the SEC poll for where the teams would finish ranked, just because the vibe I got when I was there, A and M was one of the quiet teams that people weren't really talking about, so I was surprised by that.
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B
You thought they'd be lower? Yeah, I did.
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A
I thought fifth or sixth, maybe. Maybe seventh.
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B
Yeah, I think. I think they're making the playoffs last year, bringing back the quarterback, bringing back so much. I think. I think that probably resonates. I think also there's. There's maybe some indecision of what to make of lsu. Like, I could see a lot of people ranking LSU as high as 2 or 3. I could also see people ranking LSU 5 or 6 on their ballot. Feels like A and M might have been sort of like kind of in that safe 3 to 4 to 5 range on everybody's ballot. Right. Like, I don't know if you can justify putting A and M much lower than about 35th considering what they achieved last year, considering, you know, what. What they brought back. Whereas I think some of those other teams, like an LSU could have a little bit more variance. Alabama, I think, falls into that category as well. Right. Like, I could see some people voting Bama third. I could see people voting Alabama eighth. I don't see anybody voting Texas A&M eighth unless they just have an axe grind.
- [01:44]
A
I think also the fact that Marcel Reed is back and you look at around the conference, like, there's a lot of teams trying to figure out the quarterback situation. They may have brought in a guy that's done well, like Sam Levitt at lsu, but you may have a guy who has a starter before at Alabama. Right. So there's. There's these. There's these scenarios where these teams that were like, what's up with their quarterback position? I think that's where A and M, Even though people have their questions about Marcel, they at least know he's seen the bullets.
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B
Yeah, I. I agree with that you bring your, your coach back, you bring your quarterback back. And if people generally believe and the coach and the quarterback, which I think applies in this case, that's that that usually puts you in pretty good shape. I think in preseason voting, after hearing
- [02:25]
A
from the 16 teams, did your opinion change on any opponent or, excuse me, any team?
- [02:31]
B
Probably not. I mean, I'm not really one of those guys that somebody can win me over the podium in July. And all of a sudden I think they're going 10 and 2 rather than, you know, 5 and 7. But I guess I continue to think that Auburn might be a little bit undervalued. I don't know that that changed after hearing from Golish. I think I thought that kind of coming into media days, still feel like that coming out of media days. You know, I'm not a big sports gambling guy, but I believe the sports books have their over under at like six and a half wins to me. I would like Auburn on the oversight there. I get it. I mean, the battle scars the last six years. I understand why expectations for them might be limited, but with his, with what Alex Golish brought in from South Florida, including Byron Brown, his quarterback, I think there's a chance for, for a bump there immediately for Auburn. I also just have a hard time believing that Auburn was as bad as what the product looked the last five or six years. I mean, the record is what it is, right? But my point is I always felt like they had a little bit more talent than what the record showed under Hugh Freeze and Brian Harson. And the one thing was they couldn't figure it out at quarterback. That was a consistent issue. Whether it was Brian Harson or Hugh Freeze, they were a massive quarterback. I think Alex Goelish, he's good with quarterbacks. His system is good with quarterbacks. Byron Brown is going to have to prove it at a higher level, but he was one of the best G6 quarterbacks in the country last year at USF. So that's one team that maybe I value a little bit more, I guess, than many of my peers.
- [04:10]
A
Blake, one team that I came away thinking maybe I've been undervaluing them. And it's not what they said on the podium, although it had a little bit to do with it is Tennessee. Because I'm like, you know, like, yeah, you know, they're a good program, but they got a new quarterback and this and that. And then I'm reminded that, you know, Josh Hypo's like had a different quarterback every year. Like, this is what they do, they're going to be able to run the ball. They have a great offensive line. So maybe they're a team that I just looked at as like, yeah, A and M should win that game as, whoa, that's a little harder than I thought now.
- [04:43]
B
Yeah, I think you're spot on there. Like Josh Hypo gets taken for granted for his rinse and repeat ability to do it year in, year out with different quarterbacks. I mean, we think about this time last year, Tennessee had lost Nico Yamaliava, they got the guy that UCLA didn't want, and Joey Aguilar. And usually that's not like a ringing endorsement. Like if your calling card is UCLA didn't want me, that usually means you're probably not going to be a top line SEC quarterback.
- [05:13]
A
Right.
- [05:14]
B
But Josh Hypo said, come on in Joey Aguilar and turned him into one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. And Tennessee's offense was still really good. The issue with Tennessee last year was its defense was a bit of a mess, wasn't very good. So they bring in Jim Knowles, that defensive coordinator, who of course didn't go out on a high note at Penn State. But throughout the course of Jim Knowles his career, this guy's been pretty good, pretty good coordinator. I mean, there was a reason why he was making top dollar at Ohio State and then, and then Penn State people think he's one of the best coordinators in the country. So I agree with you. I think I'd have Tennessee probably in that 6, 7 range in the conference pecking order because Josh Heikle just doesn't have bad seasons. You know, his average years are going like 8 and 5. He's pretty, pretty reliable. He's a high floor coach.
