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This is the McShay Show, appreciate you all being here.On tap today, we've got the Senior Bowl Executive Director and longtime friend, guy I used to work with 25 years ago, Jim Nagy joining us on this show.We're gonna talk a lot of NFL prospects.
Also today, we've got this week's edition of That's My Guy. Who are our guys?This is 2.0, Mench.I hope you're ready for that.And finally, where are the scouts going to be this week?And where would Todd be this week?
And as usual, it's going to be food-driven.We got week 10 in the college football season, week 9 in the NFL, and only 177 days until the NFL draft.Mench, you good?I'm good, man.All right, let's hear that beat.Here we go.
All right, Menchie, let's go, bud.This week, we've got the 2.0 version.That's my guy.My favorite segment that we do here.This week, you've had more time to watch some tape.Always curious in who you're looking at, trying to put together our board.
It's a long process.I'm going to start this off, OK?I know we've got a couple of running backs and a couple of edges. For me, a guy that's really stood out in the tape that I've watched is Kyle Kennard, the edge from South Carolina, 6'5", 254 pounds.
This South Carolina defense has been awesome to watch.I mean, they really have.They've shown up in big games.I know Dylan Stewart kind of got all the love early on, the true freshman coming in.Yeah, we'll be talking about him in the 2027 draft.
But Kennard, like, for as good as this defense has been in South Carolina, He's the dog, he's the alpha male, he's the guy who's out there making plays always around the football.15% pressure rate is what I read the other day and I buy it.
because it seems like just consistently he's creating pressures, wreaking havoc.Eight and a half sacks, 23 pressures this year.What I love on tape, right, with Kennard is that some guys have great takeoffs, like that first three steps.
We're always talking about that.And you know, like when we're watching and evaluating players, I like to watch the sideline.Normally, you want to watch the end zone copy.
When you're evaluating tape, you get the scoreboard as the first screen, then you swipe it. Next screen is going to be the sideline copy, right?And that usually is when you're watching defensive backs, wide receivers, you can see all 22.
It's called the all 22. And usually when you're watching the trenches, you want to watch that end zone copy.
But with the edge rushers and even defensive tackles, when you're trying to look at that get off, that take off, the first few steps, I always watch the all 22 because you can get a sense of who's getting off the ball the fastest.
It's a combination of two things with pass rushers. when you're talking about that first three steps, snap anticipation, and then the burst off the line of scrimmage.He's got both.That's what I love about it.
He knows the second that ball snapped, you watch Joey Bosa, right?Nick Bosa.The Bosas are as good as anyone in the league at that.Snap anticipation, firing off the ball.And then in addition, he's got the burst.
He's got enough speed to get around the edge, good with his hands, but an unrelenting motor.So Kyle Kennard is a player that I viewed as mid-round prospect, somewhere early day three coming into the year.
I think when we come out with our first top 100, he might be in the top 50.What do you think?
I couldn't agree more.I mean, you go back to the LSU tape, and I think that was kind of his coming out party.And you look at that game, and he had two costly penalties.
And if you're the average college football fan, you might be like, wow, this guy, tough game for him.I'm watching it.And I'm like, this guy can get after the quarterback.Yeah, sure, the penalties, something to take into account.But I'm watching him.
He's winning around the corner.He's crossing those.I mean, those are talented offensive tackles.We've talked a lot about him on the show. He's crossing their face, he's winning the inside.I love the versatility, the ability to kick inside.
And then again, it's not the defining quality of what a great edge rusher is, but that motor, he is an absolute dog.
And I'm excited to see him this week because this is a Texas A&M team, and we'll get into that game a little bit more.And A&M team's offensive line continues to improve. And now have Marcel Reed, a quarterback, run heavy, run centric offense.
Not necessarily his specialty, and we'll get into all these things.But how does he perform setting a hard edge versus the run?How disruptive can he be?So that's a good test for him.Who do you got?Who's your guy this week?
I'm going to go with the Virginia Tech Edge Antoine Powell Ryland, who somehow is second in the FBS with 11 sacks and feels like he's flying under the radar.And I remember watching him against BC earlier this year.
Four sacks in that game looked absolutely unblockable.And when I watched him, I loved.He's got that snap in his hips when he transitions from speed to power, can kind of run over guys.
And then he's got that ability to dip and bend when he's at the top of his rush, which I think is what you're looking for in elite edge rushers.Uh, my, a little bit of a concern is he's, he's on the lighter side.
He's got to get a little bit stronger against the run, but when you're an edge guy, you make your money getting after the quarterback.And this is a guy who'd get after the quarterback.
And I know I love my comps because you know, they just bring all kinds of attention for me, but I see him, a little bit of Alex Highsmith, the Steelers outside.Yeah, it gives me that kind of a vibe.
Highsmith's a little bit lighter, but same kind of build and just that ability to absolutely get after the quarterback.
We know that smooth beard, you're an attention whore, Mench.I know your game.All right, last guy for me.We're going to do two guys, two my guys this week.Auburn running back, Jarquez Hunter.
I've liked him for a while, but I feel like he's never been like, I don't want to say featured, but he's never been in that elite group, like all the great running backs we have this year.We'll get into that more with Jim Nagy later.
But to me, to see what Jarquez is starting to do and becoming a major part of that Auburn offense, it's fun to watch.I remember back with Jarquez, right?I remember back to 2021. watching a game against Penn State, Fowler, Herbstreet, that crew.
It's a prime time game.And there's this freshman running back that I don't know anything about watching this game.And all of a sudden, he's on the right, takes the edge, he's got good speed, turns the corner, and instead of taking on the defender,
He hurdles him.Not always the best idea for a running back.Hurdles him successfully.It was a big play for them.Really close game, if I remember correctly.I think it was a one touchdown game in the end.Penn State won.
But I remember that play specifically because I remember jumping on my phone and being like, all right, who's this guy?And it just, you know.Sticks with you, right?Yeah.So when you look at Hunter, he's having a really good season so far.
120 carries, 863 rushing yards already, Mensch.Three touchdowns, or five touchdowns.The thing that I like too with all these running backs, you gotta be able to catch the football and contribute in the passing game.He has 60 career receptions.
I've watched him against LSU, I think it was a couple years ago, adjusting the ball down the sideline, the ability to pluck away from his frame.And when I watch him, he's not one of those like,
guys, you know, he's not he's not like the shifty is he's not the, you know, it doesn't have the most wiggle.But he he really does a great job of running.
He runs low to the ground contact balance, which is like the more I scout the longer I've been in this.That's like number one to me.
It jumped out big time to me for guys not, you know, over.He's not a big back.I wouldn't call him a big power.No, he's um, the contact balance is great.
He's like five, nine, but he's 209 pounds.So he's tightly packed, but it take, and he's not running over dudes, but he's, he's, he's continuing runs after initial contact.
And then the speed, you know, the burst when like, it's not even necessarily one cut and go, but the burst off of cuts and the burst, um, you know, when, when he breaks off of, uh, you know, breaks through contact, his burst in the open field was really impressive.
So, yeah, we talk about slow too and quick through the hole.Yeah.That jumped out to me too. He takes his time, lets those blocks go, and then drops the hammer and accelerates to the hole.
This running back class is loaded, dude.
Legit.Right?I'm excited about it.It'll be interesting to see where they all go because, you know, positional value, but there's gonna be a lot of good backs to come out.
Yeah, it's gonna be Ashton Gentee somewhere in the top 15 picks is my guess.I would think so.Then it'll be round two is my other guess.Maybe you see like Judkins from Ohio State, former Ole Miss running back getting a sneak in late first.
But I think we're gonna have like a historic run in the, it won't even be in the second.There'll be a couple of guys in the second, but like third, fourth, fifth round, maybe a historic run at running back.
Speaking of running backs, who do you got?Who's your other, my guy.I'm going with the North Carolina running back of Maureen Hampton.A guy's listed at 220 pounds, right?I look at the size in the NFL.
These are some of the backs that are, you know, similar build to him.You got Ramon de Ramond, Ray Stevenson of new England. You got Nick Chubb for Cleveland.You've got Joe Mixon in Houston.Saquon's a little bit bigger.He's 233.
I mean, Saquon's a unicorn.But same grouping, I would think.And then Jonathan Taylor from the Colts.All these 220-ish pound backs.And I see that power.I see that ability to break tackles.
