In this episode we welcome our friend Matej Sis from VT Scoop to help us break down the Signing Day blitz from James Franklin and the Hokies. Also, while nothing official has dropped from Virginia Tech, national media are reporting the Hokies are set to (re)hire Brent Pry as defensive coordinator on James Franklin's new staff. Brent Pry returns just 3 months after being fired by the Hokies as Head Coach. Reports are also swirling that Franklin has tapped Ty Howle to be offensive coordinator. Each with their own implications, we breakdown these perspective hires and what we think the rest of the staff looks like as it continues to take shape ahead of the transfer portal opening in January.

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Alright.
And welcome back to the Boundary

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Corner Podcast, a part of the
College Shuttle network along

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with my partners, Brian Look,
Don, the Tally, Shelton Moss and

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our special guest from 247
Sports tonight.

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PT scoops on Matae Sis.
I am Curtis Wilson and we are,

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as always, brought to you by the
Counts Family Pharmacy and

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Doctor Jeremy Counts down at 301
S Main St. in Blacksburg.

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Go to see him when you can.
We are also brought to you by

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Moments on the Maury, Moments on
the Mori on by proud Hokie

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located outside of Lexington,
VA.

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Looking for a getaway spring,
summer or fall next year?

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Take a look at Moments on the
Mori.

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Fishing kayak and relaxing by
the fire pit down by the river.

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We're just hanging out on the
back deck.

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Awesome place to go.
I'm going to give you a

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shameless plug and tell you real
quick for 247 Sports right now,

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Get all the inside scoops, save

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50% off the annual membership.
OK, y'all at top now because I'm

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at breath.
Take a breath, Curtis.

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Take a breath.
You can, you can sip on a brew.

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I think you've also got some
some ultra.

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There you were.
You were pounding earlier.

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How long Mickey all?
Hey, hey, hey, how you been,

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man?
I'm good.

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I know we were chopping it up a
bit before but always excited to

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be on here.
We got the full crew today.

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I saw the new intro that got me
fired up so just excited to chat

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with you guys.
It's always just it's, it's the

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best coming on here, so really
looking forward to it.

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Let's say we are always excited
having you on here because we we

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talked recruiting and we get to
talk some recruiting in a very

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positive light this time.
But we also have some some

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interesting things swirling
about on the staff hires.

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So we got a couple fun things to
to chop it up with you on

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tonight. 100%, 100% Mateis got
the knowledge.

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Cannot wait to hear what you
think about the 26, about the

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staff hires.
Shelton, it's been a while since

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you showed up.
How's life, big guy?

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Oh, it's been good, man.
I'm just going to go going all

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over the place.
Been to DC couple times last two

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weeks working with with
basketball.

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So yeah, man, I've been
obviously plugged in.

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We'll talk about the the
coordinator hires certainly some

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some some polarizing takes on
the TLII saw a lot of that.

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I think some people kind of
leaning into, you know, it's a

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let their voices be heard.
But yeah, definitely, definitely

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excited about positive hoking.
News.

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Good to hear, Tally.
Are you there, Tally?

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Paige and Tally.
Paige and Tally Sally was having

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desktop issues a few moments
ago.

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Can you hear us, Tally?
You can't hear us.

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I we can figure that out.
We can figure getting you the

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phone out.
It's it's the youth freezing

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that we have issues with.
Can you hear me now?

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All right, we're going.
We're going to give him a second

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Tally.
Just talk whenever you need to

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Tally.
But we are going to unload a lot

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tonight.
We do have the staff hires.

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He is moving.
I can hear it.

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I can hear it.
We can hear you now.

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All right, Can you hear us?
He's back.

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He's back, OK, We we can deal
with that.

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We can deal with it.
But we are going to talk to

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staff hires.
We are going to talk to class of

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26 what, what a, what a show
that was last week.

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But before we start with
anything, it broke, I want to

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say about two hours ago, roughly
about 7:00.

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And this is this is big news for
anyone that is a Virginia Tech

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fan.
Michael Vick is going to be

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inducted into the College
Football Hall of Fame next

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season.
Well deserved.

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A a a man who truly not only put
this team on the map, you know,

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20.
It's getting close 26 years ago

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now, but also really changed the
way college football was played

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in the way the quarterback
position was played.

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So him getting his flowers is
awesome.

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I don't know what y'all want to
say on that.

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Feel free, gentlemen.
It's been a long time coming.

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Well deserved.
Glad that it's happening as

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we're kind of getting our shit
back together a little bit on

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the on the coaching front,
especially with the way this

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class got put together.
I think it's just it's good

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timing all around.
Good way to kind of you know, re

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re establish Virginia Tech as a
national brand.

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I think it's all aligning well
for Virginia Tech and just it's

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a great honor for him and like I
said, well deserved it.

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Like I said, long time coming I.
Agree everything y'all saying is

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true.
Like you said it's a long time

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coming.
He overcame a lot, changed the

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game of football and you can't
talk about the the game of

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football without.
So I feel like players like that

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discern Hall of Fame Dame,
that's what he did.

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So I'm like him, love.
It because that's what he's

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going to say nothing.
I'm excited.

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We we, we just barely can hear
you just so you know, so you

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might want to try the bugs again
like it's picking you up again.

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I don't want to, I don't want to
curse it, but I know the buds

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weren't working.
If you do the buds, you might

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have to go into the little app
and change it.

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But but tell you while he's
trying to figure that out, what

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about you and Shelton?
You can go after him and tell

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you about this induction for
Mike Vick.

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Yeah, I think you guys covered
it pretty well.

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It's obviously a huge honor.
You know, he changed things for

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Virginia Tech.
It's, you know, he's he's the

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guy that you think of when you
think of Virginia Tech.

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You still see his jerseys at all
the tailgates, you know, just an

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electrifying player.
And, you know, he's been a great

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ambassador for Virginia Tech and
just happy that he got his

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moment.
I know tonight was big and

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obviously got a lot of
recognition on the on the

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timeline there, but we'll be
even bigger when he's, you know,

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actually inducted.
Yeah, I just, I just saw it on

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Twitter.
It's pretty good.

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Obviously the NFF is a really
well, well, regular

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organization.
I think.

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I think for me, the the thing
that you know, I admire the most

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about Victoria is just, you
know, his redemption story and

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you know, how much, how much
effort he's made to, you know,

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redeem himself as a person and
just all the good he's been

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doing.
Obviously coaching now, which is

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great.
So hoping you get things turned

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around there, down there and in
Norfolk.

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But great, great story and
really tremendous honor for him.

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All right, Was he back?
Let's see if he's back here.

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Can you hear us, Tally?
You can hear us.

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Don't talk so I can hear you.
Can you hear me?

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It's all come together.
It all works out.

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All right.
It's all right.

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We still got you.
All right, well, let's get to

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it.
What we talked about at the top,

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the big news of the last few
days.

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And let's start with Sunday.
So everybody's hanging out, you

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know, probably most of us
watching football.

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Brian just trying to get through
his fantasy match up because he

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was in a war to make the last
playoff spot and he did.

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It got it.
Man, I got it.

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Done.
I got it done man thank you. 52

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yard touchdown from Saquon
Barkley on the fake tush push

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that solidified the win for me.
Yeah, but so we're all doing

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that and having fun, you know,
dinner.

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I'm sure you're doing things
with your family, all of us

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having meals, whatever.
Watching Sunday and all of a

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sudden, Pete Nacos forever at
the other one.

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Yeah.
I'm not going to mention their

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name tonight with you on the
day, but Pete Nacos makes a

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mention.
Print Pry will be the next

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defensive coordinator at
Virginia Tech.

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You are our esteemed guest, so I
will give you the four first.

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What was the first thought that
popped in your mind when you

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read that or when someone texted
you?

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Probably you, you probably knew
it an hour before it broke.

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And you're just like, how do I,
how do I break this down?

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I mean, I can give a little back
story on just like my whole

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process.
Obviously we had been hearing

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for a while that Brent Pryor was
going to be involved in some

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way.
In my mind when I read that, I

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thought, OK, analyst makes
sense, doesn't have to move, you

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know, buy out money, however
that works.

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We started hearing more and more
towards the end of last week

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that like it was legitimate
interest in the defensive

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coordinator position day by day
kept materializing.

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We heard a couple other names of
people that were potentially

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interviewing for the position.
But I would say as of I think it

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was Sunday or Saturday night,
once the news broke, that's kind

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of when everything kind of came
together and you know, we had

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been talking about how do we
prepare for this and what's the

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reaction going to be?
I think my first initial

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reaction, it was just like, this
is super weird.

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And like I've had a couple days
to sit with it and I think, you

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know, I'm somewhere, I'm still
in the confused camp a little

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bit.
Like I see the I see the

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benefits of it.
I think when James Franklin took

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over, and we've kind of seen and
we'll get it into it with the

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next hire, but he's really
trying to build this thing with

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guys that he trusts.
And you know, when he kind of

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got ran out of Penn State, he
was kind of at a moment in his

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career where he had to make
those big hires and kind of go

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outside of his tree.
And I think he's someone that,

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you know, knows what he has.
And Brett Pryor, I think they

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had nine top 25 defenses
together from Vanderbilt and

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Penn State working together.
He's someone that when the

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talent level is right, he he
does the job well.

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And I think when you look at the
downsides to Brent Pry over his

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time, it's obviously been his
head coaching capabilities.

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I think everyone knows he loves
Virginia Tech.

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He endorsed it for James
Franklin.

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We saw the emotional reaction in
the introductory press

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conference.
I think none of us, like we all

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kind of joked like maybe maybe
that they'll get the band back

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together.
But I think, you know, you

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definitely have to swallow a lot
of pride to be able to come

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back.
And it's definitely a weird

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thing.
I've never seen something like

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this before.
But I think, you know, James

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Franklin had to revalidate that
decision, opted in and said, I

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want Brent Pry like he's the top
guy if you take it from a

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candidate position.
And, you know, Brent Pry had to

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opt in too.
So I think if you have that

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trust, you have the proven track
record.

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He's a guy with now head
coaching experience, for

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whatever that's worth from his
time at Virginia Tech.

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So I think you can look at what
he's done with James Franklin as

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a defensive coordinator and say
I like this.

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But then the flip side is I know
people have been talking about

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how how the defenses fared over
the past couple years, the hires

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00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,920
that he's made and kind of his
evaluations on defense.

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I think a lot of that's
circumstantial, but at the same

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time, like I understand the
criticisms of the hire as well.

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So I'm somewhere in that
confused boat.

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I think ultimately I do like the
hire and I think it's pretty

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00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,480
cool to see kind of
unprecedented.

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But ultimately it's a guy he
trusts the most.

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And you know, James Franklin is
willing to take that bet all.

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00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,360
Right, Sally, you're holding
laughs with like Ellis.

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00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,280
Tell them go next.
So your thoughts, you thought

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00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,280
here you go in the film
statistics about being trained

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00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,240
here and stuff.
When it broke, what was your

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00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,200
first?
Yeah, so when it first broke, I

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00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,480
had to check that the the
Twitter account wasn't a troll

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00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:56,720
because that's actually what I
thought.

222
00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,400
Like I had to verify multiple
times that this was a legitimate

223
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,640
account.
We need that because I just had

224
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,400
no idea that this was even being
considered a possibility.

225
00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,120
I was pretty shocked.
I I I thought it was a little

226
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,840
bit weird, not necessarily bad,
but just a little weird that he

227
00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,200
would bring a guy who you know,
who who things didn't end very

228
00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,840
well as as head coach.
The team apparently kind of quit

229
00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:17,840
on him.
But you know, that being said,

230
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:19,880
he's does have very good defense
coordinator chops.

231
00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,200
I think when you look at it from
a statistical standpoint,

232
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,800
obviously he put together a lot
of good defense state.

233
00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,320
I would say in general, I think
prize a coach that is that is

234
00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,040
going to put a product on the
field that is equal to his

235
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:34,800
talent level.
I think he generally performed

236
00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,320
pretty up to, you know, up to
par with the talent that he had.

237
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,200
He didn't necessarily over
perform, but he also didn't

238
00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,600
underperform either.
So whatever talent that Franklin

239
00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,120
can assemble around him is
probably, you know, going to be

240
00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,840
reflected on the field.
So in that sense, I'd say, you

241
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,560
know, if they recruit well, I
expect him to put a good defense

242
00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,480
on the field because I trust
prize defensive instincts for

243
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,840
the most part.
But, you know, his time at BT,

244
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,080
you know, they had a decent year
in 2022 with a not great roster,

245
00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,480
but there were also some
developmental issues.

246
00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:02,920
Linebacker, they couldn't figure
that out.

247
00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,080
You know, the defense kind of
underperformed in 2024.

248
00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,360
Now this fell apart this year.
Again, I know that's not saying

249
00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,560
it's all prize fault, but he is,
you know, a defensive on head

250
00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:14,200
coach and he does have to take,
you know, some degree of

251
00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:18,080
responsibility for that.
So I think on balance, it's

252
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,680
interesting, unconventional,
intriguing.

253
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:24,160
I don't know exactly what words
describe it.

254
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:26,800
I'm not by any means pushing the
panic button.

255
00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,360
I just thought it was not the
route they were going to go.

256
00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,120
So I'm still trying to kind of
process all that.

257
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,080
Tally, can you just say check
1-2, can I hear you check?

258
00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,680
1-2 you all.
Right.

259
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:44,280
We can hear you.
I'm going to let Brian go and

260
00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,920
then we'll get you back in, OK?
Just make sure you're still

261
00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:48,760
hearing us, Brian.
Still freezing?

262
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:51,120
You're still freezing, but I can
hear you.

263
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,400
I can deal with you freezing as
long as I can hear you.

264
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:55,520
There we go.
There we go.

265
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:56,600
Brian.
Your take?

266
00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:06,160
I thought it was weird, but a
kind of a good weird, mainly

267
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:12,520
because I think it's, it's a,
it's a low risk higher overall.

268
00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:16,440
I I think with, with Brent Pry,
you know what you're getting

269
00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,520
the, the resume is there.
We've seen what his output

270
00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,800
output can look like, especially
if you can get top 25 talent

271
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:27,360
around him.
And on that defense, he's going

272
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:33,280
to put up consistent defenses.
There's a reason that he was

273
00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,120
elevated to a point where the
Virginia Tech job was on the

274
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,520
table for him, and that's
because he performed well at

275
00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:43,360
Penn State in the defensive
coordinator role and he had a

276
00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,880
personality that some thought
would would would be a really

277
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,520
good asset as a head coach.
So you still get all of that

278
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,360
without the areas of deficiency
that we have seen from Brent

279
00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:03,160
Pride, which is building a
coaching staff, you know,

280
00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,880
getting things going from a full
roster standpoint, especially

281
00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,800
when you look at position groups
like online.

282
00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,040
I know Sheldon, you mentioned
linebacker as well.

283
00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,319
You know, a couple other
position groups that struggled

284
00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,240
and obviously the the game day
and game management struggles

285
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,520
that we saw during his tenure
there.

286
00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:24,000
A lot of those things go away
moving back into the defensive

287
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,640
coordinator role.
The the weird thing is that you

288
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,440
fired a guy three months ago and
now he's back in your building

289
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,120
in a prominent role with your
program.

290
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:39,120
And obviously I would, I would
assume that Franklin probably

291
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:45,720
had some degree of conversations
with this this roster before

292
00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:50,760
pulling the trigger on this.
So that that's my hope.