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A
The one thing I'll say about Jim Knowles too is I believe he typically, I don't want to say struggles his first year, but his first year at a program typically takes a little bit longer to kind of understand that defense.
- [06:19]
B
Yeah, I think that's, I think that's fair. And you do wonder, is he going to be able to turn it around overnight at Tennessee there on defense, the other thing, so much of this, I look at a team's schedule when trying to forecast what they're going to do, you know, in the conference standings, how legit are they as a playoff contender? You can't ignore the schedule. And nobody in the SEC has got a layup schedule. Right. But some schedules are easier than others. I think Tennessee's falls on the more favorable end of the spectrum, I would say, in terms of SEC schedules.
- [06:53]
A
Talking to Blake Topmire here from USA Today on Tex Ags Live. Blake, I want to talk a little bit about LSU because, as you mentioned earlier, they're a hard team to figure out. I give the benefit of the doubt to Lane Kiffin. I do. But this year of transition, he's got all the money in the world now. He's got a place that he can recruit to. All these things that he talked about. But do you think all the attention could affect them? And also like, the expectation, I would think, at LSU is you won right away at Ole Miss, you better win right away at LSU because you've got everything you want. Now,
- [07:28]
B
I think you're thinking along the same lines as I am, because I think Lane has never been a better coach than he is right now. You know, I mean, he's. He's at his pinnacle. Doesn't mean he can't go higher. But you don't look five, 10 years ago and think, oh, this guy's peak, you know, occurred a decade ago. The way you might look at, say, Abbott Sweeney, so. So he's functioning at the highest level. I. So in that way, I believe he can get it done there. He's really good at blending transfers. I think he's got a great portal hall, all of that. However, it is true that at Ole Miss, he was driving in that underdog lane, and I think that suited him really well. You know, we think back to different times in his career where he had the highest expectations, thinking about Southern Cal or even when he was the NFL as the young coach of the Raiders, those jobs didn't go well for Lane. Now, he was a much younger coach, much more experienced coach then, and I think he would tell you he's grown up, he's more prepared for this type of expectation. But the fact of the matter is, we haven't seen him face this level of pressure and expectation, I think, ever, but certainly not since Southern Cal. But I would actually say the type of spotlight and pressure that he's going to experience this year at lsu, I think it trumps even what he experienced at Southern Cal. I mean, let's face it, in la, you know, there's. There's a different celebrity on every corner. You know, Lane Kiffin can go out to dinner in Los Angeles and be like the 12th most famous person in the restaurant. That's not going to happen at Baton Rouge. Everything he does in year one at LSU is going to be under the microscope. You know, does. Is he, at the point in his career where he can handle it. I think maybe again, he's at the, he's at the zenith of his career. If he can't handle it now, he'll never be able to handle it. But I do think it's fair to wonder how's he going to handle being the hunted rather than the hunter, so to speak. And every one of his moves being under the microscope in a way that it frankly wasn't at Ole Miss. And again, I think he really thrived in that underdog role. Well, he's not the underdog anymore, Blake.
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A
I think sometimes, and this is not singular to Lane Kiffin, but sometimes you grow up, right? Steve Sarkeesian, I think, has grown up as a head coach. He's not making the same mistakes he was making in his prior stops. That being said, sometimes when you have all the talent in the world, it can kind of make you look better than in years past. So same thing can be said about potentially Lane Kiffin at LSU and Steve Sarkeesian at Texas.
- [10:05]
B
No, I think that, I think that's right. I think that's a good segue into Sark because I think this is a really big year for him. You know, what, what's Texas going to do? Because there's really no excuse for not achieving at the highest level now. People will say, well, it's championship or bust for chance for, for Texas. I don't really know what that means. Like, are they going to fire Sark if he bows out in the CFP semifinals? I don't think so. I wouldn't, I wouldn't fire a guy that loses a semifinal. So I, I don't like that, like championship or bus type phrasing around them. But I do think like anything short of playing into deep January for Texas would be nothing to celebrate. Right. You know, if they, if they make the playoffs and lose in the first round and the quarterfinals even, you know, they're not going to be throwing a parade over that with as much as they have invested in this team. They have a six year coach, they have Arch Manning at quarterback. They have all the, all the reasons to be able to chase national glory this year. And I still think Sark's a good coach. I think he's still on schedule. I think to your point, he's a better coach now than he was earlier in his career. And I think the fact that they underachieved last year, they underperformed, you know, they didn't live up to expectations. There's no denying it. When you're preseason number one and you don't even make the playoff, you didn't live up to expectations. However, I would say that Kirby Smart didn't win his first national championship until year six. Ryan Day didn't win his first national championship until year six. Steve Sarkeesian is in year six now at Texas. Doesn't mean he's going to win at all. But I do think it's an argument for even though Texas didn't live up to expectations last year, Sark still is on schedule for kind of where he should be when you compare him to guys like Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, etc. Took those guys a while to win their first national championship.
