Hokie Ventures

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And welcome back to the Boundary
Corner podcast along with my

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partners, Brian Ziegler,
Jonathan Talley, Shelton Moss,

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and tonight our special guest
managing editor from Tech

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Sideline, David Cunningham.
I am Curtis Wilson and we are,

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as always, brought to you by
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moments on the Maury Man.

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We are we we're we're all back
together with one of our

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favorite hokey people out here
in David Cunningham.

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What a night it's going to be.
Everyone is bespectacled

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tonight, and this is in honor of
DC.

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I.
Appreciate you guys having me on

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and Tally.
Tally got on and was like,

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everyone needs their glasses on
and hey, we're rocking them,

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hey.
I can't see without mine.

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I know some people probably can
take theirs on and off, but mine

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has to be on.
I can definitely do this, by the

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way, making his grand return
because the man has been working

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his butt off supposedly for the
last five months.

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Shelton Moss makes some Shelton.
How you living, man?

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I'm doing good, man.
This is this is the best time of

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the year where all the the
college sports are over.

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David.
David knows the knows the grind,

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although he's he's still working
too, because he's got to deal

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with all the commitment stuff.
But yeah, it's it's been good.

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We'll have some free time in the
summer.

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It's kind of relaxed a little
bit, but excited to be back on

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talk some.
So Smokey basketball.

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They made a little hooky
baseball too.

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But obviously, you know,
football, football primarily the

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news for all of the all of the
big wins on the recruiting show.

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Yep, absolutely.
Tonight we are going to be

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talking a little bit of
everything with David here.

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We are going to be talking about
Hokies hoops to kick it off

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tonight because it looks like
that class, all the ends, all

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the outs are done just to kind
of take a look at that piece.

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Obviously some other news and
things to take care of with all

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baseball.
Without a shadow of a doubt,

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we're going to give Shelton a
little little free reign to talk

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about a couple of the
retirements because he missed

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that.
He did he he tried everything

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when that broke to get on, but
it just did not work out that

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week.
So we're giving him his own.

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And then obviously we're going
to talk recruiting because it's

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it's at a level we have not seen
in a very long time here at

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Virginia Tech.
Everyone in the comments is

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excited about the recruiting
Curtis.

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I mean, who isn't, who is not
excited about the recruiting

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right now?
It's it's going nuts.

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So since the last time we sat on
here, which was the Wednesday

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night before the board
commitment and Tally was, I

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mean, Tally, I won't give Tally
all the credit.

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Dave is smiling because Tally
was fighting people on the

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timeline.
I mean people on the timeline

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about board.
It was.

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Great.
And now he he got to he got to

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cock walk all over and be like
coach.

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So but we're going to talk about
that later.

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But with our buddy David
Cunningham managing after Tech

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sideline, we are going to kick
it off with basketball tonight.

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And David, first of all, how you
been?

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Glad?
It's been like 3 months since

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we're two months since we saw
you.

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We were talking about spring
ball and stuff in the end of

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basketball season.
Life good.

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It's been good, you know, funny,
I joked on our Techs Hotline

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podcast probably a month ago,
it's like, man, you know, you

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might slow down a little bit
now.

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Like, not like there's anything
going on.

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And, well, since, you know,
Virginia Tech has had its

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president and its athletic
director retire and the Hokies

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are hot on the recruiting trail
on top of basketball transfer

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portal.
And you throw in all the stuff

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going on with the board of
visitors right now and the

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changes in Blacksburg, and
there's a lot going on.

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I haven't gotten much of a
break, but it's been good and

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always a pleasure to chat with
you guys.

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I appreciate you guys having me
on.

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It, it does feel like a a
completely new era with

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everything going on between
Sands wit You got Franklin and

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House doing his thing.
Yeah.

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You had a couple other
retirements that are coming down

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the Pike, you know, as of June
30th.

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I mean, it's really kind of like
a brand new fresh start, almost

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top to bottom in the athletic
department.

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So it's it's been an exciting
time, but I'm sure it's kept you

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busy.
Yes, well, and, and the, the,

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the, you know, we went through
some what 2/2 plus months,

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almost three months of head
coaching search in the fall, you

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know, and then you get, you get
to the other side of it and it's

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peak recruiting season in the
end of basketball.

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And now you've got dueling
president in AD searches on top

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of a complete restructuring of
the athletic department, they're

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also hiring a head of the hokey
club.

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And they're also, as we're going
to talk about later, I'm sure

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hiring a CEO to, to oversee this
new LLC.

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So it is going to be chaos
galore.

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It's kind of just really getting
started right now and it has got

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me very busy.
But you know what, I think it's

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a it's a really important
transformational time for

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Virginia Tech athletics as a
whole right now.

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You know, come I I expect the
president to be kind of the

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final person of that group hired
after the AD, the CEO, the head

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of the Hokie Club.
And when we look back at after

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the president is hired, my guess
is, you know, a year, maybe

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maybe a little after, a little
more than a year dating back to

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when James Franklin was hired.
And you can say that probably at

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five of the most prominent
positions at the entire

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university.
There has been change, knock on

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wood, for everyone involved.
It has been positive Change

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obviously doesn't mean, you
know, we don't know what's going

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to happen after that.
But but they've kind of laid

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down the foundation so far.
It is, it's, it's definitely

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interesting to see what's going
to happen with that.

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And we're going to talk about
that a little later because I'm

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going to tell you the research
I've been doing on that and like

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seeing the other schools doing
it is pretty wild.

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But let's kick to basketball
because to our knowledge, David,

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everything is done right.
All everybody who's staying is

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staying.
All the guys out are out and

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everybody coming in is in.
Yeah, I would, I would assume

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so.
I would assume so.

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They, they picked up a
commitment from Ethan Copeland

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from a Garfield Stetson probably
2 a week or two ago.

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I I would imagine he's probably
the last one.

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But also, you never really know
in this day and age, Curtis,

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because they're European.
There's a European international

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aspect to this as well, right?
Hokies got of Dallas in June

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last year.
They got Antonio Doran around

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the same time.
So we'll we'll, we'll see.

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I would expect that the the
roster to pretty much be

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finalized, but it wouldn't shock
me if for either the men or the

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women if there's kind of a a
surprise international edition.

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Yeah.
All right.

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So we'll definitely keep our
ears and eyes open for that.

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But let's talk about the six
guys who are in.

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You know you got coal attack
coming out of Oklahoma.

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Miles Heidi from San Diego
State, Isaiah Elohim from FAUA,

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borderline 5 star when he came
out and went to USCA couple

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years ago, Jalen Curry out of
Oklahoma State, San Gina.

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I just butchered the hell out of
that name.

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But y'all know that's me from NC
State.

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And then you mentioned Ethan
Copeland.

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Do you have any one of these
guys that's like like that's

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like the guy they needed because
the we'll talk about the

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turnover in a few minutes here,
but like they needed to land

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that type of player for this
upcoming season because it seems

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like the Hokies might become a
transfer portal basketball

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school.
Well I think the additions of

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the three guards on the wing and
Elohim and and Copeland and

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Curry are all huge.
I think those 3, like you had to

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replace Jalen Bedford and Jaden
Shoot and Isaiah Pasha for what

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what that's worth.
I mean to be fair, the tech has

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a pretty good core trio of Ben
Hammond, Tyler Johnson and Amani

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Hansberry.
That's a fact.

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They're pretty talented guys.
Amani Hansberry is an all ACC

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pick coming back, but you need
guys around them and I think

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that trio of guards, a little
bit different skill sets.

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I think as you mentioned, Curtis
Eleveen coming from FAU, he was

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really, really highly touted
kid, started his career at USCI.

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Think him and Curry, who's from
Charlotte originally and played

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for Frank Martin.
Are you Maz?

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I think those two guys are going
to be instant impact.

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Copeland I'm interested to see.
He's a three-point shooter and

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he was on fire at Stetson this
year in the A Sun.

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I think those three guys are are
really important because you

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have to have quality depth and I
think Curry adds a little bit of

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versatility as a ball handler
and he's he's a little on the

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shorter side.
I don't know how much you want

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to play him and Ben Hammond
together, but he also provides

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you the option to do so.
So I I like what they've done in

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the back court.
I I think that has shaped up

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pretty well given, you know,
where it was.

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I mean, they they lost of
dollars Bedford Pasha and shoot

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and they added these three guys
and you know, you're not going

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to be able to completely replace
them, I don't think.

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But I think they did a pretty
good job.

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Yeah, I love hearing that.
And you know, when you look at

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the the guards, we also had got
to look at the front court a

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little bit too, because, you
know, you do have Hansberry

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coming back, but you know, you
had Gerdock and Dorn both

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exiting the portal.
Guys like Atak and Heidi coming

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in.
Are they going to be able to

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kind of fill those roles in a
similar way?

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I know they're probably not
quite size wise matching up to

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the to the departures, but what
do you feel about those guys?

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Well, I think Atak is really
interesting.

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He's got a unique skill set.
He's like 6-9.

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He's 69.
He's almost the scene.

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Heidi are almost the same size,
but they they've got like much

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different body types.
Atak is kind of a slender

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stretch, 4 of sorts.
I think he provides you the

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option to play Hansberry at the
five, him at the four.

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He's a good three-point shooter,
played really well at Oklahoma

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for a bunch of stretches this
year.

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And then Heidi, I think Heidi is
a veteran defensive presence.

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He played at a San Diego State
for a San Diego State program

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that was top 20, top 30 in
defensive efficiency.

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Last couple years he's been to
the NCAA tournament.

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He knows what it takes.
I don't know that he's a true

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inside score, but I think he's a
good inside presence as far as

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defensively goes.
And that's what you kind of

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need.
You need to pair those guys with

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Amani Hansberry.
And the other name I wouldn't

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sleep on is Sincere Jones.
He's a guy who he got hurt last

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year and he missed a good chunk
of basically the entire

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second-half of ACC play, got
hurt kind of early mid January.

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But he, Mike Young and the staff
raved about him.

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He's just very raw and didn't
really have an opportunity to

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kind of get a ton of significant
consistent minutes for a long

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time.
But he showed a lot of really

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impressive flashes when he did
play.

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So I think that's kind of come
together how, how they would

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like, I think the front court,
you know, if, if they could add

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another player potentially like
an international guy, they

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they'd add someone there.
And you mentioned Musa Sagna, I

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believe his name is from NC
State.

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He's more of a depth piece in in
the front court, I think, but

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you could see him have a little
bit of of an impact.

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He's more so just a guy who he
didn't have a lot of experience.

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He's raw.
He hadn't played basketball very

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long, but but he's got some raw
talent.

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He's kind of got to mold it into
what you you would like it to

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be.
Sally, what you got on this?

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00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,520
Yeah.
Y'all do I really need to say

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00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:24,640
it?
Y'all want me to say it?

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00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:27,200
I want you to say it because you
texted it the other day.

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00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:33,240
David, how long is Mike Young
going to be here?

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00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,680
I mean, it all depends dally.
I mean, to be completely honest

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there, I will, I will be very
curious to see how the incoming

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00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,920
athletic director views his that
position.

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00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,680
It it's, it's complicated
because I think in a lot of ways

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00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,080
you could argue that Mike Young
has not gone anywhere close to

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00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:03,720
enough at Virginia Tech over the
last 3-4 years since winning an

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00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,120
ACC championship and that
they've missed on the NCAA

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00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:09,880
tournament.
And I think this year, this past

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season was a big blunder.
They had the right roster, they

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increased their resources, just
didn't get it right.

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I think it was a big make or
break year.

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00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,080
The difficult part now is that
you're going all in on football

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00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:26,000
and, and in terms of resources
going really all in on football

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00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,920
as you should.
And you're seeing that pay off

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00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:30,600
as we'll talk about with
recruiting later.

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00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,480
And also the, you know, the the
staffing and everything going on

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00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:36,280
with the football program is in
the right spot.

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00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:40,760
But it is very difficult to
compete in men's basketball

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00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,800
right now if you don't have the
proper funding and if you're not

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00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:48,440
funding it competitively year
over year over year.

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00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,480
And Virginia Tech did last year,
but didn't, hasn't really

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00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,000
increased the funding for this
year, which makes it just makes

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00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,640
it really tough.
That's not, it's not really a

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00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,240
black and white answer because a
new AD could come in and, and

263
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,400
feel like, hey, we're going to
shift some resources around and

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00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,640
fund men's basketball more.
Or a new AD could say, well,

265
00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,640
we're going to go try to find a
coach who will come in and do

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00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,920
something more with the
resources we have.

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00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:24,840
It's, it's complicated because I
think he's obviously, I think

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00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,160
he's well liked by a lot of the
donors, but at the same time the

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00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,560
don't, there's a little bit of
donor fatigue, I think and you

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00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:35,840
got to continue to raise money
in this environment.

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00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:38,920
I don't really know how how long
he's going to be here.

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00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,160
It's a tough question to answer.
And I think everyone around the

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00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,720
program knows that they have to
be better and is that is that

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00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,240
one year, 2 years?
I I'm not really sure, but you

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00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,120
got to make the tournament and
they were really close.

276
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,040
Might be a little bit different
now that it's going to be a 76

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00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,200
team tournament.
God.

278
00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:07,040
I don't mean to get us started
there, but but it really comes

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00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:11,040
down to resources.
I think you have to have the

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00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:16,520
right resources because you can
you can make a change, but if

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00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,040
you don't have the right
resources for the next coach, it

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00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:22,440
doesn't necessarily matter.
So it's kind of a case by case

283
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,040
situation.
But his seat is warm.

284
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:29,440
Everyone understands that.
Everyone understands that they

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00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,120
have to win and they have to win
now, and they're doing it with

286
00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,840
little resources.
I know Shelton wants to add

287
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,360
something, but he's also, this
is the last year of his

288
00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,520
contract, he is, there has been
no extensions, right?

289
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,480
Yeah.
I mean, my guess is, well,

290
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:49,120
nothing official.
I was told back towards the end

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00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:53,840
of the season that there was an
extension coming in, that there

292
00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,360
was an extension in the works.
And the difficult part is that

293
00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:03,480
right now you're in, you're in a
spot where you only have one

294
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,760
year left on your contract, that
you're going into your final

295
00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:11,360
year.
It's really hard for not just

296
00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,760
recruiting, but for everything
to kind of coach on a one year

297
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,080
deal where you don't know what
your future is going to be after

298
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,960
the season.
I don't expect to be a long

299
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:25,000
extension, but at least and I
don't expect that the terms or

300
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:26,440
anything had changed.
Like it's not like they're going

301
00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:32,840
to Jack up his buy out, but more
so just to especially during an

302
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,320
athletic director change where
so much is changing in the

303
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,600
athletic department.
I think it they need to kind of

304
00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,360
roll it over and he's not the
only coach that has a contract

305
00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:44,200
coming up that's going to expire
soon.

306
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,160
Baseball John Chef, this is
John.

307
00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,560
John Chef's entering.
He will enter his final year of

308
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,960
his contract.
But I think there will be

309
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,920
extensions for one both of those
guys coming at some point before

310
00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,640
say July 1, something officially
announced.

311
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,280
Just if anything, just to kind
of roll and roll them over to

312
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:09,040
the next administration.
Not too long, but enough where

313
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,720
it's not the first thing that
the new AD comes in and he has

314
00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:15,360
to evaluate the men's basketball
program.

315
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,840
Do I have to hire a men's
basketball coach first thing

316
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,760
like.
But it's it's really

317
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,560
complicated.
But to your point, Curtis, yeah,

318
00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,240
I'm I'm.
It's just a really tough spot to

319
00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:27,520
be in.
I'm curious to hear Rochelle has

320
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,480
to say.
Yeah, I mean nothing.

321
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,720
I mean nothing too too crazy.
Like I just want to say I was

322
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,640
looking at some of the
projections for next year, which

323
00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:39,920
my friend Edwin brought up to me
right now.

324
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,280
T rank, also known as Bart
Torvik, has the Hokies as the

325
00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,000
number 31 team in the country,
which I was kind of kind of

326
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,520
shocked by.
But you look at it.

327
00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,200
I mean they've they've added
some high production transfers,

328
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,920
like obviously, I think a talk
and and Curry being the big

329
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:55,080
ones.
A few others in there.

330
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,400
Hello him.
We'll get some get some minutes.

331
00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,040
So you got a Mile High as well.
So I think I think Mike has done

332
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,480
a good job of kind of
assembling, you know, a a, a

333
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,080
decent cast of characters that
have produced that previous D1

334
00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,040
schools and just making the most
of the budget that he's got.

335
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,080
But I do I I was certainly very
surprised to see that tech that

336
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,360
projected that highly in the
rankings.

337
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,480
I just, you know, like last year
they weren't, you know, we

338
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,240
didn't really know as much about
last year's team with just how

339
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,640
many unknowns there were.
I mean, and obviously Neo coming

340
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,240
over from from Europe.
You know, they weren't, they

341
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,400
weren't very projected very
highly in the preseason, in the

342
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:30,400
preseason polls.
But this year is different and,

343
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,800
and they've got actual encore
production from guys that played

344
00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,880
a good a good program.
So I'm I'm excited to see it.

345
00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:38,800
They got to stay healthy.
That's a big thing.

346
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,360
Yep, they're being burned.
That burned them last year.

347
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,160
On top of all the other problems
with closing out games.

348
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:50,080
It's, it's, it's hard to win
consistently the ACC if you're

349
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,800
not healthy, especially if
you're dropping close games

350
00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,680
that, you know, you really had
in hand until the final two

351
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,360
minutes.
And in most of those contests.