293
00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,840
That's my understanding at this
point.

294
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,920
And it sounds like there was
enough folks on board where it

295
00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,000
made sense to to to move forward
that at least with the guys that

296
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,080
Franklin's looking to retain on
this current roster.

297
00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,880
Yep, we lost Tally.
So I'm going to, I'm going to

298
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,840
get my $0.02 before I let him go
off it.

299
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,360
It, it felt weird for like for
me, it felt weird for about 30

300
00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,360
minutes.
But then I I started thinking,

301
00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,800
but wait a second.
If James Franklin had taken

302
00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:24,160
Florida State or went anywhere
else in this cycle, people would

303
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,360
be lauding the move.
Look at him.

304
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,920
He went right back out, got
Brent Pride, got a really good

305
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,120
defensive coordinator, really
good recruiter.

306
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,880
Guy's not a head coach.
Guy's not a head coach at all.

307
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,000
And and as I sat there, it
became less and less weird

308
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,920
because if we think about a
Brent Price feelings towards

309
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,120
Virginia Tech, watching the Cal
game, that videotape of him

310
00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:50,040
watching his guys down in the
Charlotte bar play that game, he

311
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,960
was openly cheering for him,
openly happy that they won that

312
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,440
game.
A lot of coaches can't do that.

313
00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,960
I think Brett Pry understands
what he is as a person now.

314
00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,040
He knows what he is a person.
I am a defensive coordinator.

315
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:08,880
I'm not a head coach.
This is what I'm meant to do.

316
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,400
I love this place.
We all know he loves Virginia

317
00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,000
Tech.
He felt like it was.

318
00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,800
It gave him the shot to where he
wound up today.

319
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:20,080
And to me, it's just like if he
goes anywhere else, it's not

320
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,160
weird.
It's only weird here if he feels

321
00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:23,040
it weird.
And I have a feeling.

322
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,960
James Franklin maybe what took
to Sunday Matei for everything

323
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,880
to come down is he probably
asked every single player on

324
00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,640
that roster who's going to
probably stay if he comes back,

325
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,480
are you OK with it?
And I think if that had went

326
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,480
sideways, I don't think he's the
higher to be a decoordinator

327
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,440
right now.
But that's the way I feel.

328
00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:48,960
Brian Shelton Matei Feel Tally
How do you feel about your boy,

329
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,280
you know, getting hired as.
Do y'all?

330
00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,960
Can y'all hear me?
First of all, Yep.

331
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,720
Can you not hear me at all?
Hang on, I can hear you.

332
00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,960
The audio is a little.
Yeah, you're a little little

333
00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,120
little.
Clown muffled.

334
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:05,800
Muffled.
Yep.

335
00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,840
So I've been, I think Brett Pry
is messing up my my bra.

336
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,280
Yeah, you're good now.
I think that's what's going on.

337
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:22,200
Brett is messing me up, but I
mean, I don't know, man.

338
00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:27,400
The initial like I was on
vacation when I heard it, so I

339
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,200
don't know how that came
through.

340
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,080
That was the only thing that
came through.

341
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,880
Brett Pryor, defensive
coordinator, while I'm trying to

342
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,680
enjoy my cruise and I'll live
it.

343
00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:40,560
I was like, what the what are we
doing?

344
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,240
You know, just honestly, it's
like, think about you getting

345
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,160
fired from your job, right?
You get fired.

346
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,960
You don't just get fired like
you get fired bad.

347
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,200
Brian, get the fuck out.
You're out of here, buddy.

348
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,880
You haven't done a good job.
Get out.

349
00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:01,280
You know, just take what you can
grab in this little box and have

350
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:05,320
a nice life.
And then you walk back in the

351
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:06,920
building.
That's a Friday.

352
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,440
You get to walk back in the
building Monday and see the same

353
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,520
people that told you to take
that box and get out.

354
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:17,240
It's just weird.
It's crazy.

355
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:21,960
It's crazy, man.
Like I, that was my initial

356
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,000
reaction.
It's kind of like going through

357
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:30,400
a bad divorce and then your mom
or dad says she's still a part

358
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,920
of this family and she's coming
to all the family functions.

359
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,160
You know what?
I'm saying you said that to me

360
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,680
and I cracked up.
I cracked up when you said that.

361
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,320
But, you know, Culverheads have
prevailed and thought about it a

362
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,480
little bit and talked to some
people and I'm like, OK, I get

363
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,280
it.
I understand he wants people

364
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,080
around that he trusts, you know,
they're going to raise the

365
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,760
talent in the in the program.
So we've seen what they can do

366
00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,120
when they do have talent.
So a lot of times that that's

367
00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,640
what matters.
You know, we had some talent,

368
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:04,960
but talent will be elevated.
I do think Brett Pratt can call

369
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,040
defense, and I think Curtis put
it best.

370
00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,000
If he went somewhere else and
all of this happened, nobody

371
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,160
would have batted an eye.
You know, if he would have got

372
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:17,760
the job at Florida State and
then he brings Brett Pryor on as

373
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,440
his defensive coordinator,
people would probably have been

374
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,640
over the moon.
OK, yeah, he did good.

375
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:28,640
But just he or him getting him
getting fired and then rehired

376
00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:34,160
in three weeks or however three
months, it was just a shock.

377
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,840
So I'm interested to see what
happens.

378
00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:40,920
It's going to be Sally went out
there and got the the Internet,

379
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,920
Sally just so he can follow up
on on these coaching hires.

380
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,320
And then he saw Brentavious
Pride come across his screen and

381
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,040
I think.
This is the first day I got it.

382
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:55,280
Like the third day, you know, I
got to like a thoroughly and the

383
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,920
first thing that I see it pops
up if somebody puts that and I'm

384
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,960
like, like Shelton said, I'm
like, this has got to be a joke.

385
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,120
Like somebody's this is a fake
account.

386
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:08,440
This is a fake account.
Look, when when Franklin got

387
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,400
hired, you know, there were
there were some people were

388
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,080
like, go ahead and get Brent,
bring Brent back right now.

389
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:17,120
And like I was like, you know
what, I can I can see it happen.

390
00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,600
But like, my first instinct was
like, maybe defensive analyst,

391
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,280
somebody comes in, kills it two
years, maybe Brent's that second

392
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,920
DC higher under Franklin at
Virginia Tech.

393
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,440
I didn't think we'd see it out
the gate.

394
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,520
So that's where it's different
for me.

395
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,520
And it's it's certainly a unique
situation.

396
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:43,880
But like, to Curtis's point, you
know, I think the his time at DC

397
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,880
at other stops speaks for
itself.

398
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,120
Yeah.
I don't think we're like, you

399
00:23:48,120 --> 00:23:49,440
know, at least on the defense
side of the ball.

400
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,000
We're not, we're not, we're not
banking on a risky hire here.

401
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,720
I mean, this is a guy that, you
know, for all intents and

402
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,120
purposes, when he's had some
good players around him, he's

403
00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:02,120
he's done well.
So as long as Franklin and, and

404
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:06,120
the rest of the staff can get,
you know, top 30, top 25, top 20

405
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:08,720
classes coming into Virginia
Tech every year, I don't think

406
00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,240
we're going to have a problem on
defense.

407
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,240
Not at all.
Also, just to quickly kind of

408
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,680
put a bow on it, you know, like
James Franklin and Brent Pryor

409
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:19,600
have known each other for 30
years now.

410
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,560
There's probably no one else in
the industry that James Franklin

411
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,120
trusts more.
And like, I think Sheldon made a

412
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,840
good point too, that when Brent
Pryor was calling the defense in

413
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:33,760
2022, like it was a top 45
defense, the talent wasn't all

414
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:35,240
there.
I think kind of the

415
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:40,160
inefficiencies of Brent Pryor as
a head coach where like he

416
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,440
didn't have all the resource.
Like I'm not going to put it all

417
00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:47,080
in the resources, but like he
didn't have necessarily the top

418
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:51,120
end resources or was a good
enough head coach to bring the

419
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:55,200
type of talent needed to bolster
that defense or the offense or,

420
00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,240
you know, the program in general
or bring in the right hires.

421
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:02,920
Like, that's his downside.
You know, James Franklin and

422
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,720
Brent Prye, great friends, their
families are great friends.

423
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,640
Like if this works out, the
ideal vision, like Brent Prye is

424
00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:12,680
not leaving probably for another
head coaching opportunity.

425
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:13,960
Like he's.
Going to say.

426
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,840
Exactly.
And like he did get interest,

427
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,600
Arkansas reached out.
They wanted to give him the job.

428
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:23,800
Mississippi State was looking at
him before Arnett.

429
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,320
Brent Prye is still very well
regarded even elsewhere, right?

430
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,800
And, you know, I think the
downside, like worst case

431
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,680
scenario it would be, it's
almost unimaginable.

432
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,480
But like, if James Franklin had
to fire Brent Prye again, you

433
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:42,480
know, or probably gets fired
again from Virginia Tech, I

434
00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:44,640
think that would be insanely
awkward.

435
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,960
But other than that, like you
can see the upside with this

436
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,280
move.
All right.

437
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:53,600
So I want to get into now what
broke earlier today, but I need

438
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,600
y'all to read the chat before we
start.

439
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,000
Matan, we'll kick it to you
first read the chat, but then

440
00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,360
I'm going to kick it to you
because we're going to talk

441
00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:01,240
about what just broke about two
minutes ago.

442
00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:07,040
Tahal, the COOC tight end coach,
former Penn State offensive

443
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,480
lineman, is basically announced.
Pete Damel comes out today.

444
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:14,040
He is going to be the next
offensive coordinator at

445
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,920
Virginia Tech.
He will call plays.

446
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,640
Matei, I need you.
We've been looking at what he's

447
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:25,360
coached, but you give me the
lens of recruiting because a lot

448
00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:28,520
of Penn State fans are like
crap.

449
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:34,440
They frickin stole how And now
who do they have in the DMV?

450
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,840
Yeah, I mean, how's a great
recruiter?

451
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,600
Obviously tight end galore.
Coached a bunch of great tight

452
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,040
ends at Penn State.
I think Friar Moose was the

453
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,480
earliest one.
Obviously Tyler Warren had his

454
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:53,160
big season.
You know, he has guys like Luke

455
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:59,800
Reynolds, Andrew Olesh, 4*5*
guys, DMV guy through and

456
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,400
through.
I think the interesting thing

457
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,400
was that they were always going
to target him.

458
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,360
Maybe even we'll see what
happens with the transfer portal

459
00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:09,000
in terms of Penn State tight
ends.

460
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,920
But that's obviously a big part
of what Virginia Tech's offense

461
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,280
is going to look like in the
future.

462
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,640
And, you know, in targeting him,
it was interesting that, you

463
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,840
know, with his name had come up.
It was something that we thought

464
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:26,040
maybe would be a tight end roll,
but ultimately, I think in order

465
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:29,720
to get him to Virginia Tech
needed that upgraded title.

466
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:35,080
I think I understand the Tyler
Bowen comparisons like I pointed

467
00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,000
them out today, but I think
there's a lot of respect there

468
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,320
from James Franklin.
And again, it's kind of the same

469
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,560
thing with pride that this is
someone who James Franklin has

470
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,240
worked with for five years.
Like really trust him.

471
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,080
He's a quick mover.
He came in as an analyst.

472
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,320
He's a former Penn State
offensive lineman, quickly

473
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,000
worked his way up to tight ends
coach and then Co offensive

474
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,520
coordinator.
I know they do that quite a bit

475
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,160
at Penn State.
And ironically, it's always like

476
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,680
a tight end coach that has the
Co C title.

477
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,680
But he's just another one that,
you know, really well regarded

478
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,360
by the players, really proven
recruiter.

479
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,160
Obviously, we don't know what
that looks like as a play

480
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,600
caller.
That's the one kind of I think

481
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:20,280
where everyone's head was at
today in terms of, you know,

482
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,320
they thought they were that
Virginia Tech was going to get a

483
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,080
bigger name.
But, you know, they did

484
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,560
interview some other offensive
coordinators.

485
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,880
One went to Ole Miss today.
I think that timing kind of

486
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,880
speaks for itself, but James
Franklin once again kind of made

487
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:41,960
the call that after having
extremely long interviews with a

488
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,680
lot of candidates, this is going
to be our guy.

489
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,000
Shelton, any feels on this?
Yeah.

490
00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,440
I mean, I think it's I would
have preferred someone with a

491
00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,000
little more extensive play
calling experience not to, you

492
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,280
know, down play him.
I know he was a cozy for a

493
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:05,080
couple years.
I don't think he was a play

494
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:06,800
caller though.
Somebody please Fact Check me if

495
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,760
I'm wrong about that.
Had a couple years at Western

496
00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:14,680
Illinois as a cozy as well.
I know he's a good coach by all

497
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:16,680
accounts, a very good recruiter.
So I don't want to, you know,

498
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,240
down play that part of it.
I just, I felt like with the

499
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,800
budget that Tech had, I would
have expected more, you know,

500
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,880
kind of big time hotshot OC
hire.

501
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:28,160
But, you know, we'll see how it
works out.

502
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,000
I mean, I, I, I feel like, you
know, coordinator hire is really

503
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,400
tough to judge because
sometimes, you know, I was

504
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,040
looking at looking at
Siginetti's guys today, you

505
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,000
know, they both came with them
from GMUI mean they didn't

506
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,760
really have any powerful
experience when they came there

507
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,760
and only, you know, maybe two or
three years of, of, you know,

508
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:42,960
coordinator experience in
general.

509
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,440
So, you know, there's not like
one specific mode that you have

510
00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:47,960
to have in order to be
successful as a coordinator.

511
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:53,280
So I try to keep that in mind.
But yeah, I mean, it's just kind

512
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,680
of a, you know, again, kind of
like probably a little bit maybe

513
00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:57,960
slightly more unconventional
higher.

514
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,240
But you know, I'm not going to
write off a guy before he's he's

515
00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,720
coached a game of football at
BT, So we'll see.

516
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:07,080
Brian Siegler.
A lot of thoughts on this.

517
00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,240
I'll put you in the middle.
Yeah, a lot, a lot of thoughts

518
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:17,120
on this when I saw it come
through, you know, I started

519
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,440
doing some digging, doing some
doing some research because how

520
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:24,600
was the name that had come up
early like Patel alluded to, but

521
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,920
we weren't exactly sure to what
capacity that role was going to

522
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,200
be.
You know, now we found out, you

523
00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:36,240
know, OC play caller, whether or
not, you know, there's a Co OC

524
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,120
down the line that's going to be
attached at the hip with with

525
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,640
how that remains to be seen.
But as the rest of this staff

526
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:48,480
shapes up, you know, it's it's
it's easy to out the gate make

527
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:53,720
the comparisons to Tyler Bowen,
you know, COC Titans coach at

528
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:59,840
Penn State, call plays at AFCS
school for one year had a couple

529
00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,760
games where you call plays at
Penn State, you know, in the

530
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,920
last couple years, but but
wasn't a full time play caller.