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A
Blake, would you be surprised to nine and three teams playing in the SEC championship game?
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B
Two nine and three teams? Yeah, I think that would surprise me. I think maybe one could, could be in the SEC championship game. I think Georgia is going to be in Atlanta. I think Georgia has one of the best schedule draws not only among the SEC's playoff contenders, but of any SEC team. I think Georgia has one of the best schedule draws. I think they're going to handle it. I think they'll be in Atlanta. So I would be surprised if Georgia is not better than 9 and 3 going into that game. Now, could their opponent be 9 and 3? Yeah, I think that's plausible. Particularly, you know, if we're talking about a team like Texas, one of those three losses could be to Ohio State in a non conference game. Right. You know, I think that's a possibility that a team could be playing for the sec championship at 9 and 3 with a non conference loss.
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A
Like you talk about, you factor in the schedule when trying to figure out where these teams should rank. And you also said that A and M, in your opinion, unless you have an ax grind, should be in everybody's top five. So what do you think about that schedule and what they can do based on just the state of the sec? With question marks at A and M for sure, but question marks throughout the league.
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B
Yeah. I look at at A&M's November stretch as. I mean this isn't profound, right. But I think a lot of people look at it this way. November is going to make or break their season. I think they should be in the playoff hunt going into mid November. And what I do like about their November schedule, the finish, yeah, they get Oklahoma on the road, but they get two out of the three big ones, Tennessee and Texas, at home. And I think in that three game stretch at the close there, that's going to make or break the Aggie season. Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, they probably need to go 2 and 1 in that stretch at least to make the playoff. Because somewhere along the way, whether it be LSU on the road or Bama on the road, you know, they might drop one somewhere up to that point. So, you know the conventional wisdom from the SEC, you need to be 10 and 2 to feel great about your playoff chances. You know, I think it's, it's very conceivable A and M will come into the month of November with one loss, and then it's a question of can you go two and three down the stretch. I think, you know, it's a hard schedule. There's probably a few that are, that are tougher. You know, it's, it's not a schedule like Georgia's. Like I say, I love, I love the Georgia schedule. I don't love as much, but I think, I think it sets up for the possibility of A and M getting back to the College Football Playoff. You know, this to me looks like a 10 and 2 type of Texas A and M team. And if you're 10 and 2, you're in the playoff, you might well be hosting a first round playoff game again with your strength of schedule. So. But again, I think it's that, like, I'm sure every Texas A and M fan is looking at that three game stretch at the end of November and how many of those three can they win? Because all three of those teams could be ranked opponents.
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A
Blake, I'm going to actually do the reverse of that. I'm going to go early in the season, the LSU game. And I just want you to give me all three perspectives. All right, You've got lsu, Ole Miss, the week before, what that week can mean for both those programs, and then the week after, LSU host A&M. And A&M's taking care of business against them in the last two years and they won for the first time in Baton Rouge. They got to go back to Baton Rouge. So just that little stretch, what it could mean for all the three of these teams.
- [15:22]
B
Yeah, totally. I mean, lsu, we're going to learn a lot about LSU in the first month of the season. Whereas I say we'll learn something about A and M in the first month of the season, particularly from that LSU game. You look at lsu, they start with Clemson, Clemson's not what they used to be. But still, you know, I think that's a bit of a bellwether game for LSU right out of the gates and then, yeah, Week three, they're on the road at Ole Miss. And then, and then week four, late September, they're hosting the Aggies. I mean, LSU could be either belly up or could be number one in the country coming out of the month of September. They're a team that. It's not going to take long, I think, to figure out exactly what, what Kiffin's got. And I think you're right. I mean, week three is, is going to be the super bowl of the season. I, I'm not just saying for LSU season or Ole Miss season. I can't think of a regular season game this year that will be more hyped, more scrutinized, more eyeballs on it than, than Ole Miss, lsu. Now, you know, I realize I'm saying that when Ohio State and Texas are playing in, in week two, but yeah, that game might get better TV ratings. Ohio State, Texas. But in terms of the hoopla around a game, I mean, Elaine Kiffin going back to Oxford is going to be bananas. So does that work well for A and M? Maybe. I mean, I don't hate it if I'm an A and M fan. The fact that that Lane's got Ole Miss on the brain one week before he's. He's playing a huge game against A and M the following week. Yeah, I think that breaks pretty well for A and M. Doesn't mean they win that one. It's probably going to be a night game at your stadium, I would think. But yeah, I think it's, it's pretty favorable where that falls for A and M on the heels of LSU having to play Ole Miss.
- [17:10]
A
Blake, I'm going to give you a similar situation. What the Oklahoma A and M game is going to mean if Oklahoma struggles in that first month of the season. Because that first month or the first six weeks, I should say, very difficult stretch. So if Nick can put up their schedule just so you can take a look at it, Blake, it could be an extremely. If they do great, what it means for them at the end and if they struggle, what it means for them the rest of the way.
