Building the Beast: Shrine Bowl preview and CFP National Championship Game takeaways

0:03Dave Helman: Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. I am your host, Dave Helman, and the national championship is in the books. The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Miami Hurricanes to cap off an undefeated season. Dane Brugler and myself talked through all the standouts, all the biggest impressions from just a phenomenal way to cap off the 2025 college football season, which also marks in earnest the beginning of the 2026 draft cycle. Special interview for y 'all on this episode. Eric Galco, the director of football operations for the East West Shrine Bowl, was gracious enough to join us to talk all things Shrine Bowl, some of the biggest pieces of his roster for this year's game, players he's intrigued by, players he thinks could make an early impact in the NFL, best positions on the roster, all that good stuff.

0:50Dave Helman: Great conversation with Eric coming up at the end of this episode. So it's a loaded one. First, our annual listener survey is live and you can participate by going to theathletic.com slash survey26. Three lucky entries will win$100 worth of Amazon vouchers. So whether you're a longtime listener or a new one, we want your feedback. Go to theathletic.com slash survey26. The link is also in our episode description. And with that, let's start the show.

1:23Dave Helman: Well, Dane, if football season's going to end, at least it ends on a high note. And really, what else could you want from a national championship game than what we got on Monday night? The Indiana Hoosiers cap off a perfect 16-0 season. They down the Miami Hurricanes 27-21. But I'll just be honest. I thought Miami would hang, and their defense gave them a shot to hang all through the playoffs. I don't know if I thought Miami would be driving to potentially win in the final minutes. It was that good of a game. And like I said, if this is our last college football until August, what a way to go out.

2:01Dave Helman: What a what a way to cap this season off, man.

2:04Eric Galko: I didn't disappoint. Just an instant classic. And I mean, I was shocked when I got the text from you saying this is a better team than the 2019 LSU squad. I never said that. I was shocked when I received that text. But no, seriously, I don't that LSU team was better on offense. But this might be the most impressive national championship team that I've seen in my lifetime. Not the best, but just the most impressive to do what they did over the last two years as a collective from a coaching staff perspective. And then to go through the regular season 12 and 0. And then you knock off Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami for straight to win the national title is just to me, it's as impressive as we've seen a performance from a team.

2:52Eric Galko: And I say team because it's not just, yeah, they had the Heisman winning quarterback, but the run game, the offensive line, the defense, the special teams, it all factored in at every point this season, especially this title game. so it was it was just a lot of fun to watch and i mean shoot where you want to start because there's you're right about this miami defense hanging they did not give mendoza any time to throw the ball the o-line was hanging in there but they were getting beat up um even like elijah surratt who's been such a big weapon for them all season he had a pretty quiet game had that had that one drop that i think it was on third down uh omar cooper made some plays i think by the way, Omar Cooper, he deserves more love as like a top 40 guy is like a, like if you're going to list the receivers in this draft, I think it's a pretty short list before you start making the argument that, okay, Cooper's next or like, you know, he belongs in this tier.

3:49Eric Galko: And then Alec Pierce, I mean, Charlie Becker was awesome to like, just make him plays those back shoulders.

3:57Dave Helman: Like starting with the big 10 title game, Fernando Mendoza was like, man, if I just give this guy a shot, he's going to admit he's going to turn a 50 50 ball into an 80 20 ball. Like I felt like every big moment where Indiana had to have it for the last month and a half. Odds are it's a it's a Charlie Becker ball. And I can't say I blame him.

4:19Eric Galko: The only reason we really saw him this year was because Surratt got hurt for those couple of games. And so Becker had to step up and boy, did he enough to the point where Indiana was like, all right, we have to keep him out there. We cannot. All right. Surratt's back. Great. We cannot take Becker and remove him from this offense. And, you know, we saw that payoff in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State. And by the way, he is not draft eligible for those listening and wondering. So we'll hold off on a deep dive on him. but Indiana probably doesn't win this title without him, which is crazy to say, to say.

4:55Eric Galko: And then have to mention, obviously that, that fourth and five tremendous play call, the individual effort by Mendoza. Just, just an awesome, legendary type of play that like it wasn't in the final minute, you know, it wasn't like the last play, but it was late enough in the fourth quarter where it just felt like this is a statement type of type of play that we're going to remember for a long time.

5:20Dave Helman: So, yeah, it's not shocking. It's not groundbreaking, but that's what's going to stick with me. And that's where I would have to start. And I said it before the game. It's not fair to anybody to compare the talent levels across eras. Like, this is just a new time in college football where, like, comparing rosters is pointless. But this Indiana team, man, it was a little bit harder than I thought it would be, if I'm being honest. But, like, the resolve that they had and that sequence where Kurt Signetti makes the call and he's like we didn't come this far to come this far we're we're going we're punching a touchdown in right here screw your field goal and then for fernando mendoza again he's he's a he's kind of a he's a goofy white guy i mean listen to his listen to his interviews after the game and i think you know people try to paint him that way that dude has plenty of athleticism plenty of grit he's getting beat to hell by ruben bain and hakeem mesador all night long.

