Hour 2: ‘What’s More Likely,’ plus The Ringer’s Todd McShay Talks Sorsby & ’27 NFL Draft QB Class

0:00Rich Eisen:MLB.tv on ESPN is your home for every out-of-market game, live or on demand. Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB Network and ESPN app features like Multiview, syncing your stats, key plays, bets, and fantasy, all in one place. Sign up now for MLB.tv in the ESPN app. Separate subscriptions required, blackouts and other terms apply. Visit stream.espn.com slash MLB TV for more information. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern. Miss the show?

0:44Rich Eisen:We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash richeisenshow and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. There is LeBron James news. He will play elsewhere. This is the Rich Eisen Show. What if LeBron goes to Golden State? Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. What a weird ending to your movie, dude. Don't do that. Earlier on the show, Prime Video TNF analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick. Coming up. The Ringer NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay. NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. And now, it's Rich Eisen. Our number two of the Rich Eisen Show is on the air.

1:32Rich Eisen:World Cup action tonight for the U.S. men's national team. The only team in the knockout round to take on two countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's almost not fair. Oh, wait a minute. Just one team. That's tonight, though. Yo, can't wait. Right now, England is down 1-0 to the Democratic Republic of Congo. People across the pond are freaking out. We're going to keep an eye on that over the rest of this hour. 844-204-RICH, number to dial on the program. We first reached out to our next guest a couple weeks ago when it looked like there was potentially going to be a supplemental draft for Brendan Sorsby.

2:15Rich Eisen:That's not going to happen. So Todd McShay of The Ringer joining us now to talk about the most pissed off he ever made, Mel Kuyper Jr. How are you, Todd? We got nothing else to talk about now, huh? oh that's something to talk about i pissed him off a lot i bet hey listen man no listen those draft sets too you as you know uh people have opinions and i i was on the wrong side i was on a business end of a lot with mayock back in the day too you know i mean clausen no no no either

2:48Todd McShay:clausen or brady quinn one of the notre dame quarterbacks is when i pissed him off so much i wasn't even on the set i was a pup i was i was i was left back in bristol they were live from um radio city music hall and it was like 10 minutes before the draft started and i i started chiding him it was close clausen jimmy clausen and uh and we got in this heated debate um about how i didn't think he was going to be a you know a good starting quarterback in the league and he bet his he got i got him so mad he's screaming on the set as he should be like preparing and like in a good comfortable place he's screaming on the set back at me back at me in bristol about i will i'll retire i'll walk away from all of this if clausen doesn't go on to be a great starting quarterback in the league it was either clausen or quid i i'm sure there are clips out there and he um and he basically threatened to to retire if it didn't happen and i still every once in a while see someone say he's like you know why haven't you retired yet because it because it didn't it didn't work out that way but i so mad and it was early on so i like didn't our relationship wasn't then what it is now and what it developed into where i was worried that like executives were going to be like i don't know that this is going to work anymore

4:09Rich Eisen:Well, it might have been Quinn for sure, because I remember Brady Quinn sat in the green room for a long time and there would be maybe enough time to talk about all of that stuff and let it marinate. And I'll never forget that moment because it was the first draft of Roger Goodell's commissionership. And we're waiting for Brady Quinn to get drafted and showing him waiting as well. and then all of a sudden um he's gone he's still not picked but we don't see him anymore and i got in the ear of our producer on nfl network saying where's brady quinn and they get back in my ear and say roger goodell got so sick and tired of watching this kid stew yeah he said i'm removing you from the green room and i'm putting you in my green room where there are no cameras until you get drafted and oh you know i never knew i never knew where he went he went there because roger goodell was interesting and then the next year every broadcast was no longer technically allowed i mean i guess the way to put it to show kids stewing in a green room like goodell was like that's not what the draft's about you know if these kids aren't gonna get drafted we don't need to show them losing their minds over and over and over again and that's one of