I see that ability to push the pile when you don't get a seam in short yardage situations.And I also see the speed. And when I think about that speed, and I think about that build, another comp for me would be Mixon.
I think he's got that kind of ability.I'm not sure he's as refined in the passing game, but I do think he's got upside in that area, and I think he's a guy who has the toughness and the strength to hold up and pass, bro.
I think he might be in the running back two mix when it's all said and done.I do have Junkins ahead of him right now, but I think Hampton could be there.Interesting.
Yeah, I mean, I'll just Ashton Gente from Boise State, Jenkins and Henderson from from Ohio State.
These aren't necessarily our rankings, but Hampton, Hampton, who you just talked about, North Carolina, Caleb Johnson, Iowa, Nicholas Singleton, Penn State, Ollie Gordon, Oklahoma State, Hunter, who I mentioned from Auburn, Trevor Etn from Georgia, Dylan Sampson, what he's done.
carrying the load for Tennessee.Dylan Menangai from Rutgers, Jaden Ott, Cal, Raheem Sanders from South Carolina.I literally could go, like Kalel Mullings.
Martinez from Miami has been outstanding the last few weeks.
Yeah, Kalel Mullings emerging out of nowhere from Michigan.RJ Harvey from UCF.And there's like seven, eight more dudes.
Yeah, they're all dudes.I think they're all going to play and contribute early in the NFL.
But the running back position's dead.I didn't give you a cop. I didn't give you a comp for a jerk as hunter.What about Aaron Jones?Ooh, I like that.Similar build like five nine to 10.
Right now not the most overpowering but contact balance can catch I don't know just just someone to throw out there.All right, I like it. Let's flip the script a little bit here.Next up, we want to get to, and we're going to do this every week.
It's probably going to be on Thursdays.Start with, that's my guy.And then number two, we always got to get to, where are the scouts this week?
This gives us an opportunity to kind of break down some of the biggest games, what the scouts are looking for.
And we always, you know, when you get reports late in the week, when when everyone's filled it out, and scouts let, you know, the PR people for schools know, it's like 26 scouts there, including two GMs.
The games to me, like there are some secondary games, I'll just list off, there's some secondary games where scouts will be like Duke, Michigan, obviously, Florida, Georgia.
Duke, Miami, right?Sorry, Duke, Miami.
Yeah, I mean, that's why you're here, man.You always you always pick pick up my slack.Duke, Miami at Miami, Florida, Georgia, right?Obviously, the rivalry game.There's loads of talent at Georgia Summit, Florida, not as much I was going through.
I sorted our hotel document today.I was like, Hmm, only a few guys from Florida.Pit SMU sneaky game.SMU with a one loss. Yeah, going up against Pitt undefeated is a sneaky game.
Kentucky, Tennessee is another one more so again, more so Tennessee, but that's another one.So those are like the
the B listers, if you will, right me the a listers are and I'll list off the three and we can get into each game, Ohio State and state we had a what a great conversation with Joel Klatt the other unbelievable what a guy what a great guy, great guy, great stories, incredible detail and just, you know, and I don't even analysis as much and it was analysis, but it just like
you can tell why he's so prepared and he's at the pinnacle of the game, right?
In terms of- Right, when we sat down and talked about what we wanted to get from the guests we had on each week, that was exactly it.Yeah, and more to be honest.
Yeah.Yeah.All right, so Ohio State to Penn State's a noon game.Oregon-Michigan is the 3.30 game.And then A&M, Texas A&M, South Carolina A&M coming off that huge win against LSU.First place in the SEC.
wouldn't want to go into Columbia this week, though.No.So we'll get to that.All right, Ohio State, Penn State.
I'm going to give you a few things to jump out to me from a game standpoint, from a scouting standpoint, and you take it where you want to go.Obviously, the big conversation in this game is Drew Aller.How much is he going to be available, if at all?
And if not, Bo Probula comes in.What was he, 11 of 13 passing?Just looked really good.The offense was clicking with him.In fact, I mean, I would argue the offense looked better in the second half against Wisconsin.
than it did in the first half with Aller in there.So that's the big story and the big question mark coming into the game.The other big story, which we touched on a lot with Joel, the left tackle position for Ohio State.
And just so people understand, Josh Simmons doesn't have a ton of game reps who was the former starting left tackle. But he was emerging.I mean, he was emerging, like talking to scouts, like this could be a first rounder.
Right.He was in the, he was, I think he was a day two with a real chance to move up.
And so he's trending that way.Yeah.So he gets injured. And they bring in the backup, Zen Mikalski, I think.Mikalski, right?Struggles.I mean, you know, this show is not about beating guys down.Yeah, we don't need to pile on.Not a good game.
Got dinged up in that game. They went down to their number three offensive tackle.
So the word is, and we got it from Joel, and I keep reading it too, they're now going to move Donovan Jackson, who's an NFL draft prospect, from the left guard position to left tackle, is my understanding.
And then Luke Montgomery, who's a sophomore, I don't know much about.He's going to plug into that left guard spot.
So now it's like, it's like the age old question, are you better off just like plugging in a guy at left tackle, which is the most important position, protecting the blind side?
Or are you now potentially going to create vulnerability at two spots, your entire left side of the line?So that's something we obviously are going to take a good hard look at.
And it couldn't be a worse week to be trying to figure things out on your offensive line going up against Abdul Carter and this defensive front for, you know, it doesn't sound like like Dennis Sutton.He's listed as questionable when we talk to Joel.
it didn't sound like he was going to play.Um, but we'll, yeah, we'll, we'll take a look at that.But this, this defensive front is always loaded with dudes.So Penn state.
Yeah.On that note, I think a guy that we have not talked about that we might be talking about on Tuesday or Saturday night, is the defensive tackle Zane Durant.He's an undersized guy.Explosive.Give me something, Mench.What do you got?
I think he could be, we talk about, when you talk about Donovan Jackson kicking out to left tackle, and you already had concerns at right guard.
I mean, I said that coming out of that game, you know, the left tackle took a lot of heat, but your right guard wasn't a great, great game for the right guard for Ohio State.So now you are kicking out your all-American guard to tackle.
You're going to be, there's a little, there's a lot of questions on the inside all of a sudden. And you have a guy in Zane Durant from Penn State who I think is kind of flown under the radar.He's a junior.
We'll see what he does in terms of coming out.But undersized, it's super explosive.And he could be a problem for them.Early penetration, you know, that's the worst thing for a quarterback is getting pressure in your face right away.
And then you're trying to get that running game going and you're going to give up penetration.He could be a problem for that team.
Yeah, and Dennis Sutton, I just mentioned, he was out last week against Wisconsin, and the guy who came in for him, Amin Vanover.
I was talking to Rosillo on Monday, and he was asking me, who'd you watch in college football this week, where you had to look him up, and you're like, this guy's a dude.So to me, it was that edge for Penn State, Vanover.
6'5", 258, came in and had five quarterback pressures.So it'll be interesting to see what that defensive front can do. On the flip side, you got Ohio state's defensive defense.We talked about it a lot.
I don't want to, you know, I don't want to go down the rabbit hole again.Not everyone playing up to elite level and Joel, I don't want to say confirm, but agreed that a bunch of day two mid round guys on Ohio state, bunch of veterans.
Should be playing better individually and as a result of not playing to the elite level.Again, I don't want Ohio State fans to think that we're tearing this group apart.Very talented.You got two veteran edges who are really talented, Sawyer and JT.
You've got two good cornerbacks who have been up and down this year, but very talented.Denzel Burke coming in with all the hype. Igbenosin, the other cornerback, Davison Igbenosin, is a really talented guy who's been rising this year.
But when you look at this group, they haven't played to the level that you would expect, and there's not, as I mentioned before, it's not Alabama, it's not Georgia.
When they're at their best, four or five guys in the first round, six, seven, eight guys in the top 100, it's just not that.So it's gonna be interesting.Now you got Penn State. quarterback.What's the situation there?
I do love Nicholas Singleton, six foot 226 pounds, got off to a fast start, missed the UCLA game, only 22 carries the last two weeks.I'm expecting to see a little bit more of Singleton in this game though.
Yeah, absolutely.And then you get the one, two punch with Alan coming in.Oh, I'll say this Ohio State's defensive tackles.I like to which you didn't mention, but you mentioned pretty much everyone else, but there are defensive tacklers are good.
