PMS 2.0 1394 - Kirk Herbstreit, Al Michaels, Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day, Adam Schefter, Joey Galloway, & AJ Hawk

21:41I thought that part of it was sensational. Those guys really gave of themselves.

21:45AJ Hawk:Yeah, absolutely. I love those shows, the documentaries that you learn a little bit. You think, you know, like you said, Alan, and you get a little bit more. I thought the Cowboys documentary was – Yeah, to Al's point, they show you Jerry Jones watching the Packers-Cowboys playoff game in 2024 where the Cowboys, you know, they go down 21-0 or whatever the hell it is. And just seeing that and actually hearing, you know, what he's saying in the suite and stuff like that was unbelievable. Yeah, for sure. And I'll tell you something else about that too is, you know, I was a party to what took place when he walked out onto the field with Phil Knight.

22:23So that day, nobody knew what was really going to happen. So I'm staying in a hotel across the street in Manhattan, and Jerry calls me at about noon. He says, come on over, I got to tell you something, and tells me what he's going to do that night. And he says, so what do you think? I said, here's what I think. I think there will be an earthquake on Park Avenue at about 930 tonight. And that's exactly what took place. So he had the vision to take the NFL, grab it by the neck and make it so much bigger than it was. They resisted, obviously. They sued him for$300 million. He sued him back for$700 million.

22:58But that was a seminal moment in the NFL. So you look at Jerry in two parts. As a successful football man, they have won three Super Bowls. We know they haven't won in 30 years. Got it. As a businessman, as a guy who has now built the greatest franchise in sports right now, the most valuable. That stadium is off the charts. The stadium is almost 16 years old. It's like you can eat off the floor in it. Phenomenal. What Jerry does, Jerry does some amazing things. It would be nice to see him. I know a lot of people don't feel this way to get one before he's gone.

23:34AJ Hawk:Everything he touches, the facility in Frisco is cutting edge and the best of anybody in the entire NFL. He always does everything first class. Tell them what you have, bud. Yeah, Al, I feel like you're the best person maybe on earth to ask this question to because besides Troy and Joe, I assume you've called more Aaron Rodgers primetime games than anyone on this earth. And obviously you've done the Steelers a bunch because they're always in primetime as well. How do you feel about the fit for Aaron going into Pittsburgh this season, him and Mike Tomlin, who I know you know well, and then just the overall being a 40-plus-year-old quarterback going into this season?

24:13I think a lot depends obviously on health. If he stays very healthy, and he is right now, I think he can still wing it. You can see it in the clips you see from their training camp. He's as smart as it gets when it comes to playing that position. I think this is one of the most fascinating stories, as it was when he joined the Jets a couple of years ago too. So here we are again. This is mysteriousness. but I think that again it all depends if he's healthy if he stays healthy he's got some good pieces to to play with I have the greatest respect for Mike Tomlin I see good things ahead from him again you can say this about so many players in the National Football League right now if they

24:57AJ Hawk:can stay healthy yeah and now you think about two NFL MVPs and and the age that he was at and then And he's had, obviously, some years where he's had to deal with the injuries. So, knock on wood, we all want to see him stay healthy. Love to see him get hot for Pittsburgh and for Tone. All right, what do you have, Ty? Yeah, Al, the last time we had you on the show, we talked with you about how, you know, there are a couple people on the internet getting pissy with you because you're not, you know, screaming and losing your breath for a first down in the third quarter of a, you know, Browns-Dolphins game on Thursday night football.

25:31but because you have called so many seminal moments in sports history, when this time rolls around every single year, do you get just as excited as you did when you first started? And how do you handle kind of like the critics maybe who at this point, you know, you're a goat, you're a legend, and now they're trying to kind of poke holes or, you know, put a couple shots in you when it's like, hey, listen, I've done everything there is to do in this profession. Who doesn't get criticized? What are we talking about here? Everybody. I mean, Mother Teresa would be like a tenth of what she is if she was around during the Internet.

26:12I don't do a game to get a YouTube or an Instagram hit. If you listen to the documentary and Pat Summerall and John Madden called a lot of those games, did Pat scream? Did he scream his guts out? And Pat is probably as revered as any play-by-play announcer over the past 40 or 50 years. I knew Pat very well. Wonderful man. Love to hear him and John on the telecast. Does he scream at you? No, he does not. So in other words, to me, I'm in a visual medium. I don't have to explain or describe everything that your eyes are seeing. In fact, my theory has always been to speak in captions and ellipses.

27:00Just bring a little bit to the game and get out of there. It's real simple. You can't scream your guts out. You can scream your guts out, and people will love it because they want to go on YouTube. But that ain't me, guys. You know that.

27:13AJ Hawk:Al, I hope you go on as long as you feel like this is your spot. Amazon Prime, that family, you're the straw that mixes that drink. with the studio show, with what we do on the game. I mean, if you guys would ever hang out when we're with the other guys, I mean, Al is beloved by the entire group of people behind the scenes, like I said, the studio people. Al, how do you know, we just talked about how you've accomplished everything. How do you know, like, do I want to come back for another year? Is it just how you feel? Is it the love? You hear coaches get asked that and they say, if I ever stop enjoying coming to work, I'll know it's time.

27:51AJ Hawk:How do you evaluate when the right time is for you in your career? Eric, if you lose the passion, it's time. That's how I feel about it. I'm still, you know, I'm excited. I love walking into a stadium. I love watching the stadium fill up. I love the games. It's exciting. I love live television because it's been, you know, in my DNA for a million years right now. I still get excited about it. I still look forward to it. I think if you don't, if you treat it as a job or as work or as drudgery, go home. Go home. I'm not there. I hope I never get there. Yeah, that's for sure. And we were driving over to the game the other night.

28:34AJ Hawk:We were adding up. What year is this for you, Al, and just doing national broadcasts? And what year is this in the NFL? NFL 40 years. 40th year. Jeez. Yeah, Network Television. I started in 1976. with ABC. So that's another 10 years on top of that. Do you know who I actually started with at ABC? Bob Iger. Wow. Bob and I go all the way back to the start of our careers. Wow. That's awesome. How's he doing these days, buddy? Not as good as you. Yeah, you're both doing pretty well. Al, thanks so much for hopping on with us today. Really appreciate it. Look forward to seeing you September 11th when we get started up at Lambeau with the commanders and the pack.

29:21Kirk, you've got, what, 11 college football games before I see you again? Be good, dude. Take care, guys. Take care, brother.

29:29AJ Hawk:Appreciate it. Getting out of the game, that's how we do it, Peter. He's the best. Yeah, he is. 40 years. 40th year in the NFL, and he said he got started in network television in 1976. Unbelievable. Yeah, yeah, just a man. And I know it's a different era. I know that we were talking at the break. I like Pat Summerall. I like that kind of call. I like Joe Buck. I like Mike Tariq. I love Al. I love when the moment's right, punch it, but not in the first quarter for a touchdown or a 10-yard out. But I think there's a younger generation of play-by-play guys that have realized, hey, one of the ways to really get some momentum is to go crazy, and I'm going to go viral.

30:17AJ Hawk:for the call, you know, no matter what sport it is. And I, for me, again, I'm from a different generation. I like it when it's special. Give it to me. Otherwise, just call the game. I agree 100%. And, like, how old are you now? I'm 56. No, you're not. I swear. So I'm 20 years younger than you. So I'm obviously, I assume that's a different generation, but, like, Keith Jackson was my favorite. Oh, yeah. But, again, it was the moment that he would give that to you, and he didn't do it. It's a long game. That's a long watch if someone is going crazy every first down. Because sometimes, too, you'll be on your phone and someone's going apeshit and you look up expecting to see a 65-yard touchdown and it was like a six-yard run for a first down.

31:03It's like, okay, what do we do? It feels weird watching. I agree. I mean, you go back and watch some of those Pat Summerall games. I don't know if monotone is the right way to put it, but it's just soothing. It works. Yeah, exactly.

31:18AJ Hawk:I tell you, my career, I've worked with Mike Tariq. This is how I came up. Mike and I started together, and then I went to ABC, and I went with Brent Musburger, and then Chris Fowler took over for Brent. And now I do Chris and also Amazon Prime on Thursday with Al Michaels. You've been with all the legends. Think of those four guys that I've worked with. And when Al calls a game, you know, he's got his, you know, the greatest spotter that's probably ever done it with he and Al together for I don't know if I think 46 years or longer but you know there's so much communication between the play-by-play and the analyst sometimes nonverbal but you know I have a spotter he's got a spotter the trucks downstairs there's just a lot of communication that's happening in every booth I've just been I was 80 years old and I I'm I'm blown away and I can just tell you right now he's not lost anything I mean I watch him and and things are play-by-play guy man the things are moving fast yeah you know and the producers in his ear and you got to go to a break you know and he never misses a beat I mean I and I'm not just saying that to say that I am you know just comparing him with other people I've worked with and there's you know zero difference of anything it's really more impressive how he handles what he handles so I appreciate him hopping on I know we only had we got about eight minutes until ryan day hops on we talked back there with our big production meeting we had we said hey we're not going to get a chance because we have a lot of guests on to talk about some of these topics we've hit the nfl obviously college football gets started on thursday night hawks thursday or saturday night in kinnick which i do not remember the last time that happened that they started the season with a night game okay it's been forever that's the one you're on no i'm not calling the iowa game who they plan uh albany tough albany this year yeah yep yep you're not doing herby said he was he was trying he was you know basically hey the clock's ticking here we're gonna go through the power four conferences oh yeah and we're gonna give you our pick since college football starts thursday sure we'll give you our pick and we'll give you the sleeper okay okay let's start with um the big 12 anybody want to start I mean, I think my pick's probably the same as my sleeper.

33:40West Virginia, bitch. It's Rich Rod season, baby. I saw Gigi Garrett Green catch a touchdown pass for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, okay, in the preseason. So, yeah, I think the Mountaineers might do it.

33:53AJ Hawk:Okay, well, that's the sleeper and the championship. And the championship. And is that because the only other team I can think of is Arizona State? Maybe. But I don't want to pick Arizona State. It's tough. Big 12's tough. Tough to keep up with. Tough to care about. I think sleeper, I'd probably go. I mean, I don't even know if you'd count them as a sleeper with how much money they've invested in the program. That's fair. Until you see it, that's a good one for sure. Texas Tech's getting a lot of juice right now. And my pick, I hate to do it, but I'm going to go with the clones. They look good.

34:22I mean, that's a massive win.

34:25AJ Hawk:That's a Matt Campbell team. Quarterback that can play smart. Right. The defense was flying around. He moved well, too. They looked really good. And the game started a little bit slow. It's the first game all the way over to Dublin. Rocko Beck's a crafty vet. But I thought there were some turnovers early in the game. But overall, as the game went on, I was impressed. Really, with both teams. But Iowa State got it done at the end with the quarterback. And I think Matt Campbell is the best Iowa State coach in a long, long, long time. And I think they've been building to this point for a while. I think it would make sense if they finally get over that hump and win the Big 12 this year.

35:00How about the unis? Do you give the okay on the units? I hate them. I like the old Iowa State uniforms, and then they kind of got rid of Cy, like the bird inside the cyclone. That's why I asked. I mean, you're from up that state. Yeah. I don't love them, but I'm a black and gold guy as well. Yeah.

35:15AJ Hawk:Well, that's true. What are you going to do? That's true. Tone, what do you got? Big club. I think Arizona State's going to do it again. I think they're going to win it. They have 11 of their top 13 tacklers back on defense. And Leavitt and Tyson back on offense. Bingo. The only real loss they have is Scadaboo. And they bring in Kanye Udo from Army, who I love as a running back. So I don't think there's going to be any drop-off at Arizona State. For sleepers, because it's the Big 12, I had a couple. I'm going to go with TCU. I like TCU. I see him Monday night against Bill Belichick. Hoover's back.

35:49He threw for 4 ,000 yards last year. So they just, what, two years ago they were in the national championship. Sorry, three years ago they were in the national championship. Then they had the five and seven, I think, year or whatever it was. And then they kind of water found its level last year. I think TCU maybe comes back. Kansas looked really good.

36:04AJ Hawk:You know, Kansas State, Iowa State for me, before the season started, was kind of a coin flip. It's ironic that they ended up opening up with one another. I picked Kansas State to end up winning the Big 12. Now they're a game down behind Iowa State. Utah is my team that people forget about. They're in the Big 12 because since they've been in, they just haven't been healthy at quarterback. I'm going to go with Utah. Let's go SEC because we have three and a half minutes until Ryan Day hops on here. What do you got in the SEC? Sleeper. I guess South Carolina just because there are so many good teams in the SEC and Lenore Sellers.

