Building the Beast: The 2026 WR draft class is taking shape

0:28Welcome to another episode of Building the Beast. prospects that might be part of this year's 2026 NFL draft class. Another fun episode with Dane Brugler and myself. Let's get into it.

0:47And I am joined now as always by my guy, my friend, my co-host, my draft Sherpa, Dane Brugler. And buddy, I'm excited for this show because I think I think I'm going to get some takes out of you as we inch into the second half of this college football season. How are we doing? Good. I mean, yeah, we're getting to that point, right? Where it's got to stand on something, right? No, you can't ride the fence. A man's got to have a code. Exactly. There you go. So, like, we still got a lot of time. You know, things change. But as we get to middle October and then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, like haze in the barn for a lot of these players, you know, like they put everything you want to see on tape.

1:31Like you should have a really firm opinion on who these guys are. And so we're getting to that point with some of these guys. It is. It's wild to think like because and I mean, I know playoff teams play. I mean, if you're on a playoff team, you're going to wind up playing a ton of football games. but there aren't that many opportunities left for a lot of these college football players. I mean, you have four, maybe five, if you've had the right amount of bi-weeks games. And so there, I mean, there, there is still time to make a different impression, but yeah, like from a scouting perspective, would you say it's fair to think that opinions on these guys are maybe if they're not set in stone, they're just kind of starting to firm up.

2:15Like the concrete is firming up a little bit on these evaluations. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, and we have to so often we look at scouting through our own perspective where we're watching college football every week. And, you know, we're but that the area scouts, they're on the road. They're not really sitting in front of their TVs, just watching game after game after game. They're focused on, in a lot of cases, a singular game, two teams, the prospects. And then they might not see that team again the rest of the way, or they might go back for a recheck or, you know, like so it's scouting in the NFL is very different than the way we perceive scouting, you know, the way we do it.

2:57And so that makes it really interesting because if you're in a certain place on a certain campus on a certain weekend where maybe a player doesn't have the best week, doesn't have a great game, doesn't have a great week of practice, or maybe they're coming off a rough game. And so the vibes aren't great in in the facility, you know, like all that stuff kind of matters. And that's why, you know, there's not only area scouts, but national scouts. And the whole process is, you know, we could talk for hours just on how NFL scouting works. But, you know, it's it definitely makes things interesting with when teams go to see certain players, what's going on in that situation.

3:39And but I mean, to your point, like there's we are running out of games for a team like LSU, for example. Oh, no, no, no. blow blow but it's topical because like a quarterback like garrett nussmeyer like in all intents and purposes like he is running out of starts here for him to really put a flag on hey i'm an nfl starter this is why right i mean i i thought he's played okay the last two games you know since he's came back from that injury um i don't think he is the reason they they have been losing um but at the same time you still need to show more if you want to be a top 50 pick and so So how he performs this weekend, how he performs against Alabama, like that's going to go a long way to kind of determining things.

4:26And so you're just you're just running out of. And I chose LSU for Nussmeier, not not not because of you, but it's it is what it is at this point in the schedule, right? No, that's that's completely fair. I would agree on the long list of reasons why LSU is disappointing. Garrett Nussmeyer is definitely one of them, but he's not at the top of the list right now, I guess is what I would say there. It's interesting to think how that works from a scouting perspective where people's opinions and narratives meet. And I'm talking about within the organizations themselves, like what we're doing, that's a lot less important.

5:09but where like a guy who has had eyes on a prospect or had eyes on a team, been to a game, been to those practices, seen the good. Now you're going up against somebody who's watched from afar or has been in a different area. And when those two perspectives meet, I think that's very interesting in terms of like how teams come to a consensus evaluation of these guys. And obviously that's still a long ways off inside the buildings but like i said it's but it is it is starting to be more informed right like it's less of like oh well there's still so much season to go like like i said i think people's opinions while still subject to change are becoming at least a little firmer than they were well i mean i texted a scout this week about a certain player and just say what do you think about him he's uh i don't know i don't go there until november and it's like oh okay like you know he just hasn't got eyes on them since July.

6:07So, you know, that's, that's, that's common with how schedules work out and, uh, you know, how they determine some schools are restrictive, um, about when they want scouts on campus. Um, I've heard a few things about that in the last few days over the course of this week, I'm not going to bring up Wisconsin. Um, but the truth is it's just, that's, you know, scouting with from an NFL perspective and how they operate and then how colleges and how they receive scouts. It's different everywhere. So, yeah, it's definitely part of this process to get it as every team tries to figure it out and get it all right.

6:46So in the in the vein of that, in the vein of having a little bit firmer of an opinion, I said what I said at the top of the show for a reason, we're going to go back to our tried but true format for this week. We're going to hand out some game balls at the top of the show. And I got really excited when I heard where you wanted to start this thing off because we're handing out a game ball to a guy we've talked a good bit about, but Ty Simpson starting to become less of like a novelty and like an eyebrow razor and more of like a serious conversation about what this guy's doing. He goes 19 to 29 for two 53, two touchdowns, Alabama beats Tennessee pretty convincingly.

