Building the Beast: How Chris Cole & Drew Mestemaker are reaffirming their draft stock

0:00With the Discover Cash Back Card, it's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5 % cash back at different categories each quarter on up to$1 ,500 in purchases. That's 5 % cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to Discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash 5 for details.

0:26Teens spend an average of nine hours a day on screens outside of school. That's basically a full-time job just scrolling mindlessly. We all know how bad scrolling mindlessly is for us as adults. Think about how bad that could be for teenagers and even younger children. Here's the good news. There's a solution. A company called Gav has solved the problem by doing something no one else is doing. Their approach is Tech in Steps. Tekken Steps works by providing safer phones and watches for kids with no social media, tailored to every age, offering the right device at the right time. From GPS tracking enabled watches for younger kids to phones with parent enabled apps for tweens and teens, each device allows kids to more safely grow their independence.

1:07Bottom line, you don't have to give your kid a device that was made for an adult. Get them Gab, which keeps them socially connected without social media. Right now, use our code to get the best deal on a kid's phone that will make parenting easier and give you more peace of mind. Visit gab.com slash football show and use code football show for an exclusive offer. That's Gab, G-A-B-B. Fall doesn't live in just one room. It's all around us, inside, outside, wherever we are during this season, we can find fall. So if fall doesn't live in just one room, why should your fragrance? With Pura's Whole Home scenting, one system fills every space.

1:48The entryway that greets your guests, the kitchen where everyone gathers, the bedroom where the day finally slows down. All automatic, all yours. Discover your sense of place at Pura.com. This episode of The Athletic Football Show is brought to you by the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card. And welcome into an all-new episode of Building the Beast. I'm Dave Hellman. Fantastic episode for y 'all today. Dane Brugler and myself went deep on the Georgia-Alabama thriller from over the weekend. Had a lengthy quarterback conversation, including a new star emerging at QB1 early in this 2027 draft cycle.

2:27Great conversation about the signal callers as well as a look ahead to a loaded weekend coming up. Let's get right to it.

2:45dane i don't know man something something felt different this week when i dove into my assignments for building the beast i think it's just the weather here in chicago is getting a little bit colder it's starting to feel more like fall the streets are covered with leaves and I can finally let go of the pretense that it's early or we don't know anything. Like, it's starting to feel real. Like, teams are starting to play conference games. You got some real opponents under the belt for most teams in the country. And I'm just starting to feel a little more confident about what I'm watching, and I'm getting excited about it.

3:24I'm getting excited by a real body of work coming together for a lot of these prospects. For me, I know I don't touch my rankings until right about now. Let's get to midseason. And so we're not overreacting to one game, good or bad. Let's get a little body of work. We've got five, six game sample size midseason. And of course, things will still change, but at least now we have something to go on. And it helps that we had such a good weekend of college football that kind of gave us a little more things to chew on with these with these prospects. Perfect place to start, because another exciting thing, spoiler alert, we're going to talk a good bit of Georgia football here.

4:07and it's exciting to think I was watching the Alabama game back and I was like, man, we, we really haven't had a chance to talk about a team that not surprisingly has a boatload of NFL talent. And I mean, Georgia just rolled over a bunch of lesser than opposition. I mean, it counts for something that they beat the hell out of Oklahoma, especially with Oklahoma knocking off Texas this week, but Alabama was the date that you circled when you wanted to get a good idea of what this team was. So we want to start this show off by just sitting in that game for a minute because we just haven't had a lot of opportunity to talk about Georgia.

4:45And if I, yeah, I mean, they're, they're the new number one team in the country after their win and Texas is lost in the red river shootout. So let's, let's go there and sit in a very impressive Georgia road trip to Tuscaloosa. Alabama has given the dogs trouble over the years, like pretty much the only program in the country that could claim that about Georgia. And so to get a win in Tuscaloosa, to look really impressive doing it, where do you want to start with the Bulldogs? Let's start on defense, because I think that is where... Can we? Yeah. That's where I think the best collection of talent is for this team.

5:23And that's not uncommon for these Kirby smart teams. Yeah. And it's funny because I was thinking about like last year felt like a little bit of an off year for Georgia prospects. Like they didn't have the top 10 pick. They only had the one first rounder. And I was thinking about it. I was like, yeah, it was kind of an off off year. Well, then I look it up. Oh, no, they had still had six top 100 picks. Like this is a program that churns these guys out. And this year it'll be more of the same. And a lot of those guys are on defense. And look, I want to start with Chris Cole, the linebacker who I was really high on him over the summer.

6:00I was a big believer in the talent, and he wasn't a starter yet, but the flashes of talent were really impressive. And I put him at linebacker too. He was top 25 overall in my top 50 just based on that talent, betting on this would be his breakout year. Now he's a full-time player, and I think I was wrong in terms of not having him high enough because this looks like a player that wants to be a top 12 pick. Rare size speed athlete. he's not arvel reese but like not quite on that level as a prospect but for a team that's looking for this year's reese i think cole he checks a lot of those boxes right he the ability to line up across the front seven this year's reese just in terms of like what you can do with him right hybrid linebacker yeah he's not like i through through half of this season i can't say that i think he's as impressive as Arvel Reese was last year yeah okay I just I just want to clarify that for sure yeah I think this year's Reese but he's not Arvel Reese right like yeah the hybrid linebacker who can do a little bit of everything I mean just look at a stat line against Alabama it was what eight tackles two and a half for loss one sack two pass breakups like he was just everywhere in terms of the impact that talent and the diversity of how you can use him that's going to make him go very high in the draft.

7:22So Chris Cole to me is one of the top 15 players in this draft. It's just a matter of how high do you want to take him? I had a lot of fun watching him in this Alabama game. And the number one thing to me that jumps out is just the explosiveness and the speed. And it gave me an opportunity to write down one of my favorite words. He lopes like he He is just a long strider. He can cover a lot of ground without a lot of steps. And it's not surprising if you think back to that Oklahoma game when John Mateer lost his mind on the goal line and gave up the fumble six. That was Chris Cole, who looked like he was shot out of a gun on the fumble return for the touchdown.

8:05Like, you'd think if a linebacker recovers a fumble at the goal line, you're going to have a shot at catching him on the return. Absolutely the hell not. Like, this guy is fast. He is explosive and you see it down to down, like in his first step, obviously when they send him as a rusher, but even just covering ground, he had a tackle on Keelan Russell pretty early in this game on a third and four, which Keelan Russell picked up the first down. So the sideline. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the sideline plays insane. And he didn't stop Keelan Russell from getting the first. I don't give a shit, dude. He was he was five yards behind Russell and 10 yards away when Russell started the scramble.

8:49And he must have gained back the ground in two and a half steps. And step is not the right word. Like I said, we're talking about strides. He is just he is impressive to watch move in space. That is the number one thing I would say about him. And he's also he just he he's so he's listed at six, three, two thirty five. I can't wait to see what his arm measurements are going to be because he's so long. And I looked it up after I had watched him for a little while at Georgia. They call him Tarantula. And I'm not surprised like that nickname makes a ton of sense. He is just a long, explosive dude.