36:41And then pick. I'm going to go with Bama this year. Bama? Yeah. Wow, good for you. Yeah, I'm going to go Bama.

36:46AJ Hawk:You're not hearing a lot of Bama right now. No. Or Georgia. Right. And I think Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach. I think last year, obviously, just trying to find your footing. I think they'll win the SEC this year. Okay. Tom? I'm actually going with Bama as well to win. I think Texas, Georgia, Bama. No quarterback concerns at all? I mean, there's definitely the quarterback, but I also think they have the best O-line in the country, potentially with Caden Proctor at that left tackle position, and their defense is so good, and they get Ryan Grubb back. Sleeper is Texas A &M for me. Okay. Good one.

37:19If the quarterback position can progress like I think they can. Marcel Reed. Marcel Reed, they have a great offensive line. They have a great running back room. And I think Elko, year two, will be good. A &M's my sleeper. Yeah, good, good. Yeah, I'm not going to go bam. I'm actually going to say South Carolina's going to not be a sleeper. He watched the SEC doc and loved it. I love the Norris sellers, and I'm taking the Norris sellers from the Heisman. And also, I like how we're all green. Yeah, I like how we're all green. Just, hey, let's not be the ones to pick Texas, even though Texas will probably win it.

37:51But I think, what, is this the most deep the SEC has been? On paper, it sure looks like it.

37:57AJ Hawk:What's interesting is a lot of the behemoths are breaking in new quarterbacks. You know, like Georgia and Alabama, you know, you have a lot of confidence in what they have around the position. LSU? Maybe I'll switch LSU. LSU, I think, would be, and I guess they're not chalk. It looks like Bama is. I flipped a coin between Texas and LSU. I'm going Texas. surprise team is Florida I think DJ Lackway if he's healthy I was so impressed with him last year we've talked about that how their coach was fired they started off slow and then I think they won four of their last five or five of their last six and only loss that he had was when he got injured as a starter against Georgia so I'm going to go with Florida I like your A &M as a sleeper as well Big Ten before Ryan Day hops on in I like Ohio State and then not to be a homer, but the way their schedule sets up, if they can win a couple of those kind of tough games, I think Iowa could find a way to sneak in this year.

38:59That quarterback. Yeah, I'm very excited about him play.

39:02AJ Hawk:I'm going back to Brad Banks. I don't know if you were born yet. Oh, yeah. It was the last time we thought Iowa's not just surviving and going to win with what used to be Norm Parker, their defensive coordinator, now Phil. and it was run the football. But this quarterback, he's a dual guy. It would be interesting if they unleash him or are they going to be conservative and try to win the Iowa way? Yeah, I hope not. They haven't had a guy with his skill set, like you said, in quite some time. That's putting an awful lot on the defense to ask them to win 17-10, 17-13 every single week. Yeah, I'll go Penn State and I'll go sleeper Nebraska.

39:43I'm still a Matt Rule guy. I don't know. I don't know if we're going to keep doing this. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, he's always good in year three. We're going to keep doing this every year, but I think this is the year for Nebraska. Okay. I'm going to go Penn State. I know they haven't won the big one yet, but they got similar vibes to Michigan, and then Ohio State bringing everyone back to try to win a national championship. And then I was going to go Iowa, but because Ty did, I'm not saying they're going to win the Big Ten, but watch out for Washington this year. Their quarterback's for real. Very, very good.

40:11I'll go Washington as someone to watch.

40:13AJ Hawk:Where would Illinois fall into this category? Would they fall in as sleeper even with the preseason hype? We kind of talked about it in L.A. a little bit at the ESPYs. They're getting a lot of heat for, hey, Illinois maybe should go to the playoffs this year. I don't know about winning the Big Ten, but I think they've been talked about too much to be a sleeper. Yeah, I think a lot of the Illinois and you Miami people, or not those people rather, I think a lot of the football fans in general have kind of picked those two teams as possible Florida State teams this year. versus, you know, going the other way.

40:47But, I mean, shit, I saw Greg McElroy doesn't even have South Carolina's top 25.

40:51AJ Hawk:All right, and he has Nick Saban back coaching, so who knows? All right, let's bring in the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the defending national champs, Coach Ryan Day. Coach, how are you, bud? Good to see you, man. You and I have talked a little bit, but I would love to ask you just an off season as a defending national champ. Is it business as usual? Once you got done with the circuit, you just kind of get back to winter conditioning and recruiting. What was this like for you after you guys climbed the top of that mountain? It was really like every other off season. The only difference was I get to do a lot of cool things.

41:32Got a chance to see some, some great people and do some really, really cool stuff. But it was really just every, like every other offseason, maybe a little faster because of how late we ended the season. But, you know, spring practice came fast and the new challenges came and, you know, guys in a building wanted to move on just like the coaching staff. And that was it. You know, and I like to say once the confetti hit the ground, it was on to the next season and that's it. And so this is this exciting, you know, for us with a whole new group of guys, whole new journey. And our guys hold the pen to see what this story is like, because, you know, last year's story has been

42:06AJ Hawk:written and here we go we've got a whole new start what what in your mind when you go through a season like last year and they could make a movie out of last season what what are you able to take away because you're always learning and growing right as a coach what can you take away from that to bring in to 2025 that you learned through some some obvious ups and and and a few downs well with the new playoff system we know it's going to be a long season so you know we We have to make sure that we, again, it's not, I've heard people say this before, and I agree with it. It's not a marathon. It's 12 sprints, you know, and you have to make sure that you're there every single week getting better.

42:46You identify what the problems are, then you grow from there. And, you know, things are going well, we can't overreact. If something goes bad, we can't overreact. We've got to identify what the issues are, get them fixed, and then move forward with them. And then grow as the season goes on. And I think that's probably the most important thing. And then the older guys have to take accountability. I think when you have great teams, the leaders and the older guys are the ones that run the show.

43:09AJ Hawk:Before you got there, Ohio State had a hard time consistently recruiting high-level receivers and high-level quarterback play. And since you've been there, it's pretty much been just rolling. When you get a new situation at quarterback and you don't have a veteran coming back and you don't have preseason football like the NFL and even high school has, how do you figure out when you have a couple guys going at it who the guy is? How does that guy win the team over when he hasn't been out there in front of 100 ,000 on national TV? That's got to be a little bit tricky. Yeah, it is. But these guys are with each other every day, whether it's in the weight room or on the field, in meetings, outside the Woody.

43:53And so they know. And the good thing is I feel good that we have a couple quarterbacks that we can win with. But I do feel like Julian pulled away down the stretch here just with his overall performance. You know, he's very, very consistent. But Lincoln's working hard. He knows he's one snap away or who knows, even could play in this game. So, you know, you just try to go off of your experience and what you've seen. You try to put them in game situations. You try to challenge them. You try to make it as hard as you possibly can so that the game's easier. And that's like training any athlete, but certainly a quarterback.

44:26It's important. but you got to go back on what you know as a coach and you know the guys that you've seen in the same spot and make sure that you're preparing in the right way awesome tom yeah coach um going back to beginning of last season you guys had guys like jtt and jack sawyer and ameka buka and will howard who came in and tylic williams who came back there was a lot of guys that could have went to the nfl who decided to come back and then obviously after you win the national championship 14 guys are drafted to the nfl and you talk about you know your old guys have to become leaders and stuff like that how different is it this season going into it with all those guys being gone and who are the new guys uh the older guys that are going to step up for you this year as in a leadership role yeah well when you think about when a bunch of guys decide to come back it's it's a great great thing you know for a lot of reasons for their team for their brothers for the school, all those things.

45:19The tricky thing is when that year is over, you almost have two years of guys that now are out the door and you've got big holes to fill. But we knew that. And there's a lot of guys that are coming back. You know, Davidson Igbenosan, you've got Sonny Stiles, Caleb Downs, Austin Saravelle, Brandon Ennis, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate. You know, the majority of our tight ends are back. And I think when you look at those guys, in their leadership last year. Now they're taking the next step. I think you're seeing it off the field, but for some of them, they just need to get on the field and have production, the guys that haven't played a lot.

45:57Because once you do it on the field, you just have a certain confidence about you when you walk in the locker room. And so this is going to be a group that hasn't played a lot who's coming out and playing on Saturday. But we know what we see in practice. They're fired up to start this journey. And the more they play, the more confidence they'll have and the more they'll feel confident leading. Coach, going back to last year, it was really cool as we got to follow along through the entire playoff run, but I want to go back to that first playoff or the first round game against Tennessee. I'm just curious, was there any kind of major advantage that you guys had having that game at home in the cold?

46:35Because we were there, and I don't know what the actual temperature was. It felt like it was 50 below. How much was an advantage playing that game at home against one of those teams from the South that maybe isn't built the same as you guys who have to deal with the cold on a regular basis? Yeah, I think when you looked at the way that the playoff system was put into place, I think everyone said to themselves, so what's it going to be like in December if you go have to play in the horseshoe? And that's exactly what it was like. I mean, it was cold. It was football, though, in the Big Ten. And so, you know, great memories of that.

47:12But that was the first time that there's ever been a playoff game like that, you know, in Ohio. And so so that was unique. But I think the thing for us is, you know, at that moment, our backs were against the wall. You know, our players, our coaches, our fans. And we came out swinging in that game. And so, you know, we have to be the same way here. You know, just because we were in that situation last year shouldn't affect how we play. And so we need to have that same mentality. We walk out of the tunnel here on Saturday.

47:42coach sorry about that thank you very much Kirk coach great to hear you had a wonderful offseason that's awesome saw you on a bunch of shows we were very very bummed out that you weren't able to come on our program after you won the national championship but I mean everybody and their mother was asking to talk to Ryan Day so you can understand it looking back at last year coach the Oregon game the first time you played in Oregon you know obviously what happens will slides, the clock runs out, everything goes that way. It came down to the wire. But then when you look at the Rose Bowl, you guys beat the brakes off of Oregon.

48:17So when you're looking at those two games, what changed, do you think, between the first game and the second game? You mentioned confidence. Obviously one of the games was later in the season. But for you, what do you think changed the most for your team between the first time you played Oregon and the second time? I think the first thing is Oregon's got a very good team. I think Dan does a great job in playing in Autzen Stadium. is no joke. You know, it's a difficult place to play. You know, we jumped out to an early lead, but then turned the ball over in the red zone and then, you know, had an onside kick that, you know, the coaches are responsible for that.

48:52We got to better prepare the players. And so they got the ball in plus territory there. And then when we lost Simmons in that game, that certainly set us back as well. And then, you know, it didn't finish the game the way we wanted to. So there was a lot of factors that played into that. And, you know, that was the first time that we had traveled, all the way to the West Coast to play a game since I'd been here for a regular season game. So there was a lot of things there that we need to identify that we need to get better at. We're going to Washington this year. We have to be able to handle that better, handle the environment better.

49:20But on the field, we felt like we had made a lot of adjustments. We had made a lot of changes in all three phases to make sure, again, like we're talking about, that we're growing, that we're getting better, that we're adapting, and that we're kind of, as time goes on, we're re-engineering ourselves. You know, it can't just be the same thing. I say this all the time, like the Apple 1.0 phone doesn't work anymore. Every week you have to upgrade. And so I felt like we did do that and that'll be important this season.

49:47AJ Hawk:So Jeremiah Smith, physically, I don't know, maybe you've seen people that look like that as a true freshman. Adrian Peterson, in 30 years of doing it, Adrian Peterson and Jeremiah Smith are the only true freshmen I've seen that are built and able to do what they are able to do physically. where does he go from here like is it is off season i can't imagine him getting stronger with mick getting quicker and getting more mature what what have you seen in camp from number four well yeah like my wife nina says she says i don't remember anybody walking around our high school hallways looking like jeremiah smith no it's because they weren't no they weren't they don't exist um i think with jeremiah to your point like you know he early in the season was certainly very very talented but you saw him really take off in the second half of the year i think there's just a certain level of confidence now going into this season and he wants to win games you know he knows what's going to happen you know teams are going to try to take take him out in terms of coverage and different things they're going to know where he is but he loves to win i think that's you know he's a he's a you know uh underspoken person like he doesn't he doesn't you know he's out in front of things he's not trying to get out um you know in the media and say certain things but but he loves to win and he loves to compete and so you know when you lose a game i mean he you know he he's he's not himself for a while he loves to win and i think you know he sees himself as winning back-to-back national championships you know he has things he wants to he wants to get done here at ohio state um you know certainly everybody wants to talk about you know where he's going to go next in the NFL and he'll have a great career there but he wants to leave a legacy behind and you know the way he works on a day-to-day basis is a great example to all of our players you know he is a he's a tremendous role model just in how he handles himself but the way he works every single day and we all know when the best players are your hardest workers which you guys have had a lot of that man it just trickles down and and really lets the team manage the personality as much as you try to stand up there and talk.

