Building the Beast: Alabama/Oklahoma and Miami/Texas A&M loaded with NFL Draft talent

0:28Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. So a little bit of housekeeping. You may know this is a topsy-turvy sport these days. There's player movement. There's change all over the place at this time of year. We had a fun conversation about the quarterbacks in this potential draft class and some that won't be because guys are already deciding to go back to school, deciding to stay with their current programs. We had a chat about Arch Manning and Lenora Sellers, as well as a couple of guys who may be on the move either to another school or to the NFL here over the next month or so. Started the show with that and then dove into the first round of the college football playoffs.

1:06Great episode. Let's get it going.

1:12All right, Dane, it's playoff week. We got four huge matchups in the first round of the college football playoff. We're going to dive into all of that. Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tulane, Oregon, JMU, as well as Miami, Texas A &M. For my money, the one that I'm looking forward to the most just for the sheer amount of NFL talent on both sides of the ball. But before we dive into these first round matchups, it is that fun time of year we've been alluding to, right? Where the transfer portal is not open, but the vast majority of the college football world is done playing for the season. And that means movement.

1:50That means rumors, transfers, declarations for the NFL. We're already seeing announcements that guys have accepted Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl invites. We're seeing announcements that guys are staying in school. So before we dive into the game previews, I wanted to take the top of the show for a little bit of housekeeping about that. And particularly what it means for this quarterback class. because we say it all the time, quarterbacks drive draft class conversations. And we're starting to get an idea of what's going to happen with some of these guys we've been talking about through the course of the season, at least the ones that are done playing, because obviously there are a few big prospects in the field.

2:31But what are we hearing about everybody else? Well, I think the main domino is going to be Dante Moore, right? Oregon quarterback. Remember last year at this time when Drew Aller announced that he was returning to school and it felt like it was a Penn State kind of nudge him like, hey, just go announce it. They kind of pressured him to do it just so they could go after guys in the portal and they could sell Penn State with Aller at the forefront when in reality, Aller was keeping his mind wide open all the way through until the deadline. If he doesn't throw that last-minute interception against Notre Dame, instead maybe it's a last-minute touchdown, things might have gone differently.

3:13And so with Dante Moore, it's going to be a similar spot where I'm sure he's going to want to keep his options open until the end of the season. You know, just let's let's wait and see how the playoff goes. And, you know, before we make a final decision. So that might not be till mid-January. That puts Oregon at a little bit of a tough spot when, you know, there's going to be players like Sam Levitt and others where if Moore is not going to be there, they need to go after some of these guys. And so the calendar is kind of in a weird spot. But we got some news the last few days, a couple of dominoes coming back.

3:47Lenora Sellers, South Carolina, Arch Manning, Texas. I think both expected, right? Arch Manning especially. I think we've, from the, really September, we've kind of said he's a 2027 prospect, not a 2026 prospect. And if he came out, he still would have been a top 10 pick because it's Arch Manning. And that's how, there's enough quarterback desperate teams where that's just how this works. but I think making the right move going back. And now, you know, if you're Steve Sarkeesian, do whatever you can make sure Trevor Goosby is back to left tackle. Wisner's back tight ends back. Just make sure you bring the band back on offense.

4:25So you can surround your quarterback with the best possible talent to develop. And then Lenore seller is a little bit different. I think you and I both agreed he should be back in college, but is South Carolina really the best spot for him? Like that was open for interpretation. And I mean, you know, it's going to be costly to keep him. Does South Carolina still have any money left in the till to go pay offensive linemen, go pay, upgrade the talent around sellers? I mean, that's kind of the big question mark there. But at least we have some answers, some, you know, a direction that he's headed.

5:03So we can kind of cross them off the list for this draft class. It's going to be interesting to see how that works out with a school like South Carolina. Cause I mean, we were seeing it every single year, the effect that NIL has on, I mean, this, the NFL in a big way where, I mean, obviously you want to put your quarterback in a situation to be successful, but you want to keep your quarterback happy as well. I mean, South Carolina, who can they retain from that offense? I assume Nick Harbor is going to be part of this moving forward. They're going to manage to keep him around. I know they swapped out their offensive line coach at the end of the regular season.

5:44So I'm curious to see them. Yeah, he's a new offensive coordinator. Brought in a new offensive coordinator. I'm curious to see how far can you go to make this better for Lenora Sellers? And if Lenore Sellers wasn't confident that it was going to be better, would he be so quick to say he's staying around? So it it very much starts to feel professional, which which isn't surprising, given the amount of money that's involved. Well, that's money talks. And I mean, he's a South Carolina kid. His brother plays there. You know, like there's a lot of things, you know, pulling at the heartstrings to go back instead of, you know, work in the market and seeing what else was out there.

6:21Now, is that what's best for his long-term development? Time will tell. But this opens the door for some of these other underclassmen quarterbacks to potentially enter this draft and be a top five quarterback in the 2026 class. And specifically talking about Brendan Soresby from Cincinnati and Darian Mensah from Duke. And let's just say for argument purposes, let's say Dante Moore declares and let's say Ty Simpson goes back to school. So that means quarterback three is wide open. And both Soresby and Mensah, I think that they look at that and say, all right, well, maybe do we strike while the iron's hot here?

7:03Soresby, you know, their report came out this week that he he's either going to transfer or he's going to go go pro. and I was talking to someone close to him and he said it's about 60 40 that he's going to stay in school and transfer now I I get the feeling that he would really like to go pro but if the feedback he's getting because it all depends on the NFL feedback if he feels good that he could be in that Jackson door Tyler Shuck range, you know, 25 to 50, I bet he's going, but I think NFL, NFL grades tend to be conservative when we talk about underclassmen. And so I think he's going to get plenty of day two feedback.