9:25And it just sort of slaps you in the face when you watch him. It kind of feels like we're running out of nicknames, but credit to Georgia for that one because I like that a lot. But yeah, that play that you referenced, you could tell Russell was just kind of like, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. How is he doing this? Like, he still got the first down, credit to him, but I don't think he ever went up against a linebacker like that that could close space quite at that level. And again, like you said, the size, it's not like this is an undersized linebacker or a tweener or anything like that. He is 6 '3", 235, looks every bit of it, But still, the read-react, the change of direction, and the pure pursuit speed is really rare stuff.

10:04And so he's going to go, assuming he's in this draft, he's going to go pretty high. I will say all of that good stuff said, like I feel like he needs to learn how to rein it in on occasion. Like I just, there's a good amount of like overrunning and just being like too explosive for his own good, like missed tackles because he just got there with so much speed and effort. and then this is understandable to a degree he's 6 '3 230 he looks he looks fantastic against backs and tight ends and like he he pantsed a bama tight end on a sack in this game and you could see the bama tight end like screaming at himself for how badly he got beat but it does i mean not surprisingly it doesn't look as good against offensive linemen uh like you know i he got he He got pretty soundly blocked a few times.

10:57And definitely when he tries to like bang inside with guards and centers, I think he's got some, some bulking up to do some strengthening up to do, which. So when I was watching and I was like, Ooh, okay, what am I looking at here? You already said it, but this is his first year as a, as a full-time starter. And so if this is what he looks like six games into being a full-time starter, that doesn't concern me one bit. I mean, he's a true junior who is still growing into this thing, and I think he looks really good all of that considered. That's the one main difference between him and Arvell Reese is Reese is so good using his hands and plays with violence against offensive linemen where he can stack, shed, go make a play, where with Chris Cole, he's not quite on that level in terms of the efficiency.

11:49And then just, I mean, he has it in him in terms of power. he just doesn't know how to use it yet and so I think he'll get there but yeah I think that's a big difference between those two players um I keep it on the defense on the back end speaking of a guy that's just flying all over the place KJ Bolden the safety um now he was very literally in the middle of this game I mean he was involved in the game deciding plays it's very appropriate that he has the word bold in his last name because that's just exactly how he plays um and honestly I think this tape especially was a really suitable encapsulation of him as a prospect.

12:30Really aggressive player. He can blitz from depth. He can come down and smack running backs in the hole. He's a little bit undersized. He's listed at 190 around there, but he plays a lot tougher than that. He'll make plays at the sideline. Now, I do think there are several times where he can be overaggressive, and that leads to hits instead of rap tackles. That happened twice in this game. It can also lead to getting there a little too early in coverage. I know I don't have to tell Alabama fans about that. He was involved in one of those plays in the fourth quarter that wasn't called a PI that probably should have been.

13:07So I think the size, the overaggressive tendencies, they work against him. But this is a guy I want on my team. The speed, the boldness in your secondary, I can definitely use that. Georgia schemed up a wide open look for him on the sack that backed Alabama out of field goal position. So, I mean, a lot of that is scheme, but the speed in the speed with which he got there was striking. I mean, he's like a blur coming down from the top and he's done that many times this season already. Yeah, he I think he even admitted this week that, you know, he would he would want that to be called DPI if somebody did it to Georgia.

13:47But, you know, oh, no, a break win against Alabama. Whatever will we do? I feel correct me if I'm wrong. I feel like Ellis Robinson just didn't get targeted a lot in this game or. Yeah, I mean, which I mean, it makes sense if this is one of the top three corners in the class. Yeah, I think he was officially three targets, gave up one catch for six yards. Now, he did have a couple missed tackles, especially that one in the backfield where they brought him on a corner blitz and he couldn't get the quarterback down and that led to a big play. And so that I mean, there are things that he needed, you know, shore up and get better at.

14:24But overall, I don't think it's a game that you're going to point to and say this is why or why not. This guy's a first round pick. But yeah, he's played at a first round level this year. Raylan Wilson is Chris Cole's running mate at linebacker at Georgia. He finished this game. He was Georgia's leading tackler with nine. Very solid Georgia linebacker, but I will say when you're playing next to Chris Cole, it's not a fair place to be. It's one of those situations where you can see the talent that might make one guy a top 20 pick and the other guy just doesn't quite have that. Georgia always seems to have a linebacker who is not quite good enough to be a first rounder, but you think probably day two, maybe third round, and that's him.

15:16I mean, he's a good player, just obviously, yeah, when you're playing next to Chris Cole, it's tough for you to stand out as an athlete, which is no knock to him. That's the team leader in tackles. He makes plays. I mean, he's a solid player. I'm glad you're giving me this context. So, like, he has a shot to be a top 100 draft pick, would you say? Yes, I think that's fair. And Chris Cole is just that athletic that he does not look very impressive athletically playing next to him. That's certainly more about Chris Cole than about Raylan Wilson. No doubt about it. And I think there was a one Alabama had that one run where the center was able to climb, pick off Wilson.

15:56That led to the big run. So there were several plays where Wilson, I think, needed to play better, but he was still a guy that was making several of those key tackles in the hole on the edge. Yeah, he's a good player. So that defense is quite loaded at every level. But the front is, you know, I think it's a younger group. Same thing with the offensive line. Like the trenches this year feel very young for that team, but they held more than held their own. I mean, going over to the offensive side now, the offensive line really impressed me. I mean, they have Ernest Green at left tackle, who is I think probably more of a guard at the next level, but he looked really good at left tackle.

16:36I think he's somebody that can carve out an NFL future and credit to Georgia because they were down Nate Frazier at running back who is a top 100 pick I think it's really their third string runner and as a team they rushed for over 200 yards, they averaged 5 yards of carry and a lot of that was the offensive line doing the dirty work I mean Kirby Smart talked about that in the wake of the game where he said several times I didn't even care about the scoreboard I wanted to show up and and show our physicality and show, you know, that we can like, you know, bang with these guys all like for three hours, play after play after play and out physical them.

17:17And I would say, I mean, I'm sure he does actually care what the scoreboard says, especially now that Georgia got a resume win. But I think they passed that test. And then we talked about it heading into the show. We don't need to try to peg him as a as a first round candidate. it but Gunnar Stockton man to go into Tuscaloosa as a guy that I think people have either been down on or just not talking about to go into that environment and the I mean the the one iffy decision on the interception but other than that play a really sound game and had some really really impressive throws to move the ball for Georgia credit to Stockton because I'm coming into the year, most of the feedback from scouts was this is a free agent type of prospect.

18:08But I think he's really forcing scouts to take a longer look at him as a prospect. And that was one thing when you look at the first month of the season and the teams they played. But to do this against Alabama, just a really impressive performance. Doesn't have ideal height. He's right at six foot, but he's stocky just with the way he's built. And you see that toughness, that athleticism when he talks and runs and he had a touchdown run in this game. As a passer, he's gotten a lot better. You see anticipation on those eight yard outs. You see accuracy over the middle of the field. I think I was most impressed by just his pulse rate, especially on those money downs.