51:53AJ Hawk:When you've got guys like that and Caleb Downs, I mean, that's a great place to start. Tom? Yeah, Coach, obviously you're a great offensive mind, and you were dealing with a new offensive coordinator last year in Chip Kelly, and then again this year in Brian Hartline, even though he has been there for a long time. But on the defensive side of the ball, Jim Knowles was with you for the last few years, and now you bring in Matt Patricia. How's it been with Matt Patricia, and have you had to teach him at all about the college football game and how offenses potentially run different than what he was used to in the NFL?

52:26Yeah, Matt, if you're ever spending time with Matt, you know how inquisitive he is. He's got a great personality. He's already built great relationships here in the building with recruits, with the players, and he's really embraced the entire program, our culture. And he walked into a room with a bunch of guys that have already been coaches here for a long time at Ohio State, and that's not easy to do, and he did that, and he's doing that. But he's very intelligent, but also inquisitive, and so he constantly is asking questions about the hash marks, how time gets handled at the end of the game in terms of first downs.

53:02That's different than the NFL. There are some differences for sure, and he understands it. He's watched it. he's very, very intelligent. Again, like I said, it has a great background of doing multiple things. So I'm excited to see where this defense goes. They're running around with a bunch of confidence right now. And I'm glad we have him because this is somebody that I've known for a while, but to see him work on a day-to-day basis has been impressive.

53:27AJ Hawk:How will you and Hartline handle the play calling? Is it all him? That's a hard thing for you to let go of i know what what uh how do you envision that saturday um yeah so we spent a lot of time on the game plan and i've said before like if it goes up on the list and it's a first down call like all right if we stamp it then we all have to feel good that that was the call you know and and the more organization that we have on the game plan the better we prepared ourselves and the players the easier game you know the game planning goes and then obviously how you know calling the game will go. So they're all good plays.

54:04And when they're working, that's what really matters is making sure that guys are prepared and, you know, the guys can execute the plays. That's the most important thing. But I'll be right there. You know, I'm right a part of it. He's got a great staff to work with. Tyler Bowen's been excellent to work with, you know, Keenan Bailey, Billy Fessler, Carlos Lachlan. You know, we've got a great group of guys. So everybody's working together to put the best plan together, but ultimately it comes down to execution.

54:26AJ Hawk:We have like 45 seconds. Just, we haven't even asked you, what comes to mind with this breakdown of Texas? You played them late last year. Some new pieces, obviously, in some key areas. Anything stand out in your mind and the keys to this game? Yeah, they're fast. They run around and tackle really well on defense. I feel like, you know, both Sark and, you know, Pete do a great job in terms of what they run schematically. They're going to put pressure on you, you know, with the ball in their hand. You know, Sark does a great job in getting the ball out in space, shooting the ball down the field.

54:57And now you've got a quarterback that can hurt you with his legs as well. So great team speed, a lot of talent. Probably one of the most talented teams we play all season. So we know what it's like because we played them last year. A little bit, you know, a few different guys, but a lot of the same faces as well.

55:11AJ Hawk:Well, we applaud you for playing this kind of game. You know, in the non-conference, there's some people that go a different route. You know, we, as college football fans, most importantly your players, they want to play in these kind of games. They look forward to them for months. So we'll see you this weekend in Columbus. Thanks a lot for hopping on with this coach. Appreciate it. All right, guys. Go Bucs. All right. See you, man. All right. All right. You know, again, nothing against Iowa because Iowa plays Iowa State every year. They've always played people. But it's interesting. That's a big topic, what direction you go in the non-conference.

55:45AJ Hawk:Because Indiana is an example last year. Sometimes it's just we got to 11 wins. We should be in. Not necessarily who you played. Well, and the way it's changed. I mean, they're taking – if they lose that game, it's not the end of the year because it's not a conference game. You can still get a great seed in the playoffs. But, like, they have every right to schedule Albany as opposed to, you know, Texas. But that – and this was the whole conversation when conference realignment started. We were – you know, the rivalry game, sure, but we were worried, like, these were the kind of games that were going to start being absent from week one, week two, and stuff like that.

56:22So very commendable to both programs for agreeing, like, hey, let's play week one. You know, we got Florida State, Alabama.

56:30AJ Hawk:You got Notre Dame, Miami. You got LSU and Clemson. I mean, there's some really, really intriguing, important week one matchups. Does he say take five at this hour or at the end of the show? Take three? Yeah. Take three. Take three. Yeah, because it's only three minutes. Well, we've had a great – that first hour, by the way, for me, just flew by. Appreciate Al Michaels, Ryan Day hopping on. next hour we have adam schefter's cut down uh tuesday in the nfl so we'll talk with him and my buddy joey galloway also at 140 we'll hop on so we are out we'll be back in three

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58:06AJ Hawk:We're here to talk football. Almost got it. Almost got it. Damn near close. This is hour two. First hour flew by really having a lot of fun here. We also have not just Connor and Ty and Tone, but AJ Hawk, another Buckeye. I know he has a huge intro. National champ, NFL, all-time leading tackler, Mr. AJ Hawk. And a baby hogger. How are you, buddy? Kirk, you and Peter look great up there, Kirk. Is Peter all right? I saw him choking on a golf ball. Yeah, he's good. He's good. You guys look just chilling. He already shitted out. Yeah. Funny enough, Hawk, I was pretty nervous about this just because earlier Herbie did not want to, you know, kind of stare you down face to face because he said he's still having PTSD from when you knocked him out.

58:53Oh, he killed me. He killed me. I mean, it is what it is. Oh, the center of alumni game, Kirk. Unfortunately, after that one, they never did it again. Was that your move? Were you a big?

59:02AJ Hawk:No, I gave him that, and it just – He did a bite. I was like, I'll be – How old were you when you were playing that? I can't even remember. Early 30s. Early 30s? And he was 16. He was 15 or 16. Yeah, I couldn't drive yet. Yeah, I rode with my brother. Meanwhile, his head – Yeah, look at it. Some guys' heads are just heavy. Yeah, that size. Well, you're trying to run a triple option at 30 years old. Yeah. I'm still running Ron Allry's offense just trying to run that fidget. But, yeah, AJ knocked me out. I'll tell you what, the clip of you. Yeah, that's about, yeah, right there. The clip of you in that 70-yard touchdown running.

59:44AJ Hawk:How about the shoulder pads, by the way? I know. That's what they were. I know. It was way more than me right there. Yeah, but you didn't have any of your wristbands on and any of that cool stuff that you always wore on. Not for picture day. No, that was just game day. Just picture day. Because we probably had three practices after these pictures. So we were sitting there thinking about we're going to be doing Oklahoma for the next two and a half hours straight. Yeah, that's fair. That's real. Yeah. AJ, we had a good first hour. We started to do some picks. And we're going to let you, if you want to, hop in.

1:00:14AJ Hawk:We picked the Big Ten. I didn't pick. How come? Was it right before? It was right before. We had a guest on. We had a guest on. So were you going to pick Ohio? Well, I was showing respect for our guest. Were you going to pick Ohio State? Well, my pick to win the Big Ten is Penn State. Okay. And my surprise team in the Big Ten is Iowa. Hell yes. So we already kind of covered those bases. Do you find it tough now, actually? No. No, no, no. Not with that. With your son playing for Michigan now and you being in Ohio State. Like, has that? No, it hasn't really. Because your other son played for Ohio State too.

1:00:54AJ Hawk:Yeah, I don't really. That's their thing. I heard he almost beat out Bryce. No, no. Bryce has been money from what I hear. Which is great news. He's been great. We haven't even talked. Michigan, would you consider them a surprise just coming off the year they have? Are they preseason top 25? They're right on that tier because obviously I think the top is still Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon. Yeah. And then I think it's Michigan. Yeah. And maybe you can, if you believe in Illinois. Why are you sleeping on Illinois? Yeah, just because people are talking about Illinois. It's hard to pick them as a sleeper when they're 12th in the AP.

1:01:28I have PTSD from last year because Illinois is of the same ilk, as Pete Thamel would say. Sure, of course. Last year, they have the same DNA of, like, last year when Oklahoma State went 10-2 or whatever, and they brought back 20 starters. And then they fell off. And Virginia Tech brought back 20 starters, and everyone was high on them. and then they fell off. So I have PTSD. That's why I'm not – I need a team like that to prove it. Who's AJ have for the Big Ten? Ohio State. Go Bucs. You know that. Okay. O-H. Right. I-O. My sleeper team would be Illinois. I don't care if the others ranked him at 12th.

1:02:05Nah, that's pretty damn good. Yeah, I mean, Bielma's doing something great down there. Okay. Over there. He does have a history of success in the Big Ten. Yeah. He does. Yeah. Which is huge. And if Illinois either won the Big Ten or made it to the college football playoff, that would be a massive surprise still. Totally agree.

1:02:23AJ Hawk:That place, if they're winning, just like Kinnick, has more of a reputation. Illinois has been so bad for so long, people don't realize that's a really huge home field advantage if they can win. When was the last time they were good? Aurelius Ben? Is that name correct? Juice Williams. Juice Williams. And I don't even think, but they weren't 12 NBA people. I'm going back. In our era, they were really good. But they had linebackers all in the NFL, Kevin Hardy. I mean, 80s, 90s, Illinois, you didn't want to go there. But it's been a long time. How about the SEC? Who do you guys have to win in the – did we pick the SEC?

1:03:00AJ Hawk:We did. We did. The ACC. ACC. Who do you have? I mean, it's just kind of a one-team conference, right? Clemson, then the underdog would just be North Carolina. But a lot of people are talking Miami, though, With Carson Beck, did you watch the quarterback transferring down there? I'm basically the opposite. They spent a ton of money, like Texas Dick. Basically the opposite of a Carson Beck believer, you could say. So that's why I would lean that boy Dabo in their name, image, and likeness in God's eyes. But also North Carolina. What happens if they are kind of like in Indiana where they bring in 70 new guys and Belichick is still Bill Belichick and reminds everybody of that and that the college game is simpler so it might help them out?

1:03:41too, but I would love to see UNC be great. Clemson, I think. They have national championship aspirations. I don't know if you could really call them a sleeper since they made the playoff last year, but SMU, same deal. I think that'd be like, hey, I want to see it again. We'll see. I don't know. ACC in general, it does just feel like it's a one-horse race and that's it. Okay, so no respect from Miami at all. I'm in the same boat with Carson Beck and I feel like it's a lot different. Cam Ward was the number one Beck in the NFL draft.

1:04:14AJ Hawk:Why are you there? Because physically, you could argue he's the most gifted college quarterback right now, this year. I just don't think he was that good last year to begin with. The expectations for him now when you pay him$4 million or whatever was reported, it's like, hey, he needs to be the best quarterback in college football this year. I'm just not there. Do you guys think it's more mental? I think it's Georgia loved him, he'd be a Georgia Bulldog. And that's the bottom line. And for them to let him leave doesn't make me think like, oh, okay, so Kirby Smart still is a huge fan of Carson Beck if he walked out the door and went to Miami.

1:04:53And it's not like they went 9-4 or something. Like they had success. They went to the college football playoff. Right. But they still let him go. So that's why I just am not a huge believer.

1:05:04AJ Hawk:All right, Tom, what do you got in the ACC? Clemson. Oh, just a sweep here. Okay. And you guys are saying it like you're almost offended by the question. No, no, no. It's just like because they have so much coming back and they have so much first-round talent on defense. And Klumnik had 43 touchdowns last year, which I don't think a lot of people know about or whatever. And I love Tom Allen coming down from Penn State. Finally, I think they have a decent defensive coordinator. I think it would be shocking if Clemson didn't. Obviously, Miami's the second team there. For a sleeper, is Louisville a sleeper?