352
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,440
And to Sheldon's point, I mean,
you see them rank that high and

353
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,040
it does give you like a little
bit of pause because, you know,

354
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,080
you, you'd lost a, a good chunk
of talent.

355
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,160
But at the same time, you're,
you're bringing in a lot of

356
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,960
production.
So, you know, it seems like at

357
00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,280
least from a a strength
standpoint, they're they're

358
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,600
giving that a lot of, lot of
kudos on what Mike Young and

359
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,200
Virginia Tech have been able to
do in the portal in terms of

360
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,920
just production coming in.
Just interested to see with, you

361
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,920
know, basketball, as as Curtis
said earlier, has kind of become

362
00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,480
this, you know, live and die by
the transfer portal.

363
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:36,720
You, you got the production in
here.

364
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,640
You got to make sure that this
is the right mix of characters,

365
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:42,280
get things to gel.
And I know it's easier in

366
00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,480
basketball than football, much
less of a dice roll.

367
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,880
But we saw, you know, stretches
last year where some of that

368
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,560
continuity didn't really gel the
way that you wanted to in in key

369
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,280
situations, especially down the
stretch in some of those games.

370
00:21:56,280 --> 00:22:01,560
So hoping that the the mix of
characters is working out better

371
00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:03,760
this year than the kind of what
we saw last year, even though

372
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,280
the talent level overall was
pretty, pretty high on that

373
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,800
team, but but sometimes that
just didn't that didn't equal

374
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:10,960
wins.
Yeah.

375
00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,680
And to what we said, you said
David was perfect.

376
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,200
And if you think about last
year's team injuries, can they

377
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,640
stay healthy?
Because that team when it was

378
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,200
healthy, it was like it was kind
of an unseen.

379
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:28,840
It's a good question.
Keep that up there.

380
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:30,240
We'll, we'll let you jump on
that one next.

381
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:32,920
But it was kind of an unseen
because if you remember early in

382
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,760
the season and they'd grab
rebounds and go on fast breaks,

383
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,480
alley oop dunks, attacking the
rim.

384
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:41,280
That's something we hadn't seen
a lot with Mike Young usually

385
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,480
used to get the rebounds like go
run the set, not attack.

386
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,080
And then Toby gets hurt, Neil
gets hurt where it's like we

387
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,080
can't even do that anymore
because it looked like there was

388
00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:52,520
going to be a different element
there.

389
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,040
It wasn't going to be the
typical Mike Young stuff.

390
00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:57,720
But let's go to Dwight's
question.

391
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,480
What is the basketball identity
under coach Mike Young?

392
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:08,000
I think that's a great point
that sometimes may get lost

393
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:15,200
because he's been hit 20/18/20.
18/20/19 was his first season.

394
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,080
2019, OK, but that's seven
years.

395
00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:21,000
I mean what's your opinion on
that?

396
00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:22,960
What's?
What's the identity?

397
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,560
Or is there not one?
Well, I think I think they got

398
00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,640
their to an extent.
They got their look back

399
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,920
defensively when they brought
Chester Frazier back.

400
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:37,040
I think they won't.
The goal is to try to be pretty

401
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,200
rugged defensive team, like good
enough.

402
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,480
I'm not not that they're going
to be really good, but good

403
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,000
enough defensively, which they
were not over the last couple

404
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:53,280
years between when when that 22
title and really up until this

405
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:58,320
past season.
They've always been a heavy 3

406
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,480
point shooting team.
I think Mike Young's teams are

407
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,920
best when they play inside out.
And the problem is really since

408
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,640
Keve Luma and Justin Mutts have
left, they haven't really had

409
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,680
that in inside presence that can
go back to the basket.

410
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:16,280
I think Imani Hansberry did at
times, but I think even to an

411
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:21,000
extent Toby Lalow was very
limited at what he could do.

412
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:25,000
He wasn't a true kind of throw
it inside and he's going to

413
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,880
create.
I'm interested to see what steps

414
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,240
forward Imani Hansberry can can
take.

415
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:37,200
I would say as far as style
goes, last year's team was not a

416
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,360
good representative of what
they're trying to accomplish

417
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:43,240
because they took a risk with
the dollars and basically said

418
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,160
we're going to give you the keys
and kind of make this make you

419
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:48,680
the focal point of everything.
And it didn't work.

420
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,840
It flamed out.
And that's why in January when

421
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,240
if Dallas was not playing well,
you saw them make Ben Hammond

422
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:59,200
the focal point and Ben Hammond
kind of took it and ran with it.

423
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,880
He played really well.
But you got a, a shifty point

424
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:05,960
guard.
You got some guys who can shoot,

425
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,320
but you really just want to my
my, I would say run good sets

426
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:17,320
and and play inside out.
You can't be 1 dimensional and I

427
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,360
think at times tech has not been
good enough defensively, not

428
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:27,480
been not been multi dimensional.
And the difficult part is they

429
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,520
were probably a shot or two away
from making the tournament last

430
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,160
year.
But that's just the way the dice

431
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:43,400
rolls at this point.
It's I I wonder if them get them

432
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,600
the guys that they picked up in
the portal is kind of them

433
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,680
getting back to what they want
the identity to be as far as

434
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,440
you've got some good shooters,
you've got you've got a couple

435
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,800
guys that that have the
capabilities to slash, but you

436
00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:57,840
want to stretch the floor and
play a little inside out.

437
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,320
And I think Heidi gives you a
little bit of an inside game

438
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,040
alongside Hansberry.
But I'm also still curious to

439
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,160
see how it how it fleshes out.
I think they got too caught up

440
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,480
in the of Dallas spotlight last
year of Dallas is this high

441
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,800
profile guy coming in, you want
to please him, you want to kind

442
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,280
of play the way he wants to
play.

443
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:21,040
And it didn't work out.
But we've seen like young teams

444
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,120
at their best when they don't
turn the ball over, when they

445
00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:27,440
play good defense, when they can
play inside out and kind of make

446
00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,280
you defend all five guys on the
court.

447
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,120
And there were too many times
last year, even the year prior

448
00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:37,240
where they were really bad that
that they just have not been

449
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,880
multi dimensional.
All right, OK, let's go real

450
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:43,320
quick.
You mentioned Neo there.

451
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,320
We talked about Dorne and
Gerdack earlier.

452
00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:51,040
Of all the guys that left in,
you know, Tom Johnson was

453
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,160
another one.
No, no, Tom Johnson came back.

454
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,160
Excuse me there.
Who am I missing here?

455
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,480
That left.
Yeah, that left.

456
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,080
Which one hurts the most?
Like who truly like hurts the

457
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,280
most from not only maybe a team
chemistry standpoint, but maybe

458
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,480
just in general.
Like that guy with these other

459
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:17,400
this, like they're 31 now.
They could have been 21 if you

460
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,480
had this.
Yeah, and I think of I think of

461
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,880
of Dallas, it would have been
good to have of Dallas for

462
00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,280
another year.
But that that's, that's really

463
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,480
like it's you're, that's really
hot, really cold in my opinion.

464
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,120
Like there's not really a good
middle ground be really good or

465
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,960
or not because it's either going
to work or it doesn't.

466
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,200
In my opinion, the biggest one
is Gerdach.

467
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,480
Like Christian Gerdach played
really well as a true freshman.

468
00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:47,000
And as I mean, Mike Young told
David Thiel down at ACC spring

469
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,360
meetings that it, it was a
financial thing.

470
00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:55,520
He went to Rutgers.
Gerdach, is he really like

471
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,200
Virginia Tech, Really good,
humble kid.

472
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,000
All my conversations with him,
he, he really liked the

473
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:06,040
situation he was in.
But I, I think, you know, he was

474
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:10,200
probably 4th or 5th on that list
of guys to keep below the three

475
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,920
they kept.
And unfortunately, the money

476
00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:17,080
might just didn't seem to work
out.

477
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:22,080
But Gerdack was a very rugged
guy who he had 17 and 19 in that

478
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,040
win over UVA on New Year's Eve
last year.

479
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,320
Like, he can go get you some
rebounds, especially on the

480
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,400
offensive end.
I think he kind of embodied what

481
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,160
Mike Young wanted to do the way
he wanted to play.

482
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:38,840
What I will say is I think Miles
Heidi is an upgrade defensively

483
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,720
and I think some of the other
guys are upgrade as far as

484
00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,680
athleticism because Gerdak
didn't have a big vertical.

485
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,560
He didn't jump up in grab
remounts, but he was great in

486
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:55,560
terms of positioning.
I think shoot could be quote UN

487
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,760
quote big loss.
But at the same time, I think

488
00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:02,440
it's easy to kind of produce
replicate, I should say 3 point

489
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:04,200
shooting and that's really all
shoot was.

490
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:08,800
He was a three-point shooter who
who you ran off screens.

491
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,200
And I think that's basically
Ethan Copeland, except he hasn't

492
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,800
done it as as high a level.
Shoot got picked on defensively

493
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,280
by a lot of teams.
Florida State, Luke Lax came out

494
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:22,800
and said it like, hey, we're
we're picking on on shoot like

495
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,040
so I don't know.
I think Gerdack is the one

496
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,560
that's really most difficult to
replace.

497
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:34,400
The others, you know, I think
you wouldn't like to lose them,

498
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,640
but you understand it a little
bit more.

499
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,680
But Murdock is one who is just
like, he's a quality big who

500
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,280
played well for you.
He could have been better in a

501
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,120
bigger role.
Can I ask if you're if you're

502
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:52,800
able to answer this, How much
for Neo to go to UNC?

503
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:56,440
How many more?
How big?

504
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:58,960
How much bigger was the number
that you've heard?

505
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,040
If you can say, if you can't
say, then that's what it is.

506
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,880
I think, I think it's like 2,
two and a half.

507
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,440
OK.
I don't.

508
00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:11,280
I.
Mean, I don't think, I don't

509
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:13,960
think it was.
I think it was right around 2

510
00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,560
1/2, maybe a little closer to
three.

511
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,400
But I mean, Tech wasn't going to
be able to keep him anyway

512
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,360
financially, regardless of what
I mean, even if the number

513
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,120
didn't stay, even if the number
didn't change, it stayed the

514
00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:27,440
same.
Jack wasn't really going to be

515
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,320
able to keep him.
That's a tough part, man, in

516
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,520
men's basketball, not to rant
about this, but like, the price

517
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,520
to compete is continuing to go
up.

518
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,840
And unlike football, which
everyone knows all the resources

519
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:45,240
have to go to men's basketball,
the price is exponentially,

520
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,360
exponentially growing.
And if you are not increasing

521
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,200
your your what you're putting
into the program every single

522
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:58,200
year at a similar rate, you're
not going to be as better as

523
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,640
well off in terms of resources.
You know, Virginia Tech is going

524
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,960
to be one of the best finance
football programs in the country

525
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:07,080
under James Franklin.
That is a fact.

526
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,240
But men's basketball is
completely different.

527
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,920
And the difficult part is there
are a lot of other programs in

528
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,160
the same boat that like you've
got to fun football, you got to

529
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,400
make sure all your ducks are in
a row with football and then you

530
00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,200
got to help men's basketball as
best you can.

531
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,000
Obviously Duke, Carolina, little
a little bit different story,

532
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,880
Virginia, But you know, a team
like Notre Dame's running into

533
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,800
this where you got to put all
your ducks in or all your money

534
00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,760
in football and, you know, try
to do the best you can with

535
00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,480
men's basketball.
Wake Forest a little bit

536
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:45,840
different, but I think that I
think that answers this question

537
00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:48,600
a little bit.
Yeah, I think, I think you did a

538
00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:50,600
good job there.
I mean, you know, when you talk

539
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,120
about the finances, I feel like
that's that's kind of where

540
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,600
you're, you're, you're the
rubbers meet the road for

541
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,360
Virginia Tech.
A lot of times you talked about

542
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:00,920
the growth.
You know, Virginia Tech probably

543
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:06,160
every year is probably in the
bottom 40% of the ACC in terms

544
00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,400
of, you know, financial
commitment to the basketball

545
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,960
program.
Meanwhile, they're expected to

546
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,560
compete in the upper 40% for us
as one of those ACC slots in the

547
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:18,880
tournament.
So, you know, you got you got to

548
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:23,840
bridge that gap somehow.
And it's only going to keep

549
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,880
going up as we, you know,
continue further down this road.

550
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:32,600
So I'm interested to see if that
the financial commitments to

551
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:36,920
football eventually trickle down
to basketball as as things

552
00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,280
hopefully get get back on the
right, the right path on the

553
00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,520
football front, because you
know, a good football team is

554
00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,800
going to reap benefits for the
other programs in the athletic

555
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,080
department.
So, but unfortunately there's

556
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:55,080
probably going to be some some
hand wringing and some some

557
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,800
shorter budgets than they would
like until that gets gets back

558
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,360
on the right direction.
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of just

559
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:03,600
the way it is.
And.

560
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:05,840
But guess what?
You know, if Virginia Tech comes

561
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:11,240
on Wednesday games in the fall,
basketball will be somewhat of

562
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:16,000
an after afterthought and
football's Virginia Tech bread

563
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,880
and butter.
And if you're good at it,

564
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:22,080
everything else, I think you
would hope kind of everything

565
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,920
else figures itself out.
But they got to be good at

566
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,440
football camp first.
Yeah, exactly.

567
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,320
And and you know, we're seeing.
Yeah, I think it's one of those.

568
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:33,720
Virginia Tech kind of reminds
me.

569
00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,600
Virginia Tech and Alabama are
oh, sorry.

570
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:38,880
Go.
Ahead.

571
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:40,240
I think there's a little delay
there.

572
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:41,400
Yeah, Go ahead.
Go ahead, Sally.

573
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,680
Now, I was just going to say,
like me being here, Virginia

574
00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,320
Tech kind of reminds me of
Alabama.

575
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:55,120
Again, totally different setups.
But I just think about the old

576
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,680
Alabama basketball teams where
Avery Johnson was there and he

577
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,840
was taking Nick Saban on
recruiting trips.

578
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,160
And, you know, some kids were
just going on Alabama recruiting

579
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:07,040
trips just so they can go to a
football game.

580
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,840
You know, we had some Huntsville
kids that went down to Alabama

581
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:15,199
and played.
And I just think about like how

582
00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,440
they had to recruit back then
before they built the basketball

583
00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,600
program up.
And then when it got Nate Oakes,

584
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,960
you know, Anthony Grant was
there.

585
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:28,159
So Alabama basketball wasn't
this, you know, powerhouse.

586
00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,880
And I don't even know if we call
it a powerhouse now, but it

587
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,280
wasn't to the level that it is
now.

588
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,199
And I know a lot of that takes
money, but it started with

589
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:37,320
football being good for a long
time.

590
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:42,760
So basketball team had to ride
the coach hills of of of Nick

591
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,639
Saban in that football team in
those national championships

592
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,040
just to start getting that piece
of the pie.

593
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:53,880
But I also look at what Mike
Young does when you talk about

594
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:55,679
the identity of the basketball
team.

595
00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:59,280
And again, I'm not comparing the
two, but I think that his

596
00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:02,920
philosophy and what he wants to
run is similar to what Nate

597
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,760
Oates runs because everybody on
the floor is kind of an option

598
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,640
to score.
They stretch the floor a lot.

599
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,080
They don't have a lot of big
guys that are going to go back

600
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,720
to the basket.
It's maybe one guy.

601
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,320
But even when they do have a big
guy that has his back to the

602
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,680
basket, it's more of a he can
guard the one, you know, because

603
00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:23,320
he's that athletic.
And again, that's the quality of

604
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,440
recruits you're getting.
But I've seen Mike Young go out

605
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:30,200
and get somebody like I think
David said, like Kevin Luma or

606
00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:36,920
Justin Mutts that are undersized
fives or fours, but they're, you

607
00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,440
know, able to guard these
guards.

608
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,360
And I think that's kind of the
system that he wants to run.

609
00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:46,360
But I think what we just get
into the trouble is that our

610
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:51,680
guards are not the same as
somebody like an Alabama guard

611
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:58,440
because their guards, you know,
they had Nelson running guard or

612
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,040
small forward, which was like
610.

613
00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:06,000
We just don't have that luxury.
But then you do get a guard that

614
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,240
is 6869 like Neo and you shut
the bed.

615
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:12,680
No, no, no shade to him, but it
just didn't work.

616
00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,240
So it's just kind of my my
thoughts of what I think, you

617
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:20,240
know, kind of what Mike Young
looks at or what he is trying to

618
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,240
do.
Because the year that they won

619
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:28,080
the ACC Championship, you can
kind of see the interchangeable.

620
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,920
I think they they don't cause it
position less basketball or

621
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,840
something like that.
Don't quote me, but they run all

622
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,480
different positions.
Everybody can do it.

623
00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,920
You know what I'm saying, that
you may have somebody like Sears

624
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:43,720
that's going to have the ball in
his hand most of the time.

625
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:46,160
That would be like, you know,
Ben Hammonds.

626
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,280
But I don't know, man.
That's a good question about

627
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:50,680
Dwight.
I was thinking about that.

628
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:56,840
But I'm interested to see what
we look like if football takes a

629
00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:59,080
step up.
Yeah, I like that completely.

630
00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:04,160
Football takes a step up, all
right.

631
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:06,280
So we're going to close the door
on hoops.

632
00:37:07,040 --> 00:37:10,520
Obviously a lot still to go.
You know, I don't even think the

633
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:12,080
schedule's finalized yet.
Is it?

634
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,680
I know you put something up the
other day, David, they got the

635
00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:17,400
Charleston Classic.
Is that Thanksgiving weekend?

636
00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:19,840
It's the weekend before
Thanksgiving.

