(upbeat music) Hey, what's going on? This is the "Starting Down South" podcast. I am Connor O'Gara. No will today. It will not be an entirely solo pod because my guy, Shahanjay Arajah is gonna join us in a little bit for the YouTube crowd. You can already tell different surroundings than what we're used to seeing. Maybe I sound a little bit different using a different mic, using my old mic because, yeah, your boy is stuck in Chicago right now. I have had two canceled flights as a result of all the weather that's going down in the Southeast and really in the state of Florida. Thinking of all those who are impacted by that even more directly than I have been. But yeah, I was supposed to fly back on Sunday and then Sunday, just five minutes before we're getting ready to leave, flight gets canceled. So, it's like, all right, another day with my mom and my mom's fiance and got Lauren and Claire here as well. And then that turn into, oh yeah, re-booking is crazy expensive. There's nothing available. And pretty quickly realized that we were probably gonna be here for a couple of days and then sure enough, our flight that was scheduled for Monday got canceled as well. And we are, as of right now, banking on flying out on Tuesday, connecting through Houston. It's gonna be a lot. So, we're still very much in the middle of this trying to make the best of this situation all of more thoughts on that in the latter of the week. But yeah, that's why we're going a little bit atypical today. So, I thought instead of what I had originally planned, which I'll save that idea for a later date, we're gonna talk about the top 25 bold SEC predictions that I have for 2024. It is top 25 week on SDS, something that we've been doing for a long time. And a lot of places do pre-season magazines, which are great and love those. We consume that stuff, but it's ranking season. And ranking season is the time to be able to do stuff like this. I love top 25 week because it forces me to think about how I actually feel about specific things. You can kind of him and all about specific subjects. But when you actually have to come out with top 25 rankings, which by the way, we have those on SDS, those are our consensus rankings for all of our staff who participated in that. That's something that we're gonna make a weekly staple on SDS throughout the season. So, be on the lookout for that. And then to be able to rank top 25 coaches and top 25 coordinators, Matt Hayes takes care of that now. But then I also do top 25 burning questions and do this as well, top 25. Top 25 bold predictions for this upcoming SEC season. So, I thought we could run through these 25. And a lot of these I've pretty much hinted at or just said directly. We don't need to spend quite as much time on those, but we will break down all of these. And to be clear, these are the bold predictions. At least what I would consider to be the bold predictions. The type of thing that if you say it on public airwaves or something like that, you can get clipped for it. Or it's the type of thing that when you are having casual conversation, they're like, oh, okay. Maybe they don't necessarily agree with that. Some I think are a bit more mundane than others, but let's just dig into it. Let's start with number 25 here. You guys have already heard me say this before, so I won't spend too, too much time on this, but I had Texas starting 12 and 0. 12 and 0 for the upcoming season because that schedule is just screaming 12 and 0. And I understand George is on the schedule as well, so I'm not necessarily trying to look over that, but man, to be able to have that game at home, to be able to have all of these marquee games on their schedule, not necessarily being true road games. Yeah, I guess the Michigan one is a marquee game TBD on what their entire team looks like if they're facing early season suspensions with the coaching staff. I guess that's no stranger for a program like Michigan, but you guys have already heard me speak about how much I love Texas this year because of the fact that they've got 67% of last years per percentage of returning production coming back, the fact that they have a starting quarterback and Queen Ewers that took that next step that showed up in the big time games, even though there's still some meat on the bone for him to be able to improve and develop into the guy that everybody kind of thought he was, I still feel really confident about him and the job that he's done so far. And then obviously the fact that they are so good upfront in the trenches, that to me is the difference maker with being able to handle the SEC schedule. So Texas starting off 12 and O, that's where we're gonna start with this one. How about this? This is a guy that I haven't really talked about as much in the off season, but I kind of want to get on record with him again. I really haven't found the place to do it. But I think the SEC leader in 40 yard catches this year. Yeah, we're getting specific. I think that guy, Squirrel White. Squirrel White was a previous member of the All Bang the Drum team. A guy that once Jalen Hyatt was opting out of the last part of that 22 season. Squirrel White came in and was like Jalen Hyatt 2.0. I mean, I think we might have overlooked that because of what it was in most of those games where he had the start in the bowl game obviously, but a lot of times when he was doing his damage, it was very late in the game. And the things that that guy was able to do in that scheme, to me, line up really well with a certain Nico Iamalayaba. And the offense that they're going to be able to run this year with everything open, everything is available. I think Squirrel is one of those guys that can have that bounce back season. And with all those guys that they are coming in, with Broomacoy staying healthy, hopefully, with Chris Brazel, we talk about Brazel Dazzle all the time, coming over from Tulane. I just like the thought of Squirrel White taking that step this year, being the guy that I thought he could be last year. And I was kind of waiting for it. It just never quite materialized. It ended up having a better season than I think some of the early numbers might have indicated. But a huge bounce back guy that even if you hear this camp buzz about Dante Thornton or guys like that, I'm like, just give me Squirrel White. Give me Squirrel White to kind of be that big play threat. I think he leads the SEC in 40 yard catches, even more so than a Trey Harris, who's a big play threat. Nick Anderson, big play threat. Luther Burden III, still a big play threat, even though he doesn't have the size of those guys. So yeah, give me Squirrel White to be able to bounce back in that way. Speaking of receivers, number 23 on the list, neither Cam Coleman nor Ryan Williams hit 500 receiving yards. That might seem bold. If you've heard me speak about true freshmen receivers in the SEC, that's not that bold. It's really not. And that's not saying that they're not gonna have their moments. They will have their moments. They're too good not to. Even if those moments are one play a month, they're still going to be making big time plays. You already hear in buzz about these guys in camp. And that's great. And that's awesome. And I'm not here to just pour cold water on that because those firetakes are gonna come out about them the entire time that they're in college. And then probably afterwards, if they have NFL careers, but it's too early to be able to break that down. But what I will say is that the thing that we need to remember with these true freshmen receivers, especially those guys who are playing on the outside, you might have opportunity. And that's all well and good. It doesn't guarantee that you're going to be able to get separation. I think it takes longer than we give it credit for it to be able to get on the same page with a starting quarterback. And let's be honest, I think very highly of Jalen Millro, we're gonna get to some bold Jalen Millro predictions later in this. We're gonna get to a bold Peyton Thorne prediction later in this. But at the same time, look, I'd be lying if I said those guys, we're just totally accurate money in the bank quarterbacks that should gel perfectly with true freshmen receivers. I think that's going to take time. I think that time will come. I just tend to think that if there is an overunder with their projections year one, I will probably be more on the side of the under, just that's what history shows us. Number 22, James Pierce Jr. And Harold Perkins Jr. Neither of them will win the SEC sack title. I'm gonna give that to Nick Scorton. You already know Nick Scorton, all been the drum team. Somebody that really showed out in that spring game after if I'm being 100% honest with you, I was kind of hoping he was going to be really quiet in the spring game. And he was going to be one of those guys that I could just keep kind of hyping up throughout the offseason so that when he does pop, it's gonna be like, whoa, where did this guy come from? And if you are one of those who was a die hard college football fan, you know that Nick Scorton is the real deal. And you might not have tuned into a whole lot of Purdue football last year, but let me just tell you, that guy eats. And that guy wins his one-on-ones. He's gonna be worth the price of admission. And here's why I have him beating those two guys in terms of sacks, which say what you will about that. If you want to get into the pressure thing, I mean, even Miles Garrett, everybody's like, why is his sack production dropped off? It's like, well, 'cause the dude's getting triple team. Okay, let's actually sit here and break this down. We're having to actually tell people, Nick Bosa, still very good. He gets triple-teamed. Both Bosa's brothers were getting that at the end of their career because that's what happens when you pop. As an edge rusher or someone that can rush the passer, especially well, obviously Harold Perkins Jr., James Pierce Jr., they're in different spots in terms of their usage, what they are expected to do within their specific defenses. But Nick Scorton, he's got the very nice complimentary piece that is Schmar Turner. That Texas A&M defensive line is going to be nasty. Mike Elko can coach him up. That's what he was doing when he was in college station last time. That's what he's gonna do when he's in college station this time. The other stuff, the hires, the quarterback decisions, what it's gonna look like, getting secondary talent developed, all those different things. You can ask all those questions, and that's perfectly fair despite the