1:05:37I think so, yeah. I think they're probably the third. Sleeper sleeper would be Duke. Duke has been quietly really, really good the last four or five years. They've had coaching changes or whatever. But Darian Mensah comes in from Tulane who was really good there. It's a good one. I like that. They have a chance to shock some people. All right, AJ, what do you have in the ACC? I mean, how do you pick against Clemson? Like what Tone said with everyone they have coming back and Dabo. I mean, people forget Clemson was like they were it. What, I don't know, 10 years ago? It was dumb in Bama every year.

1:06:10They won in 19-19. Yeah, it was like Clemson's going to do this for the next 30 years, it felt like. So it is kind of weird to see how they have somewhat fallen off, but they still make the playoffs last year. Yeah, Clemson's legit still.

1:06:20AJ Hawk:Any upset or any surprise, Dean? Kirk, how's North Carolina going to do? You said you're calling their game Monday night. You have to be pretty intrigued at the product that is going to be on that field. Yeah. What do you bring, 70 new players in? 70, yeah. That's a lot. I mean, it's impossible to know what to think of them until you see them on Monday night. You know, I mean, it's... As far as the game goes, though, like you would know... They're an underdog at home. Yeah, but you would know as far as like the scheme itself, like on a scale of like one to ten, how simpler will it be for Bill Belichick to call defenses to confuse people in college?

1:06:56AJ Hawk:I don't just think it's as simple as that. I don't think it's just he's a mastermind. I think, first of all, the college coaches are pretty good. I think it's more of how does he adapt to 18, 19, 20-year-old kids that still go to class and are part of a campus, whereas when he was up at New England or with the Giants, I mean, he was grown men. Pro football. Yeah, pro football. They show up at 7 in the morning, and you're there until 5 or 6 later at night, and it's 7 days a week, and that's what you do. And that's where I think his advantage would really come into play. I don't know. That's what I think some of the intrigue of this matchup is.

1:07:37AJ Hawk:I would not sleep on the team they're playing. I mean, if we're having a relay race or we're playing the Olympics of some kind of pick seven categories, I mean, TCU athletically is at a very, very high level. So it's going to be interesting to see how he did it a million times in New England, maybe be outmatched physically and win the game. Yeah. I mean, that's what he did. Exactly. Yeah, and just not losing ever because of his own mistakes, always making sure it was – But the players kind of ultimately had to execute that on the field. I mean, he had the mind, that beautiful mind, to kind of help them see what they needed to see.

1:08:18AJ Hawk:But at some point, they had to take it onto the field and have those moments that ended up winning so many games. So I'm thinking it'll happen. but what happened week one, year one, I have no idea. Don't you think there's a little bit of an inverse with that? That can work in the NFL because obviously everyone is so good already, so you can be the less talented team, and coaching can get you wins that maybe they shouldn't. But by and large in college, if one roster is much better than the other roster, I just don't know. I don't care how good of a coach you are. Sometimes you just can't overcome that deficiency.

1:08:56Right. I think that's fair.

1:08:56AJ Hawk:And again, I think that's why there's so much excitement to see him coaching in college, you know, and in this first game, you know, where they are. They're an underdog, you know, and no one knows a thing about his roster. And he doesn't either. Think about it. Like Belichick doesn't really know what he has either. That's the thing until you get out there in the field for your first game. And there is actually Darius has said this before in the show. New England was different. Like on defense, when Bill was in the league, there's times where, hey, this week, they might be playing a four down front.

1:09:28Oh, next week they come in, they almost install a whole new defense. They're doing a three down front. They have a different look. He was able to mix things up from week to week. I think that's just – obviously that's going to be a learning process in college, like how much game he put on these guys. That's very fair. And even just looking at the players, to your point, when Jonas Gray ran for four touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts, he was cut the next day because he was late to the plate. So you wonder if situations like that happen where if your quarterback might miss a class, but he's the best player in the conference.

1:09:59Who knows? Maybe that's what happens this year. Is Bill going to still do things of that ilk, if you will, towards his players when they are out of line a little, but also knowing they're 18, 19 years. I'm just pumped to see him back on the sideline. I am too. I'm just so excited to see him coaching in football. Yeah. Hold on. Let's not let this guy off the hook. You gave us a bunch of shit for taking Clemson. Are you not taking Clemson?

1:10:23AJ Hawk:That's a great point. I did not I said your tone was like, I mean, Clemson. I think Miami's more of a player than I think you guys are making them sound. I think Clemson's the team to beat in the ACC, but I would not be surprised if Carson Beck had a good year and if Carson Beck at Miami ended up in the playoff. That would not shock me at all. My surprise is Georgia Tech. Brent Key. Remember the Georgia Tech game late last year? Should have won the game. I just think there's something there. Haynes King is a quarterback that probably a whole lot of people watching or listening don't know much about.

1:11:03AJ Hawk:That kid is really, really talented. It seems like he's been dealing with injuries a lot. He's had to overcome. It's because he doesn't get down. He just tries to run through a brick wall every play. Yeah. Yeah, but I'm telling you, Georgia Tech, and they open up with Colorado. I know. That's another exciting one this weekend. It is. It is. We're about to have Shefty on. Is there anything, if you had to say right now, what player's getting cut? What story? Has there been anything up to this point? Shefty maybe shed some light on some players maybe that got cut this morning. But anything surprise here?

1:11:36AJ Hawk:Any big names? I guess the biggest would be not a cut, but picket going to the Raiders. Yeah. And now we're all just assuming both rookies, Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders, are going to be along with Joe Flacco, right? I mean, that's a fair assumption at this point, I think. Yeah, without a doubt. Without a doubt. I don't know. I mean, we were talking about this earlier. Like, when it comes to cut day, it seems like this year specifically, too, all the insiders have been tweeting, like, every person that gets cut. And a lot of these guys, it's like, well, I've never heard of this guy before. I don't know.

1:12:07But if they're tweeting about it, it must be some sort of news, you know. So, we'll see. I mean, obviously, the Trey Hendrickson is big. And then still, Shefty was the one last week who said that he thought the Micah and Cowboys situation was heading towards a divorce. He didn't know when it would be. But I think that still looms over everything. Yeah, some receivers, the Raiders, Jacoby Myers requested a trade. There's something going on with Adam Thielen in Carolina and Minnesota. There are those situations where that cut down day brings where it's like, they might really like a rookie and some vet who's making$30 million or$20 million, whatever, is going somewhere else.

1:12:49So stuff like that happens.

1:12:51AJ Hawk:AJ, I want to ask you, and I know you guys always get asked this on this day, but you've been where it's not an issue at all and you just knew you were going to make the team. And then you get a little bit older in your career and you're wondering this day feels a little bit different. What are players going through on this day today, especially those guys that are fighting for those last five, six, seven spots? Yeah, it's brutal. I mean, I think a lot of the times, you know, going into the final, like, you know, the last eight, 10 days of camp, like where, who the kind of bubble is, like where that bubble is, where the spots are where you have too many guys at one spot and might be a little too deep and you might not make the team.

1:13:25But the tough thing is guys get that initial final cut. And sometimes people think, oh, sweet. They called their families. Hey, I made it. I made the team. I'm on the squad. But then you have those 24 hours to clear waivers. And you could still, if your team likes somebody that got cut somewhere else, they can still kick you to the curb the next day and bring this guy in off waivers. So until it's all cleared and waivers have cleared, try not to get too juiced up, I would say, if you've made the squad.

1:13:50AJ Hawk:Okay. Yeah, I can imagine. Because that's a game-changing day. life-changing I should say day for a lot of these guys let's let's bring our guy in and find out if there are some some stories that are breaking out Adam Schefter from ESPN who's on top of it

1:14:09AJ Hawk:what's going on gentlemen how we doing good how are you how are you we were just talking Schefter about just you know what's the latest nobody better than you is there been anything this morning or this early afternoon where some moves have been made? The one blockbuster of the day. It just transpired. Breaking news. Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift announced their engagement. What? Wow! Wow! That is! Wow! That trumps all these cuts. That was on a day with hundreds of transactions. The biggest one of all was Travis Kelsey entering to that arrangement with Taylor Swift, becoming engaged. And look at the setting, Chef.

1:14:55Perfect. Who would have thought that Jason Kelsey is going to be Taylor Swift's brother-in-law? Wow. Not me! And all those doubters a couple years ago, they all said it was fake. This program loves love. If Pat was here, he would say those exact words, and we've always been rooting for this.

1:15:13AJ Hawk:Oh, you guys have? Oh, yeah. Big time. The internet's not approved of this? on your internet probably not I know you guys enjoy this story it's split right down the middle I'm a Taylor Swift guy I have been since Fearless so this isn't any news to me everybody hopping on the train but yeah I would say a lot of people either are pumped about this or hate it with the passion of a thousand suns so you go to her concerts yeah we went to Ares Tour when it was here it was awesome It was incredible. But actually, those other people, they should stop hating it because they all thought it was an act. So now, unless they think it's this act.

1:15:53That's next level acting. That's a good point, actually. They should love it now because it's real. It's real.

1:15:58AJ Hawk:Well, Shefty, we really didn't expect you to break this. This is curveball. Wow. That's massive news. Remember this day forever. Connor's crying over here. He's got a tear in his eyes. Holy shit, man. This is crazy. I thought he was going to say Micah's died or something. We just hit on the Browns with Kenny Pickett going to Las Vegas. Obviously, both these rookies now are going to be on the roster. Is that fair to say? Yeah, I think they're going to carry both of them. They were planning to carry four. If you listen to Andrew Barry during the local TV broadcast over the weekend, he made it sound like they were going to carry all four.

1:16:33So now they've essentially traded Kenny Pickett to the Raiders for a fifth-round pick in 26. And there's three guys on the roster. Now, they could always, I guess, maybe bring back Tyler Huntley if they wanted to carry a fourth or sign another quarterback. But I think that they feel pretty good about having Dylan Gabriel and Shador Sanders on the roster. Joe Flacco is going to start in the opener. And look, these guys, Flacco gets the first chance this year. I would think at some point in time, Gabriel, Shador Sanders might get an opportunity. But let's also remember this. the Cleveland Browns have 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft.

1:17:12They've got their first round pick and Jacksonville's first round pick. They've got double fives, double sixes. So they are loaded up with picks in what is going to be a quarterback rich draft in 26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1:17:27AJ Hawk:Shefty, can you clear the air on speaking of the internet? Shador Sanders is, it seems to be a very polarizing figure. Everybody wants to talk about him, has an opinion. Some are real positive. Some have concerns. What's real? What do the Browns think of who he is? And what do they think of Dylan Gabriel and what he has shown? Seems to be kind of a forgotten commodity at times, in my opinion. You know, Herbie, I think this. I think they think that Shador Sanders is a rookie quarterback and there's going to be good moments and there's going to be bad moments. And And he was the 144th pick in the draft.

1:18:03And so I don't think they're counting on him to be their savior. They think they might have something. They don't know what they have. He looked great in the first preseason game against Carolina. He didn't look quite as effective against the Rams when he held on to the football too long and took sacks and made plays that basically, I think, contributed to him falling in the draft. And the truth is probably somewhere in between where a lot of rookies are going to have ups and downs. Shador Sanders had him during the preseason. And it's the Browns' job to bring him along, develop him, give him a chance, and see what kind of quarterback he could be at the next level.

1:18:39And I think the same is true of Dylan Gabriel. Let's remember, they drafted Dylan Gabriel two rounds ahead of Shador Sanders. So the organization had a higher opinion, higher regard, more belief in Dylan Gabriel when they drafted him than Shador Sanders. That's the fact of the matter on where they were drafted. Dylan Gabriel's looked good during the summer, and my guess would be that he's going to be the backup for Joe Flacco. And it wouldn't surprise me if both rookie quarterbacks at some point this season get some type of opportunity to play.

1:19:10AJ Hawk:Okay, great. AJ, what do you have, bud? Chef, do you want to pivot? Obviously, everyone's asked you a million times about Micah Parsons, but in the next seven to ten days, is anything going to happen? And if he's not playing week one, where is he going to be? Will he be on the sideline with a back tightness? What's it going to look like? It's been the biggest question at training camp, aside from when Taylor and Travis would get engaged. It can be the biggest question of training camp. And here's what I would say today. As negative as this situation has been, Terry McLaurin and the commanders were not close to a deal, and they figured something out.

1:19:47Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals were not close to a deal, and they figured something out. If both of those sides can figure something out, That gives me some hope that there's a solution in there somehow for Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. That's the upside. The downside is where they're currently at. They're currently in a state where the two sides have had absolutely zero discussions about a new deal since Jerry and Micah had their offseason meetings in late March, early April. They've had zero negotiations, zero proposals, zero back and forth. We've got Jerry really worked up and disappointed with the way this transpired.