7:47I just don't know if it's going to be top 50 feedback. And based on the scouts that I've talked to, they all like them. It's just not first round right now. And so, um, regardless, Sorsby is going to be well compensated, uh, wherever he plays next year, I was told by someone involved in the Soresby process that the offers on the table right now, it's in the four to$5 million range from other programs to transfer. So the NIL space is, it's busy and it's very lucrative right now, which is crazy compared to what we've seen in past years. I love that for a few reasons and it perfectly illustrates what we've talked about all year for starters four to five million dollars is absolutely lucrative enough to keep a guy in school if he's not convinced he's going to be a slam dunk no doubt about it top 15 top 20 pick on top of that how could these other dominoes affect a guy like swords beware let's say and if i had to say right now before we've played a single playoff game i would guess dante more goes pro.

8:57But what if for whatever reason, Oregon is able to convince him to stay and who's better equipped to convince a guy to stay in school than Oregon, by the way, and all of that Nike money that they have access to. So that is plausible. We'll see what Ty Simpson does. But if, if Sorsby winds up in a situation where he could be QB two QB three behind Fernando Mendoza and not a whole lot else, that changes the math completely, don't you think? Probably. You know, last year we only had one quarterback go in the top 20, right? And there were several quarterback desperate teams, you know, the Browns and plenty of teams that would have drafted Cam Ward if the Titans did not draft him at number one overall.

9:45The Browns would have taken him. The Raiders maybe would have taken him. There were plenty of teams that would have drafted him. So I think that it's not a foregone conclusion that if Moore goes back, Ty Simpson goes back, Mensah goes back, that all of a sudden we can pencil Soresby into the first round. But to your point, it does kind of change the outlook of how we stack these guys and where we could see Soresby realistically going. That's part of this process that we're kind of working through right now. And, you know, let's include Mensa as part of this, who I think that we kind of we haven't talked a ton about him this year.

10:23I think we expected him to go back to school. And I still think that's the favorite outcome here. He's a talented guy. And I mean, watching him against Virginia in the ACC title game. I mean, he and Cork, a few throws that were like, all right, yeah, that'll that'll play on Sundays. I don't think he's top 50 yet. I mean, I just don't think he's there. And that's the feedback I've gotten from scouts as well. So, you know, I think he's kind of in that Soresby conversation in terms of that tier of quarterback where you can see the talent. It's just do they really think they can get pushed up because this is a weaker quarterback class?

11:01Is this a strike while the iron's hot type of situation? I would say regardless, you're getting paid really good money to go back to school and develop. And I get it. Like you want to, if you have a chance to be a top 40, top 50 pick, like that's, that's, that's a lot of money and you're one year closer to free agency. And like, I get that, but the long-term outlook for you playing the hardest position in the sport, if you have a chance to go out to school and get paid life-changing money and still develop and get better. and yeah you know what it might not work out it could be a garrett nussmeyer situation where you know you might actually hurt yourself by going back to school um drew aller same type of deal so nothing's guaranteed but at the same time it's we've seen the opposite cam ward was like that jane daniels was like that where they went back to school and and improved their draft stock in a big way so i you know there's plenty of examples on both sides of the coin and so i think it's really going to come back come down to these two guys and get as much NFL information as possible but at the end of the day I just don't think they're going to get enough that's going to say yeah they're going to be top 50 picks and so now Dante Moore is different obviously I throughout most of the season I was told Dante Moore you know they're he's got a good situation the family's comfortable staying another year like that that was kind of how they felt but Will Stein moving on the offensive coordinator, that's a needle mover.

12:30And could that alter just how they're thinking about moving forward and how the playoff works out? That'll play a factor as well. You know, how Oregon performs these next few weeks, these next few games, that'll absolutely be a factor in all this. So basically, long story short, there's a lot of moving pieces here that we have some information, but a lot is in the air that could change over these next few weeks. I know they get paid a lot of money, but I don't envy a guy like Dan Lanning in this situation where you have to juggle preparing for a playoff run while also trying to keep next year's roster in place and coming up with contingency plans.

13:13If you can't do that, that sounds exhausting. Mensa. I'm glad we shouted that out. I'll be perfectly honest. He was on my radar last year because he played for a two lane program. That's won a lot of games and he played well against Kansas state and Oklahoma in the early going of last year. And he kind of dropped off the radar at Duke. It felt like up until they wound up in the ACC championship game. So I I'm glad we took the time to point out what's going on with him and what the future might hold for him. Two thoughts. One Dante more. Obviously he had the moment against Penn state earlier in the year.

13:48They lose to Oregon at home quickly after that. And excuse me, he plays for Oregon. They lose to Indiana. Not to say that he's like been off the radar, but I do think he's fallen off the national consciousness a bit. And now that like we, we know the deal with Fernando Mendoza, right? I don't think there's a whole lot of guesswork about what the future holds for him, but for Dante Moore to have this uncertainty and about to be playing in very big spotlight standalone national TV games. The dialogue about him is about to get super duper loud. And speaking of super duper loud, I'm already fascinated by the Arch Manning return because I can already see there are going to be so many people that are mad about the hype that he gets heading into next season.

14:40And very quietly, he's been playing pretty good football since like late October. And so I think it's completely justifiable to be excited about Arch Manning for 2026. I also think a boatload of people are not going to want to hear that after the way this season started out for him. Anybody that watched the second half of the A &M Texas game. I mean, I don't know how you couldn't have optimism for Arch Manning and just his trajectory. And, you know, it's shocker. He was average as a first year starter and guys get better. That's how playing quarterback works. That's how playing any sport works.

15:19And so he saw a lot of things this past year for the first time. He'll be better for it next year with a full offseason, with that under his belt. So, yeah, I mean, I'm already envisioning my way too early 2027 mock draft in late April after the 2026 draft. And Arch is going to be high up there. We already know that. But which other quarterbacks will be in there too? Will Dante Moore be in there? It's going to be interesting. Moore's 20 years old. He's a young, young player. And there's, I think, a lot of factors here for him. I don't even know how to put a percentage on it, which way he's leaning, because I think in October, felt pretty good he was going back.