fact that I'm gonna say some other nice things about Texas A&M in this offense, this upcoming season. But the thing that seems more likely than anything else with the Aggies this year is that they are going to have a really fun duo on that defensive line. Really, that whole group is going to be special. And I think Nick Scorton ends up being one of those guys that were like, yeah, 14, 15 stacks, first team, all SEC type guy at the end of the season. Number 21, peak golding leads Ole Miss to a top 30 defense. Fun fact, the last time that happened, 10 years ago, Ole Miss, number one defense in the country. Might remember certain 2014 season. Katy Perry, I don't know that she remembers the 2014 season, specifically the Alabama game. She might've been a little bit more toasted than the rest of us. But nonetheless, this is the type of defense that Lane Kiffin has been waiting for. You don't question the scheming. You don't necessarily question if he's going to have quality quarterback play. That's always going to be there. But is he going to have that on defense? More times than not, throughout Lane's 10 year at Ole Miss, he has had this exasperated look on his face in these headliner games when he feels like his defense just can't get a stop. And that's going to maybe be the case a couple of times this year, maybe it's going to be the case against Georgia. I don't think that just because of the additions that they had, that they all shut down Georgia, right? That's not necessarily, I don't know that there are a whole lot of teams that are built to be able to do that on a given basis. I still feel really good about that Georgia offense. But nonetheless, having a top 30 defense for the first time in 10 years. Man, if not now, then when? Because you've got the guys on the defensive line. And that is so well documented. Lane has talked about it. It's not just Walter Nolan. It's Prince Liam on me Allen. It's returning JJ Piggies. It's returning Jared Ivey. It's returning these guys who in theory should gel and they should pop. They should win a lot of one-on-one matchups. And oh, maybe one guy is going to go off one week and then another guy is going to go off the next. But there's just too much talent for that group, not to be one of the better groups in the SEC. I firmly believe that Trey Amos is the guy that everybody's talking about coming over from Alabama. He's the guy that's going to make the difference in that secondary. TBD, and we'll see what that looks like, but man, it starts with what they're going to try and do upfront. And it's not just who has the most TFLs, but I think it's also, what are they doing just with the boring stuff? And it's second and eight and getting that stuff up the middle to be able to turn into a third and seven. Those are the things that are going to make the difference for Ole Miss. That's what's going to take some of the pressure off of this offense and make this more of a balanced, well-rounded team, which I think they're going to have this year. Number 20, you've already heard me talk about this before. We don't need to belabor this point too, too much here, but the SEC's leading rusher will be CJ Baxter. Maybe if you're just listening to the show seasonally and you're one of those people that just picks up, listening to the College of Ball podcast in August, first of all, welcome, good to see you. But CJ Baxter is a guy that I've spoken very highly of this offseason just because I think having an 18-year-old do the things he did down the stretch last year once Jonathan Brooks went down, I was certainly impressed. I think Texas fans were certainly impressed, even though it probably figures to be a little bit more of a timeshare with Jaden Blue, they think very highly of him. I still love the fact that CJ Baxter was asked to be that guy in a College of Ball playoff game and had over 100 purpose yards as an 18-year-old get. And so now is a second-year guy in a Steve Sarkeesian offense, which needs to get more credit for the job that it has done with running backs and putting them in spots to succeed. I think that he is next. I think he is going to take that next step if he has a 14-1500 yard season, maybe with Texas, being able to kind of get into the College of Ball playoff and play a couple of games, maybe that helps him. But I think that CJ Baxter is that dude, the yards after contact is going to be the big thing that we're going to talk about with him and the fact that he's got one of the best offensive lines, maybe in all of college football, certainly builds very well for him to take that next step. Number 19, Mizzou fans, you're a muffin, okay? You're a muffin. I think Mizzou's playoff path is over by early November. Yeah, look, you know I love the offense, you know I have questions about the defense. I think there are spots in that schedule that make me worried about the ladder. And at Texas A&M, I don't know that that defense is going to travel. I don't, I worry about that. I then look at that matchup against Auburn and I think to myself, dang, if Hugh Freeze is what I think Hugh Freeze is going to be this year, that is a problem for that Mizzou defense. And maybe it's a problem for that Auburn defense against Mizzou's offense. That's obviously a point that any Mizzou fan who's listening to this is going to bring up, fully acknowledge that. But then you got at Alabama and then home against Oklahoma. Yeah, man, I'd be worried about those offensive minds. That that's what I'm thinking is the deterrent this season for Mizzou. And if you tell me, well, you know what, their offense will be able to overcome it. LSU at last year's is the prime example of that. It's not that you're going to be bad. It's not that you're going to be six and six, but eight and four ain't getting into college football playoff. Even maybe not even with Florida schedule this year. I just think that that's maybe a storyline that's probably not getting talked about enough. And look, Mizzou deserves to start off in the top 10. They absolutely do with what they did last year within 11 win season and with the pieces that they return on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe Eli Drinkwitz has learned a little bit of blind faith after his Blake Baker hire worked out so unbelievably well. But I'm just very much in wait and see mode. And I can see them picking up that fourth loss in early November, a loss to Oklahoma at home. That kind of has us thinking, man, this Mizzou team just couldn't quite find that playoff path that we were talking about in the preseason. Okay, we're going to have a little bit of let's call it. What's the right way to be able to phrase this? Access bias, let's call it. I'm going to call myself out from some access bias. But if you listened to the show last year, you won't think this is access bias because we talked about this guy super, super highly before he ever came on. But number 18 of the list is that Luke has is going to be a finalist for the Mackie award. Yeah, look, LSU fans, if we were on this pod, he'd be like, yep, Mackie award. What do you mean? That guy could win the Heisman Trophy next year. LSU fans, you get it. You watch that guy go off for six catches for 116 yards, couple of tuddies. And have this day that made you think, whoa, this is an 18 year old tight end in this league. What in the world do we have here? And him getting hurt last year when he's sixth than FBS in terms of receiving yards by a tight end, he still ended up being an on three all-American despite the fact that he basically missed two thirds of the season. And so this year, you come into an offense that, look, I'm struggling how to say this without, this is going to sound bad. KJ was not the guy for that team last year. That really pained me to be able to say out loud. I have not said that allowed to anyone that can actually hear this. But KJ was not the guy for last team. And guys like Luke has have kind of spoke up about that. And when they needed to be able to troubleshoot, he was not the guy to get them on the right track. Neither was Danny. So that was a big part of this. We all acknowledge that. Bobby Petrino is still capable of doing this job. And I think Taylor Greene is going to have some of these moments this year that maybe like with KJ, where I had moments where I thought to myself, my God, just give me KJ and I'll figure everything else out. That's my dude. I think Taylor Greene's going to have some of those moments. And I think he's going to be on the same page as Luke has. I think this offense keeps getting really well at the tight ends. I think Texas A&M did a good job with that last year with Bobby Petrino. And I think as long as has can stay healthy, which some of that he needs to show that he can do playing football at this level, I think he is going to be in for a really, really big season, especially if they're kind of playing in some of these games where it's a little bit of an uphill climb. And he's the type of guy that you're going to look up. And it's like, you know, seven, 800 receiving yards. You know, six, seven, touchdown, something like that. And you're quickly aware of just how good of a player he is. All right, speaking of past catcher's, these guys have talked about a decent amount in the off season as well. Number 17 is the SEC's top receiver duo will be Dion Burks and Nick Anderson. Again, not the one who missed the free throws against the magic or against the, the rockets in the finals. The guy who was just a home run hitter through and through in that Oklahoma offense last year. All being the drum team member, Nick Anderson, the only receiver in America with an average of 20 yards per catch and 10 touchdowns. That's pretty good. That's big play stuff. Some of that happened with Jackson Arnold as well. I think Burks is one of those guys that people are going to be like, wait a minute. This wasn't some five star who's a pre-draft guy from the SEC who's just been here the entire time. You know, this is a guy who came over from Purdue and he is going to be a matchup nightmare in the slot. And if you've seen how he is built, that just kind of adds to what he is capable of being. I know a little off the field trouble that he has had in the off season. But one of those guys, I think Jackson Arnold is going to rely on a ton. And I say duo because I'm not saying that either one of those guys is going to be at the level of a Luther Bird in the third or of a Trey Harris. I think there are other guys in that conversation. You know that I'm also really high on Tom Lovett at Georgia. I'm not necessarily saying