6:16Dave Helman: He gets hit behind, like at the sticks gets over the line to gain. And then like, just will not be denied the end zone that right there. I mean, I was sold on Mendoza as the number one overall pick anyway, but that moment I was like, get this guy on my team. What a fricking warrior. Are you kidding me? And I think the other thing too, is just this game. It really felt like everybody and and for our purposes like for the NFL purposes everybody on both sides of the ball gave such a good accounting of themselves like it's not a situation where you're like oh what what happened with him where was his head at like why didn't he play better on this stage like Mendoza I know the stat the stats are not impressive but for the duress that he was under I thought he was nails when you already talked plenty about the Indiana receivers the Miami pass rushers gave them a shot to win this game.

7:10Dave Helman: They were outstanding. Uh, I fell in love with D 'Angelo ponds all over again. I mean, I saw your tweet on Monday night. Like, yeah, he's going to measure in every inch of five, eight, and I do not give a shit. I mean, I'm sure it'll affect his draft stock, but get that guy on my team. If a five, eight corner is laying hits like that in, in the national championship game of college football, I just, I thought all of the principal parties to this game really just left it out all like left it on the field on the winning

7:44Eric Galko: and losing side and it was really fun i've never used the word baller in a scouting report um it's just it's too ambiguous it's kind of lazy but you know it when you see it and pawns is a baller and like he was targeted six times in this game gave up one catch for six yards three pbus uh zero flags there were a few borderline plays there where uh you know his aggressiveness and his physicality you know you could have argued maybe there was a penalty there but they weren't they weren't called just this is just a good football player and so i'm not saying you completely overlook the size and just draft him top 15 top 20 but there's a case to be made why he should be a top 50 type of player um and you know he he played a lot of nickel in high school and in college he's been mostly an outside guy but he has the ingredients that the toughness and the physicality to play that nickel position so the same way we talked about Mikey Saner still as a prospect um you know it's similar with this guy he belongs somewhere in that second round he's going to run fast I mean he was a 10 400 meter guy so he's going to run fast at the combine so I'll be pretty surprised if he doesn't get somewhere in that second round and then I'm glad you mentioned just the toughness of Mendoza because that's something that it sticks with you when you watch him um the and this goes back really all season um you know you the Big Ten title game Ohio State the first play from scrimmage was him just getting knocked out by Caden Curry and he had to leave the field we didn't know if we would see him again he could he misses one play that's it and he's back out there and uh it's playing at a high level so the the toughness that he plays with um how how unflappable he is uh the poise even though the the we knew what the miami game plan was going to be in this in this one it wasn't hard to figure out it's just pressure pressure pressure whether it's simulated pressures it's uh we're going to move mesador and bane to different parts of that defensive line sometimes they were on the same side and it's like all right stop it and you know the offensive line for the most part held up just enough but he mendoza got hit plenty.

9:59Eric Galko: So the toughness that he showed to bounce back every single play, pretty impressive.

10:04Dave Helman: I completely forgot he converted. Yeah. That was a, one of the Becker balls was a fourth down on the same drive where he scores the touchdown. So just clutch moment after clutch moment, Tom Brady and Mark Davis and John Spitek of the Las Vegas Raiders were all in attendance for that. uh i i nothing is for certain in this crazy world but i would just be shocked if uh if they don't already have his name in at least in pencil on the draft slip until until future notice so i

10:37Eric Galko: after the game we had to do like a quick reaction on on the athletic and the question that i had to answer was um is there any doubt about who's going to be the number one overall pick or who are the other contenders for the number one overall pick and my my answer was pretty simple and it's like Mendoza is going to be the number one pick next question like this is if it's not by the Raiders if for whatever reason the Raiders are not sold or they believe that Mendoza is not their guy they're trading the pick because there will be plenty of other teams lining up with an offer to move up to number one to take the quarterback and like that's not to say Mendoza as perfect or, you know, I don't think he's on the same level as Joe Burrow when he was coming out.

11:21Eric Galko: I don't think he's on the same level as Drake May and Caleb Williams as prospects when they were coming out. But he's going to be a starter in this league for a long time. And he's just he's got all the ingredients that you want for someone that's going to be productive and win your football games.

11:36Dave Helman: I agree with that. And yeah, thinking back over the last five or six years, Burrow, Trevor Lawrence the 2024 guys like certainly Mendoza is not like a a rare I don't even want to say the g-word I'm done with the word generational but he's he's certainly not that but I think I think people get stuck in this mindset of well if he's not that then he's not worth taking number one overall and like for all of his for all of his warts and I know that he changed teams, but like Jared Goff has proven to be firmly worth the number one overall pick in the draft where he was taken. I mean, and so I think people get so hung up looking for Patrick Mahomes and I understand why, but I think this, this game cemented my opinion that this guy is, he is very, very deserving of being the number one overall pick.

12:32Dave Helman: It's not just because this is an underwhelming top 10 or an underwhelming quarterback class. Like he very much deserves to be drafted that highly and spoken of that way. And I think Monday night showed that off. And yeah, some, somebody asked me before the game, like, Oh, would the Raiders trade away from Mendoza? And like I said, nothing is guaranteed, but I'm pretty confident they won't be able to talk themselves into doing that. Like, I think he is a good enough prospect that whatever the hall is it's probably not worth it if you've if this guy's got a shot to be your starter for

13:06Eric Galko: six to ten years yep and yeah i received some pushback when i i maybe a week or two ago i tweeted that if the raiders believe he's going to be a top 15 quarterback in the nfl you draft him and people kind of push back like oh top 15 for a number one overall pick like you know he should be a top five like that's just not how it works if you make a list of the top 15 quarterbacks in the NFL right now. And if Mendoza ends up somewhere in like that 10 to 15 range, that's, that's what you want. That's exactly what you're looking for because he's going to help you compete for the division, go to the playoffs.