They've been good against the run, but this is a it's a talented group.The Penn State's bringing in and depending who's at quarterback.If you have Pribula, is that how you say it?Pribula.
Yeah, it's going to be a different kind of attack from Penn State, a little more difficult for them to defend.So it'll be interesting to see how that run defense, which has been pretty stout, holds up against that kind of a rushing attack.
We've talked a lot about Colston Loveland, tied in for Michigan.We've talked a lot about your boy, Mason Taylor, who made you look like a jerk in the first play.He was one of the, that's my guy last week.
Yeah, what happened to my guy on that first play?He dropped a touchdown, but then caught another one a few plays later.We both love him.
And we've talked a lot and I talked about I think last week and that that's my guy guys have been really, really like enjoying watching this season.Elijah Arroyo from from Miami.
Yeah.Gunner Helms another one from Gunner.Yeah, he's pretty good.
But Tyler Warren Penn State. and just knowing his background, dad's a safety from Richmond, did you know that?I did not know that.Yeah, man.That's awesome.That's why you gotta keep in touch with your former coach, Frank Leonard.
I knew he was a Mechanicsville kid, I knew that.Yeah, dad was a safety at the University of Richmond, played for the Spiders.That's awesome.But Tyler Warren, just a great dude, absolutely loves the game.
Versatility, even snapped the ball last week for what that's worth, and it's not worth much as an NFL scout.But I mean, or that was the last one, a couple of weeks ago, when he had 17 catches versus USC.
But I asked Joel, like, who are the other weapons that are going to step up?And he gave some great answers.
But I'm interested to see against this talented defense for Ohio State, better athleticism at linebacker, better cover guys at safety than at USC. How can he be productive?What's the production level that he's going to provide?Does he separate?
Does he get in and out of breaks?Does he work back to his quarterback?Is it a young quarterback that he's working with that he's still figuring out how to get open?
Those are the little things that I want to watch in this game specifically to see truly how much he's grown from a year ago.Because so far, the tape says he was awesome last year. And he's he's thrived in this role.
Remember, Theo Johnson got drafted last year.Now he's become the guy.And he's proven he can handle it.
Yeah, he doesn't necessarily have to separate when he's six foot six 261 pounds.
Separation for me a tight end is late separation as much as anything.
Yeah, exactly.Yeah.Physically, how do they physically separate not so much for the quick twitch change of direction kind of things.
Uh, but that's one of the things that I think separates him from this tight end group is he is six foot six, 260 pounds for a, for a tight end these days.I mean, that's huge.And to see the body control and the way he can track the ball.
I'm excited to see what he does.I do think a lot of it will depend on who's that quarterback and how well that that quarterback plays.So we'll see.
This game's fascinating to me, man.Like right.Ryan day.I looked it up today.I'm terrible with this stuff, but like, I think he's lost his last four versus top five opponents.James Frank, James Franklin never wins against top five opponents.
Like something's got to give, right?It feels like it's Penn state's here, but it can't be Penn state's here.It's never Penn state's here.Right.I'm taking Penn state plus a three and a half.I like it.
I'm not a J. I'm unapologetic in that I am not a James Franklin guy.We'll leave it at that.We don't have to go into detail reasoning or anything else.I'm not a James Franklin guy.
But I think with the offensive line and the issues that they're having, I could see Ohio State coming out and playing its best game of the year.I want that as a caveat.
You said this.But I also- We're going to lean Penn State and Ohio State by 10.That's what will happen.
Okay, so you're so gun to head you're taking Ohio State.I'm taking Penn State.All right, well, I think it feels different.It just feels different.If you're listening out there, I would race to your I would race to fan duel.
I would race to fan duel right now and give the points Ohio State. Um, all right.So that, that, that's kind of, that's all we've got for Penn state, Ohio state.Like I, like I'm going to be parked for that game at noon on Fox.All right.
Three 30 game, Oregon, Michigan, Oregon minus 14 and a half feels like a fair spread.Yep.You got Davis Warren back in at quarterback.It has been a carousel for Michigan, right?
NFL scouts have a lot of other positions that they're scouting in this game, no question about it.Dylan Gabriel, obviously, potential late round pick, played the best ball of his life.
We've seen what Stein has done with him, the offensive coordinator.And certainly what Bo Nix, the success he experienced with Stein in that Oregon offense a year ago and what that propelled him to, it's not gonna be the same rise for Gabriel.
Right, but he can't be playing much better than he is, you know, right?So so if there's a quarterback you're looking at in this game, it's obviously him.But so much other talent on.I'm just going to list off some of the top guys.
Derek Harman I featured.I think it was last week players to players to watch it arising.I think Harman's former Michigan State defensive lineman three technique.He's a player that really is rising.Could be a top 50 pick the wide receivers for Oregon.
You got Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson, both having terrific years, right?And Terrence Ferguson as well, tight end for Oregon.So there are some dudes on that side of the ball.
Don't forget about my guy, Johnny Cornelius, the right tackle.I think he's a guy.I got it.It's day two, who can move up to, yeah.
I'm just looking you got a you got a six.I'm not gonna let any offensive lineman.67 grade on him means means early third, but I mean, early fourth, but you're thinking maybe you could work into into day two.Okay.
On the flip side, like it's really about the defense.If I'm breaking down this game, right, the one thing I really want to watch This Oregon offensive line, if you're looking at all the position groups, Oregon offensive line has been vulnerable.
Hasn't been terrible, but it's just been adequate, I'd say.Started off really slow in the first couple of games, has improved, but there's been vulnerability.It's had its trouble.
Now, if you're going to give an edge anywhere to Michigan, it's this defensive front against that Oregon offensive line.And so you talk about Mason Graham, potential top five, top seven pick a defensive tackle.
Might be the best player in this draft, by the way, regardless of position.
I know that's your dude.You always love Michigan defensive tackles.
That is, I didn't think of that.I hadn't thought about that.It's a hundred percent right.And I'm not going to apologize for it.
Yeah, you've got it.Well, maybe you should. Kenneth grant the other defensive tackle best and best defensive tackle group inside defensive line group in college football.There's no question.
Josiah Stewart.Those you know, so those speed off the edge speed off the edge.So this defense if Michigan has any chance of pulling off this upset in the big house. It's got to be Graham Grant Stewart and the gang up front, right?
Especially because I've been checking.I don't think it looks good for Will Johnson to play.That was my next point.
And Michigan's secondary has been a weakness this year, surprisingly.Will Johnson, 100% healthy, has played great in spurts. But he hasn't totally been himself.He's been nicked up.When he's healthy, though, he's the best pure corner.
Travis Hunter's in a different category, because both sides, what he can do on the offensive side at wide receiver.But Will Johnson, he is special.Patrick Sertan. Sure.That's totally fair.Is that fair?
I like that.All right.So, so that to me is going to be the matchup we got to watch because if, if Oregon can protect and if Stein can scheme it up where Gabriel has time, they've got the weapons.This could get ugly in, in Ann Arbor.
It could, but I don't think they do.I don't think that they have the offensive line.I think, I think this is going to be a dog fight. I think Oregon's.Yep.Yep.Yep.Yep.Yep.Yep.I think they're walking into a major trap here, Oregon.
I'm not saying Michigan's going to win, but, but my fan dual folks out there take the 14 and a half.Michigan is going to step up.They are going to play great defensively.They are going to frustrate Gabriel.
We've been waiting for Gabriel to have one of those games and he's had them in the past.Like he's good for us.Yeah. plays really well in nine games and there's three games where he doesn't play to his level.
And I think this is, I'm not saying he's going to throw a dud out there.I don't, I just don't think that's where he is, but I think he's going to struggle more in this game than he has all season.
And I don't think those weapons are going to be able to exploit the secondary the way they should because of the trouble up front.Now, offensively, like, sheesh, nah.
They're going to have a hard time keeping pace, even if Oregon's not going at the clip they usually go at.
I agree.That's why I'm not taking the outright.The money line, yeah.But give me that 14 and a hook.That hook is appealing to me. You know, I love it.I can see that.I can see, you know, it's like it goes from sunny in Ann Arbor.
I've been in that stadium so much.I probably covered Michigan more than any other school during my like 12 years out on the road, right?
The sun goes down.It gets kind of dark in there.It gets a little colder.I know Oregon's not like Miami playing there, but it's just a different vibe in the second half.