1:20:32We've got Micah announcing the fact that he wants to be traded. We've got Micah not practicing at all during the summer, him saying he's got a tight back. And so they opened the season in nine days, a week from Thursday in Philadelphia. And even if the two sides can figure out a solution, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen right now, today. Even if they could do that, Michael will play, but he'd be limited. If they don't figure out a solution, my guess is his back is going to be too tight to play that night. That's going to be my guess. We'll see how that works out. And if they don't figure out a new contract, I think it's the type of drama that threatens to hang over with this team's collective heads all season long to where you don't know whether or not he's playing.

1:21:25He's got so much money at stake. Whenever he does get a new deal from whoever he gets a new deal from, he's going to become the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history. So from a guy who didn't play in his senior year or his last year at Penn State when it was COVID, I just think he's going to be very careful about when and if he's on the football field if he doesn't have a new deal. New deal, everything's off. And right now they're not talking. But Hendrickson and McLaurin, I think, provide some hope that somehow they could figure out a way. This is the time that these things usually happen.

1:22:04But the issue with this particular situation is nothing has happened. Nothing. And Jerry's dug in. So you tell me how that's going to break, how that's going to snap, and we'll figure out whether they can get something done to get him back in uniform.

1:22:18AJ Hawk:All the while, Shefty, you've got a brand-new head coach in Shadi who's just trying to fix all the other concerns that have haunted this organization over the last several years. Ty, what do you have, bud? Yeah, Shefty, you mentioned Trey Hendrickson. That happened yesterday right as we got off the air. Is this a situation where we're going to be kind of right back in the same spot next year? Obviously, they get a little bit more team control. He can still be franchise-tagged, and he gets a nice little pay bump. But had this been in the works for like a couple days, or was it really just like, hey, let's put our swords down and get something done because our defense absolutely stinks and we need a little juice and we need to get you back out there?

1:23:00I would say this, that it's a case where Trey and the Bengals were really frustrated with each other over the weekend. So I think it kind of came together quickly. and the Bengals didn't or weren't prepared to pay him the type of money over a couple of years, two, three years that he wanted. And I think he was looking for long-term security, couldn't get it. And the solution, in the end, was doing this deal where he collects a$14 million raise. $14 million raise. And, uh, up, up, up, up. Okay. Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh. Just minor little things. Just minor little things. Don't up-up-up us for minor little things, Shafty.

1:23:47You get us excited. You got a house fire again? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:23:55AJ Hawk:I love these. I love these live updates. There's nothing bad. It's sweet. I wish it was a home run, though, right? That was a foul ball in a left field line. Exactly. Shot on goal and soccer. So, anyway. I was on Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals. Is that where it is? Yeah. They came together. Again, that's what gives me some semblance of hope that maybe Mike and the Cowboys can have some type of breakthrough. Because I'm just telling you, over the weekend, these sides were nowhere. And it came together really quickly. And that's kind of how it happened. Okay. You can take some time there because Connor is going to hop in next with a question.

1:24:36Yeah, Shefty. and again I'm probably going to ask a terrible question so you can ignore it if you want but there's a report I forget who tweeted exactly but Jalen Milrow is going to have his own you know package for Seattle this year going to definitely be playing with the first team yeah here it is with a special set of plays that they'll have in the game plan what is the expectation in Seattle when it comes to Milrow they signed Darnold to the three-year deal but the way the contract works a A lot of people are saying that it's really just a one-year deal and they can get out of it. Do they have hopes for Jalen Milrow to be the future in Seattle?

1:25:14And how much time should we expect him to get early on in the season? Herbie could answer this better than I could probably, but I would just say to you that they drafted Jalen Milrow to develop Jalen Milrow. And while they're developing him, and that could be a couple of years, I think they want to utilize his talents because while we could not take advantage of the skill set that he brings you and what he can do, and Jalen Milrow can be a weapon on offense for the Seahawks, and they know that. So they're going to utilize him in certain spots while they plan to develop him. And by the way, while they develop him, we don't know what kind of quarterback he is or isn't going to turn into.

1:25:53But I'll say this. They are very pleased with Sam Darnold right now. I don't think they're thinking of saying, okay, let's get Jalen Miller ready here for 2027 so he can supplant Sam Darnold. They are obviously focused on 25, and they believe in Sam Darnold. And by all accounts, he's looked really good this summer. They are very happy. I know that to be the case. And we'll see how he plays and how he produces this season. But Millbro's going to be factored into their offense. He's going to be mixed in. He'll be a weapon. but I think that they plan on developing him over time. Tom? Shepty, there is a couple wide receivers who are rumored to potentially be on the trade market.

1:26:35Jacoby Myers, who had 1 ,000 yards last season. He hasn't had less than 800 yards in like the last five seasons. He's been very productive, and I don't think he gets talked about enough. And then Adam Thielen, who had 1 ,000 yards two years ago, was banged up last year but probably would have had another 1 ,000 last year with Bryce Young. Both of those guys are talked about being potentially traded. Thielen specifically to the Vikings. What's the latest on those two? Yeah, they have not made much progress. They have not been able to bridge their differences. And again, I'll lean on the Hendrickson-McClurin theories that these things sometimes can come together, but Carolina is not willing to give Adam Thielen away.

1:27:12And so right now, subject to this changing, it looks like it won't happen, but you never know if there's going to be a last push here today or tomorrow to get a deal done to send Adam Thielen. Now, if you're the Vikings, you say, yeah, we'd love to have Adam Thielen, but we're not going to pay what Carolina wants. Maybe we just go sign K.J. Osborne, who the commander's released today, and can step in to Minnesota and knows the offense there, and can help provide some relief until Jordan Addison comes back from his suspension and Jalen Naylor recovers from his hand injury and Justin Jefferson is recovered from his hamstring injury.

1:27:46So, deal into the Vikings. The Vikings have tried, and they continue to try. But up until now, it just doesn't look like it's going to happen. The other, who was the other receiver? Jacoby Myers. Yeah. My understanding is the Raiders had one team reach out to them. They wanted the Raiders to pay some of the$11 million salary, and the Raiders are not willing to do that, and they're not looking to deal them. So Jacoby Myers is going to be there, barring something unforeseen happening. I mean, they could decide a few games in. He's not happy. He's not behaving well. But they don't want to trade him.

1:28:22And they view him as a productive player. He's been a really good player. And he's entering the last year of his deal. So they want to hold on to him in Vegas. They're not looking to deal him. And right now, they have no intention of trading him.

1:28:35AJ Hawk:Shefty, just talking to so many different people that you talk to, are there any teams besides the obvious? We know about Buffalo. We know about the behemoths, Baltimore, the Kansas City Chiefs. If you had to guess a team or two that you think putting some young pieces together and they look like they could become a team that's in the playoffs, is it Atlanta, is it Seattle, is it Arizona? Who do you think could make a possible run and surprise some people this year based on the people you've been talking with? Well, let me say this, that at this time last year, I was convinced that the Broncos were going to do just what you're talking about.

1:29:13And I believe that the Washington Commanders of Jaden Daniels was going to do what he did. So if I'm going to identify a couple of teams in that category this year, first of all, I think people, I know they've won the division four straight years, but I don't think the Buccaneers are getting enough attention as a proven team. as a sleeper team, a long shot team that we think is going to make a jump up this year. The first team I'll look at would be the New England Patriots. I just think with Mike Vrabel there, he's going to have them playing hard and Drake May is poised to take a jump. And I'm not trying to make Boston Conner any happier here, but I think that here are going to have a chance to compete for the playoffs.

1:29:56So, yeah, you can tell Mike Vrabel I'm dialing up the heat on him here, right? No doubt. Playoff team, right? Tough. You know, he's going to have a nice Labor Day weekend here after getting through cuts, a little break, and we got me dolling up the pressure on the Patriots saying that they could make a playoff push here. But I think they can. I think they're good enough to do that. They've got some holes, but I think that that team is poised to make a jump. I think Arizona is going to be better than people realize. I think the New York Giants, brutal schedule. But I think that team is a little bit better than people realize this year.

1:30:27AJ Hawk:Those are good ones. Falcons, if Pennix can stay healthy, it seems like they have a shot. Is there anything you're waiting on right now? I mean, we all get excited for this day to find out who might be let go. There always seems to be a few surprises. Is there anything out there that we should all be kind of waiting on that's an either-or situation with any NFL? Aside from a wedding date for a Taylor and Travis. That's fair, yes. I think that we could see Cam Robinson, the Houston Texans, left tackle, traded. The Texans drafted a tackle in the second round. I have to look at the name to be able to pronounce it correctly because it's not a simple name to pronounce.

1:31:10When I look at it, I think I can pronounce it correctly. Give me a moment here. Hold on one second. Okay. So their new left tackle is – here we go. I hope I say it right. Aronte Ursary. Aronte Ursary. Awesome name. Cam Robinson struggled with injuries. Ursary had a chance to take over the summer. Not only stepped into that role, but shined. It made it such that the Texans can trade Cam Robinson. I think it wouldn't surprise me if he's traded. We're still waiting for the Vikings to make a move at wide receiver. Whether that's trading for a receiver, signing KJ Osborne. doing whatever it is that they do.

1:31:55And there's obviously still going to be a slew of moves made between now and the 4 o 'clock deadline, 146 minutes from right now. Is the Vikings trade, Sheffy, that's strictly because of the Addison suspension, or is there any worry with Justin Jefferson's health? Well, again, you've got Jefferson coming off a soft tissue injury. He's expected to be ready for the opener. You've got Jalen Naylor, who would have been their third. He has a hand injury. Not sure how much time he's going to miss. and you've got Jordan Addison serving a three-game suspension. So there's a few receivers that are banged up, and you've got a quarterback playing his first NFL snaps.

1:32:30So you want to give him as much support as you can, being that he's never played in an NFL game before. So they need to come up with another receiver or two here, and we'll see what they can do to help out J.J. McCarthy.

1:32:43AJ Hawk:All right, one last question for you. Yeah, Shifty, real quick, because we haven't talked about it in a while, and I don't know if it's because Cam Hayward went back to practice, but there was never really a resolution on his contract that I'm aware of. Is he just going to – did that just go away, or what's going on right now with Cam? No, it did not go away. It's still there. It is unresolved. And, you know, I think Cam Hayward talked about the fact that he was willing to retire. Now, I haven't heard anything since then, but there are a few unresolved situations. And this one just has not generated as much conversation, either because people don't believe him or he's older or whatever it may be.

1:33:24But I think this one, we haven't heard the last of this one just yet. And we'll see where direction that goes. I don't think he's been a part of a team practice yet. He's gone through individual drills. He's done running. He's changed. But I don't think he's practiced with the team yet this summer. I think it's because DK and Aaron went on his podcast and said, oh, Cam, I forgot it's all about you and your money. And I think that kind of solved the whole thing. Oh, so that was it? Okay, great. Then it's all over. Sounds like he's getting a couple of those under-the-table Italian knuckle sandwiches, if you ask me.

1:33:56Maybe. We saved money on a punter yesterday. Maybe we'll just give that to Kim.

1:33:58AJ Hawk:There you go. There you go. Shefty, man, you really are always dialed in. Appreciate you hopping on with us. And look forward to seeing what comes down. How many minutes left? 100 and what? Right now we've got... 143? 120, 143. Well done, Kurt. And who would have ever thought this segment would start the way it did? I never thought that this segment today would lead off with that news. That I actually sent out as an ESPN alert. Because I felt like there's enough interest. Isn't that power? Yeah, I didn't know you had that power. Oh, yeah. Are you a Swifty too, Shefty? Let me say this. That I took my wife and my daughter.

1:34:42We saw her in Foxborough. in the rain show. It was incredible. She was remarkable. It wasn't raining. It was pouring for three and a half hours. And you never would have known. Like, if that were me standing out in the rain after two minutes, I'd be like, get me an umbrella, get me inside. I'm way too soft for this. She'd be out there, played the piano in the rain. You never would have thought anything was wrong. And it was incredible. She walked out that night. She said, I've performed in the rain before, but this is the rainiest of rain shows I've ever been a part of. And it was. It was a monsoon.

1:35:20And she didn't flinch.