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B
Yeah, Oklahoma is a team I kind of have a hard time pegging. I would have them like, probably in the middle of my conference pecking order. I think, you know, other people maybe are much more bullish on Oklahoma than, than I am, and maybe I'm misreading it, but to me, you know, Oklahoma lost a lot on defense and everybody says, like, well, Brent Venable has got him. He's off the hot seat now. No no more Brent Venables on the hot seat. Well, I guess that's true for this moment. It's certainly true now. But I think, you know, with the nature of Brent Minal's tenure, it's been up, then down, then up and down. So if he struggles, you know, again this year, couldn't he go right back on the hot seat? He's got a new athletic director. The AD is not the one who hired him, so I don't see why he couldn't. I mean, you look at the schedule we just had up there, you know, week two at Michigan, week four at Georgia for Oklahoma, then you got the. The neutral site game there at the Cotton bowl against Texas right in the middle of October. Yeah. I mean, you could be in mid October and Oklahoma could be, for all intents and purposes, out of the playoff hunt with three losses or, you know, everybody's singing Brent Venables praises. So you're right. I think for A and M, it's hard for me to make a strong case that they will be out of the playoff hunt by November. You know, I just said I, I think they're. They're going to still be in the playoff race by November. Oklahoma, they could be out of it by then or at the very least be severely, severely wounded because they have so many big games, you know, in the month of September or the Texas game in October. And again, I'm not that high on Oklahoma because of what they lost off defense. And that was, you know, that was the engine last year. They had the best defense in the SEC and they got to replace a lot there. How does it look? I don't know. Brent Venables is really good on that side of the ball, but you have the turnover on defense. You also have Mattier coming off of the hand injury. He looked pretty good before the injury last year, didn't look as good afterwards. How's it going to look now? You know, several months removed from the injury. I'm kind of in wait and see mode on that.
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A
Blake, one more for you. I just want to ask you about Florida because they're a team that I feel like should be in the mix, like A and M every year. They got all the resources. I think they got their coach situation. Figure it out. Summerall, I thought was very impressive at his introductory press conference at his time before, like everything he has done, they've always had talent. What about the Florida Gators?
- [20:07]
B
Yeah, I think Florida might be a year away from, from being where you expect Florida to. To typically be. You know, they still got to figure out their quarterback situation. Summerall says he feels like he's got two, two starting quarterbacks. I don't know. To me, I feel a lot better about several other SEC teams quarterback situations and then I probably do about Florida's. And yeah, I just think in general they might be. They should be better, I'll say that. But that's a low bar, right? As bad as the Billy Napier era was, I think they should be better. Are they back to what we expect from Florida? I think not this year. I think, you know, a year or two probably away from them. But their season could be decided by a couple early in the year road games. I mean, they're on the road against Auburn in week three. Again, I said Auburn's a team with a new coach that I think could be substantially better in year one. I probably like Auburn a little bit more than Florida in their first year under a new coach, but that's going to be a key game for both those teams. At Jordan Hare Missouri in early October. Missouri is one of those teams that's just they've been sneaky good at Furrow Field. You look at Missouri's record at home in the last three years and they're nails. They're not part of that schedule. No denying Missouri got one of the best schedule draws in the league the last few years, but teams have not fared well typically going to Furrow Field the last few years. I think Eli Drinkwitz has done pretty good job there. And that's, you know, that's one. I guess if you're a Florida fan, you're probably circling like, oh, Missouri is a game I think we could get. I don't know. I would favor Missouri in that October game at Ferro Field with a proven coach and drink with. So, yeah, going to be some, some early swing games. I think that could could shape Florida season for sure before they get into that stretch where they're playing Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma. But on the whole, I feel like we're probably a year away from talking about Florida as a top 25 team.
- [22:12]
A
Blake, great stuff, man. Thanks so much for your time. Let's do it again. Okay.
- [22:15]
B
Good catching up with you.
- [22:16]
A
Thank you, buddy. Blake Topmeier there on the Bupies catering and bartending hotline. Appreciate his time. We'll hit a break, we'll come back, we'll tap dance. Before we go to some of our interviews from SEC media days, which includes Marcel Reed, there's something special about the Aggie Network is built on trust. It's built on relationships and people looking out for each other. And that's exactly how Aggie owned Paragon Financial Advisors approaches financial planning from their headquarters in College Station. They serve individual families and business owners nationwide with independent fee only fiduciary advice. Whether you're preparing for retirement, growing your investments, building your business, or planning the eventual sale of that business, Paragon is going to work alongside you every step of the journey. No commissions, no sales products, just personalized financial planning and investment management designed around your goals. You can learn more and schedule your complimentary consultation atparagond adv.com Paragon Financial Advisors Aggie own independent serving clients nationwide. The Money Machine is open now. Two ways to enter each week oh come on. Don't keep us in suspense. Zone150.com and the zone Newsletter.