637
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:24,920
I think I do that.
I got family in Charleston.

638
00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:25,960
I could like go down there.
I was.

639
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:27,000
Trying to.
Go.

640
00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:29,040
I was trying to go going to get
down there.

641
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:31,480
Yeah.
I mean we're going to Charleston

642
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,600
in like 3 weeks.
So yeah.

643
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:37,560
And usually the cozo down there
can get tickets to different.

644
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:40,200
I think so.
I think it's the weekend of the

645
00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,720
Miami football game, so.
No, no, no.

646
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,120
Well, that's in Miami this year
though, so South Beach or

647
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,320
Charleston, maybe, maybe we'll
see.

648
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:56,640
All right, let's flip over and
talk Hokey Ventures friend of

649
00:37:56,640 --> 00:38:01,720
the program now Doug Ballman
first reported along with your

650
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:05,200
colleague Andy Better about the
Hokey Ventures, about the stuff

651
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:09,200
being basically sent to whoever
it's got to be sent to, to

652
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:14,200
establish it's going to be a
business BOV meeting very, very

653
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:16,240
soon, June.
I think it's Monday.

654
00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:19,080
Is it June 8th?
June 1st.

655
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:20,840
Next Monday.
Tuesday.

656
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:25,320
Monday.
Tuesday, So June 8th and 9th to

657
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,640
effectively, I mean, there's not
going to even be a doubt shadow

658
00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:31,080
with how it's going to get past.
It's going to move forward.

659
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,440
And I don't think they would
have let it come out that they

660
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:39,280
wouldn't if, if it wasn't going
to already have a, a handshake

661
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:44,320
deal that they they were going
to move forward with this. 100%,

662
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:49,320
but looking into that and then
seeing things like this again.

663
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:54,520
Franklin was down at the
tailgate tour tonight, still

664
00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,000
waiting for Phil.
Phil, where are you?

665
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:58,680
You're supposed to be coming on
giving us all of the insight of

666
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:03,960
what what happened out there.
But looking at some of the other

667
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,680
ventures, you know, you got
Clemson ventures like Kentucky's

668
00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:07,600
one.
They're saying it's going to

669
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,000
look similar to the Michigan
State one.

670
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:20,560
I mean it it to me, Virginia
Tech for the first time in a

671
00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:26,040
long time is ahead of something
right, because this isn't like

672
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:29,720
we aren't that 65th program.
We're effectively going to be

673
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:34,040
one of the 1st 15 to do
something like this, right

674
00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:38,440
David?
And when obviously you got more

675
00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:41,360
Privy Andy doing the research,
Doug doing research, y'all all

676
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:42,880
kind of sitting there figuring
it out.

677
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:48,120
What was like the first response
tech sideline when it's like

678
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,880
holy crap that they're actually
going to do this?

679
00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:56,840
Well, I think it, I mean, we
knew they were going to have to,

680
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,400
they obviously have to hire a
new ADA 100.

681
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,080
Percent.
But I think it's the perfect

682
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:08,160
time for Virginia Tech athletics
to to rebrand and restructure

683
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,520
itself.
You're replacing all the big

684
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,840
positions.
You got a new football coach and

685
00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:15,160
you got to do something
different.

686
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:20,880
I go back to Whit Babcock in
August, going to the board of

687
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,440
visitors and essentially
sounding the alarm on this and

688
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:27,240
raising the alarm and saying the
university, we need to be

689
00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:29,640
better, but the university also
needs to give us more financial

690
00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,400
help.
And the response by the

691
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:36,200
university was to say, hey,
here's $229 million.

692
00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:40,720
We're going to go all in and
we're going to fund this thing.

693
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,600
We're going to give you the
resources.

694
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:49,960
But we also want to make sure
we've got our hands on it and

695
00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:53,000
are putting it in the right
places.

696
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:54,920
So they've got an athletics
committee on the board of

697
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:58,280
visitors now, they've got an
athletics investment oversight

698
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:02,400
committee that is directly
overseeing the finances.

699
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:06,800
And now they're going to have
Hokey Ventures LLC, which

700
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:13,880
essentially is going to be a
financial arm that helps them

701
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,720
generate more money.
And I think to a certain extent

702
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:22,200
separate some of the athletic
department finances and allows

703
00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:26,880
them more financial flexibility,
but it also lets them be more

704
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:31,200
hands on with the money.
I remember listening to the

705
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,800
conversations back in the fall
about, OK, we want to invest

706
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:38,480
more, but how do we do that?
We've got to figure out how to

707
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,520
rework the numbers and rework
the math and pull funds from

708
00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:45,840
here and to to get what they
want right.

709
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:48,640
How do we help athletics?
Well, we've got to, it's

710
00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:50,760
complicated from the university
side.

711
00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:55,480
And I think this will
essentially allow in that

712
00:41:55,480 --> 00:42:00,640
instance, a lot more financial
flexibility as far as they can

713
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:04,360
go.
Hey, here's what's happening.

714
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,600
How do we attack it?
Hey, we're pulling the funds

715
00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:09,320
immediately.
This is what we're doing.

716
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:13,000
Like maybe speeding through a
couple steps.

717
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:18,160
You don't have to deliberate as
much, but you also don't have to

718
00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:21,000
have someone sounding the alarm,
so to speak on it.

719
00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:24,840
You can you can have a good
understanding of what's going on

720
00:42:24,840 --> 00:42:28,280
before it happens.
So I think this is Curtis

721
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:33,560
Virginia Tech being really
proactive, really proactive and

722
00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:37,480
saying, hey, we want a new fresh
model.

723
00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:39,320
And it just so happens that it's
coinciding.

724
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:43,000
At the same time as a president
and an AD change, you've also

725
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:47,360
got a you're going to hire ACEO
that's going to oversee these

726
00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:49,800
finances.
And you also have a new head of

727
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,800
the Hokie Club coming in at the
same time.

728
00:42:52,240 --> 00:42:55,360
And what that allows you to do
is everyone be on the same page

729
00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:58,440
as far as, hey, here's how we're
attacking this from both the

730
00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:01,080
university side and athletic
side, but also fundraising.

731
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,920
I think it will be a good thing
for Virginia Tech and it is

732
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:09,280
innovative and it is unique.
And it's not going to be I

733
00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:13,480
exactly like Clemson Ventures or
what Kentucky's doing or what

734
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:15,000
Michigan State or Utah are
doing.

735
00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:18,040
I think they're going to take
some bits and pieces from it

736
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:24,560
all, but put a Virginia Tech
spin on it a little bit and make

737
00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:29,040
it cohesive and make it so
everyone understands what's

738
00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:34,560
going on.
And it's not, hey, we're leaving

739
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,520
athletics kind of on its island
and just hoping it survives and

740
00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:40,720
it it can come and ask us for
resources.

741
00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:44,440
It's we're walking through this
hand in hand and we're going to

742
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:45,920
make sure we're doing this the
right way.

743
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:47,920
Yeah.
And, and one of the things that

744
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:51,560
I've heard, you know, we can, we
can say the buzzword here, the

745
00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:54,960
buzz phrase institutional
alignment that, you know, James

746
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:58,080
Franklin is Pete preached since
he's come on board.

747
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:01,160
But you know, one of the things
that you're hearing from that is

748
00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:05,760
that, you know, James Franklin
has not been someone that's kind

749
00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,640
of sitting back and letting
things happen.

750
00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:10,760
He's been asking questions.
He's like, you know, how are we

751
00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:12,040
doing this?
How are we doing this?

752
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:17,720
This gives you the ability to
answer those questions quickly,

753
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,640
to move when you need to move.
It's going to create a lot more

754
00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:28,200
nimbleness within the athletic
department and not necessarily

755
00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:33,400
on demand funds, but access to
the funds that are available in

756
00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:38,920
a lot more cohesive fashion than
the traditional setup that we've

757
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,840
been kind of working with, you
know, for the last decade or so.

758
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:46,200
So you got you got anything on
this?

759
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,520
I know Curtis.
Curtis was like, I know Curtis

760
00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:51,200
had something to say there for a
for a minute.

761
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:52,480
I'm sorry, I went.
I rambled.

762
00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:55,400
Yeah, it's what Brian said.
It's the institutional lot.

763
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,880
And it's Franklin.
Keeps preaching it over and

764
00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:00,200
over.
I'm sure he probably said it

765
00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:05,280
numerous times tonight with the
tail gate when they got him up

766
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:06,880
there.
But Shelton, anything from you.

767
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:10,400
I mean, obviously you're in the
world of college athletics when

768
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:17,800
you start seeing stuff like this
come down and reading on what

769
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,840
other schools are doing.
And again, very shortly we're

770
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:23,360
going to see a structure here at
Virginia Tech.

771
00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:36,280
What's on your mind like that
you're muted or something or I'm

772
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:38,640
not hearing you?
Technical difficulties.

773
00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:43,000
I had to jump off.
Something happened with the

774
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:44,240
Internet.
Here it went.

775
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:46,520
It doesn't show him muted but I
I can't hear him.

776
00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:48,920
Yeah, we cannot.
You're going to jump in and out,

777
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:51,840
Shelton.
All right, Tally.

778
00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:55,240
What about you, man?
Anything as you start, I mean

779
00:45:55,240 --> 00:45:59,200
it's it's business now.
I mean you, you were sales guy

780
00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:01,240
for years.
You're doing stuff now getting

781
00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:04,520
into real estate.
I mean, it's, it's business.

782
00:46:05,240 --> 00:46:09,720
Yeah, definitely Ben.
I mean, I'm just, I'll ask DC

783
00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:12,240
just because he's he's kind of,
you know, our boots on the

784
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:15,320
ground guy.
I mean, I know what I see and I

785
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,360
know what I think.
But we got a couple of comments.

786
00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:22,000
Well, a couple, I think
Bassmaster said he went to the

787
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:28,080
to the tailgate tour and you
talk about being in the room

788
00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:30,000
with Franklin and the stuff that
he's saying.

789
00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,640
I remember when Pride was here
and I'm not, you know, again, I

790
00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:36,040
know they're different and I'm
not trying to crap on Brett

791
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:37,280
Pride because I know he's still
here.

792
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:41,560
But I know when Brett Pride was
the head coach, we got the same,

793
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:47,160
we got the same response from
people who went to the tailgate

794
00:46:47,160 --> 00:46:50,480
tours or who met him and they
talked about like, oh man, he's

795
00:46:50,600 --> 00:46:52,440
he's so great and he's doing
this.

796
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:56,560
What is been the big difference
to you, DC?

797
00:46:56,560 --> 00:46:58,480
Like, what's been the big
difference from what you're

798
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:04,680
seeing personally from like,
Brett Pryor, what he did and

799
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:08,360
what James Franklin's doing?
Well, I think it really comes

800
00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:11,800
down to James Franklin knows
what a really good program, a

801
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,720
great program even looks like.
He's coached one.

802
00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,720
I've had the privilege of, you
know, chatting with James

803
00:47:19,720 --> 00:47:27,400
Franklin probably 10-15 Times
Now and you can just tell he's

804
00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:31,920
very detail oriented.
He, he makes sure every little

805
00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:37,720
thing is right and he preaches
excellence and he, but he

806
00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:40,680
understands how to achieve it
and puts people in the right

807
00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:46,240
spots to achieve it.
There are simple things that

808
00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:53,360
Virginia Tech has been doing for
a while, as simple as making

809
00:47:53,360 --> 00:47:59,000
sure the doors to the buildings
in on in athletics are locked

810
00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:04,440
all the time that like big
programs have been doing for

811
00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:06,800
years.
And it's just like you never

812
00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:09,720
they just like never really
thought about it.

813
00:48:11,240 --> 00:48:17,080
Like that's one tiny example,
but you can see his impact both

814
00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:21,720
like from the most minute detail
to like the big things, right?

815
00:48:21,720 --> 00:48:23,640
Virginia Tech's on a recruiting
leader because of James

816
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:27,160
Franklin.
And what I think is really

817
00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:33,560
unique tally is he has been, he
worked with president and AD at

818
00:48:33,560 --> 00:48:37,320
Vanderbilt and then he worked
with about 3 different

819
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:40,000
presidents and three different
ADS at Penn State.

820
00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,800
And then he's now worked with
Sans and Babcock at Tech.

821
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:48,320
He's and he's going to have a
new AD and a new president and a

822
00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:53,600
new CEO, but he's comfortable in
that environment because he

823
00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:59,240
knows what he needs to succeed.
And he's going to have a hand in

824
00:48:59,240 --> 00:49:04,720
hiring some of those people.
But he knows what it takes, the

825
00:49:04,720 --> 00:49:11,120
kind of resources it takes.
I go back to what Jay Pearson

826
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:17,040
said about how James Franklin
still to this day carry, will

827
00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:20,920
carry around what the board of
visitors, the the funding plan

828
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:23,200
for the from the board of
visitors and what it's doing.

829
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:27,800
James Franklin carries that
around because he is on it and

830
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:31,560
wants to make sure everyone else
is around around him is on it

831
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:33,680
too.
He holds people to a high

832
00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:37,200
standard.
And that might sound like on the

833
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:40,520
surface like, Oh well, like
everyone kind of does that.

834
00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:44,160
I can tell you it's different.
It is, it is a different feel

835
00:49:44,520 --> 00:49:50,200
and I'm interested to see the
carryover effect it has when

836
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:54,280
these next couple people are
hired and you, they move into

837
00:49:54,280 --> 00:50:01,440
this new era where you have an
LLC and you're trying to be as,

838
00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:04,080
as Brian said, more nimble with
your finances.

839
00:50:04,080 --> 00:50:06,240
Because again, that's kind of
the goal of all this.

840
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:13,520
James Franklin has has signed
off on this essentially.

841
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:17,040
Like, I don't know that you'll
get a verbal, you know, until

842
00:50:17,040 --> 00:50:19,360
it's actually, it actually goes
through, you'll get a verbal Oh

843
00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:21,680
yeah, from James Franklin.
Like, yeah, I'm I'm on board

844
00:50:21,680 --> 00:50:23,280
with this.
But like, they wouldn't do this

845
00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:24,960
if James Franklin wasn't OK with
it.

846
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:29,480
And he knows it will help the
program because they will be

847
00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:34,400
able to raise funds in, in
better and unique ways and have

848
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:36,040
different approaches while doing
it.

849
00:50:36,040 --> 00:50:41,960
So I think he brings a very
detail oriented and go get her

850
00:50:41,960 --> 00:50:48,800
mindset and it is what's the
word I'm looking for is very

851
00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:52,600
contagious.
He surrounds himself with people

852
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:57,440
that are very like minded that
notice the little details and

853
00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:01,400
preach excellence and want to
get every little thing right.

854
00:51:01,440 --> 00:51:06,160
And that's just not something
that the previous head coach, he

855
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:08,400
didn't know because he never
been a head coach before.

856
00:51:09,560 --> 00:51:13,440
It's something that happens when
you hire, I would say, one of

857
00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:16,360
the the best coaches available
in the business right now.

858
00:51:16,360 --> 00:51:18,200
You hire someone who's done it
and has won.

859
00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:23,960
They know what they're doing.
Sheldon, now that you're back,

860
00:51:23,960 --> 00:51:29,400
do we have a mic?
Nope.

861
00:51:30,360 --> 00:51:31,800
Still nothing.
Still nothing.

862
00:51:31,800 --> 00:51:35,560
Hang on.
Got got it now.

863
00:51:36,400 --> 00:51:39,160
There we go that.
Had the wrong, wrong setting on

864
00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:41,680
that's yeah.
So did you want me to get to get

865
00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:43,000
my thoughts on the LLC stuff
first?

866
00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:44,160
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.

867
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:45,280
Jump in there first.
Yeah, yeah.

868
00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:47,560
Jump on the LLC stuff Begin.
Yeah, it's still quick.

869
00:51:47,640 --> 00:51:50,040
I mean, so I think this is the
future of cause athletics, at

870
00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:53,080
least at the Power Four level,
you know, kind of delving into

871
00:51:53,080 --> 00:51:55,200
the into like the business and
marketing side, because I think

872
00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:59,440
traditionally athletic directors
have not, you know, aren't

873
00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:02,520
necessarily super business
savvy, business savvy people.

874
00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:05,680
You know, the job is more about
fundraising and hiring coaches

875
00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:08,440
and, you know, kind of kind of
schmoozing with big wigs, but

876
00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:10,840
kind of having a more fully
developed LLC to focus on

877
00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:14,840
marketing and, and revenue
generation is I think the, the

878
00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:17,240
way that we're, you know, we're
going to see this go forward in

879
00:52:17,240 --> 00:52:19,800
the next few years here.
They call themselves a non

880
00:52:19,800 --> 00:52:21,320
profit.
I'd be very interested to see

881
00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:24,800
how long that can sustain itself
or what the, you know, what the

882
00:52:24,800 --> 00:52:28,040
tax implications are there.
I also think I'd also be

883
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:30,440
interested to know what's going
to come of the issue with

884
00:52:30,440 --> 00:52:33,200
regards to employment, because
as you guys know, that's one of

885
00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:37,080
the big issues with regarding
the, the the restrictions on,

886
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:39,400
you know, transfers and NIL
stuff is the issue of

887
00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:41,920
employment, which, you know,
we're talking about in in

888
00:52:41,920 --> 00:52:47,000
Congress nowadays, obviously
there are tons of challenges

889
00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:50,560
with employing athletes, schools
directly employing athletes

890
00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:53,120
because you can't have
collective bargaining for public

891
00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:55,440
employees.
But if you shift that to a

892
00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:57,800
separate model like an LLC or
what, you know, Kentucky's

893
00:52:57,800 --> 00:53:00,200
doing, you could maybe
theoretically get away with

894
00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:01,240
that.
I don't know exactly how it's

895
00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:03,680
going to play out or if we would
see athletes become employees of

896
00:53:03,680 --> 00:53:07,040
these of these LLCS if they take
that take on that mantle.