531
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,360
So very similar resume.
But when we look at the

532
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,400
circumstance of the higher, the
circumstance of this higher is a

533
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,720
lot different.
And when I look at the

534
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:22,520
circumstance, this isn't a first
time full time offensive

535
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:27,520
coordinator play caller going
into a first time head coach

536
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:33,000
situation in Blacksburg like it
was with Tyler Bowen and Brent

537
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,160
Pry.
This is a very established head

538
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,520
coach in James Franklin and
offensive minded head coach in

539
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:45,960
James Franklin.
So I think when you look at this

540
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,600
situation, it's it's definitely
a better situation for a first

541
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,760
time play caller to come into
relative to what Tyler Bone was

542
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,600
stepping into with Brent Pry in
Blacksburg.

543
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:03,360
That being said, by all
accounts, this was the guy that

544
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:07,360
Franklin was ready to hire two
years ago before they put AK in

545
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,400
that role.
It sounds like there was push

546
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:13,520
from the AD that they wanted a
big time name, big time, all the

547
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:18,040
all that stuff.
And they ended up with AK

548
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:21,320
instead of, of of hiring and and
promoting howl at that point.

549
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:25,280
So that speaks to where James
Franklin's head was, you know,

550
00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,480
just two years ago.
So yeah, that that's a lot to

551
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,040
unpack and unwrap there.
And then you look at the

552
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,640
recruiting pedigree, this guy in
the DMV area, and I think that

553
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,800
speaks for itself.
And then just the developments

554
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:41,720
he's been able to do with his
position group.

555
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,080
We'll see how much of of a hand
he has on an individual position

556
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,720
group as things kind of, you
know, flesh out with the rest of

557
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:52,680
the staff.
But parallels to Tyler Bowen

558
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,920
aside, and you're not going out
there and breaking the bank on a

559
00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,920
more established play caller.
Yeah, I think there's there's a

560
00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,080
lot to like about this.
But if I think there's there's

561
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,600
we're still a kind of in wait
and see mode to see what the

562
00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:11,120
quarterbacks coach looks like in
particular.

563
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,240
And then kind of the way the
rest of the staff on offense

564
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:19,040
shapes up to to kind of help out
this first time play caller in

565
00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:23,920
Blacksburg.
You had a chat telling you what

566
00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:25,200
the quarterbacks coach looked
like.

567
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:28,120
Well, I know, I know.
We we going to talk about that.

568
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:30,360
Because yeah, I was just looking
away for a little bit.

569
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,240
Just had a the news broke.
On here but tally how do you

570
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,280
feel about how in general about
you know what you've read of him

571
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:39,120
and I know you text and talk to
people.

572
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:44,480
Yeah, so, well, I talked to you
that because I was, I was out

573
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,320
driving first day back at work.
So I had to come with Curtis

574
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:51,080
because I got a new route.
So I was up in Tennessee driving

575
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:54,160
and in the country couldn't see
nothing and got a camera in my

576
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:55,720
car.
So I really can't be looking at

577
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,920
my phone anyway.
So I was like, Curtis, tell me

578
00:33:57,920 --> 00:33:59,200
what's going on because I can't
see it.

579
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,480
So Curtis broke down kind of how
he felt and I'm looking at

580
00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,800
things.
And then after I get home, I do

581
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:06,680
a little bit of research.
And I was like, you know what

582
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:08,280
that is research matters.
It don't matter.

583
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:13,600
So I had to go back and think
about some of the stuff that the

584
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,120
coaches say.
A lot of times it is coach

585
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,040
speak.
But if you go back and you

586
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:23,120
listen to James Franklin in his
interviews, he says I've had

587
00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,239
really good players that it
don't matter what the play call

588
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,880
is, they're just good.
Like I had Sequan Barkley in the

589
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,440
backfield and he just went and
made plays.

590
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:39,199
So when I started thinking about
that, I'm like, OK, he's going

591
00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:43,280
to get people around him that he
trusts because he's been at Penn

592
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,840
State for 12 years, 11 years.
And then they go out and get

593
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:51,679
this kick ass ADR or DC, right?
Who is it?

594
00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:52,800
What's his name?
Nose.

595
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:54,760
So they're going to get Nose
last year.

596
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,240
We get fired this year.
So I know in his mind, I don't

597
00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:02,560
know what their relationship is,
You know, I don't know what was

598
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,840
said, You know, behind the
scenes and stuff.

599
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,480
You got to win games, of course,
you got to beat certain people.

600
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:12,360
But he's been coaching the same
for all these years.

601
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:16,680
Then you go get this new guy in
and all of a sudden everything

602
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:18,280
goes to hell in 1/2 basket,
right?

603
00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,840
So when you do that and you pay
somebody $3,000,000 or

604
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:26,400
$2,000,000 or however much money
they're getting paid, they're

605
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,320
probably going to have a
relationship with that AD and

606
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,600
go, hey, I don't like his
philosophy or he wants me to do

607
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,600
this and I don't want to do it.
So I just really feel like James

608
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:38,360
Franklin said, I just want to
get guys around me that I trust

609
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,680
and I want to go get players
that are talented enough to beat

610
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:44,520
the players across the field
from him.

611
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:49,120
He's got the opportunity to do
that because what you don't

612
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,320
spend on coaches, you're going
to spend it on NIL.

613
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,920
You got to go get a quarterback
like it didn't matter.

614
00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:00,160
It didn't matter what we did
when Bowen was here, but when he

615
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,440
had the ball off to Tooting,
good things was going to happen,

616
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:04,960
right?
That's true.

617
00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,520
That's true.
We just got him hurt, you know,

618
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,240
we just got him hurt.
We didn't need him hurt.

619
00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:12,720
But I just think they're going
to focus more on, I think

620
00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:15,920
they're going to focus real
heavy on getting the Jimmy

621
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:22,480
Jimmies and Jones in.
All right, I'm last to go here

622
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,920
and I've been pretty positive.
I'm a pretty positive person as

623
00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:28,160
most people know me.
I I do not like this hire.

624
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,760
I do not like this hire.
And, and y'all are putting some

625
00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:33,480
good points.
He's a good recruiter.

626
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,720
Tally's putting it up, but we're
going to just have really good

627
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:37,960
plays and we just call a simple
inside zone run.

628
00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,000
They're going to go 75 yards for
a touchdown.

629
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:41,520
We ain't got to worry about good
play calls.

630
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:46,200
But I worry he's only called
plays one time.

631
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,040
He's caught a few here and
there.

632
00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:51,480
He does not have the experience.
He is 34 years old.

633
00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:57,680
He is 34 years old and now we're
putting him in charge of our

634
00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:02,440
offense over the last 15 years.
I'm stealing this from somebody,

635
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:05,840
from my neighbor.
The last 15 years, even in our

636
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,440
bad years, we have not had to
worry about defense.

637
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:14,240
Even in our bad years, Brent
Pryne 2021, that was like a 52nd

638
00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:16,800
ranked defense.
What, literally backs in a bunch

639
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:18,600
of guys.
We probably wouldn't have been

640
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:23,080
on many other rosters.
We're turning it over to him.

641
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:25,360
I hope I'm wrong.
I hope a year from now y'all

642
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,880
make fun of me and say look how
wrong you were, look how wrong

643
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:32,480
you were.
I'm worried about this hire and

644
00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,640
now I'm even more worried about
it because of what just broke 10

645
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,920
minutes ago now, and that is
Danny O'Brien is going to be the

646
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:40,600
quarterback coach.
Danny O'Brien's been a

647
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,240
quarterback coach for two years
at Penn State.

648
00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:45,520
Two years.
Yes, he did analyst work and he

649
00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:47,240
did assistant quarterback work.
Yay.

650
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:49,240
Apparently Trace Mcsorley's
coming.

651
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:54,440
Yay.
The only person right now in the

652
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:58,760
room that's still left that has
play calling experience is Matt

653
00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:01,320
Moore.
Matt Moore called a Troy.

654
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:02,840
He called his first year at West
Virginia.

655
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:06,960
That is the only other guy who
has play calling experience on

656
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:08,720
this offense this half.
And we don't know if he's going

657
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:10,400
to get fired or not.
So, Mattel.

658
00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,440
You know who does have have play
calling experience?

659
00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,920
But Jimmy Franklin ain't called
freaking plays in almost a

660
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,000
decade and a half, Brian.
Have, have, Are you sure about

661
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,080
that?
Because I've seen something safe

662
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:25,400
folks say that I, I don't even
know who's been calling plays at

663
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,520
Penn State, but I'm, I'm just
throwing it out there.

664
00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,120
So he is a he's, he's still a
offensive minded head coach.

665
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:36,200
You got to this.
This is and, and, and more.

666
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,080
This is more.
This is a better situation than

667
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,760
a Marvin Pratt situation because
he is also not a first time head

668
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:46,360
coach bringing somebody along
like a Chris Marv.

669
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:48,480
And you know who else played
quarterback?

670
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:53,040
Curtis, James Franklin.
That's true.

671
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:56,400
All right, Matei.
Matei was feverishly,

672
00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,080
feverishly.
Let's see.

673
00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:01,720
Matei is like.
He's like, hang on, we're

674
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:06,920
breaking some fucking news here.
What's the background on Danny

675
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,760
because I don't have much on him
other than I know he coached at

676
00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:12,720
Penn State, Matei and I'm sure
that's what you probably, you

677
00:39:12,720 --> 00:39:15,200
probably had a note card already
on and know how well you're

678
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,480
prepared.
Not not super well, if I'm being

679
00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:22,040
candid.
I know Trace Mcsorley was the

680
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:26,320
name that was mentioned there.
Didn't quite know what they were

681
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,560
going to do.
Obviously knew O'Brien could be

682
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:33,160
the quarterbacks coach that just
broke like 20 minutes ago, Matt

683
00:39:33,160 --> 00:39:36,920
Zeditz from CBS Sports.
But I think the connection

684
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:41,400
there's, he played at Maryland.
I kind of vaguely remember him

685
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,360
playing there under James
Franklin.

686
00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:47,480
The relationship goes back to,
like, 2009, I believe.

687
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:54,360
He was a, like a, you know, kind
of like the same thing, you

688
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:58,800
know, starts off as an analyst,
quickly works his way up,

689
00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:03,920
becomes the quarterback's coach.
I think 20 was it last year was

690
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:05,600
his first full year.
Yeah, last year.

691
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:10,040
But Like was working with Sean
Clifford in 2023.

692
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:14,000
I think, you know, we kind of
see it with the last two hires.

693
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000
And I think to your point about
like James Franklin being

694
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:21,240
offensive minded, I think the
next step in that is that like

695
00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:27,080
he's not, it's clear, like it's
been clear, but he's not

696
00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:31,200
outsourcing these jobs to people
that he doesn't have a trusting

697
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:36,280
relationship with or like he's
not just paying off the biggest

698
00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:39,000
names on the board.
I think, you know, I tried to

699
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,720
hammer that point home that
like, these candidates are being

700
00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,840
compared against those
outsourcing candidates, and he's

701
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,880
once again choosing his own
guys.

702
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:52,000
And I think, you know, there's
ego involved with all of this.

703
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:55,000
And I think it, you know,
whether it's good or bad, we'll

704
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,640
we'll end up finding out.
But I think James Franklin wants

705
00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:02,840
his own guys and to do it his
way and really trust that, you

706
00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,800
know, these guys that have come
up with me and will place their

707
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,160
trust in me, like we'll all do
it together.

708
00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:13,120
So I agree with your points that
like if the talent is there,

709
00:41:13,360 --> 00:41:16,120
they're able to do it.
But like it's very clear that

710
00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:19,720
he's going to do it his way and
he's seen a lot of success in

711
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:22,760
the past doing it that way.
And I think if you can somehow

712
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:26,680
translate that PSU model, like
we see what the last two hires,

713
00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:29,960
these are guys that start off as
analysts were promoted

714
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:31,920
internally.
That's kind of his MO.

715
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:35,480
Like that's the way he prefers
to do it, like bringing on guys,

716
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,360
teach them from the ground up.
And a lot of them have been

717
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:40,080
successful.
Some of them have moved on to

718
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:44,200
other jobs.
It's it seems to be that's how

719
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:46,160
this staff is going to continue
to shake out.

720
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,680
Maybe a couple big names here
and there, but otherwise I

721
00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:51,600
think, you know, it's going to
be his guys.

722
00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:54,760
What you mean a couple big names
here?

723
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,360
Wait a minute mate.
OK.

724
00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:01,960
Laying it out here, Shelton,
anything on this?

725
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,360
I mean, it looks like you're
reading too, so.

726
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,360
Yeah, I was doing some dig on
his background.

727
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:09,840
Obviously you mentioned
offensive end of this for a

728
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,440
couple years, three years and
then one is Aga and then the

729
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,840
past 2 is quarterbacks coach.
So a little bit of a thin

730
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:18,760
resume.
It just mainly just one program.

731
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:21,640
It gives a little bit of pause.
But I, I saw I was thinking

732
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:25,520
about this, you know, I don't
think like, you know, at this

733
00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:29,240
point in, in Virginia Tech's,
but you know, where, where they

734
00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:30,560
are as a program.
You know, the money we're

735
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:33,200
putting in, the coaching staff
that, you know, we, we'd like to

736
00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,680
have, you know, we expect to
compete for playoff spots.

737
00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,880
You know, we want to be a
program like Utah or BYU or

738
00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:41,600
Vanderbilt that, you know,
develops talent and has good

739
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:43,680
coaching and, you know, can at
least kind of punch by the

740
00:42:43,680 --> 00:42:45,560
weight class to try to compete
for a playoff spot once every

741
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:48,720
couple years.
You know, So from that

742
00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:51,360
standpoint, like, you know, 8 to
9 wins might be OK.

743
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:53,720
But like, you know, the question
we have to ask ourselves is

744
00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:57,000
like, is this staff, the staff
that's going to lead us to, you

745
00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:58,360
know, competing for playoff
spots?

746
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,040
And, you know, right now I'm a
little bit iffy on it just

747
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,400
because of getting lack of, you
know, experience in certain,

748
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:05,960
certain spots.
You know, doesn't mean to be

749
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:08,320
bad, but it's like, you know,
again, like what I was talking

750
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:13,000
about with the budget we have,
like, you know, we were kind of

751
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:15,800
expecting a home run higher.
And I think, you know, right now

752
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,520
it's like, OK, maybe we get a
double, you know, try to stretch

753
00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,160
into a triple, but it doesn't,
it doesn't seem like a home run.

754
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:23,960
So that's kind of just, you
know, the, the thoughts I've

755
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:25,640
been having.
It's like, you know, where the

756
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:27,880
goals, you know, the goal, the
goals are are, you know,

757
00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:30,040
increased here.
So, you know, we want, we want

758
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,640
coaches that can can match those
expectations.

759
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,160
Yeah.
I mean, we, when we look at it,

760
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:46,160
we don't really have a lot on
O'Brien from a recruiting

761
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:48,400
standpoint.
It's a very limited sample size.

762
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:52,120
So this is probably the first
hire that you can't really say

763
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:57,200
point to and say this guy is a
super plus recruiter because we

764
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,160
we probably don't have enough
data on him at this point to

765
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,480
really say that one way or the
other.

766
00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,720
You know, we we know that the
caliber of players that were

767
00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:11,600
comfortable playing for him that
were originally committed to

768
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:15,680
Penn State and have since been
one of them committed to

769
00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,680
Virginia Tech now.
And the other one what went to

770
00:44:20,680 --> 00:44:23,800
Auburn, went to somewhere else,
went back to Penn State,

771
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:28,160
whatever, whatever, whatever his
his path there was.