16:05But I do think that offensive coordinator move, again, that's a needle mover. That's something that will make him think long and hard about this decision. There are going to be so many more twists and turns to all of this just in the next three to four weeks. We'll make sure we keep an eye on it. But for the time being, we do have four big playoff games to preview. We're going to take an early break so we can dive into all of that without any interruptions. We'll be right back.

16:34All right, Dane, let's get to the games. And you know what? we'll just we'll just do it in chronological order we got four big ones starting on friday night and i love that we're starting with with one of the best ones number nine alabama heading to norman to face number eight oklahoma battle of sec teams rematch of sec teams oklahoma beat the tide in tuscaloosa not all that long ago and we'll we'll see how this goes obviously there was there was some degree of consternation about Alabama getting this spot over Notre Dame after the way their SEC championship went against Georgia. But for our purposes, this is still an Alabama roster with a ton of NFL talent, including one of the biggest quarterback dominoes of this cycle in Ty Simpson.

17:21So where do you want to start? Do we, do we start there or do you want to go somewhere else? Well, I think it's just, first off, it's interesting that this is a rematch from Not that long ago, mid-November. Three, four weeks ago. Exactly. So this is two teams that are very familiar with each other. Oklahoma won that game in Tuscaloosa. So what's going to be different in round two? In Norman, it's going to be, there's going to be, weather will be more of a factor in this one. In terms of who needs a big game, I think we look at both quarterbacks, right? I mean, that's not really going out on a limb here to say that both quarterbacks need big games to not only win, but just in the eyes of NFL teams.

18:07Ty Simpson, we've talked about it. First year as a starter, first two months looked great. Then since Halloween, it's been a little bit downhill. And I think it's a tough ask for everything going around him, for him to just be the deodorant and make it all better because there's only so much you can do when the blocking is below average and there's no run game. and the receivers aren't helping you out a ton. But at the same time, scouts want to see you overcome these challenging situations. And so at the very least, Ty Simpson, don't turn the ball over. He has five turnovers the last four games.

18:45And that's something it popped up the last time these two teams faced. That is something that he must improve and be better at in general, but especially if they want to win this game. And then also lump material in this conversation, a guy that we thought in September, okay, we, we've got a newcomer on this in this quarterback discussion. But after he had that hand injury, needed the surgery, since he's come back, it's has not looked great. He has more interceptions than passing touchdowns since he came back. There's the last thing, seven games. And look, I mean, the, the, the Sooners they win with defense and then just making enough plays on offense and so can uh you know i was satania isaiah satania when they've needed a big play it's the wide receiver coming up big and can mature satania can they uh find a connection that's gonna uh you know give them the advantage deon burks kind of waited for him to make some plays which it's been a little bit underwhelming for him this year i think we thought maybe he could sneak in that top 50 top 60 he just hasn't played to that level this year um but you know at the same time they need these receivers to step up satania is i think nobody in the college football playoff has more catches at 20 plus yards than satania so that's going to be for alabama if you want to shut down this offense making sure that he doesn't get behind you uh deep down the field that's going to be a big part of this i would love to see something resembling the john material that we watched in the first five six weeks of the season because there's no no denying that he just wasn't the same caliber of player after he came back from that injury.

20:27Is it all because of the hand injury? Is it because it gets harder as you go and defenses get more tape on you? Probably a little bit of both, but I'm really hoping that some time off can do some wonders here really for both rosters, right? Like obviously you're beat to hell by the end of a, of a 12 game season. And even if it's just, it's not your traditional bowl break that we're so used to seeing from the old days where you get five weeks off, but two weeks of time to prep and rest. I'm, I'm hoping can go a long way toward making both of these, both of these teams look better, but specifically both of these quarterbacks.

21:03No doubt. And I mean, just trying to get an update on some of these injuries, it doesn't sound like LT Overton is going to play. So that's a big loss for Alabama, a player that could very well go in the top 50 this year. So that's definitely something to watch. um josh suavis um the alabama tight end he is he's been one of the better risers this year among the senior class at tight ends this tight end class is loaded man like i'm seeing some of the guys get invited to the senior bowl at tight end i'm like wow okay so that means you know if they only invite eight guys like who's gonna get left out here um same with the shrine like there's there's uh you know only so many chairs and more draftable tight ends so it's it's a really deep group and he's a part of that.

21:51He missed, uh, he didn't play in the conference championship game. So it sounds like he could be back. He's in a mid round pick. Um, so that'll be big, but yeah, it's a great point. Just having a little bit of time off, getting right, getting healthy. That'll be a big part of both these teams and, and you know, what they put on the field on Friday night. I have two other questions for you in this game. And we've talked about this guy several times over the course of the year, but I wanted to do a check-in after watching him be one of the only bright spots for Alabama in the SEC championship game.

22:26What are your feelings on where Jeremy Bernard falls right now in this receiver class? Because it, I mean, it certainly seems like he has become a consistent bright spot for this Alabama offense, despite being pretty significantly build below Ryan Williams, at least in the, in the public consciousness.

22:49Yeah. And with Bernard, it's like, he doesn't do anything amazing, right? It's just, he does everything really well. And that's, that's music to the ears of center. They love those guys where, you know, you can be in these good size, six, one, 210 pounds, nine and three quarter inch hands, line them up across the formation. He can play in the backfield. He's a really physical blocker, like his blocking tape is awesome. And so, you know, when you have a receiver that can wear a lot of different hats and is very reliable, no matter where you put them on the field, then that's, that's something that is really appealing.

23:24And now he hasn't been the most productive this year. He hasn't had a hundred yard receiving game since the opener against Florida state. So it, and that's, I think more of a product of the offense than just him specifically. But yeah, no doubt about it. Jeremy Bernard, If you're looking for a bright spot on that Alabama offense, definitely got to look at him. It's funny. You're right. He doesn't have gaudy numbers at all. But every single week, it seems with the exception of the Iron Bowl, maybe where he only had three catches for 24 yards. But every single week he's doing something and just have like playing good football.