that all those guys are going to be better than, you know, that these two guys are going to be better than those guys. But what I am saying is that I think when you feel like you've stopped one, the other goes off. And that's an issue. There are only a handful of teams in the SEC where I feel like you can say that on a weekly basis. And maybe Ole Miss ends up having that best duo with, you know, it's more of a trio really though, with Trey Harris, with Jordan Watkins, with Juice Wells coming in. I mean, Caden Priest corn, if we want to talk about just past catchers as a whole. But I think that's the duo that teams will look up at and are just like, my God, what, what? This is what I got to stop in this passing game. And teams are going to try and be super aggressive, rushing the passer against Oklahoma and try and force Jackson Arnold into some tough decisions with that inexperienced offensive line. But I think he relies on those two guys a ton and they have a big, big year in the SEC catching passes. Number 16. I think I've told well this. I think I have, if not, I probably need to text him about this because you might have some thoughts on this. I think you'll just use five game winning streak against Florida finally comes to an end. People forget last time that Florida beat LSU was Joe Burrow, pick six, the swampy rups, the moment that I still say to this day, the loudest moment I have ever heard with these two giant ears was that pick six. And it was incredible. And I'm not saying necessarily that it's going to have the same sort of feel that that game did because that was Dan Mullen's first big win in the swamp. If you remember, he had lost two Kentucky before that. And you're kind of like, "Yeah, what's this Florida team going to be?" But this year, I think that breaks up that final five game stretch that we're spending so much time talking about. I think it's one of those games in which Garrett Nussmeyer just makes too many mistakes in a hostile atmosphere. That's the biggest question that I have for him and for this offense. Is there going to be a little bit too much pressure put on him in those tough road venues where Jane Daniels, he had this ability to like crowd gets going, it's third and 11. And then you think you have everybody covered. You think you have Malik neighbors covered. Brian Thomas, Jr. is getting separation. And then Jane Daniels will just take off for 15 yards, move the chains and just keep it moving and silence a crowd. I mean, he did that so many times last year. And with Nussmeyer, that's going to be a little bit tougher. It's going to be fitting balls in the tighter windows with receivers that are going to be good. I mean, let's not get a twist. Like, LSU is going to be just fine at the passketter spots, okay? They will be, but it's not Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas Jr., okay? I feel, I do feel confident saying that. And I think that it's going to be a little bit of a tougher go in those spots, especially if the defense isn't giving him a ton of help. And on the road, I do question what that's going to look like. So I've LSU finally losing to Florida. Will that actually matter in the grand scheme? If things for Florida, we're going to get to that in a minute. Number 15, Walker Howard will get multiple starts for Ole Miss. No, this is not me saying that Jackson Dart, I'm buying you into those reports that he's out for the year with torn ACL. No, we're not doing that. But I do think that Jackson Dart in his style is a bit like this guy that I'm repping today that I wear very often on this podcast, I'll be honest. My guy, Jim McMahon, the type of physical confidence that is great and is easy to root for. Ole Miss fans love this guy. They love the player that he's become as they should. And I very often have asked myself in this past year, is he more similar to Matt Corral than I am giving him credit for and was that the type of guy that praised Matt Corral when he would do these things and I criticized Jackson Dart when he would do these things? That's just the way that my brain works, OK? That's the way that I think about things. But I do worry that he's going to take one of those hits that you're just like, nah, he ain't getting up from that one, OK? He's not getting up and just bouncing back into this game. So I think we see Walker Howard. And in the grand scheme of things, that could be a good thing for Ole Miss. If Ole Miss ends up going 10 and 2 and they're able to weather the storm, whatever that storm looks like, depending on what part of the schedule this type of thing were to happen at, then you could be better off in the long run by letting your quarterback in the future get some run, get into a game that's kind of significant, and just see how he handles it. See how he handles the game planning, all of that stuff. And then if you get Jackson Dart back, boom, your goal, then you get that kind of shot of life that you need late down the stretch. Number 14, speaking of quarterbacks, Nico Yamalaya, leads a top five offense in America. Look, I'm trying to come up with new ways to say, I think this cat's going to be the real deal. And I'm not trying to say that he's going to be Peyton Manning 2.0, I'm not even trying to say that he's going to be heading in Hooker 2.0, but I do think that he's going to be awesome. And I think that as much as we love to just say, Tennessee fans, you get ahead of your skis, you do this all the time, you always just hype up this quarterback and then he never works out. Marlar was talking about how he put Jared Garrentano as the number three quarterback in the SEC going in 2019. Look, and trust me, I've been there, I've had no shortage of my wiffs, certain Malik Willis comes to mind. But I think Nico is going to be everything that Tennessee fans hope he can be. And if he is, that means he will lead a top five offense in America. That is what this Josh Hypo offense is always capable of, with the way that they're going to spread you out, with the way that they're going to run tempo, with the ability to be able to dip into that backfield, which is a little bit thinner than it's been at times, despite the fact that I love Dylan Sampson, all by the drum team member. And they're going to be able to just move the chains and move the chains. And then just when you think, yeah, yeah, maybe we're figuring some things out, they go over the top, they get that big home run play. Nico is going to be all about that. And despite the fact that this hasn't necessarily been the best off season of hype for him. There was the NCAA stuff. There was a spring game performance that left a little bit of meat on the bone. There's been a lot of talk about the other quarterbacks in that room. I still think he's going to be that guy. And I do think that he ends up leading a top five offense in America that, look, it just wasn't on the table last year with Joe Milton, but I think everything is there for the taking. And even if he has some tougher moments, 'cause I'm not sitting here saying that Tennessee's going to make it to the college football playoff, but I do think he's going to be that dude. And all of a sudden Tennessee fans are going to be going, man, do we have the best player in college football coming back next year? Or at least he's in that conversation. Number 13, I told you I'd get to more of this guy in a bit here, but I think Taylor Greene leads Arkansas to an upset of Tennessee. One of those games, I just think one of those games Arkansas is going to have. Now I'm going five and seven. So I'm not sitting here telling you that I think that they're going to be eight and four and they're going to be the surprise team in the ICC. Nope, not going to make that case. But I just think that they're going to catch someone at the wrong time. And I think their schedule actually sets up pretty well for it. I think with a mobile quarterback like Taylor Greene, who could be facing a Tennessee team that's, you know, maybe coming off of that Oklahoma loss, a game in which there are a ton of eyeballs on it. And, you know, the Josh hypo reunion in Norman. And it was this big emotional loss that Tennessee was up for. And maybe Arkansas doesn't get off to the best start. I don't think that they will with the Oklahoma state matchup early on as well. But maybe that's just the wrong team to run into. And Arkansas plays fast and loose. And this is everything kind of coming together. This is this offense working. This is Taylor Greene showing that he can cut down on those mistakes and be the guy that Bobby Petrino handpicked out of that portal. The guy that he has said, look, I don't care that I'm at Missouri State. I'm going to make sure that I'm the first one out here giving you an offer at Taylor Greene. I think he just has one of those games in him. And I think it ends up being the Tennessee game with the way that game times out. Number 12, the most improved player in the SEC is Peyton Thorne. Peyton Thorne, let's look, did I want Auburn to go out and get a quarterback in the post regular season window? Yes, hell yes. Yes, every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Yes, I wanted to see that happen. I'm still picturing a world in which Grayson McCall's transfer credits actually work. And he can go to school at Auburn. And they're not just looking at him in the admissions office going, coastal Carolina, what the heck is this? I still would love to have that world exist, but it just doesn't, okay? So Peyton Thorne is what you got. And two Auburn's credit, two he freezes credit. He has done what he can to surround him with better pieces. And I do think that while Camp Coleman isn't necessarily gonna become this 1200 yard receiver, year one, I think the Chiantre Lambert Smith edition was really important. I think getting someone that can go over the top and be able to stretch the field was massive. Robert Lewis is a guy coming over from Georgia State that I admittedly have not talked about as much. You know, Justin Hoekinson came on this show and talked about him as well. But I do think that you kind of look around and you go, wait a minute, you have guys that can actually make plays and coverage. You have guys that can stretch the field. You have someone that Peyton Thorne can look at on third and sixth, third and seven, match up at the line of scrimmage and go, he's winning that. And we're gonna be able to move the chains. These things matter. And I think Peyton Thorne will be set up for success better. I talk ad nauseam about the post spring quarterback transfers, how they're set up to fail. So