772
00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:31,880
Yeah.
That was another player that

773
00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:35,240
that at one point was also
comfortable playing and being

774
00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:39,840
coached by Danny O'Brien.
So, you know, limited sample

775
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,280
size on what he's doing from the
recruiting standpoint.

776
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,400
So we don't really know what
that looks like.

777
00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:53,160
I'm interested to see if Trace
Mcsorley's coming over as like a

778
00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:57,280
Co quarterbacks coach, assistant
quarterbacks coach, what that

779
00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:02,520
role looks like for him.
And you know, we're still, we're

780
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,280
still got a couple other spots
that we got to fill here and,

781
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:08,840
and kind of figure out who on
the current staff is being

782
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:11,040
retained on the offensive side.
If anybody.

783
00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:15,040
You know, I think we've got some
some general ideas on that at

784
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:18,000
this point, but we haven't heard
anything official and really

785
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,800
none of these, you know, outside
of the national publications, we

786
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:23,080
haven't really seen any official
announcements on this.

787
00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:26,480
So we're, we're still kind of
waiting on the official details,

788
00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:31,040
titles, roles, all that fun
stuff as far as what, what,

789
00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:35,440
what, what these guys are going
to be doing within the, within

790
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:38,240
the team other than these, you
know, high level official roles

791
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:41,240
that, that we have with OC and
DC and quarterbacks coach.

792
00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:49,360
So I'm, I don't feel better
about the how higher with the

793
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:52,720
Danny O'Brien higher.
I, I don't necessarily feel

794
00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:56,440
worse about it.
I feel about the same as I felt

795
00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:00,520
when when the howl higher came
across.

796
00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:06,120
If we had brought in somebody
like Decker from ODU in that

797
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:10,560
role and he was a Co OC, I think
I'd feel even better about the

798
00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:14,320
howl higher.
This kind of just kind of keeps

799
00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:19,520
me in a, you know, slightly
above lukewarm feeling on the

800
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:24,400
howl higher and very much TBD on
Danny O'Brien.

801
00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:27,440
I know you kind of let me.
Throw this out.

802
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:28,800
Let me throw this out right
quick.

803
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,920
And Curtis, I'm going to let you
divvy it up if you want to.

804
00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:34,960
Can you hear me pretty good?
Yeah, you're good.

805
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:35,800
You're coming through pretty
good.

806
00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:44,040
So James Franklin got a, what
are we #24 are we 24 or 2524 top

807
00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:47,280
25 class?
He got a top 25 class by

808
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:50,400
himself.
By himself.

809
00:46:50,680 --> 00:46:55,920
All right, so we're we can sit
here and divvy up all of what we

810
00:46:55,920 --> 00:46:58,720
think about the coach and we
know we got to play games and

811
00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:00,680
all that.
I I'm not saying that that

812
00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:03,920
doesn't matter, But if James
Franklin did all of this by

813
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,320
itself and these guys that have
been working with him have been

814
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:12,760
developing talent are coming in
and then thinking about some of

815
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:14,600
the names that we've heard on
defense.

816
00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:20,480
What do you think the the
ceiling is for recruiting?

817
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:21,840
I didn't even talk about
coaching yet.

818
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:24,600
What do you think the ceiling is
for recruiting on the coaches

819
00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:30,400
that he's bringing in if he got
a top 25 class in two weeks by

820
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:33,520
himself?
Mate, sis, that is your wheel

821
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:35,040
buddy.
Where is the ceiling?

822
00:47:37,560 --> 00:47:41,440
It's it's tough to, it's tough
to answer because obviously like

823
00:47:41,880 --> 00:47:46,400
top 25 is the expectation.
I think one of the best parts

824
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:52,000
about James Franklin as a coach
is bringing in talent and you

825
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:55,920
look at the resources that he's
paired with and was able to get

826
00:47:55,920 --> 00:47:59,360
from Virginia Tech.
Like I, you know, my personal

827
00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:02,560
expectations are like right
around that top 20 mark.

828
00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:07,160
I think it's, I remember
probably being on this podcast a

829
00:48:07,160 --> 00:48:09,600
couple years ago talking about
Brett Pry and I'm like, you

830
00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:12,600
know, Top 40, like maybe that's
the goal.

831
00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:15,120
And all of a sudden now you're
shifting to top 20.

832
00:48:15,120 --> 00:48:18,720
But I think like you obviously
have so many blue bloods out

833
00:48:18,720 --> 00:48:21,120
there.
And I know like it's, it's a

834
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:24,520
constant arms race, like more
and more programs.

835
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,000
Utah just did something today
with private equity.

836
00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:31,680
I'm blanking on the name, but
someone just got like a massive

837
00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,040
donation.
Michigan State got like 400

838
00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:37,880
million.
Like it's just a constant arms

839
00:48:37,880 --> 00:48:40,960
race of these programs that are
gonna try to keep building it

840
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:43,000
up.
I think the benefit to James

841
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,480
Franklin is he's already been in
this area.

842
00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:50,360
He has those relationships and
guys like are never like he's

843
00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:53,640
going to be able to kind of
unlock that tier where you can

844
00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:57,360
still get that elite caliber
player without having to pay an

845
00:48:57,360 --> 00:48:59,800
arm and a leg over the
competition.

846
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:02,400
Like those relationships still
matter at the end of the day.

847
00:49:02,680 --> 00:49:06,560
So with the blue bloods, like
that's usually the top fifteens.

848
00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:09,520
I think you can see some years
where maybe the talent is a

849
00:49:09,520 --> 00:49:11,960
little richer and Virginia Tech
moves up.

850
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:15,160
But overall expectation I would
say is, you know right around

851
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:18,080
that 20 mark all.
Right.

852
00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:21,520
Do you want to add anything else
about the QB coach before we

853
00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:24,680
start pushing along here?
I don't know that, man.

854
00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:26,960
I'm just glad we got a
quarterback coach.

855
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:31,560
I'm just glad they're not
letting offensive line or tight

856
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:33,160
end coach, coach the
quarterbacks.

857
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:36,480
At least put something in there.
This doesn't make it to the

858
00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:38,560
quarterbacks.
This is what's sold talent.

859
00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:40,240
Wait a second.
He played quarterback in

860
00:49:40,240 --> 00:49:41,120
college?
Yeah.

861
00:49:41,200 --> 00:49:43,120
He played quarterback in the
Canadian Football League.

862
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:48,200
Yeah.
I think it said he threw 3

863
00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:51,920
touchdowns and 10 picks so we
don't need him to play all.

864
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:58,160
Right before we get into the
class of 2026, there is really

865
00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:00,440
one reason why Danny O'Brien
left Finn State.

866
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:04,040
He did not want to coach Peyton
Thousand because he got rid of

867
00:50:04,040 --> 00:50:06,520
him once and then he tried to
get back on board with him.

868
00:50:06,720 --> 00:50:09,560
So really, Danny O'Brien just
said, I ain't messing with that

869
00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:10,920
kid.
I'm out of here.

870
00:50:11,320 --> 00:50:15,160
I'm going down to Tech because
that class that James Franklin

871
00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:18,560
pulled in last week, I'm going
to start the questions off Brian

872
00:50:18,560 --> 00:50:23,080
Shelton, get them loaded.
But what I want to put it is,

873
00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:25,520
you know, Brian Dawn said
something and mate, you've been

874
00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:30,520
doing this a while with 247.
Have you ever seen anything like

875
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:34,000
what happened in that two week
span in your in, in like not

876
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,240
just tech, other place or places
that were 50 to like 20?

877
00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:41,720
Have you ever seen anything like
the way this class flipped from

878
00:50:41,720 --> 00:50:45,440
1:24 to 24 in two weeks?
No, not at all.

879
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:48,480
And like I think we all knew
when James Franklin was going to

880
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:51,440
be hired, like he was going to
raid the commitment list of Penn

881
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:53,880
State.
I didn't know how successfully

882
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:56,520
he was going to be able to do
that, obviously working with a

883
00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:00,240
two week window, but I've never
seen it elsewhere where a team

884
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,600
has moved up that much.
Conversely, I've never seen,

885
00:51:03,800 --> 00:51:06,560
like, the Penn State slide is
probably the biggest slide I've

886
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:10,520
ever seen landing with two guys
in their class.

887
00:51:10,520 --> 00:51:13,800
But, you know, I was kind of
joking around with some of the

888
00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:17,960
people like Brian Doan and Evan
Colby.

889
00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:22,120
I was just saying, like, the
dopamine we were getting from,

890
00:51:22,240 --> 00:51:25,440
you know, just writing up the
articles, having them ready to

891
00:51:25,440 --> 00:51:28,000
go, like hearing another one was
coming.

892
00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:31,000
It was just like, it was
unbeatable.

893
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:33,920
And obviously it happened in a
short period of time.

894
00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:38,360
But these are relationships that
spend, you know, years and

895
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,640
years.
So, yeah, James Franklin was

896
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:43,920
able to do it.
I'm sure, you know, there's some

897
00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:46,520
whispers that, you know, maybe
this guy's going to be your

898
00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:48,560
position coach.
I think that's starting to come

899
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:54,360
to fruition now.
But ultimately, I mean it, I, I

900
00:51:54,360 --> 00:51:58,040
thought they would definitely
have a chance to push for a, you

901
00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:03,160
know, top 3530 class.
But to land in the top 25 I

902
00:52:03,160 --> 00:52:06,440
think is insanely respectable
and impressive.

903
00:52:11,120 --> 00:52:13,720
Whoever will stand.
Yeah, I mean, seeing, seeing the

904
00:52:13,720 --> 00:52:18,040
climb was, I mean, it was kind
of unprecedented, like going

905
00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:22,440
from like moving up 100 spots in
the rankings.

906
00:52:22,440 --> 00:52:24,280
I, I don't know if that's ever
been done.

907
00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:27,520
I mean, mate, you can, you can
Fact Check me on that.

908
00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:31,440
But that was a a climb that I
was not expecting when when

909
00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:35,680
Franklin took over, I was like,
if this, if this class ends up

910
00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:38,480
top 50, I'll I'll feel OK, I'll
feel like, all right.

911
00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:42,760
Well, he salvage he salvage the
class after, you know, losing

912
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:47,440
the coach, losing a couple your
your your top flight pieces in

913
00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:49,760
the class.
You know, you, you maybe could

914
00:52:49,760 --> 00:52:53,360
bring a, a Tommy Wilder back in.
You get a couple guys from Penn

915
00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,520
State that are in the four-star
caliber and then you kind of

916
00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:59,720
fill out the rest of the roster
with some, with some, you know,

917
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:03,640
decent caliber three star guys.
And yeah, then we see what

918
00:53:03,640 --> 00:53:06,400
Franklin was able to throw
together in a two week time

919
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:11,400
frame and it's it's really
impressive because it gives us a

920
00:53:11,400 --> 00:53:15,440
really good starting point.
It got us a whole lot of

921
00:53:15,440 --> 00:53:20,360
national press, which is coming
at a very good time.

922
00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:22,960
That's one thing that we're
seeing with Franklin is that

923
00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:26,760
when when Franklin does
something, the the national

924
00:53:26,760 --> 00:53:28,560
publications get a hold of it
pretty quick.

925
00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:32,680
So as long as we can keep the
ship moving in the right

926
00:53:32,680 --> 00:53:35,960
direction, that's going to be a
big benefit for the brand of

927
00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:39,520
Virginia Tech.
Yeah, I think for me, the, the

928
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:41,920
most impressive thing for
Franklin is just how much work

929
00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:43,400
he's put into making this class
happen.

930
00:53:43,400 --> 00:53:45,840
Because you know, that type of
that type of shit we've seen

931
00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:48,520
with this recruiting class is
the product of countless hours

932
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:51,640
of hard work, you know, making
calls, talking to kids, you

933
00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:54,080
know, convincing them that this
is a place that, you know, they,

934
00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:56,720
they, they want to spend the
next, you know, years of their

935
00:53:56,720 --> 00:53:58,720
career, even though they don't
know the entire coaching staff,

936
00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:01,520
you know, mapping, mapping out,
you know, who you want to

937
00:54:01,520 --> 00:54:03,960
target, Just just all the work
that goes into it.

938
00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:06,520
I know we don't want to throw
his predecessor under the bus

939
00:54:06,520 --> 00:54:08,360
too much because, you know, we,
we obviously all love him.

940
00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:12,360
He's going to be our DC soon.
But he unfortunately did not do

941
00:54:12,400 --> 00:54:13,680
that stuff when he got hired
here.

942
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:15,440
And I think it was a main
contributing factor to, you

943
00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:18,560
know, how poor his first season
was because you just, you just

944
00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:19,760
got to have a plan.
You get hired.

945
00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:22,160
I think, you know, he's just so
relentless as recruiter.

946
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:25,200
Franklin.
Franklin that is so just, you

947
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:26,960
know, credit to him for all the
work he's done because that is

948
00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:28,640
all that is all effort on his
part.

949
00:54:28,640 --> 00:54:29,880
So I think it's, I think it's
great to see.

950
00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:35,520
I think also just his ability to
have two weekends was so crucial

951
00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:38,160
because like whenever we're
talking to recruits, whenever

952
00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:42,440
I'm talking to you guys, it's
always the atmosphere is great

953
00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:46,160
and we love Lane Stadium and all
of that is great.

954
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:49,040
And you're able to pair that
with, you know, not only a home

955
00:54:49,040 --> 00:54:52,800
weekend, but then the last
weekend of the year, which you

956
00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:56,240
know, having Franklin in
Blacksburg while the team is out

957
00:54:56,240 --> 00:54:59,400
in Charlottesville.
Those were two crucial weekends

958
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:03,080
to get guys to come on campus.
I think there's, you know, a lot

959
00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:06,200
of lessons in this.
But like 1 is that he was able

960
00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:09,120
to get all those guys to come
because they could have gone to,

961
00:55:09,200 --> 00:55:12,080
they could have gone elsewhere.
Some of them did visit over the

962
00:55:12,080 --> 00:55:16,000
two weeks, other places.
But you know, able to keep that

963
00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:20,400
conversation open, able to get
them to campus, explain to them

964
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:23,240
what the situation is.
And then you're all of a sudden

965
00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:27,240
you're able to see, OK, this
could be my home pair.

966
00:55:27,240 --> 00:55:29,920
The atmosphere for the guys that
were there for the first

967
00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:33,400
official weekend with the
relentless nature of Franklin

968
00:55:33,400 --> 00:55:35,320
and saying you can help build
this place up.

969
00:55:35,560 --> 00:55:38,680
And, you know, those were
crucial, crucial weekends in

970
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:42,160
order to make this all happen.
Yeah, no.

971
00:55:42,160 --> 00:55:46,240
And I was going to say just to,
you know, kind of go along with

972
00:55:46,240 --> 00:55:50,200
what Matea is saying and also
let Matea kind of giving this

973
00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:52,880
kudos because I know they do a
lot of work and look at a lot of

974
00:55:52,880 --> 00:55:57,200
fam and interview a lot of, you
know, kids that's getting ready

975
00:55:57,200 --> 00:55:58,840
to go to college and things like
that.

976
00:56:00,560 --> 00:56:03,320
It you have to be able to coach.
I do understand that.