24:00And I'll be honest, maybe some of this is colored by Ryan Williams not living up to the hype and the conversation that surrounded him after that amazing game against Georgia last year. Where, yeah, like Ryan Williams unquestionably might be the more talented player with the higher ceiling. But I find myself gravitating toward the guy who just does the little things consistently. Oh, 100%. Yeah. Yeah. If I had to win a game tomorrow, give me Jeremy Bernard 100 times out of 100 over Ryan Williams. And that's, you know, I think you're you're not wrong. Like, yeah, Williams has a little more flash and home run ability.

24:36But I know what I'm getting with Bernard and there is value in that. And so scouts have there's a lot of scouts that have second round grades on him. Could he be sneaking that first round? Maybe for the right team. you know, Chris Bell from Louisville with the unfortunate ACL injury that really puts Bernard as wide receiver one among the senior class at this point now. So, you know, I think he's definitely a guy to watch. Can I interest you in a little bit of talking about this Alabama offense, Caden Proctor going up against. Yes, yes. Of course you can interest me in that. We didn't get to see this last time.

25:17Um, and so being able to just a dichotomy of a six, seven, 360 pound dancing bear versus a six, one, 250 pound lightning bolt, like just the aesthetics of that is going to be a lot of fun. And Proctor, he's it hasn't been perfect. It's been very inconsistent, but he hasn't given up a sack or committed a penalty since August, since the season opener. So it's not like it's been disaster level for Caden Proctor. It's just when you have such high hopes for a player and you look at him through a top 10 overall type of lens, then it's easy to nitpick a player like this because it can look sloppy at times.

26:01he's and it's not a talent issue it's because he's explosive you see the movement skills he has the strength where he can just manhandle opponents it's the positional leverage it's the timing it's all these little inconsistencies that are the root of his problems and that lead to negative reps how will he'll hold up against a guy like thomas who is better at the point of attack than most people think he's active in the run game but the reason why he's a potential top 40 pick is the disruptive ability as a pass rusher. His explosiveness, his flexibility, he can win high side. That burst to close is really impressive.

26:39I think we're really going to see Thomas and now expecting, assuming that he plays, because I know he's been banged up, but assuming he plays, it sounds he will. It sounds like he will. I think we're going to see him really rush upfield, upfield, upfield, and then set him up for those inside moves on those third downs, as obvious passing downs. So that is a matchup I cannot wait to watch. For our purposes as people watching for the NFL, what else could you want than a situation like this? Caden Proctor, the most talked about offensive tackle going into the season, didn't have a year overall that really lived up to the hype and people are down on him as being some sort of top 10 prospect, but still probably a guy that's going to get drafted in the first round.

27:26And if he comes out after a couple of weeks off and looks like that guy in the playoff, I mean, what a loud statement for a guy like him. And then, yeah, our Mason Thomas, he's only played nine games this year, six and a half sacks in those games, three multi-sack games on over the course of the season. I still remember we talked about it at the time, but he was insane against Auburn for Oklahoma early on in this year. just a guy that at least at the college level can take over a game as a pass rusher. So even if we only like just a handful of reps between these two guys, and if one of them has a great day, it's the type of thing that can really launch you into a conversation that, that maybe you weren't in earlier on in the season.

28:12I think that's a great point about this playoffs as a whole, you know, just the stage that it brings. It's just another game, you know, It's just another tape. We all know that's not true. Subconsciously, consciously, it will be weighted a little bit differently in the eyes of scouts and NFL teams. We saw the way Abdul Carter played in the playoff last year. He was already one of the top players in the draft. That just kind of put an exclamation point on it. I think about Ohio State and all their players last year and what that meant for some of them. Donovan Jackson, the way he played down the stretch for Ohio State after Simmons' left tackle got hurt.

28:51And so Jackson, so much was asked of him. He was the unsung hero of the Buckeyes' national title run last year. It got him into the first round. So I think it's a great point to bring up. A guy like Proctor, who's really talented. Scouts are looking for a reason to put a big grade on him. And if he's able to give it to them in the playoffs, I'll put it this way. He could go 9th. He could go 29th. neither of those would surprise me. Just right now with what he's put on tape, a lot will depend on how this, this playoff plays out. If he looks the part in one or two playoff games, I could see that shifting, tilting things toward the higher number.

29:33Very, very easily looking forward to that one. That's that's on Friday night. Perfect excuse to stay in and blow off your social calendar. And then on Saturday morning, which ESPN, you're not, you're not slick by the way ESPN this I mean it's very very smart on their part but the two name brand games between the programs with all of the draft picks are happening in the windows where there's not an NFL game there's two NFL games on Saturday in the late afternoon and in the evening so you get Bama OU on Friday night and then Saturday morning 11 a.m. Central time we get Texas A &M and Miami. I feel like these teams just played in the regular season, not all that long ago.

30:20Obviously Miami getting the nod over Notre Dame from the selection committee. And like I said, there's a, there's reason for intrigue with all four of these games, but from a sheer standpoint of like number of prospects on the field, it feels like this is the leader in the clubhouse between the hurricanes and the Aggies. It really is. I think Ohio state will have the most draft picks this year. A &M is kind of right behind them. Maybe A &M in Indiana is kind of pushing for the second most draft picks this year. And A &M, they haven't had more than seven draft picks in a single year since the, we moved to the seven round format over 30 years ago, but good chance that changes this year.

31:05We talked about a pass rusher versus offensive tackle with the first game that's kind of the prospect matchup i can't wait to see in this one as well cassius howell the a &m pass rusher against miami right tackle uh francis mauga who this could be a battle of first round picks uh potentially i i well with howell i think he's he's a guy that has a little bit more to prove uh being a later round pick coming into the year and then everything he's done this year putting himself in that top 50 conversation leads the sec in sacks uh but scouts still want to see him be more as a run defender. They want to see him more in terms of the secondary moves, but love the burst.