897
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:11,920
But Needless to say, it is a
very interesting development and

898
00:53:11,920 --> 00:53:14,280
I think we're going to see more
schools kind of take on take on

899
00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:15,960
that model.
So I'm, I'm, I'm excited about

900
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:18,320
it.
So you brought up a good point

901
00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:21,920
with kind of the future of
potential, you know, direct pay

902
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:26,040
for athletes and and have them
as employees because I mean, I

903
00:53:26,040 --> 00:53:29,560
know, you know, this is starting
as a nonprofit, but I know, you

904
00:53:29,560 --> 00:53:31,640
know, you see the the language
that they're talking about

905
00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:33,080
there.
You know, there's going to be an

906
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:37,360
option to to make it a for
profit venture moving forward at

907
00:53:37,360 --> 00:53:41,160
the next extension.
So I don't know if this is just

908
00:53:41,160 --> 00:53:45,400
kind of waiting to see how all
the legislative front plays out

909
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:49,720
with what's going on with the
with the Senate, the SCORE Act,

910
00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:52,760
the new proposal that just
dropped you in the last couple

911
00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:57,240
days, how far that makes it kind
of through the halls of Congress

912
00:53:57,240 --> 00:53:59,520
there.
But it's going to be interesting

913
00:53:59,520 --> 00:54:03,560
to see how that plays out in in
what impact that has on hokey

914
00:54:03,560 --> 00:54:06,280
ventures from a long term
standpoint if they, you know

915
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:10,240
move towards more of a for
profit structure at that next

916
00:54:10,240 --> 00:54:12,800
extension.
I want to add one more thing

917
00:54:12,800 --> 00:54:16,120
real quick.
Brandon Hall, Virginia Tech CFO

918
00:54:17,040 --> 00:54:20,840
was at he came from Clemson and
was at Clemson when Clemson

919
00:54:21,040 --> 00:54:23,760
started Clemson Ventures in
2024.

920
00:54:24,360 --> 00:54:30,240
So they they have, they have
familiarity with this background

921
00:54:30,560 --> 00:54:36,600
understanding.
Yeah, that's yeah, a lot and a

922
00:54:36,600 --> 00:54:38,480
lot of new is a good way to
describe it.

923
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:46,240
A lot of fresh and and I go on
the James Franklin topic before

924
00:54:46,240 --> 00:54:48,400
we transition.
I go back to one of the things

925
00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:50,360
he said, his introductory press
conferences, you guys might

926
00:54:50,360 --> 00:54:56,560
recall where he said it's got to
got to smell, breathe like, like

927
00:54:56,560 --> 00:54:59,520
a like a big time program.
Damn right, that's what he said.

928
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:04,320
That is the bottom line and it
is good.

929
00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:10,600
I'd rather if if you're in
Virginia Tech shoes, I I like of

930
00:55:10,600 --> 00:55:15,640
all the positions that you will
fill in this year span or so,

931
00:55:15,760 --> 00:55:20,120
President ADCEO, head of the
Hokie Club, football coach, you

932
00:55:20,880 --> 00:55:23,960
got your football coach.
That's the big thing because

933
00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:27,400
that's I would argue the most
important because it may drive

934
00:55:27,400 --> 00:55:30,640
your financials in so many ways.
And they are responsible for the

935
00:55:30,640 --> 00:55:34,080
on field product but also
helping you fundraise and

936
00:55:34,080 --> 00:55:39,680
whatnot.
The others do, but I think Tech

937
00:55:39,680 --> 00:55:42,880
is in a pretty good spot given
it has a a really good football

938
00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:44,440
coach that knows exactly what
he's doing.

939
00:55:46,040 --> 00:55:48,920
That is the truth.
And again, I think it's what

940
00:55:49,360 --> 00:55:53,120
we've all said, it's alignment.
I, I don't think, you know, we

941
00:55:53,120 --> 00:55:56,160
can say, well, this is going to
be separate and no, James

942
00:55:56,160 --> 00:55:58,000
Franklin is going to be a
driving force behind rookie

943
00:55:58,000 --> 00:55:59,240
ventures.
There's going to be things that

944
00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:02,000
he wants done inside this
entity.

945
00:56:02,600 --> 00:56:05,320
They're going to do them.
I I don't think that's even a

946
00:56:05,320 --> 00:56:07,960
question.
And I think again, what you said

947
00:56:07,960 --> 00:56:11,640
just there, David, having the
head football coach as this

948
00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:14,960
comes together as a new
president comes in, as a new

949
00:56:14,960 --> 00:56:20,640
athletic director comes in.
It's, it's, they're going to

950
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:23,120
basically follow his lead.
The Bob, if it's somebody that

951
00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:26,720
they like and Franklin's
slightly down on, that guy's not

952
00:56:26,720 --> 00:56:30,040
going to make it or that Lady is
not going to make it to the next

953
00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:33,080
chair.
Yeah, I'm, I'm interested to see

954
00:56:33,080 --> 00:56:35,760
what what this does on the
sponsorship front as well,

955
00:56:35,760 --> 00:56:38,720
because I mean, I think that's
a, that's a big opportunity that

956
00:56:38,720 --> 00:56:41,040
I think Virginia Tech could
capitalize on.

957
00:56:42,200 --> 00:56:45,760
You're looking forward.
So the sponsorship piece, at

958
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:48,920
least in the short term, I know
Sheldon talked about some of the

959
00:56:48,920 --> 00:56:53,840
long term amplifications there,
but in the short term, yeah, I

960
00:56:53,840 --> 00:56:57,440
feel like sponsorships is where,
you know, there's a lot of hay

961
00:56:57,440 --> 00:57:00,840
to be made on the Virginia Tech
front that that could really

962
00:57:00,840 --> 00:57:05,200
reap some benefits financially.
Well, and I think going away

963
00:57:05,800 --> 00:57:08,560
kind of being a little separate
from the university I think

964
00:57:08,560 --> 00:57:11,640
allows you some flexibility.
I mean, you guys know how in

965
00:57:11,640 --> 00:57:15,400
terms of laws and regulations
from the Commonwealth of

966
00:57:15,400 --> 00:57:19,760
Virginia, like, and
universities, I think being

967
00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:22,800
separate will allow you to go
around some red tape.

968
00:57:23,680 --> 00:57:27,440
Like, you know, for example,
like Virginia Tech's replacing

969
00:57:27,440 --> 00:57:31,160
its scoreboard and getting LED
lights this summer, which are

970
00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:32,720
they're, they're working on
right now.

971
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:36,400
And those are going to be up,
you know, for that VMI 730 kick

972
00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:40,720
to, to open the season, right?
Something like that.

973
00:57:40,720 --> 00:57:45,440
A project like that, the video
board, the lights might be a

974
00:57:45,440 --> 00:57:50,440
gazillion times easier when you
have an organization like an LLC

975
00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:54,920
because you don't have to.
You can kind of do it, outsource

976
00:57:54,920 --> 00:57:58,040
it a little bit, do it on your
own and have those funds set up

977
00:57:58,040 --> 00:58:00,480
right.
You don't have to go through all

978
00:58:00,480 --> 00:58:04,280
the, what I imagine is a much
longer process of, of trying to

979
00:58:04,280 --> 00:58:06,120
make sure the money's there and
get stuff done.

980
00:58:06,320 --> 00:58:09,080
You can.
You can bypass bypass some

981
00:58:09,080 --> 00:58:10,760
things you wouldn't normally be
able to.

982
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:12,360
Yeah.
And it's good.

983
00:58:12,360 --> 00:58:15,600
It's good to see that we kind of
set that that that video board

984
00:58:15,600 --> 00:58:19,840
out in style at the spring.
Oh my God.

985
00:58:21,320 --> 00:58:25,240
All right, let's move on.
Again, more with Hokie Ventures

986
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:27,640
and stuff.
Again, as everything starts to

987
00:58:27,640 --> 00:58:28,720
release and we'll talk about it
more.

988
00:58:28,960 --> 00:58:32,320
Y'all mention the stuff that
came out today from Capitol

989
00:58:32,320 --> 00:58:36,560
Hill, which is crazy, where
college football primarily

990
00:58:36,560 --> 00:58:39,000
podcasts talking about Virginia
Tech sports and it's like

991
00:58:39,240 --> 00:58:41,480
Capitol Hill.
Did you see this thing that came

992
00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:43,680
out today?
And it's like, I feel like that

993
00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:46,640
could be a six hour episode to
get into all that stuff because

994
00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:49,840
it's so many things coming down.
But I'm going to stay away from

995
00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:52,040
that because also there's some.
Things.

996
00:58:52,040 --> 00:58:54,320
There's some things to like and
some things that I'm like.

997
00:58:54,800 --> 00:58:58,720
I like the tampering thing.
Let's get that going and get Ole

998
00:58:58,720 --> 00:59:01,040
Miss and Clemson just won't kill
each other.

999
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:06,840
All right, real quick, Baseball.
Baseball made the tournament.

1000
00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:11,200
And you know, I think it had
been foreseen for the last few

1001
00:59:11,200 --> 00:59:13,480
weeks, especially after the
Clemson series.

1002
00:59:13,480 --> 00:59:15,720
OK, there it is.
They have a nice little run.

1003
00:59:15,960 --> 00:59:19,320
Nice.
Run, you know, nice run the ACC

1004
00:59:19,320 --> 00:59:23,640
tournament and then they get
shipped out West to the 51 and

1005
00:59:23,640 --> 00:59:25,600
6.
All right, 51 and six.

1006
00:59:25,600 --> 00:59:27,840
Let me make sure to Yeah, 51 and
six.

1007
00:59:27,840 --> 00:59:31,760
UCLA, Brooklyn's, they are the
number two seed.

1008
00:59:33,960 --> 00:59:37,960
Obviously somebody mentioned,
was it you, Shelton, David

1009
00:59:37,960 --> 00:59:40,160
Shelmori, also Evans heading
that way?

1010
00:59:40,480 --> 00:59:41,920
Yep, you said that, right?
Yeah.

1011
00:59:41,920 --> 00:59:44,320
Evan Hughes heading that way
going to be calling the game.

1012
00:59:47,760 --> 00:59:52,520
Listen, I was talking with, you
know, Phil here the other day.

1013
00:59:52,520 --> 00:59:54,120
It's baseball.
You're in.

1014
00:59:54,120 --> 00:59:56,640
You have a chance because
baseball.

1015
00:59:57,840 --> 00:59:59,480
Every.
Single one of us have played it.

1016
01:00:00,320 --> 01:00:02,920
Myself and Tally have our kids
who play it.

1017
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:06,920
Weird stuff happens in baseball,
so you got a shot if you just go

1018
01:00:06,920 --> 01:00:09,800
play.
So Shelton.

1019
01:00:10,320 --> 01:00:13,480
Obviously saw this team early,
David, you've been kind of

1020
01:00:13,480 --> 01:00:18,000
covering them on and off.
I'm what do you all feel and

1021
01:00:18,360 --> 01:00:19,760
whoever wants to say it first
go.

1022
01:00:19,760 --> 01:00:23,880
What do you all feel about just
this team in general making it

1023
01:00:23,880 --> 01:00:30,200
in any possible chance We're
looking on Sunday night because

1024
01:00:30,200 --> 01:00:34,120
they are Friday that they've
they've done the miraculous.

1025
01:00:37,480 --> 01:00:41,120
You can take it.
Yeah, well, yes, I so I did see

1026
01:00:41,120 --> 01:00:43,000
them see them for the season
opener all the way back in

1027
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:44,680
February.
But I will say I think it's a

1028
01:00:44,680 --> 01:00:48,800
very different team than the one
where I saw back back on the

1029
01:00:48,800 --> 01:00:51,080
season opener.
They just they're playing a lot

1030
01:00:51,080 --> 01:00:52,480
better.
They're pitching better for

1031
01:00:52,480 --> 01:00:54,280
sure.
You know, I was like, I'm

1032
01:00:54,280 --> 01:00:56,440
looking at the numbers right
now, you know, 30 and 24

1033
01:00:56,440 --> 01:01:00,160
overall, you know, not super
impressive, but they had the 7th

1034
01:01:00,280 --> 01:01:02,040
most difficult schedule in the
country.

1035
01:01:02,040 --> 01:01:05,240
So they loaded up really, really
heavy on their non con schedule

1036
01:01:05,360 --> 01:01:08,240
and that was a major reason why
they got and I think also the

1037
01:01:08,240 --> 01:01:10,240
reason why I got so much respect
from the committee getting a two

1038
01:01:10,240 --> 01:01:12,320
seed, which, you know, most
people didn't expect.

1039
01:01:12,680 --> 01:01:15,040
But the kind of point to that is
that you you get matched up

1040
01:01:15,040 --> 01:01:17,920
against the the best team in the
country, which is not not ideal.

1041
01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:21,600
But I mean, like I was not able
to to watch the team of ton just

1042
01:01:21,600 --> 01:01:25,000
based on my work schedule.
But you know, certainly they,

1043
01:01:25,240 --> 01:01:26,760
like I said, they've been
pitched a lot better.

1044
01:01:27,640 --> 01:01:31,120
I think their offense is more
balanced than it has been in

1045
01:01:31,120 --> 01:01:33,040
years past.
Guys like, you know, Ethan Ball

1046
01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:36,680
hitting the hitting the cover
off the ball, a few others.

1047
01:01:37,280 --> 01:01:39,880
So I mean, yeah, like I said, I
don't, you know, don't have any

1048
01:01:40,120 --> 01:01:42,280
special insights.
They they're playing good ball

1049
01:01:42,280 --> 01:01:44,160
at the right at the right time.
And that's always what it comes

1050
01:01:44,160 --> 01:01:46,320
down to in baseball.
So I think it's a good it's a

1051
01:01:46,320 --> 01:01:49,720
good regional.
I mean, they're playing Saint

1052
01:01:49,720 --> 01:01:51,800
Mary's.
So I think is winnable.

1053
01:01:52,720 --> 01:01:54,960
And then who was that the 4th in
Cal Poly?

1054
01:01:54,960 --> 01:01:57,120
Yeah.
So those are both winnable,

1055
01:01:57,120 --> 01:01:59,400
winnable games that will just
come down to, you know, having

1056
01:01:59,400 --> 01:02:02,920
to beat beat UCLA twice.
But I mean, it's a good line up.

1057
01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:07,000
I mean, Ethan Gibson beat
Daniel, Ethan ball, groovy

1058
01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:09,960
Letterman, I mean Letterman,
they're just they're just

1059
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:12,760
playing well.
Obviously, you know, with Renfro

1060
01:02:13,160 --> 01:02:15,720
and and Steve kind of sat on the
table there.

1061
01:02:16,080 --> 01:02:17,960
It's a good it's a good team.
I mean, I know that I know for a

1062
01:02:17,960 --> 01:02:21,000
fact that chef was very high and
in this roster at the end of the

1063
01:02:21,000 --> 01:02:22,360
season.
It just took a little bit of

1064
01:02:22,360 --> 01:02:25,360
time for them to kind of, you
know, find their find their

1065
01:02:25,360 --> 01:02:27,720
stride And again, just with how
difficult their non kind of

1066
01:02:27,720 --> 01:02:29,240
schedule was.
They're playing, you know, Texas

1067
01:02:29,240 --> 01:02:31,680
A&M, Tennessee getting crushed.
It takes a little bit of time to

1068
01:02:31,680 --> 01:02:33,920
kind of respond to that, you
know, and and really just, you

1069
01:02:33,920 --> 01:02:34,840
know, kind of come into your
own.

1070
01:02:34,840 --> 01:02:37,000
So, but I think, I think they've
definitely come a very long way

1071
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:42,280
since since opening day.
It's a, it's been a pretty cool

1072
01:02:42,320 --> 01:02:46,280
way for them to kind of cap off
what's been a very, very rough

1073
01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:48,200
Virginia Tech athletics calendar
year.

1074
01:02:49,600 --> 01:02:54,120
And I and they, I mean, this was
in March, I think, or early

1075
01:02:54,120 --> 01:02:57,080
April, you know, they, they lost
a Marshall and did not play

1076
01:02:57,080 --> 01:02:59,560
well.
And they kind of looked

1077
01:02:59,560 --> 01:03:02,280
themselves in the mirror and,
and got right.

1078
01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:06,360
And it was around the same time
I think they lost a series at

1079
01:03:06,360 --> 01:03:09,640
Boston up at Boston College.
They should have won that.

1080
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:12,280
They really just need to make
like one more play.

1081
01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:17,040
They were 16 and 18 after that
Boston College series.

1082
01:03:17,040 --> 01:03:22,320
They've won 14 of the last 20
and the last couple years.

1083
01:03:23,200 --> 01:03:25,280
And I think, you know, John
Shep's been here for 9 years.

1084
01:03:25,280 --> 01:03:28,920
It's almost a similar situation
to Mike Young where they they

1085
01:03:28,920 --> 01:03:34,680
haven't done a ton and they had
that 22 team that went to the

1086
01:03:34,680 --> 01:03:38,480
Super regional hosted was
awesome, ran into an insane

1087
01:03:38,480 --> 01:03:42,600
Oklahoma team.
But the way they have kind of

1088
01:03:42,600 --> 01:03:46,560
gathered together as a group and
responded and it certainly

1089
01:03:46,560 --> 01:03:48,000
helped that they've stayed
healthy.