977
00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:07,240
But talking to some of the
parents, parents and players are

978
00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:10,840
really, really impressed with
James Franklin, like him just in

979
00:56:10,840 --> 00:56:13,680
the room.
He's going to get in the room

980
00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:16,320
with some of those kids.
And there's no such thing as a

981
00:56:16,320 --> 00:56:19,960
can't miss prospect because that
things happen.

982
00:56:20,320 --> 00:56:24,160
But when you look at somebody
like, I don't know, Trevor

983
00:56:24,160 --> 00:56:26,480
Lawrence, right?
We kind of knew what Trevor

984
00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:29,240
Lawrence was going to be going
to Clemson.

985
00:56:29,440 --> 00:56:31,080
We kind of knew what they
expect, right?

986
00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:34,880
So Virginia Tech hadn't had very
many opportunities to get in the

987
00:56:34,880 --> 00:56:37,120
room with a player of that
caliber.

988
00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:40,960
I think James Franklin gets you
in those rooms, at least to be

989
00:56:40,960 --> 00:56:44,320
able to talk to those parents
again.

990
00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:48,480
You know, that trying to diverge
too much information and stuff

991
00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:49,760
that I'm not supposed to talk
about.

992
00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:53,960
But we had a kid that was
committed elsewhere, had been

993
00:56:53,960 --> 00:56:59,040
committed elsewhere a long time
and recommitted elsewhere.

994
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:01,960
And next thing you know, he's
sending his stuff into Virginia

995
00:57:01,960 --> 00:57:04,160
Tech.
It's all because of Franklin.

996
00:57:04,520 --> 00:57:10,120
It's all because of talking to
his parents, saying things like,

997
00:57:10,600 --> 00:57:15,320
I'm sorry, we didn't.
I don't know how we missed this.

998
00:57:15,880 --> 00:57:19,880
You know, this evaluation
wasn't, I'm sorry we didn't get

999
00:57:19,880 --> 00:57:23,200
it, but what can we do now?
We're at this place.

1000
00:57:23,200 --> 00:57:24,720
What do we do now?
We want you here.

1001
00:57:25,880 --> 00:57:27,320
And this is going to Virginia
Tech.

1002
00:57:28,320 --> 00:57:31,440
Matei Tally brought it up and I
want you to just hit on it real

1003
00:57:31,440 --> 00:57:35,840
quick.
What did go on with I got his

1004
00:57:35,840 --> 00:57:38,000
name here?
Hold on with Ty.

1005
00:57:41,280 --> 00:57:43,920
He's committed though.
He has signed the line.

1006
00:57:43,960 --> 00:57:46,480
We knew he flipped, but what
happened with that?

1007
00:57:46,480 --> 00:57:50,720
Because that seemed like a 180
in less than 20 hours.

1008
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:53,200
Sorry, I cut out a little bit,
you said Tyrell Grant.

1009
00:57:53,560 --> 00:57:56,560
Tyrell Grant flipped.
I mean, like Tally said, Tally

1010
00:57:56,560 --> 00:57:57,720
was trying to be nice.
I mean.

1011
00:57:58,120 --> 00:58:00,800
Yeah.
I mean, he signed.

1012
00:58:01,160 --> 00:58:03,680
So he clearly wanted to come to
Virginia Tech, but what

1013
00:58:03,680 --> 00:58:05,720
happened?
Because that was like, boom.

1014
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:10,600
Keep in mind too, like he was
committed to Syracuse, visited

1015
00:58:10,600 --> 00:58:14,360
officially to Virginia Tech, so
the interest was already there.

1016
00:58:14,960 --> 00:58:17,360
I know he put out a tweet that I
think a lot of people are

1017
00:58:17,360 --> 00:58:21,680
referencing that says like 1000%
or 10,000% committed to

1018
00:58:21,680 --> 00:58:24,800
Syracuse.
That was kind of prompted by

1019
00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:26,880
Syracuse for him to put that
out.

1020
00:58:27,080 --> 00:58:30,920
I think the entire time he was
kind of thinking, OK, I want to

1021
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:33,040
make this happen.
How do I make this happen?

1022
00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:34,760
What's the right way of doing
it?

1023
00:58:34,760 --> 00:58:39,760
And I just think with the timing
of everything, that being I

1024
00:58:39,760 --> 00:58:43,800
believe it was Tuesday night of
last week and then he announced

1025
00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:50,280
on signing day, I want to say
like it was, he was already

1026
00:58:50,280 --> 00:58:54,160
trending that way.
And I think some other events

1027
00:58:54,160 --> 00:58:56,480
LED up to it off.
We can talk about Matt Sieg if

1028
00:58:56,480 --> 00:59:00,440
we want to, but they were really
targeting him as a safety.

1029
00:59:00,640 --> 00:59:07,120
And I think, you know, once they
kind of work things out, there's

1030
00:59:07,120 --> 00:59:10,040
multiple components to it.
It was just like everything was

1031
00:59:10,040 --> 00:59:13,440
in alignment.
And I think he saw it as, OK,

1032
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:15,000
this is a can't miss
opportunity.

1033
00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:18,560
I got to make the switch all.
Right.

1034
00:59:18,920 --> 00:59:22,560
I mean that was one that we kind
of we saw and we were like, OK,

1035
00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:25,840
that was a little bit of a
surprise coming coming down from

1036
00:59:25,840 --> 00:59:26,880
us.
But it sounds like, you know

1037
00:59:27,040 --> 00:59:28,880
there was a little bit of that
in the works for a little bit

1038
00:59:28,880 --> 00:59:30,280
longer than I think some of us
knew there.

1039
00:59:31,040 --> 00:59:36,520
The thing I want to talk about
with this class that this is

1040
00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:39,520
this has got to be, I mean, some
of it was already being

1041
00:59:39,520 --> 00:59:42,520
addressed before frankly got
here, but this is Franklin.

1042
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:46,000
I think seeing what this current
roster is and where the biggest

1043
00:59:46,240 --> 00:59:51,400
hole in the roster is, 6 tackles
in this class.

1044
00:59:52,800 --> 00:59:55,800
Talk a little bit about that and
kind of some of these guys that

1045
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:58,200
may have already been on
Virginia Tech's radar.

1046
00:59:58,440 --> 01:00:00,920
Obviously Tommy Water was was
committed at one point, then

1047
01:00:00,920 --> 01:00:03,480
came back.
And then maybe some of these

1048
01:00:03,480 --> 01:00:07,000
guys that Franklin was able to
to to sway in our direction as

1049
01:00:07,000 --> 01:00:09,880
things started to wrap up there.
Yeah, and I think, you know,

1050
01:00:09,880 --> 01:00:13,000
Thomas Wilder coming, coming
back was huge.

1051
01:00:13,320 --> 01:00:16,080
Obviously had to win that again.
He really liked Maryland.

1052
01:00:16,360 --> 01:00:20,240
Like I thought for a while he
was going to go to UMD, but he

1053
01:00:20,240 --> 01:00:23,800
always loved Virginia Tech was,
you know, I think James Franklin

1054
01:00:23,800 --> 01:00:27,360
was kind of dicing on the cake
there to bring him back.

1055
01:00:27,560 --> 01:00:32,680
Obviously getting a lot of these
guys to visit was big Benjamin

1056
01:00:32,680 --> 01:00:37,280
Azuka, He would he came in
obviously Penn State flip ace

1057
01:00:37,280 --> 01:00:40,640
Hamilton flipped to Michigan.
They're kind of targeting like

1058
01:00:40,640 --> 01:00:45,200
an interior guy and Azuka like
I'm extremely high on him.

1059
01:00:45,760 --> 01:00:50,920
I think if he I keep saying like
if he were 6566, this would be

1060
01:00:50,920 --> 01:00:55,080
like absolute national prospect.
He's already highly rated, like

1061
01:00:55,080 --> 01:01:00,040
high three star on the verge of
a four-star, but you know, 63315

1062
01:01:00,720 --> 01:01:03,120
inside guy can play guard, maybe
even center.

1063
01:01:03,120 --> 01:01:04,720
We'll see how everything shakes
out there.

1064
01:01:04,720 --> 01:01:10,120
Obviously, Kyle Altuner if he
comes back, Marlon Bright up in

1065
01:01:10,120 --> 01:01:12,600
New Jersey.
I know he played in Class B

1066
01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:16,080
competition, but he's just
someone that has the body, has

1067
01:01:16,080 --> 01:01:20,360
the athletic ability.
State champion in in New Jersey,

1068
01:01:21,120 --> 01:01:24,080
played some other impressive
schools out of state as well.

1069
01:01:25,720 --> 01:01:32,960
Again, Penn State flip, Maddox
Cochran, he was like, I think he

1070
01:01:32,960 --> 01:01:35,360
was big too, Not only like
anytime you're talking about

1071
01:01:35,360 --> 01:01:40,080
Wisconsin and offensive line
category, like give me that guy.

1072
01:01:41,160 --> 01:01:44,880
And he was someone that I think
on the day that James Franklin

1073
01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:50,000
was hired, he decommitted,
whatever that means.

1074
01:01:50,280 --> 01:01:54,120
But he was someone that was
targeted, obviously, like

1075
01:01:54,120 --> 01:01:59,280
another tackle guy in state guy
getting Tyrell Simpson to

1076
01:01:59,480 --> 01:02:04,400
reaffirm massive, massive body.
Like, I know he's listed at 6-7.

1077
01:02:04,480 --> 01:02:08,560
He might be 6-8.
And I think just like with all

1078
01:02:08,560 --> 01:02:16,240
of these guys, it's just like
their size and ability feels

1079
01:02:16,240 --> 01:02:20,000
different than previous classes.
And I feel like I've come on

1080
01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:23,200
here and probably talked about,
oh, Virginia Tech has signed

1081
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:29,200
like 2 commitments this cycle.
They can project either way.

1082
01:02:29,200 --> 01:02:31,280
It's like a lot of these guys
are tackles.

1083
01:02:31,280 --> 01:02:33,360
And I think James Franklin was
talking about in the press

1084
01:02:33,360 --> 01:02:36,680
conference, not that you want to
jump too far ahead and say

1085
01:02:36,680 --> 01:02:39,760
Virginia Tech's going to the
semifinals, but he was like, if

1086
01:02:39,760 --> 01:02:43,000
you're playing 16 games, you're
going to need that depth on the

1087
01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:45,800
offensive line.
And they absolutely crushed it.

1088
01:02:45,800 --> 01:02:48,880
Not only were they able to get
the RE affirmations, Thomas

1089
01:02:48,880 --> 01:02:54,000
Wilder back in, get the flip of
Cochran, they're able to bring

1090
01:02:54,640 --> 01:02:56,280
all the Penn State guys with
them.

1091
01:02:56,320 --> 01:03:00,320
And I just think it goes to show
like that was the major area of

1092
01:03:00,320 --> 01:03:03,680
need and they got some really
talented players to come along.

1093
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:09,000
Yeah, it's, it's like we lately
we've been used to having, you

1094
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:12,480
know, maybe making a, a splash
with one of those caliber

1095
01:03:13,000 --> 01:03:16,880
players and then like, you know,
no knock on Buddy, but a whole

1096
01:03:16,880 --> 01:03:20,280
lot of Buddy wagged them kind of
in the back and they're kind of

1097
01:03:20,280 --> 01:03:21,480
filling out the rest of that
class.

1098
01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:24,600
And then you've got, you know,
he's really, you know, the lower

1099
01:03:24,600 --> 01:03:27,400
rated guy, but it's still a
Woodbury Forest commit, which is

1100
01:03:27,400 --> 01:03:30,200
a place that historically
Virginia Tech is not done very

1101
01:03:30,200 --> 01:03:31,800
well.
And we're starting to make some

1102
01:03:32,280 --> 01:03:34,680
some headway in.
So it's it's good seeing that

1103
01:03:35,400 --> 01:03:37,160
come along in the process as
well.

1104
01:03:39,160 --> 01:03:41,600
I love the focus in the trenches
on really on both sides.

1105
01:03:41,600 --> 01:03:45,920
But obviously the offensive line
was the area of need for

1106
01:03:45,920 --> 01:03:48,640
Virginia Tech.
When we look at the biggest

1107
01:03:48,640 --> 01:03:55,160
problem with this last year's
team, it's we were one injury on

1108
01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:58,840
the offensive line away from
having no tackles that were

1109
01:03:59,160 --> 01:04:01,600
ready to play football.
We were one and and.

1110
01:04:01,880 --> 01:04:04,680
We lost the guard and had to
move the guy we were playing at

1111
01:04:04,680 --> 01:04:09,240
tackle into guard and we were a
absolute liability right tackle

1112
01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:13,760
the rest of the year.
And we were a miss a mishmash of

1113
01:04:13,840 --> 01:04:17,200
of different players across that
line other than Al Tuner, who

1114
01:04:17,200 --> 01:04:20,440
was probably the the most
consistent player on that

1115
01:04:20,440 --> 01:04:24,440
offensive line all year.
So getting these guys in the

1116
01:04:24,440 --> 01:04:26,960
building and, and obviously
seeing what we can do with the

1117
01:04:26,960 --> 01:04:28,640
portal is going to be very
important.

1118
01:04:29,560 --> 01:04:32,840
Yeah, I talked with these guys.
I talked to, you know, some

1119
01:04:32,840 --> 01:04:36,400
other folks.
Knowing who we're targeting in

1120
01:04:36,400 --> 01:04:39,400
the portal is going to be just
as important in securing a

1121
01:04:39,400 --> 01:04:41,640
quarterback in the portal as
anything else.

1122
01:04:41,920 --> 01:04:44,560
Because if you've looked at this
offensive line, you know that

1123
01:04:44,560 --> 01:04:47,120
we're going to need some
immediate help, even though

1124
01:04:47,120 --> 01:04:49,960
we've got some of that long term
help coming in with this 26th

1125
01:04:49,960 --> 01:04:57,160
class. 1000% there.
I want to take it just a couple

1126
01:04:57,160 --> 01:05:01,040
different ways because normally
we always, it's really weird

1127
01:05:01,120 --> 01:05:03,400
because you've been on here
before, we always talk about

1128
01:05:03,880 --> 01:05:07,840
who's that diamond, Who is the
diamond to top the Virginia Tech

1129
01:05:07,840 --> 01:05:10,160
recruiting class?
And this year was supposed to be

1130
01:05:10,160 --> 01:05:13,320
Thomas Wilder with everything
that's happened.

1131
01:05:13,440 --> 01:05:19,200
I mean, Terry Wiggins, Messiah
Thomas, Troy Hume, Davion Brown,

1132
01:05:19,200 --> 01:05:22,160
and even get down into Pierce
Peterson.

1133
01:05:22,920 --> 01:05:27,680
I mean, these guys are super
highly ranked guys.

1134
01:05:27,680 --> 01:05:31,320
And it's crazy because it's like
usually we were like one, maybe

1135
01:05:31,320 --> 01:05:34,120
2.
It's just like it's 6.

1136
01:05:34,760 --> 01:05:37,040
There's six guys.
And even if you start going

1137
01:05:37,040 --> 01:05:42,760
lower, like a Tyson Harley, I
mean, these guys are studs and a

1138
01:05:42,760 --> 01:05:46,080
lot of them are already like
physically built to get here.

1139
01:05:46,640 --> 01:05:52,080
So which one for you that as you
started seeing, it's going to go

1140
01:05:52,080 --> 01:05:55,320
this way where you're like
you're you this you can show

1141
01:05:55,320 --> 01:05:57,720
your fandom aside because we
know you graduated from tech.