a full off season in this offense, I think he understands it better. I think year two and Hugh Freese's offense historically has been much better for these quarterbacks. And I think that'll be the case for Peyton Thorne and he ends up being the SEC's most improved player. I might, I might need my words on that one. That's gonna be, that's gonna be really, really tough if I'm off the mark on that. Number 11, TJ Allen becomes an All-American in the middle of that Georgia defense. I think he's the next to Kobe Dean. I do, I don't think you can teach those instincts. I don't think that you can teach the things that he does well. And I think with those surroundings, with that coaching, with Glenn Shuman, with Kirby Smart, yes, give me CJ Allen becoming that guy. You already know how I thought about him down the stretch last year. I thought he was a difference maker after Jamal Dumas Johnson went down against Mizzou. I think him going to Kentucky and deciding, look, maybe this isn't for me. I think CJ Allen is the biggest part of that. I really do. And I'm not, I hope Jamal Dumas Johnson ends up having a great career. And who knows, maybe he's Jermaine Johnson, what he did after he left for Florida State. And, you know, different, obviously circumstances, 'cause we're talking about somebody who was starting and was getting preseason All-American love last year. But nonetheless, I think CJ Allen is going to just be fantastic. And once those instincts are able to translate even better with defending the run, I think he becomes that guy that we look at and go, wow, he is a problem. Get that guy out of college. He's only a sophomore. What do you mean? I think he's going to give a ton of SEC offenses problems and just become that guy in the middle of that Georgia defense, that when Georgia is right, they just have that guy. You just know it. It's Kobe Dean, it's Rokwan, it's whoever. It's finding that guy, even Monty Rice was a guy that didn't necessarily get enough credit, but he just was that guy, CJ Allen will be next. Number 10, something we talked about a lot, we don't need to dig into this as much. But I think Connor Wigman is going to become an All-SEC quarterback. And I think he is going to be in a first round quarterback discussion. So that doesn't necessarily mean that he's going top 15 pick or something like that. But I think he will be showing up in the first round of these mock drafts when the season ends. I do think that he is in for that type of season with Colin Klein coming over from Kansas State, something that we talked about a lot, the Trevor Sycamore take that he's going to be QB1, or at least that he has a case to be QB1 in a quarterback class that is leaving some kind of scratching their heads going, "Who's going to be that guy?" I'm not saying Wigman steps up and becomes that guy and he's this number one overall pick or anything like that. But I do think that you can look at the sample size of when he has been healthy. And if you actually are able to focus in on what he has done, he will be impressed. I promise you, take away all that other crap, the Jimbo Fisher drama, who's calm plays, who's not calm plays, look at who's dropping passes, look at how guys are protecting him. That's the thing that has sold me the most on Colin Wigman is what he does when he faces pressure. That's such a big prerequisite for becoming that dude that NFL scouts can look at. And even college football fans at this level at the SEC can look at and say, "Whoa, that guy is doing things that can make a big difference and can lead you to wins that people don't think that you should get." And I think he becomes that guy this year. Number nine, all right. I told you I was gonna get here. I think Florida starts off not 5-0, but Billy Napier is still fired after a six-and-six season. The sixth win comes in that LSU game that I was talking about before. Starting off 5-0, I think, would make all of those Florida fans. And plenty of them have been in my mentions about how I'm just too low on them. I'm not believing in this team, despite the fact that they were five and seven last year. They have been very vocal this offseason. And if they start off 5-0 with wins against Miami, with wins against UCF, and then going on the road beat Mississippi State, they will be very loud. Will they have shown everyone, Billy Napier has figured this out? No, tell me the game on that schedule that makes you think a Billy Napier is about to become a decade-long coach. Tell me the game in the first part of that schedule. That says that. Because none of those teams in the first five games won more than seven games last year. And you could tell me that Miami is worthy of getting all of this hype. And Cam Ward is going to be the best quarterback in the ACC this year. Give me Haynes King. I know the interceptions are high, but still give me Haynes King. I think that you can look at that matchup and see a world in which Florida wins at home. 'Cause I certainly do, and that's why I'm sitting here predicting it. But I just think that the five and oh start is going to be part of this rollercoaster season for Florida. And ultimately, if you endure another late season losing streak, which has just been all too familiar for Florida, and even before Billy Napier arrived, that was the case with Dan Moen, of course. But I think if you endure that, and there's just this apathy, and the swamp isn't filling up, and it's this bad vibe all around, man, I just think that's going to be the end for Billy Napier. I think Scott Strickland gets fired, and I think that Billy Napier ultimately is three and out as Florida's coach. And I think they're still trying to find their first head coach, let me see if I can do this stat without butchering it. They're still trying to find their first coach of the post-spurrier era who can last longer than six seasons. Did I say that right? 'Cause urban, yeah, 'till then five, yeah. Okay, I said that right. That's exactly what I meant. But yeah, Billy Napier, I guess that's not bold to say that he's going to get fired, but it is bold to say that they'll start off five and oh, they'll be pounding their chest, and then all of a sudden it's going to fall apart, and those defensive depth issues that I worry about are going to surface once again. Number eight, we're going to get at least a month of arch-manning starts. How about that? A month of arch-manning starts goes back to what I've talked about a lot with the coin-yours injury history. It's not about coin-yours struggling. It's not about him, all of a sudden opening the door for arch, but does arch all of a sudden step into this role and perform well? I think he does. I think he has the ability to step up and be that guy, despite the fact that we've seen so little of him. I think that there's still a world in which you could look at the surroundings for Texas and go, hmm, maybe we underestimated the skeptics. I'm not talking about the people that have watched arch-manning for a while, but the skeptics underestimated just how good of a situation he actually has at Texas. And that's part of it. That's part of quarterback play. It's capitalizing on it. But I do think that we're gonna get at least a significant amount of arch this year. And maybe the fact that Texas has this favorable schedule and you can play the long game a little bit with the 12-team playoff, maybe that pushes Sark to say, you know, Quinn, you could come back this week, but I'd rather have you for the long haul. Let's see another start from Arch. Let's get him some more of these reps here. So yeah, I think we get a month's worth of arch-manning starts this year. Number seven, Brent Venables will lead Oklahoma to a nine and three regular season and get another raise to join the $9 million club. I think that everything that I've talked about with Oklahoma this year is very well documented for those that are just coming on board in August. Again, welcome. I am a believer that a year three Brent Venables defense will be evident in Norman. I think we see that. Even if this doesn't end up being a world-beater offensive line, I think the surrounding pieces, the skill players, will still be able to do enough in some of these tight games that they can take over. And maybe it's not going to be quite vintage 2010s, Clemson defense, week in, week out. But I do think that the overall end result will have more of that field and obviously these first two years in Norman have had so far for Brent Venables. But I think they're gonna punch above their weight. I think they're gonna punch above their weight based on not what's being said within the state of Oklahoma, but what's being said outside of it. And by those who are predicting seven, seven and a half wins, whatever the regular season opener is. And for those who are saying that they're gonna struggle in the SEC, I just don't necessarily think that's going to be the case. I think they have more dudes than people who realize I think they've done better in the portal and better with recruiting than we've probably given them credit for. And I think they step in and look the part and handle a very difficult schedule well and better than people think that they will. Number six, DJ Lagway will not start a game in a Florida uniform. So this is just 2024 predictions, but this is kind of a 2024 and beyond. And for what it's worth, I wanna be wrong on this. Okay, let me just say this at the top because I know Florida fans are gonna be upset with this. This isn't exactly the most positive pod that they have heard from me. And trust me, if Florida proves me wrong, I will give them all the credit in the world. I absolutely will. But if DJ Lagway starts a game, it means that Graham Mertz's heart, which, okay, never rule that out. That's a possibility. It's been pretty durable throughout his career. And even with a pretty subpar offensive line last year, he mostly held up until that Mizzou game last year. So I like the chances of that. I don't necessarily like Billy to say, I don't think he's gonna be bold enough to say, you know what, we gotta take this to the next level. Now is the time to put in DJ Lagway, especially with the way that schedule sets up with how difficult it should be down the stretch, or at least how difficult we think it's going to be. So my guess is, yeah, Florida, I don't think that he ends up starting a game. And I think he ends up hitting the portal with a new coach coming in. And that's going to be a very well documented issue facing the Gators this year, because that guy's gonna have people throwing money at him left and right, even if he doesn't get the biggest sample size. I think he still gets into football games. I think we still have moments in which we say, whoa, DJ Lagway looks very much like the Gatorade National Player of the Year, but I do fear that he's not going to get that opportunity. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I actually wanna see what it looks like in the Billy Napier offense with him. I am so intrigued by DJ Lagway. I love the talent, I love the skill. Please let me be wrong about this, but I'm putting this on the record for a reason. Number five, I think Mike Elko will lead upset wins against two top 10 teams, at least at the time of the match. I think he beats LSU and I think he beats Mizzou. Those are the two that I think he gets. Now, I think he loses against Florida and I think he loses against South Carolina as well, because within the SEC, Texas A&M is the ultimate agent of chaos this year. At least I think that's how it's gonna play out. I think they're gonna do some things at home that make us think, whoa, A&M has turned the corner. And then I think they're gonna get on the road and you're gonna realize that it's a little bit more difficult. And I do think that it's gonna be an up and down year one, that's okay, we don't judge your one coaches on this show. I already have a lot of thoughts about Mike Elko and the vast majority of them are super positive. So I don't really feel bad about saying that, but I just think that there are going to be match ups for Mizzou and LSU, where if the defense doesn't exceed expectations, it's gonna be tough for them to travel. And I think against better offensive minds, I think Colin Kline is what I think Connor Wigman's capable of being if his receivers can stay healthy. I think they could struggle. And I think that's kind of the thing that separates LSU and Mizzou from those playoff teams. So yeah, I think Mike Elko will have some low moments this year and some very high moments and some moments against a couple of top 10 teams. Number four, the SEC's top offense is not Tennessee but Alabama, yes, Alabama. I'll take Alabama when it finishes slightly ahead of Tennessee, slightly ahead of Georgia, slightly ahead of Mizzou. And I guess I should throw Ole Miss in there as well. So I see you're gonna have five top 10 offenses this year. Is that on the table? I think it's very much on the table, I really do. But I'll take Alabama and it's a bet on Kayla Dabour. It's a bet on this guy being one of the best in the business. It's really not difficult to look at his track record and be impressed. I mean, how can you judge the situation at Washington and just dismiss it as well? You know what, he just hit right with his quarterback in the portal. Go back and listen to things that I was saying about Michael Pank's junior when he transferred to Washington, okay? I was wondering if that guy could throw a forward pass when he left Indiana. I was like, I don't know if his body is fully intact. I don't think he's gonna be able to do it. And then sure enough, what does he turn into? Of course, it helped that they developed at the receiver position so unbelievably well. Oh, by the way, you bring over that coach to Alabama, that's going to help with a group that's been disappointing in the last two years. And I think the big thing that we're all wondering about is Jaylen Muro. It's what is it going to look like transitioning? So not just Kayla Dabour, but Nick Sheridan as well. Somebody that's a big part of this offensive identity that Alabama is going to have. And I am more of a believer that Kayla Dabour adjusts to his personnel and he doesn't make his personnel adjust to him. That is so pivotal for Alabama in this year because I don't think their defense is going to be a Nick Saban like group. I do think all the skepticism about that group on the back end is warranted. And yeah, they're gonna have moments that make you think that Nick Saban's on those sidelines. Maybe he still will be. I don't know if the analyst thing is really weird. He probably will be in a lot of these games so we should just come to expect that. But nonetheless, I just think that this offense and what it's going to be asked to do this year can endure this. They might have some tough moments early in the season that make you think, buddy, this is gonna be square hole round peg. How does that phrase go? Whatever, you get what I'm saying. But I think they figure it out. That leads me to my next prediction. Number three, Jalen Milro won the 2024 Heisman Trophy. I've tiptoed around this one, but you know what, let's get a prediction out there. And I'm not gonna let this impact my voting process or anything like that. So I'm not gonna pretend that this is the end all be all. I'm very reluctant to make a Heisman Trophy prediction because as I always say, friends don't let friends bet on preseason Heisman favorites. Jalen Milro, not quite a Heisman favorite. Despite the fact that he finished hiring the Heisman voting, then any returning player in college football and drink if you've heard me say that before. But I just look at all the pieces around him and I think it will be better. An interior offensive line that should be one of the best in college football, a guy that can actually snap the football at Parker Brailsford coming over from Washington. Offensive minds that are just more advanced and ready to be able to light up scoreboards in this conference. I do think that it'll happen. And it's not gimmicky what they do. I don't think they turn into an offense that throws the football 45 times a game. I just believe in Jalen Milro. I just do. And somewhere between watching him get pulled against USF, I shouldn't say pulled, but benched before that game. And then watching what he did in the ICC championship, you realize that a transformation took place. And even if he does get off to a little bit of a shaky start, some of those telegraphed interceptions are there, like they were in the first part of last year, like it was in the Texas game. I'm betting on Jalen Milro, betting on Jalen Milro, I'm betting on Kayla DeBore to figure it out and figure it out together. And I think that ultimately wins him the Heisman Trophy this year. Number two, something I have said, but this is gonna be more direct. I think at the end of the season, Mark Stoops steps down at Kentucky. I'm not gonna get into the whole college football coaches, hate what the sport has become, and they're all gonna quit and leave, because I think that conversation deserves more nuance as we've talked about in the off season. As these coaches are wealthier and wealthier, they are certainly compensated for that job like never before, but there will be coaches that realize that the joy that they once had coaching this sport is gone and they have more than enough money to not worry about doing this anymore. And I think Mark Stoops fits into that camp. This isn't necessarily just a result of that NCAA thing with the probation and how do you get popped in this day and age for something like that with NIL. You have to be really out there with what you're doing and not necessarily being exactly how should I say avoiding pay for play. And clearly, Kentucky made this steps there, but I do think that Mark Stoops is going to be one of those guys that, yes, he's just gonna be at the end of his rope by the end of this year. I think it's another kind of seven and five type season for Kentucky in which he feels like all this work that he does for NIL fundraising, for developing, for trying to get better money, more money for facility upgrades and all of those things, all the legwork that Mark Stoops has put in for a decade plus taking Kentucky out of the basement of the SEC and into somewhat of that SEC relevance conversation. I think he's gonna look back and say, you know what, this just isn't for me anymore. And I think he's gonna hit his boiling point at the end of the regular season. Nick Roush came on the show and talked about how weird it was that he only made one staff change and it wasn't even on the defensive side of the ball, even though the defense really struggled last year. So yeah, I do think this ends up being just another grind of a season for Kentucky and not grind in the way that it's been in years past, or even 2018 where that Kentucky team broke through and finally had their first winning season in a SEC play since the Jimmy Carter administration. That season was a grind because of the way that they were built stylistically with how the defense was asked to operate. But I think this is more of a mental grind for Mark Stoops. And he decides at the end of the year, you know what, enough is enough and I'm gonna move on and enter my next phase in life. Number one, set up for, I'll say it again, but you know what, we have to throw these out there because if we're not on record in a million other places, people are gonna have that. For whatever reason, gonna have receipts on you. So let's just get it out there in as many places as possible. Texas and Georgia will face off not once, not twice, three times to decide the SEC and national championships. Look, I think that would be awesome for the sport. So I'll admit, there's a part of me as someone that doesn't have a dog in the fight, but does have a dog in the fight as just a college football fan. I think it would be tremendous if that became a new premier rivalry. Much like I think Big Ten fans are hoping that Oregon, Ohio State becomes this really fun back and forth. I think that there are a lot of people that will have eyeballs on that Georgia Texas game going, huh, is this about to become the next big thing in the SEC? No good a twist to Georgia Bama, it's still gonna be a big deal. Even though, even though Nick Saban's no longer there, it's still going to be a big deal when those two teams match up, fully get it. But I just think that Texas and Georgia are about to embark on a very unique chapter. In this new era of college football, facing each other three times is very much on the table. And we've seen in the past in the SEC of facing a team multiple times within a season. Of course, there are some very well documented cases of that with a rematch in the SEC championship. But if they met in the same exact building a month after that in the national championship, I guess a month and a half after that, man, we would be just loaded with all the storylines in the world legacy stuff for both of these coaches that would have such an impact on college football as a whole. And for those who say all rivalries are a thing of the past with