I could see this game just being a little bit ugly and a little, just scary at the end for Oregon.All right, that's all you got.Who do you like?You're gonna give the points, aren't you?
I could see Michigan covering.My concern is that this Michigan team coming off the year that they had last year, all the injuries, the concerns at quarterback, are they gonna be
amped up like you would be if the number one team came to come came into your stadium.Of course, they're gonna be stamped up.
What the fuck are you talking about?
I don't know, man.It's been a tough year for Michigan.
Yeah, but these I mean, this is if you get any juice left in the tank, and I'm assuming they do.
All right.All right.Um, last one.Rip through this Texas A&M, South Carolina, right? going to keep it civilized.Yeah, man, I'm excited.Let's go.I mean, we touched on a lot of it already.
But South Carolina's past defense is elite, but only average versus the run vulnerable between the tackles.If you're looking for something like, can they can South Carolina stop the inside run?Right? To me, that's going to be critical.
On the flip side, defensive line for A&M, clear advantage.That's where I think A&M is going to win this game.Clear advantage versus South Carolina's offensive line.
Nick Skorton, we've talked a lot about him having a great year, the year you would expect for a guy who's looking at coming out in the 2025 NFL draft.And another player, I was watching the tape the other day.
Sherman Stewart, defensive tackler for a and m. Shemar Stewart, right?
This should be both shemars are awesome, man.
It's a good thing I can watch the tape and don't need the names.Good thing we got 177 days until the NFL draft.Shamar Stewart, sorry, 6'6", 290 pounds.He's long, versatile, they move him around, quick and powerful.That's what I want.
Defensive tackles, inside guys, quick and powerful.He's got some jolt in his hands.Those are the two guys in the defensive line that I'm looking forward to watching in this game.What else you got in that?
Both Shamars, give me Shamar Turner and Shamar Stewart.I think both those guys are studs.South Carolina. You know, we've talked upon their edges a little bit, but don't forget about my guy, the safety, Nick, even worry on the back end.
I know how could we big stage for him to continue to make plays.So I'm excited to see what he does, but yeah, it's really, I mean, I'm not gonna overcomplicate this.This is the defensive lines.
If you're a defensive line coach in the NFL, you, this is a tape that you are absolutely throwing in to see how these guys play.
I'm starting to buy Texas A&M a lot, as we've talked about all week long, coming off that LSU game.
If they can go into Columbia night game and take care of business against a scary defense and a South Carolina team that's just hung tight and has played good ball all year long, I will be thoroughly impressed.
If they can come in and control this game, they're all at two and a half point spread.Vegas is expecting this to be tight.I would take A&M.I just trust Elko more.
It's weird to trust an A&M coach and an A&M program that's always been about the flash and the recruits and never has lived up to the excitement and the hype and the 12th man and all the other stuff that comes with it.This team feels grounded.
There's a foundation.I'm excited to see this game. Yeah, I agree.All right.I think we got some imaging this week.
Where would Todd be this week?Let's toss to it, Mitch.Let's see what we got.That seems about right.That's great.I mean, it's so ridiculous that it actually is great. Um, I'm here for it.So where would I be this week?You ready?
Every week I'm going to give you my first four or five years at working with, with the war room before it became scout saying I had like an unbelievable opportunity.I was 23 years old, flying around and driving around the country.
Like I was a GM, you know, GM's get a week off.They try to squeeze in three games.It's two college games in the weekend and an NFL game.So I'm going back to those days.I'm going to be the GM. Where would I be?What would my trip look like?
And it always has to include food.I'd start at Vandy.I'd start at Vandy, Auburn.OK?Not great prospects, but we already talked about Jar-Jarquez Hunter, the running back.There's dudes at Vandy.There's dudes at Auburn.
Enough to justify the trip.
You just got to sell it to the boss, you know?
Yeah.The boss is like, oh, SEC game?OK.So you're going to get me two games on Saturday?Yes, sir.
I'm going to get you two games. Work with me here.What he doesn't know, what he doesn't know is that this first game is all about Friday night.We'll get back to that in a second.
So what I'm going to do is I'm going, uh, uh, Vandy Auburn hard out at three o'clock, no matter where the game is, I'm not there to be a fan.I'm not pulling for Vandy in the upset.I'm not pulling, um, for Auburn in this game.
I actually might not even be an upset.I'm not sure, but I'm not pulling for either of these teams.So three o'clock wheels up. Right in a car.Cause I'm not flying privately wheels up in the car.All right.And we're, we're hitting the road for hours.
We're going, it says four 35 on the maps, you know, but I'm going to make it in four, four 10.I will be, I will be in Columbia. I yes, I will may have a ticket, but I will be there.
I will be in South Columbia, South Carolina by 710 to get the kickoff there.What an awesome environment that's going to be like.I can't wait to watch that.
It's going to be something fun about a South Carolina night game with all, you know, all the stuff they get going on.So I'm going to be there for that night, OK?And then I wake up the next morning, another three hour or so drive to Atlanta.
I got the Cowboys at at the Falcons. That's the weekend.The highlight, though, is this and we got to put up the graphic.
I'm telling you of all my stops all over this beautiful country of ours, all the diners, the great restaurants, the five stars, the places that people don't know about.I've got a list on my phone that goes for miles.
12 years on the road doing this, another five, no, like seven years before that, I did like three years in studio in between, seven years before that scouting, going out with Mike Gottfried and Ron Franklin early in my early days.
So I've been around.Food is everything to me. I am, I've got to tell you about this place, Mench.I'm going to get you down to Auburn.The train might have to stop on the way down to Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl.I'm flying now, baby.Acre.Acre.
When in Auburn, you got to go to Acre.Here's the menu. Hats off to our guys for getting this up as a graphic.All right, I want to talk you through this.Here's how you do it.OK.
The last meal I had was about, I don't know, four or five years ago with Steve Levy and Brian Greasy.And we rolled out of there.And we might have stumbled a little bit, too.But we rolled out of there after.It was probably a 3 and 1⁄2 hour dinner, OK?
We came in, and very kind to us, they brought basically everything.But here's what you have to have when you're at Acre in Auburn, Alabama.
Come in, I'm not like a big whiskey guy, but come in and get your cocktail, sit at the bar before you go sit down and start with a couple snacks, they call it.
First snack you gotta have, chicken fried bacon, sawmill gravy, Vermont maple syrup, barbecue pecans.It's unbelievable.And then you're starting out with this.So you gotta really prepare.You can't have lunch, light breakfast.
Then you go to the lacquered cornbread. honey, hot sauce, butter, Anson mills.I don't even know what that was, but bean seeds, like the, some of the best cornbread I've ever had in my life.And I've spent a lot of time in the South over the years.
Then you get a starter.When you go move over to your table, get a starty, start things up the gas station, boot on boot and balls. Spicy mustard sauce, the B&B pickles.All right, so I'd like to get everything, and I've done everything there.
But then you've got to move to the butcher block.Pace yourself, right?Butcher block.All the charcuterie, all the cheese, all the fixings, family style.And then you get down to the entree.Like, I'm always least excited about the entree.
But you get you get all these up the gulf brown shrimp rigatoni.The maple leaf duck breast.And then I've had this before you ready the redfish on the half shell with deckhand butter.This place is unbelievable.So that's my trip.
That's why and it would be acre.So if you're out there folks at acre hats off to you.
may have two major green flags on this on this menu.Fall 2024.Love the seasonal menus, man.Love when you know they're changing it up to, to get what's what's fresh, then what's the best ingredients in season.
And anything with snacks, if you have a snack section of your menu, you know, it's gonna make me happy.
It's gonna be David Bancroft is not bleep around. You know, like, this is I'm telling like in New York City, LA, like this is but it's but it's even better because it's like it's down south, you know, right?It's that level quality of food.
But it's like, and you're like tucked in there.You get the Auburn fans on Friday night, like the environment's the best, the absolute best.So hats off to to chef and owner David Bancroft.And I can't wait to get back down there.
So that's it for this week.Mention we got our guy, Jim naggy. Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, longtime friend.He's been around the NFL.He knows the scouting circuit and all the players as well as anybody out there.
It's a great opportunity to talk to him.We're going to be talking to him a lot on the McShay Show coming up, leading up to and through the NFL Draft.But this is the first time we've been able to bring him on.Really excited to have Jim.