5:29Todd McShay:One of those things where no one involved wants to see it for the young man. I mean, to be invited there, whether they're a mid to late first round pick or an early second round pick, they're obviously a special talent, right? And so no one wants it, but yet it's such compelling television that you can't help. You know, it's the car wreck. No one wants to see someone injured, but there's a reason why there's, you know, rubbernecking and and and the pie you know all the the backups and traffic because people just are curious and they want to take a peek and so it's what happens and and it's tough to watch but it also it's provided unfortunately some of the most memorable moments you know aaron rogers was another one where you just will levis and the and the girlfriend at the time there's been a lot of them where it's just uh it's hard to ignore how compelling it is right and it's not like we we

6:24Rich Eisen:never show anybody waiting to be drafted it's just like don't make a big deal of it and and i do remember the willis mcgahee draft choice where drew rosenhouse used the constant showing of him um to his benefit constantly putting the phone to his ear drew rosenhouse right make it look like i'm getting calls there's a lot of interest yeah you know what i mean like they were using that i'll never forget that and now and now um what we've definitely been banned from doing is showing a kid on a phone because that tips the pick you know what i mean like this is this kid's about to get drafted if he's on the phone you know i mean but it the draft is an amazing thing man it's it's amazing and i know you do it now with the ringer and it's it's just expanded and um so i guess one way to go with you is let's talk swords be a little bit here if there had been a supplemental draft on this kid, where do you think, what would he have been worth in your estimation for someone to do?

7:27Rich Eisen:Let's remove the whole off the field stuff from the equation and talk about his talent, Todd.

7:35Todd McShay:Well, what's fascinating about this, Rich, is he's a young man, not dissimilar from a lot of other quarterbacks, that you recognize the talent. like I recognize the talent as many people did and we did a show on on Fernando Mendoza last year and I was like you know he's he's a day two I got an early second round grade and but I was like if he excels in this new system with Signetti with Mike Shanahan the offensive coordinator he's absolutely a first round like he's project he's he's true the trajectory is round one But he's not there yet, right? Soresby is very much in that class. I don't look at him ready right now to step in the league and be able to handle all that comes with the quarterback position had he been drafted in the supplemental draft and let's say didn't have a suspension and the league just said, hey, that was an issue in college.

8:29Todd McShay:He was a young man. Welcome with open arms, supplemental draft, and do with him as you please, whichever team winds up taking him. So there's no question, 6 '3", 235 pounds, live arm, just drives the ball, does it with arm angle changes, with off-platform throws. There's some Mahomes in his game, like the creativity, the ability to make throws where you're just like, whoa, you've got to rewind it back three or four times. But like Mahomes, and even greater than Mahomes coming out of Texas Tech, There's a lot of mechanical flaws, not quite seeing the game yet, forcing the issue. But Sorsby also has this running ability where, you know, talking to a former NFL and head coach, he was asking me about him.

9:21Todd McShay:Then he popped on some tape. He's like, I'd love to coach him, man. The ability to run, not just he's got a little elusiveness, but it's more he's got this acceleration to his game and then the power at the end of runs. so there's like a little bit of like a josh allen or a tim tebow in college type element so there are so many intriguing traits with soresby and then all this information about the gambling comes out and now when i'm talking to people in the league and just from 26 years of doing this the very first question you ask yourself because as you want to know football wise do i trust him at the quarterback position if i'm going to use a first second round draft pick on do i trust his decision making but then you start to ask do i trust him you know and so there were varying opinions when i after i got done with my tape and i'm staring at a first round talent who's not playing the position at a quote-unquote first round level yet um one now i want to talk to people in the league and all the responses are don't know if anyone's going to do it in round one don't see him getting to quote-unquote day three he's he's going to be a day two pick and most people i talk to whether it's text or over the phone or if they had to guess it would have been second round right and we got a lot of teams that were potentially interested from from the obvious with like the jets and three picks the browns with two picks um in the first round but even beyond like Pittsburgh, perfect opportunity to bring him in, right?

10:55Todd McShay:As a second round pick, if they could have got him there and develop him one year with Aaron Rodgers there. There were other teams. Arizona's another name that I heard. Even Minnesota. I heard Detroit could have had some interest. So there were a bunch of teams. And it got so interesting because it kind of became like an assumptive close of, yeah, they're going to have a supplemental draft and he'll be selected to the point where they scheduled a pro day workout for July 10th. And there were talks about this one-week window where he could do visits to teams and teams could get in the private jet, fly their group down, and go work them out.