31:47You love the ability to affect the game with that initial quickness. They just want to see a little bit more. And if he can do that, he can get himself in that first round. You look at all these offensive tackles that we've talked about, and we've mentioned it all year, how it's been kind of disappointing the offensive tackle class as a whole. But with Mauiuga, I mean, he's someone that is... guard tackle. We're going to be debating that all the way through to, till draft day. I was about to ask you if you have an updated projection, like how do you, how do, where do you stand now? Me personally, I, I go back and forth because, and just asking scouts about their preference, they're split to some scouts are dead set on.

32:32We're going to let them fail at tackle first. Other ones are saying his grade is so much higher at guard. We think he could be a tackle, but as great as so much higher at guard that that's where he is for us. And so I, I can really see both sides and it might just depend on the situation, but this will be a great opportunity for him. Cause there hasn't been a more consistent offensive tackle all year. The way he can say square to rushers, his balance through contact his ability to drop anchor and really halt guys that want to go speed to power. So I think that the tackle guard debate will rage on the next few months.

33:09will this performance and how he looks in this game, could that influence the decision? Remember the last time we saw how it wasn't a great game. It's probably his worst game of the year against Texas. Pretty quiet. Trevor Goosby had a good game. So it's, this is, I think that, you know, how has been sitting on that and you know, he wants to come out and really make a statement early. And I mean, I, it's worth saying for the record, obviously, one game isn't going to completely outweigh your entire season of tape, but this is why these games are inflection points. Like if you get a chance to go against somebody that is viewed as one of the top prospects, potentially a tackle, but at the very least one of the best O-line prospects in the class.

33:56I mean, if you get your wins here and look like that type of guy, what a moment for Cassius Howell. But additionally, because I'm sure opinions are going to be split about Francis Maui Noah going into this draft cycle. If you put the clamps on an SEC sack leader, that could go a long way towards swaying opinions about what your ceiling is at the NFL level. And I, I tend to agree with NFL scouts for the record, considering positional value, I'm always going to be down to give a guy a shot to prove he can be an offensive tackle before I just peg him at guard. At least that, That seems like it makes sense to me because worst case scenario, you just slide him over into a more forgiving position.

34:40Yeah, and I think that's fair. And it might be what the team is looking for. You know, it's it's not that he can't do one or the other. It's more just what the team needs at the end of the day. I do want to mention Markel Bell, the left tackle, who's a prospect that has earned draftable grades from NFL teams. So he's someone to keep on the radar. but um i mean where we are right now it's mid-december we uh if i'm a betting guy i'm gonna say spencer fano is gonna be the first offensive lineman drafted that's not set in stone uh maui noah could absolutely uh push for that um i i i our guy vega uh penn state i wouldn't be surprised at all if he pushes for that even though he's a guard that'll hurt him a little bit But at the same time, he is that good where he could push for that status.

35:31So offensive lineman one in this draft is far from set in stone. And there's plenty of guys that still playing ball that can maybe make a push for that. I have to highlight the irony of me saying I'd rather let a guy fail at tackle, considering the prospect that started our long friendship was Zach Martin, who was an all-American left tackle who never played. He did wind up playing tackle in the NFL, but point being, he's going to the Hall of Fame for being a guard. So not to say any side of this is correct or incorrect, but I don't know. I'm tempted to try a guy at the more premium position if I think he can get away with it.

36:14But also, Dane, as good as that is, I think I'm actually more interested in the other side of this thing because I remember saying it a month ago. I'm so I am so in on the Texas A &M O-line. And I don't really care who you want to talk about, whether it's Trey Zune, the left tackle, Demetrius Crown over the right tackle. I believe I just saw that he accepted a senior bowl invite. Am I making that up? Yeah, he did. Potential top-runner guy. You got Chase Bizantis at left guard. Like with all due respect to Marcel Reed and A &M's receivers, I mean, they got a boatload of talent, but A &M's offensive line is the star of the show and the reason why they're where they are, in my opinion.

36:59And so for these guys to get a chance to go against Ruben Bain and Akeem Mesidor, who are both going to hear their name called in the spring, that's what I'm here for. I'm really excited about that. Let's have a Ruben Bain conversation. I thought you might want to. Please enlighten me. All right. So I finished my regular season evaluation on him, did the second half of the Miami's games and Baines underwhelming. I mean, he was underwhelming in those games. He got off to such a fast start in September that it was like, I think on my initial top 50 in August, he was 39th overall. Then he got off to that hot start.

37:42I was like, all right, this is the best defensive player, him and Arvel Reese that we've seen through one month of the year. the way that things have played out the last few months um i just i think teams are struggling with okay what are we doing with him i've mentioned on this podcast before there are several teams that view him as a defensive tackle uh here are his verified measurements by the way okay he's 6 '2 277 pounds with 30 and three quarter inch arms those are verified measurements and those are not a lot of pass rushers look like that and so not that's not great in my experience dane doesn't have prototypical length it doesn't have some teams are very stringent with how their parameters of their positions especially on defense and that it is going to be a struggle for him to be graded highly as an edge rusher uh for those teams and so it's like a month ago two months ago, I think we felt good about like, this is a top 10 pick.

38:45Now I, there might be a better chance. He goes in the back half of round one than the top half. Um, opinions are all over the place on him. That is, that is interesting considering and look, and look, I get it, but as hard as we might try and as much work as we might do, I think we're, we're always going to be a step behind like the actual staffs that set these boards and the way the NFL thinks about these things. But this is a guy who has been thought of as a potential top 10 pick. And I think Arvel Reese deserves mention, obviously, but I mean, Reuben Bain kind of, he was your placeholder for the guy you were gunning for.

39:26If you had a top pick in the draft, I think that could come as a surprise to a lot of people to hear that maybe the NFL is not so sure. It's not that he's a bad player. Like it's when you look at him through a top 10 lens, that's where it's easy to beat up on some of these guys. And with Bain, like I love the motor, love the power in his hands. He can be impactful versus a run versus the pass. It's just when you break down what you're looking for from an edge rusher, he doesn't have that prototypical length. He doesn't have the prototypical arc athleticism with that teams are looking for. And so it doesn't mean that he's not a good player.