18:49Against Alabama, I think he was 8 of 11 on third downs, and he's been doing that all season. So far this year, 60 % of his third down passes have resulted in a first down or touchdown. So not 60 % of his completions, 60 % of his past attempts have resulted in a positive play. And that's top five in college football. So you factor in the athleticism, the toughness, there's something here. And it kind of reminds me of like a Sam Ellinger who, you know, coming out of Texas was a six-round pick, still collecting an NFL paycheck. You know, he might not check every box for what you're looking for at the next level.

19:24But, man, just watch the tape. He goes out and plays. He executes. and when you factor in the physical toughness and the competitive toughness, that clears the line for what you want at the next level. I say it all the time, but that's why we call it building the beast. Of course, we're going to spend a lot of time on the major quarterback prospects, and we'll do that in the next segment. But Sam Ellinger is in year six in the NFL. After being a sixth-round draft pick in 2021, he's with the Denver Broncos. He's still there. He's still serving a purpose for an NFL team. And Gunnar Stockton absolutely looked like a guy who could do that in this game.

20:03I thought his most impressive throw to me, like you said, third down, third and six. He had he just he fit a corner route where he layered it perfectly over the linebacker, beat the guy coming down on it, ripped it right into the to the receiver at the sideline, right at the sticks. Not like not not a huge chunk gain, but just like a wow throw to keep keep georgia on schedule and then i think the highlight throws the two the back-to-back balls down the seam to on one of those touchdown drives where he did it two plays in a row a lot of uh obviously decisiveness but i use this word a lot too audacity where he was just like yeah i got that and again in tuscaloosa at night it's one of the biggest games of the season to this point i thought he really rose to the moment i agree and i did want to shout out a couple players on Alabama's defense, because I thought Alabama's defense played.

20:56I mean, this was a – this is not a – I know we talked mostly about Georgia, but this wasn't a Georgia-dominating win. It was a close game all the way to the end. For Alabama, Devin Tompkins on the defensive line – Baller, dude. He continued his strong season. Like, he's a guy that just – the more you watch him, you're like, okay, yeah, I want him on my team. He's a little bit of a late bloomer, basketball-focused most of his life, went to USC, got better each year, then transferred Alabama this past year for his final season. He's turning himself into a top 100 pick with the way that he's played.

21:28They play him more on the edge. He's literally 300 pounds, but somebody that you see can maybe have that inside-outside versatility, maybe a 4-I, 5 technique. There's a lot there that I think is going to interest NFL teams. And then Bray Hubbard at safety, he keys really well against the run. he has the athleticism to play sticky coverage he had that interception which was just a really heady play the interception was such a cool play he got Stockton all on his own it was like an RPO and he came up on it to stop the run and as soon as he realized it he got back in time and like Stockton obviously he thought that he had got him and he was dead wrong the way Hubbard just fell right back into the throwing lane tipped it to himself and picked it off.

22:18That was a really fun play by Bray Hubbard. In coverage late in the game, the third down, which made Georgia have to kick the field goal, it was a really good coverage play as well. Now, it wasn't all, I mean, I think Zabian Brown had a rough game, the corner, who's talented, but this was a tape that was not good for him. Keon Saab, the other safety for Alabama, did not have a good game, but Bray Hubbard, I thought, stood out in a positive way. This is a safety class that I really like, and Hubbard is a part of that. Really fun game, and the schedule does not let up from here. Georgia's got Auburn after this, and of course Alabama road trip to Tennessee.

23:01We'll see how they rebound. Really fun game that definitely lived up to the billing we gave it. Glad we were giving Georgia some shine. But on the other side of this break, fear not. We have a lot to say about some big-time quarterback prospects and the weekends that they had. We're going to do it right after this.

23:19Dave Helman: Football season has arrived, and with the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card, you earn an unlimited 2 % cash back on every purchase, including at the stadium or at home, watching on a brand-new TV. Score big with unlimited 2 % cash back on every purchase. Visit usbank.com slash smartlycard to learn more. The creditor and issuer of this card is U.S. Bank National Association, pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. Some restrictions may apply. You know those pieces in your closet that you find yourself wearing on repeat? The sweater that goes with everything? The perfect pair of pants? Or the tee you somehow always reach for first?

23:53Those are the pieces that make getting dressed easy, and that's what Quince does best. Quince focuses on high-quality wardrobe staples made with premium materials like 100 % Mongolian cashmere, organic cotton, and merino wool. The styles are timeless, versatile, and designed to become the dependable pieces you reach for day after day. Their 100 % Mongolian cashmere sweater started to$60, giving you the softness and quality you'd expect from a luxury brand without the luxury price tag. And when the temperatures start to drop, as they have, at least where I live, Quince makes it easy to build on those everyday staples with premium down jackets and classic wool outerwear.

24:29Versatile layers designed to keep you warm and comfortable all season long. So like I said, here in the Upper Midwest, we are into the cooler time of the year. Fall is here. It's been a beautiful start to the fall. One thing I love about the fall. I mean, I love a lot of things about the fall for being honest, but one extra thing that I love my quince shacket. Obviously it had to go into the closet for the summer, but now that that's gone, fall is here. The shacket it's back out feels great. Looks great. Goes perfectly with what I want to be doing in the fall, not just wearing, but also outside doing in the fall.

25:02Find your next fall favorites at quince download the quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns now available in canada and the uk too and when quince asks where you heard about them let them know it was the athletic football show it's the best way to support our show during this year's nfl hall of fame induction i actually had

25:23Dave Helman: a thought about getting back into sports cards one of the reason being is that luke keekly obviously longtime carolina panthers linebacker one of my favorite players of all time he's the reason I love linebackers the way I do some of those Panthers teams just held a really special part in my heart even to someone who is not a Panthers fan so to see him obviously commemorated in the Hall of Fame was really special and I thought why don't for some of the NFL players that I've truly loved who have been special players to me over the years whether that was when I was a kid growing up and doing this for a living whatever it's been why not kind of commemorate those guys myself and get some of my favorite players who have been in the Hall of Fame who have obviously earned that sort of honor.

26:04Dave Helman: Maybe let's go pick up some cards and see if I can kind of create my own Hall of Fame with guys like that. So thanks to whatnot, I was able to go find some Luke Kuechly cards, some really good ones. And obviously he's been, again, like I said, a player that I've held in high esteem for a long time. So whether it's rookie cards, whether it's cards later in his career when he's got a million accolades and defensive player of the years and all pros racked up, it didn't really matter to me. I was able to find all of the stuff I wanted in that realm. The best thing about doing this on whatnot is that I can see it before I buy it.