7:30I think the pick six at the end of the first half kind of changed the dynamic of this game, but still a very convincing win for Alabama and another very, very impressive game for Ty Simpson, who we should be talking about a lot in this quarterback class if we haven't already. And I think we have, like we've brought him up. I make really sense, um, you know, like maybe the Wisconsin game, we've been kind of talking about him as all right there's something here um and he just continues to stack good game after good game um putting good stuff on tape zero interceptions i think he only has one on the year uh it was that one against vanderbilt so he's just been very efficient and the tape was even more impressive than just the stat line um i i tweeted yesterday what i thought were his three best throws from the game against tennessee and each one shows you poise uh the stones to decisively attack a tight window and then just a ball placement where I'm going to put the ball where my guy can attack it and it's out of reach of the defender.

8:31And so I think that's so key when you scout quarterbacks. I mean, the biggest difference between quarterbacks transitioning to the NFL is just truly understanding there's college open and NFL open. Right. And I feel like every game Simpson's anticipating he's making those tight window throws, throws that aren't just wide open, but they're true NFL level throws. And so I don't know if you saw, but Dan Orlovsky, he quote tweeted my tweet about Simpson and I, it was three best plays. And I said, he belongs in the QB one conversation. Orlovsky quote tweeted it and said, clearly at quote, clearly quarterback number one.

9:10And it's not close. And I, I look, I love Dan, but he's, he's known to be hyperbolic at times. but I think he just gets, I think he gets impressed at which like I, I identify with Dan because I get very impressed and very excited by, by what I'm seeing. So I, I, I get it even like, yeah, maybe we should stick to a more scientific method, but I, I get his excitement. A hundred percent, no doubt. And I mean, I, that's not something I haven't told Dan to, you know, in our conversation. So I, I think the thing, the elephant in the evaluation with Ty Simpson is the resume. It's seven career starts right now.

9:50Let's say he finishes, say, 14 starts. You know, maybe Alabama goes the SEC title game. Maybe they win one playoff game. I don't we'll see. Time will tell. Let's just say he finishes with 14 starts. There is not a starting quarterback in the NFL right now who has had less than 15 starts in college in his career. So we don't there's no track record. Like it's happened in the past. I mean, go back to Cam Newton. And like, I mean, we've seen it before where it's like one and done type of type of season, but it is rare and we don't see it very often. So and we've talked about this before with Simpson.

10:24It's it's a unique situation. He's a fourth year guy, 23 years. He's going to be 23 years old here in a month. Waited his turn behind Bryce Young, Jalen Milrow. Despite the lack of starts, he's truly playing like a veteran. you you factor in that he grew up in a division one program his dad being head coach at Tennessee Martin since Simpson was three years old this is what he's been preparing for and he has absolutely stepped up for the moment but there's no substitute for experience plain and simple and so I think it'll be interesting with Simpson do you trust what the tape says strictly or the precedent of what history has told us about the correlation of college starts and NFL success And so for me, I know like I'm just I'm keeping an open mind like he's doing enough on tape for me to feel very comfortable saying he belongs in the quarterback one conversation.

11:15But so few starts, it's tough. It's not a disqualifier, but it's tough. Now, I think it helps that he's facing an SEC schedule. The fact that it doesn't this doesn't look fluky like he is putting really good stuff on film. I just you cannot ignore the lack of starts and the lack of things that he has experienced that maybe he'll see it for the first time in the NFL and how tough that can be. So Dante Moore from Oregon, you know, throw him in this kind of a similar boat. He'll finish with maybe 20 career starts if he declares after this year. So I think this is a topic that we'll continue to talk about and debate.

11:53And, you know, as we go through it, especially if these quarterbacks declare. I feel like the stakes are higher now as the, I mean, the NFL season is starting to take shape to the point where we can at least take a guess at teams that are going to care about this. I mean, if you're a New York jets fan, you probably have a close eye on the quarterback class right now. The new Orleans saints, obviously, I don't know how that would work, but even if I'm a Miami dolphins fan, I've probably got a close eye on the quarterback situation in college football right now. Let me ask you this, man. Let's yeah.

12:26Okay. let's just assume, let's just assume Bama plays more than 13 games, you know, like whether they go on a run through the playoffs or they make the SEC title game, don't really care. Knowing that that will be the sample size. Is there anything he can do to take you off of that concern or like alleviate? And I mean, he's alleviating, alleviating it every week in the way that he plays, but is there a mark that he can hit where you're just like all right he's got it I don't care if it's one season I mean I feel like we did this you know like Anthony Richardson was this type of guy Anthony Richardson that's the guy I wanted to bring up yeah 13 career starts in college and it was like yeah you wish he had more of a resume but man you just you can't you don't find these physical traits and what have we seen from Anthony Richardson in the NFL is just you know he the NFL is not a developmental league and that's really what he needs he needs development um with simpson it's he's definitely doing more as a pure drop back quarterback that will translate to the next level in terms of his reads his ball placement things what we talked about the poise is outstanding um so like all those things are great but there's still there's again there's no substitute for experience and so i think it's always going to be a concern now can that concern you know it can be less of a concern depending on how he finishes here sure i mean i if he goes out and you know they win the sec and they don't have to win a national title but as long as he's the reason they don't lose in the playoffs you know like that's that's something that it would be hard to just dismiss in the draft process like you don't having a say 14 starts it shouldn't be a disqualifier it shouldn't but it that's maybe is that the difference between if you grade him and fernando Mendoza very closely.

14:18Is that the difference? Why you would lean Mendoza over Ty Simpson? Maybe, you know, I think, I think the answer to that will be different for just about everybody. I'm keeping an open mind too, and we'll see. I mean, maybe, maybe somebody can make him look like a guy who hasn't played a lot of football. There's still a couple of big games left on the regular season schedule. And one way or another Bama looks like a team that's going to play some type of postseason game, but I'm buying it, dude. I, I, I really, what I'm trying to say is I really don't care. Like if you watch this guy play quarterback, the way that he's doing it, it just looks for real dude.