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One game I'm looking long and hard at this weekend, Penn State versus Ohio State.Buckeyes go into a tough environment in Happy Valley.Offensive line is struggling.This might be the one. where Penn State finally turns the corner and wins the big game.
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gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com.Nagy, how are you, brother?
Welcome back, man.Welcome back to the draft space, Todd McShane.It's been a minute.Good to see you, buddy.
I'm not going to give you some long, formal introductions.It's just not how we do it here, but I will tell you.So, Medge, remember we talked to you, and you guys know each other very well.We've all
kind of work together and around each other for two and a half decades.But I was telling the story the other day, Mench, about when I was interning with Gary Horton in Arizona, moved up to New York City, making 12 grand that first year.
What I didn't explain to people was a couple of things.One, I was living on Gary's couch in a one-bedroom in midtown Manhattan, which was less than ideal, OK? And let's just say, God bless Gary Horton.God rest his soul.An absolute character.
The absolute best, but also just the story's never ending.So anyway, so I was mentioning, what was it, 57th and 7th in Midtown Manhattan.27th floor, I think it was.We're up there with David Falk, who's repping Michael Jordan and all that.
So I walk in the first day, and I'm like, I don't know what to expect. And I walk into an office, it's not even our office, it's more Nagy's office than it is Gary Horton's office.
Because Nagy's working with Mike George, who was an agent, had a lot of players, a lot of Florida guys, all that.So Gary Horton, who's 330, 350, No, I mean, he's a big dude.He's a big man.He's in the corner at Mike George's desk.
Nagy, and this is like the size of one executive's office, not like a head coach in college football, but like just an executive office space.Nagy's sitting in the other corner and I walk in and it's like, all right, I walk in.
And I pull up a table and now I'm staring at Gary.You know, my computer and chair I pull up, staring at Gary.We're back to back and we're off and running.It was the most dysfunctional off.
I mean, he was cutting his toenails in the middle of the office. But it was, it was the most dysfunctional company in the history of companies.We're all squatting inside this, this agent's office who lived down in Florida.
And it, but it turns out like, you know, Dean Dalton worked with us.He wound up working for the Vikings as a running backs coach.Nagy went on to, to be, you know,
Patriots winning Super Bowl rings, Chiefs, Seahawks, and now the Executive Director with the Senior Bowl.And that's my brief introduction.I'm sure we could do stories for days, man.
But we do appreciate your time and plan on having you as many times as you'll come on with us.But thanks for joining us, bud.
Yeah, man.You forgot Mike Levine to the president of CAA sports.Vino's big time.Vino's made it bigger than anybody.So yeah, that was where we could, we could do like a intro.
Every time I come on, we could do like one Gary story per episode or something. I don't know what rated your program this man, but no, it's cool.I mean, think about that.
We were both like young idiots in our 20s and we were in this corner office in Midtown Manhattan overlooking Central Park in Midtown.I mean, that seems like a lifetime ago, dude.
Like that doesn't even seem like the same person lived that life as us right now.But yeah, so it's been awesome, man.It's awesome to see what you've done. And it's cool to have you back in the space.
Like I said, like you can, you've contributed so much, um, to the draft space over the years.And again, like when we were young, dude, like I wanted to be with a team and you wanted to do what you did.So that was kind of cool.
Like we, we split off and want our own paths, but we, we both went the ways we wanted to go.
Um, but no, I mean, whether people want to give you credit or not, or admit it or not, like you're a big reason why a lot of people love the draft now, man, like we, you've seen like a whole generation of,
like young people into like their thirties and forties now, man.So it's cool to have you back.
I appreciate it, brother.And it's, it's amazing how life works, like full circle working in that office, just a couple, couple of idiots.And now like probably closer friends than ever before.
So, so I've appreciated our friendship and relationship over the years.Let's get down to business, bud.Like we're gearing up January last week in January, the senior bowl is coming up. Feels like we're getting closer and closer as we go.
February 1st is the Reesey Senior Bowl this year.Mets will be down there if we can get them on that plane.I'll be down there.I'm sure I'll be bugging you like a week before, because my hotel room won't be right.That sounds about right.
Yeah, we got a longstanding tradition.
You and Albert Breer every year.You and Albert Breer every year as the late hotel guys.
Bert Breer keeps following me around.Like I used to live in the South end of Boston.He was a block away.I didn't know, found out like a year and a half later.Now I'm down in Cohasset in the South shore.He's like two towns down in Duxbury.
Just found out like a week ago.Anyway.So yeah, Bert, I can see that a couple, a couple of mass holes messing everything up.Let's, let's get to it.Obviously. I'd like to be unlike a lot of other shows, but we do want to talk quarterbacks for a minute.
I texted you the other night about Garrett Nussmeier.We both love him, like love the dude, love the it factor, the competitiveness as a player, like the anticipation, changing arm angles.He has the mental, like the gun slinging,
But it's funny going on X and Twitter, whatever you call it.And everyone's racing, he's my QB1.But the more tape I watch, I just wonder, would it be best for him to come back another year?Or is he gonna be ready to go after this year?
I'm not asking you to answer that question necessarily, but I do know that you're closer to this than anybody out there.And I'm just curious what you're hearing, what you think.What do you think with Nussmeyer in this year's quarterback class?
Yeah, I think, excuse me, he's an interesting one.I think if he does come out, I do think he's going to be a first round pick.I do think he's got the highest upside of anyone in this draft.But you're talking about a really small sample size.
I mean, when we were, I went to SEC media days over the summer.And before I went down the first day, knowing I was going to be asked about Nussmeyer, I rolled through that Wisconsin bowl game. And I was like, wow, is there a lot to like?
I mean, I saw him, I went to a practice last year in August to see Jayden Daniels throw.And Nussmeier, I was like, wow, like I knew his name, right?Like we both know his dad, we both went to schools with his dad.
Doug Nussmeier, for people that don't know, he's the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles now.He's spent a lot of time across college football, Michigan, Alabama, Florida, number of different places.
And I didn't, you know, but I didn't know how good, I didn't know how talented his son was.So we're watching practice, I'm like, oh my God, this kid can absolutely rip it.And then you had the one game to go off.
So rolling into this year, like that one game, there was so much good stuff, I was excited to see him.
So I do think of it, yeah, and the other night, like it's just hilarious, you know, sitting on Twitter, you know, during a game and seeing, it's just, I don't know, it's kind of entertaining.We all do it.But, but, you know.
And mildly frustrating to say the least.
I think the biggest thing with any through those pics the other night again to the gunslinger thing.First of all, if we can address that, I like it.I don't know.
I said it was a positive.
You know, maybe it's my first job in the league was around Brett Favre.I feel like you can reign that in.It's hard to coach balls into a player.And you've got to have some balls to play at the next level.Those windows are going to be smaller.
You have to trust your arm to a degree.You've got to let it rip.And he's got that.So does he need to be smarter sometimes with the football?There's no doubt.You know, I think a couple of those interceptions the other night were just inexperience.
I don't think he saw the coverage right.Yeah, he got tricked.
And Elko threw some great stuff at him.
Give Mike Elko a ton of credit.I mean, he's one of the best defensive coordinators in college football.He's got a couple good corners and he threw some stuff at him.
So that being said, I do think Garrett's going to make a smart decision because obviously he's coming from a football family.He's got his dad.
It's not like he's in a hardship situation where he's trying to rush to the NFL to make ends meet and provide for his family.
So that being said, where the NFL is at right now in shoot, I mean, look at where we're at, coming out of yesterday with Richardson, with the Colts.I mean, you're getting thrown into the fire.If you get drafted early, ready or not, here it comes.
I mean, I don't think- Yeah, Drake May's never going to start as a rookie, right?
Right.Right.Of course not.Here we are week five or whatever it was, Drake May's in there.So that's going to happen.So if you're not getting developmental reps in the NFL, Why not go back for another year and get him in the SEC?
Play 13, 14, 15 more games, see the game more, let it slow down, and then come out next year.I could see it happening either way.
I don't think he can make a bad decision because I think if he comes out this year, he will be a first round pick because there's just way too much talent there. and make up and in fact, like you said, I mean, coach's kid.
I mean, there's a lot of cool stuff wrapped up in that background.And if he stays, you can't second guess that either.