13:39Eric Galko: And then like, you know, we're like, we're seeing in the playoffs right now, once you get in, it's just about winning one game after another. And, you know, Mendoza has that in him to, to lead a team to that point. Yeah.

13:51Dave Helman: I think, uh, just another example of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, breaking people's brains about what is a fair expectation. All right, a couple more things to talk about coming out of the national title game and Indiana and Miami. We'll do that really quick on the other side of this break.

14:11Dave Helman: Like I said, Dane, a tough loss for Miami. They were right there at the end. Obviously, we haven't mentioned it. Carson Beck throws an interception with a chance to lead the Hurricanes down for the game-winning touchdown in the final minutes. But even with the interception, this was such a good accounting of themselves by the Miami Hurricanes. What a run by them, first of all. And then, again, I counted like upward of half a dozen guys playing in this game where I was like, yes, I put this player on my favorite team, please. That would be nice.

14:46Eric Galko: Yeah, and we'll just start with Carson Beck. And he, for the most part, played a pretty clean game up until the end. And so much of the strategy was to lean on the run game, which credit Indiana's defense for the way they stepped up for most of the game, shutting down. And just a yard felt hard for Mark Fletcher and that Miami offense. But, you know, you look at Carson Beck, the last two years, there are, I think, just he's second in all of college football. with 24 interceptions. So not a list you want to be on. And his experience, he's played 40, he started 43 games in college. He's lost only six games, which is a pretty crazy resume to be what, 37 and six over your three years as a starter.

15:36Eric Galko: But in those six losses, he had a total of 14 turnovers, including last night and that, that game clinching interception by Indiana under a minute left. And so that's kind of what I think is going to limit him in the NFL. He has NFL size. He's accurate when he's in rhythm. He can buy a little bit of time, but the poise really breaks down when he's pressured. And they're just going to be a handful of throws every game that you want. He wants back. So I think that's that's what kind of relegates him to backup status and maybe spot starter. But I mean, credit to, you know, it's a 16 game schedule for them.

16:18Eric Galko: it's hard and, but credit to Carson Beck for, you know, getting what three wins in the playoffs like that, that was not easy to do, especially against those opponents.

16:27Dave Helman: I am really intrigued by where the Ruben Bain discourse goes from here. Cause we've outlined it before. He was run away top 10 pick early in the season. Phenomenal year for Miami. I mean, this Miami pass rush is why they were within a minute of winning the national championship, in my opinion. And as we've gone through the season, we we've talked about it, you know, not all NFL front offices are going to view him the same. Where does he play at the NFL level? What does that mean for his ceiling? I was, I, I continue to be so impressed by this guy. And like, if you tell me he's not going to be drafted in the top 10 pick, I believe you, but I don't know how much longer I'm willing to wait after that.

17:10Dave Helman: I'm so impressed by the violence that he plays with. And he's he's a well-rounded player, too. Like he was phenomenal against the run in this game. He's a better run defender. So I I like I said, I get it if he's not a slam dunk top 10 prospect. But I just have a hard time believing he's going to have to wait that long to hear his name called. Oh, I agree.

17:33Eric Galko: I mean, and I think most of the discourse from scouts and from others, like he was awesome against Notre Dame. in the opener and then from like game and the 10 games after that opener he had like i think four sacks maybe so like he was just there were times especially in the losses smu louisville you just didn't feel him out there he wasn't making a big impact and so i think that's where most of the discourse came from but then once we got to the playoffs it was like okay this guy is a one-man wrecking crew you could not slow him down um why so i buzzed through the tape uh this morning um from from the national title game and the the defensive line was just fantastic uh bain most of his impactful plays came in the run game he was dominant just stacking the point making stops uh mesador was awesome rushing the rushing the quarterback he had i think four or five pressures where it was just tough to slow him down.

18:33Eric Galko: Ahmad Moten at defensive tackle, he had three or four big time plays that were just drive killers for Indiana. A few times he just undressed Pat Coogan at center. So we expected the Miami defensive line to play at a high level. They didn't disappoint. So we know Bain and Mesidor are going to be in this draft. They were both in my first round mock draft. It'll be interesting with Moten because he's a junior. And I know talking to scouts, they expected him to go back the way this season ended. I don't know. We'll have to wait and see how that ends up. But yeah, the defense as a whole was flying around, hitting, playing hard.

19:10Eric Galko: Jacoby Thomas had some big hits. The linebackers played well for the most part. So it was it really felt like it was two really good, you know, the offensive Indiana offense versus Miami defense. It really felt like two really good units going and going at battle.

19:26Dave Helman: And I guess this is worth saying if you're new to the draft process, maybe the championship game is like the first college football you watch this year. If you're wondering why we're not talking about Malachi Tony and Mark Fletcher, they're not expected to be part of this draft class. Malachi Tony had the season he had as a true freshman, which is just going to put all eyes on him for the foreseeable future. One hundred nine catches, twelve hundred yards and ten touchdowns for the Hurricanes as a true freshman. And then Mark Fletcher opted to return to school. So he's I mean, Tony and Fletcher.

20:02Dave Helman: I don't know for sure who's quarterbacking the Hurricanes in twenty twenty six. I last time I checked, they were making a run at Darien Mensah. Sure sounds that way. We'll see how all that goes.