1090
01:03:48,560 --> 01:03:52,720
They have played really good
defense, but they've they've,

1091
01:03:53,000 --> 01:03:56,120
they've pitched well.
Their hitting's come together.

1092
01:03:56,640 --> 01:03:59,200
They've really done a little bit
of everything.

1093
01:03:59,480 --> 01:04:01,600
They've found different ways to
win games.

1094
01:04:01,600 --> 01:04:05,360
And it's not been the same guy.
Like, you know, obviously Brett

1095
01:04:05,360 --> 01:04:09,040
Renfro has been phenomenal.
He's looking like a like a early

1096
01:04:09,040 --> 01:04:12,880
MLB draft pick.
But they've gotten pitching from

1097
01:04:12,920 --> 01:04:17,320
other guys.
Griffin, Stig, Logan Eisenrich

1098
01:04:17,320 --> 01:04:20,360
has been pretty good.
Some of their relievers have

1099
01:04:20,400 --> 01:04:24,080
have stepped up and played well.
They're hitting Henry Cook,

1100
01:04:24,320 --> 01:04:28,320
Hudson Letterman, You can't
forget Ethan Ball, who's been

1101
01:04:28,320 --> 01:04:31,080
outrageous on a tear.
He was awesome in Charlotte last

1102
01:04:31,080 --> 01:04:34,680
week in the ACC tournament.
They've kind of got some young

1103
01:04:34,680 --> 01:04:38,800
guys, some older guys all mixed
in together and it's Shelton

1104
01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:39,680
said.
It took them a little bit of

1105
01:04:39,680 --> 01:04:42,920
time to find their groove, but
they've played really well as of

1106
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:45,440
late.
And Curtis, to your point, man,

1107
01:04:46,080 --> 01:04:48,200
I don't I wouldn't expect them
to win the regional.

1108
01:04:48,360 --> 01:04:50,720
And I was a little bit surprised
that they got a number two seed

1109
01:04:50,840 --> 01:04:54,360
given their RPI was 42.
But again, played a really tough

1110
01:04:54,360 --> 01:04:58,560
schedule.
But I think if if they're on as

1111
01:04:58,560 --> 01:05:01,880
far as pitching goes, this
offense has shown the ability to

1112
01:05:01,920 --> 01:05:04,880
to hang with some of the best.
They took a game from Georgia

1113
01:05:04,880 --> 01:05:08,400
Tech in a three-game series.
Georgia Tech is a top three team

1114
01:05:08,400 --> 01:05:10,560
in the country.
They took a game from Georgia

1115
01:05:10,560 --> 01:05:13,720
Tech earlier in the year like
they played Carolina close

1116
01:05:13,720 --> 01:05:17,080
needed just a little bit more.
And maybe if Brett Renfro's on a

1117
01:05:17,080 --> 01:05:20,040
little bit more rest, you're
throwing him, I think they might

1118
01:05:20,040 --> 01:05:21,800
have just saved him for the NCA
tournament.

1119
01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:25,320
But if if Renfro gives you his
best start and you get a little

1120
01:05:25,320 --> 01:05:28,120
bit more pitching help, we we
could be talking about a

1121
01:05:28,120 --> 01:05:30,400
Virginia Tech team.
That's that's maybe surprising

1122
01:05:30,400 --> 01:05:33,760
some folks.
So regardless, I think this

1123
01:05:33,760 --> 01:05:36,440
program and honestly, Virginia
Tech as a whole kind of needed

1124
01:05:36,440 --> 01:05:40,520
this like needed, you know,
softball finish the year pretty

1125
01:05:40,520 --> 01:05:44,840
strong, obviously made the NCAA
tournament, but baseball doing

1126
01:05:44,840 --> 01:05:47,280
it too.
Given how many other Virgin Tech

1127
01:05:47,600 --> 01:05:49,640
teams have just not been very
good this year, I think it's

1128
01:05:49,640 --> 01:05:53,440
important to end on a high note.
And for a program that has kind

1129
01:05:53,440 --> 01:05:57,280
of teetered and fallen off down
the stretch over the last couple

1130
01:05:57,280 --> 01:06:01,440
years, it's really cool to see
them come together and do the

1131
01:06:01,440 --> 01:06:04,680
exact opposite and start to
trend up at the end of the year.

1132
01:06:04,680 --> 01:06:07,280
And it's going to be fun.
Watch this weekend.

1133
01:06:08,000 --> 01:06:10,480
You know, I think they might be
playing a little bit late just

1134
01:06:10,480 --> 01:06:14,600
because LA, you know, Pacific
Time zone, but but I would

1135
01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:17,480
encourage you to tune in and
when they when they're hot,

1136
01:06:18,360 --> 01:06:22,360
they're really fun to watch.
Absolutely, Kylie, Brian,

1137
01:06:22,400 --> 01:06:25,680
anything before we close out
baseball, Kylie said.

1138
01:06:25,680 --> 01:06:27,480
He he watched enough baseball
this weekend.

1139
01:06:27,960 --> 01:06:30,320
And I don't watch enough
baseball for my lifetime, I

1140
01:06:30,320 --> 01:06:32,720
believe.
But baseball's a funny sport

1141
01:06:32,720 --> 01:06:33,960
like that, man, you know what
I'm saying?

1142
01:06:33,960 --> 01:06:36,560
You never know.
I mean, what the weather looks

1143
01:06:36,560 --> 01:06:41,320
like, if it's too hot, if it's
raining, if it's too cold, just

1144
01:06:41,320 --> 01:06:43,840
comes down to pitching and
hitting.

1145
01:06:44,200 --> 01:06:49,240
You know, for the most part,
like you, I've seen games, well,

1146
01:06:49,240 --> 01:06:53,840
somebody wins one to zero and
I've seen games this 18 to 16.

1147
01:06:53,960 --> 01:06:59,440
So it's you, you play all year
to get to the postseason, you

1148
01:06:59,440 --> 01:07:01,160
know what I'm saying?
And then you go back to thinking

1149
01:07:01,160 --> 01:07:04,600
about like basketball, we have a
totally different conversation

1150
01:07:04,600 --> 01:07:10,280
about Mike Young if he just gets
to the to the postseason, if he

1151
01:07:10,280 --> 01:07:14,080
gets to the NCAA tournament,
because that is what sports is

1152
01:07:14,080 --> 01:07:16,480
built on.
So doesn't matter what they did

1153
01:07:16,480 --> 01:07:18,880
at the beginning of the season
or the middle of the season,

1154
01:07:19,160 --> 01:07:21,200
they're going to the tournament.
You know what I'm saying?

1155
01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:22,360
They're playing in the
postseason.

1156
01:07:22,360 --> 01:07:26,640
So, yeah, they got a tough draw.
I don't know how far it goes

1157
01:07:26,640 --> 01:07:31,200
after getting in, but that's a
step that you take when you're

1158
01:07:31,200 --> 01:07:35,320
trying to build the program.
So I I'd like to see him go win

1159
01:07:35,320 --> 01:07:38,120
a win a couple of them and move
on.

1160
01:07:38,120 --> 01:07:42,760
So I'll be watching.
To to add some to add some

1161
01:07:42,760 --> 01:07:45,960
context real quick, and Shelton
knows this because he works in

1162
01:07:45,960 --> 01:07:51,280
in the college baseball world.
The the change in from a house

1163
01:07:51,280 --> 01:07:56,840
settlement, the change in terms
of everyone looks at Rev share

1164
01:07:56,920 --> 01:07:58,400
and everything you can spend
there.

1165
01:07:58,400 --> 01:08:01,880
But Olympic sports were heavily
impacted by in terms of

1166
01:08:01,880 --> 01:08:04,320
scholarships, what they're
allowed to allocate.

1167
01:08:04,840 --> 01:08:07,120
And it used to be you could have
40 something players on a

1168
01:08:07,120 --> 01:08:11,040
baseball roster, but you only
had like 11.9 or 11.7

1169
01:08:11,640 --> 01:08:15,760
scholarships to go around.
You're talking 1212 scholarships

1170
01:08:15,760 --> 01:08:21,560
essentially on a 40 man roster.
They have changed the rules

1171
01:08:21,560 --> 01:08:24,720
where you can have, I think it's
up to 34 players on the roster

1172
01:08:24,720 --> 01:08:26,600
and all of them can be on
scholarship now.

1173
01:08:27,160 --> 01:08:29,240
And Virginia?
Virginia Tech has played against

1174
01:08:29,240 --> 01:08:32,120
some teams like North Carolina,
Georgia Tech, teams at the top

1175
01:08:32,120 --> 01:08:35,160
of the ACC where every player on
their roster is on scholarship.

1176
01:08:35,520 --> 01:08:38,439
Virginia Tech I think has 16
guys on scholarship this year

1177
01:08:38,880 --> 01:08:43,279
and that number is going up, I
believe to 21 or 22 next season.

1178
01:08:43,640 --> 01:08:47,279
They're going to fund it better,
but it's really impressive when

1179
01:08:47,279 --> 01:08:49,840
you put it in that kind of
context that some of the teams

1180
01:08:49,840 --> 01:08:52,399
Hokies are competing against,
they got more scholarships.

1181
01:08:53,680 --> 01:08:57,279
Chef has recruited really well
and I think they've run to the

1182
01:08:57,279 --> 01:08:59,439
injury buck here over the last
couple years.

1183
01:08:59,439 --> 01:09:02,000
Guys just not been able to stay
healthy, particularly pitching.

1184
01:09:02,479 --> 01:09:04,120
And it's kind of been the
perfect mix.

1185
01:09:04,120 --> 01:09:05,359
And now they're in the
postseason.

1186
01:09:05,359 --> 01:09:09,200
Then I think it'll be really
neat to to see them play.

1187
01:09:09,200 --> 01:09:11,880
And you know, the hope is you
got a lot of young guys, Ethan

1188
01:09:11,880 --> 01:09:16,160
Ball, you got to build on that.
And I think it it it can be

1189
01:09:16,160 --> 01:09:20,439
really exciting for things to
come like look at next year.

1190
01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:23,720
You know, they they have
recruited some really, really,

1191
01:09:23,720 --> 01:09:27,720
really good talent in Virginia
in the Mid-Atlantic.

1192
01:09:28,600 --> 01:09:30,720
Interested to see if they can
kind of build on it.

1193
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:34,680
A. 100% And as far as if we're
in pro's healthy or not, we're

1194
01:09:34,680 --> 01:09:39,200
going to know because as much as
people will say you got to save

1195
01:09:39,200 --> 01:09:41,520
them if you go to UCLA, it's
baseball.

1196
01:09:41,520 --> 01:09:44,840
You've got to get to UCLA.
You do not not throw your number

1197
01:09:44,840 --> 01:09:47,960
one pitcher so many times you
see people do that.

1198
01:09:47,960 --> 01:09:50,120
Oh, but we can save him for the
next game.

1199
01:09:50,600 --> 01:09:53,120
Then anything you might be
getting eliminated, you got to

1200
01:09:53,120 --> 01:09:54,760
throw him number one.
Get him out there.

1201
01:09:55,520 --> 01:10:01,080
All right, let's move on.
Shelton how how long do you want

1202
01:10:01,080 --> 01:10:05,840
the floor for for the Sands and
Babcock retirements?

1203
01:10:05,840 --> 01:10:09,600
And you know what they brought?
It's just a.

1204
01:10:09,720 --> 01:10:10,560
Few minutes.
I mean it's.

1205
01:10:10,600 --> 01:10:13,480
Just a few minutes, OK Shelton.
Shelton missed of the

1206
01:10:13,480 --> 01:10:17,400
announcement of Tim Sands
retiring and Whit Babcock

1207
01:10:17,400 --> 01:10:20,640
retiring.
And again, when we talked about

1208
01:10:20,640 --> 01:10:23,640
that, he tried to get on it just
did not work out with his

1209
01:10:23,640 --> 01:10:27,040
schedule.
So Shelton, you know, how do you

1210
01:10:27,040 --> 01:10:32,280
feel about these guys and
everything that they've done in

1211
01:10:32,480 --> 01:10:35,680
them effectively retire and.
You can throw a Boleyn kicker in

1212
01:10:35,680 --> 01:10:37,360
there if you want.
And a Boleyn kicker if you want

1213
01:10:37,360 --> 01:10:39,240
that because this happened in
30.

1214
01:10:39,240 --> 01:10:43,640
Days, yeah.
So I mean, First off, I would

1215
01:10:43,640 --> 01:10:48,120
say on on Sans, like I thought
about how I wanted to kind of

1216
01:10:48,120 --> 01:10:50,520
kind of think about this.
I, I do have some level of

1217
01:10:50,520 --> 01:10:52,920
sympathy for, for administrators
in today's age, just with how

1218
01:10:52,920 --> 01:10:55,360
much, you know, uncertainty
there is in Cos athletics, you

1219
01:10:55,360 --> 01:10:56,520
know, it's a very turbulent
time.

1220
01:10:56,520 --> 01:10:58,720
And I think when NIL first
became a thing, we just didn't

1221
01:10:58,720 --> 01:11:00,720
really know like what was going
to happen.

1222
01:11:00,720 --> 01:11:02,720
I think the Virginia Tech
administration initially

1223
01:11:02,720 --> 01:11:05,240
struggled with that and they
were probably a little bit, you

1224
01:11:05,240 --> 01:11:06,960
know, reactive rather than
proactive.

1225
01:11:06,960 --> 01:11:09,560
So, but I mean, so, so too,
we're a lot of other schools.

1226
01:11:09,560 --> 01:11:12,480
So, you know, it's it's a tough
time to be a college athletics

1227
01:11:12,480 --> 01:11:16,600
administrator, like I said, but
when I think back on the tenure

1228
01:11:16,600 --> 01:11:21,280
overall on SANS, I am somewhat
of a a different opinion than

1229
01:11:21,280 --> 01:11:23,160
most.
I don't think it's the job of of

1230
01:11:23,160 --> 01:11:25,360
a college president to
Americomanage athletics.

1231
01:11:25,680 --> 01:11:27,760
Obviously you want to be, you
know, a guider for athletics

1232
01:11:27,760 --> 01:11:30,440
because it is a huge part of the
university's identity and brand.

1233
01:11:31,200 --> 01:11:34,160
But I don't I don't think
micromanaging can have some

1234
01:11:34,160 --> 01:11:36,440
downsides too.
That being said, I think you

1235
01:11:36,440 --> 01:11:39,000
could argue SANS is probably a
little bit two hands off.

1236
01:11:39,040 --> 01:11:41,000
I mean, I think, you know, I
think that David and the, the

1237
01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:43,440
TSL folks have kind of talked
about that a lot on the podcast.

1238
01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:46,560
You know, just not really.
He just, he's not a very

1239
01:11:46,560 --> 01:11:50,240
confrontational person And he,
you know, he, he did, he's not a

1240
01:11:50,240 --> 01:11:52,560
type of guy that's going to walk
in a room and say no, demand

1241
01:11:52,560 --> 01:11:55,160
changes to, to, to staffing and
then the way that the program is

1242
01:11:55,160 --> 01:11:57,160
run.
So obviously there's a balance

1243
01:11:57,160 --> 01:12:01,760
you want to find there, but, you
know, I, I think obviously

1244
01:12:01,760 --> 01:12:04,000
there, there are some structural
challenges with, you know,

1245
01:12:04,000 --> 01:12:06,360
getting more fundraising.
I think what Mahul was saying on

1246
01:12:06,360 --> 01:12:08,560
the board was that he's, he's
been supportive of athletics,

1247
01:12:08,560 --> 01:12:12,160
but it was a challenge to, to
get the BOV, you know, in

1248
01:12:12,160 --> 01:12:13,800
alignment and, and try to get
that funding.

1249
01:12:13,800 --> 01:12:15,840
I think what was pushing that
for, for a long time, it just

1250
01:12:15,840 --> 01:12:18,000
happened to be that, you know,
last year was a year that they

1251
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:19,560
could actually get that in
process once they kind of

1252
01:12:19,560 --> 01:12:21,200
changed some of the, some of the
board members.

1253
01:12:21,480 --> 01:12:23,720
So it's not, it's not like Sands
is, you know, unilaterally

1254
01:12:23,720 --> 01:12:27,000
responsible for, you know,
giving, giving athletics all the

1255
01:12:27,000 --> 01:12:28,320
funding they want.
It's it's a process.

1256
01:12:28,520 --> 01:12:29,720
There's, you know, multiple
hands involved.

1257
01:12:29,720 --> 01:12:33,440
So I'd say kind of a mixed bag
from that perspective on wit.

1258
01:12:33,640 --> 01:12:36,000
I think that.
So First off, if I just want to

1259
01:12:36,000 --> 01:12:39,680
touch on the non revenue sports,
I think he did a great job with

1260
01:12:39,680 --> 01:12:42,240
non revenue sports overall.
Look at the coaches he's hired

1261
01:12:42,480 --> 01:12:46,440
for wrestling, softball,
baseball, men's basketball.

1262
01:12:46,440 --> 01:12:48,320
I know the last few years
haven't been good, but we've had

1263
01:12:48,320 --> 01:12:51,440
success there with buzz getting
to the Sweet 16 ACC

1264
01:12:51,440 --> 01:12:54,000
championship.
You know, for me as a student

1265
01:12:54,000 --> 01:12:56,080
who was part of that and part of
the, you know, quote UN quote

1266
01:12:56,080 --> 01:13:00,160
glory days of Vt non revenue
sports, I really appreciate

1267
01:13:00,160 --> 01:13:01,360
that.
I love being able to support

1268
01:13:01,360 --> 01:13:04,120
those teams and just seeing all
the that they had means a lot to

1269
01:13:04,120 --> 01:13:05,720
me.
I know where football school and

1270
01:13:05,720 --> 01:13:07,640
always will be.
But I just want to say that

1271
01:13:07,800 --> 01:13:10,760
that, you know, being able to to
have a well-rounded athletics

1272
01:13:10,760 --> 01:13:12,360
program is something that's
important, I think.