1142
01:05:58,080 --> 01:06:00,560
What one did you like?
Like as you start seeing the

1143
01:06:00,560 --> 01:06:02,760
notes and you get stuff in like,
I want him.

1144
01:06:02,880 --> 01:06:05,400
Like if we don't get anybody
else, if we get this kid, I'm

1145
01:06:05,400 --> 01:06:07,360
going to feel.
Yeah, I mean it.

1146
01:06:07,440 --> 01:06:10,520
It's got to be Terry Wiggins.
Like, I know he's at the top,

1147
01:06:10,600 --> 01:06:13,720
but like, he is just such an
impressive player.

1148
01:06:14,080 --> 01:06:17,480
And he was someone being courted
by Colorado.

1149
01:06:17,480 --> 01:06:20,680
UNC kind of opened things up
late there.

1150
01:06:21,720 --> 01:06:25,000
But if you just, like, watch
him, he is just so impressed.

1151
01:06:25,080 --> 01:06:28,800
And you look at it and it's like
Virginia Tech hasn't had as

1152
01:06:28,800 --> 01:06:32,000
talented of a linebacker since
like, I can't even name what

1153
01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:37,360
like Tremaine Edmonds, you know,
I know Dax was insanely highly

1154
01:06:37,360 --> 01:06:41,240
rated, but the things and Terry
Wiggins is more of an outside

1155
01:06:41,240 --> 01:06:43,880
linebacker.
But it's like he's just so

1156
01:06:43,880 --> 01:06:49,040
impressive and like every bit of
his rating is deserving.

1157
01:06:49,320 --> 01:06:53,760
And, you know, to have a shot
there, not only have a shot, but

1158
01:06:54,440 --> 01:06:57,960
I think he was even saying he
did his commitment on the CBS

1159
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:01,920
Sports college football show.
But he was like, you know, I was

1160
01:07:01,920 --> 01:07:03,600
able to get down to Virginia
Tech.

1161
01:07:03,600 --> 01:07:06,160
I was not considering them
before James Franklin.

1162
01:07:06,400 --> 01:07:09,560
He's like, now that I've been
here, like if I had been here,

1163
01:07:09,560 --> 01:07:11,160
like, maybe I would have
considered them.

1164
01:07:11,200 --> 01:07:14,280
I don't know how true that is,
but it was just interesting that

1165
01:07:14,280 --> 01:07:17,040
it's like I was kind of talking
about it earlier, but just like

1166
01:07:17,520 --> 01:07:20,720
opening up, like James Franklin
opens up the door.

1167
01:07:20,960 --> 01:07:23,520
And then once these guys are on
campus, it's like you're able to

1168
01:07:23,520 --> 01:07:26,880
merge those two things that, you
know, I guess the one thing that

1169
01:07:26,880 --> 01:07:30,240
has been working for Virginia
Tech has been the campus, the

1170
01:07:30,240 --> 01:07:33,640
atmosphere, the fandom.
But it's now you're merging it

1171
01:07:33,640 --> 01:07:36,840
with a very serious head coach
that's going to come after you.

1172
01:07:36,840 --> 01:07:40,240
And to get a guy like Terry
Wiggins, I think he's just like,

1173
01:07:40,240 --> 01:07:46,160
he is so good.
Curtis, who was your, who was

1174
01:07:46,160 --> 01:07:48,160
the guy that you circled and
said, all right, that that's the

1175
01:07:48,160 --> 01:07:51,080
guy that I'm most excited about?
Well, when everything started

1176
01:07:51,080 --> 01:07:55,440
coming down and it's probably
just being old, it was Messiah

1177
01:07:55,440 --> 01:07:59,360
Mickens because you mean
Virginia Tech fan of as long as

1178
01:07:59,360 --> 01:08:01,840
I've been a fan.
You start hearing top rated

1179
01:08:02,000 --> 01:08:06,080
running back in the state of
Pennsylvania, it goes to KJ

1180
01:08:06,200 --> 01:08:07,960
every time.
And then you look at the kids,

1181
01:08:07,960 --> 01:08:12,360
Bill, 510 to 10.
I mean, yeah, he's got to learn

1182
01:08:12,360 --> 01:08:13,920
the game.
But running back, running back

1183
01:08:13,920 --> 01:08:18,520
is one of those positions where
legitimately you can say he

1184
01:08:18,520 --> 01:08:24,240
could probably play this year or
next season without any issue.

1185
01:08:24,240 --> 01:08:26,640
We already saw Jeff Everson do
it, do it last year.

1186
01:08:27,080 --> 01:08:29,760
What about Tally?
What about you, all those big

1187
01:08:29,760 --> 01:08:30,960
guys?
Which one did you like?

1188
01:08:31,479 --> 01:08:35,840
Man, you know what I I mean,
Usually I would, I would say

1189
01:08:35,840 --> 01:08:42,200
Wilder just because of how I
went and him being would have

1190
01:08:42,200 --> 01:08:44,520
been the crown jewel of the
class and didn't coming back.

1191
01:08:44,520 --> 01:08:49,080
But for knowing what we need
besides offensive line and we're

1192
01:08:49,080 --> 01:08:51,200
already hitting on that because
Brian's talked to us a little

1193
01:08:51,200 --> 01:08:54,640
bit about it and the piggyback
off of what the taste says.

1194
01:08:54,960 --> 01:08:57,319
I mean, it's the trio of
linebackers that they got

1195
01:08:57,800 --> 01:09:00,520
because if you look at what we,
if you look at what we've

1196
01:09:00,520 --> 01:09:04,840
struggled in as linebacker play,
you know, we had Noah Chambers

1197
01:09:04,840 --> 01:09:09,040
out there as a true freshman
this year and we were so excited

1198
01:09:09,040 --> 01:09:12,319
to see him make plays.
He probably shouldn't have been

1199
01:09:12,319 --> 01:09:15,359
on the field that many plays.
You know, he wasn't, he was

1200
01:09:15,359 --> 01:09:18,080
forced to do that, you know,
because we lost the coach and

1201
01:09:18,080 --> 01:09:21,000
people transferred.
And no knock on, no, I think he

1202
01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:23,560
did a great job.
But I mean, when you're a

1203
01:09:23,560 --> 01:09:27,000
freshman and you're going
against grown men and having to

1204
01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:29,439
play like that because we have
no depth and we haven't

1205
01:09:29,439 --> 01:09:32,840
recruited well in that position,
it's tough.

1206
01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:36,160
You know, and and sometimes you
get your safeties hurt like you

1207
01:09:36,160 --> 01:09:39,560
radish, because they're having
to come down and fight against

1208
01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:43,479
lineman and tight ends and you
know, things like that instead

1209
01:09:43,479 --> 01:09:47,439
of being able to cover for you.
So like what they said, you got

1210
01:09:47,439 --> 01:09:53,760
Wiggins, you got Harley and you
also got Lamar.

1211
01:09:54,080 --> 01:09:57,800
So you got all three of those
linebackers that are very, very

1212
01:09:57,800 --> 01:10:00,720
if you go watch the tape,
they're very and and probably if

1213
01:10:00,720 --> 01:10:03,080
I just had to pick one, mine
would probably be, I hope I'm

1214
01:10:03,080 --> 01:10:06,440
saying his name, right, Lamar,
like it would probably be him

1215
01:10:06,440 --> 01:10:11,440
just because he's a Virginia kid
that was never looking at

1216
01:10:11,440 --> 01:10:13,320
Virginia Tech.
You know what I'm saying?

1217
01:10:13,320 --> 01:10:18,120
Like he was, he was gone and you
get James Franklin and this kid

1218
01:10:18,120 --> 01:10:21,120
is known very well by, you know,
one, one of my good friends,

1219
01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:24,280
Dwight Victoria, because he goes
to the kid goes to the school.

1220
01:10:24,320 --> 01:10:30,880
Dwight son went to high school
and no disrespect to Virginia

1221
01:10:30,880 --> 01:10:34,040
Tech from the kid, but he just
that's what wasn't a school that

1222
01:10:34,040 --> 01:10:36,840
he was going to.
But when James Franklin comes,

1223
01:10:37,040 --> 01:10:39,600
he gets you in the door with
those kids, you know, and that

1224
01:10:39,600 --> 01:10:43,400
kids 636-4220 already.
Come on, man.

1225
01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:48,120
Like that's the kind of
linebackers that we need to get

1226
01:10:48,120 --> 01:10:52,360
us back to where we where we
need to be as far as defense.

1227
01:10:52,360 --> 01:10:56,440
So I've been kind of shaking my
head at some of these offensive

1228
01:10:56,480 --> 01:10:58,680
highs.
But if the defense shakes out

1229
01:10:58,680 --> 01:11:02,520
like I think, I think, I think
some stuff will look good.

1230
01:11:03,400 --> 01:11:11,160
Yeah, the one that that was kind
of standing out to me was, was

1231
01:11:11,160 --> 01:11:13,360
was Tyson Harley and a couple
reasons there.

1232
01:11:13,360 --> 01:11:15,520
I feel like he's looking at his
tape man.

1233
01:11:15,520 --> 01:11:20,920
He he pops off, you know, looks
like he's probably going to play

1234
01:11:20,920 --> 01:11:23,600
more of an edge role, I would
imagine at this level.

1235
01:11:25,160 --> 01:11:27,440
You know, we'll see if, if, if
he ends up landing at one of the

1236
01:11:27,440 --> 01:11:29,960
linebacker spots, but I, I kind
of see him being more of an edge

1237
01:11:29,960 --> 01:11:34,200
player and I think he'll, he's
going to make some noise.

1238
01:11:34,200 --> 01:11:37,840
But also one of the things that
when you look at Virginia Tech

1239
01:11:37,840 --> 01:11:40,240
recruiting, you know, I already
talked about Woodbury Forest

1240
01:11:40,600 --> 01:11:44,880
earlier.
One of the, one of the schools

1241
01:11:44,880 --> 01:11:48,280
in that, in that, in that
Catholic triangle there in

1242
01:11:48,280 --> 01:11:51,560
Maryland that we've in DC area
we've struggled to get in with

1243
01:11:51,960 --> 01:11:55,480
is Gonzaga.
And this is a Gonzaga kid.

1244
01:11:55,920 --> 01:11:59,040
So that, that to me is, is
stating that, you know, with

1245
01:11:59,040 --> 01:12:02,760
Franklin, there's not really,
you're not locked out anymore.

1246
01:12:02,760 --> 01:12:05,800
And, and, and maybe this helps,
you know, long term, looking at

1247
01:12:05,800 --> 01:12:09,720
some of the, the downstream
channels, maybe we get back into

1248
01:12:09,720 --> 01:12:11,880
Verina in a, in a consistent
way.

1249
01:12:12,200 --> 01:12:14,720
That's another school where
we've been kind of locked out of

1250
01:12:15,280 --> 01:12:18,240
for a, for a good while for, for
Virginia Tech recruits.

1251
01:12:18,240 --> 01:12:21,400
A lot of UVA kids, couple got
kids going to West Virginia.

1252
01:12:23,240 --> 01:12:25,480
You know, there's been guys kind
of jumping here and there.

1253
01:12:26,880 --> 01:12:31,560
So it it's nice to see us get a
kid from from Gonzaga, highly

1254
01:12:31,560 --> 01:12:34,520
rated kid, very talented kid,
somebody that's going to be able

1255
01:12:34,520 --> 01:12:36,840
to contribute to the defense.
I think pretty early.

1256
01:12:36,840 --> 01:12:39,360
Because when you look at guys
that are pass rushers and things

1257
01:12:39,360 --> 01:12:42,480
like that, that's a position
where you can come in on the

1258
01:12:42,480 --> 01:12:46,600
defense and play pretty quick.
That that that position in

1259
01:12:46,600 --> 01:12:48,200
cornerback.
Usually you can get guys on the

1260
01:12:48,200 --> 01:12:50,160
field pretty quick.
So I imagine we'll see a little

1261
01:12:50,160 --> 01:12:53,640
bit of Tyson Harley in in 26,
but he'll definitely, I think

1262
01:12:53,680 --> 01:12:56,560
make make an impact by the time
we get to 27.

1263
01:12:57,640 --> 01:13:01,440
Also, just quickly, not like you
could go down the rabbit hole as

1264
01:13:01,440 --> 01:13:04,400
much as you want, but like with
these schools and opening up

1265
01:13:04,400 --> 01:13:07,280
doors with James Franklin, but
like I don't want to mention

1266
01:13:07,280 --> 01:13:10,280
Wiggins too much more, but goes
to Coatsville.

1267
01:13:10,760 --> 01:13:15,600
The number four overall recruit
next year is from Coatsville.

1268
01:13:15,800 --> 01:13:20,000
Offensive tackle, 5 star guy,
like 6A powerhouse in

1269
01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:22,600
Pennsylvania.
A lot of good talent there.

1270
01:13:22,880 --> 01:13:26,480
Obviously Terry Wiggins one of
them, but like you can go up and

1271
01:13:26,480 --> 01:13:29,160
down the list in terms of where
guys are coming from.

1272
01:13:29,560 --> 01:13:33,480
Obviously Virginia Tech is has
the green run pipeline with

1273
01:13:33,960 --> 01:13:36,800
three guys in this class, couple
guys from the previous class,

1274
01:13:36,800 --> 01:13:39,680
but a lot of schools that you're
looking at and you're like,

1275
01:13:39,960 --> 01:13:42,000
yeah, it's great.
They got this really good

1276
01:13:42,000 --> 01:13:46,080
prospect for the cycle, but it's
also opening up the door for

1277
01:13:46,080 --> 01:13:51,880
future cycles as well.
Curtis, you back with us.

1278
01:13:51,880 --> 01:13:54,360
I know you were.
Popping them out there, I'm in

1279
01:13:54,360 --> 01:13:55,960
and out.
I'm having issues left and

1280
01:13:55,960 --> 01:13:57,560
right.
It's like a man Alabama or

1281
01:13:57,560 --> 01:14:02,520
something right now.
So I don't know what's going on

1282
01:14:02,520 --> 01:14:04,440
with the Internet.
Here we just we just talked

1283
01:14:04,440 --> 01:14:06,800
about about Tyson Harley a.
Little bit.

1284
01:14:06,920 --> 01:14:08,320
Oh yeah.
Oh, I heard it.

1285
01:14:08,320 --> 01:14:11,280
I just can't see anybody and
like my screen's freezing every

1286
01:14:11,280 --> 01:14:15,880
time I click away from it.
But mate, let's discuss this and

1287
01:14:15,880 --> 01:14:18,080
I want to go back to the
offensive line because we I feel

1288
01:14:18,080 --> 01:14:19,760
like it might have been over
recruited.

1289
01:14:20,680 --> 01:14:23,360
Do you see any of those guys
potentially flipping the size of

1290
01:14:23,360 --> 01:14:26,360
the ball because you got guys
like I'm pretty sure buddy

1291
01:14:26,360 --> 01:14:29,920
Wagnam and then Benjamin is
Akua.

1292
01:14:30,560 --> 01:14:32,280
It's a Curtis pronunciation
right there.

1293
01:14:33,080 --> 01:14:37,440
Smaller, more compact guys could
could we some of these guys go

1294
01:14:37,440 --> 01:14:41,680
over to the defensive tackle
room, even though we did have a

1295
01:14:41,680 --> 01:14:44,520
couple really good lineman come
in in this class.