20:13Eric Galko: But whoever I'm interested with Fletcher because I know he technically in. So just for people that don't understand the deadline for underclassmen, it was last week, except for the two teams.

20:29Dave Helman: It's extended for the teams playing in the title game.

20:31Eric Galko: Yeah, right. So, you know, by the time you listen to this, you know, there might be news on that front. But, you know, Mark Fletcher, he is draft eligible. So there's a chance he could come out. We'll see. I mean, he watching him, he looked like, I don't know, 75 percent of like a Derrick Henry type. Like just he could run off tackle. You could he could tilt the field, get downhill. If you're a safety, the last thing you want is Fletcher picking up speed and running right at you. So, you know, that he was such a big part of that offense. And yeah, it feels like he's one of the rare bigger backs that's going to translate well to the NFL.

21:08Dave Helman: interesting night for Mark Fletcher he obviously I mean he had a phenomenal game he did uh he did mix it up with some Indiana players after the final whistle so if he uh if he does decide to go pro I'm sure I'm sure that'll all be talking points with NFL decision makers if he gets to that point as of right now he is supposed to be headed back to Miami but you're right we'll see how that ages moving forward. I think that's just about everything, but man, it is. I am curious too, because everybody's favorite thing to do, Dane, you know how this goes. As soon as the draft's over, everybody wants you to do a mock draft.

21:47Dave Helman: And so obviously everybody's got to put out their way too early top 25s for next year. And I'm so fascinated where these teams go from here. Like I said, we'll see what Miami does about their quarterbacks. but I was looking through it this morning and I forgot because so much has happened. Kurt Signetti's got Josh Hoover coming from TCU to play quarterback for him in 2026, which if I was an Indiana fan, that would excite me a lot. I think Josh Hoover's got a lot of juice. So I don't think the Hoosiers are going anywhere, man. No.

22:20Eric Galko: And I mean, the transfer portal and just the way things work now, Indiana was able to reload in a lot of key positions. Nick Marsh, the transfer from Michigan State, wide receiver, really good player. A few others. So, yeah, I think there is a lot of a lot of unknown. Like Texas is going to be up there when you consider. We hit on this last episode, too, with just Arch Manning and Goosby, a left tackle. The running backs they brought in, the receivers they have, you know, the reload on defense. So Texas will be up there. Ohio State will be up there. Who from the SEC? Who else from the SEC? You know, Alabama's taken a little bit of stumble.

23:00Eric Galko: What do they look like next year? LSU is going to have a brand new roster with obviously a new coaching staff. So what does that look like? There's going to be a lot of uncertainty with, you know, as we go into next college football season. But yeah, it's just kind of the new normal, I guess. But I think you're right. Indiana not going anywhere. They should be ranked as a top five team going into next year, even though they are going to lose a lot. which is not uncommon i mean we saw you know two years ago michigan won the national title uh and lost a lot of dudes and had double digit draft picks next year ohio state same thing won the national title last year and then in the spring double digit draft picks indiana's following suit they're gonna have double digit draft picks this upcoming year which is kind of crazy for uh this hoosier program that has never been uh known as a producer of nfl talent but uh a lot changed this

23:52Dave Helman: year for that program. And so much has happened over the last week. I forgot Dante Moore officially stayed in school. We did the last show right before he opted to stay. We laid all of that out in the last episode. So if you want to go hear our Dante Moore thoughts, I don't think his decision really changes in that much, but Dante Moore staying for 2026. So there'll be plenty of hype around the Oregon ducks, the Texas Longhorns as well, for all the reasons you just laid out. I I think those two might be at the top of the heap when you're talking about preseason expectations and the hype that goes with them and all that good stuff.

24:28Dave Helman: But that does it for the 2025 college football season, which it's a little sad, Dane, but not that sad because now it just means we can jump right into the 2026 draft cycle.

24:42Eric Galko: There's just no time to even feel sadness because there's too much work to do, right? I mean, the Shrine game coming up here this week, then the Senior Bowl and then a lot of combine prep. And so, yeah, we're going to we're going to be hitting the ground running here over the next few weeks. And you're going to be super busy with the Super Bowl going on. But, yeah, we'll have it all covered.

25:02Dave Helman: Speaking of busy, speaking of hitting the ground running, Eric Galco of the East West Shrine Bowl. I mean, he is in the process of getting his game together right after the national title game. And we're going to talk to him on the other side of this break.

25:19Dave Helman: Well, we've said forever that the NFL draft is a 365 day a year business. But as we are joined here by the director of football operations and player personnel of the East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, Eric, it feels more true than ever, considering we're talking to you 12 hours after the conclusion of the final college football game of the year. And I'm sure you're one of the busiest guys in the industry trying to organize everything for the start of Shrine Bowl practice right now with with the latest guys coming off of their season on Monday night.

25:51Dane Brugler: Yeah, it was a great game to watch. And I think like most people, this college season probably goes a bit longer than it needs to. And hopefully it fix that schedule for the future, too. But no doubt we've got I think we had seven or eight guys that are playing that championship game coming to the Shrine Bowl this week as well, too. So watching those guys perform their last college game was awesome to watch, too. But now it's kind of fishing on the draft season and kicks off with the Shrine Bowl.

26:11Eric Galko: So this is, is this your fifth year doing this now?

26:14Dave Helman: I think, right?

26:15Dane Brugler: It made me feel old. I think it is my fifth year.