1273
01:13:12,360 --> 01:13:15,160
And I don't think we should toss
it, toss it up to the side.

1274
01:13:15,600 --> 01:13:18,880
Now, all that said, again, we
know football's king and that's

1275
01:13:18,880 --> 01:13:21,640
the make or break.
And I think he just never, he

1276
01:13:21,640 --> 01:13:23,520
just never got that right.
I mean, you know, I've talked

1277
01:13:23,520 --> 01:13:26,040
about this before, but
statistically, the last five

1278
01:13:26,040 --> 01:13:28,320
years of BT football have been
the worst five year stretch of

1279
01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:29,840
the program since the late
1970s.

1280
01:13:29,840 --> 01:13:32,040
I mean, you know, not just when
Bimar first got here.

1281
01:13:32,400 --> 01:13:35,400
You go back to where we were an
independent, had very little

1282
01:13:35,400 --> 01:13:36,840
money.
We're not relevant at all in the

1283
01:13:36,840 --> 01:13:38,440
college scene.
I mean, that's how long it's

1284
01:13:38,440 --> 01:13:40,040
been since we've had a stretch
like this.

1285
01:13:40,640 --> 01:13:44,080
And obviously Fuente was a was a
good hire in paper that just

1286
01:13:44,080 --> 01:13:46,480
didn't work out.
We did not surround himself,

1287
01:13:46,600 --> 01:13:48,960
surround him with the resources
needed to, to elevate the

1288
01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:50,280
program.
And I, I don't think he was the

1289
01:13:50,280 --> 01:13:53,600
guy to do that anyway.
And then pride to me, you know,

1290
01:13:53,600 --> 01:13:56,400
just to be blunt, I, I think it
was a lazy hire in hindsight.

1291
01:13:56,400 --> 01:13:59,600
I do not think he was he, he had
the head coaching chops.

1292
01:13:59,920 --> 01:14:02,680
I think it was a very
reactionary panic move to, you

1293
01:14:02,680 --> 01:14:05,400
know, to get a guy that's a
quote UN quote culture fit, But

1294
01:14:05,400 --> 01:14:07,040
he just wasn't cut off for
leading a program.

1295
01:14:07,040 --> 01:14:08,800
And I don't think there was a
ton of demand for him.

1296
01:14:09,080 --> 01:14:11,200
So that's a big black mark for
him.

1297
01:14:12,280 --> 01:14:14,760
At the time, we thought that
pride was getting, you know,

1298
01:14:14,920 --> 01:14:17,560
pride got more resources.
He didn't spin it very wisely,

1299
01:14:17,560 --> 01:14:19,120
in my opinion, based on his
coordinary hires.

1300
01:14:19,960 --> 01:14:22,040
But then after that we fell
behind and just, you know,

1301
01:14:22,040 --> 01:14:23,120
weren't weren't able to catch
up.

1302
01:14:23,120 --> 01:14:25,600
So again, we can re litigate all
the reasons for that.

1303
01:14:25,880 --> 01:14:28,920
Again, it's an issue with, you
know, the board and what the

1304
01:14:28,920 --> 01:14:32,040
university wants to invest in
football.

1305
01:14:32,040 --> 01:14:36,080
But my big criticism of wit, I
would say just lack of

1306
01:14:36,080 --> 01:14:38,680
accountability and lack of
communication, lack of

1307
01:14:38,680 --> 01:14:40,640
leadership.
I think there were people in the

1308
01:14:40,640 --> 01:14:45,560
department who were not held to
account for for not doing as

1309
01:14:45,560 --> 01:14:46,920
good of a job as they should
have.

1310
01:14:47,280 --> 01:14:50,560
I can speak to specific examples
of people that you know, might

1311
01:14:50,560 --> 01:14:52,840
have gotten reshuffled or
promoted when they didn't

1312
01:14:52,840 --> 01:14:57,200
necessarily deserve said
promotions, as David probably

1313
01:14:57,200 --> 01:15:00,920
can too.
So I just think he didn't, you

1314
01:15:00,920 --> 01:15:02,560
know, he should have come in
like, like, and this is

1315
01:15:02,600 --> 01:15:03,800
something that, you know, Chris
Coleman has said.

1316
01:15:03,800 --> 01:15:05,760
So I don't want to take credit
for what for what he's argued.

1317
01:15:05,760 --> 01:15:09,680
But that 2023 ESPN article where
they talked about all the issues

1318
01:15:09,680 --> 01:15:12,760
with with within the athletic
department should have merited a

1319
01:15:13,000 --> 01:15:15,800
a thorough investigation.
There should have been people

1320
01:15:15,800 --> 01:15:18,240
that you know, were were pushed
out or lost their jobs over

1321
01:15:18,240 --> 01:15:20,560
that.
Just, you know, for that to go

1322
01:15:20,560 --> 01:15:23,360
on for, you know, Fuente and
blend to be beef in for that for

1323
01:15:23,360 --> 01:15:26,560
that period of time with, you
know, no, just no communication.

1324
01:15:26,840 --> 01:15:32,560
You had heads to the Hokie club
who weren't, you know, didn't

1325
01:15:32,560 --> 01:15:34,680
have any prior fundraising
experience and we're kind of

1326
01:15:34,680 --> 01:15:37,160
bouncing other responsibilities.
It was just kind of a mess and I

1327
01:15:37,640 --> 01:15:39,320
and that's a whole another
conversation.

1328
01:15:39,320 --> 01:15:41,520
You want to get into the club
and some of the some of the

1329
01:15:41,520 --> 01:15:46,800
infrastructure issues there.
So I just think he, he just, it

1330
01:15:46,800 --> 01:15:48,560
just didn't, didn't hold people
accountable.

1331
01:15:48,560 --> 01:15:49,680
Like, and that's what you got to
do.

1332
01:15:49,680 --> 01:15:53,000
And, and, and if you're, if
you're a college athletic

1333
01:15:53,000 --> 01:15:54,960
director.
So I mean, that's kind of how I,

1334
01:15:54,960 --> 01:15:57,640
that's kind of how I phrase it.
I mean, it's a good, it was a

1335
01:15:57,640 --> 01:16:00,560
good, a decent 12 year run for,
for most of the sports, but just

1336
01:16:00,560 --> 01:16:02,640
never got football right.
And I would argue it's probably

1337
01:16:02,640 --> 01:16:04,920
well past due.
I think it was kind of a kind of

1338
01:16:04,920 --> 01:16:08,400
weird situation where pride kind
of pride kind of bombed, bombed

1339
01:16:08,400 --> 01:16:11,400
out so quickly that you were
kind of forced into firing him

1340
01:16:11,800 --> 01:16:14,280
and then you were stuck with wit
and Sands and limbo.

1341
01:16:14,480 --> 01:16:17,520
But you can't really hire a new
coach until you know, or can't

1342
01:16:17,520 --> 01:16:19,360
hire a new ID until you get the
new president.

1343
01:16:19,360 --> 01:16:21,680
So it's just a weird, just a
weird situation overall.

1344
01:16:21,680 --> 01:16:23,880
But yeah, that's my thoughts
just.

1345
01:16:25,360 --> 01:16:27,120
All right.
Well, well, thanks, Sheldon,

1346
01:16:27,120 --> 01:16:30,600
because like you said right
there, football is king.

1347
01:16:30,600 --> 01:16:34,520
If you don't get football right,
then nothing else is going to

1348
01:16:34,520 --> 01:16:36,840
ever succeed.
And that's the honest truth.

1349
01:16:37,520 --> 01:16:43,360
And right now, and, and I know
we have not played one single

1350
01:16:43,360 --> 01:16:48,280
game in the James Franklin era,
but what is happening on the

1351
01:16:48,280 --> 01:16:53,360
recruiting trail is again, we
talked to David and before he

1352
01:16:53,360 --> 01:16:58,000
jumped in, we haven't seen this
in probably 20 years.

1353
01:16:58,840 --> 01:17:03,320
Back before 247 was like a big
thing going back to the early

1354
01:17:03,320 --> 01:17:06,400
2000s, one of the top
quarterbacks in the country the

1355
01:17:06,400 --> 01:17:09,480
year we got it.
We are now at this precipice

1356
01:17:09,480 --> 01:17:13,680
where a couple weeks ago Peter
Borg was set to make the

1357
01:17:13,680 --> 01:17:16,400
decision between Georgia,
Virginia Tech and Penn State.

1358
01:17:17,800 --> 01:17:22,400
He is a top 100 player.
He is a top ten quarterback.

1359
01:17:22,680 --> 01:17:26,280
He just finished what, 5th in
the Elite 11 competition this

1360
01:17:26,280 --> 01:17:28,400
weekend.
He's 64.

1361
01:17:28,400 --> 01:17:31,960
He's 220 lbs.
He spins the shit out of the

1362
01:17:31,960 --> 01:17:34,080
ball.
If y'all go watch his huddle

1363
01:17:34,080 --> 01:17:39,160
highlights and watch him throw a
ball and he is literally.

1364
01:17:39,680 --> 01:17:43,040
I'm not going to count Logan
Thomas because Logan Thomas

1365
01:17:43,040 --> 01:17:44,480
should have been a jumbo tight
end.

1366
01:17:45,480 --> 01:17:48,640
He is the highest rated
quarterback this school has

1367
01:17:48,640 --> 01:17:53,640
gotten since Tyrod Taylor in
2007.

1368
01:17:55,040 --> 01:17:59,480
Tally, you went to war.
You told everybody you get it.

1369
01:17:59,480 --> 01:18:03,680
You were like, go.
I mean, when he when he when he

1370
01:18:03,680 --> 01:18:06,040
put the hat on and said I'm
going to Virginia Tech.

1371
01:18:07,600 --> 01:18:09,520
I mean, I just listen to people
like David.

1372
01:18:09,520 --> 01:18:11,600
I know what's going.
To happen before it happens,

1373
01:18:11,600 --> 01:18:15,720
man, you got to be locked in.
You got to be, you know, you,

1374
01:18:15,800 --> 01:18:17,200
you got to be different than
Dan.

1375
01:18:17,200 --> 01:18:19,000
You got to listen to the board
sometimes.

1376
01:18:22,360 --> 01:18:25,120
But no man, I mean.
Like I tell people, some some.

1377
01:18:25,120 --> 01:18:29,600
People are, you know what you
call it, PTSD or a little

1378
01:18:29,600 --> 01:18:31,760
gunshot about getting excited
about stuff.

1379
01:18:31,760 --> 01:18:33,680
Like, I get it, you know what
I'm saying?

1380
01:18:33,680 --> 01:18:37,160
We've been down.
But like I told people, I think

1381
01:18:37,160 --> 01:18:40,800
I was probably one of the first
Virginia Tech fans that when

1382
01:18:41,720 --> 01:18:44,560
James Franklin got fired was
like, Oh yeah, he coming to

1383
01:18:44,560 --> 01:18:47,440
Virginia Tech now.
I didn't think it was really

1384
01:18:47,440 --> 01:18:50,120
true then, but I thought it
would be cool if he did.

1385
01:18:50,400 --> 01:18:52,160
You know what I'm saying?
When I go back and look at the

1386
01:18:52,160 --> 01:18:53,840
post and people was like, oh,
you crazy.

1387
01:18:54,240 --> 01:18:57,160
You know, we, we don't want him
or he's going to be.

1388
01:18:57,160 --> 01:19:01,240
I'm like, I don't think we've
ever seen somebody like him at

1389
01:19:01,240 --> 01:19:03,960
Virginia Tech.
Just what he brings, a coach of

1390
01:19:03,960 --> 01:19:08,160
his stature #1 because I know
that, you know, most Penn State

1391
01:19:08,160 --> 01:19:10,440
fans say stuff like, you know,
he doesn't win the big games.

1392
01:19:10,440 --> 01:19:11,720
It may be true.
We'll see.

1393
01:19:11,920 --> 01:19:13,480
We haven't gotten to the big
games yet.

1394
01:19:13,800 --> 01:19:17,720
I'm just saying they put
Virginia Tech and VMI at prime

1395
01:19:17,720 --> 01:19:21,520
time, 7:30 or 7:00 as the first
game.

1396
01:19:22,440 --> 01:19:26,360
That's a 10:00 game, my time.
Do you know what I'm saying?

1397
01:19:26,360 --> 01:19:29,960
Like 10:00 AM.
They're just putting that game

1398
01:19:29,960 --> 01:19:32,680
there because James Franklin is
the head coach and they want to

1399
01:19:32,680 --> 01:19:37,480
see what his first team runs out
of the state of the tunnel to in

1400
01:19:37,480 --> 01:19:43,120
the Sandman, what it looks like.
So how you sell that to recruits

1401
01:19:43,120 --> 01:19:44,880
is I'm going to get the eyes on
you.

1402
01:19:45,600 --> 01:19:47,560
You know what I'm saying?
We got a prime time game playing

1403
01:19:47,560 --> 01:19:49,840
VMI and we were three and nine
team.

1404
01:19:51,760 --> 01:19:54,440
He's already has.
A proven record that he can put

1405
01:19:54,440 --> 01:19:56,560
people.
In the league, you know the

1406
01:19:56,560 --> 01:20:00,160
coaches around him and stuff and
the big knock was, well, he

1407
01:20:00,160 --> 01:20:03,000
doesn't.
He he he screws quarterbacks

1408
01:20:03,000 --> 01:20:05,360
over.
I'm like, maybe, you know, I'm

1409
01:20:05,360 --> 01:20:08,560
not advocating for him because
I, I haven't watched it enough

1410
01:20:08,560 --> 01:20:11,760
to know, but you know, I heard
from some of the fans that he

1411
01:20:11,760 --> 01:20:14,120
he's going to screw these
quarterbacks up and this and

1412
01:20:14,120 --> 01:20:16,080
that.
But I'm like, what about the

1413
01:20:16,080 --> 01:20:21,120
other twenty 3050 guys did he
put in the league and you called

1414
01:20:21,120 --> 01:20:26,080
out two quarterbacks that still
got drafted, still got paid,

1415
01:20:26,080 --> 01:20:29,160
still went to their yeah,
Steele.

1416
01:20:29,160 --> 01:20:32,680
Steele went and and lived on
their dream to go to the NFL,

1417
01:20:33,800 --> 01:20:35,800
which I get it, they're five
star guys.

1418
01:20:35,800 --> 01:20:37,120
And you expected more?
Out of them.

1419
01:20:37,120 --> 01:20:40,960
But I'm like, he's put a lot of
guys in the position to make a

1420
01:20:40,960 --> 01:20:42,880
lot of money.
They put themselves in that

1421
01:20:42,880 --> 01:20:44,280
position because of how they
produced.

1422
01:20:44,320 --> 01:20:51,840
But just as a recruit and as a,
you know, a family of a recruit.

1423
01:20:52,360 --> 01:20:55,160
If Jane Franklin came and talked
to me, I probably would listen

1424
01:20:55,160 --> 01:20:57,640
at what he has to say.
That's all I'm saying.

1425
01:20:58,480 --> 01:21:01,560
So I'm excited about it.
I don't, I think we got a chance

1426
01:21:01,560 --> 01:21:06,760
for everybody who we talked to
right now, even before this

1427
01:21:06,760 --> 01:21:10,920
heater that they've been on.
I think that when you put James

1428
01:21:10,920 --> 01:21:13,280
Franklin in front of a recruit
in their family, I think you

1429
01:21:13,280 --> 01:21:16,640
have an opportunity for a couple
of reasons because of what he's

1430
01:21:16,640 --> 01:21:20,320
done in the past.
And, you know, this is just

1431
01:21:21,040 --> 01:21:24,600
being a minority coach, you
know, that does touch certain

1432
01:21:24,600 --> 01:21:29,560
people a different way.
Just saying that it shows the

1433
01:21:29,560 --> 01:21:33,280
inclusive in how far we've come
as a country to have a coach,

1434
01:21:33,760 --> 01:21:36,920
you know, that looks like James
Franklin to be at the forefront

1435
01:21:36,920 --> 01:21:39,600
of a program of a town like
Blacksburg.

1436
01:21:39,600 --> 01:21:41,920
Not saying nothing's wrong with
Blacksburg, but I'm just saying

1437
01:21:42,240 --> 01:21:45,880
Blacksburg is nestled up in the,
you know, in Virginia, you know,

1438
01:21:45,880 --> 01:21:50,360
in the mountains and and certain
people may think that you got to

1439
01:21:50,360 --> 01:21:51,840
look a certain way to coach
there.

1440
01:21:51,840 --> 01:21:53,480
You got to look a certain way to
even play there.

1441
01:21:53,760 --> 01:21:56,480
And a lot of times, man, we've
come so far as a country that

1442
01:21:56,480 --> 01:21:59,400
that doesn't matter.
Like a lot of these schools and

1443
01:21:59,400 --> 01:22:04,280
a lot of these administrations
just want the best that is

1444
01:22:04,280 --> 01:22:07,520
offered, whether that's a
player, whether that's a coach

1445
01:22:08,400 --> 01:22:11,480
or whether that's a I'm hoping
AAD.