14:59Like he, he throws over the middle of the field fearlessly. He throws with anticipation. He we've talked about it before. Like he's, he's a better athlete than you might expect like his maneuverability, the way that he can escape pressure while still looking downfield. Like one of the most impressive plays he made, I don't know if it was in your clip, but it was like the first third down of the game. He's backed up in his own end zone. He gets, he gets pressure from multiple spots. He buys time against sec edge rushers and works through his progression and finds the tight end sitting over the middle of the field.

15:37It's like a check down, but like the process and the cool, like the calm of not panicking in that situation, it just jumps out at you. And then you add in like the layered throws and the touch that he can put on the ball and the way he drops it in the bucket. He just looks like he's been doing this forever. And maybe somebody will make him look like he hasn't. But like Anthony Richardson, that's what I wanted to bring him up because he's a guy where it's like, OK, I see the flashes. But are you doing it on a down in and down out basis? This guy's been doing it on a down in down out basis for seven weeks now.

16:15No doubt. And, you know, I think the maybe the closest comparison in terms of resume, it might be a guy we've mentioned before in the Ty Simpson conversation. that's Mac Jones uh who was really just a one-year guy uh I think he finished with 17 starts at Alabama total uh now he won a national title and you know did some good things and he was a first round pick things didn't go so great uh with his first spot but he's kind of having a little bit of career resurgence now uh with the 49ers and who knows what that means for his future but um It's just the the track record of quarterbacks with under 20 starts is just it's abysmal.

17:01The only one who is starting in the NFL right now who had under 20 starts in college is Kyler Murray. Yeah, I think he was at 17, too. And that's been a very volatile situation for the Cardinals offense. So, you know, it's it's something that we haven't seen. Now, again, you can't paint with a broad brush. Each one of these guys are very unique with their circumstances. And with Ty Simpson, I just growing up in a Division one program like he learned from a very young age what it takes to play quarterback at a high level. And so being in that locker room, being on that practice field like that, that's that's at least something.

17:42And so if he continues to play at this level where he's being efficient, he's as kind of talking to one scout about him playing really boring ball, but in the best way possible. Like if he continues to do that and does it against LSU, does it against Auburn, does it in the SEC title game, does it in the playoffs? Yeah, you start to run out of reasons why he should not be the if not quarterback one, still a top 10 pick. I'll say this right now if that's where this season is going for Bama like if they make a run through the playoff maybe even win the national title and it's largely because he's playing this way it's a rocket and that just yeah absolutely and that's I wanted to and obviously I'm getting ahead of myself but that's kind of what I do whatever um I did want to say this too like and Ty Simpson did not play poorly in the loss to Florida State like he was not bad in that game even if he wasn't at his best.

18:39And it was his first career start ever. Like, yeah, that's it. If they don't lose that game, I think the dialogue around this guy would be even different than it already is. And people are talking about him as QB one right now. Like that's if, if they're undefeated and he's playing this way, I don't think it would have taken as many people a month to catch up to what's going on in Tuscaloosa right now. I, but at the same time, I do think it's fair that like we're talking about a guy with single digit starts. So it is fair. If, if, if you want to take a more cautious approach, patient approach with, with the quarterback with single digit starts, I get it a hundred percent.

19:18Don't, I'm not going to blame you at all. Uh, not you, but just you in general, anybody out there, if you're going to be a little more hesitant to get on this bandwagon, I understand completely. but at a certain point he might force you to get on because the way they've been playing and the way this thing might be headed um it's looking like it could be you know with the way Alabama could uh SEC title game playoffs maybe I don't know we'll see time will tell but it could force people to get uh get on that bandwagon um when I think they're maybe there's some of their senses tell them hey I just I wish I had more which I wish I wish we had more but it is what it is and him being already 23 years old and a graduate and all that I wouldn't be surprised to see him declare and go to the next level all I'm saying if you're if you're a Jets fan Browns fan Saints fan go go pull up some clips and decide for yourself go go watch him play against Georgia and Missouri and Tennessee and see what you think I I think it is fair to talk about him as QB1 I I like Fernando Mendoza and Dante more as well, but his resume, even if it is smaller than you would prefer is starting to look very impressive really quickly before we go to break.

20:38And I'm, I don't want to gloss over this because he beat my school's ass, but I do think, and, and he's not, I don't think he's in the conversation for QB one, but this does feel like a good spot to just talk about Diego Pavia. If we're handing out game balls, he definitely gets 160 passing yards, 86 rushing yards, three total touchdowns to beat LSU on Saturday, uncharted territory for, for the Vanderbilt program. I just wanted to get your thoughts on, on what we think his NFL future could look like, because I mean, we've been pretty clear. This is not a guy that's going to go in the first round, but I don't know, man, between his attitude and his athleticism and his, his moxie, I gotta I wouldn't be I gotta believe an NFL team is is gonna fall in love with him as a guy that they might want to have around even if he's not a big time pick I I mean we're we're still October where we are right now I'd be shocked if he was drafted I mean just shocked um now if he takes Vanderbilt on a run and they win the SEC or they go to the playoff or you know I don't who knows um maybe things could change but i just don't think he has i mean obviously he's an undersized guy um but i don't i just don't think he has the arm either to really he's not going to test defenses down the field at least where i think you're going to spend a draft pick on him um now he'll go to he'll be he'll go to a camp he'll be a pfa and have a chance to make some noise once you get into an nfl training camp but i at this point i'd still be surprised if he was drafted And look, I do want to give Vanderbilt their props because, you know, the way they're playing is just they're a fun watch.