He's gonna go back and he's gonna be on a good team and he's gonna see a lot more and be more NFL ready because that is a hard freaking league and we're seeing it with Anthony Richardson right now.We saw it with Zach Wilson.
We've seen it with a lot of guys.We've seen it with Bryce Young.So yeah, that will be interesting.That will be over the next six weeks.
That's gonna be one of the more interesting things to follow when it comes to the draft space is what is Garrett Nussmeyer doing.
Yeah, and it's, I think one people, NFL scouts get to know these guys in and out, the human being, the character, the, you know, them as the person.
And I think you and I are kind of in similar unique positions where like, I'm rooting for 450 guys every year.
I know you've all the guys that can play in the Super Bowl and everyone, but you get to know all these guys and you want what's best for them at the next level.When are you prepared to take that job and actually contribute to an organization?
And so we'll see what that decision is.So that'll be fascinating to watch.I know anytime it's an Alabama player, especially an Alabama quarterback, being in Mobile, Alabama,
It's like a different level of, I don't want to say pressure on you guys, but like certainly there's an emphasis, right?Jalen Milrow, where are you on, on Jalen?What you've seen this year?
I mean, we've seen probably the same things, but where are you on Jalen?What can you tell us?
Yeah.Um, so yeah, you're right.I mean, we, if there's a, there's a good crimson tide player in the game, that's, that's big for us down here, right?This is a huge Alabama market.
So, um, you know, when I interviewed for the job, I told him like, we got to get away from kind of the charity invites to the Auburn and Alabama guys.If we want Najee Harris to come to the senior bowl, we got to invite the other really good players.
We can't take like the backup tight end because he was from Mobile.We got it.We can't do that.Um, so with Milrow, I'll say this.We all saw him progress over the course of last year.
I was at the, I was at the Texas game last year, um, where he had some rough patches, gets benched.And we all know he, you know, he came out of that South Florida game and became the starter again.And, and kind of wrote it off to a really good year.
I saw him throw at the Manning camp this summer.It wasn't great.It wasn't his best day.It was only a one day exposure.So I've learned over the last seven years not to put too much stock into what I see down in Thibodeau, Louisiana every time.
To me, it's more about connecting with the players, connecting with those QBs and getting to know them a little bit and talking about senior bowl a little bit.
But I think with Millrell early, what I liked was some of the more design run and really Jalen having more of an aggressive mindset and being decisive with the run.
I think when you watch him, there's a difference when he takes off and he's decisive with it.I mean, holy cow, he's different.He's got rare speed.Todd, I was on the field a couple of years ago before A&M.
And like you do, I mean, you talk to a lot of scouts. And a bunch of guys were in the building the day before, and this was the year Jameer Gibbs was coming out.And I was asking guys about Jameer Gibbs, and they're like, yeah, he can roll.
He's the second fastest guy in the program.And that begs the question, the follow-up, like, well, who's the fastest then?And they're like, it's the backup quarterback, Jalen Milrow. So, and Gibbs ran what, 0-4-3?
And Gibbs was hitting like, I remember he was hitting like 20, 22, 20, almost 23 on the miles per hour.
Yeah, so I mean, that's, I mean the words rare and freaky, I mean get thrown around way too much, but that is, that's freaky speed for a quarterback.We're talking Michael Vick. speed if he goes decisively.
There's some times where he doesn't look as sure and he's kind of tentative and it doesn't look as fast but I thought he was running more decisively early and more importantly I felt like the anticipation was better.
Um, especially like the Wisconsin game stands out.There was some throws in that game that I didn't see him making the year before.I thought as a first year starter, and this is no knock on jail, and this is a lot of first year starters.
Um, I thought he was like a clear picture guy.He really needed to see, he really needed to see receivers break open, you know, before he ripped the football.I thought this year, I mean, he was throwing guys out of breaks.
I mean, I posted one on, on Twitter. after that Wisconsin game, he was our senior bowl player of the week.And man, the guy was running a corner route, you know, kind of a deep flag route.
And he wasn't even out his break yet in Mill Road, launched that ball.So he was making progress.And now I think we all, you know, look at, look at the Vandy game and the Georgia game.
I mean, there's, there's been some good and there's been some, you know, head scratch and stuff.So I still think with the tools,
You know, he's probably a lot, he's probably ahead of where Jalen Hurts was coming out, because I think if we bring Jalen Milrow to the Senior Bowl, I'm not gonna get asked by the media if we're gonna play him at running back during the week, which is what the media people asked me at the press conference when Jalen Hurts played.
I think he's beyond that.And I think, obviously, Jalen has played beyond where we thought Jalen was gonna play.I don't know if anyone saw a Super Bowl quarterback or an MVP conversation quarterback, when he was down here in Mobile.
I think the Eagles really, I mean, credit Howie Roseman.I heard through the process, like that was Howie's guy, like how he loved Jalen Hurts and credit him for really going up in the second round and taking him.
If he doesn't take him there, Jalen Hurts might've been a fourth or fifth round draft pick.So I'm getting long winded on you, man, but there's just a lot.It's not gonna be a clean eval, at least to this point it hasn't been.
Yeah, can you talk to us a little bit about the offensive tackle group?I know the two guys from LSU I really like, I think they're talented, but I don't think they've played quite as well as I had hoped coming into the season.
I think the same thing is true for Banks at Texas.Is there maybe a couple tackles that you see maybe emerging that could move up in the group and what do you feel about the top of the class right now?
Yeah, it's a thinner group.You know, we're coming off a really a really strong year a year ago.I don't know if anyone in this top group this year would have been in that upper echelon last year.
I think we had five first-run offensive linemen in the senior bowl last year.I don't know if any of these guys stack up to that group of players.
I mean, to me, Tyler Guyton was more athletic than anyone in this class, and he went in the 20s to Dallas.He's starting as a left tackle.I thought Tyler was a better athlete than any of the guys in this class.But there's some good ones.
I mean, you mentioned Will Campbell and Emery Jones.I mean, those guys are, they're very different players.I think that some teams see Emery Jones more of a guard.So if we get him here in Mobile, I think teams are gonna wanna see that.
I think everyone sees Will Campbell as a left tackle. I'm trying to think of guys that have emerged.I mean, the one guy I really like, I'm gonna butcher his name.I'll just call him Big Jonah down there at Arizona.
He's a big, bouncy, thick, bouncy man.And again, his ultimate home might be at guard as well. That's kind of where I see him, but he's a super talented guy.And in terms of guys emerging, I would say there's a couple of small school guys.
Let's address the small school guys.That's always been a huge, really cool part of the Senior Bowl.And quite frankly, we're losing that a little bit with the transfer portal, and I hate it. Um, I would say it was about three years ago.
You looked out at the, at the offensive line group on, on, on really on both teams and it was Fordham and it was Southern.It was North Dakota state.It was Tennessee Chattanooga.I mean, we, we almost had more sub FBS guys that are playing now.Yeah.
Yeah, all these guys, all those guys are playing good players.So it kind of stinks that we're losing that, but I'll bring up a couple guys.
I think a riser right now, a guy that probably started the season in the fourth, fifth round range for most people is Gray Zabel at North Dakota State. There's been a lineage, right?
We had Dylan Raidens a few years ago as a second round pick to the Tennessee Titans.And then we had Cody Mauck two years ago, who was a top 50 pick to the Tampa Bay Bucs.Gray's the next guy in line.And there's a lot of day two buzz already.
I thought it might take a good senior bowl week to get him up there.And I don't know if that's because the class itself, the O-line class is starting to settle.And teams are like, man, if we need one, we better go.
We're starting to push guys up a little bit.But he's a good player.And then there's a tackle, William and Mary, who's a good player as well.He's made a nice jump.I saw him at Duke Manitowether's camp this summer.And he's a really good athlete.
I mean, a seven-level athlete on an NFL scale.He's fun to watch. But I told him point blank, I'm like, man, you have to be more physically dominant at that level.Like teams are going to want to see you be more of an ass kicker.
And to put on the tape this year, it was cool.And it was, I'm sure it wasn't just coming from me.I'm sure he heard that from a lot of people.
But sometimes you talk to players about stuff like that and you get to their senior year and it just, it kind of looks the same.I'll give him a lot of credit.He's kicking ass this year.
You're not going to get any, go ahead really quickly of, of, you know, the guys that, that there's always someone that comes out of the senior bowl who stocks skyrockets.