1:35:22AJ Hawk:Blink. And the crowd didn't blink. That was a special night. Probably loved it. Shefty, you're the man. Thanks, buddy. See you soon. Thank you all. Appreciate it. See you, buddy. Appreciate it. She's a legend when it comes to performing. Yeah. She's just a gamer. Entertainer. Just goes through it. Well, it's so long. Yeah. Three and a half hours? Yeah. Like that rain one, I remember when that happened. Shefty trying to secure that invite. Sorry, but Shefty's just trying to secure that invite. Yeah, it does feel like that. Tone, I always love when we have Shefty on. You get to the bottom of the Steelers, don't you?

1:35:52Well, you know, if there's pertinent information. I don't like to force things in there, but if there's a contract thing going on, yeah. But one of the things he brought up that we talked about in our extensive pre-show meeting was J.J. McCarthy. And you know how it's technically his second year, but it's obviously his first year starting. and not having Jordan Addison and if Justin Jefferson is hobbled at all or whatever. Cheptie's right. He does need those guys to start the year. Do you agree? Naylor, too. Yeah, obviously.

1:36:23AJ Hawk:He needs all the pieces. We were talking about how KOC has probably one of the most quarterback-friendly offenses in the NFL. What he was able to do last year with Sam Darnold, what he did with Kirk Cousins. if they have their pieces I'm one that I know everybody's going to cast judgment on what happened in camp and preseason at a practice but I think J.J. McCarthy in this system can be a superstar I think he can do what Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold did but bring you that youthful energy to make three or four plays a game and in this system you don't have to do necessarily much more than that distribute the ball don't make mistakes and once in a while use your legs to to make a play and i i just think you know hopefully he gets his pieces all together and they i think they could become a real if they're healthy they could become a challenge to the lions in that division and the pack yeah i mean i just i wonder about expectations for this year because i think a lot of people last year while sam darnold was still having his run were saying like hey next year you know Whenever J.J.

1:37:34McCarthy takes the reins, this team could go to another level. And then they won 14 games last year. They almost won the division. Their defense is really good. Their defense is very good. But it's tough to think that I understand how talented he is. I mean, I saw him play a bunch at Michigan, too. It's tough to think that someone's going to come in and have a better year and to think that, hey, this team might win 15 games and be the number one team in the NFC. I still think it's going to take a little bit of time.

1:38:05AJ Hawk:Put that graphic back up real quick if you can. What's the best division, top to bottom, you guys think? NFC North? I'd say NFC North. NFC North? Yeah. You wouldn't be shocked by any team winning that, would you? The NFC North? NFC North. If either four teams won, you wouldn't be flabbergasted. No, yeah. The Bears would be the longest odds, but you can see it still with the Bears winning. Yeah. What about the AFC West? Do you think the Raiders are coming with Pete Carroll? It's vastly improved. Because, I mean, you know about Denver and Kansas City and even the Raiders, or I mean even the Chargers.

1:38:44AJ Hawk:If the Raiders are with, we just assume Pete Carroll, Chip Kelly, all the pieces they got, Chino coming in at quarterback. I mean, I think they're better. What's the worst division? AFC South. Yeah, by far. Actually, someone just tweeted out, now two of the four starting running backs in that division are out for the first four games. It was mixing for the Texans and Spears for the Titans, I believe. Yeah, that division's wide open. We normally would say the NFC South, but I think Atlanta and Carolina are showing enough. Tampa's already there. AFC West and NFC West are both the divisions where everybody's like, hey, this insert team in this division might be much better this year.

1:39:24We just heard it again about Arizona. have heard it about Seattle, and then the AFC West, just because every single coach, I think everybody has a ton of respect for. You could believe. For sure. For sure.

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1:40:27AJ Hawk:uh we now have another guest on we're gonna bring in uh my man joseph scott galloway who played in the nfl for i want to say 18 years 25 years what'd you say what'd you say 25 years still running to 4-3 joey galloway he's running right now joe what would you what would you run a 40 in today if you were stretched out prepared what would be your guess on a on a 40 right now there is no uh what would happen in a 40 right now for me i i hung those shoes up when i decided i wanted to get better at golf now that that that has not gone well either on either side i might as well just keep running 40s because the golf side of this thing is not going well i played today and it was ugly so i might as well start running again to be honest with you what would you shoot today it was one of those so i played muirfield village which has not been kind to me over the years and quite honestly that's where the big dogs play that's where the big yeah yeah yeah yeah and i and i was a little dog out there and i played and uh it was one of those when you stop keeping score on the back nine sure it's one of those rounds oh what am i what am i that's my every round.

1:41:48Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That's why I play nine holes. No point right now these doubles and triples any longer. It's just, let's just move on to the next hole.

1:41:55AJ Hawk:Yeah. That's a frustrating day. You'll, you'll, you'll bounce back. How many days a week are you playing golf in the off season? Well, uh, I try to get at least one. What happens now, once football season gets rolling, uh, because I help coach my kids, which AJ Hawk can understand, uh, Herb, you, you've graduated out of this nowadays, but the helping coach the kids thing rules the day. And so I'm helping with a couple football teams. And so the golf game has taken a backseat to that. Got it. Got it. You're Ohio State, Texas, so many big games starting on Thursday, college football. We went through each conference, kind of picked our teams that we think could win each of the Power Four conferences.

1:42:39AJ Hawk:What about you in the Big Ten? Are you in Ohio State? Do you think Ohio State will win that conference? Do you think Penn State? Who do you think will come out of there alive? I think Ohio State comes out alive. A lot of people like Penn State. I like Penn State. But until I see Penn State get over the hump in the big game, I think it's still Ohio State's conference to lose. We'll see what Julian Sane looks like. Obviously, through a season, Your young quarterbacks don't have to grow up. He's got to make some plays for you. I think right now, Ohio State's still the best team in the Big Ten. AJ, what do you think?

1:43:14Joey, so in this matchup, Jeremiah Smith, what are defenses going to do this year to try to take him away, and what can they do offensively? We know they have Cardinal Tate. They have plenty of talent around him, but specifically with Jeremiah, we know what he's done, like taking over the college world. What do you think opposing defenses will do to him? Well, if they're smart, they just double-team him and stay back. I would give him as many hitches as he wants, and I would make him play underneath and just not – that coverage right there, I wouldn't play that coverage. That did not work. I would get away from that coverage.

1:43:49I would make sure I kept him underneath and just try to tackle the guy. He's going to get his. He's at that stage where he is absolutely going to get his. You just don't want him to break the game wide open. And that coverage right there didn't work either. So, yeah, you got to keep him underneath, tackling, double teaming. I would make someone else on the field beat me besides Jeremiah Smith. Tone? Yeah, obviously Jeremiah Smith is an absolute stud, but he has a new quarterback thrown to him. Oregon has a new quarterback. Bama has a new quarterback. Notre Dame has a new quarterback. Georgia has a new quarterback.

1:44:27All these teams are in the top ten. And so do you give teams like, say, Clemson, Penn State, that actually have a quarterback coming back, that they have an idea what they have with that quarterback? Do you give those teams an early advantage? Even LSU, as we're looking right now, with Nuts coming back too. Do you give those teams an advantage early in the season? I do. And probably because I played receiver, it just makes me know how important that quarterback is to what you're trying to accomplish. Because there is going to be times in a season, no matter what. You could be the best running team in the country.

1:45:02There are going to be times when your quarterback has to make plays for you in big moments and big games. And so if you have a guy that's been there, if you're Klubnick and Clemson, I think that's why a lot of people like Clemson right now. And that's honestly why a lot of people like Penn State because they're returning quarterback situation. I do. I think it gives you a leg up. Now, with you starting off in big games, if you're Texas and Ohio State and you're starting off in these big games, if you're Clemson, you're starting off in a big game against LSU, it makes the quarterback grow up fast and you find out what you have really early in your season.

1:45:36And then if your team's like Ohio State and you play at Texas and then you have a couple games in there that are winnable football games, you find out what your young quarterback can do in the big moments. And then he has time to grow when you play Clemson, when you play OU. He has some time to grow and get, I guess, more settled because the Texas game won't be very settling for Julian Sayan. It's going to be a learning situation for him and a big moment. He's got to make some plays.

1:46:01AJ Hawk:It's crazy. That graphic, seven of the top ten in the preseason AP, all new quarterbacks. You have three guys that bring you experience with the team that they are playing for this year. Ty? Yeah, Joey, speaking of that game on Saturday, there's been a lot of talk about Arch Manning leading up to the start of the season. and some people saying, hey, this guy should be the Heisman favorite. He's going to be the number one pick in the draft whenever he comes out. And then some people saying, well, slow down. He's maybe the fifth or sixth best quarterback in the SEC. What are you expecting to see from him, not only Saturday, but this whole year?

1:46:39Obviously, Texas, a lot of people are picking to win the national championship with all the talent they have around Arch. Well, we've heard so much about him. And me and Kirk, we sort of joke about this a lot. But it's when this is the time of year when everyone's picking the Heisman, when Archman is going to be the best quarterback anybody's ever seen. And we've yet to see that happen on the field. This is that time for the big statements. Everyone's trying to hit a home run early in the season so that later on they can say, hey, I was right. I need to see it. I've been covering college football now for – I'm in double digits now.

1:47:16I'm getting old. There you go.

1:47:17AJ Hawk:There you go. There you go. And I've been around long enough to know, hey, I need to see it first. I think he's super talented. I think that he'll be a really good quarterback. I'm just not in the camp that is saying he's going to win the Heisman. Can he? Yes. Is he talented enough? Yes. But the amount of things that have to go right, especially for a quarterback and winning football games, it's a long season. A lot of things can happen. I think he'll be really, really good. I'm just not one of those guys that's going to be like he's the best quarterback in college football before we've actually seen it happen.

1:47:52AJ Hawk:And honestly, I think that's what Arch prefers. You know, I think he's been a guy that he doesn't really get involved with social media. He answers questions, but he doesn't go out and try to create hype. He's kind of an anomaly, really. I mean, yeah, he's a man. He's a man. You know, I mean, that's what they do. He wants you to wait to watch him and then give your take. and that's what we'll do. I'm sorry, what do you want to ask? Yeah, I'm good, Kirk. You're still crushing it. But Joey, going past college, someone, Jeremiah Smith, is going to miss a lot to Mecca Abuka. He might go down as the greatest number two receiver ever because he's the number one, but he's just been on teams that have unbelievable wide receivers and that continues at Tampa.

1:48:36How do you think his transition is going to be to the NFL? The word out of Tampa is that he is unbelievable and with the injury to McMillan, I believe he is going to end up being the number three receiver, number two receiver possibly right off the bat if Godwin's not back. What do you expect that transition to be like, and what is he going to deal with as he goes from college to the pros? I think if Jeremiah Smith wasn't on the other side, we would have talked a lot more about Mecca Abuka. He's that kind of talent. Ohio State's been on an incredible run of putting out these NFL-ready wide receivers.

1:49:13And he's another one in that line. When you look at him physically, he is physically ready. I think he's going to be in a great system. He has a good quarterback in Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball. So I think he'll be really, really good. It made me laugh a second, though. You were trying to get a question in. So you guys have now dealt with Kirk here for a while. And at times, it's tough to get a question in because you have Kirk sitting there. And honestly, we already know if Kirk is on the desk with you, sit back. There's going to be at least three. He's going three deep and asking questions.

1:49:51And then he'll look at you like, all right, it's your turn. Hey, man, you just asked. You asked everything that was left on the table. He's inquisitive. Yeah, yeah. He's going to go three questions deep before you guys get in. And so I would say he's shown a lot of respect for you guys because you guys are jumping right in this thing. You've come a long way, Big Sump.

1:50:13AJ Hawk:I told you, they asked me if I ever hosted radio and I told them, I don't know, for 20 years or so. And I said, guys like Joey and Vrabel and Eddie George would hop in and Joey, you would do it. And you'd always ask, how much am I getting paid? You know, I remember it wasn't very much, but it has paid off in the long run because honestly, See, I learned so much. Oh, hell yeah. The annoying radio with you. Oh, hell yeah. It's come a long way. Joseph, Pat is back from his trip and is about to hop on here. Yeah. Hop in here, kid. Oh, yeah. How are you? Good to see you, bud. Did you send me my headphones over there?

1:50:50You're going to be back. Underneath the Kennywood hat. Oh, yeah. Right here? Yeah. Thank you, sir. Respect the Kennywood hat. What up, baby? Hey, Joey, let a naysayer know, brother. What's going on, big fella? He can't hear you.