22:22And they they are absolute contenders in the SEC, which is something I've never said in my lifetime. But you look at their their their their team, Eli Stowers at tight end. He is he's the one guy that's a lock draft pick. I think he has a chance to go somewhere in round three. And then they have a few few guys that are in that late round conversation, borderline draft picks. Jordan White, I think he's a he can be a backup center in the league. Cordae Sonor at defensive ends got traits. Colby Taylor is almost six three at corner. He's going to test well. So Vanderbilt has guys. I just I would be very surprised that Pavia is is one of them.

23:02And I hope he hears this and puts it up on the bulletin board and proves me wrong because, I mean, he's easy guy to he's a very entertaining guy to watch. And it's fun to watch him play football. from what i've gleaned about him over the course of the last two years i bet he will uh he just he he screams to me wherever whether he gets drafted late or not at all or anywhere in between he's gonna be a guy where the fan base is like excited that he's there just like oh shit like did you see what this guy did at vanderbilt and you know he can you know maybe we can find some creative ways to use him whatever that he just he has that written all over him for me i do want to give you props because uh you early on wanted to talk about trinidad chambliss the old miss quarterback who was up and down against georgia over the weekend but this is a guy that talking to scouts he's getting draftable grades um because you know some of us just have a natural eye dame i i didn't want to talk about him initially you know i was like he's he's undersized d2 guy like he's you know i i don't know i i think he'll probably come in at 5 10 and change 190 pounds but watching more of him, I get it.

24:14Like he has, he has an arm where he's going to challenge all three levels. There's touch to what he's doing out there. And so I think Ole Miss is hoping they can get him back one more year, but yeah, he's receiving draftable grades from scouts and has a, has somewhat of a floor that I think scouts can get on board with. Similar to Ty Simpson. And I'm not talking about QB one. I just mean the way that they play, but like, it's not gimmicky. like the way, the way that he plays is not gimmicky. Like he's got an arm. He's willing to rip the ball into windows and over the middle of the field. And his, his athleticism is a huge plus too.

24:50He is a, as an LSU fan, I can say Diego Pavia and Trinidad. Chamberlain are both very frustrating players to go against, which, which is what you want your quarterback to be. All right. We do have, we have a couple more game balls to hand out. We'll do that on the other side of this break.

25:10All right, Dane, another game ball I wanted to hand out. I don't know how in-depth we have to go. We know he's incredible, but you at least got to mention what Jeremiah Love did to USC on Saturday night. 24 totes, 228 yards and a touchdown. Five receptions for 37 yards for good measure. He can really do it all. I guess my only real question for you is how high do you think Jeremiah Love could go? Like, is this another year where a running back is worthy of top 10 consideration? Or is Jeremiah Love more of a normal first round running back type of prospect? Can I sell you on a comp of James Cook with a lead foot?

25:51Like, I think he's more explosive than Cook. And sometimes it was on detriment. He's always attacking full speed. You want to see maybe some more consistent patience in his run style. But man, this is an athlete that you bet on. And so, yeah, his ability to catch his balance through contact is really unique, major weapon in the passing game. And I think that is part of what's going to make him a very high first round pick is he similar to like Jameer Gibbs. And he he's a true weapon that you have to account for. And every single time he's out there, not as just getting the handoff, but OK, is he going to motion out?

26:28Was he doing after? You know, is he going to run a route? Is it going to be a simple screen? Is it going to be a check down? You have to be aware as a defense where Jeremiah Love is every single snap. And so this is the type of team, the type of explosive weapon teams want. Is I don't think he's on me personally. I don't think he's on the B. John Robinson level as a prospect myself, but I think he's right below it. I mean, I think he's kind of right there. and especially in this draft where we've talked about this is not we'll see what happens with the quarterbacks who declares who goes back but just the non-quarterbacks how many of these non-quarterbacks do you feel great about drafting the top 10 it's not a long list it's definitely not a list of 10 uh so a guy like love who you feel good about the player you're getting um now I don't think that every team, especially in the top 10, should be drafting a running back that high.

27:27Like I, the Raiders might be having some little remorse. We're seeing how we're seeing how that's playing out in Vegas. It's not that Ashton Gentile is a bad player or a bad pick, or it's just the, as a organization, as an offense, you better be in a certain spot with the current makeup of your roster to just invest in a running back that early. Now we've seen it work out great for the Falcons. work out for the Lions with Jameer Gibbs. And I think it could absolutely work with Love as a top 10 pick for the right offense. But it's I think that the the fact that this class is what it is will help Love go into those top 10 picks, because, again, this is the type of weapon teams want.