26:17Eric Galko: That's crazy. I mean, I remember when you, when you called me and told me that you were going to take over this role and all the ideas you had and just to make the better, a better process for scouts, for teams, for the players, just give the listeners an idea of the Shrine Bowl and how it's evolved over the last five years since it's been under your leadership.

26:39Dane Brugler: Yeah. I mean, for one, we wanted to have the best players possible at the Shrine Bowl, right? The Shrine Bowl back when it just started. It's over. This is the 101st year of the Shrine Bowl, which is crazy. The only bowl game older than this is the Rose Bowl. So it has great history. And for much of the 100 years, it was the creme de la creme of the all-star game, of the offseason, of the NFL process. And I want to bring that back. And that starts with having great players. And taking care of players is the focus, right? We have the NFL facility, the Dallas Cowboys facility, great resources, making sure our guys are taken care of.

27:06Dane Brugler: and our interview process is great and have a great player experience. But one thing I also wanted to do is because of my background and working at the XFL and that kind of innovation, part of my career kind of translate over here as well, and being from the media and from the outside of NFL teams as well, is I wanted to have this event be more than just players practicing and playing in a game, right? So we have the hospital piece that we also have. Last year we added our Wilson throwing session, which is kind of a pro day of sorts for NFL teams to evaluate our quarterbacks. This year we have a brand new analytics competition, not unlike the big data bowl as well for NFL teams to be at as well.

27:38Dane Brugler: So I love the fact that we've got great access to players, but also new things every year that teams are looking forward to besides just the players in the field too. So this year we should have a new record number of draft picks. We've had a new number of draft picks every year since I've been here, but I think we've got a better event overall this year. And I'm really excited about it. Of course, Jerry's facility at the Dallas Cowboys at the star is pretty darn good too.

27:57Dave Helman: I think off the top of my head, people would mention that Brock Purdy played in this game a few years ago. And obviously when a Shrine Bowl guy goes on to a career like Brock's, that's that's going to stand out. Is it Brock Purdy or is there is there another moment over the last five years where you've kind of seen it click and some momentum start to build for for getting a higher caliber of player draftable caliber players and really seeing this jump onto the map more than maybe it was in the past?

28:27Dane Brugler: I think it's one of those things where it happens all at once over the course of a long period of time. Right. And one of the cool things, which I always believe when we did this a couple years ago, I told the Shriners Children's Hospital, hey, if we're going to have a great event, it's got to start with our player experience, is that every year players tell their teammates, hey, the Shrine Bowl was better than other All-Star games. Hey, the Shrine Bowl took care of me. Hey, Eric took care of me, and I do stuff before during an afternoon to help these guys at Wolter. That's been a big part of it.

28:51Dane Brugler: So certainly there are some guys, whether it's Tyquan Thornton, who ended up being, you know, my first year was a top 50 pick from the Shrine Bowl, right? And him being a guy that we had that chose the Shrine Bowl, having more and more players choose a triangle as our all-star game of choice. Having NFL teams see great value in our interview process. You know, we've got over 25. I think we're going to have about 27, 28 GMs here and multiple head coaches. Like they're here because of the talent, but also because they know that this week is really worthwhile. So I think for everybody, I always focus on the event because I can control the event.

29:20Dane Brugler: I can't always control what 21, 22-year-olds do in the draft process. So I think for me, it's doing things hopefully knock on wood the right way and also having teammates and agents see that, hey, the Shrine Bowl is going to take care of our guys. You know, we've done this for four years. We've never had a player miss the NFL combine testing because of an injury at the Shrine Bowl. Like all of our guys leave the Shrine Bowl healthy. That's luck. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself on this podcast. But I think also for sure it's how we take care of players. So it's been, again, all of a sudden over five years it's happened where players more and more are seeing the value of this compared to other all-star events.

29:52Eric Galko: one of the values of a setting like this is a chance to see a prospect in a different role a different position and you know i think luke harold perkins from lsu one of the best pound for pound athletes in this draft class you know what's his role in the nfl and how's that going to play out this week or brian parker from duke who was a college tackle but at least in my opinion i think his future is going to be inside in the nfl probably at center so do you think we're going of see a chance to see some of these players in those different roles to give them a chance to shine and also give teams an opportunity to see them in a different position?

30:28Dane Brugler: Yeah, work with all of our players before they get here, because my job, I believe, is player first and kind of NFL team second, close second, but players first, because I want guys to be positioned to be successful, right? I don't want a guy playing left tackle if he's never played there before, and he's going to look bad in practice. But certainly some of these guys are versatile prospects, and they know that they want to show it right for Harold Perkins. The question for him is going to be, you know, are you a tweener? Are you a neither? Or are you a both is what I always say, right? So tweener being between two spots, a neither being play both in college, can't do it.

30:58Dane Brugler: I think Carroll's going to show that he can play off-ball linebacker in coverage and not on seven drills in the run fits, but also as an edge rusher off the edge. And you'll see him in one-on-ones and online D-line. You'll see him play linebacker and matchup coverage all week long as well too. I think I'm Harold Perkins and a couple of guys on our roster. These were guys that were in first round mock drafts before the season in their college career. These guys didn't get worse. situations may have changed in their college defense or offense. I think Harold's one of those guys that he may lead the Shrine Bull week in the NFL combine being, we can get Harold Perkins in the top 50.