1:51:04AJ Hawk:He does have his headphones. What's going on? Oh, my God. Oh, here's something right here. Are these them, maybe? Yeah, that'll work. Here you go. Just got off a plane. Literally just walked off a bird here. How we doing, boys? Good. Joey, I'm so happy you're on the program. Herbie, thank you. Yeah, man. How long a flight was that? I was just off a, it was. 15 or 20? I think it was 14 and a half. But we landed 30 minutes before customs opened, so we had to sit on the plane. You got leaner over there, huh? the food i'm not even gonna get into a political debate here the food in australia so much healthier than whatever we got going on it's a problem i used to be a big hey thank you you're gonna help me there i appreciate that i used to be a big hey don't touch my cocoa puffs guy i want my cocoa puffs to taste as processed and as fake as possible right i'll tell you what those aussies got great food high quality food no process nothing feel like you're really in there i'm not going to be a political advocate for anything but i will say i feel good joey how you doing he can hear you now joe so you just flew in from australia yeah buddy brisbane actually vegas they call it it's a great place you know the brokestone they're pretty good people pretty good people, Joey?

1:52:25This is a different world. I don't really have friends that just flew in from Australia. My friends fly in from Chicago or somewhere like that. Australia, my God. Well, now you can count me. Sounds like an amazing trip. You can count me as that guy. And I want to let you know, I heard you were talking a little shit about Herbie in the back as soon as I got here. You've been crushing it. Herbie, you've been absolutely crushing it, Herbie. He's been crushing it, Herbie. Same with Pete. Same with Pete.

1:52:52AJ Hawk:He got a chance to see the Thunderdome. this a big day for us. I like you wore all black here. It's not really black. It's a gray shirt, but on the internet, it looks black. I appreciate you doing that for the good of the program. That's what we do here. Yeah, for the good of the program. Peter looks a little different, too. Has he? Yeah, you getting worked on on his face? No. Peter? No, he's just... Maybe it's from behind you. Growing into his body. You're giving his dog Botox already? No, look, he's carrying his leash. What are we talking about? Did he say that the dog gets to work on his face?

1:53:20AJ Hawk:Look how he carries his leash. He's ready to go. I was trying to get to the... All right, we've done enough here. He's like that. We got to get. Yeah. Hey, any big time cuts today? No. The first thing was Taylor Swift got engaged. That was the first story. Excuse me. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey. Travis Kelsey. Yeah. Yeah. We got to throw that. Travis Kelsey got engaged. Very good photos, too. Oh, my gosh. Unbelievable. I love it. They're so high school, you know? Oh, yeah. I would just like to let everybody know that's listening, that might be new to the program, we from day one have been saying they're actually in love and this isn't fake.

1:54:01AJ Hawk:So the internet didn't believe you. This is a pretty vindicated situation here for us. Congrats to them being in love. I'm a big fan. Awesome. Awesome. Joey, we'll talk soon, brother. Joey, love you, man. Have a great college football season, Joey. See you, buddy. Love you, Joey. See you, buddy. Yeah, I actually said if Pat was here, he would let everyone know that this program has always said that we love love. and that they are actually in love. A lot of people, including people that work in Herbstreet's world, saying this was a plant. Am I aware? Not Kirk. Not me. I don't know anything about anything.

1:54:31I'm pretty silly today.

1:54:32AJ Hawk:I learned from AJ. I know nothing about Sergeant Schultz. Too much work to be fake. Why would it be fake? It would be way too much work. AJ, great to see you. Love that the hair's still growing. Thank you for having me. Thank you for doing this, Kirk. Thank you, boys. Kirk Herbstreet. Yes, sir. Game day Saturday. Let's go. Let's go. We're back in it. good send out there. We're still live, as you know. You know we're still live. We've got another two or three minutes. What's up, dude? How are you feeling? Thanks for hopping on here. Did you get new shoes? What the fuck? Are you shitting me? Dude.

1:55:05There's a gym in Brisbane that me and First Sergeant Gartland hung out in for... He just killed one of our balls. Take it, Pete. It's yours.

1:55:16AJ Hawk:You got a ball. Get that ball. It's your ball. It's your ball. Get it. Nobody can make a shot with it anyway, so it's yours, Pete. So the hotel that we were staying at didn't have the most to do. Sure. We're all kind of scattered throughout the city of Brisbane, where me and First Sergeant Gartland were staying was a little bit away from everybody else. Our hotel was nice, not a lot to do. There was this gym called TFP that we were allowed in, five stories high, has a tree growing in the middle of it. Pretty awesome. Awesome. Pool, hot tub, sauna, floating pools. It's the nicest gym I've ever seen in my life.

1:55:54So me and First Sergeant Gartland basically made that our residence. We're talking seven hours one day they were there. Next day, eight hours there. And what we learned, everybody's wearing slides, you know. So we got our, these are called our TF, there it is. That's, that might have been me actually walking right there. Yeah, this is the TFP place. It is the nicest gym I've ever seen. The guy that owns it, Damien Cavallucci. He's a good man. We became the mayors of the place. They have Paisons down there? I asked him that, actually. I said, a lot of Paisons. He said, mostly north because they've come down here.

1:56:26But yeah, it was a great place. So these are my TFPs, and I traveled them. This will be the last time they're on my feet. I was going to say. They look good? What the hell? They did well in Australia, though, I will say. All right, good travel, dude.

1:56:38AJ Hawk:What day of the week does it feel like to you? Yeah, that's the thing. If you just... I actually texted somebody on the way in. What day is it for you guys? I think somebody was trying to book somebody on a certain day. And I said, well, what day is it right now? It's Tuesday, right? Yeah. It's 4 a.m. Brisbane time. Yeah, what time is it for you? So it's Wednesday right now. The issue is I took off 6 a.m. And then I landed 5.30 a.m. Jeez. And the 6 a.m. was like 5 o 'clock because we were talking to you last night before you. Yeah, so the whole thing's backwards. And they do drive on the left side of the road, obviously, down there.

1:57:17The flushing, I don't know if it goes the opposite direction. They hate weed down there. Really? They are not the biggest marijuana fans. They do love the snow, though, down there, from my understanding. Okay. Hell yeah. From my understanding. Everybody that I would go to normally and be like, hey, you got any weed? No, lad, but we got – Something else for you? No, I don't need that. Let's go up. How was the AFL? It was sick. The videos, the vantage point you had was unbelievable. Yeah, we'll dive into it another day. I'm still pretty raspy in the voice. Sure. Need to get this thing back before at least Saturday.

1:57:56Yeah.

1:57:57AJ Hawk:So we'll see how it goes. Yeah, we need you on Saturday. Yeah, so tomorrow will be a good time. When are you flying to Columbus or heading over? Friday. When are you going? I think Wednesday. I have to go see Jorge. I get a crown. Get the teeth done. I got a crown. Smart. I got a temporary crown. Pull. I got to get a permanent. Protect that thing. Yeah. You remember I had to get that thing pulled middle of the year last year? Oh, man. That teeth issue would really get you. Yeah, you should put one of Peter's teeth in your mouth. That's something to think about. Or maybe. It worked, evidently. I mean, I never seen him carry a basketball.

1:58:29Well, I've never. Those basketballs were very healthy before Peter had it.

1:58:33AJ Hawk:We've been here for a long time. AJ, love what you're doing with the hair. Still doing it. Yep. I like that. Still doing it. Yeah, we're still doing it, man. Stay dedicated. I like that. All I've been able to see is clips of everything. It's so backwards. So the middle of the day, I called it the Australian shut-eye because nobody that we know is awake. Sure. Yeah. Pretty isolated over there. I will say you are pretty isolated in Australia, really dependent upon each other when you're over there. Is it winter there? Yes, it is winter where we were about to, you know, come up. What's that mean?

1:59:05AJ Hawk:What temp was? It was 60. Oh. The place we were at has a rooftop that has where the pool is, the hot tub, cold tub, and everything. And all they kept saying is, this is nothing. The summer, mate, this place is crazy or whatever. And, yeah, I had shirt off. I was like, this is crazy. I was having a great time. It's great here now, by the way. It rained a little. Yes, I felt it outside. 50 in the morning. 55 in the morning. Oh, we made it. It's glorious. Football season. It's glorious. Yeah, it really is. I was gone a long time. Cracker Barrel's gone. Yeah, new logo. Rest in peace. Actually, if you listen to the commander-in-chief today, I think he is suggesting going back.

1:59:45To Cracker & Barrel? To the old logo. So I don't know how long the logo. I don't think he's the only one suggesting that. I don't think so either. I think he's the most powerful. Did the CEO survive? Gone. No. Yeah, somebody got fired today on the flight over.

1:59:57AJ Hawk:Why would you do it? Why would? That makes no sense. I think it's an aggressive decision. I appreciated it. No, I'm saying before. Like, why would you make a change after decades of? Well, I think I assume you got to remember these people who are super geniuses. They get into a meeting and they have it all figured out. Remember, they're the experts, much like social media people of the modern world. They're all geniuses. They went to school. They got a social media degree. We understand what's going on. These olds that are running company. You guys can never understand what the modern world is.

2:00:27We get it. You don't get it. So I think what happens is people get in there. We're super geniuses. believe us and i think they were probably trying to uh expand their demo a little bit

2:00:38AJ Hawk:like lately they lost their base we need to get younger they said and that would be like universities being like we need to start getting like 12 year olds in here yeah it's like you grow into cracker barrel like that's just how it goes you become older you go to cracker barrel so trying to expand the demo younger just feels dumb but yeah good luck to them i love that place i used to play checkers with people oh yeah you bet oh yeah with the general store yeah yeah that's I love Cracker Barrel. Still give it a go. See, walk into the modern looking thing they got there. How's the B's and G's? You guys got to figure it out.

2:01:15That was good whenever I left. Gone now. It was 100 degrees when I left. 15 years now. You're a Hall of Famer now. I'm at a Hall of Fame. Yeah, I guess that's happening. Thank you to West Virginia for the love. I appreciate that.

2:01:31AJ Hawk:Hopefully we'll see them early. Yeah, very much so. I don't know if you saw today. Need them both to figure it out. Bama's afraid of West Virginia. What's that? Bama is afraid of West Virginia. They just canceled their home-on-home. That's what I heard. And we just let them out. We said, you guys have already paid enough with how bad this is going to look for you. How about Rich Rodman? They got everything. Hey, he won a Herbie. He's like, heck, they got sprinkles back here in the back. Won a Herbie. Yeah. Rich Rodriguez won a Herbie. Oh, yeah. Big deal. That was a big deal. I want to let you know.

2:02:01I was in Australia. You heard about it. Didn't see the Herbys live. Checked them afterwards. West Virginia won one.

2:02:06AJ Hawk:Yeah. We like that. Hey, I'm all in. If Rich Rod is there, I'm all in. I'm sure you've talked about this, and I have missed it. You already have your national championship pick. You've told everybody. I have not told anybody. We did our conferences. We didn't do national championships. I haven't said that about the national title. Or the playoff. No, not yet. Who do you pick? Who are you picking? I'm not saying it. Who are you going to go with? Texas and who else? I think they might just play against themselves. I like Texas a lot. You put a Manning out there anywhere. Yeah, I'm on board. Penn State?

2:02:43AJ Hawk:I'm on board. Love the house. I love Penn State. Drew Aller. I like how last season ended for Drew Aller. A lot of people don't. Clemson. Kate, you've been high on Kate Klopnik for a long time. Yeah, I like Clemson. I haven't seen much out of Kate last year. A lot of touchdowns. He played well last year. A lot of touchdowns last year. Yeah. Maybe they're back. LSU-Clemson opening game, winner of that game. Big deal. Big deal. Ryan Day, you guys had him on the show. Good to see you came on the show. That's crazy. Finally. Penn State-Texas would be a banger. Yes. How does Penn State not get there?

2:03:17That's a great question. Because they're habitually choking big games.

2:03:20AJ Hawk:Yeah. His record against top five opponents. 1-8-18? Hey, Aussies like our sport. Football? They send punters here. Yeah. Next year. I also informed them on how that's all actually going, and they all kind of. What did you tell them? Well, the Hawaii guy's 29 years old. Everybody's talking about how good he is. He is. I retired when I was 29, made like my second Pro Bowl. The YouTube kicker Hawaii guy or the punter? The punter. Oh, okay. Yeah, he's 29, I think, which is cool. I'm happy he's getting an opportunity. Once again, I had an entire professional career. I've been nominated for the Hall of Fame three times, retired when I was 29.