- [23:22]
C
Thank you.
- [23:23]
A
Welcome back. Tech Sex Live presented by David Gardner's jewelers Rollo Insurance Studio. Our number two and a half of the program, we go to the Angry Elephant News and social censor Caleb Gaither. Got a comment. And some other things to tackle here.
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C
Yeah, so David Edmond said this comment to you. David.
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A
Yeah, what's up, Dave?
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C
Nuno, also last week you said that you would be happy if you never visited OKC again. I ask you why, David Nuno Dave,
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A
I'm being really respectful here. When we go on trips now, like, I'm looking forward to going to Norman for the game, right? Like, that's different. But we're talking about like visiting a city. Look, I love living in College Station. When I tell people that they're like, really? Like what is there to do? I was like, what the hell do you do in your big city? Like, do you like go dancing? Like, what do you do? Like, my life is simple. I go to work, I go to church, I go to the gym, I go to my kids activities. That's my life. I can do that in Alaska. I can do that anywhere. So Oklahoma City is a place that if I probably lived there, I'd probably like it. Yeah. But when we talk about visiting, right. I want something different.
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C
Yeah.
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A
Okay. I want the beach. I want the culture of Nashville. Right. Like, I don't really like Vegas, but you know, I know Justin called me no fun Nuno when I didn't want to do like Vegas is whatever, but like there's got to be like, what, Like Houston. I grew up in Houston. I don't know if I love Houston, but like it's not a place that I want to go visit.
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C
Right.
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B
Right.
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A
So when we say visit, I Want to go somewhere cool?
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C
Yeah. Somewhere with notable attractions. Something to do.
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A
Yes. Now for the NCAA tournament. Yes. I'm there to work. I'm not there to have fun.
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C
Yeah.
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A
But it was just the city. Like my daughter Annalise, who has traveled more than any of the kids in our family. Cause she's done pretty well in her little soccer career. But she, like, when she goes to certain places, she's like, eh. Like, hey, what'd you think of Charlotte?
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D
I don't know.
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A
It had buildings, it had malls. It was a city. Like, I want something to make me like, oh, we went and visited this. The Grand Canyon.
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C
Yeah. And Oklahoma City doesn't do that for you.
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A
It's. No, but like, I wouldn't mind going to Norman in Oklahoma City for a football game. Just like, I don't know if I want to visit Tuscaloosa for a week. I want to visit it for a weekend.
- [25:55]
C
I don't know what there is to do in Tuscaloosa other than watch an Alabama football game.
- [25:59]
A
It was a great. When I went three years ago, I guess it was. It was great. I loved it. But it was wrapped around college football.
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C
Right.
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A
NCAA tournament, SEC media days. I want something a little bit more than the building that I'm in with the 45 degree air conditioning. And like you just, I don't know, you're overstimulated. With all the laptops open and the conversation. I want something fun. So Tampa was cool because you're close to water. I ran around the river. That was great. Cuban food. That part was awesome. Nashville, I love going around until 9 o', clock, of course, to all the little bars and hearing the guys play. Like, I love that. Like that part I love. Norman was just this. Or, sorry. Oklahoma City was just a city. It's fine. You know, I'm sure. Minneapolis, fine. I don't want to go though. That's it. Like, it's not a shot. I don't want to go to Houston either.
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C
I'm sure people outside of Texas have heard about Houston and want to go to Houston. But if you live, you've lived in Houston, if you've lived around Houston, I
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A
don't know anybody wants to go to Houston. I don't like. I don't like people. If you're from 8 and I'm going to get crucified. But like, if you're from H time, like, we fight for Houston, but I don't know people who want to visit it.
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C
Right.
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A
If you live in Houston, you're not going to NASA. That's what people do to come to Houston. And it's like two hours away from anything in Houston anyway. Yeah, that was very long.
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C
That was.
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A
But you got something for me?
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C
I do. So we did get a text earlier. Someone said no one had Johnny Manziel in the top 25 to start the season. And this is when we were doing 25 and 25. Ain't no way did Gabe and Tech Sags even do it for 2012. And I did some research. So in 2012, Texags did a 30 for 30.
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A
Yep.
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C
And Johnny Manziel was not in the top 25, but he was in the top 30. Okay, so I want you to give your prediction for where Johnny fell.
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A
Well, I think I heard it already, so it's not fair. I heard it. I think it was 26.
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C
It was 26.