11:39Todd McShay:So even though it all happened in a very fast clip after the scare of where there's a lawsuit from the Big 12 and then deciding, all right, we're not going to try to fight that law firm and the Big 12 behind it. There was, in a 72-hour period, we're already scheduling pro days and trying to figure out the week window where we can go visit with him or bring him into our facility. So I've never kind of witnessed, you've got to remember, the last time we had a player drafted in the supplemental was 2019, Jalen Thompson, the defensive back. So this has not been something that's been prevalent in the NFL recently because of the NIL and transfer portal, there's other options for college players who are stuck in a bind.

12:23Todd McShay:So I think everyone in the league was expecting it to be a day two pick. I had a fringe first round grade. And now it's, I mean, we can get into it. Now it's about accountability, right? I mean, you're a father, I'm a father. And it just goes down to core principles of, hey, let's continue to get help to make sure that this addiction and this problem is something that is, you're never going to, if it truly is an addiction, it feels like it is. It's never just going to be wiped away, but get to a place mentally and emotionally and all the other ways that you need to be where you're handling that.

13:03Todd McShay:Secondly, I've got to see a young man that takes accountability and a young man it takes ownership i talk to my kids about ownership all the time and if you read you don't even have to read between the lines the league didn't feel like there was accountability ownership admittance um feeling feeling bad about what he did accepting responsibility all those things like core traits right and i think that's part of the reason why they weren't they weren't willing to just give him an easy out. And so he's got now what, six to eight months to prepare. I've talked to Drew Fabianich from the Senior Bowl.

13:43Todd McShay:They've already given him an invitation. And the indication I got was that it's basically accepted. So now you circle that in the calendar in late January and say, you've got all these months to get right. When you're willing to speak publicly, make sure it's your voice and it's your voice with contrition and an understanding of what you did and show like you're at the big boy table now there's a lot of you know the big boys are sitting there they're expecting to see you own all of this and i think by by coming out this week and saying we're not going to file a suit against the nfl and go up against big tobacco big pharma like it just would have been the worst plan of attack of all time own it take it take responsibility for it and now set your mind towards that senior bowl and being ready for that bravo sir i mean

14:32Rich Eisen:there's just no other way to no other way to put it um you know the nfl isn't there as a safety valve you know what i mean uh for somebody that um feels um that that that might have an incomplete mark on something that um the league is 100 staring at the ceiling worrying about uh that they are missing um a gambling scandal right like that that is that that ain't it certainly when he's represented by somebody who to be honest with you i haven't spoken anyone in the league about this uh but i just knowing knowing everything for the last 23 years uh if you remember the collective bargaining agreement everyone's like we got to get the lawyers out of the room um that's when bob craft and and jeff saturday got together and started you know the ball rolling the lawyer that they wanted out of the room from the players association was jeff kessler the guy that's been involved in all this so um yeah and and would you ever you know hire anybody that's trying to sue their way into your business you know what i mean like it just it just seemed like this was a smart settlement for everybody and you're right like if if he's still working on himself and his statement said that great you got you got six months to do it and and now you got the senior ball already in your back pocket let's roll uh i'm i'm yeah i'm with you on all of that um you know before i let you go here todd who now that we're we're here right we're a couple weeks away from like uh media days of sec big 10 and all that sort of stuff who do you think's got the chance to move up right like who do you think quarterbacks yeah exactly who do you think in

16:12Todd McShay:this quarterback class what do you think todd we're three parts in we're doing we're doing this series on our show um you just came from the passing camp right just came from the manning passing i came from the manning passing academy which was it's always an awesome it's just a treat being there it's it's like feel the dreams right they've got this friday night thing where everyone from the town and all the parents of the campers come in on one side of the stands the other side of the stands 1400 campers like late middle school high school kids learning from um you know all these talent from arch and cj car and julian sayin and trinidad chambliss and and then at night the quarterbacks who are who are pro prospects and some of the most of the best quarterbacks in college football are out doing quarterback drills with eli and peyton one night the next night they're doing uh they call it friday night lights where it's like this air it out drills and then throwing you know like the skills drill throwing the golf carts racing across all this fun stuff right and it just it feels like this this last form of pure football out there right um so that was that's always fun to watch and it's good to watch these young men in their own environment coaching giving back to the community a little bit but also interacting and then talking to a bunch of other people who are in and around the game and getting their opinions and just kind of sharing that way um but we're three parts into this series we're doing because this quarterback class is so unique.