realignment or at least they're not at the forefront of the conversation, remember that we could be frustrated with realignment and we can also acknowledge that things can blossom out of it. And this can be one of those things that blossoms out of it. So yeah, I'm gonna take Texas to win that first game in Austin. I think Kirby Smart makes those adjustments in the SEC championship just like what he did against Auburn 2017. Adjustments also included Kerry on Johnson not being healthy in that SEC championship, but that's a different story for a different time. And I think ultimately Georgia wins in the national championship against the Texas team that is going to be awesome, is going to be one of the best teams in this sport, but just can't quite get over that Georgia hump in the games that actually matter. All right, those are the bold predictions, 25 of them, all these in case you forgot, I'm not gonna go through these again. I have all of these on Saturday down south.com. Again, we have so much coverage of top 25 week. It is one of the best things that we do at SDS is being able to get all this stuff out there, not just ranking season, but having fun conversations about coaches, about players, a lot of great discourse at SDS, Saturday down south.com, just tons of top 25 coverage to supplement your college football magazine preview type stuff that obviously everybody's consuming this time of year. All right, let's kick it to my gosh, Shahan Jayarajah, fun conversation with him, being able to talk about walk-on, some fall camp storylines, and a bit of other stuff as well. So here's Shahan. I'm not excited to be joined by a very special guest. It is our guy, Shahan Jayarajah, CBS Sports. The best-dressed man at SEC Media Days. Did you take that title really without much competition? (laughs) - Well, I do categorize it differently for TV folks versus writers. Writers mail it in. Honestly, it's a little offensive to me sometimes, the level to which writers mail it in, the thing that I've said, and I have some friends who do this. Like when I'm at work, I'm sorry, I'm not doing shorts. I'm just not. Like it's just, especially if it's an event like that. Okay, if you're going out to practice, maybe it's a little different, but like if you're going to an indoor event at a nice hotel, I just can't understand doing shorts. So I will say the way that this all started for me was back when I was a student. You just don't wanna be treated like a student. So I would always overdress a little bit. And so now, of course, overdressing for being a student is like wearing pants and a polo, and like now overdressing to being like a professional at a national outlet is like wearing a suit. But it's kind of become my brand a little bit. So this was my first time since 2016 at SEC Media Day. So I'm like, I gotta let people know. - I was gonna say, yeah, 'cause I've been going since 2018. I haven't seen you there before, but you can answer the ultimate question. Like it does just mean more, right? - Well, it does, it does. I mean, the amount of chaos there is crazy. Now, the one that I went to before in 2016 was in Hoover, and that was a whole like other experience. Being in Dallas, it was mostly actually a media event. I saw the like Alabama hammer guy or whatever, when he was like scouting out the place and he was kind of like, wait, where are the fans supposed to be? And fans didn't really come to the one in Dallas because frankly, it's a downtown venue and coming downtown in Dallas just to like stand outside and watch K on the board come in is a little less palatable than driving 10 minutes in Birmingham to Hoover. Like, it's just a different kind of experience, but I mean, it's a huge event. Of course, I got the giant SEC network set at the back. They've got so many radio and media and all this sort of stuff. The one thing that I will say, 'cause I did four of these this year. I did big 12 SEC in Mountain West AAC. The one thing with SEC is that they keep them under lock and key. Like they do not, you cannot even like casually walk up to people or like say hi to even people who you might know who are players or coaches there. It's kind of nuts, the level to which that happens. Every other one is much more casual. I've never been to big 10. I'm curious if it's a little more like that too, but SEC, man, it is a very, I don't wanna call it just like corporatized environment, but it's kind of like that. - I've done the behind the scenes thing with Morehead in '19 and then Beemer last year going into '23 and you realize how little time is available for everybody to do anything whatsoever. And it does feel very corporate from that standpoint and it's like, all right, we're gonna be in our main media room from this time and then our auxiliary room this time. And then this radio, it's like, oh my gosh, everything is so on schedule 'cause there's so much to be able to fit in. One of those popular topics of discussion, walk-ons, was one of the things that I felt like dominated the conversation, not just the SEC media days, but probably all the media days that you were at. You did a great story on CBS Sports. Everybody should go check it out. Just the future of walk-ons. You talked to the Burlesworth family, what that's going to look like moving forward. The big question that I think everybody wants to know is why did this house settlement, which now says that there will be 105 scholarship players per roster, why does this ultimately change the fate of walk-ons and make it look like they have a very grim future? - Well, the way that the house settlement changed it is they essentially forced not just football, but most sports to guarantee the ability to get a scholarship. So if there's a rostered spot, that player will now have the ability to get a scholarship. That's true in baseball, where it used to be 13 or whatever for 31 spots. Now every one of the 31 players has a chance to get a scholarship. It's going to be true in basketball as well. So what that means though, is that for a school that wants to pay for it, which granted, I think even in the power conferences and even maybe in the power too, the idea of having 120-person rosters and trying to pay for scholarships for all of those spots, maybe that wouldn't have been palatable in the first place, but it creates a major competitive advantage. And the big difference between the FBS and the FCS level is the scholarship number. It's 85 at the FBS level. It's 63 at the FCS level. It just allows you to have a level of depth and development that you wouldn't get to have other places. And so what they decided to do was instead of trying to legislate, and another thing to do was that they were trying to get around the idea of scholarship limits by using NIL to fill in that gap. There was a story that was pretty widely heard of Cormani McLean, the Florida DB, who is allegedly getting his scholarship essentially paid for with NIL money because they're out of countable scholarships. So in practice, right, it means that almost anyone is able to get a scholarship. And that's a good thing. And even the people that I talk to and the former walk-ons that I talk to, they said that's a good thing, right? It's a good thing that we are creating 20 more potential scholarship opportunities across every school in FBS. And not everyone will pay it, but it's available if that happens. But what that also means is that essentially now with rosters being capped at 105 to try to protect that competitive advantage, it means that essentially every one of the 105 players who actually ends up on your roster can be a recruited scholarship player. It means that instead of going to whatever, to Western Kentucky or instead of going to, I mean, even probably like Illinois or Texas State or any of these schools really, you can be the 103rd guy at Alabama because you can get a scholarship to go there and there's prestige for getting a scholarship to go there. And also, by the way, you are not going to be the one who thinks, "Oh, well, I'm 105th on the death chart. "You're going to think that, "Oh, well, maybe I'm in the mid '70s "and I'm in a better position than I actually am." So that's kind of this conflict. And when that happens, it means that the idea of somebody like Brendan Burlesworth, who the Burlesworth Award is named after, who walked on at Arkansas because he's from Arkansas and loved Arkansas in the '90s and developed into an all-American and an NFL draft before he was tragically killed in a car accident. It means that that guy who's local to a program, who maybe grew up a fan of the program, I think of like the 12th man at Texas A&M, that guy probably can't do that anymore because his spot would most likely be filled by a scholarship recruited player. - And Luke Falk, I thought had a great point in your story talking to me, he's like, "I wasn't the type of guy "that was going to get that scholarship. "I wasn't going to stand out in that setting "and I needed to be able to get that opportunity "just to get my foot in the door. "And then what do you do when you get there?" And I used to see all these kids in the state of Nebraska when I was living there, who would feel like they were going to go to some division two place or something like that or maybe they would go to a really small D1 school and then the Nebraska assistants would come through the state and they would do this tour down I-80 and they would pick all of these kids left and right and be like, "Hey, you want to be a preferred walk-on? "You want to do this?" We know that you grew up a die-hard Husker fan and you're going to come and do the grunt work and be the scout team person. Those people are essential and they are really, really important and I don't know that that 103rd person on a roster who's got a scholarship is going to want to put up with all that stuff too and that it creates even more fluidity it feels like than what we had before. - Well, and one thing that Dubois Whitney mentioned at ACC Media Days was, do we even want to be managing 105 guys who are all like the level of, and I don't mean this word in a bad way, like the level of entitlement when you are a recruited scholarship player is a different thing than I'm just grateful to be here, right? I just want to kind of try and understand that I'm owed nothing while you are owed something when you're a scholarship football player and the reality is 22 guys get to be starters on a football team, 44 get to be either starters or primary backups, not getting into specialists. Like how much of the roster is it that now all of a sudden