28:11Explosive can take it to the house anytime he touches the ball. The type of player that defenses have to really account for. It's so wild now. we've played enough games in the NFL season where you can sort of look at the draft order and have an idea. And I'm, so I'm just mentally plugging Jeremiah love into situations like, Oh, that would be, that would be really fun. Give me one or two. I mean, and look, I know, I know that they have a future need at quarterback. I understand that, but like the Rams have Atlanta's pick. so the Rams are like the Rams would be drafting in the top 15 right now that's really fun we all love Kyron Williams but two Notre Dame backs in that backfield adding some real deal explosiveness to the Rams running game could be a lot of fun I get it you probably want to draft a quarterback whatever uh same thing like I just Cincinnati is blinking at me and I'm like oh man that would piss a lot of people off because they have so many needs on defense but uh but I would I'd be excited about it yeah i mean i heck titans i mean you help i mean the whole sure the whole thing for the titans this offseason should be how do we help our young quarterback and you add a guy like this into that backfield that'd be a ton of fun so yeah i think it would not be a hard sell i think to a lot of uh fan bases picking in the top 15 it's just a matter of you know uh again i think i keep going back to and here i i'm sorry to put you on the spot but non-quarterbacks who are you excited about who would you be excited about drafting in the top 10 like it's it's not a long list for you right it's not for me i mean off the top of my head i'd be excited about uh reuben bain i'd be excited about caleb downs arvel i i know that yeah arvel reese um that's that's kind of of the list it is i mean i that's like peter woods maybe if he if he has more of an impact on games here in the second half of the season but it's that's that's kind of my list like it's not long and so i think that will certainly help a guy like love where a team picking seventh overall is looking at their options and being like yeah i mean do we really take a a player we project as a you know a b level pass rusher i mean we could use one but do we take the b level pass rusher or do we take the a explosive weapon that's going to help our offense immediately like it's that that's the conversation that probably the raiders had last year but it's a conversation i think teams are going to have in this year's top 10 we're just going to do this until the end of time we're just going to argue about whether it's too early to take a running back every year and drafts the best this this is a year this is a year where maybe yeah you have to weigh that and be like hey you want the best running back there is or do you want a pass rusher that you're not in love with just because it's a more valuable position i can't wait is what i'm trying to say that doesn't sound toxic at all we have to we can't talk about love without also mentioning jadarian price too um he was awesome uh this year he's averaging 6.7 yards per carry um i the vision that he's playing with the balance uh i wish they featured him more in the passing game he only has three targets this year but we've talked about since since august um how running back two is wide open love has got running back one locked up that's been true since uh you know last year but running back two wide open and you know we've talked about jonah coleman uh from washington justice haynes from michigan jadarian price is right there in that mix and we have never seen the first two running backs drafted in a single draft be from the same school we've seen two of the first three you know going back to you know Ronnie Brown Cadillac Williams um Darren McFadden and Felix Jones did that but we've never seen the first two and at least this year uh Price is a fourth year guy so I don't think it'd be a surprise if he came out it's at least possible that we could see it this year with those two guys I don't think we've mentioned this when we've brought up price either, but a very useful kick returner.

32:28Yeah. He has two on, he has two on the year. Now he did it against Purdue huge in the kick return game against USC totally changed the complexion of that game. So, uh, and, and I know you you're typically not asking like your top running back to be a kick returner in the NFL, but if he winds up on a team where he's the backup, or if he's got a fight for more playing time, I think that is definitely worth bringing up. No doubt. Yeah. And I just will, between now and the draft, I think we will continue to talk about that running back to spot. And, you know, just it'll be different for every team and price.

33:03At least we deserve he deserves to have more more people talking about him. One other guy I'm going to shout out, you typically don't give out game balls and losing efforts, but Katron Allen. we did a whole spiel last week about what's the rest of this season going to be like for these Penn state players. And they wind up losing to Iowa in a heartbreaker, like the quintessential big 10 game, honestly. But Katron Allen, 28 carries 145 yards, two touchdowns. He had like one explosive, but the vast majority of it was just working through trash bullying guys, just playing big 10 football. and I saw he had a quote afterward where he was basically like well I would never quit on my team like whatever the NFL will be there later but I would never do that and I'm just like okay that is it's exactly the type of stuff we said we wanted to see from a team that's had a disappointing year and it was really a 50-50 split in terms of snaps carries between Nicholas Singleton and katron allen um for most of the season and then really the last few games we've seen it kind of shift towards allen to be that bell cow and against iowa singleton six carries 2.5 yards per carry allen 28 carries 5.2 yards per carry so like i think we mentioned it it was the last show show before that singleton's the better athlete no doubt he's six he's over six foot he's 220 pounds He's going to run probably in the four threes.

34:43So he's the better freaky or athlete. Allen is a better running back, pure and simple. And Terry Smith, the interim head coach, he made sure the better running back was seeing most of the action. Now, again, like you said, they still lost. But that was because the quarterback that's filling in for Drew Aller was pretty terrible. Did you see the numbers for Penn State's leading receiver against Iowa? How many receiving yards do you think their leading receiver had? I mean, just watching the game back earlier this week, gosh, I mean, it couldn't have been more than 50. 19. Yeah. I gave them too much credit.

35:19They had six players over 10 yards, none over 20. Just a ridiculous showing from that. I mean, that game that game was check down city and like throw to the tight end in the flat. Yeah. All that type of stuff. Yeah. So just it Penn State, they've got Ohio State coming up here, so it's not going to get much better. But I think that we're going to see them, especially with this quarterback situation, we're going to see them rely on Allen in that backfield more and more. So he's going to get plenty of opportunities to show why he's an NFL guy. All right, let's move on to our top 50 stock watch. And we were going through this in the pre-production meeting, Dane, and it just sounded like something we could flesh out into a fuller conversation.