17:35Todd McShay:I mean, we talk about 2024, you talk about 1983 and some years in between, it's got a chance to be the best or one of the best quarterback classes of all time. So we're doing it two quarterbacks at a time. We've done Arch, Dante Moore was the first one. The second one was Soresby versus Lenora Sellers, the South Carolina quarterback, both very dual threat, mobile, raw, but unbelievably talented quarterbacks. And today we just wrapped up CJ Carr from Notre Dame, who was the headliner for me, at least, at the Manning Passing Academy, and Julian Sayan. So two blue blood quarterbacks, stars, faces of college football next year.

18:15Todd McShay:Here's where I am on it. You ready? Yep, please. And kind of surprised. I thought it was going to be Arch, Dante, neck and neck for number one based off. This is purely off of the tape and where they are now and recognizing that Arch is supremely supremely gifted and has a chance to continue to develop and could very easily be the first overall pick in the 2027 class, but also could go back to school in 2027 and be in the 2028 class. Dante's the highest graded of the six we've done so far. Just the best pure passer, NFL ready, and should only rinse, refine, repeat this year. After that, Lenora Sellers, that's the name that I want to get out there.

18:54Todd McShay:South Carolina quarterback is so gifted and can still develop as a passer. didn't have the supporting cast that arch had at texas or julian had at ohio state or any of these other guys last year they brought in kennel briles the new offensive coordinator hopefully he takes the next step this year i think he could legitimately push to be the number one overall quarterback but right now we've got him at number two cj carr is underrated as well this is a guy that you know his grandfather is is um lloyd carr been around ball his whole life you can see it in just the way he processes and i think he's going to take another step you lose two first round running backs now the onus is on him um arch interestingly enough at number four very similar grade to to car just above him but i think we know where he can improve as a passer we also know how six three 230 um such a gifted runner i think it's almost underrated how like when i watched his tape and just went back like the acceleration and the speed when when something's not there He's different in that regard.

19:57Todd McShay:And then we've got Julian Sayan at number five and Soarsby at number six. But these are all guys who legitimately could potentially be a first-round draft pick. They all have the ability to be. And we haven't even gotten to Sam Levitt, who's transferring from Arizona State to Lane Kiffin at LSU. We haven't gotten to John Mateer from Oklahoma. We haven't gotten to Darian Mensah, who could be the next Miami quarterback that takes that big step. Not dissimilar from Cam Ward. He's such a good passer coming out of Duke. And Nico Iamaliava at UCLA, unbelievable talent. Jaden Maiava from USC, I think we're going to see even more strides from him, and he played really well last year.

20:38Todd McShay:So this group is so unique in the top-tier talent, but also the depth. This is going to be the most – I mean, Rich, you've got to be fired up. It's what? It's just July. July 1. And I'm ready. Me too.

20:52Rich Eisen:This class is going to be different. Me too, bud. Me too, pal. Before I let you go, one thing for me. If this Manning Passing Academy is anything like, say, the Combine, then there's a lot of chatter, you know, away from others, just chit-chats. You hearing anything about my guy at Michigan, Underwood? Anything about him, Todd? He wasn't there. I know that. But, you know, obviously he's a topic of conversation, I'd imagine.

21:20Todd McShay:He's such a gifted athlete. I'll be honest with you.

21:24Rich Eisen:It's okay if no one was talking about him. That's fine. I was just taking a shot.

21:27Todd McShay:There's similar talk with him with Malik Washington, a really talented freshman last year at Maryland. Just watching him throw the ball, it's different. Watching him just walk out of the tunnel, if you will. It's 6 '3 and change, 235 pounds. There are some really raw young quarterbacks. The Mississippi State guy, there's some guys like that, and he's in the same breath. When people were talking about them, Underwood would come up. We've got to see kind of that next step. I want to see in a new system, maturity, drilling at home. This offseason is critical for him because where he was as a passer last year, does not cut it.