we're talking about 60 guys who won't be starting or backup position players. Now, it can be used in some positive ways. For example, like for someone who wants to be there and develop for two or three years, like I think that end of roster development can be a really good thing. But I think that in this era as well, that becomes more tenuous. And one other thing that was brought up to me and that's been brought up a lot is this idea that, well, that the way to, if you are Luke Falk, let's say, the way to quote unquote work yourself up is, well, maybe you go to Eastern Washington or maybe you go to Central Washington and then maybe Wazoo sees you and you get to go up. Well, at a certain point, right? Like I think that that's great in terms of, okay, maybe you eventually end up getting this opportunity. But it's also like, I mean, you and I, we're college students at some point. At what point is it detrimental to just a kid to have to move colleges three times in order to get a chance at this opportunity? If Luke Falk didn't make it, like he actually told me a great story that I don't think made it into the piece, but like he was told as a true freshman that he was not good enough to play on scout team, right? But he was like, well, but I'm here. I'm going to university at Washington state. If he had decided to leave football, we could have just been a student at Washington state and gotten a good education, had opportunities after that. And like, I think that one of the things to me that also adds to this process is, yeah, maybe, you know, you can eventually transfer up two or three times and end up at one of the bigger schools. But like, I feel like we view, especially in the NIL world and now the potentially revenue sharing world, this idea of, well, these guys are professionals, but like for most of these kids, even the really good ones, they're going to be professionals for four or five years. And so I do think that losing the entirety essentially of being a college student during this whole process is also kind of a brutal situation to be in. - Is it possible, because I know that, you know, as we sit here and you talk about these guys who have been great walk-ons of Stetson Bennett, of Baker Mayfield, and you know, these guys that have had these unbelievable paths, and you can talk about the smaller school guys as well, a Cam Ward comes to mind speaking to Washington state quarterbacks who starts at the incarnate ward and eventually Washington state now at Miami, of course, but like we can talk about all those guys and all the positive stories that go with it. Is there any way that some sort of walk-on program can remain intact? If we can do freelancers in professional work settings, is there some sort of freelancer labor union distinction that can be established to make this a possibility? Because I think if that were an option, coaches would look at the 105 scholarships and go, okay, well, yeah, maybe we could save a few of these open spots for scholars, or for preferred walk-ons to kind of duel it out or whatever, but ideally, I think they would still like some sort of wiggle room to be able to work around that and have a separate contract where these guys are still competing, and they could still kind of operate within that walk-on frame. - Well, I think that there's two parts to this. One, I do think that the idea of having, let's say a 95-man scholarship roster, if I'm a coach in deciding this, having 95 scholarship players and leaving 10 spots or something like that in order to make something happen, I think that that is interesting, right? Like the idea of, let me just get some guys on campus and maybe there are 25 kids who go out for walk-ons, we have 10 spots, and then also we can give them scholarships, we can pay for their school if they earn that opportunity, right? But it doesn't have to be a recruited scholarship player in the way that we talk about. I do think that a big part of whether what you propose might happen comes down to how good the actual enforcement of NIL and laws is going to be. Because it's built in to the House V NCAA settlement that the NCAA does have power to regulate some of these NIL agreements. And under one draft that I know that we've seen, it's alleged that basically any NIL contract that you do over $600, you'd have to report. And then essentially it would be vetted. And I'm sure there'd be a clearing house, kind of the way that there is for any sort of NCAA or collegiate benefit. So if that's effective, I think that that makes it a lot more palatable. The idea of, OK, well, we're just going to try to vet this and make sure that we don't have a Kormani McLean situation, which, by the way, like Kormani McLean not doing anything wrong right now. It's totally within the rules for him to do what he's doing. But that we don't have repeat cases of that. But it comes down to what kind of likelihood, I guess you could say it is, that they're able to legislate this and enforce this at a high level. And right now, there's just no track record. Will walk-ons be extinct by the year 2030? Will we have a last walk-on in college football, someone that can hold that title and be like, wow, that's-- there he goes. He's out there lining up on special teams. He's a gunner on special teams or something like that. This is the last pure roster spot in college football history. This thing feels like it's extinct. I think that I'd make a distinction. I think that at, let's say, the biggest schools, right? Let's say the P2, just for shorthand. I think we might be in a position where it's totally extinct by that point. Tech saying that will be interesting because of the history that they have. Nebraska will be interesting. Maybe they dedicate two or three spots. But they have to understand that they're probably taking on a competitive disadvantage to do so, just to kind of maintain that whatever it is. But I think, generally speaking, in the P2, maybe for most of the P4, though I don't think all, I do think that traditional walk-ons will probably not exist in this way. I do think, though, that when you get to the G5 level, especially-- I mean, the reality of F-I-U who's in the news right now because they just partnered with Pitbull. The reality of them adding 20 scholarship players for a program that really doesn't make any real money, I don't know if that's going to be realistic, right? I wonder for schools like that, right? Schools that are, you know, like UTEP, right? So schools like-- and even, I think, up to the AAC level, like it's Temple going to pay for 105 scholarship players is-- you know, I think you can go up and down with this. Northern Illinois, are they going to pay for 105? Probably not. So I think that they'll exist. They probably won't exist certainly the same way at the power conference level. But again, this is one of those things, right? It's like with the rev share, where schools now have the right to pay out potentially up to $22 million, but what percent of schools will actually do it and be able to do it? I think that it kind of could be a situation like that, where the schools that are paying out a full rev share, which, again, I think will be essentially the entire P2, the vast majority of the P4, and a handful of the G5, I think that those schools will be more likely to try to fill all 105 spots. But I think that other schools will have those spots available. And again, I think that also-- we talked about Nebraska and kind of their history in the Midwest, I mean, they're kids who-- a big part, I would argue, of the Dakota schools exploding right now are those are kids that historically might have been preferred walk-ons or partial qualifiers, even at Nebraska. But I think that schools like Nebraska, really, I mean, kind of that whole Northwest corridor, I think even like a Boise State is interesting, mostly kind of where Wazoo and Oregon State settle out. And I think that they'll kind of be in that mold as well. I think there will be opportunities available. And I talked to the Burlesworth family, like you mentioned. And one thing that they said is, one, we have no plan at this point to shift this award, because right now there are walk-ons, and we're hoping that when this all gets settled out, there will still be walk-ons. But I think that ultimately, I mean, this is going to be, I think, more of a stratification within college football, the teams that are willing to pay for 105, but also the teams that are willing to still have walk-ons available. Let's get you out of here on the latest with Kentucky. All this stuff is oddly connected in a weird way with NIL, what's pay for play, what's not. And I think the average college football fan looked at the news that happened with Kentucky getting the probation, having to vacate wins from the 2021 season for 11 players, just basically not doing the work that they were essentially paid to do through NIL. We had heard rumblings of this, the suspensions that had happened a couple of years ago. How does this happen in an era when the Tennessee case with Niko Yamalayaba was supposed to change everything, and it was supposed to be, well, the NCAA doesn't have any power. Was it just simply, Kentucky was so brazen with this, and this was a process that the NCAA had started years ago, or is there something more to this where the NCAA is just trying to take a last stand? - Well, I think that the question is, is the NCAA trying to take a first stand in the post-house world, right? Like are they trying to dip their toe into the water and say, okay, these are very clearly what we would consider to be NIL violations, because they very clearly were not for name, image and likeness. And let's see, you know, maybe this case gets sued up, but maybe the house settlement in its final form, which says, no, you can enforce this rule, right? So I think that this is in some ways a harbinger, you know, the NCAA believes times have shifted a little bit, and we do have the ability to maybe start to wade back into enforcing NIL and the reality of NIL. But again, I mean, I think that this will probably in one way or another go to the courts. The details will come out, but the other piece that I'll say too is that I'd imagine for the NCAA to pick this one, this Lord knows, look around college football, there's tons of cases, but they must feel like, okay, we have the paper trail, we have the details and the facts enough to make this kind of our first foray back into this. - Does it also matter that, I mean, it feels like Kentucky accepted this punishment, and they, I can't remember the initial