31:27Dane Brugler: Like, we got to go do that, right? So I think he's a guy that'll do a lot of those different things. And then Brian Parker, he'll play some roles inside. Certainly he'll play some center this week as well as guard as well. NFL teams want to see him play really all five positions. And talking to Brian, he's super confident he can do it.

31:40Dave Helman: I really appreciate you asking about Perkins, Dan, so I don't look like a homer. Thank you. Eric, one thing that really made my eyebrows perk up while I was getting ready to talk to you is you were making practice film available from these practices, which is incredible, by the way. Just like thinking about where things have come since Dana and I started doing this. I mean, it's night and day doesn't even do it justice. So my question for you, I get it if you don't want to play favorites. But if I'm flipping on practice tape, which of these units, which of these groups is like a one? Like, where should I start?

32:16Dave Helman: Which are you most excited about?

32:18Dane Brugler: I think online dealing is always everyone's favorite. I feel it's really tangible there. And I think as across this whole draft class, really, I think our roster reflects what the whole draft class looks like, where the D tackle and edge rusher especially are going to be loaded across this class. And one guy talk NFL teams, I'll give my cop up NFL team said this, not my opinion, that they're really excited to see is Malachi Lawrence of UCF. A lot of our edge rushers, I believe every single one of them was a first wave NFL combine invite. I believe maybe one is going to be a second wave guy, but that means NFL teams like 20 plus that this guy is a draft like this guy would want at the combine.

32:50Dane Brugler: But Malachi Lawrence is the one that really since midseason, I started having not just area scouts, but as Dane can attest, like directors and assistant GMs who shouldn't be watching all these players in season are like, do you know Malachi Lawrence? We've got these kind of grades on him. And he's the one guy that's edge group. I expect most of our edge rushers to be drafted at somewhere on day three, and the draft process will determine that. But he's the one that if you told me he bumps up quite a bit his grade from the Shrine Bowl week, I would not be surprised at all. NFL teams are excited about him.

33:15Dane Brugler: He's long. He's athletic. He produced this year. He finishes in the back for a really high level. He's got that wingspan to finish when he generates pressure. I think NFL teams think this guy could rise up to be a starting level player in the NFL. But definitely our edge rushers and defensive line per NFL teams, per the NFL combine, are probably our strongest group as a whole.

33:33Eric Galko: man there's a lot of reasons i'm excited uh to get down to frisco uh and rudy's breakfast tacos are up there but maybe the only thing higher is to see daryl jackson up close sticking with the defensive line uh this guy is 6 '5 340 11 inch hands over 35 inch arms he might be the best player or the highest drafted prospect from this game this year uh who else are we talking about as potential top 50, top 75, top 100 guys that will be on the field this week?

34:04Dane Brugler: Yeah, I think maybe where they get drafted, I think DeMont Claiborne will be one of, if not the highest, should be the highest senior running back draft in this year's draft class. I think he could go fairly early in the top 100 picks. Jack Endries at tight end will be the top tight end in the All-Star game comfortably. He's going to be a guy that I think could rise to be one of the best three or four tight ends in this draft class. But I think Demonte Capehart, Daryl Jackson are two guys that, again, similar to Harold Perkins. You can Google their name and first round mock drafts the last couple of years.

34:33Dane Brugler: Those guys were both in there. I think both those guys have immense talent that maybe the season and the defensive scheme or whatever it was didn't always highlight those guys. But those are two guys, Capehart, Daryl Jackson. I mentioned Jack Gendry's, Harold Perkins. All those guys, I think, have a great chance to be not only top 100 picks. That may already be kind of in the works and a good chance to be. But to your point, those top 50 picks. And I think this year across the draft class, especially at D-Tackle, it's a really strong group. And the junior class that may be coming out and the senior class and certainly for the Shrine Bowl week all week long, too, those two guys have a chance to kind of reassert themselves as the top 50 picks, maybe first round level talents that they have been in their college career.

35:10Dave Helman: Dane and I, as you might guess, have talked a lot about Dante Moore and Kenyon Sadiq on this show. I do feel like Oregon's receivers have gone under discussed. and again my eyebrows went up when I saw Malik Benson on your roster what can you tell me about him and and maybe I mean you got a ton of very intriguing receivers on this roster just overall

35:32Dane Brugler: what do you think of the group yeah not trying to use the NFL combine to validate how good of scouts we are but all of our receivers are first wave combine invites as well to Malik Benson being one of them and he's a guy from West Coast scouts that was like hey they use a lot of receivers at Oregon they had some turnover they use the tight ends and a lot of running backs but oftentimes a A lot of West Coast scouts were excited about Malik Benson because he was a transfer. So the West Coast scouts didn't really know who he was coming into the year too, too much other than kind of doing summer visits.

35:57Dane Brugler: And he had a time at Florida State that maybe didn't go as well as his talent could indicate. But he's a guy that Oregon offense trusted quite a bit. Dante Moore trusts quite a bit on the perimeter as well, too. And really good feedback from NFL teams on him as well. And he's had a long season at Oregon. And I said, hey, you should want to come to the Shrine Bowl and still practice. He said, absolutely. He wants to kind of compete with our great DB room alongside our great receivers and solidify himself as one of the better senior receivers in this draft class. So no doubt he was trusted at Oregon in a loaded receiver room.

36:23Dane Brugler: And again, for a guy that transferred, he's got Southeast scouts to know who he is and like the film from his time at Florida State. He's got West Coast scouts like the film as well. And I think when he leaves the Shrine Bowl, those 25, 26 GMs that are here will like him too.