2:03:57So taking on 17-year-old kids for scholarships, Certainly something. Sure. But love the Aussie people. Also love Aussie rules football. Went to the game. I understand why they are so good at it. It is fantastic.

2:04:09AJ Hawk:I saw you punted one there. Yeah, I had to represent. You did? Yeah, I had to represent. First time I've punted in multiple years. Have not punted in a long time. How'd the hammy and everything hold up? Yeah, the hip flexor certainly felt it a little bit afterwards. But I'm on so much science now. We're on a system. Bop-a-da-ba-da-boom. Bop-a-da-ba. I was asked, hey, you want to play tomorrow by a lot of people? with jokes. I'm like, do you guys drug test here or no? And they're like, yes, we do. I'm not passing any of them. We've never done it, but I mean, the international game next year is in Australia.

2:04:43Do we know what city it's in? I want to say Melbourne, but I'm not sure. Do they know what time they're going to play that game at? Because 9.30 a.m. is what, 11.30? Yeah, it would have to be a morning game. Yeah, it would have to be a morning game. So it's morning and night. I'm able to talk to you guys, but it was flipped if you recall. It is at the MCG. Your mornings, yeah, the cricket grounds in Melbourne. Yeah, you were in bed when we were getting ready for the show. Exactly, yeah. So everything's just completely backwards there. It's beautiful country though. I would recommend it highly.

2:05:11It's a long way. Long way. People are awesome. Food is so good.

2:05:18AJ Hawk:So, so good. You don't like preservatives? No preservatives. No, you don't like that? It's real food. I'll tell you, it was... I'm saying here, he doesn't like the preservatives. I do though. I was a big, don't touch my fucking food guy for like like i said there don't touch my food i'm telling you it started with cocoa puffs they changed the cocoa puff recipe to get it healthier i'm like i'm not cuckoo for cocoa puffs anymore yeah this is not how it's supposed to be worst now though after eating like that for a week it's like well you leaned out it is dropped a few lb and also you don't feel right nice to not feel like complete shit after every meal you eat hash i'm eating i'm eating hash like fried foods and it's like well they don't use peanut they don't use any of these other they use like really nice once again not getting into i was told hey that's a big political conversation you want to get into i'm just gonna let you know my whole body after eating after a week feels a thousand times better now as soon as i got back to america where's your ice cream yeah ice cream is shit because it's uh the ice cream's too health i believe it's too healthy Yeah, too healthy.

2:06:27Need to have a little bit more.

2:06:28AJ Hawk:So you don't need to talk like that? You can talk up here? Yeah. Okay. I kept talking down here. Did anybody tell you not to do that? I didn't even notice. That's on the team. No, yeah. That's bullshit. We can pull videos of you. No, I was noticing when I was here. I couldn't really hear myself that well, so then I came down here. Certainly louder when you're in it. Yeah. But you can hear me if I'm out here? Hell yeah. I didn't notice you doing that during the show, yeah. Yeah, I think you did a great job, by the way. I think you did a fantastic job. These guys do everything. They're just hanging out.

2:06:58Getting Ryan Day on the show, that's crazy. I didn't know that fucking guy would come on this show. Come on. We got some inside info from the two Ohio State lads. Come on, dude. Me, Ryan Day, we'll call it outs. No. There you go. Yeah. There it is. Two ships passing in the night. No, not even passing. No. Ryan loves him. Yeah, does he? All you guys. I don't know. I think he was on Ellen DeGeneres' show. It was canceled. He definitely doesn't hate me.

2:07:27AJ Hawk:Help him out. He went on everybody's show. Yeah, Ellen. He was on Ellen. Ellen's show wasn't even around, and he tried to get on it. He was there in the studio. I think any time he knew he was offered to be on the show, he would come on the show. Yes. Yeah, but instead he said. He threw a curveball. His opening comment had a lot to do with that. He said if he knew you wanted him, he would come on. No, I understand. Not everybody needs to come on our show either. No, no, no. Listen, this is me. I understand. Hat in hand. I'm guessing somebody dropped the ball. Thank you so much for the opportunity to potentially talk to you.

2:08:04AJ Hawk:But what if it never got to him and you're saying all these nasty things? I'm not saying nasty things. I don't like them. What's that? Those are all nasty things. That I don't like them? He's a national championship winner. You love him. I don't. But I You've had him on I mean you guys Have gotten along great Those days are in the past Those days are in the past And I understand We had Coach Lovol He's not a big fan of me Coach Lovol I saw your question Was a good one though Well yeah I mean you know And I think you responded well Yeah I think so But I was thankful You got him on here So that we could have I disagree He likes you A national champion on the show What an honor it is To have Coach Ryan Day On this show That was so cool That was so cool Well you'll get to see him Again Saturday Can't wait I got a lot to say You know, if they think a lot, there's a lot of self-reflection when you're on the other side of the world and nobody that you know is awake.

2:08:57You know, send a lot of texts to my wife, no response. What's she doing? It's 3 a.m. Yeah, it's 2 a.m. Hey, how come nobody wants to talk? 2 a.m. Jesus, wake up. I'm in the middle of this. A lot of self-reflection. A lot of self-reflection. I'm allowed to not like people. Oh, yeah. And I'm allowed to say that into here.

2:09:17AJ Hawk:But don't like the people that are nasty on the internet. That's where you should send your anger. Oh, I hate those people too. Yeah, I told a guy today that I didn't like him and to fuck himself. Yeah. That's okay. There's a new me here. If you're doing that to the... And also, did you see this, Herbie? Yeah, I did. Hoorah, baby. You know? Yeah. This might be the new me. It's a good look. I have a jawline for the first time. This looks good. Looks good. It looks like there's a little scruff on it still too. Well, that's because I was in a plane for the last 60 hours. True, yeah. I say you go with that look.

2:09:48Clean shave when you took off. I think I'm going to. You should. I think I'm actually going to. The Aussies are good people, dude. I'm telling you. Every one of them. Good personality. They're the best. They have fun, too, right? They seem like they all like to have fun and be outdoors. Dude, good personality, good vibes, good attitudes. Like, it was just, it was really cool. Hate weed. Very good people, though. That's weird. Also, we're strapping our seatbelts in the backseat or that thing's beeping at us. Okay. Okay. What? Yeah. Backseat beepers? Backseat beepers. Wow. Streets clean. Sidewalks incredibly clean.

2:10:21I saw next to no homeless people. I guess the crime. Down. Way down. I mean, it's like.

2:10:27AJ Hawk:How do you do that? To be honest, I have no idea how they've gotten to where they are right now, but it is awesome. I think it's all just no weed. Yeah. And strapping a seatbelt in the back. Yep. And no preservatives in the food. That could be. Everybody's happy. The preservatives in the food makes sense. Brisbane's hosting. Great White Sharks. Yeah, I stayed away from the ocean. I looked at it, stayed away from it. Great White Sharks. A lot of it. The reason why I was down there, the reason why I was down there, there's potentially some scenes in the Great White Sharks' waters. I'm telling you.

2:11:03And there was a lot of chatter amongst the group about, is there a plane for, you know, Oh, yeah. Yeah.

2:11:14AJ Hawk:You'd be fine. How about that one surfer over there who just punched one? Right in the nose. Right in the nose. That's what I was telling him. What are you guys proud about? Punch right in the nose. One Aussie guy was like, no, you actually got to reach into the mouth, grab its tonsils. Bite its tongue. Yeah, exactly. Oh, my God. It was awesome. It was a great experience. I was lucky to do it. Can't wait to get back chatting with you boys on a regular basis. Cannot wait to be back into football. Excited for Saturday. It's going to be great. It's going to be a blast. It's going to be fun. You're going Monday over to see Belichick, right?

2:11:47Yeah, for the kickoff show? Yeah. Yeah, and congratulations. I guess not congratulations. Yeah, that's not the right word. The tribute to Corso was cool. Yeah. That was a really cool thing. That was a really, really cool thing.

2:12:02AJ Hawk:Were you able to see some of it? Yes. Not the whole thing because it was hard to find the entirety, but it was really cool to kind of watch just the amount of respect everybody had for him. And you guys are younger. You might remember, but in his heyday, he was kind of like Pat. He was for that era. Hated by every college football fan? He was hated by a lot of people. For being loud? He said things that just not a lot of people said. I mean, he was a lightning rod. A G. Yes. Yeah, Coach Corr says a G. He's always been good to me. He's always been very nice to me. And watching that video, watching that tribute was sick.

2:12:43It's going to be an emotional thing. I was going to say, Saturday's going to be special. Especially like the ending. The end of the program itself.

2:12:53AJ Hawk:We're inside the stadium there. Well, Herbie, you're not an emotional guy, so you should be fine. I am. I mean, I'm Dick Vermeule. You know, I cry when I watch American Idol. I'm just a sentimental guy. That's why I try not to watch them. I try to stay away from things that I know Do you get emotional? I've seen you emotional on the set with me. Yes. When Jen Latta does a feature. Yeah, I try to stay out of it. So, like, when Jen starts to, Jen does such a phenomenal job of telling their stories, whenever she starts a story, I do try to distract myself. Like, ah, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.

2:13:25AJ Hawk:I know, but you get pulled in. Because it's inevitably about a kid. Yes, and his dad, a family, mom. And having a daughter now, I mean, it hits you harder. Yeah, I cry my eyes out. And then it's like, all right, field goal kicks on the other side of this. Yeah. It's like, yeah, that matters. Skip on it. We just see what this is. But thank you for doing this. Very, very cool of you. I know it's a busy week, so thank you for traveling out here. Just like Rap Sheet. Thanks for, yeah, he did it a couple times. Schrags was awesome. Yeah, it was, I'm very, very thankful for you guys doing this. AJ, thanks for making the trip over.

2:13:56And boys, way to crush it. Appreciate you, dude. Good to have you back. And on that note, I'm going to smoke CBD here. Not weed. No, no, no. Just CBD, because that's all that's legal here in Indiana. And I believe this particular CBD trip I'm about to take is going to be like back in high school. First time long time, brothers. First time long time. But football season's here, boys. I'm thankful to be back. We did it.

2:14:25AJ Hawk:We made it. All right. We made it. Yep. Go ahead, Irby. This is the team on me. Team on me. Team on three. Team on three. Team on three. No, no. do a little bit of a speech here, like as if it's the call-up Some juice, Herbie. End of a practice. Hey, appreciate you guys having me. It's an honor to be here. Thanks for, just a big surprise. When I saw that door opening, I didn't know what was going on over there. I don't think anybody knew. About two hours ahead of time, I wasn't supposed to be back this early. Shout out to my pilot. Yeah, geez. Yeah, one up there and did a little, hey, can we push that thing down.

2:15:04And he did. Shout out to Cap.

2:15:06AJ Hawk:Shout out to Cap. Shout out to you. Shout out to your trip. Shout out to everybody who did it while you were gone. Yeah, shout out to Peter Berg. Shout out to Peter Berg. Fucking beast. Yeah. Wait till you see him. You guys have probably seen some of the shots. I mean, it's unbelievable. A couple pictures. I will say I think I did do good. We'll talk about that more, though. Hell yeah. We'll talk about that more. Yeah, thank you guys. Appreciate it. One, two, three. No, no. Come on. Come on. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. Be a friend. Tell a friend something nice.

2:15:31AJ Hawk:Might change their life. Team on me Team on me Team on three Team on three You can do the rest One, two, three Team! Goodbye! You know when you're locked in Focused and fearless Welcome to the WNBA Your vision narrows You can't look away Every assist Every stop Every logo three From beyond the logo Every did you see that moment You picked What records are going to be broken this season? All of it right here. Lock in. It's the WNBA on ESPN. All season long. In a sunny Californian suburb, one family's home is unusually quiet. When detectives walked into that house, they said that it was like time just stood still.

2:16:23It's 2010 and the McStay family is nowhere to be found. Inside the home, no clear answer where the family could have gone. Husband, wife, and two children all gone, like, poof, disappeared. The search for the mixed days quickly captures the nation.

2:16:39AJ Hawk:But for years, the search for answers only brings more questions. Who's ever heard of an entire family going missing? A family of four doesn't just drop off the face of the earth with no contact. Is this a family on the run? Or is the truth far more sinister? From ABC Audio in 2020, this is what happened to the mixed days. coming August 11th, wherever you get your podcasts. Or subscribe to 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts for ad-free episodes, early access to new episodes, and so much more.