26:36Dave Helman: This is not just clicking a listing and hoping that it's going to be there. No, these sellers are showing me that they've got this card. And on top of that, these guys know their stuff. These are people who value these cards. They value the collectibles. They value what they are trying to give to the customer and they know whether or not this is something that is really worth its value. And so being able to have the comfort of both of those two things as I'm going in to try to start this new venture. I think it's been really, really nice for me. And now you can start buying on Whatnot. You can get$20 off of your first purchase right now.

27:08Dave Helman: Just search Whatnot, W-H-A-T-N-O-T in the App Store, download, sign up, and start shopping today. Terms apply.

27:22Dane, let's not waste any time. Let's talk about the tall athletic quarterback who wears orange and plays for a former big 12 team. That's light in the world on fire. No, I'm not talking about the other one. We'll get to him. Let's start QB Corner this week with Drew Mestemaker, who you texted me about at, I don't know, 1145 on Saturday morning and basically said, get to a TV, turn on Drew Mestemaker against UCF. I don't care what else you're watching. I think I was, I had three other games on. I was watching Austin Simmons play Texas A &M and you were like, no, no, no, Mestemaker time. Let's talk about it.

28:10I mean, let's just make it official. I mean, this is QB1. And like I said earlier, I think it's really sick that on the day Arch Manning played OU and we said this was a weekend that Arch really needed to make a statement, it's Drew Mestemaker who made yet another one and is the most impressive quarterback in the country at the halfway mark of the season. And it's not just beating up on UCF. It's what he did against Oregon and then what he did against West Virginia and then really how he's played the last four weeks. Like I said, I don't evaluate or I don't readjust the rankings based off of one or two games.

28:51It's like, all right, let's get to the middle of the season, look at what we have, and then we can adjust. Drew Mestemaker, through six weeks of the college football season, has been the best quarterback prospect. and I think that's something that we saw again this past Saturday. He continued to produce at a high level. The physical skill set is there, obviously. We've talked about it, right? The size, the athleticism, the way the ball comes off his hand. There are definitely areas of his game that are still rough around the edges. We've talked about his background and how just inexperienced he is, but it's about the bigger picture with him.

29:25There are times where, yeah, maybe he runs a little bit hot, the ball placement's a little bit off, but then I'll watch him throw it through a keyhole with accuracy. That's what's going to stick with me. He can be stubborn at times and fit the ball in tight spots, but it's the fact that those quick expiring windows, they don't intimidate him. And that has me optimistic about him. So I think what really put me over the top was just the last few weeks watching how confident this guy plays. I think that's the clincher. It doesn't matter the score, the situation. he plays with a slow heartbeat and talking to NFL scouts they say that that self-assured mindset that competitiveness it's just how he's wired on the field off the field uh and I sent you a clip of so it's the final play of the tape from yeah you did Oklahoma State UCF and usually as soon as the play is over they cut it on to the next play they let this linger for a little bit and And you see after this play, because it was like Oklahoma State was winning.

30:30They were going to win the game. They still were throwing it to the very end. A UCF player knocked down the receiver. Messamaker comes up, gets into the face of two UCF defenders, and the ref literally had to pull him away. And it's like, all right, yeah, that's what I want to see from my quarterback. Again, I'm not saying there aren't question marks with this player. There's no substitute for experience. that confidence that I'm talking about. Sometimes that can backfire. And there's also just the idea of, you know, Oklahoma State's playbook compared to what it'll be asked to do in the NFL. Obviously, those two things are very different.

31:03But you have a player with his talent, physical talent, the mental talent, the mindset, all the positive moments on tape. That's somebody that I want to bet on. And in this class, he's the best quarterback prospect that I've seen. And so, like I said, I don't know. So we because we whenever we talk about Mestemaker, we kind of have the asterisk like I don't know if he's a 2028 guy, 2027 guy. I'll say this. If he continues to play at this level, I think it'll be very, very hard for him to turn down the NFL this year. But that's something that we'll find out here the second half of the year. I'm curious about that just because of the conversation we had about Dante Moore last year, where I mean, in this era, you just can't.

31:46the riches and opportunity of the NFL don't mean the same thing they used to, given what you can do for yourself in college football. But I don't know, maybe at this point, Dante Moore is a cautionary tale about why you should strike while the iron's hot. I mean, he's still got time to course correct over the course of this season, but coming back to school has not worked out anywhere near what we were hoping for from Dante Moore. And so if you're playing well enough that people even have you in the conversation to be QB1, even if you can make a shitload of money in college football these days, I mean, maybe, like I said, maybe you strike while the iron's hot.

32:26It's something to think about, at least. It's such an individual decision. You know, like, if you don't feel ready, then go back and be a millionaire in college, right? But if you feel like you've done everything you can at the college level, and I don't know, Drew Messemaker doesn't know yet, right? what he's going to do. By the time we get to December, if he feels like I kind of feel like I've done everything I can, like going back to school isn't going to help me all that much, then go. That's perfectly fine. Now, will he be an outlier in terms of the amount of experience that he has? There's no question about it.

33:05From being a backup quarterback in high school, and then a walk-on, and then one year at North Texas, one year starting in the Big 12, like yeah that that would make you an outlier and there's something to be said about you know going back getting better and you know maybe even raising your profile as well so I think yeah each quarterback each prospect deserves their own kind of way to frame it and the thing that that mattered to them their situation how they feel but with Mestemaker like I said I think that at this pace at this trajectory he is I would not be surprised at all if he's in this draft class let me ask you this I have a couple questions and I mean for the record just go watch Drew Messamaker and on the surface I think it'll make perfect sense shouldn't have too many questions about this I mean like the arm talent is insane the I mean Dane brought up the makeup he has that dog in him he is an athletic guy as well he had a rushing touchdown against UCF like he can do all the stuff that you want a modern franchise quarterback to do my questions for you one if this is the case what the hell happened against Tulsa that's that's number one for me and that is that looks weirder and weirder with each passing week that he looks like the best quarterback in college football and two how exactly do you weigh the big 12 versus other places he can be playing.

34:36And I do want to say it's not as if the big 12 is in a IA, like they had 38 players drafted last year. I think they had six first round picks. Like David Bailey was the second pick in the draft this year. It's not as if you're not going against good players in the big 12. I do still think there is a difference in week out weekend week out tests in the big 12 versus if you were playing in the Big Ten or the SEC. And so just how do you suss that out? I mean, clearly what Messamaker's put on tape to this point is enough to convince you, but even with the Oregon game, you would like to see more consistent tests against higher-calibre players.

35:19I mean, I feel like we have this issue with a lot of players, right? like um going back to like a a left tackle who okay well what what pass rushers did he face this year and like you wish he would have faced this whole thing with the utah guys this past year yes that's what i was thinking of uh like yeah outside of texas tech who did they face that was really going to test them um or i mean i remember travis hunter um you know like who did he face in the Big 12 that was really close to his level, both offense or defense. You know, someone that could guard him and then somebody that could maybe, you know, make plays as a receiver against him as a corner.