36:05And if you're on social or watching college football this weekend, maybe you noticed the top receivers in this receiving class went off. I mean, across college football, the guys that we have talked about as the cream of the crop in this class really rose up all at the same time. I mean, it started Friday night with Chris Bell going off in the upset that Louisville had against Miami. Jordan Tyson had another great week. Carnell Tate is averaging a circus catch a week at this point. Makai Lemon, maybe not his craziest game of the year, but still a productive game against Notre Dame. Credit to Leonard Moore.

36:43Man, that guy is so good. Corner for the Irish. He's only a sophomore, so we're not talking about him for a reason. But at this time next year, yeah, we'll be talking about him quite a bit. Whenever and, you know, him covering Lemon made things tough and forced the offense to go away from Lemon, which you know a lot of those jacoby lane stepped up and but at the same time if more can have that type of impact against lemon man that's it says a lot about him as a player so yeah it's uh just sorry didn't want to interrupt you but wanted to give leonard more credit because he is awesome so the question i want to pose to you is to go back to august we kind of framed this receiver class as well jordan tyson is probably wide receiver one and there there are guys worth being excited about here, but we just need to see it.

37:34We need to see these guys take the next step and put their best foot forward toward being in that conversation. And here we are in late October and it kind of feels like that's happening, man. Like I think I don't want to speak for you, but it feels fair to be a lot more excited about the receiver class than we were before the season started. Absolutely. I mean, it's not that we didn't like these receivers over the summer, but it was maybe a little bit of a, eh, we like them, but wish we loved them. Wish we were more excited about this group and the way they've played this year. Yeah, absolutely.

38:12I think there's a lot more optimism about what they put on tape, about their futures. Some guys have really stepped up and some of the preseason rankings were based off of traits based off of hey I think this guy could be something you know Chris Bell perfect example I think he could be something and so far he has lived up to it no doubt Jordan Tyson's been wide receiver one since the summer and man he is now he sees a ton of targets you know Arizona State knows you know who is the the guy in that offense and they feed him but he answers and you could tell in that texas tech game he was not healthy uh it was a hamstring but he he did not look 100 and yet they still peppered the ball to him because he's getting open and making plays um even on that last drive it was what the fourth down that you know he was able to get open and levitt hit him for a big gain and then they had the pass interference uh because the texas tech tried to tried to hold him uh to slow him down because he was going to get open in the corner of the end zone.

39:14So the way that Jordan Tyson impacts that game is why Arizona State won and why he is or one of the reasons why he's wide receiver one in this class. He he leads all of college football in catches of or first down catches this year or catches that resulted in first down or a touchdown. So he is absolutely lived up to all the praise that we put on him coming into the year. So let me ask you this. It's my turn to put you on the spot. We look at these, we look at these top guys and we'll throw in Denzel Boston as well up at Washington, having a really nice season. Where are you, where are you stacking these guys up?

39:54I mean, we just said that there aren't a ton of guys that you're super excited about draft, like the thought of drafting them in the top 10. Right. But from where I'm sitting, it looks like you've got four or five guys that are at least worthy of being talked about as like first round considerations like are all of these guys like back half of the first round type of guys or are we still trying to see if they're more top 50 guys like how do you see this shaking out so yeah coming into the year in my top 50 um i had tyson was let me look it up 12th so he was already kind of like right there and i think tyson has been And as advertised, I kind of feel perfect about him right there.

40:40Chris Bell was wide receiver two for me at 25 overall. I'm kind of still Bell has played really well this year, but that was kind of. I baked that into my ranking of having him 25 overall, so I'm kind of still right there with Chris Bell. Now, Carnell Tate, he was at 31. He's played better than I expected. that I mean obviously he was 31 so I knew he was someone that was talented and there's a lot to like about him but he's even more detailed than I think I gave him credit for and last year he had some drops that were really uh frustrating and just wasn't as consistent now this year third year as a junior becoming a full-time starter you don't see those mental mistakes you don't see a a guy that's making any type of miscues he is buttoned up he's finishing and I mean the way you set it up he's making some highlight plays that are just ridiculous that down the field and yes part of that is what Jeremiah Smith is doing drawing coverage to to him but it's not like this is some big secret with Carnell Tate I mean he is making plays he is creating his own separation because of the detailed routes he is winning down the field because he is better at attacking the football and so he is a guy that is moving up i mean he would be probably yeah somewhere in the top 25 ahead of chris bell for me and then makai lemons also ahead of chris bell somewhere in the top 25 um for me um and so these are these are guys that are i don't know that i feel great about them in the top 10 like i did like malik neighbors and those guys but in this draft especially yeah these are top 25 picks and Chris Bell would be the most interesting.

42:27I think he's it's funny. This happens every year where coming into the year, Chris Bell was one of quote unquote, my guys, you know, like I, I'm betting on this guy. Absolutely. You planted your flag. Absolutely. Sure. It's going to get to the point where people pass me, you know, like they, they pass my opinion of him and that's fine. Like if you really are hyped up enough on this guy that you want to take him top 15 top 20 you know that's that's great but trust what your eyes tell you I just I think that's going to happen with him um I the trick will be with him is on the spectrum of AJ Brown to Traylon Burks uh Brown obviously being best case scenario Burks being worst case where do you see Chris Bell I think that's the question that evaluators need to ask themselves I'm I don't think you know I tweeted I mentioned AJ Brown's name in my my tweet about um Chris spell on Saturday morning from what he did Friday night is more for the acceleration that he plays with for a guy that's six to 227 pounds I think they're different players you know and I don't think he's necessarily AJ Brown but he's on that spectrum and I think it's up to evaluators to determine how close is he to AJ Brown is he in the middle of those two and that'll kind of determine how high you rank him but yeah I think of if we're gonna list those four players I think he's clearly fourth for me.