- [27:57]
A
Yes. So. But again, like, in retrospect, what a bunch of losers. Right? Like, and I don't mean that to Gabe and Ola. I'm just saying in general, like, how did you not know? I don't think anybody knew because Johnny was the kind of player and I didn't get to cover him at practice. I got to cover his games. And it was must watch coverage. Right. ABC13 had us traveling for those games. Not like out of Texas, but we came to Calfield quite a bit. Greg Bailey did travel with them. That being said, he was more like, he showed up on game day and you're like, holy smokes. I forget who was telling me the story. It might have been on air. I hope I'm not telling a story. I shouldn't say, but it was 2013. I think it was. It was Ricky Seals Jones. Right, Nick? Was it Ricky Seals Jones who was like, dude, I came in, I was ready. Johnny came in, in flip flops, got on one plate, dropped back and threw a dime and walked off. Like, there's certain people that could just know how to turn it on. Yeah, but the legend of Johnny was built on what he did on game day.
- [28:58]
C
Oh, yeah. I think.
- [28:59]
A
And then the legend grew bigger when you hear about the off the field, game day stuff. Oh, yeah.
- [29:03]
C
Um, I was so in 2018 or 2012, I was eight years old and I remember going over to my next door neighbor's house and watching Johnny Manziel on game day. And that is part of the reason I came to A and M. That's part of the reason I was an A and M fan. So his legacy truly made an impact.
- [29:21]
A
Yeah, there's no doubt. And look, I try to keep it. I try to keep it real. I hope I do. I don't watch football the way Stephen McGee does.
- [29:30]
C
Right.
- [29:30]
A
So I'm not gonna try. Okay. I don't watch it the way Brooks Austin does, so I'm not gonna try. I'm gonna tell you what I see and I'm gonna try to elicit. Not elicit, elicit a response when I'm doing an interview, but I'm gonna try to spark conversation based on what we all see. Now, I keep telling you guys, I think Aaron Gregory is going to be special.
- [29:52]
C
Yeah.
- [29:52]
A
Okay.
- [29:53]
C
I'm telling you, Andrew Wu thinks he's
- [29:55]
A
going to be special, but David Nuno does. I think he's going to be special. What does that, does that mean now? I think he's going to have moments where we're like, oh, I see. Right. And he might be that kind of kid that, like, you got to put him on the field. But that position group is so deep, in four years, we might be like, dude, you didn't put Aaron Gregory in your top 25. I'm telling you, I struggled with it. K.J. edwards. I struggled with it.
- [30:18]
C
Yeah.
- [30:19]
A
So anyway, you probably got more. We'll do it at 50. Sound good?
- [30:24]
C
Yeah, sounds good.
- [30:24]
B
All right.
- [30:25]
A
Caldwell country Chevrolet, Highway 21 in Caldwell. Online caldwellcountrychevrolet.com if you are in the market to buy a new vehicle, guys, you owe it to yourself and your family to go to Caldwell Country Chevrolet. Just go online and check it out. You can browse their selection there of inventory. But I'm telling you, if you got a car you're trying to trade in, why don't you give them a shout because they give top dollar for your car. So then you can apply that to the new car. You get your new car, everybody's happy again, and you get the excellent customer service that comes with that. The free oil change for life complement your pickup and delivery for their service customers. Again, what they do at Caldwell Country Chevrolet, second to none. I bought cars from around town and I'm telling you, they are absolutely one of the best in the market. No doubt, no matter where you are. If you're listening in Houston, San Antonio, whatever, remember, it's about a 15 minute drive the edge of Bryan to the beginnings of Caldwell. Short conversation. Wait. But you'll see the difference when you step on the lot and do business with the good people at Caldwell Country Chevrolet, Highway 21 in Caldwell. Online caldwellcountrychevrolet.com Spend your summer with a
- [31:23]
B
zone crank it Up a notch.
- [31:24]
E
This is great.
- [31:25]
A
We're esports. It's a way of life. And we're back. Tech sags live, presented by David Gardner's jewelers Rollo Insurance studio. So we got to catch up with Marcel Reed. We got to talk to him at pko. That was fun. But we also got to talk to him at SEC media days. I told him I felt like a stalker because I talked to him a lot on that Wednesday. Well, here's part of our conversation, if not the entire thing, with Billy Lucci, myself, and Marcel Reed at SEC media days. All right, welcome back to the huddle, brought to you by United and Tech sides David Nuno, Billy Lucci and Marcel Reed. What's up, man?
- [31:56]
D
I'm doing good. How you guys doing, man?
- [31:58]
A
Good.
- [31:58]
E
I'm good. Are you tired?
- [32:00]
D
A little bit. I've yawned a couple times, but, you know, it's my last station.
- [32:04]
E
How much. How much are you enjoying this? I. I know you know, the starting quarterback in the sec. I'm sure you've been assuming that you're coming to that, but, like, to be here and do this and represent A and M as, you know, a returning starter, one of the stars of this league. What has this been like? Has it lived up to expectations, exceeded them?
- [32:25]
D
Yeah, it's awesome out here, just getting to talk to each and every one of these people, you know, hearing their questions, seeing what they want to know about A and M football. It's pretty cool. And it just means a lot that I get to represent A and M, myself and my family all at the same time here. Yeah, it's an honor for sure.