36:04So it's something that we will always be talking about with these players. You know, we talked about what Julian's saying. How do you possibly evaluate him when he has the best player in the sport to throw to? And that's just the ultimate cheat code for a quarterback. So there's always going to be these circumstances that you kind of have to, and I know, I don't, you don't always get a firm answer that you're going to love. Sometimes it's just a matter of, this is the situation. We have to take a little bit of leap of faith. And now that doesn't always work out, obviously. I mean, Zach Wilson, that was a big question with him come out of BYU.

36:37There was the COVID stuff. And then, you know, BYU didn't face, you know, necessarily the toughest schedule. And one of the toughest opponents they faced was Coastal Carolina, and they got after him. And obviously, you know, we saw how Zach Wilson played out but I think you have to take each case individually and so very eager to see Oklahoma State the rest of this year if they got Houston this weekend Houston's a good big 12 is gonna say do you think it's do you think it's more important for somebody like Mestemaker to be excellent every week as opposed to like well you know Georgia got off after him but of course they did it's Georgia like when this is your slate and yeah so it's at Houston this week and they do have Texas Tech on the schedule in a little while.

37:18Not to say there's nobody left on the schedule, but compare that with some of the slates that the Big Ten and the SEC are going against. Is it more important that you don't have you don't have any head scratchers? I mean, we're already we've already got one head scratcher in the season opener. I would start to get nervous if there's too many more, you know? No, I think that's fair. I mean, you know, if he struggles against Houston and throws three picks, I'm not going to necessarily walk back anything I've said today. But now if that becomes more of a problem over the second half of the year, then, yeah, that's something that I think you have to take and include as part of the evaluation.

37:58You know, like when you do this stuff in season, you can only go based off of what has been on the tape so far, right? We have six weeks of the college football season, and I think everything that he has done up to this point makes him the top quarterback. Now, that could change based off of how the next six weeks go and how he performs. If he has a couple times where he stubs his toe, is it OK? Is that overconfidence catching up with him and teams are finding a way to play, you know, a better way to suffocate him in terms of the coverage and really forcing him to make some bad decisions? Possibly.

38:34You know, we'll have to see how that plays out. But yeah, it's something that's part of the evaluation. The projection of that Oklahoma State offense to what he'll be asked to do in the NFL is something that we'll be talking. If he enters this draft, we'll be talking about that a lot more. There's more college all 22 available on the Internet than there ever has been in my career. And so I'm not saying you have to agree with the evaluation of Drew Mestemaker's QB1, but just go really find any of his games after Tulsa and you'll get it. because on every Drew Mestemaker tape, there's at least three, if not five or six throws that make you sit up in your seat.

39:13Like, the talent's undeniable. I can't wait to see how consistent it looks over the back half of the year. Speaking of consistent, Dane, I feel like we've brought him up every show of the season, and that doesn't even include last year. We've just been waiting for Lenora Sellers to have a game like he had against Florida on Saturday. So now that he did it, it at least deserves a mention. 279 passing yards, four touchdowns, several silly throws. The deep corner to the back pylon to Nick Harbor was a fantastic touchdown pass by Lenora Sellers and then showed off his athleticism as well. I know he didn't score on that crazy scramble, but to shrug off a safety blitz and then outrun half of the Florida defense to the pylon, even if he didn't get in was an incredible display of athleticism.

40:05So it's one week, but we got a glimpse of what Lenora Sellers is capable of looking like, and it was very exciting. Hopefully it happens more often. I mean, he put the Superman cape back on. It felt like he lost it. He couldn't find it. And then before this game, found it and put it on. And like, OK, this is the player we wanted to see last year. You know, he showed flashes of this more consistently as a sophomore. So going into last year, it was like, okay, this guy is, you know, if he continues to do this at this level, he's going to be a top pick. And then, of course, that didn't happen. This year, got off to a tough start in September.

40:48But, okay, he really was able to right the ship. And, you know, with a new offensive coordinator, some new talent around you, there has to be some type of grace period where you expect it to look better. And there's been so much animosity over that program. But Dylan Stewart was back for South Carolina. This is one of the better Nick Harbor games, even though Harbor did have two just frustrating drops. He's such a frustrating player to watch because the talent is otherworldly. But the lack of consistency with him is tough. But, I mean, you mentioned the two plays that I was going to bring up. I mean, the one, the first touchdown in the Harbor, it was like basically a deep out from the slot.

41:32And watch where Harbor is when Sellers loads up the fire. I mean, Harbor is covered. He's not even out of the break yet. But Sellers is able to put it right in the corner, a perfect spot where Harbor can use that big body, catch it, get his feet down. So I love the anticipation, the placement. Yes, he is a physical freak, but he was doing things as a passer against Florida that made you really appreciate some of the passing things. It's not just, hey, I'm bigger, faster, stronger arm, and you just bet on the raw physical talent. He does quarterback things as well. And then, of course, yeah, you mentioned that run that he had that was almost a touchdown.

42:13I, the amount of Florida defenders around him for him to turn that into a big play like that was, was awesome. So yeah, I think that the, the, the slot, he had a slot post touchdown in the third quarter tacked on another rushing touchdown, five touchdowns altogether only did that one other time in his career at South Carolina. So it was a good tape as a reminder that, Hey, this guy has this high level talent. This is why we've been talking about him as potential first rounder for a couple years now can he do this more consistently that that'll be the question the rest of the year the literal million dollar question many million dollar question i thought he just he had a lot of clubs in his bag in this game like there were a lot of different types of throws i thought he showed good touch like not just arm strength but knowing when to put the right amount of velocity or the right amount of arc on the ball just all all around like you said like not just a impressive display of athleticism, but just a good day of quarterbacking for Lenora Sellers, which was, it was really nice to see that he can put it all together.

43:18In the pocket, outside the pocket. Yeah. I mean, it was really a, and that's what you want, right? When you, when you evaluate a quarterback, you want the full inventory of, you want to see the full inventory of routes and throws, types of throws, out of structure, in structure, different platforms. And I thought this game really gave us a little bit of everything and by far his best game of the year. Now, maybe Florida's defense just that bad after. With all of the nice stuff said, I'm developing a theory that the Florida secondary might just be a get right game because Austin Simmons went off against these guys.

43:57Sellers did it as well. And do you know who the Florida secondary plays next, Dane? I love the transition here. It's beautiful. It's pertinent to our next conversation because Arch Manning could use a get right game. Maybe Florida will provide that for him. Obviously, Texas loses to OU in the Red River game. And let me put it this way. I mean, this was Arch Manning's season encapsulated. And let's try to remove the toxicity and the polarization from the conversation here. you saw all of the same traits and tools that make him an intriguing prospect and several of the a boneheaded mistakes be lack of processing lack of vision whatever you want to call it all of the inconsistencies that have kept him from having a true breakout game they were all on display here and a lot of times it felt like they were coming in like sequential order where like i texted you on Saturday.

45:01And I was like, Oh God, Arch, what was that pick six Jesus? And then the very next drive, he leads him downfield for a touchdown with a couple of really sick throws. And you're like, ah, there it is. That's the guy. And of course he, he throws an interception that leads to a walk-off field goal and just a, a frustrating day for what is bound to be a really frustrating prospect to talk about. I mean, he already is, but it's only going to get worse as we go, unless something changes. Well, I mean, those two touchdowns that he had in the first half were just outstanding throws. And I thought for the most part, Manning played a good game, especially through the first three quarters.