1446
01:22:11,840 --> 01:22:16,200
So I mean, I'm I'm excited
about, you know, the way that

1447
01:22:16,200 --> 01:22:19,560
Virginia Tech is moving or
athletics in general.

1448
01:22:19,560 --> 01:22:21,760
I know a lot of people are mad.
They're like, I don't like this

1449
01:22:21,760 --> 01:22:24,560
they're getting paid or I don't
like, you know what we're having

1450
01:22:24,560 --> 01:22:28,160
to deal with here.
I'm like, man, it's fun times

1451
01:22:28,160 --> 01:22:29,360
for me, you know what I'm
saying?

1452
01:22:29,360 --> 01:22:32,880
Like I'm excited again, you
know, now I want us to be on the

1453
01:22:32,880 --> 01:22:35,680
winning side of some of this
stuff and I'll be even more

1454
01:22:35,680 --> 01:22:38,160
excited.
But the way we're moving and the

1455
01:22:38,160 --> 01:22:41,320
way that the the comments are
saying that the tailgate tour is

1456
01:22:41,320 --> 01:22:45,240
going, hey, man, who knows?
I'm just going to keep watching

1457
01:22:45,240 --> 01:22:47,160
DC and let them tell me what's
next.

1458
01:22:47,440 --> 01:22:50,360
Well, I I want to chime in here,
Brian.

1459
01:22:50,360 --> 01:22:54,520
I'm going to ask Brian Curtis.
This Virginia Tech has been on

1460
01:22:54,520 --> 01:22:59,040
such a recruiting heater lately.
How exciting is it?

1461
01:22:59,040 --> 01:23:01,120
Like you're just checking your
phone in the middle of the day?

1462
01:23:01,120 --> 01:23:05,160
Oh, boom.
A a commitment Like how?

1463
01:23:05,640 --> 01:23:10,040
How much of A revival has it
been as far as recruiting goes

1464
01:23:10,040 --> 01:23:13,760
for both of you guys, man?
I'll, I'll jump in first here.

1465
01:23:13,760 --> 01:23:16,320
It's it's.
Been, I haven't been this

1466
01:23:16,320 --> 01:23:18,240
excited about recruiting in a
long time.

1467
01:23:18,240 --> 01:23:22,440
I think the last time I like had
even a little bit of juice was

1468
01:23:22,920 --> 01:23:29,160
very much a COVID induced fever,
fever dream where, you know, we

1469
01:23:29,160 --> 01:23:32,360
went on a decent little run
there and then things kind of

1470
01:23:32,360 --> 01:23:35,800
fell apart as we got further and
further into the into the COVID

1471
01:23:35,800 --> 01:23:37,800
cycle there.
That was the last time I was

1472
01:23:37,800 --> 01:23:40,200
really like locked in, locked in
on recruiting.

1473
01:23:40,680 --> 01:23:43,840
And you know, we saw the first
couple years of the of the

1474
01:23:43,840 --> 01:23:47,000
Fuente regime, you know, we had
had some good, good cycles.

1475
01:23:47,000 --> 01:23:49,520
They're kind of starting that
off on the heels of the 2016

1476
01:23:49,520 --> 01:23:52,920
campaign.
But I've not been this excited

1477
01:23:52,920 --> 01:23:57,160
about recruiting.
And not just that, having these

1478
01:23:57,160 --> 01:24:01,160
battles against blue blood
programs really, really popular,

1479
01:24:01,160 --> 01:24:04,000
you know, really, really well
regarded programs across the

1480
01:24:04,000 --> 01:24:08,880
country and going into them and
not feeling like you're just

1481
01:24:08,880 --> 01:24:12,840
included in that top five or
that top 4 is like, OK, well, we

1482
01:24:12,840 --> 01:24:15,480
have a good relationship, but
you're not really an option.

1483
01:24:16,440 --> 01:24:17,880
Like it doesn't feel like that
anymore.

1484
01:24:17,880 --> 01:24:20,760
If we're in that top four, top
three, top five, whatever it is.

1485
01:24:20,760 --> 01:24:22,520
I you got nice clothes, but
you're ugly.

1486
01:24:22,520 --> 01:24:25,200
Hey, we, we.
Got just a good a chance as

1487
01:24:25,200 --> 01:24:27,240
anybody else when?
We're in there now and that

1488
01:24:27,240 --> 01:24:30,400
that's how I feel any time we're
approaching this, I'm like, OK,

1489
01:24:30,400 --> 01:24:37,280
well, if, if we've made it this
far, Brian, can I tell DC

1490
01:24:37,280 --> 01:24:41,360
something right.
Quick before you finish so I'm

1491
01:24:41,360 --> 01:24:42,840
usually.
The.

1492
01:24:42,840 --> 01:24:47,320
One who post like in our group
chat I'm probably most of the

1493
01:24:47,320 --> 01:24:51,080
time the person who posts like a
commitment because I stalked

1494
01:24:51,480 --> 01:24:56,440
boards and things like that.
Whenever the tight end committed

1495
01:24:56,440 --> 01:25:00,960
I posted it and Brian's words
were he did it again.

1496
01:25:01,320 --> 01:25:07,840
I'm not used to this shit.
Go ahead, Brian, you can finish

1497
01:25:07,880 --> 01:25:09,640
now.
Hey, man, it it's.

1498
01:25:09,680 --> 01:25:11,440
It's wild, man.
It's it's just.

1499
01:25:11,480 --> 01:25:15,040
It's like I said, I haven't been
this excited about a recruiting

1500
01:25:15,040 --> 01:25:18,320
cycle in a long time.
And it and it's, you know, we

1501
01:25:18,320 --> 01:25:20,520
still got to go out there in the
fall and you got to win football

1502
01:25:20,520 --> 01:25:23,160
games at the at the end of the
day, that's what matters.

1503
01:25:23,160 --> 01:25:29,560
But acquiring talent is is going
to breed success because if you

1504
01:25:29,760 --> 01:25:32,760
know, Sheldon, can you give us
the blue chip ratio and all

1505
01:25:32,760 --> 01:25:35,800
these things and that matters.
We see that that matters that

1506
01:25:35,800 --> 01:25:39,640
the teams with the higher blue
chip ratio do well across the

1507
01:25:39,640 --> 01:25:41,560
board.
So if you're getting this type

1508
01:25:41,560 --> 01:25:44,000
of talent in the building that
that that matters.

1509
01:25:44,160 --> 01:25:47,600
And when you look at Franklin's
history at Penn State, at

1510
01:25:47,600 --> 01:25:52,080
Vanderbilt, especially at Penn
State because of the, you know,

1511
01:25:52,080 --> 01:25:54,520
the transfer portal and all
that, like he does a really good

1512
01:25:54,520 --> 01:25:56,920
job of retaining the talent that
he brings in the building.

1513
01:25:57,600 --> 01:26:00,440
So I think that that's the
bigger thing is that you feel

1514
01:26:00,440 --> 01:26:02,640
good that that you're going out
there and you're winning the

1515
01:26:02,640 --> 01:26:05,800
battles, but you also feel good
that you're going to get that

1516
01:26:05,800 --> 01:26:08,000
talent in there.
And the talent that is showing

1517
01:26:08,480 --> 01:26:11,720
development is going to going to
be kept and retained.

1518
01:26:11,720 --> 01:26:13,880
And, and, and you're, they're
going to make a big effort to do

1519
01:26:13,880 --> 01:26:16,440
that.
And I, I think that's something

1520
01:26:16,440 --> 01:26:19,920
to get excited about as well,
because one of the things that,

1521
01:26:20,360 --> 01:26:23,440
you know, when you look back
fondly on kind of the, the old

1522
01:26:23,440 --> 01:26:26,360
way, I'm, I'm very much I'm,
I'm, I'm pro player movement,

1523
01:26:26,360 --> 01:26:28,000
I'm pro players, players getting
paid.

1524
01:26:28,000 --> 01:26:31,920
But one of the things that was
nice before that is you got to

1525
01:26:31,920 --> 01:26:35,680
see guys come in, stay four or
five years, see how they

1526
01:26:35,680 --> 01:26:38,800
develop, see how they grow, Get,
see, see how they do on the

1527
01:26:38,800 --> 01:26:42,680
field, grow into a star player
from a guy that maybe, you know,

1528
01:26:43,720 --> 01:26:46,160
you felt good about out the
gate, but you had to see how it

1529
01:26:46,160 --> 01:26:48,320
goes.
You're going to get a lot more

1530
01:26:48,320 --> 01:26:50,840
of that with Franklin in house.
So I'm, I'm excited about that

1531
01:26:50,840 --> 01:26:54,280
piece of it as well.
Yeah, for for me, David.

1532
01:26:55,160 --> 01:27:00,080
I'm not quite back where I was a
few years ago, but I'm closer

1533
01:27:00,080 --> 01:27:03,880
than where I was about two years
ago when it was just like, oh

1534
01:27:03,880 --> 01:27:06,320
God.
But it keeps going.

1535
01:27:06,320 --> 01:27:08,480
It was like what Tally said a
little while ago.

1536
01:27:08,480 --> 01:27:11,400
We've never had someone like
Franklin here.

1537
01:27:12,360 --> 01:27:14,760
We never had like a Sean Spencer
here.

1538
01:27:15,200 --> 01:27:19,040
Those type of guys who are ace,
They're ace recruiters.

1539
01:27:19,480 --> 01:27:21,760
Sean Spencer.
Sean Spencer is considered one

1540
01:27:21,760 --> 01:27:25,200
of the best recruiters in the
country before he laid foot in

1541
01:27:25,560 --> 01:27:28,160
Blacksburg.
And then it starts building.

1542
01:27:28,160 --> 01:27:30,720
It's like, yeah, it's OK.
You know what we should do OK.

1543
01:27:31,120 --> 01:27:32,720
And we saw what we did at the
end of last year.

1544
01:27:32,720 --> 01:27:36,640
It's like, that's that's great.
What, 24 got some good talent,

1545
01:27:36,640 --> 01:27:38,040
got some good guys in the
portal.

1546
01:27:38,280 --> 01:27:42,480
It's feeling good and then it's
the heater of what we went on

1547
01:27:42,480 --> 01:27:48,720
with Bork, JJP Buchanan, big ol
ugly because he ugly.

1548
01:27:48,720 --> 01:27:51,000
So you know he's going to hit
people hard when he's blocking.

1549
01:27:51,000 --> 01:27:54,520
And it was cool because you
expected those.

1550
01:27:54,920 --> 01:27:59,040
The Bork one was, you know, I
think we got I think we got them

1551
01:27:59,040 --> 01:28:03,200
because quicker path to probably
starting than he would be at

1552
01:28:03,200 --> 01:28:08,000
Georgia, quicker path.
Plus he he actually is a good

1553
01:28:08,000 --> 01:28:10,000
driver.
So he met he missed a few

1554
01:28:10,000 --> 01:28:16,200
criterias there at Georgia where
you got to run 106 and do dumb

1555
01:28:16,200 --> 01:28:19,360
stuff and and those three were
great.

1556
01:28:19,360 --> 01:28:22,040
And don't get me wrong, like I
said, with Bork, we've never

1557
01:28:22,040 --> 01:28:23,880
seen anything like that in the
last few years.

1558
01:28:24,280 --> 01:28:28,200
But it was the car Hoff like
completely out of left field

1559
01:28:28,560 --> 01:28:32,000
like Cali.
I know you have been kind of

1560
01:28:32,240 --> 01:28:36,320
like like talking a little about
it, but it wasn't like this is

1561
01:28:36,320 --> 01:28:39,080
the sheer thing.
And then when that popped up

1562
01:28:39,080 --> 01:28:43,200
just the other day and it was
just like this kids where he's

1563
01:28:43,200 --> 01:28:47,560
from where he's from Columbus,
OH, what's he look like?

1564
01:28:47,640 --> 01:28:50,720
He ain't 2:15.
They got that all pig wrong.

1565
01:28:50,720 --> 01:28:53,920
That kid looks 230 already.
He looks.

1566
01:28:54,280 --> 01:28:56,840
Huge.
So he's a top ten player in the

1567
01:28:56,840 --> 01:28:58,440
state of Ohio.
He lives in Columbus.

1568
01:28:58,440 --> 01:29:01,840
He's one of the best tight ends
in the country and he just, he

1569
01:29:01,840 --> 01:29:04,560
comes with getting attacked.
He goes to school with Ryan,

1570
01:29:04,640 --> 01:29:06,960
Ryan Day's son.
You go to school with Ryan Day's

1571
01:29:06,960 --> 01:29:11,240
son and it's like, like.
Wait a second.

1572
01:29:11,720 --> 01:29:14,240
Like that.
That doesn't happen to us.

1573
01:29:14,800 --> 01:29:17,240
Well, again when you go back.
Yeah.

1574
01:29:17,240 --> 01:29:19,560
When?
You go back to and some people

1575
01:29:19,960 --> 01:29:24,000
like I said are are looking at
things like you know, well, why

1576
01:29:24,000 --> 01:29:26,080
are we doing this or why are we
taking this?

1577
01:29:26,080 --> 01:29:28,320
I'm like, well, we didn't have
nothing, you know what I'm

1578
01:29:28,320 --> 01:29:31,480
saying?
Do y'all remember when probably

1579
01:29:31,480 --> 01:29:35,520
got fired and this person
decided to to sit out or this

1580
01:29:35,520 --> 01:29:38,600
person decided to transfer and
we had no depth?

1581
01:29:38,600 --> 01:29:41,960
Or, you know, think about two
years ago when Kamari Copeland

1582
01:29:41,960 --> 01:29:45,680
gets hurt and he wasn't supposed
to be the guy, but he gets hurt

1583
01:29:45,760 --> 01:29:49,040
and it totally changes what you
can do on the defensive line

1584
01:29:49,320 --> 01:29:51,880
because you have no depth.
You know what I'm saying?

1585
01:29:51,880 --> 01:29:57,600
So that you have to, in today's
football, when you get what, 105

1586
01:29:57,600 --> 01:30:01,160
scholarships, you have to
maximize every scholarship that

1587
01:30:01,160 --> 01:30:03,720
you have.
That's why they're taking 3

1588
01:30:03,720 --> 01:30:07,400
running backs and, you know, 2
tight ends, maybe 3 tight ends

1589
01:30:07,400 --> 01:30:10,360
and, you know, putting pressure
on people to get in if you go, I

1590
01:30:10,360 --> 01:30:12,600
can't remember which running
back said it, but it's like

1591
01:30:14,360 --> 01:30:17,240
whoever did the piece and asked
them, you know, why now I think

1592
01:30:17,240 --> 01:30:19,880
it may have been Kobe that
interviewed him and he's like, I

1593
01:30:19,880 --> 01:30:21,800
got to get in.
I, I would hate to, you know,

1594
01:30:21,800 --> 01:30:26,040
not get in and not, you know,
not not have a spot in something

1595
01:30:26,040 --> 01:30:28,640
that you know, I think that
they're building something

1596
01:30:28,640 --> 01:30:31,720
special.
So that's why you're seeing

1597
01:30:31,720 --> 01:30:35,120
these high level guys coming out
of left field.

1598
01:30:35,480 --> 01:30:39,080
Even though if you look again,
if you look or if you catch DC

1599
01:30:39,080 --> 01:30:42,680
on the right day, he'll give you
a little little bit of a, a

1600
01:30:42,800 --> 01:30:45,800
inkling of what's happening, But
he don't give us much, but he'll

1601
01:30:45,800 --> 01:30:47,440
give you a little bit if you
catch him right.

1602
01:30:47,840 --> 01:30:50,040
You got to pay attention.
You got to pay attention.

1603
01:30:50,280 --> 01:30:52,600
You got.
To pay attention, man, because

1604
01:30:52,600 --> 01:30:56,720
it's small, right you got.
To pay attention, but you got,

1605
01:30:57,200 --> 01:31:00,840
you know, these guys that are
looking at going and getting in

1606
01:31:00,840 --> 01:31:05,440
because in the, in the age of
NIL, it runs out.

1607
01:31:05,520 --> 01:31:08,800
You know what I'm saying?
Like they're going to, they're

1608
01:31:08,800 --> 01:31:12,600
going to cut the deals or pay
the people.

1609
01:31:12,640 --> 01:31:15,360
Who are the?
First in line, you know what I'm

1610
01:31:15,360 --> 01:31:16,680
saying?
If they're high on the board.

1611
01:31:16,720 --> 01:31:21,000
So it's like, OK, most of the
time in the old Virginia Tech

1612
01:31:21,000 --> 01:31:24,320
way, we had to be like, please
come here.

1613
01:31:24,320 --> 01:31:26,320
We'll just wait on you, you know
what I'm saying?

1614
01:31:26,320 --> 01:31:30,120
And then that's when we get so,
you know, disgruntled when they

1615
01:31:30,120 --> 01:31:33,280
go, oh, I'm going to go to
Georgia, you know, so I'm going

1616
01:31:33,280 --> 01:31:35,280
to go to, you know, where
Florida.

1617
01:31:36,280 --> 01:31:38,480
You were in there.
You were in there, but you got

1618
01:31:38,480 --> 01:31:41,520
left at the altar again.
I mean it at this point now it's

1619
01:31:41,520 --> 01:31:43,720
like, what is it?
It's not even June yet, you know

1620
01:31:43,720 --> 01:31:45,160
what I'm saying?
You're looking at where you're,

1621
01:31:45,440 --> 01:31:48,840
you know, how many commits you
have and where you're composite

1622
01:31:48,840 --> 01:31:51,800
score is and things like that,
which is I think Brian's always

1623
01:31:51,800 --> 01:31:53,720
say it.
What was the number, Brian, that

1624
01:31:53,720 --> 01:31:55,440
you said we need to be
competitive.