1296
01:14:45,040 --> 01:14:47,320
Yeah, I don't know.
With Azuka, it's interesting

1297
01:14:47,320 --> 01:14:49,720
because like he's such a big
athlete.

1298
01:14:49,720 --> 01:14:53,520
Like I believe like he was
playing defensive tackle for his

1299
01:14:53,520 --> 01:14:56,040
high school team.
I think he had a pick 6th seal

1300
01:14:56,040 --> 01:14:59,880
the national championship game.
He's also a heavyweight

1301
01:14:59,880 --> 01:15:04,000
wrestler.
Like he's just a very athletic

1302
01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:07,000
dude.
But I think like the plan for

1303
01:15:07,000 --> 01:15:09,440
all of them is keep them on the
offensive side.

1304
01:15:10,560 --> 01:15:14,280
I know that there was, I think,
some speculation with Garrett

1305
01:15:14,280 --> 01:15:18,520
Witherington, the Kentucky flip,
he's like 65290.

1306
01:15:18,520 --> 01:15:21,480
That's what he's listed as.
People were wondering, will he

1307
01:15:21,480 --> 01:15:23,320
be flipped to the offensive
side?

1308
01:15:23,520 --> 01:15:27,320
Like the plan for him as well is
like interior defensive tackle.

1309
01:15:28,320 --> 01:15:31,720
I think a lot of these guys kind
of have their positions kind of

1310
01:15:31,720 --> 01:15:35,640
locked in for now.
Sounds good, Shelton.

1311
01:15:35,640 --> 01:15:38,200
Anything you want to ask How
you've been quiet here?

1312
01:15:38,200 --> 01:15:43,400
I mean anybody in person?
I mean it's kind of crazy

1313
01:15:43,400 --> 01:15:45,800
because Shelton, if y'all don't
know.

1314
01:15:45,800 --> 01:15:49,720
Shelton is a St.
Chris alum. 2 private schools

1315
01:15:49,720 --> 01:15:51,480
from Richmond.
Yeah.

1316
01:15:52,480 --> 01:15:55,400
Were.
Any of those like I mean, my

1317
01:15:55,400 --> 01:15:58,800
father-in-law saw the
Benedictine kid play the state

1318
01:15:58,800 --> 01:16:01,200
championship and I and I and I
mentioned he's like the kids

1319
01:16:01,200 --> 01:16:04,880
massive to be playing at private
school level.

1320
01:16:04,880 --> 01:16:10,040
But Sheldon, anything on that?
Well, you mentioned St.

1321
01:16:10,040 --> 01:16:12,800
Chris, Mama Mater.
I'd love to see if we could, if

1322
01:16:12,800 --> 01:16:16,480
not flip Darius Gray out of out
of Richmond, maybe a couple

1323
01:16:16,480 --> 01:16:19,120
years later down the road in the
portal we can get him back.

1324
01:16:20,560 --> 01:16:23,560
But yeah, it is interesting.
You know, I, I I've talked a lot

1325
01:16:23,560 --> 01:16:26,800
about, you know, some of the
issues with, you know, Virginia

1326
01:16:26,800 --> 01:16:28,360
high school football coaching
and development.

1327
01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:32,520
You know, the overall rates of
blue chippers being drafted in

1328
01:16:32,520 --> 01:16:34,240
Virginia has been pretty poor
the last few years.

1329
01:16:34,240 --> 01:16:37,280
So I like for that to change.
I don't know if Mattea has any

1330
01:16:37,280 --> 01:16:40,920
insights on, you know, just what
the overall crop is in terms of

1331
01:16:40,920 --> 01:16:42,320
Virginia high school football
talent.

1332
01:16:42,320 --> 01:16:46,040
Like, you know, do you think
it's better than it has, better,

1333
01:16:46,680 --> 01:16:49,000
you know, talent wise than it
has been in the past?

1334
01:16:49,000 --> 01:16:52,560
And you know, specifically like
what sort of regions of the

1335
01:16:52,560 --> 01:16:55,040
state you feel like are kind of
most ripe for the targeting for

1336
01:16:55,040 --> 01:16:57,840
Vt?
Yeah, I think it's definitely

1337
01:16:57,840 --> 01:17:00,880
changed a lot since I first
started covering recruiting.

1338
01:17:02,280 --> 01:17:05,040
Obviously the 757 used to be
massive.

1339
01:17:05,800 --> 01:17:09,200
I think, you know, the power is
kind of spread out there.

1340
01:17:09,920 --> 01:17:13,080
I think there's a lot more
talent in Northern Virginia,

1341
01:17:13,080 --> 01:17:15,440
which when I first started
wasn't the case.

1342
01:17:15,880 --> 01:17:17,920
Obviously, Richmond has its
guys.

1343
01:17:19,440 --> 01:17:22,880
I think, you know, again,
Richmond has been a successful

1344
01:17:22,880 --> 01:17:26,880
area that you kind of want to
lock in on, stick with Northern

1345
01:17:26,880 --> 01:17:29,360
Virginia and then you know,
there's going to be guys from

1346
01:17:29,360 --> 01:17:33,160
the 757 every single cycle.
But I will say, like I think I,

1347
01:17:33,400 --> 01:17:36,920
I might have even said it on
here, like the last couple

1348
01:17:36,920 --> 01:17:40,800
cycles I felt were a little
weak, but I felt this one was

1349
01:17:41,160 --> 01:17:44,000
like significantly stronger than
the previous ones.

1350
01:17:45,160 --> 01:17:48,560
Yeah, it feels like we were.
This class was a lot deeper.

1351
01:17:48,760 --> 01:17:54,720
You saw, I think like more a lot
more 4 star guys in the in the

1352
01:17:54,720 --> 01:17:56,880
10, you know, top ten in this
class.

1353
01:17:56,880 --> 01:18:00,080
And I think we've seen in the in
the last couple cycles as well.

1354
01:18:02,280 --> 01:18:05,240
And obviously, you know, being
able to get get Tommy water at

1355
01:18:05,240 --> 01:18:07,800
the at the back end of that,
that top ten I think was

1356
01:18:07,800 --> 01:18:13,560
important just just for showing
that we can pull pull top ten in

1357
01:18:13,560 --> 01:18:16,320
this state.
I think you're looking into 27.

1358
01:18:16,320 --> 01:18:19,000
I'm hoping we can get at least,
you know, maybe two or three in

1359
01:18:19,000 --> 01:18:23,360
that Virginia top 10.
Brian, Brian, we Got to Wilder

1360
01:18:23,360 --> 01:18:25,680
and Fat Rat are both in the top
10.

1361
01:18:26,120 --> 01:18:28,160
Yeah, yeah, He did it up at 10,
didn't he?

1362
01:18:28,160 --> 01:18:28,480
You're.
Right.

1363
01:18:28,480 --> 01:18:31,960
He did it up at 10.
Yeah, so.

1364
01:18:31,960 --> 01:18:33,840
Let's get 3 next time though.
There we go.

1365
01:18:33,840 --> 01:18:36,520
Let's.
Get Let's get one top five or

1366
01:18:36,520 --> 01:18:39,280
two.
I want to ask you this, Matei,

1367
01:18:40,320 --> 01:18:43,600
because on signing day, I mean,
it was awesome, right?

1368
01:18:43,640 --> 01:18:46,920
The flips, the kids that we
didn't see coming signing.

1369
01:18:48,800 --> 01:18:52,280
How much of A scare did James
Franklin put into Michigan?

1370
01:18:52,680 --> 01:18:55,440
Because those 3 Virginia kids
who were supposed to sign pretty

1371
01:18:55,440 --> 01:18:59,440
early in the day, it just kept
getting pushed back and pushed

1372
01:18:59,440 --> 01:19:03,080
back and and pushed back to the
savion hitter up in Louisa

1373
01:19:03,080 --> 01:19:06,600
County here, right, right.
You know, northwest of Richmond.

1374
01:19:07,160 --> 01:19:10,000
He didn't sign until the next
day.

1375
01:19:10,400 --> 01:19:13,320
Yeah.
Was that just an all out

1376
01:19:13,320 --> 01:19:15,760
Franklin Bliss to saying you
know what, why not?

1377
01:19:16,480 --> 01:19:19,760
I know the, I know a lot of
people are looking into the

1378
01:19:19,760 --> 01:19:21,800
header news and saying Virginia
Tech.

1379
01:19:21,800 --> 01:19:26,000
I think there was some other
forces there too, some other big

1380
01:19:26,000 --> 01:19:28,080
time schools.
I think Ohio State was in the

1381
01:19:28,080 --> 01:19:30,000
mix.
Tennessee had been trying

1382
01:19:30,000 --> 01:19:33,880
forever.
So I think that was a little bit

1383
01:19:33,880 --> 01:19:36,600
of it.
Travis Johnson was very real.

1384
01:19:37,560 --> 01:19:41,200
James Franklin wanted him.
I was telling you guys before

1385
01:19:41,200 --> 01:19:47,000
the show, like I think it was
around like 240, five, 3:00 and

1386
01:19:47,000 --> 01:19:50,960
we thought, you know, basically
we thought it was completed.

1387
01:19:50,960 --> 01:19:54,240
The announcements were going to
come out, but then the Travis

1388
01:19:54,240 --> 01:19:56,040
Johnson news started to come
out.

1389
01:19:57,120 --> 01:19:59,560
Certain things happened there
that opened the door for

1390
01:19:59,560 --> 01:20:01,520
Virginia Tech to kind of get
involved.

1391
01:20:01,840 --> 01:20:03,560
There were serious
conversations.

1392
01:20:03,560 --> 01:20:07,080
And I think ultimately he
decided to stick with what he

1393
01:20:07,080 --> 01:20:08,880
knew.
But I think that would have

1394
01:20:08,880 --> 01:20:12,440
been, you mean talking about a
top five guy in state?

1395
01:20:12,720 --> 01:20:15,440
He's very, you know, legitimate
wide receiver.

1396
01:20:15,440 --> 01:20:18,120
Bringing another guy in like
that, I think would have been a

1397
01:20:18,120 --> 01:20:23,520
huge message to Virginia.
Just moving forward, so very

1398
01:20:23,520 --> 01:20:26,120
real there.
And then Andre Clark as well,

1399
01:20:26,120 --> 01:20:28,920
another Virginia guy out of
Richmond.

1400
01:20:29,560 --> 01:20:33,480
There's some smoke there as well
that Virginia Tech was involved.

1401
01:20:33,480 --> 01:20:37,400
But I think that one was less
drama than the Travis Johnson

1402
01:20:37,400 --> 01:20:42,920
one.
Close, close. close tally.

1403
01:20:42,920 --> 01:20:48,680
Shelton Brown, Anything else
that is, is because I know what

1404
01:20:48,680 --> 01:20:50,800
I'm doing.
I'm literally going up and down

1405
01:20:50,840 --> 01:20:53,800
the recruit list and I'm going
up and down some notes I've made

1406
01:20:53,800 --> 01:20:58,720
and it's like, go ahead.
I was just going to say, are you

1407
01:20:58,720 --> 01:21:00,880
think, are you starting it now
with the, with the, with the

1408
01:21:00,880 --> 01:21:02,640
higher announcement, are you
starting to think who's our

1409
01:21:02,640 --> 01:21:03,960
quarterback going to be next
year?

1410
01:21:05,960 --> 01:21:07,480
That's where that's where my
head's out.

1411
01:21:07,480 --> 01:21:09,440
So he's probably got 3 text
messages already.

1412
01:21:12,160 --> 01:21:14,960
We'll see.
Is is Beau Purbulla available?

1413
01:21:14,960 --> 01:21:17,400
Let's let's make that phone
call.

1414
01:21:19,200 --> 01:21:21,360
What do you live in Missouri?
Who knows you?

1415
01:21:21,360 --> 01:21:26,840
Live in Missouri.
Is on the money nowadays if you

1416
01:21:26,840 --> 01:21:29,840
ain't playing for the national
championship or even sometimes

1417
01:21:29,840 --> 01:21:31,480
if you are playing for the
national championship.

1418
01:21:31,840 --> 01:21:35,280
Depends on the money, so who
knows.

1419
01:21:35,880 --> 01:21:38,640
You got to look at the roster.
You got to look he is a now the

1420
01:21:38,640 --> 01:21:41,280
big thing with him is your PA
kid.

1421
01:21:41,280 --> 01:21:46,160
He is not a Midwest kid.
He is like 1617 hours from home.

1422
01:21:46,640 --> 01:21:49,320
And I know money's a lot, but he
made a good amount of coin this

1423
01:21:49,360 --> 01:21:53,280
year.
I I mean, and he played good

1424
01:21:53,280 --> 01:22:00,000
until he got hurt.
I mean, it's if, if Mattel, you

1425
01:22:00,000 --> 01:22:02,720
just listen, if something
happens, you text us next week,

1426
01:22:03,440 --> 01:22:06,360
OK.
So we can like be fully prepared

1427
01:22:06,360 --> 01:22:10,960
for it.
But we we've got time and we've

1428
01:22:10,960 --> 01:22:12,440
talked just about every kid
here.

1429
01:22:12,840 --> 01:22:16,920
I want to ask your opinion on
this because obviously Penn

1430
01:22:16,920 --> 01:22:21,120
State is still, regardless what
anyone says, north of

1431
01:22:21,120 --> 01:22:25,840
Blacksburg, north of Richmond,
Penn State is still going to be

1432
01:22:25,840 --> 01:22:29,520
our primary rival in getting
recruits.

1433
01:22:32,640 --> 01:22:38,320
Matt Campbell, Mountain Union
guy, coached in Ohio, been out

1434
01:22:38,320 --> 01:22:42,040
in Iowa for years now.
We've already stole a couple of

1435
01:22:42,040 --> 01:22:44,200
their heavy hitters in that
region.

1436
01:22:44,920 --> 01:22:47,560
Can he?
What do you think's going to

1437
01:22:47,560 --> 01:22:50,920
happen there?
Because it's not his foray to

1438
01:22:50,920 --> 01:22:54,800
recruit four and five stars or
get top 25 classes.

1439
01:22:54,800 --> 01:22:56,920
He and somebody will say we
hadn't had the budget, but it's

1440
01:22:56,920 --> 01:23:01,960
like, but still, they're still,
we didn't have the budget.

1441
01:23:01,960 --> 01:23:05,920
We were getting Top 40 classes.
Yeah, I think it's going to be

1442
01:23:05,920 --> 01:23:09,840
interesting because he also
brought his GM over from Iowa

1443
01:23:09,840 --> 01:23:12,120
State.
I have a lot of respect for Matt

1444
01:23:12,120 --> 01:23:14,440
Campbell.
Like he was someone that I felt

1445
01:23:14,440 --> 01:23:18,960
like was involved last search,
the one before, like a, you

1446
01:23:18,960 --> 01:23:21,760
know, kind of a dark horse name
that could make the leap to

1447
01:23:21,800 --> 01:23:24,280
Virginia Tech.
But I've always admired him from

1448
01:23:24,280 --> 01:23:26,520
a distance.
I think he's a great coach.

1449
01:23:26,520 --> 01:23:32,200
He does a lot with a little and
he's basically being given like

1450
01:23:32,200 --> 01:23:34,160
an entire war chest to work with
now.