- [32:47]
A
Marcel, I remember a year ago, you were here with a different organization. You were walking around, you stopped and said hello to all the media. You actually did a beeline came and said hello to me. I want to talk about Marcel that day. Okay. Mentally heading into a season.
- [33:00]
D
Yeah.
- [33:00]
A
And Marcel today, like, what. What has changed here?
- [33:05]
D
I mean, you know, I've had experience in the SEC already, so, you know, really just taking that next step and into that preparation a little bit more. Spending more time with Coach lynch, spending more time with Coach Wig and trying to spend more time with each and every person on the offense. So we're all on the same page, you know, gotta get with the receivers a little more. More before, you know, we finally head into fall camp. And then also o lineman, just to try to make sure we all understand the blocking schemes where there's pass or run. Like I said, make sure we're all on the Same page. Because when that happens, I think we are the best team in the country. So.
- [33:47]
E
And obviously, that's. That's the ultimate goal. And I was talking to someone the other day, and they said, well, I think if A and M can win a playoff game, you know, it's hard to consider them a national title contender when they haven't ever won a playoff game.
- [34:01]
D
I said, whoa, whoa.
- [34:02]
E
Miami did it. And that game was tied with a minute left. They played for the title. Indiana had never won a playoff game. They won it last year.
- [34:10]
D
Yeah.
- [34:11]
E
When you look at that, like, that's an attainable next step for you. All right. Like, I feel like, you guys, there's no rule that says you have to skip that. You can't skip steps along the way. That's today's college football.
- [34:23]
D
Yeah, 100%. I've talked to a lot of people about this. Like, a lot of people have put anim aside because of the past five, six years, and I feel like the world doesn't allow people to change. Like, it's. It's okay to change. And, like, this program is changing. Elko has came in here, and he's changed the program. He's changed how we work. He's changed the culture and. And, you know, he's changed the win percentage. I mean, like, now we do want to win a playoff game and keep going, but people should be not satisfied, but, you know, happy with progress, because since Elko's been here, all we've done is progress, and I think that's going to be what's going to happen this year as well. So I'm really excited to get on the field again and play, because, you know, just seeing how we've grown, I think it's going to happen again.
- [35:24]
E
I think a big part of that we all, you and I always talk often. I've been on one the last couple weeks. I think this secondary has a chance to be really, really good.
- [35:35]
D
Oh, yeah.
- [35:35]
E
I think there's a lot of NFL guys. There's a ton of experience. There's guys that haven't even played yet that have a ton of experience. What do you say? See this offseason working against that group? How does it rate? Do you think it's going to rate with some of the better ones you've seen going, like you said, two years through the sec?
- [35:51]
D
Yeah. You know how I think about it is we have. We have two captains for our safeties, and, like, I look at it like the Legion of Boom. You know, when you got Cam Chancellor back there and Earl Thomas back there. Those were two very key factors of the defense. And I feel like, in a sense, we're kind of the captains of that defense. So having Ratcliffe, who's up here representing us as well, and then having Dalton Brooks, who's my roommate, who has been with this program since I've been here for a long time, has seen it all. Marcus Ratcliffe, who plays hard, does everything that needs to be done, and wants to impress teammates and coaches every single day. He comes in the building. It's great to have those two back there. And then you have Julio Humphries and DEZ Ricks and Ricky Gibson and all those people on the side who all have SEC experience, who played really good teams, really good receivers. Yeah, we're going to have a really good secondary. We face them every day. Coach always tells us not to trash talk because we know that, like, it gets competitive and we want to keep everybody safe, but it's hard not to. We've got good receivers and good DBs, iron, sharpens iron, and they're just. They're just going at it every single day.
- [37:03]
A
Can you get a sense of your offensive line? Brand new unit, but Mark comes back, obviously. But can you get a sense for how good they can be?
- [37:10]
D
Yeah. And that's the most important part you just said right there. Mark comes back and, you know, he's the center and, you know, in a sense, it kind of gives two voices because, you know, I'm navigating everybody, but he's also helping navigate everybody up front. You know, a lot of people think I'm worried about that. I'm not. We have a lot of people that we brought through the portal who have SEC talent as well, who have played SEC games and have seen every single person we're about to face again. So, you know, we've done a really good job so far. Like, I just talked about the communication factor. I think just everybody being on the same page, and we're getting that. But once we do that, I'll be protected. We know who to block, and it's going to make this game really a lot easier for us.
- [37:55]
E
You mentioned. I wouldn't say. I don't think A M's getting overlooked, but I do think of the contenders. Like, it's like, yeah, they were there that last year. They can get back this year, and then they kind of. It kind of stops there. I've noticed what you've noticed. Do you feel like. And I do. I think I know the answer to this by knowing you. I Feel like you operate that you like to be that guy that's motivated, quietly. You're not going to say it much, but you really are. I sensed it last summer.
- [38:25]
D
Yeah.
- [38:25]
E
That's why I thought you were going to take that jump. I sense it again this summer. I think people forget the season you had and the season your team had. It's.