40:03He's going to be a good pro. And I think at the end of the day, he will be a first round pick. But I was maybe a little surprised how many day two grades there are around the league on Reuben Bain. And so, you know, when we get to draft time and team stack their board, I don't think they're going to find 32 players better than Reuben Bain, regardless if you think he was a defensive tackle, defensive end, whatever. But at the same time, it's maybe just a little bit different than what we thought. And I think it's fair. I'm not just going based off of what I'm hearing from scouts going back and watching the last, especially the last month.

40:41It's just been up and down. He hasn't been as dominant as maybe you would expect a player that we're talking about as a top 10 pick. And he doesn't have the traits, the athletic traits, the length that you can point to and say, all right, we'll bet on that. So, you know, and that's, that's draft time, right? And, you know, Bain could come back and have a pro bowl career and make everyone look silly for passing on him. But right now with where we are, just need to pump the brakes a little bit with Bain going as high as the top 10. i hear you and the this is i mean this is why you're great you're on top of this stuff but at the risk of sounding like a broken record what if he and mesador due to a and m what they did to notre dame at the start of the season i mean it's it could be that simple and i'm glad you mentioned mesador as part of this conversation too because you know he's he wins in more ways than Bain does.

41:41Now, maybe he's not as powerful. He's not as consistent versus a run. But as a pass rusher, he actually wins in more ways. And so now he's going to be a 25-year-old rookie. He's had foot issues in the past. The medicals will be part of that final evaluation. So he's a little more complicated in terms of just stuff that's not on the tape. But in terms of just what the tape says, he's right there in the day two conversation. so mesdor absolutely is someone that uh is gonna impact this game and the a &m offensive line i mean i'm i'm glad you kind of shouted them out first and because they've been really good this year trey zune whether it's left tackle they worked him in at center as well uh he won the jacobs blocking trophy as a top uh offensive lineman in the sec which really says something uh demetrius crown over it's not nearly as consistent with him at right tackle it's really it's it's sloppy a lot of times but we're talking about a guy that's uh 6066 so 66 and three quarters 335 pounds 35 and a half inch arms 84 and a half inch wingspan uh and he's a former tight end he showed up to a &m as a tight end before they transitioned him over to tackle so there's a lot of people that are looking at him and saying all right well he's yet to play his best football um and that's why he has a chance to end up as a top 100 pick and get that eventual starter grade.

43:07Don't want to leave out Chase Besantis as well, a guard. He's kind of on the fence about if he's going to go back to school or come out. He did not walk some, like I know Casey Concepcion, he walked on senior night. And he's all but gone, which I think everyone understands that as an underclassman. But Besantis didn't. And so I think he's very much in the decision-making process about what he's going to do about 2026. Keep an eye on the Aggie offensive line when you watch this game. And that's, I mean, that'll be easy to do with NFL guys like Ruben Bain and Akeem Mezador on the other side of the ball.

43:44But I mean, they're all fun. Trey Zunes definitely, I'm going to go ahead and claim him as a pet cat heading into this process. if you can play left tackle and center at a high level in the sec, I just, I'll just take you on my football team and figure out what to do, do with you later. That's fine. Well, and he's, yeah, he'll be an interior guy at the next level, but he at least gives you a five position versatility in a pinch. You know, if you need a guy to kick out and play some snaps at tackle, he can do that. You don't necessarily want it longterm. I don't think just the way he's built, but he at least gives you that five position flex and that's, that's critical.

44:25Sure. Yeah. I don't, like I said, I don't really, I don't care at the end of the day, but I mean, I watched Graham Barton this year, kick out and play some left tackle and help, help the bucks get a win. So yeah, big, big fan of the Aggie O line. A couple other things to note in this game. Obviously I love, I love that we talked this much about the game and we haven't mentioned Carson Beck yet. One, one more opportunity for him to remind people that he's, he's part of this quarterback class. See what that looks like against a very, very talented Aggie defense. You mentioned Casey Concepcion. I don't know.

45:01Who else aren't we mentioning from this game? Well, I mean, I'm glad you brought up those two names, especially because they, I would argue maybe those are the two names that could really swing things for their respective teams. You know, Carson Beck, he's no stranger to sec defenses, but he's never faced or he's never played at Kyle field and he's never, I don't think he's, I don't think he's faced Mike Elko before. Like, I don't think this is not the point of this show, but I don't think Georgia's ever played in college station, despite A &M joining the sec in 2012, like just a dumb, a dumb quirk of the sec schedule that only a nerd like me would be aware of.

45:40No, but that's, that's real. I mean, that's, you're going to a place you've never played before. And obviously, you know, it's going to be a crazy environment, but it's probably not, it's probably just a little bit different until you actually do it. And so with that and Mike Elko's, all those pressure packages he brings, especially on third downs, you know, if there's one knock or the main knock against Carson Beck, why we feel like there's a cap on what he could be at the next level. It's the inconsistency with the second reaction plays. And it's a lack of mobility and tendency to turn the ball over.

46:13and some of those high leverage moments, that probably puts a cap on what he's going to be at the next level. So how does he do against those different pressure packages where you don't know the simulateds, where they're going to come from, how is dropping in space and someone else is coming from an overload? You just don't know. And how is he going to handle that? Is he going to find the answers to the problem? So I'm very eager to see Carson Beck in this one because there are some scouts that just cannot quit Carson Beck. they see the baseline ability to be a okay NFL quarterback. You know, not a guy that's going to lift your offense, not a guy that probably ever be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL, but someone that'll probably end up being third round pick, high level backup.

46:58Maybe there's a lot of scouts. I see him in that, in that way. So can he live up to it? And then for A &M, Casey Concepcion, just get the ball in his hands. Marcel Reed, get the ball in his hands. I don't care how you do it. Just make, there's no reason why he should not have 10 targets, at least in this game. He can get open with his releases, with his route separation. And then what he does after the catch is so big. He was first team, all SEC, not just at wide receiver, but also all purpose. Cause what he does punt return as well. Very familiar with his ability as a punt returner. Unfortunately, it's going to be, I, like I said, yeah.