45:40Now, the two fourth quarter interceptions specifically just can't happen, especially the second one. I know he was getting hit as he was throwing the football and you expect Cam Coleman to give you better fight in terms of working back to the ball, not letting the corner win that. But if you're Manning, you just can't turn it over when you're already near field goal range. There's 20 seconds left on the clock. So not only do you lose the chance to go for the field goal, but you give OU a chance to score. And look, we do need to give credit to John Mateer, Isaiah Satania, because it wasn't just, okay, Arch throws the interception, and then they kick the field goal to win it, Oklahoma.

46:21Mateer had to hit Satania on a 13-yard pass and then a 20-yard pass, both along the sideline. because I think they only had one timeout, but both along the sideline to stop the clock, they did that in like 10 seconds to get them in range. So it wasn't just an Arch meltdown. It was a combination of, I mean, the Texas special teams did not play well. The defense let them down in key moments. But yeah, this is, Arch is obviously going to be the guy that takes on most of the blame and deserves a lot of it because of the way those two fourth quarter interceptions happened. And so the discourse rages on.

47:00I think some of the indecision, that's something – and that might be my biggest issue with Arch. That is a great word for it. Right. I mean, Tony Soprano said her best. I mean, sometimes indecision's worse than the wrong decision. And I think it applies to quarterbacks. It's my biggest issue with Arch is the fact that he tends to be conservative when he needs to be aggressive. Sometimes he'll turn down those windows where he needs to attack. Other times he goes into aggressive mode when he needs the plays. It's not there. And so he needs to be a little more conservative in that moment. And so I think the play calling and the offense don't do him any favors.

47:42I mean, Sark's stubbornness is it's going to hold Texas back, I think. But so will Arch's decision making if he doesn't show better development. that area. I, I can't get there with good game for the most part, like watching this back frustrated the hell out of me. And like, I mean, the inter, the interceptions are egregious. You don't even really have to say much else about it. It just can't happen. Like you said, but even more so there were two plays that really pissed me off in this game. One, he just had an egregious turndown of cam Coleman on a wide ass open dig. I know, you know, the one I'm talking about because it was striking like Sooners are in zone corners peeling off to deal with the flat safety's flipping his hips to worry about the post and Cam Coleman's just sitting there waiting for a throw that would have been an explosive gain and Arch look to the flat for the tight end on like a six yard just dump off like it was Bo Nixian not to throw shade at Bo Knicks on building the beast.

48:45Oh, well, I guess I just did. But an egregious turndown for a guy who's supposed to be in the conversation for number one pick in the draft. And then earlier in the game, they ran a max protect play action shot where like they had everybody in. It's a two man concept. Both of the receivers to the right with the back leaking out late as like an emergency dump off and arch just danced around back there for like five seconds was like looking to the left for some reason maybe he was looking to see if he had a running lane i don't know but he tap danced back there for like five seconds and of course got bear hugged by the end at the end of the play with like no awareness whatsoever that that might happen to him and i was like brother, there's only two guys running routes here.

49:38There's not a lot to look at. You either got to throw it or get rid of the fricking ball. And so those two plays really aggravated me considering what we want to see from arch. It's not, not to like bury him. And I will say, like I said, all the, all the traits, all the high level throws, the athleticism, like it's all still there. If you look for it, like I, you know, that I don't want to hear any of the bullshit about like, he's not a, He wouldn't even be in the conversation for the first round if his name wasn't Manning. That's stupid. Like, go watch him play football. Actually watch what happens, and there's no way you could come to that conclusion.

50:14But we've been saying all year, like, okay, it's time to step it up and show me more and show it to me on a more consistent basis. And halfway through the year, it's the same stuff every week. And at a certain point, that starts to get really frustrating. It's not to bury the guy or say that he can't come back from it, but that's how I feel. And I don't think you're wrong at all. I think that, like I said, I think the offense, there's parts to this Sark offense that I think hold them back. And there's only so many answers to some of these play calls. And if those two answers are taken away, there are times where, yeah, Manning just is like short circuits and it's like, okay, well, that's covered, that's covered.

50:59And, you know, he's not sure what to do. And sometimes he takes off and runs. Sometimes he takes the sack. But overall, that's my biggest issue is the indecision that he tends to play with. Being conservative when he needs to be aggressive and then being aggressive when he needs to be conservative. He just hasn't found that fine line yet, which there's no guarantee he ever will. Maybe with another half season, he'll make a big jump in that area. There's no way to know. But I don't think it's as simple as, well, if he hasn't shown it yet, he won't get there. It's not that simple. I'm very eager to see how this team performs over the second half of the year, and quarterback especially, because if I've learned anything about evaluating quarterbacks, it's to remain open-minded when there's still games left to be played.

51:49And last year, after the Red River, Manny was outstanding the second half of the year. 19 touchdowns, two interceptions. He faced that early season adversity, fought back and played at a high level. So I'm just eager to see if he can do that again this year. And it starts with Florida. Like we said, it's a very gettable defense. And so I know he has the talent to do it. It's just can he play with more conviction in what he's seeing and just restraint when he needs to have restraint. So it's easier said than done. But I'm not ready to bury Arch by any means. but I'm also not going to make excuses for the way he's played.

52:35It's just a classic case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. I mean, I can pull up Arch's 10 best plays, and you'll have a hell of a highlight reel that people that evaluate NFL prospects are going to love. And if you also say, if he's so damn good, why isn't he elevating the preseason number one team in the country a little bit more than he is? And I don't have a good answer for you. And I will say this. I try to avoid takes. I just mentioned it, Dane. I mean, everybody is torching this Florida defense. I mean, obviously, Austin Simmons and Lenora Sellers got them. But even in a loss, Trinidad Chambliss played just fine in that, you know, they lost big.

53:19But that was way more about the Ole Miss defense. Byron Brown had a big day against Florida. I need Arch to do something here. I don't want to be doing this shit next week. I don't want to be like, well, you know, if you look here, it actually it's it's fine or whatever. No, I don't. What's the excuse if he can't play a unanimously good game in this situation? It's at home. It's not in the swamp. It's in Austin. This isn't this isn't going to atone. This is this isn't going to like make up for everything. But yeah, it starts here where it's like, OK, I don't want to have to squint to see why this was good.

53:57Go play a good game against Florida, and then you'll have – the cool thing about playing in the SEC, you'll have plenty of other opportunities to prove yourself against loaded defenses after this. But it should start here. It should. And remember, last year against Florida was one of his worst games on last year's tape. He had a couple interceptions. They lose that game. So, you know, there's also that element of a little bit of revenge, get back on track. So, yeah, there's plenty on the line here. That says Arch should have a good game. So let's see it happen. I think we said in the production meeting we were going to keep it short on Arch.