1625
01:31:55,520 --> 01:31:59,080
I said we got to be above 88
every year, got to be above. 88

1626
01:31:59,080 --> 01:32:02,480
every year and.
Some change right now so we're.

1627
01:32:02,480 --> 01:32:05,760
We're we're well on our way to,
to trying to push 90.

1628
01:32:05,760 --> 01:32:09,440
So can we do some?
Real quick, Shelton.

1629
01:32:09,680 --> 01:32:13,600
I know you have not got to
follow this as much because

1630
01:32:13,600 --> 01:32:17,400
you've been really working.
But when you just randomly pull

1631
01:32:17,400 --> 01:32:22,240
up 247 a few weeks ago and you
start seeing this caliber of

1632
01:32:22,240 --> 01:32:28,440
player, where are your thoughts?
Because you know you you haven't

1633
01:32:28,440 --> 01:32:31,400
followed this closely in years.
And again, now that this is

1634
01:32:31,400 --> 01:32:34,280
happening and you've been at
work for five months and now

1635
01:32:34,280 --> 01:32:37,640
it's like, wait a second.
What was your first inkling and

1636
01:32:37,640 --> 01:32:41,560
reactions to that?
I mean, I wasn't really that

1637
01:32:41,560 --> 01:32:43,880
surprised 'cause.
Like, you know, I think the

1638
01:32:43,880 --> 01:32:46,200
people think the thing that
people should know is like James

1639
01:32:46,200 --> 01:32:48,880
Franklin pound for I, I had
someone who used to work in

1640
01:32:48,880 --> 01:32:52,120
college recruiting tell me this.
James Franklin pound for pound

1641
01:32:52,120 --> 01:32:55,520
is probably the single most
dynamic recruiting personality

1642
01:32:55,520 --> 01:32:57,880
in kosher ball.
I mean, if you if you give him,

1643
01:32:58,000 --> 01:33:00,880
you know, equal resources to all
the other coaches, he can hold

1644
01:33:00,880 --> 01:33:02,720
his own with anyone.
And he's he's just got that

1645
01:33:02,720 --> 01:33:05,880
dynamic personality.
So I mean, you know, it's it's

1646
01:33:05,880 --> 01:33:07,960
no surprise that recruiting,
recruiting all his talent.

1647
01:33:07,960 --> 01:33:10,480
And I mean, he's done it, you
know, through the through the

1648
01:33:10,480 --> 01:33:11,840
Portland through high school as
well.

1649
01:33:13,440 --> 01:33:14,960
So, yeah, I'm not I'm not really
that surprised.

1650
01:33:14,960 --> 01:33:17,520
And obviously, you know, NIL
money helps, of course, and

1651
01:33:17,520 --> 01:33:20,200
that, you know, not going to be
dense about that.

1652
01:33:20,200 --> 01:33:22,760
I mean, they're they're
investing right now, but it's

1653
01:33:22,760 --> 01:33:25,560
just you know, you, I mean, you
can put him up with anyone.

1654
01:33:25,560 --> 01:33:27,800
Like he's just got that.
He's just got the chops.

1655
01:33:27,800 --> 01:33:30,760
Like it's really that simple.
I mean, you know, pry, like pry

1656
01:33:31,040 --> 01:33:33,080
talked a little bit of a good
game and, you know, he had a few

1657
01:33:33,080 --> 01:33:37,280
decent recruiters on staff, but
he just doesn't just unstack up

1658
01:33:37,280 --> 01:33:40,080
to to Franklin, who's really is
a closer and you need it.

1659
01:33:40,120 --> 01:33:43,800
You got to have a closer on the
on this on the staff and I think

1660
01:33:43,800 --> 01:33:45,480
it's great.
So, yeah, I mean, I guess from

1661
01:33:45,480 --> 01:33:48,960
like a from like a, you know,
big picture standpoint, I

1662
01:33:48,960 --> 01:33:51,400
certainly did not expect that
Tech will be in the top 15.

1663
01:33:51,400 --> 01:33:52,520
I don't think they're going to
stay there.

1664
01:33:52,520 --> 01:33:55,840
But you know, we saw Fuentes
first few classes were kind of

1665
01:33:55,840 --> 01:33:57,720
hovering like the fringe top 25
range.

1666
01:33:58,040 --> 01:34:01,320
And really I don't think it's
been since maybe 2019 that Tech

1667
01:34:01,320 --> 01:34:03,320
is out of top 30 class.
I'm not mistaken.

1668
01:34:03,640 --> 01:34:06,240
This class will definitely be
top 30, probably top 25 when

1669
01:34:06,240 --> 01:34:09,040
when it's all said and done.
So we're kind of getting back to

1670
01:34:09,040 --> 01:34:13,000
that, you know, kind of late 20
tens, but really the, you know,

1671
01:34:13,040 --> 01:34:18,360
2000s early 20 tens type of type
of talent influx that we we got

1672
01:34:18,360 --> 01:34:20,280
accustomed accustomed to seeing
for so long.

1673
01:34:20,880 --> 01:34:23,560
So just how far out of it?
We were 26 last year, Sheldon.

1674
01:34:23,880 --> 01:34:30,080
26 last year that that it's
crazy how that class closed out

1675
01:34:30,080 --> 01:34:32,200
too and and when.
We talk about kind of the way

1676
01:34:32,200 --> 01:34:35,720
the the rest of the landscape is
setting up for the rest of this

1677
01:34:35,760 --> 01:34:39,480
this cycle.
I mean, big, big official visit

1678
01:34:39,480 --> 01:34:43,240
this weekend.
Big David's going to be.

1679
01:34:43,240 --> 01:34:47,520
Working this week and like you
know if if you're able to.

1680
01:34:48,720 --> 01:34:51,640
You know, close the deal on a
Chris Whitehead, you know, oh

1681
01:34:52,320 --> 01:34:57,680
God, Composite 5 star ripples #1
player in the state #4 edge in

1682
01:34:57,680 --> 01:35:01,640
the country.
I mean, top 35 national, I mean,

1683
01:35:01,680 --> 01:35:05,000
that's, that's that, that is the
gem of your class and and that's

1684
01:35:05,000 --> 01:35:08,040
after you get the the 7th best
quarterback in the country.

1685
01:35:08,600 --> 01:35:12,560
So, you know, if if you're able
to close that deal, that that

1686
01:35:12,560 --> 01:35:16,640
really pushes the scales up
higher and you know it, it would

1687
01:35:16,640 --> 01:35:20,120
be, you know, the first five
star we've really had and you

1688
01:35:20,120 --> 01:35:25,480
know, close to a decade more
more last five star was was

1689
01:35:25,520 --> 01:35:27,320
Kendall.
All right.

1690
01:35:27,320 --> 01:35:29,240
Yeah.
So going back even further, so

1691
01:35:29,240 --> 01:35:31,640
even further than the.
Deck Devin Hunter won a 5 star.

1692
01:35:32,640 --> 01:35:35,560
No.
I don't know he.

1693
01:35:35,560 --> 01:35:36,400
Was a he?
Was a he?

1694
01:35:36,400 --> 01:35:39,160
Was a high four.
Yeah, he he was right.

1695
01:35:39,240 --> 01:35:42,200
There if OK I.
I, I I.

1696
01:35:42,200 --> 01:35:48,840
Was actually looking at this
earlier if if you look at at the

1697
01:35:48,840 --> 01:35:55,760
composite rankings Whitehead.
Would be the 5th.

1698
01:35:56,040 --> 01:35:59,480
Highest ranked recruit in
Virginia Tech history behind

1699
01:35:59,480 --> 01:36:03,520
Kevin Jones, Kendall Fuller,
Tyrod Taylor and Marcus Vick.

1700
01:36:03,840 --> 01:36:06,560
That's crazy.
Head of macho, Head of.

1701
01:36:06,560 --> 01:36:09,760
Ron Williams ahead of Logan.
Give him, give him what he want,

1702
01:36:09,760 --> 01:36:13,040
I mean.
I think what it's so so.

1703
01:36:13,040 --> 01:36:17,640
Impactful is how quickly they've
transformed this this vision and

1704
01:36:17,640 --> 01:36:20,960
they haven't played a game yet.
And sometimes it can be very

1705
01:36:20,960 --> 01:36:23,760
difficult to sell a vision, sell
something that you're trying to

1706
01:36:23,760 --> 01:36:26,240
build and say, hey, would this
is what we're building towards.

1707
01:36:27,160 --> 01:36:29,480
That is who James Franklin is.
He's a salesman.

1708
01:36:29,480 --> 01:36:33,880
He loves to do that.
He loves to to pitch young

1709
01:36:33,880 --> 01:36:37,040
people on what he's building.
And he's got other people, Sean

1710
01:36:37,040 --> 01:36:41,320
Spencer, Matt Moore, I think
even Matt Moore, Infanto, mind

1711
01:36:41,320 --> 01:36:44,240
you, stuck around that they've
been pretty good.

1712
01:36:45,000 --> 01:36:48,360
But Norval McKenzie, who of
course has a lot of Georgia

1713
01:36:48,360 --> 01:36:55,080
ties, even Ty Howell, like
they've got guys who understand

1714
01:36:55,080 --> 01:36:58,960
recruiting and are all on the
same page as far as what they're

1715
01:36:58,960 --> 01:37:01,320
selling.
They've got the resources to do

1716
01:37:01,320 --> 01:37:03,680
it.
But you've seen them really hit

1717
01:37:03,680 --> 01:37:05,840
the ground running.
And it's going to be a crazy

1718
01:37:05,840 --> 01:37:07,720
couple weeks here with official
visits.

1719
01:37:08,360 --> 01:37:10,600
It's this weekend in May and
then.

1720
01:37:10,600 --> 01:37:15,000
First couple weekends.
In June and and and they are.

1721
01:37:15,040 --> 01:37:16,840
There's no.
Limit on how many guys?

1722
01:37:16,840 --> 01:37:19,840
You're, you know, you're, you're
not capped on how many guys you

1723
01:37:19,840 --> 01:37:22,040
can take anymore.
You can take as much as you

1724
01:37:22,040 --> 01:37:24,680
want.
And if you're James Franklin and

1725
01:37:24,680 --> 01:37:26,920
you're this coaching staff and
you're looking at trying to

1726
01:37:27,320 --> 01:37:32,560
overhaul a roster real quick and
create competition, there's one

1727
01:37:32,560 --> 01:37:34,960
good way to do it and that's
bringing a lot of really good

1728
01:37:34,960 --> 01:37:36,760
talent.
Yeah, definitely.

1729
01:37:37,840 --> 01:37:40,680
Well, David?
As we get wrapping up here.

1730
01:37:40,680 --> 01:37:44,360
Obviously I'm glad you got to
get off the grid and take off

1731
01:37:44,360 --> 01:37:49,080
last because it seems like the
next three or four weekends are

1732
01:37:49,080 --> 01:37:51,840
going to be nuts, man, for you,
you know, down there.

1733
01:37:51,840 --> 01:37:57,360
And obviously like you said, the
doors are locked now, so got to

1734
01:37:57,360 --> 01:38:00,800
be even sneakier maybe when we
get you a helicopter or

1735
01:38:00,800 --> 01:38:03,960
something.
But listen man, boys, y'all got

1736
01:38:03,960 --> 01:38:07,640
anything else before we close it
out tonight?

1737
01:38:07,640 --> 01:38:09,800
Because it's been a fun.
I thought Brian was like hell.

1738
01:38:09,800 --> 01:38:13,880
We got like an hour Brian.
We can probably keep going to

1739
01:38:13,880 --> 01:38:14,520
too.
Hey, man.

1740
01:38:14,520 --> 01:38:15,680
Yeah, David, I.
Always.

1741
01:38:15,880 --> 01:38:18,320
I always forget how long winded
we can be at times.

1742
01:38:18,320 --> 01:38:20,760
So, you know, we talked a lot
against stuff tonight.

1743
01:38:20,760 --> 01:38:22,400
You're just long winded when
you're happy, man.

1744
01:38:22,400 --> 01:38:24,800
Hey.
You're damn right, damn right.

1745
01:38:25,080 --> 01:38:27,080
I I think the big.
The biggest thing, guys, I mean,

1746
01:38:27,080 --> 01:38:32,520
just think about it.
Right, Like say a year ago, you

1747
01:38:32,520 --> 01:38:36,200
know, they were coming off of a
disappointing season and it's

1748
01:38:36,200 --> 01:38:41,640
what the future hold and this
they won three games and it was

1749
01:38:41,640 --> 01:38:44,200
rough too and it was a wake up
call.

1750
01:38:44,200 --> 01:38:46,920
I think for a lot of people.
In, in the athletic department

1751
01:38:46,920 --> 01:38:51,920
and you're seeing the, the
results of that now, the what

1752
01:38:51,920 --> 01:38:54,480
they're doing in terms of
transforming it and obviously

1753
01:38:54,480 --> 01:38:58,280
hiring new people.
But they, they've got a big time

1754
01:38:58,280 --> 01:39:01,520
coach now.
And I'm, I'm happy, you know,

1755
01:39:01,520 --> 01:39:04,400
talking with people like, you
know, you guys and other

1756
01:39:04,400 --> 01:39:07,120
friends, people that follow
Virginia Tech all the time,

1757
01:39:07,120 --> 01:39:11,360
like, you know, our subscribers,
it's a lot more enjoyable to

1758
01:39:11,360 --> 01:39:14,360
discuss this when I mean,
obviously when they're hot on

1759
01:39:14,360 --> 01:39:17,360
the recruiting trail, but just
when they're trending in the

1760
01:39:17,360 --> 01:39:20,600
right direction.
And it's been a while.

1761
01:39:22,040 --> 01:39:24,760
It's been a really long time,
honestly, since they've been

1762
01:39:24,760 --> 01:39:29,400
trending to a point like this
where where you're like, man,

1763
01:39:29,400 --> 01:39:33,000
are they building to something
10 years, 10 years.

1764
01:39:33,680 --> 01:39:40,720
December 2016 in a mispass from
Jerrod Evans.

1765
01:39:40,960 --> 01:39:44,120
That would have been Clemson.
That's how long it's been.

1766
01:39:44,120 --> 01:39:48,440
It's been 10 years.
So hope it's a great thing.

1767
01:39:49,080 --> 01:39:51,280
David.
We appreciate you joining us

1768
01:39:51,280 --> 01:39:53,200
tonight, man.
And that is going to wrap up

1769
01:39:53,200 --> 01:39:57,480
this episode of the Boundary
Corner podcast brought to you by

1770
01:39:57,480 --> 01:40:00,840
Moments on the Murray with our
special guest Tech Sideline

1771
01:40:00,840 --> 01:40:02,880
Zones Managing Editor, David
Cunningham.

1772
01:40:02,880 --> 01:40:06,200
I am Curtis Wilson.
I'm Brian Siegler, Jonathan

1773
01:40:06,200 --> 01:40:07,880
Talley.
And I'm Sean Moss.

1774
01:40:09,200 --> 01:40:11,000
Visit Boundary.
Cornerbt.com to.

1775
01:40:11,000 --> 01:40:13,200
Listen to all of our episodes
while you're there.

1776
01:40:13,200 --> 01:40:16,960
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, all the fun spots

1777
01:40:16,960 --> 01:40:19,760
including YouTube.
If you have not joined there

1778
01:40:19,760 --> 01:40:23,160
yet, please join us there.
As always, we're on every

1779
01:40:23,160 --> 01:40:26,920
podcast source you can think of.
Actually, I'll do this real

1780
01:40:26,920 --> 01:40:32,720
quick follow David Cunningham
seriously y'all go to Twitter be

1781
01:40:32,720 --> 01:40:37,760
real D Connor great follow
obviously check text island out.

1782
01:40:37,760 --> 01:40:39,560
We love what y'all guys do over
there.

1783
01:40:40,360 --> 01:40:42,600
We we appreciate that you're
always willing to come on with

1784
01:40:42,600 --> 01:40:44,960
us.
As always, we let our buddy

1785
01:40:45,040 --> 01:40:48,920
Jason Long down in Roanoke play
us in play us out.

1786
01:40:48,920 --> 01:40:54,160
Check out Jason Long music.com
to get to all of his fun stuff

1787
01:40:54,520 --> 01:40:58,200
and he's going to be having a
couple concert dates here in the

1788
01:40:58,200 --> 01:41:00,520
next few weeks.
May 30th, the Grand Village

1789
01:41:00,520 --> 01:41:05,520
Farmers Market in Roanoke, 8:00
to noon and then on June 7th,

1790
01:41:05,600 --> 01:41:07,880
Harmony for Hope, it's a
fundraiser for the Lymphonia

1791
01:41:07,880 --> 01:41:11,760
Research Foundation.
This is down at Mangoes Bar and

1792
01:41:11,760 --> 01:41:17,560
Grill, and if you're wondering
where that is, leave.

1793
01:41:17,560 --> 01:41:20,280
Where is Mangoes?
I thought he had it in here.

1794
01:41:20,280 --> 01:41:21,720
He didn't put it on here.
Damn it.

1795
01:41:21,720 --> 01:41:23,160
Jason, why don't you put that on
here?

1796
01:41:23,480 --> 01:41:26,640
Moneta, VA, check that out.
Jason's going to be playing

1797
01:41:26,640 --> 01:41:29,760
there for a very good cause.
Appreciate you all for

1798
01:41:29,760 --> 01:41:31,920
listening.
Appreciate the comments and as

1799
01:41:31,920 --> 01:41:34,600
always, let's go hokey.