- [38:35]
B
It.
- [38:36]
E
It was like you said, Elka, it was progress. It was massive progress. It was a breakthrough. Do you kind of like it better this way for you and your teammates? I remember Damien telling us during that lunch, yeah, we haven't done anything yet. I feel like that's where you guys are in your comfort zone, operating.
- [38:53]
D
Yeah. 100. Like, obviously, we know we haven't done anything, but we've gotten close enough to see it.
- [38:58]
E
Yeah.
- [38:58]
D
So the vision has gotten bigger for us. Even though we put it up every year, like, it's. It's bigger for us, and we know what it takes to get through, get to and get through it, so. And, yeah, I operate quietly. Like, I see everything that goes on. Everything that goes on. It's impossible not to. But, like, I'm not gonna.
- [39:19]
E
You'd have to be on social media. Then I'd think you were a weirdo. Yeah, exactly.
- [39:23]
D
It pops up, and then half the stuff I get tagged in. Like, it's. It's hard not for me to see it, but, yeah, like, I. I work in silence. You know, I'm gonna. I'm gonna prove myself on the field like I always do. I'm not a trash talker. I'm not unless I want to. My God. But, yeah, I'm gonna. I'm gonna go out there and put my best every single game. Obviously, there's a tough. Over the off season that I need to improve on, and I'm. I'm. I'm trying to improve on it. So when we get to the season, all the hard work that I put in, we'll see how well it pays off.
- [39:59]
E
My last one to you, as you mentioned it, I've heard it throughout the offseason. Explain to me from a quarterback standpoint what you mean when you say, get you on the move a little bit more, move you around. Because I. I tweeted that quote, and people were going, well, he scrambled a lot last year. I said, that's not what he means. Yeah, he means moving the pocket, rolling out.
- [40:20]
D
Yeah, exactly. Like, rolling out. Doing some bootleg stuff where, you know, I might be under center or just like, moving the pocket, like, instead of having a. A gap play. Action drop, maybe have a C gap play. Action drop. Like, yeah, there's a lot of ways you can move the pocket, especially with, you know, these really good edge rushers. Nowadays you kind of have to create. So you have to find ways to create angles. Yeah. Change their angles and create more time for yourself because it's really hard to throw the ball downfield sometimes when those guys have energy and get good jumps and stuff like that, it's hard to block them. It really, really is like.
- [41:01]
A
All right, that's a great interview with Marcel Reed. We're gonna hit a break. We'll come back with a final Segment in the 9 o' clock hour before Billy Lucci joins us now, Milliken Reserve Time, Farm to table Community in College Station. If you haven't been there, you're missing out. It's a great place to be outdoors and hang out with your family. If you like hanging out with your family, that's kind of a place to go. You throw the ball, climb trees, go hiking, biking, canoeing. Just awesome to be outdoors. And it's beautiful, right? You feel like you're in nature. You see all the animals you can imagine from the whitetail deer, the songbirds, rabbits, turtles, they're all there. But if you want to buy property there, the neighborhoods are great. I'll tell you a little bit about the Creek home on 10 plus acre Woodard estates. You've got the hollow in a private and gated village and you've got the meadows that are responsive to their natural surroundings. If it sounds like a place for you, check out the website millikenreserve.com that is millikenreserve.com the Houston Astros the Houston Astros play in the zone thanks to Kelly Burdozer. As a reminder, the final segment of the program is brought to you by Double Dave's. That's at 1050. But right now, caller number 12 979693. 1150. We're going to hook you up with your choice of a dozen pepperoni rolls or a large one topping pizza from Double Dave's. They've been serving Aggieland since 1984 with your favorite pizza and of course those world famous pepperoni rolls, reliable in house delivery, bringing piping hot goodness straight to your door. Just click on Doubledaves.com and your favorites are on their way. Let's find out what's poppin on Texags today. Kayla Gaither at the Angry Elephant News and Social Center.
- [42:25]
C
So before I get into what is on Texags today, just want to reiterate, it's always a good time to be a Texag style premium subscriber because we are always putting out content on our site for premium members. Today on Tech Sags, Billy Liucci has an article about some post SEC Media Days questions to answer as camp nears. It's a really good read if you haven't read it yet. And then we have a Lunch with Lucci segment from Friday. We also have an article by Olin Buchanan about his SEC Media Days experience. We also have have an interview with the Voice winner Aiden Ross from Friday show and then a Jason Howell article about three things as fall camp is coming the 2027 class, and more.
- [43:07]
A
Gaither, Great job. All right, we'll hit a break. We'll come back with more. It's Tech Sags Live. You know what? It sucks to be bored. But when I get on my phone and play real casino games on spinquest.com, the time flies by. That two hour wait at the DMV so seems like 10 minutes. Play your favorite slots, live blackjack, live craps with a live dealer. New players $30 coin packs are on sale for 10 bucks. Play spinquest.com and you'll never be bored again. Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.