43:49I have been guilty of getting too enamored with that type of receiver where like just this, the blend of size and explosiveness is intoxicating, especially when you, when you see a guy, like when you see what a guy like AJ Brown is capable of, or Des Bryant to take it back to the beginning of my time covering the NFL. I get it, but But it's it's it's something you got to watch out for, I guess. Not to say that he will or won't meet any of those expectations. But yeah, and he's awesome. Like he's he's he's so he's so much fun to watch because of how gifted he is. And we like the last three games, he's been over 100 yards every time.

44:30And he's made a big they don't win that game against Miami without Chris Bell. The run after catch is just disgusting. It's crazy. The way that he just tore through that defense without, I mean, if it was two hand touch, I'm not sure that they get them. That type of acceleration at that size is crazy. So, yeah, I had a second round grade on him coming into the year. I'm sticking with the second round grade on him. And I hope he, but I hope he goes earlier. That'd be awesome for him. But I'm glad you mentioned Denzel Boston. he he had a sick catch down the field against Michigan even though it wasn't a great showing for that offense Michigan really shut him down but Denzel Boston he's your traditional x receiver line him up on the outside he can line up in the slot too but you know he's not going to run a blazing 40 uh but he still has you know decent uh down the field skills because he tracks the ball well his catch radius is huge so I'm glad you mentioned him he's also in this mix as a top 50 guy um and i want to also mention jeremy bernard from alabama who is not if you hadn't i was going to yeah he's not exceptional at anything but he's just good at everything across the board he is going to help an nfl offense he's a good football player and i think you'll be a good pro for a long time several of bama's biggest plays were just pure like run after catch ability from jeremy bernard the other night they're getting him involved a lot more with you know jet sweeps And I mean, he was lined up in the backfield at times.

45:59Yeah, they give him a lot of screens where it's, you know, let him catch it. Let him go create. Let him go do something. And they get him involved in the blocking as well, where he's they're asking him to go up against linebackers and D ends like they really rely on Jeremy Bernard to do a lot in that offense. So what I'm hearing is this could be a similar draft to 2023 where maybe there's not like a top 10, top 12, even top 15 wide receiver. But that was the year that four of them went in a row, starting with Jackson Smith and Jigba. All the way through to Jordan Addison. Yeah. Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison.

46:42uh i think a lot of a lot of guys that i would be excited to draft at some point in the first round and then yeah jeremy bernard is there real quickly like is there if we're talking about guys that you're not really sure they're on that level of the of the main guys we've mentioned the top four or five guys is there anybody else besides jeremy bernard you've got an eye on um yeah i mean a lot of these underclassmen um like casey's conception and texas a &m i think will be in that day two conversation um antonio williams at clemson now that he's back and healthy i think we'll see more out of him scouts still like him on day two um yeah i think there's there's a lot of underclassmen that are are talented and that could work themselves into this mix yeah no doubt a couple more things to get to but let's take our second break first

47:34all right dan a couple more items of business we're going to move on to our prospect snapshot shot. Do you mind if I start? Cause this was a really exciting one for me. Absolutely. So I'm, I'm watching college football on Saturday. I took a break in the afternoon to go meet up with some friends and I come back and I'm catching up on everything and I'm, I'm watching the late games and Auburn Mizzou goes to overtime. And we, if you listen to the show, we know all about Mizzou's defense. We know all about Zion young, the defensive end out of Missouri, but we get to overtime and they do the kickoff or the coin flip, excuse me.

48:11And you've probably seen this going around social, but Mizzou wins the toss and chooses to go on defense. Cause that's typically what you do in college football. And Zion young just loses his shit. He's just like, let's go. You know what time it is. He is like, he is barking at all of the Auburn captains, Auburn, the Auburn players and the ref are like, Holy crap, what's going on? Like this dude's like ready to brawl right there at midfield. And if that wasn't like cool enough, Auburn gets the ball. And on the second play, Zion young sacks Jackson Arnold and ruins Auburn's drive. They miss, they, they wind up missing a field goal.

48:52Missouri goes on to win and double overtime. But if I'm, if we're talking about a snapshot, like one moment that tells you all about Zion young talking mad shit and being like way too amped up and then delivering on it with a sack that feels like a pretty good snapshot of Zion young to me. So no, no joke. This is what I have from, um, in my notes from my scout, big, loud personality. You hear him before you see him. And I like that. Exactly. The way that he comes off that, that hype, that energy, um, it probably seems a little too much at times but you know coaches love that you know this is exactly the type of hype man they want in their room um and i mean even better than that is this dude's playing up to that level where um okay six five two fifty five eighty inch wingspan i put him in my top 50 because of the flashes you put on last year's tape he's absolutely taking that next step in terms of on-field play on-field impact uh 28 pressures this year uh that's more than he had all of last year so he has intriguing traits and now we're seeing more of an impact on on tape and so right now he is second in the sec in pressures uh second in tackles for loss second in forced fumbles um and so i i do this with my top 50 where i tend to my summer top 50 i tend to put some tools you guys in there and you know because i think they'll take that next step and a lot of times that doesn't work out a lot of times i regret putting some of those tools you guys on there because it just doesn't come to fruition but guys like chris bell zion young those are examples of guys that kind of the the they they not only have the tools and the traits but now all of a sudden they develop into guys that are making in having impacts on uh saturdays during the games so yeah it's been really fun to see him uh show out i will say it's it's probably something teams are gonna look into because i think it's something you still have to harness right like no doubt zion young, he drew a huge taunting flag against Alabama that it kept a Bama touchdown drive going.