47:38That's that that's the centerpiece of the weekend for me. Really looking forward to Miami A &M, but there are two more. I'm sorry. Can I mention two other guys real quick here? Dane, that's what we're here for. Of course you can. So A &M, you know, obviously they went into portal and they go get conception on a few other guys. I think two guys that they got in the portal that don't get a lot of recognition, but I think both will be draft picks. um Tyler Oney Odom from on the defensive line defensive tackle Iowa State hated to lose him he's kind of been the unsung hero of that defense this year uh watching him against Texas I mean he was really good stopping the run uh I think he's boosted his draft uh draft grade in the process early day three fourth fifth round for him and then on offense Nate Borkicker uh the tight end who I mentioned before is a loaded tight end class and that's even before we see which underclassmen joined this group, but he came over from Nebraska and he catches the ball well through traffic.

48:38He's an asset as a blocker. So, you know, he's one of those guys that is just, you know, he could be a true wide tight end in a deep pool of tight ends, uh, in this prospect class. So those two guys, and then from Miami, uh, Keontae Scott, uh, coming over from Auburn, he's that undersized nickel who makes a ton of plays at the line of scrimmage. Um, the toughness that he plays with, the play speed, you can't help but notice him flying around the field. I know he's banged up, and so not a guarantee to play in this game. That would be a big loss if he's not able to go. It hurts me to say a little bit, but this A &M team in particular, I mean, look all over their roster.

49:22This is just a team that you can tell is going to put a lot of guys in the NFL. And on the fan side of this thing, as somebody who has to compete against that. You just got to tip your cap to what Mike Elko has put together. That's not a prediction for the game because Miami's got plenty of talent too. I am really excited for this one. I mean, A, as a fan of college football, but also just for the sheer amount of talent that's going to be on the field. This is definitely the centerpiece of the weekend. But we have two other first-round games to preview. We will get to that on the other side of this break.

50:01I don't know how to preface this, Dane. I want to state for the record, I'm firmly in favor of the G5 being in the college football playoff. I think it's crazy how many people in the college football world write these matchups off and don't want to see them. Meanwhile, every year we celebrate the first round of the college basketball tournament as one of the best weekends of the year. And by the way, the NFL playoffs are often not all that competitive in the first round. The average margin of victory in the first round of the NFL playoffs since they expanded to seven teams is two touchdowns. The whole point of tournaments is that they get harder as you go.

50:41So I do not begrudge Tulane and James Madison for being in this tournament, but for our purposes, there's just not as many NFL prospects on the field for these games between Tulane and Ole Miss as well as Oregon and JMU. Would you say that's fair? it's very uh diplomatic uh you could run for office i'm not i'm not bullshitting either like i genuinely feel that way it doesn't change the fact that there aren't as many prospects to talk about but just as a fan of college football i'm more than okay with these guys being in here i mean i'm fine with it too i just i there should be a qualifier like you have to finish the season ranked top 20 in the country or you know like like boise state last year like they had no problem with them they one of the best players in the country they were a good team they deserve to be in the playoff yeah this year i think it's just a little bit of a different um different situation especially with with two of them in there and you know a really good team like notre dame or you know texas vanderbilt i mean plenty of teams i just missed that if the goal is to get the top 12 teams like let's let's make sure we're getting the top 12 teams this isn't this isn't the right format for this conversation.

51:52I am always of the opinion, I care about deserving more than best. And I... Three losses, I start to lose interest in your case after three losses. I just don't care anymore. Don't bungle it. Texas, it's really admirable that you scheduled Ohio State. You also got your ass kicked by a bad Florida team in the swamp. Just figure it out. Miami you got into the playoff but like maybe you get to play for the ACC title if you don't lose to two teams you shouldn't have lost to and then we're not having this conversation I just like guys I we're not here to talk about college football but I at least not in that prism but that's just how I feel and I don't want to you know disparage these two teams it's just don't have a lot to talk about because they don't know our purposes this is not as interesting as It could be.

52:48I will meet you. Jake Retzloff is not getting drafted quarterback for Tulane. You know, I think he's a solid college quarterback and he will keep the game should keep the game competitive at least for, you know, the first three quarters with Ole Miss. But yeah, we're going to be talking mostly about Oregon, Ole Miss with these two one, two games. And, you know, I think where do we want to start? Let's start with Oregon. We kind of mentioned Dante Moore earlier and just what, how things could play out for him and how that could affect his NFL decision going up against James Madison. So that'll be obviously something to watch.

53:25Can the offensive line kind of get right against James Madison? Isaiah world at left tackle. Not even sure he's a top 100 pick anymore with the way he's played this year. Kenya Sadiq. We know how talented he is. Murray Washington on the defensive line. Thienemann at safety has a chance to be the first safety drafted after Caleb downs. So plenty of talent. Oregon's also, I mentioned A &M and Indiana competing to be maybe that next team in terms of most draft picks this year. Oregon's right there as well, depending on which underclassmen end up declaring. So this, this'll be, this should be a lopsided game just based on the talent.

54:05It is a, it's a fun showcase for Dante Moore, but if it goes the way most people expect it to, I remember talking with you in September when Dante Mora was beating the hell out of people and it was like, OK, but can we see it against somebody with a pulse? And ultimately, we did get that big moment against Penn State. This feels like a nice chance for him to reintroduce himself to to a national audience. But I think most people will will have their eyes on that potential game against Texas Tech more so than this one. And we will talk about that in the next pod. But yes, I think that's we're already kind of turning the page towards that.

54:41And in Ole Miss, it's kind of the same thing. Ole Miss, there's a lot more question marks about. That's I asked you about this in our production meeting, and I'll just bring it to the show because you look at Ole Miss 11, 11 and one slam dunk in the playoff despite losing their head coach. and it doesn't feel as though they have an obvious, no doubt about it, big time draft pick, which is unusual. Like all of these other contenders, like Ohio state speaks for itself and Miami and Texas A &M speak for themselves. But even like, you know, Texas tech has these highly draftable defenders like David Bailey.