36:35Eric Galko: I'm glad you mentioned Jack injuries, but this entire tight end class overall in this draft is pretty deep. And I think that's reflected on your roster. You know, guys like Jaron Canik from Oklahoma, who, you know, we're talking about day three. But with what he brings on special teams and what he brings as a sub package player, like he's going to play in the league for a long time. Hopefully Riley Nowakowski, Indiana national champion. We see him there. to me tight end is one of the deepest positions this year what do you think about this position

37:10Dane Brugler: and who are guys that are going to shine yeah it was easily the hardest position for us to decide kind of where the tier line was and there were guys that are coming to the shrine bowl some guys that we you know are not playing any all-star games guys like eli stowers who's from denton texas hoping to have him come to the shrine bowl too but i think he kind of viewed no all-star games the best path for him but all of our guys i'm really excited about for all different reasons Jared Koenig is a guy that's a first-year tight end, played some H-back for Oklahoma, was a big part of their offense as a receiver, despite being the first year doing it.

37:38Dane Brugler: He's going to test all that position. I know some teams are excited to see him doing some H-back stuff at the Shrine Bowl as well, too. Bauer Sharp, again, Oklahoma was a great player there, goes to LSU. Offense is a great fit for him. The NFL team really like what Bauer Sharp brings. Seydou Traore is going to be an international pathway program player. NFL teams see him as kind of a bonus practice squad guy if need be, but he's going to test really well at the at the Shrine Bowl with Zebra data that we have tracking as well as the NFL combine. One guy you didn't mention, I think, two guys is Dallin Bentley and Eli Raritan from Utah.

38:07Dane Brugler: I know their name respectfully. I think those two guys are the two that have more top undergrades NFL team. Maybe people think right now and even a strong tight end class. Those are two guys in very different ways. Bentley more of that move tight end. Raritan that traditional wide NFL teams like a lot. But you nailed it, Dana. Across the board, again, I'd be shocked if all of our tight ends not only were drafted, but all in the top five rounds. And I think NFL teams, his tight end class is very, very deep.

38:32Dave Helman: I really love the cross section that you got of quarterbacks because I just think there's a different reason to be interested in all of these guys. Like Cade Klubnick, I think would obviously be the major headliner to somebody that follows the draft. But on down the line from what Haynes King did for Georgia Tech, Mark Granowski at Iowa, Baron Morton, probably looking for a chance to put a better impression on tape after his exit from the playoffs. Just there's there's a lot of quarterbacks that are interesting for a lot of different reasons. What what's your thought on them? And also, I assume a game like this sells itself.

39:08Dave Helman: But what are those conversations like when you're when you're trying to get a quarterback to come show off in Frisco?

39:14Dane Brugler: Yeah, I love talking to quarterbacks because they always are really thoughtful about what this event is going to look like for them and what matters. right they ask great questions and I think for for Kate Plumnik it's about reminding NFL teams why he was a first overall pick projected guy coming in the year for some people or at least a top two round guy for NFL teams and I'm sure as you guys well know this quarterback class is searching for that QB three in this year's class and I think Kate will leave the Shrine Bowl having a good argument for it as well too because again these guys I always tell people these guys don't get worse situations change maybe a bad season but he's not a lesser player because of you know a season that happened this year as well.

39:49Dane Brugler: I think Cade actually had a pretty tough season as well and played tough, I should say, in the way he performed throughout the adversity of the season. But beyond him, Mark Renowski and Haynes King both give me kind of a sense of a little bit of what Brock Purdy offered when he talked to NFL teams. What I think a lot of NFL teams will tell you is that Brock was a guy that if he was going to be your third quarterback, he was going to get your team ready for game week and be a great guy in that room. If he was the backup, he'll help your starter get ready. But if he had to play a couple snaps, he'd be ready.

40:15Dane Brugler: If he's your starter, It's not going to be too big for him. Both Haynes King and Mark Gronowski. And Gronowski started 40-plus games in college. Haynes King, I think he won a couple awards this year as a leader and a quarterback. Those two guys are going to be great in any quarterback or in any role, but they are not going to be scared at the moment as well, too. And they've been training here in Frisco. I saw him the other day. They both look outstanding. One guy you didn't mention who I know a lot of NFL teams are really excited about is Joe Fagnano from UConn. He's one of the four or five guys on this roster that we knew about and we liked.

40:45Dane Brugler: but again i'm getting directors calling me hey is this guy from uconn on your radar and you know he's a six-year player at uconn he had injury history it's why he's kind of a six-year player at uconn it's because he got banged up across his time at maine and then at uconn um but reminds a lot of nfl teams of adan o 'connell and at my opinion one of the best if not the best play progress maybe outside of franel mendoza play progressor in this entire draft class that's really his secret power as well too so i expect not only k baron morton haynes king mark ronowski effect not all to be drafted but again NFL teams will see these guys as quality backups they can trust and guys that can start from them if they need be as well all those guys should have a great chance to improve at the Shrine Bowl this week yeah it's a good shout because watching Skyler

41:26Eric Galko: Bell uh the receiver from UConn who's just fantastic you can't help but also notice the quarterback um but okay last one for me you think about last year and Craig Woodson and what he's doing for the Patriots this year and you know Krosky Merritt what he did uh for the commanders this year as a rookie um who's gonna be maybe one or two guys that are gonna be probably day three picks but come in and help their team from day one and obviously I know it's you know opportunity dependent and you know have to land in the right place but who are a few of the day three players this year that you think could make a pretty immediate impact uh with where they end

42:07Dane Brugler: up next year yeah i'll say my my pick for this year is jacorey crosskey merit um because that's a tough ask you know i used to get the question of who's this year's brock purdy i think people have kind of realized that brock's going to be a one-on-one but crosskey merit may be the same but for crosskey merit i'll say chris hilton of lsu this is a guy that myself nfl team has been following for many years at lsu um so much so that even after a season of just what 10 11 catches got a first wave common invite no doubt nfl teams want to see him at the combine and in indapolis if you told me the overrun was 4.30, I'm taking the under.