54:35But I just, I don't think that's possible. I think the discourse must continue until morale improves. But that does it for Quarterback's Corner. We're going to spend a little bit of time previewing the upcoming weekend right after this break. So me and my family, we live in the suburbs of Chicago. And one thing I love about the cluster of suburbs where we live is that, While there are a lot of similarities among them, there are also enough differences to make each one feel unique. And those differences are largely driven by the small businesses that inhabit those towns. Whether you are in one, another, the one over there, they each have enough of their own flair to make them all feel unique while they're all right on top of one another as well.

55:16Being able to shop at those small businesses, pour into the suburb that we live in, but also pour into our neighbors as well. It really just feels good and makes it feel even more special being at home. With FAIR, it's easy for independent retailers to stock products from over 100 ,000 unique brands worldwide. It's perfect for planning inventory for the holiday season. We were just in one of those small businesses I was talking about a couple of days ago looking for a birthday gift for one of my daughter's friends. She's turning six. And so it was great to go into this toy store and be able to find so many different things from big retailers while still supporting this small business in our town.

55:51By connecting retailers with over 100 ,000 unique brands, FAIR gives small and local businesses a platform to thrive. They've got curated wholesale products for home, apparel, beauty, food, and more. FAIR reduces the risk of testing new products with analytics and free returns on first orders with every brand. So far, FAIR has given more than 700 ,000 retailers access to over 100 ,000 brands. Sign up today and get 50 % off your first wholesale order up to$100 at FAIRE.com slash TAFs. That's F-A-I-R-E dot com slash TAFs. Terms may apply.

56:28This episode is brought to you by Onnit. You know those days where your schedule is packed to the brim? You're jumping straight from managing work deadlines to squeezing in a workout, running family errands, and trying to handle a million things all at once? When you're deeply engaged in a busy day, staying in that zone can make all the difference. That's where Onnit's AlphaBrain comes in as a daily nootropic formula designed for daily cognitive support. It supports cognition, memory, attention, focus, and mental clarity while you're tackling your daily tasks. It supports AlphaBrain wave activity, helping you tune out distractions, get into the zone, and support that optimal flow state when you're deeply immersed in an activity.

57:06It supports quicker reaction times and relaxes and supports AlphaWave activity during normal, occasional stress. If you're ready to support your concentration and focus throughout your demanding days, check them out. Shop now at Onnit.com. O-N-N-I-T dot com.

57:42on gas and at restaurants. It pays to Discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash five for details.

57:55Like I said, Dane, conference play is in full swing and no better example than the headliner of our upcoming weekend of college football. Number four, Ohio State. Number five, Indiana headlining the weekend. For me anyway. I mean, there are some good games here. But that's obviously the big one. Big 10 title game rematch. Here's my here's my question for you. Is this the matchup of the best two receivers in the country? Because I know I mean, Texas has Cam Coleman, but I don't know, man. Every week, obviously, we know Jeremiah Smith, but I just I start to think more and more of Charlie Becker every single week.

58:35Well, and after what Nick Marsh did this past week, we got to mention him in the conversation of, and it's funny, I took some heat from Indiana fans because I tweeted during the game how the Nebraska-Indiana game this past weekend, which, by the way, Indiana was losing for most of that game. I thought it was over, man. Like, with six minutes left, they looked dead in the water. When Indiana, like, turned to their receivers, it was like, oh, yeah, Yeah, we have two best receivers in college football. Let's lean on those guys. But I tweeted how I felt like the Hoosiers weren't as good as last year at several positions, but they're actually better at receiver.

59:16And look, me saying they're not as good at several positions is not the same thing as me saying they're bad. Like Josh Hoover's not a bad quarterback. He's 17-0 touchdown interception ratio right now, but he's not Fernando Mendoza. You know, the Indiana is not as good at tight end. They're not as good at corner as they were last year. That doesn't mean that they're necessarily bad at those spots either. So, but they are better at receiver. And I know Charlie Becker was on that team last year, obviously, as part of that receiver depth chart. And they probably, they might not win the national title.

59:50They might not win the Big Ten without Charlie Becker last year. But in terms of 1-2 on the depth chart, their 1-2 this year is better than the 1-2 last year. and the one-two last year were both top 100 picks. So with Jeremiah Smith in this game, you have three receivers who are legit top 25 picks in this draft. I mean, how many games have you watched at college where there were three players that were going to be top 25 picks at receiver in the upcoming draft? You could probably count on one hand the amount of times this happened. 2019 LSU Alabama had a few good receivers on the field. They did, no doubt, but I don't think six.

1:00:26Well, I think the last time it happened was actually – it was Ohio State-Penn State with Olave, Garrett Wilson. I think Jahan Dotson was part of – yeah, I think he was part of that game too. But it's probably only happened a handful of times. So, you know, it is a pretty rare thing. And I think, you know, when these two teams met last year in the Big Ten title game, it was defensive slugfest, right? It was 13-10. this year feels like it's going to be a little more fireworks. I think Indiana is all about establishing the run, and they want balance. But again, you've got to rely on Charlie Becker, Nick Marsh.

1:01:06Marsh had three catches at 35-plus yards last week. Becker, we've talked ad nauseum about just how talented he is. If he's a top-five pick in next year's draft, I don't think anybody would bat an eye. At least I wouldn't. So Indiana has the home field advantage in this one. But Ohio State, you figure they played in Austin. They played in Iowa City this year. So they have played in some tough environments. Plus they had the revenge factor of losing last year's Big Ten title game. So I think this should be a fun one. I'm hopeful Austin Cereveld, the Ohio State glue guy on that offensive line, played right guard, played right tackle.

1:01:47He missed this past week against Maryland. Sounds like he might miss this game as well, which would be a big loss for that Ohio State offensive line. Hopefully he's healthy just so we can see good versus good in the trenches. But regardless, this should be a fun one. Nick Marsh has had 60 % of his season-long yardage in the last two weeks. Not hating on the guy, but through the first month, I was like, man, we talked a good bit about Nick Marsh, and I haven't seen a whole lot from him. And then the last two weeks, I get it. I'm on board. I see the vision. Really looking forward to that. I'm also really looking forward to the former Lane Kiffin quarterback bowl that's going to be happening in the SEC, Missouri going down to Ole Miss, Austin Simmons, Trinidad Chambliss.

1:02:34I'll just say it. I'm going to be pissed off if this isn't like a 45-42 type of game. I'm not here for like 24 to 13. I want to see fireworks. I want to see dots all over the field. I'm optimistic that this can deliver. I think so too. Yeah, this will be a fun one. Yeah, obviously, I don't think there's animosity between these two quarterbacks. You know, obviously, Trinidad took Austin Simmons' job. I don't think it's quite like that. But you know Austin Simmons wants to win this one in a big way. So there might be a little bit extra motivation there. But Chambliss, I think, still belongs in, you know, the conversation about the top quarterbacks this year.