22:13Todd McShay:And I give a lot of grace first year freshmen, his circumstances, that, that program, all the things. But there's got to be a lot of maturity in his game. Let's just say from year one to year two, in order for him to become anywhere close to what the expectation was coming out. And so it's on everyone in that program to help channel all of that. Right. But it was frustrating at times, like Marcel Reed was frustrating at times, But I watched Marcel Reed from Texas A &M after watching his tape and seeing a lot of the same missed throws and missed opportunities. And I saw him at the Manning Passing Academy.

22:49Todd McShay:And I'm like, oh, this this young man has been grinding, like thicker, looks the part, balls coming out quicker, more accuracy. So I'm hoping to see that from Underwood this fall, because it's amazing what one offseason of kind of, you know, reset, refine and go repeat can do for for a quarterback. You got to remember, we're talking 18 to 19 years old. So there's a lot of hope, a lot of hope, but also a lot of work that has to be done.

23:16Rich Eisen:And a lot of wondering if he had the proper coaching last year. And we'll see what happens now. No question. And CJ's brother, Tommy, is on the depth chart there. So we'll see if there's any there on that front. Todd, I appreciate the time. Look for more of my calls and everything else. You got it, my man. Always good to catch up. Happy fourth, man. Right back at you. Right back at you, Todd. Nicely done, Tommy.

23:39Todd McShay:I didn't say hi to the boys first. How we doing, fellas? Todd, we're doing great, man. Great to see you, dude. What's up, Todd? Good to see you. What up, Todd?

23:46Rich Eisen:Todd, I might as well start a tradition with you, too, like with Brad Therro. You say hi to us, then I record it, and then we send it to you, and then you post it, and then the boys say hi, then Rich gets mad. Don't feel comfortable about it. Don't feel... If this goes on any longer, I'm going to be like Mel Kiper Jr. over Jimmy Clawson. All right? Everybody, let this man go on with his day. Have a great four, Todd. We'll chat soon. Everybody check out the next show, certainly, as he's going down. What a breakdown of the kids that are going to be playing college football. And his opinion of Arch there.

24:20Rich Eisen:Arch at 4th? I don't like that. The visions of your yacht based on the trading cards you have, fading like a back-to-the-future Polaroid. I'm on a canoe now at this point. I'm not on a yacht. I'm on a canoe. Like fading. You want a kayak. Oh, no. Yeah. And I can't swim. punch him out and get that yacht back all right let's take a break here on the rich eyes and show Pella windows and doors we love having a relationship with them because they're the experts of taking care of you and your home when it comes to your home at Pella they find the products that meet your needs and their experts install them and that means working with a company that builds and installs a quality product with real pricing real simple really beautiful and when a trusted name Mike Pella chooses to partner with the rich eyes and show well that says a lot 0 % financing options are available.

25:10Rich Eisen:Certain restrictions apply. Find your local Pella Windows and Doors showroom today at Pella Windows and Doors at Pella.com slash Eisen for details. Make life brighter with Pella Windows and Doors. And may I just say this. The doors, they're just as strong as the one that's in the Congo goalie right now. Seriously, man. He is shutting it. Everything. The Congo goalie's got his hands firmly on this door and shutting it on England right now. But we'll talk about that when we come back on The Rich Eisen Show. And also a what's more likely Wednesday edition.

25:51Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show podcast.

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27:34Rich Eisen:back here on the rich eyes and show we just showed craig kilbourne's first appearance on this show of many back in 2019 seven years ago um and after his latest he stayed after class um back in may and we finished up season one of this was sports center which drops on friday um mike hoskins sent me uh the rough cut if you will and it's in my inbox i will watch it yes sir uh perhaps before the soccer match uh because i don't know countdown yeah i know i don't know if i have not mentioned you you know what i'm doing after today's show i i don't know uh you know that the working on your short game you know it's it's a show called the puzzle room oh on netflix nice uh with uh david kwang and you and a partner um solve puzzles you know live like and or on taping or whatever um and do you know who i'm doing it with it was a hint male or female uh female suzy that's correct it's gonna be off the race that was almost too obvious of an answer that's what i was thinking so that's why i know it's It's too obvious, right?