42:38Dane Brugler: Like, he's going to fly at the combine. But he didn't get a chance to showcase his ability as a receiver this year at LSU's offense because they had a lot of guys and just didn't work out for him in that offense. But I think he's going to come to the Shrine Bowl and remind NFL teams why they were so bullish the last couple of years on him. So, again, unlike Krosky Merritt, he played this season. But I think for Chris Hilton, the draft process is going to really define who is the prospect. And I think he'll go before the seventh round like Krosky Merritt did, but could have a similar impact where a team gets this guy in the sixth, seventh round.

43:06Dane Brugler: And by week one of NFL training camp, he's projected to be in the rotation. And then for Craig Woodson, I'll go to DB as well. And a guy who's kind of a DB linebacker hybrid, one of these guys we'll see a couple of different spots. Cole Wisniewski of Texas Tech. Had a great college career at North Dakota State where he played linebacker, then he played safety, goes to Texas Tech defense, fits in nicely, benefited greatly, he'll even tell you, from an awesome pass rush in that defense where he can kind of be a little more free safety and move around a little bit. but truly a versatile player. He's going to test well and showcase he has that range, but I think he might be a guy that will still end up being an early day three pick like Greg Woodson, maybe a late day two guy, but I think he'll fit in NFL defense right away and be kind of this linebacker safety, play some nickel matchup as well too, and be a real chess piece for a defense right away as a rookie as well.

43:52Dane Brugler: So those are my two picks. I think for the cross game Aaron Craig Woodson award, we'll give it to Chris Hilton and Cole was news key before the event.

43:59Dave Helman: Love it. Let the, let the record show that y 'all are bringing up the LSU players, not me. But since we're talking about it, Xavier and Thomas, who will also, who's also on your roster, he is a player. So LSU a lot more talent than their record might indicate. Last one for me, Eric, before we get you out of here, I know you're busy. And that's, that's my question really, like I alluded to at the beginning. I mean, it is a process putting this together and I'm sure the transfer portal doesn't help with that as guys decide if they're going to pursue eligibility or stay in school. And you're juggling if guys from the national championship game are going to make it down and what they're going to do.

44:37Dave Helman: When does this week, I assume it never slows down, but does it get to a point of better manageability at any point this week? And when does that happen?

44:47Dane Brugler: You know, hey, it's a lot going on. I love it. I joke and I joke, but I mean when I say it is that I got a chance to work with and help 130 players every year navigate the draft process. I joke that I get 130 clients if I'm an agent every year as well, too. And I still talk to many players from my first Shrine Bowl all the time, too. So it's stressful. It's a lot. But like these guys come to the Shrine Bowl, they see that they're nervous. They're excited. All these kind of emotions, too. And I get to play this really cool role of being kind of the doorway to the NFL for these guys. What stressful is it gets sometimes.

45:16Dane Brugler: I'm very thankful to have NFL personnel relying on us at the Shrine Bowl to kind of help them in the draft process, help these players. I would say the coolest part when things kind of slow down is in the back end of the week for us when, you know, practice, our Monday practice is going to be a walkthrough. And really Monday and Tuesday, these players will relax a little bit, feel more comfortable, feel more confident, but also get a chance to meet our patients, our patient ambassadors from around the country for Shiner Children's. You know, a lot of these players don't always appreciate before the event and during the event that just their presence and being here and the attention that it draws from media like you guys or fans that come to the game with their families really does so much good work, not just for raising money and awareness for Shriner's Children's, but really empowering these patients all around the country to say, like, that's my game.

45:56Dane Brugler: I'm a football fan. I'm watching it from my home or a hospital bed or whatever else and saying, hey, like these players are representing me out there. And these players got a chance to relax a little bit and see that it just kind of brings this moment full circle that this is an all star game. And these guys are being celebrated for their college career. It's not just a job interview, but a chance to reflect and appreciate what they've gone through in college, what their success means in being here, and how they can really be celebrated a little bit, too. So it's always fun to back in the week when these guys are looser, they know me, we're joking around, whatever else.

46:24Dane Brugler: But they also see that, hey, the Shrine Bowl is for a purpose bigger than just them or any of us as well, too. And they kind of realize that their presence and their ability as players is going to have a big impact beyond the football field, too. So that's always the best part and kind of how it becomes full circle for us.

46:37Dave Helman: it's going to be a fun week and a very rewarding one for a lot of different reasons i'm sure eric we really appreciate the time man and uh have have a great one i hope it i hope it goes fantastic and we'll talk to you soon appreciate you guys thank you see you in a few days see you yes sir all right that's all we got for today thanks again to eric galco for jumping on with us we will be back next week talking senior bowl as the all-star game circuit continues plus whatever else jumps up Until then, we appreciate it so much. We'll talk to you all next time.