language that was used in the release, but they had basically settled on what this is going to look like with vacating wins, which say what you will about that, it's stupid, it doesn't really mean that much, but could they have gotten popped a lot worse with this? Could this have been like a multi-year bull band, which seems impossible to happen in the mid-2020s? - Well, and that's one of those things where you wonder, I mean, actually, one question that I'd have too for Kentucky, and this is like a truth serum type thing that they never admit, but like, what kind of precedent does this set if you're Kentucky for your peers who are clearly breaking, you know, what we consider to be norms, right? Like it does setting a precedent of saying, okay, well, one, these are the punishments, and look, they're not that crazy, right? Like vacating wins, it is what it is, it's whatever, but like to kind of find a reasonable resolution for your individual self, but also set a precedent that, hey, we're kind of setting back up the idea that the NCAA can actually enforce these cases when you are recruiting against Georgia and Alabama and LSU and Texas A&M, is that a trade-off that they're willing to at least consider whenever they're going through this process? I think that at the end of the day, right, the NCAA created this negotiated resolution situation to try to get this sort of thing over with, right? Now it's over, there's nothing hanging over Kentucky football because they've of course agreed to this negotiated resolution, but I'm gonna be curious to see whenever the next one comes, and certainly if it's a school that's much bigger and maybe more valuable and more important and more willing to fight something like this, like Tennessee, like you mentioned, was among them, I'll be curious to see what kind of precedent ultimately gets set even if those cases go to the legal system. - Will, and I'm just asking this hypothetically, of course, will the NCAA go after a school that wears t-shirts that say we pay players on them? - I wouldn't know the first thing about a school like that. - No, I mean, I'm fascinated, right? Because like, Dave Oranda is being very upfront about the fact that like, we're paying players. Now, I'm also curious, I don't think certainly that quote was, I don't think that it was especially calculated per se, I think it was like, I'm like, Dave Oranda, I don't know if you've talked, I mean, he's a very forthright guy, but I think that there's also probably some thought within the program, within the conversations that they're having, and that others will certainly, that well, there's an acknowledgement in the house via NCAA that like, that rev share is coming. And so it's the NCAA, 'cause to me, that would be more of a like last stand, right? Of being like, of being like, oh, well, you know, yes, you're, you're, and I got to talk to some of Baylor's administrators, and you know, they feel like, hey, we have deliverables that we can show that this is not just like, you know, that we have plausible deniability, like all of these people are looking for, right? But I think that when you ultimately look at this, right, I think that there is this understanding that the house case means that rev shares on the way, that direct payment is on the way, and so is this a fight that the NCAA's gonna care about all that much, especially when again, then they'd have to get into the weeds of it, and all this sort of thing. So it would certainly be a very symbolic case, I'd be curious, right, if in a pre-house world before this case was ultimately settled, if Baylor and that coaching staff would have been, let's say so brazen about it, but I do think that we're probably past that mattering at this point. - I love it, let's just have everybody come out with we pay players' shirts. Let's, what a statement out back to the NCAA. Just week one, everybody wearing those t-shirts and stuff, oh gosh, that'd be incredible. Child has been great, man, really good stuff. Like I said, everybody go check out the walk-on's piece, CBS Sports, lots of great stuff. I'm sure coming out to throughout all fall camp and all the season, we got a football season that's just about here, it's crazy. - I'm just about done talking about NCAA resolutions and house settlements, and I'm ready to talk about, "Hey, man, is Colorado's offensive line any good?" Like I'm just kidding. - You already talked about that. You already had a story about that. - Yeah, I've never, when it comes to offensive line development, I never take a week off. - That's true, exactly. - I love it, man, we'll do it again soon. All right, let's go with some later of the week. A lot of choices, tons of choices for me personally. It's been a wild weekend from a travel standpoint, from a logistics standpoint, and I feel really bad for all the people that we've impacted with having to stay in Chicago a couple of extra days. Just little things that come up, like my mom was supposed to go up to her lake house with her sister, and obviously that could necessarily happen with us getting flights canceled left and right. So just things like that have come up, and people adjusting their schedules will, and obviously we had our scheduled recording time, but weren't able to be able to make that happen with the adjustments that I had to make with our schedule. And anybody else that's been impacted by this, I mean, that's the thing that I hate the absolute most. So I appreciate so much when people are accommodating like that even my mom's fiance, like cooking a couple of extra nights at dinner for us, like just things like that, that add up that certainly make a difference when you're going through just a nightmare time in terms of travel, and that's really what it's been for us so far. But my lead of the week, I'm gonna go with a lot of Olympic candidates that I could go with here, not really a bad option, but I'm gonna go with my guy, Jay Spandalo, because for those who don't know, Jayce, he does behind the scenes stuff with Fox Sports, and he's been someone that has been really helpful in being able to set up interviews and stuff like that. It's money that just a couple times a year, he's like, hey, call me, let's talk about stories, talk about getting people on the podcast, whatever. He's one of those people that's just a very easy person to have a conversation with. So last week we were having one of those conversations, and I had mentioned to him, a Cardinal fan, yeah, I'm actually gonna be at Rigley this weekend for the first time in nine years. And he's like, oh, hey, my wife is high up at DraftKings, DraftKings Sportsbook, and it's right next to Rigley Field now, it's attached to Rigley Field. And he's like, you gotta go, you gotta check it out. He's like, I'll make sure that you guys got a table. We'll hook it up for you. And so we had a party of seven, I'm going with my best buddies and their significant others are all there as well. And I was kind of thinking like, yeah, okay, they had like a note set aside at the door, which was super nice. And, you know, the bill comes around, you're kind of expecting like, all right, you know, like he had mentioned something about, you know, being able to take care of certain things. And, you know, you just never know how that's gonna play out. And they took care of more than enough. And my friends were all looking at this going like, you didn't say that they were gonna cover this much. And sure enough, that's exactly what they were able to do for us. So just appreciated that. Something that he didn't have to do at all. Could have very easily moved past that conversation and talked about Cubs cards or something like that. And instead, he's like, no, let me do this nice thing for you. Jason's just a really, really good dude. And I was blown away with his generosity. It was a really nice way to be able to kick off the day. Had a perfect day at Riggly, perfect day, man. It was moments as a sports fan that you just haven't been thinking about in your head for a long time. And it doesn't necessarily mean I'm sitting there about to watch my team win a championship. But when you're in those stressful places in life and you think to yourself, all I want to do is just have a relaxing day watching my team and with the people that I love around me. And that's all I really wanted to do. That's all I wanted to do. And we were able to do that and just had a lovely day. And it helped the fact that the Cubs won, decided not to walk in a billion runs. We had beautiful view from where we were sitting. That 300 level at Riggly is so underrated right down the first baseline there. It was just the perfect day. I mean, ideal weather and everything. Everything just set up beautifully. Lauren got to see Riggly Field for the first time. And man, I just really enjoyed being able to get back. So, Jace made our weekend even better and got it off to just such a tremendous start. Also the family golf outing on Saturday, which no big deal, we won. I made some putts. That's my contribution to a best ball type day. But yeah, besides everything travel related, the weekend really could not have been much better. Claire getting to meet some extended families been just fantastic. Pinch yourself type moments. And we've been trying to soak it in, despite the fact that our frustration levels with all of these cancellations, we feel very, very helpless. So appreciate the patience. Everybody listening to this and this came out later than usual. Apologies for not being able to have that for your Tuesday morning drive. But hopefully this will make it to you in time. And hey, we've got a college football season right around the corner. And that's a very, very good thing. You should subscribe to the Saturday Down South YouTube channel where you can watch all of these videos. You can even see me in the background with my mom's house, with some closet doors here. If that's your thing, perfectly fine. All of our interviews are up on the Saturday Down South YouTube channel as well. And if you have not, you should leave us a five star review. And you should follow us on Twitter @CZogara, @GoSoHard, @DSCSPod, @SATDownSouth. Thanks, guys. Talk soon. (upbeat music) You
Connor's travel plans forced a solo pod, but it's still a loaded episode. He goes through his Top 25 Bold SEC Predictions for 2024 (3:00). CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah joined the show to discuss the future of walk-ons, as well as other fall camp storylines (52:00). Connor closes with Lad of the Week.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