55:22It's, it's strange to me that a team that went 11 and one in the sec, like Ole Miss. They have good players, but it doesn't feel like they have that guy that kind of drives the conversation. Right. And that's not to say they're not a good team. It's just, yeah, they don't have that slam dunk, no doubt about a top 100 pick. Um, there, there are a few underclassmen that are interesting and maybe could get there. Like Deuce Alexander at wide receiver could end up being a day to pick, um, Perkins at linebacker, highly recruited kid. Um, but you know, he's not the most natural pass rusher. He's undersized.

55:58Like, what are you doing with him? Like, there's more questions about him than anything. The NFL feedback on Perkins is fourth, fifth round. But with the whole Lane Kiffin of the situation, you know, who's who's going to be those guys going to transfer? Are they going to look to the NFL? They stay and put Trinidad Chambliss. I mean, that's a big domino here. You know, Ole Miss all season thought they were getting him back for next year. what happens with him after Ole Miss season is over. But yeah, in terms of the seniors, the guys that we know that will be in this draft, Ole Miss, they have a handful of guys that I think will get drafted on day three.

56:39On offense, Stribling and Wallace at wide receiver, they're late round guys. The left tackle, Diego Pounds, a left tackle who should be in that 6th, 7th round range. On defense, Xavier Harris, big boy, 6 '7", 330 pounds. A lot to like about the talent and what he could be, but he's also a day three player, a guy that you're hoping could grow into a rotational role for you on your defensive line. And then Daquan Wright, tight end on offense. Those five guys should be drafted on day three. But again, to the original point, they just don't have that no doubt about it, slam dunk, absolutely going top 100 type of guy.

57:23it's just an interesting an interesting spot to be for a team that had such a great season in the sec and yeah i mean the the lane kiffin aspect of it makes it all the more interesting and i guess we'll see the effect that it has on ole miss when their season does end which doesn't seem like it's going to be on saturday given that they have already handled this two lane team earlier in the season they beat them what was it 45 to 10 back at the beginning of the year so hey crazier things have happened though i am i am more than open-minded to the idea of some college football madness on saturday even if it doesn't seem terribly likely to us right now we we don't usually do and i'm putting you on the spot here we don't usually do like predictions but can i get your uh predictions for the first round games uh i mean obviously i think we're both on the same page oregon over james madison and old miss over tulane what about the other two who who do you think uh wins those games yeah oh you are putting me on the spot and i hate it um even with everything we've seen from alabama over the last month i'm sorry oklahoma but i I think Alabama is better than Oklahoma.

58:42And if Ty Simpson can avoid a pick six this time around, maybe like I trust Alabama to get this done. And then I really feel like Miami A &M is a true toss up and I'll just take the home team. And Kyle Field is a disgusting environment when the Aggies are rocking the way they're going to be rocking. So I don't feel good about that one either way, but I'll take the home team. So I'll say A &M advances to play Ohio State and I'll take Alabama to advance to play Indiana. That would be my guess. I like it. I agree with you on A &M. I think it's almost like Ohio State last year where they lose that game to Michigan.

59:27And instead of it just tanking their season, they turned it into, you know, motivation to go on a run. And I don't know if A &M is going to rip off four straight wins here, but I think that it'll be at least enough to get past Miami. And then, you know, we'll, we'll go from there. So with you there, and then I think I'm going to go with the home team in, I think all four games. I'm going to go with Oklahoma to be another week health, more healthy and be able to get it done. I just, it's the way Alabama's looked the last, you know, month, month and a half. It's just, it's tough. Now they have the talent.

1:00:03So it wouldn't surprise me if they, if they win this game, but it's hard for me to believe they're going to do it with just the last time, a few times we've seen them on the field. I think that's totally fair. If you're an OU fan, who's mad at me, I, I'm sorry. I absolutely think, Oh, you could win this game. And to, to your point, all four of the home teams won these games last year in blowout fashion. Like none of them were really, none of them were really all that close as far as I remember. I mean, Indiana made it look a little more respectable than it was. Obviously, Ohio State blew out Tennessee.

1:00:39Clemson hung with Texas for a while. It wasn't a complete blowout, but Texas won by multiple scores. So I would not be surprised at all if that holds again this year and all four home teams advance. But maybe I'm just holding on to my Ty Simpson priors and just counting on him to bail me out for being too high on him too quickly. I don't know, but we'll see. either way it's going to be a loaded very fun week in the games we're looking forward to it quick programming note we will not have a show next week we're taking the week off for the holidays but we will be back in two weeks obviously we'll have the quarterfinals to preview heading into the new year whoever advances we'll be talking about those games what matchups await us in that round and plus if i had to guess we'll have plenty more news from around the college football world with declarations or guys deciding to stay in school.

1:01:33Two weeks is an eternity in this very strange sport. So there will be a lot more to talk about, no doubt. This is our last time we'll talk on the pod before Christmas. What's the number one seed Christmas movie for you? What do you got? Oh, man. I'm putting you on the spot again. I'm sorry. No, hey, I love it though. I mean, it's got to be Christmas Vacation. It's a big part of my family's lore. I think I watched it with my dad like five times a Christmas for most of my young life. So I think I can recite every line in that movie. But I mean, Home Alone's great. Elf is great. The Santa Claus is underrated with Tim Allen.

1:02:19But Christmas Vacation's got to be the top spot for me. What about you? Yeah, no, I think that's the right answer. I mean, I would go, and obviously these things are nostalgic and depending on when you first watch these movies, that plays a part, but I would go Christmas Vacation 1. It's 1A and 1B with that and Home Alone and then the Santa Claus would be three. Yeah, so those would be my top three. So I'm right there, lockstep. Nailed it. Wow, we're in a thought bubble here, which don't worry, we will not be that way when it comes time to sort this draft class out. So Dane, love this conversation.

1:02:56I will see you on the other side of the holidays. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, man. We will check in with y 'all in a couple of weeks as well. As always, thanks for listening and we'll talk to you soon.