Do you go in, do you and your staff go into the week and say, this might be the guy this year.
Do you have a feeling when the guys show up that this might be, this might be the guy that, that really jumps up on boards this year, or is it always a surprise?Sometimes a surprise.
You know, that's a great question, Steve.I think the cool part of it, so like right now we're in the middle of our NFL call process.We had our scouting meetings last week.Our guys have all said their piece.
We got the board set the way we saw the board.And now, like I just said, we got off with Pittsburgh.We did one with the Bengals yesterday.We've got one with the Jets when we get off this.And then we've got like 10 more set up
but through the weekend till Monday, we got the Texans on Monday morning, but we just compare notes.So, you know, when people ask me, did this guy help himself in the process or not?Like, I'm not just throwing darts or making stuff up.
Like we know where teams have these players.So like a year ago at this time, Braden Fisk, the defensive tackle from Florida state, nobody had him on day two.I mean, it was mostly fives, some fours, You know, he was super disruptive guy.
He kind of created havoc for other people, but like the numbers on paper weren't there, you know, in terms of like TFLs and sacks.He just kind of, you just kind of blew stuff up for everybody else, right?
And then he comes down here and has the week he has.I mean, he almost unblockable.He goes to the combine.He looks like a damn Mike linebacker going through the D line drills.And he goes up to, I mean, the Rams traded up to 39th pick in the draft.
So for a, for a power four player, to jump two or three rounds in the process is a massive jump.Like Terry McLaurin did it a few years ago.He came down here.Everybody had Terry in the fifth or sixth round.We really brought him here.
I loved his punt tape when he was a gunner on punt team.I saw the speed.He was the number two receiver at Ohio State behind Paris Campbell.Liked him as a receiver, but didn't realize how good he was till he got here, and then nobody could cover him.
He was the fastest stuff on all our GPS stuff.He goes to the combine.
He ran in a 4-3, 4-3-1 or 5-4-3.
And so for him to go from the 5th or 6th to the 3rd, that was a massive jump.I mean, no, in hindsight, Shu Terry should have been probably a mid-1.
The guy's a monster.So yeah, I think if guys have a good process, they can jump around.And depending on where that is in the draft, regardless of where that is in the draft, that's a lot of money.
Um, but when you get, when you start jumping two and three rounds, I mean, Holy cow.But yes, to, to, to answer your question.Yeah.There's guys that we come down here and I know where the league's kind of out with them.
Like, ah, I think he's a little better than that.So hopefully we, hopefully these guys show out.So yeah, there's, there's, there's a handful of guys every year.
That's my internet, my internet glitch for a minute.Right.And, and leave it up to mention a fucking hijack this thing and take it to offensive tackle. Right?Like we're in the middle of a quarterback conversation.
Now I'm talking about NDSU and William & Mary offensive tackles.Real quickly, let's circle back on the quarterbacks real quick.I don't know, you know, I'm not asking you to divulge anything here, but we talked about Milrow.We talked about Nussmeyer.
Who are some of the other guys when we make the trip down to Mobile that we might wind up seeing that you guys have your eyes on a quarterback?
Yeah, I don't think there's any surprises in this year, in this draft, Todd.I think, I mean, just based off the two calls we've had already, like everyone sees the same grouping.It's just the order of that grouping.
And for us, I mean, selfishly, again, I think of everything through the senior bowl chair. it's a good thing.You know, there's not, I think a year ago at this time, everyone knew Caleb Williams was going to be the top pick.
I think this was about the time of year where Jaden Daniels went to Tuscaloosa and went off.And then two weeks later has the historic game against Florida, you know, goes on to win the Heisman.And we, we kind of lost him at that point.
Uh, but none of those guys have done that yet.Nobody's really separated themselves.Everyone's had their kind of, we talked about Miller having some rough patches, I mean, certainly Carson Beck had a rough patch in the first half against Alabama.
Quinn Ewers had a rough patch against Georgia.So it's gonna be Beck, it's gonna be Ewers, it's gonna be Shadur Sanders.Really the biggest riser of the group is Cam Ward at Miami.
I see a lot of stuff online right now about Cam being a slam dunk first round pick. I would just warn, be careful.Because again, we didn't invite Cam Ward to the Senior Bowl last year.
And a lot of that had to do with the feedback from teams was fifth and sixth round.So again, I think Cam's had a great year.It's been awesome seeing him in more of a pro style offense.
My biggest thing with Cam Ward in the past was you saw, I've always called it like the Houdini thing.And maybe I'm really dating myself with a Harry Houdini reference.I don't know if like young people even know who the hell that is anymore.
But he could run around and make magic happen.And what he did, you know, most of what he did was off script.And that was really cool stuff.And it was fun to watch.And you saw the armed talent.
But what I think NFL evaluators wanted to see is more of a pro-style system, more, you know, more play within the scheme, play more on time, play more on schedule. And does he have the ad lib plays this year?Certainly.
But I think in Shannon, Shannon Dawson's offense down there at Miami, he's done a really good job playing in the structure.
So he has made a big jump, but again, a four or five round jump to get into the first round, that's a massive, massive jump for a player.So again, I think we love to do this.
We love to just take players and run them up the board and say, they're going to be first rounders.
And I'm really sensitive to that because again, going back to when I worked for a team, like to hear the disappointment in kids' voices, when like you would call them on the phone to recruit them as free agents, right?
And they're getting a call from an NFL team to be an NFL player and to hear the disappointment and just, it should be a joyous time and it's not.And I'm like, well, bud, what's going on?You're gonna be a Seattle Seahawk.
And he was like, well, man, everyone was telling me I was going in the third round.And so my point is, there's so much false information out there, man, like, again, I'm probably overly sensitive to it.
I just hate where some of the narratives on these guys go. So back to cam war, like he's having a great year.I love him.Um, hopefully we can, you know, we'll get him here to mobile and he can show out.
Um, but you know, they're just running these guys up the board, but that's, that's the group, man.I, you know, Dylan Gabriel is going to be there.Will Howard's going to be in that mix.Riley Leonard from Notre Dame.
Trying to think, you know, Curtis Rourke's name has come up.Some teams have draftable love for Curtis Rourke at Indiana.Mark, if you're throwing a small school name in there, Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State.
Probably not having the year he had last year without the supporting cast, but he's kind of a smaller school name to throw in there that a lot of teams see as draftable.
But the teams aren't all over the board on this class in terms of who they're talking about or who they're projecting high.It's just the order of where they're gonna go.
Interesting.It's a lot of, a lot of good information there, Mensch, huh?So two, a couple more things and we'll, we'll let you roll.I know you're, you're a busy man.I don't know what they're paying you.
I don't know what they're paying you down there to organize this thing, but like if, if it ain't seven figures, they're not paying you enough and I'll probably get you in trouble for this.
But Mensch, you understand like the, the knowledge you hear, right, of all the players that he's got. Then he's, he's helping you truly like legitimately coordinating with NFL teams, right?
The service that's being done for NFL teams, then the community, then the organization of it.And to see like, we know Jim, so we're always biased, but like to see how scout friendly and evaluation friendly everything is has become right.And like,
I don't know, it's a different level than it's ever been.And like Phil Savage is a wonderful man and did great things too.
And they've always had good people working at the Senior Bowl, but it is like skyrocketing in terms of what Jim has done for the Senior Bowl.
I love the way you promote the game.I love watching the videos of you going on campus and the guy getting the box opens it up and he's got the senior bowl hat.
You know, everyone thinks that Jim's just hanging out mobile, you know, never, you know, it's just watching tape, but he's going to schools.He's seeing kids, but it's important to Jim that he can be out there.And right.
Is there been, you know, you know, has that been ever been one of those experiences that you remember more than others?Maybe when you've gone to campus, given, does the kid know it's coming?
Do you tell him I'm going to be on campus to give you your senior bowl invite or do you surprise them?How does it all work?
We try to have the element of surprise.It usually works.I appreciate you saying that, man.No, this has been a really fun job and we've got a great staff here.Staff has grown since I've been here.
And again, the goal when I got here was to kind of pull back the curtain.And I've said this a lot, this isn't anything new.Like when I got here, we didn't even have tape in the office.
So like, how do we, you know, I call the league office and they're like, well, Jim, we don't give tape to the all-star games.I'm like, well, how the hell do you expect me to do my job?Right.You know, if you're not, so, you know, it starts there.