1:03:16He's still up there as part of it. And this is another chance to prove why. Well, that's I mean, that's the fun thing is Trinidad big win against LSU. He was incredible. You lose to Florida immediately after and Ole Miss has just kind of been off the radar ever since. And now we're back. This is a fun Missouri team. Austin Simmons has been getting a lot of attention over the last few weeks and great opportunity to read. I don't even want to say reestablish yourself because it's not like Trinidad win anywhere, but just a great opportunity to say, hey, here I am still here. Still really fun. at night we've got Notre to Notre Dame going to number eight BYU it's easily Notre Dame's biggest test of the season so far I feel like we've talked a lot about the Notre Dame guys in recent weeks CJ Carr Leonard Moore we would car try or a Bryce Young DJ McKinney so I mean I'm curious to see how they do in a rowdy road environment I do wish BYU running back LJ Martin was going to be available.

1:04:17Is there something to have an eye on in the BYU side of this from an NFL perspective, other than just hoping for a fun game? Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I think I just agree with what you said about LJ Martin. He, a potential top 100 pick in this draft. It's just, it's such a bummer he'll miss this one. But I am excited about the linebacker play in this game. With BYU, you have Cade Ulaave. He's one of the top senior linebackers this year. Cal Transfer, who sees the field really well. And then Isaiah Glasker, who is banged up, but he might play in this one. Both those guys are NFL picks. And then for Notre Dame, you've got Kingston Vialamalu Asa, who is off the injury report.

1:05:00And he has a bright NFL future ahead of him. You talk about size, speed, he can really run. I like him, like some of his best plays or when he's in that A-gap blitzer because he is physical enough where he can win versus going up against offensive linemen. But the speed element is what that closing burst is what helps him get to the backfield and really just wreck shop. So I think the linebacker play is something that definitely looking forward to both on both sides. I'm hopeful Leonard Moore is going to play. He missed last week. He had the concussion against North Carolina. He's questionable for this game.

1:05:37So hopefully he's back out there, but obviously they're not going to risk it. He's got a lot of bright football coming up in his future. So if he's not ready, he's not ready. And then one more to watch for BYU left tackle, Pocky Finno, Washington transfer, who has been really good this year. But he hasn't seen a pass rusher like Bubikar Traore. So I think that'll be a really good matchup to watch in the trenches. my contribution to this is he's an ineligible player he's a true sophomore but if you're a draft nick who's going to turn this on and want to watch some just see what notre dame's got going on just keep an eye on the byu quarterback bear bachmeyer which a is just an awesome name b that number man i can't wear his number he wears number 47 which is gonna just jar you when you see him for the first time.

1:06:33And then, Dane, this is perfect for a future edition of Building the Beast and your insanely in-depth bios. Bear Bachmeier's brother plays wide receiver for BYU. His name is Tiger Bachmeier. So that very much feels like something I would read in one of your bios like a year from now. So I'm just highlighting that ahead of time. Yeah, it's a very interesting family. I don't know. Read more about the family, some of the stuff that's been out there, some of the interviews. It's a very interesting group, but all I know is they can play football. And so BYU, even without LJ Martin, they'll have a shot in this one.

1:07:12We already mentioned it, so we don't have to spend a lot of time on it. I'm really excited though. Oklahoma State at Houston is a night game. And as far as big time games go, like Notre Dame BYU is the only competition, but it's not like it's this loaded night schedule where you can't watch this game. Like pull up, get the side-by-side, do the dual box on YouTube TV, get yourself some Drew Mestemaker while you're watching the Notre Dame-BYU game and a road night game to Houston. Connor Wegman for Houston having a really nice season as well. I don't know where he slots into the quarterback conversation, but playing really well for Houston.

1:07:50I'm looking forward to this one. Yeah, I mean, I gave Mestemaker the kiss of death by putting my QB1. So, I mean, no, I don't want to be texting you on Saturday night. Like, oh, shit. Don't worry. The tweets will find me. I know they will. But yeah, this will be a good, good matchup because Houston's a good team. They, I mean, their defense is, I think, top 50 in college football. Like they've got some guys, you know, the corner's a good player. You know, they've got a really good receiver. So, you know, the guards draftable to lane transfer. So Houston's got some guys as well. You mentioned the Houston receiver.

1:08:28What's the Houston receiver's name? Amari Thomas. Okay. He's not, like, he's 5 '10 1⁄2", but he's got some thickness to him, and he's explosive. So he will go up and make plays. He's a UAB transfer. Like, the Big 12 spiritually is like the old Pac-12 now to me. Like, a Big 12 night game between ranked teams, I just think the probability for lunacy is high. I'm pretty excited about this when I realized, because I don't know, maybe this sounds like a shot at the Big 12, but I just assumed this was going to be like an 11 a.m. kick, honestly. And when I looked at the schedule and saw it was a 630 kick, I got pretty excited.

1:09:11Well, I mean, for people that are checking it out, Mestamaker's obviously the main draw. But Wyatt Young, his receiver who transferred with him from North Texas, if Mestamaker goes pro after this year, maybe Wyatt Young says, well, shoot, I'm going too. Without my quarterback, he is absolutely a draftable player. He has an NFL future. Him and Justin Bowick, the other receiver who's really good. So it's not Mestemaker playing with just a bunch of, you know, ragtag, tryhard guys. They've got NFL talent on that Oklahoma State offense. And when Arch Manning drops 500 yards on Florida and Drew Mestemaker throws two picks against Houston, we'll be here to sort through all the wreckage.

1:09:55This episode will be deleted. No, never. We're here. We'll continue to investigate and educate, to quote our old friend. And but until then, man, fun episode. Looking forward to another weekend of college football. We're really we're in the flow of things now. Appreciate y 'all listening. We'll chat with you next time. Thanks a lot.

1:10:17Dave Helman: Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like comment and leave a rating. We'll see you next time.

1:10:34With the Discover Cash Back Card, it's payback time when you earn cash back on everyday purchases. Activate and earn 5 % cash back at different categories each quarter on up to$1 ,500 in purchases. That's 5 % cash back at different places each quarter, like grocery stores, on gas, and at restaurants. It pays to Discover. Terms apply. See discover.com slash 5 for details. What if you could finish your college degree faster and save thousands while doing it?

1:11:03Dave Helman: Here's the secret. With Study.com, you can take online college courses for credit for$95 a month. Explore more than 200 online courses that transfer into 2 ,000 colleges. Study.com lets you take college courses on your phone or computer whenever it fits into your life. Go to study.com slash podcast and get 10 % off your first month. That's study.com slash podcast. I've got big news. I switched to Verizon and got the new iPhone 18 Pro. Shh. I can keep my old phone. And I also get the latest iPhone every year. Shh. Anything else? Verizon let me choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on them. Everybody listen up.

1:11:46Dave Helman: Shh. Switch to Verizon and get the new iPhone 18 Pro now. No trade-in needed. And the latest iPhone every year with Simplicity Plan. Plus, choose Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on us. Simplicity Plan with Simplicity Pro required. Plan and device payment purchase are separate agreements with separate terms. Service plan for watch or iPad required. additional term supply for all offers.