51:01And then when he was at Michigan state, this is one of the guys that was involved in that incident in the tunnel between Michigan and Michigan state. So football coaches love this type of juice, but you got to be able to count on it to not screw you over too. And so I'm sure that's something teams are going to be digging into no doubt. And he's still a young guy relatively for a senior. um i think he's he's he's 21 right now so like he is still a relative young guy and i think that as long as teams feel comfortable that they can keep a lid on it then i yeah there's nothing else at least to my knowledge off the field like criminal that you worry about it's more just making sure that um you know everything i've heard is he's the type of loud that you like being around you know like the guys in the building the guys in that locker room it's not the obnoxious loud where it's like you know like let's let's talk about something else here um but no i'm glad you brought him up because that that was a fun uh he's a fun player he's been good all season and yeah he was a big part of why missouri is able to close that game out i got i got fired up it was it was awesome who you got um i'm gonna go with uh well two guys real quick first of all caden proctor um had a ridiculous seal block on the edge where he literally launched one guy into another to take him out and help them score six.

52:26I put the the clip on my Twitter. So check that out if you haven't. And then I want to talk about Derek Moore from Michigan as well. I mean, watching that Washington, Michigan tape from this past weekend, Moore just kept jumping out. He's leads Michigan in sacks. He leads them in pressures against the Huskies. He had two sacks. He had a forced fumble late in that game. he's a little stiff uh his physical physicality tends to run a little hot cold and that like that's something that you worry about with him but i think he's shown better maturity with his hands this year so he looks the party six three and a half 265 pounds 34 inch arms um i i i don't necessarily see a starter with him or i haven't seen enough of an impact from him to say he's definite starter but he's the type of prospect you draft on day two and because at worst he's part of your rotation and then hopefully you can continue developing him and and turn him into more than that i'll admit i rolled my eyes pretty heavily at uh at sharon moore up at michigan wearing his blue collar jacket to the press conference last week but it looks like it worked you know 24 7 against washington just in time speaking of michigan michigan state just in time to go up and play the Spartans.

53:40So we'll see if they can keep that rolling. Speaking of which, I didn't leave a lot of time in the episode to talk week nine. Um, not, not a great week. I mean, there's definitely, there's intrigue there if you look for it, but this is, this is not a loaded schedule, I guess. Uh, I mean, from a narrative standpoint, it's just wild that Missouri at Vanderbilt is one of the biggest games of the week. I mean, we just, we, we talked about Vandy and Mizzou's D line. I don't know if that's like an NFL, a loaded NFL type of game. Like what, what stands out to you this weekend? Yeah. Well, we mentioned Eli Stowers for Vanderbilt and Zion young from Missouri.

54:19And so, I mean, these two guys, these two teams have prospects to watch. Um, yeah, I mean, Mississippi and Oklahoma, John Mateer, what can, um, you know, he, he bounced back from that Texas loss and he didn't have an amazing game last week, but he was, he was solid. Can he build off of that? And, um, you know, stack some good tapes here. Uh, Baylor at Cincinnati, uh, Brendan Sorsby, the quarterback for the Bearcats. Anytime I have a chance to watch him, I'm going to, cause he's very, very talented and there, there's something there. We just have to figure out, you know, what the ceiling is, what's the floor, but clearly talented.

54:53And I really enjoy watching him. Um, low key. I think that's my favorite game of the day is Baylor at Cincinnati. And I mean, we, we've, we've talked about Sawyer Robertson and the talent on Baylor's offense going up there. We just, we highlighted, yeah, we highlighted all of Cincinnati's guys. I think like I, this has the potential to be the most entertaining game of the weekend. That's a, that's a good point. Cause I, both these quarterbacks are really interesting and both tight ends are fighting to be the first senior tight end drafted Michael Trigg for Baylor and Joe Royer for Cincinnati. So that that that's a good shout.

55:32I also want to add Stanford at Miami to to the list. And I know what you're thinking. Stanford's not very good. Miami really good. Maybe not as interesting after losing the Louisville last week. Main reason to watch this game. I Stanford left tackle Nicky Prongos, one of my favorite underrated mid round guys this year. He's a fourth year junior, so he might go back. but UCLA transfer light footed can get himself out of compromise situations. One of the reasons why I hope he goes back to school is to get stronger. And that's why this matchup would be really interesting because he'll be going up against Reuben Bain and, you know, one of the strongest ends in the country and Mesidor on the other side is no slouch either.

56:14So a great test for for Prongos at left tackle and just to kind of see where he is in his development. But one of a reason to watch Stanford at Miami. That's why we call it building the beast, buddy. Cause anybody can tell you about Ruben Bain and Hakeem Mesidor, but we're here to tell you about Nikki Prongus number 66 for the Stanford Cardinal with a big test coming up this weekend. Big win for Stanford. I don't know how many people saw it at 1am out on the West coast, but a big win over FSU. So we'll see if they can keep it going. That does it for this week. Dane will not be back next week. He's got an obligation, but, uh, yeah, Dane's on assignment, but we will have another episode of building the beast for you next week.

56:59We're with you all college football season and into the draft cycle. We appreciate it. We'll talk to y 'all real soon.