It starts there.It starts with building a real football operation.We've got 11 former NFL scouts on our staff.Those guys do an awesome job. But it's been fun.You know, it's been kind of fun putting a stamp on things.
Going out to the schools is unbelievable.I mean, it's very selfish of me almost to do that because I take so much joy seeing these players, especially, I mean, most of those visits are small school players.
So, I mean, I really go back to the first one with Kyle Dugger, the Patriot safety.That was my second year here.We didn't do that the first year.I mean, he said in Hickory, North Carolina,
Division two school in the middle of nowhere, beautiful campus, unbelievable people.And yeah, we called ahead and we had it ready.And, you know, the coach, they went through stretch before practice and then he called the group up and
you know, pulled out the senior bowl hat.Now I'm in the background, like I'm weighing the weeds, standing behind the bleachers.And just to see like the teammates mob them and everything.
It's a little bit like when that, when the walk on guys get the sky.Yeah.
There was a little bit of that to it.But yeah, man, it's fun.I mean, these kids, I mean, especially these small school kids, they, they're going, when they leave high school to go play at D2D, you know, FCS level, they're not dreaming of the NFL.
I guess one other story I'll tell you, kind of behind the scenes story, I went up to North Dakota State a couple of years ago for Cody Mauck, right?Cody was one of my favorite dudes.He's got the long red hair.He doesn't have his front teeth.
He was kind of like the unbelievable character.Dude looked like a Viking.And so we, you know, we do the on-field thing after practice with Coach Entz and the players are all there. You know, Cody comes over, we start talking.
I'm like, man, where are you from?And he was like, tells me his little hometown.He's like, yeah, I'm like, well, where is that?And he's like, I got 45 minutes from here.He's like, you know, got a farm, family farm down there.
So in the summertime, I can work on the farm and come back up here and get workouts in and everything.And I was like, oh, wow, you're from a farming family.That's awesome.
And he goes, yeah, you know, the dream someday is just to, you know, play in the league long enough to make enough money to come back here and buy a farm. And I just shook my head like knowing how talented this guy is.
He didn't know.He didn't know how good he was.I'm like, Cody, you are going to play as long as you want to play in the NFL.Like you're going to leave on your own terms and you're going to make so much money.
You're going to be able to buy half the state of North Dakota if you want to in farm on it. So those are just the cool stories.He had no idea how good he was.I think he knew when he left Mobile after he kicked everyone's ass all week.
But yeah, those visits on campus are really fun.We're getting ready to do a couple here next week.
Awesome.Last one.We'll get out of here with this.We were texting and talking all year long. But with ESPN, when we were covering the game, we would have these calls with Nagy, and Nagy would go through the whole roster.
And I would never do that to Jim and drive him freaking crazy.But he took the time, and he went through.And the stories, one guy after the other after the other, and that was always my biggest takeaway.
The fact that you get to know these individuals, what their struggles have been, what they've had to fight through, how they've gotten to where they are.
One of just 100 or so guys that can come down and play this senior bowl and get the opportunity to showcase what they can do.And so I just wanted to leave and give you the floor.
If there's one or two guys that like the rest of college football, just to kind of keep an eye on some guys that we can root for, guys as we get ready for that final week and come down to like the entire NFL.
lands in Mobile and we're getting ready for that week for the February 1st RECI Senior Bowl.Is there one or two guys with the stories that you just are really excited to tell and for people to realize what they've done to get here?
Yeah, I mean, some of the human interest stuff and Todd, that brings up a great point.
Like one of the greatest things about being an NFL scout to me was showing up at the schools every day and just hearing the stories of these players and hearing where they came from and the path they had to take to get there and how hard it is for a lot of these players.
Frankly, some of these guys just to get to college, they've overcome so much.So that's the stuff I used to love.And every day was a new day, right?
Like you're showing up in a different school every day, hearing different stories, connecting with different people. So that's cool stuff.And we'll dig into some of the more of that stuff once we get these guys signed up.
I'll give you a couple like football stories that are cool that people can kind of follow the rest of the year.For those that watch Big 10 football, I know Todd, you grew up a Michigan fan.I went to school there.Kalil Mullings, the running back.
It's a cool football story.I mean, the guy played 22 games at linebacker, right?He's in a back, he's in a crowded backfield with Blake Corum. You know, so in Donovan Edwards, and he was the fullback last year, 235 pounds.I go in there in August.
Coach Moore was good enough to have me up there in August, and he dropped weight.He got down to 230 to play running back.And here he is, like, his backfield mate was on the cover of EA Sports College Football,
um Donovan Edwards and he's a really good player too and he's had some big games and big moments for Michigan uh but Khalil Mullings is a guy that's worked his way up like he could be sniffing the third round of the draft is the guy that was playing linebacker wild for I mean he's run his butt off all year I mean you can't to me the thing is he's 230 pounds and he cuts like a guy who's 205 pounds like you don't see big backs with his cutting ability
So that's a cool one.I mean, just to just to keep working and grinding at it, you know, it's your craft outs.And then the other one is Derek Harmon, a defensive tackle at Oregon.
Yeah, we just talked about him earlier.Yeah.
Yeah.I mean, so you probably know this.I mean, maybe they've told the story.I just know that, you know, a lot of what I do, I mean, I'm on the phone constantly with agents.
And there was an agent that I think he's going to be working with, who was at least honest with him, gave him good feedback.He told him, he's like, Derek, you got to clean up your body.You're sloppy.You need to lose a lot of weight.
He doesn't even look like the same player as he did for Michigan State.I mean, some guys get better, right?There's guys that make a nice jump.This guy looks like a totally different player to me.
See, I haven't, I didn't see, he's been a shock to me this year.I just didn't know a whole lot about him.
So to hear that transformation, that's wild.Yeah, he was about 320 at Michigan State.
Yeah, so we, you know, we grade glass half full in the summertime, like anticipating guys getting better.Theoretically, they should all get better, right?They're in the weight room, they're getting coaching, all that stuff.
So we kind of glass half full, we bump guys up.
Yeah, there you go.I like it.I like that.But you know, he was he was kind of a mercy seventh round grade, you know, right, right, right, right.Keep him on the draftable board.
Um, guys, he's probably going to be a top 100 pick based off everyone I've talked to in the NFL.Like he's awesome.He's in that third, fourth round range right now.That's again, and he busted his ass to get here.He busted his ass and he listened.
He listened to people, right?Like a lot of these kids get feedback.A lot of these players get feedback and they don't take it.They don't want to listen.They don't look at themselves in the mirror.They don't want to be honest with themselves.
So tip of the cap to Derek Harmon for actually doing that.And that's not easy to do, especially at that age.So that's cool.That was a cool story.The Ducks are rolling.They're going into Ann Arbor this weekend.
I'm a little nervous what's going to happen in Ann Arbor this weekend.But Derek Harmon's playing his tail off.
That's awesome.And you know, when the coaches get involved, to hear that story and to know how coachable he is, that's even another assist in his grade. Man, I love you, dude.Love having you on the show.Can't wait to get down to Mobile.
Mench, we're going to get you down.I don't care if we get you on a train.We're going to get you down there.I'm joking.I'm joking with you.But what's our restaurant there?No answer. Noges.Noges.Okay, Noble South.
Noble, okay.Noble South's your spot now?I thought Noges was your spot.I like both.
We gotta go to both.Maybe we haven't been to Noges.
I don't know.I thought you've been there.I don't know.I don't know.You know, things get fuzzy in Mobile.Things tend to get fuzzy during Senior Bowl week too.They do.
I tell people all the time, though, the food down there is great.The food's fantastic.There's a bunch of places.
The food's fantastic.It's one thing you can eat well in Mobile, Alabama.
We're going to have to do a show from that week. maybe featuring like the three or four restaurants.Yeah, to give give some love to mobile like mobile has treated us well, for the last 25 years.So we're gonna have to take care of that.
I appreciate your brother.We're gonna bring you on as much as humanly possible over the next 177 days.I looked that up 177 days to draft.So we'll be talking a lot.Tell Molly to get ready.I'll be shooting her a text for my hotel problems.
But no, I appreciate you and we'll talk to you soon.All right, dude.Love you too.Happy 4A.See you, Steve. See it?Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in DC.
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