1451
01:23:34,480 --> 01:23:37,800
So it's going to be interesting.
Obviously he's going to have to

1452
01:23:37,800 --> 01:23:40,880
make a lot of inroads there.
I think we saw with the Terry

1453
01:23:40,880 --> 01:23:45,400
Smith retention making him the
highest paid non coordinator.

1454
01:23:45,400 --> 01:23:48,400
I think he's getting like
2,000,000 per year over four

1455
01:23:48,400 --> 01:23:50,960
years or something like that,
which is just insane.

1456
01:23:50,960 --> 01:23:54,920
And I know a lot of that is to
kind of prevent the pillaging

1457
01:23:55,800 --> 01:24:00,920
from Virginia Tech on Penn
State's roster, but I think that

1458
01:24:00,920 --> 01:24:03,680
will play a role in it as well.
But I think, you know, it's

1459
01:24:03,680 --> 01:24:07,040
going to be interesting because,
like, he really hasn't.

1460
01:24:07,040 --> 01:24:10,240
I think most of his recruiting
classes were in the 50s to maybe

1461
01:24:10,240 --> 01:24:12,360
60s.
And he's been able to really

1462
01:24:12,360 --> 01:24:14,680
develop guys.
But he's going to have to

1463
01:24:14,680 --> 01:24:18,240
assemble a staff that not only
has, you know, coaches that he

1464
01:24:18,240 --> 01:24:22,640
trusts, but recruiters that can
open those doors in those areas.

1465
01:24:22,640 --> 01:24:26,040
And I think he talked about it
and said, like, Toledo wasn't

1466
01:24:26,040 --> 01:24:28,960
too far from the footprint, but
it's going to be a different

1467
01:24:28,960 --> 01:24:31,040
game going up against James
Franklin.

1468
01:24:31,040 --> 01:24:33,920
And it'll be really interesting
to see.

1469
01:24:33,920 --> 01:24:37,120
Like, I still think Penn State
is, you know, a name brand

1470
01:24:37,120 --> 01:24:39,280
program, and they'll win their
battles.

1471
01:24:39,280 --> 01:24:42,760
But I think James Franklin
definitely evens up the fight a

1472
01:24:42,760 --> 01:24:46,040
little bit.
Yeah, I think that's the big

1473
01:24:46,040 --> 01:24:48,600
thing that I'm I'm looking
forward to is seeing how this

1474
01:24:48,600 --> 01:24:51,560
thing shakes out.
To your point there, you know,

1475
01:24:51,560 --> 01:24:58,640
Matt Campbell has you know some
he's shown a lot of ability to

1476
01:24:59,040 --> 01:25:02,400
punch above his weight class in
terms of the town on his roster

1477
01:25:02,400 --> 01:25:07,160
very consistently.
You know, sometimes 20-30 spots

1478
01:25:07,160 --> 01:25:09,360
higher than the talent that's on
his roster.

1479
01:25:10,320 --> 01:25:13,160
You know, the question is going
to be, can he consistently bring

1480
01:25:13,160 --> 01:25:19,200
in enough talent to be
competitive the way that they

1481
01:25:19,200 --> 01:25:22,520
want to be in this in the
Mid-Atlantic?

1482
01:25:23,680 --> 01:25:26,000
Are they going to be able to
recruit the same level that they

1483
01:25:26,000 --> 01:25:30,640
are from Iowa State and then
bump that up and up a degree?

1484
01:25:30,640 --> 01:25:33,560
Because if if, if they're
looking to be competitive the

1485
01:25:33,560 --> 01:25:37,080
way they were under Franklin,
he's going to need to get those

1486
01:25:37,080 --> 01:25:39,680
numbers at least into the top
30, top 25.

1487
01:25:40,600 --> 01:25:43,960
Obviously, with the war chest at
his disposal, that will be a lot

1488
01:25:43,960 --> 01:25:46,800
easier than it would have been
at Iowa State.

1489
01:25:48,000 --> 01:25:51,040
But you know, they're still kind
of remains to be seen what what

1490
01:25:51,040 --> 01:25:55,800
the full pictures going to look
like for him at Penn State and

1491
01:25:55,800 --> 01:26:00,320
whether or not the roster at
Penn State to what degree they

1492
01:26:00,320 --> 01:26:05,960
have loyalty to Terry Smith and
how they feel about the the the

1493
01:26:05,960 --> 01:26:10,680
Campbell hire relative to what
James Franklin can offer here in

1494
01:26:10,680 --> 01:26:12,960
Blacksburg.
Well, the other thing too, in

1495
01:26:12,960 --> 01:26:16,000
that case is, well, does
Franklin, does, does Matt

1496
01:26:16,000 --> 01:26:19,760
Campbell want them?
You can say what you will about

1497
01:26:20,720 --> 01:26:23,800
you're right, Matei is a
development guy, but there is

1498
01:26:23,800 --> 01:26:28,400
always going to be a guy that
just they don't want, like Nope,

1499
01:26:28,520 --> 01:26:30,680
doesn't fit.
What I like to do, I do not

1500
01:26:30,680 --> 01:26:32,640
want.
And sometimes it's very talented

1501
01:26:32,640 --> 01:26:36,920
individuals.
They get pushed out the also the

1502
01:26:36,920 --> 01:26:38,800
pieces.
Say what you want to say about

1503
01:26:38,800 --> 01:26:44,040
the defensive side of the ball,
the offense is shaping up more

1504
01:26:44,040 --> 01:26:48,040
and more to be pulling Penn
State guys.

1505
01:26:48,680 --> 01:26:52,520
The defense, Yep, Brent Pryor
hadn't been there in four years.

1506
01:26:53,440 --> 01:26:55,880
But if some of the other stuff
that we're seeing comes to

1507
01:26:55,880 --> 01:26:58,200
fruition and I ain't, I'm not
going to say people are asking

1508
01:26:58,200 --> 01:27:01,240
about things in the chat.
When it happens, we'll talk

1509
01:27:01,240 --> 01:27:02,560
about it'll be a lot of fun to
talk about.

1510
01:27:03,920 --> 01:27:08,000
But if those things come to
fruition, Matei, it's it's going

1511
01:27:08,000 --> 01:27:11,480
to be like, I know what that
head coach does.

1512
01:27:11,520 --> 01:27:13,720
I know his program.
I like it.

1513
01:27:13,960 --> 01:27:15,640
I've developed, I've gotten
better.

1514
01:27:16,360 --> 01:27:19,040
And you know what?
He's put a bunch of guys in the

1515
01:27:19,040 --> 01:27:23,160
NFL in the last 15 years.
Yeah, 100%.

1516
01:27:23,200 --> 01:27:26,600
I mean, that was that was a big
conversation point with a lot of

1517
01:27:26,600 --> 01:27:29,880
the guys that ended up flipping
to Virginia Tech from Penn

1518
01:27:29,880 --> 01:27:31,600
State.
They're like we trust his

1519
01:27:31,600 --> 01:27:35,040
pedigree and putting guys into
the league, guys of our stature,

1520
01:27:36,160 --> 01:27:38,920
you know, the 8 composite 4
stars and other highly rated

1521
01:27:38,920 --> 01:27:41,120
three stars.
But I think it will be

1522
01:27:41,120 --> 01:27:43,720
interesting.
Like one example I would give is

1523
01:27:43,720 --> 01:27:47,360
that like Matt Campbell was
someone that recruited Ethan

1524
01:27:47,360 --> 01:27:50,080
Grunkmeyer, who I think was a
five star quarterback.

1525
01:27:50,280 --> 01:27:54,400
And it's like he is able to,
like he is evaluating talent to

1526
01:27:54,400 --> 01:27:57,440
that caliber.
It's just he wasn't able to

1527
01:27:57,520 --> 01:27:59,800
enter those types of
conversations before.

1528
01:28:00,080 --> 01:28:03,440
So what will it look like now
that he has more things at his

1529
01:28:03,440 --> 01:28:05,920
disposal?
So I think it's going to be

1530
01:28:05,920 --> 01:28:08,280
really interesting, obviously,
of Jane Franklin that knows

1531
01:28:08,280 --> 01:28:11,520
everything there is to know
about Penn State and we'll see

1532
01:28:11,520 --> 01:28:14,320
what those battles look like.
I mean, it's been heated between

1533
01:28:14,320 --> 01:28:19,200
fans on the timeline on Twitter.
I'm sure it's going to be heated

1534
01:28:19,200 --> 01:28:21,600
recruiting battles.
And I'm, I'm all here for it

1535
01:28:21,600 --> 01:28:25,480
honestly, like it's about time
that there's, you know, some

1536
01:28:25,520 --> 01:28:29,680
serious battles on the front.
And I feel like, you know, a lot

1537
01:28:29,680 --> 01:28:32,560
of the guys in the past that
Virginia Tech has looked at,

1538
01:28:32,760 --> 01:28:36,160
they've identified guys that
have kind of fit their mold that

1539
01:28:36,160 --> 01:28:39,640
may happen to be like a fringe 4
star or something of that.

1540
01:28:39,920 --> 01:28:44,320
But now it's like you're going
up against, you know, a premier

1541
01:28:44,320 --> 01:28:48,280
program in the North and Penn
State for, you know, top guys in

1542
01:28:48,280 --> 01:28:49,960
the state now.
So it'll be interesting.

1543
01:28:52,440 --> 01:28:54,520
Tally Shelton.
Anything else on this?

1544
01:28:55,760 --> 01:28:58,040
So I'll just throw something
that will tell you right quick,

1545
01:28:58,040 --> 01:29:03,520
and I know it's a long way away,
but this is what he does and I

1546
01:29:03,520 --> 01:29:06,480
don't get to talk to him much,
so I'm just going to ask him.

1547
01:29:06,920 --> 01:29:13,920
Looking at the 2027 class of
Virginia students, who does

1548
01:29:13,920 --> 01:29:16,280
James Franklin need to be on
right now?

1549
01:29:17,040 --> 01:29:23,160
Who is a guy that needs to be at
Virginia Tech in that 2027

1550
01:29:23,160 --> 01:29:25,280
class?
I mean, the easiest name to

1551
01:29:25,280 --> 01:29:27,000
throw out is probably Chris
Whitehead.

1552
01:29:28,400 --> 01:29:31,320
Six point.
Five 230 number one player in

1553
01:29:31,320 --> 01:29:38,160
the state think he's I think
he's a composite 5 star, but

1554
01:29:38,320 --> 01:29:40,000
yeah.
Yeah, he I'm looking, I'm

1555
01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:41,400
looking at y'all stuff right
now.

1556
01:29:41,800 --> 01:29:46,960
Composite 520th in the country.
Yeah, he's, I mean, legitimate

1557
01:29:46,960 --> 01:29:52,320
offer list already probably has
over 30 offers by this point,

1558
01:29:53,080 --> 01:29:56,440
but he's someone that definitely
kind of moved the needle with

1559
01:29:56,440 --> 01:29:59,400
the James Franklin hiring, like
has already been reached out to.

1560
01:30:00,600 --> 01:30:03,520
There's a lot of talent in the
2027 class.

1561
01:30:03,720 --> 01:30:05,560
We're just starting to look at
it now.

1562
01:30:05,840 --> 01:30:09,440
But you know, with those
official visits that I kind of

1563
01:30:09,640 --> 01:30:13,200
mentioned, and there's still
some 20 sevens on campus too.

1564
01:30:13,480 --> 01:30:16,520
Like you have to imagine like
how much of A whirlwind this all

1565
01:30:16,520 --> 01:30:18,360
was.
Like you're trying to build out

1566
01:30:18,360 --> 01:30:21,800
a class, but have enough
foresight to say there's some

1567
01:30:21,800 --> 01:30:24,320
really good players in this
state and surrounding states.

1568
01:30:24,720 --> 01:30:27,720
Let's shoot them an invite, make
them come to the Miami game and

1569
01:30:27,720 --> 01:30:30,600
see what happens.
And I think they're able to kind

1570
01:30:30,600 --> 01:30:32,880
of, as I said, like open the
door a little bit.

1571
01:30:33,600 --> 01:30:38,040
So we'll see because, you know,
it's as impressive as it was

1572
01:30:38,040 --> 01:30:40,680
when you have a two week Sprint
and you're able to say the right

1573
01:30:40,680 --> 01:30:43,040
things and, you know, kind of
portray the right things.

1574
01:30:43,280 --> 01:30:45,920
It's a lot harder when you have
to do it for a full cycle.

1575
01:30:45,920 --> 01:30:50,040
So but you know, to even be in
consideration of a guy like

1576
01:30:50,040 --> 01:30:53,680
Chris Whitehead in previous
cycles, you know, if if you were

1577
01:30:53,680 --> 01:30:57,000
in there, he would probably be
heading off to the SEC right

1578
01:30:57,000 --> 01:30:59,640
away.
So guys like that, I'm looking

1579
01:30:59,640 --> 01:31:01,800
at I, I don't think they're
going to win every battle

1580
01:31:01,800 --> 01:31:04,960
obviously, but to be in the
conversation and see what

1581
01:31:04,960 --> 01:31:07,160
happens like that's what it,
that's what it's about.

1582
01:31:08,520 --> 01:31:11,280
Good deal.
All right, real quick,

1583
01:31:11,360 --> 01:31:16,080
everybody, because I don't know.
Well, we'll all get together,

1584
01:31:16,080 --> 01:31:21,040
but let me ask you this mate.
Did the CFP get it right?

1585
01:31:22,560 --> 01:31:25,560
And secondly, how's it going to
change next year?

1586
01:31:25,560 --> 01:31:27,480
Because it's going to change
next year, clearly.

1587
01:31:29,800 --> 01:31:32,440
First thought, yes, I they got
it right.

1588
01:31:33,600 --> 01:31:38,280
I know there's like, I believe
in my heart that Notre Dame has

1589
01:31:38,280 --> 01:31:41,880
the talent to play, but like the
aftermath from all of that, I'm

1590
01:31:41,880 --> 01:31:44,280
just like, enough is enough,
man.

1591
01:31:44,280 --> 01:31:49,520
Like it's, it's just crazy.
Like the MOU yelling at the ACCI

1592
01:31:50,960 --> 01:31:53,000
think the the problem is the
committee.

1593
01:31:53,120 --> 01:31:57,080
It's always been the committee.
It's just like the process makes

1594
01:31:57,080 --> 01:32:00,280
no sense.
But in terms of what what they

1595
01:32:00,280 --> 01:32:02,680
were supposed to do this year, I
think they got the field right.

1596
01:32:03,840 --> 01:32:09,280
You know what in folk Notre
Dame, man, they, they have been

1597
01:32:11,000 --> 01:32:14,560
teetering around stuff forever
and the ACC bailed them out

1598
01:32:14,560 --> 01:32:17,640
during COVID, letting them jump
in that they fucking stole our

1599
01:32:17,640 --> 01:32:22,200
spot in what was it, 2016?
I can't remember what bowl it

1600
01:32:22,200 --> 01:32:25,840
was, but we ended up playing in
the freaking Belt Bowl after

1601
01:32:25,840 --> 01:32:29,080
playing in the ACC championship
because Notre Dame stole the

1602
01:32:29,080 --> 01:32:30,920
spot.
So I don't want to hear nothing

1603
01:32:30,920 --> 01:32:32,480
about what Notre Dame talking
about.

1604
01:32:33,960 --> 01:32:36,240
I'm just, that's just what I got
to say about it.

1605
01:32:36,360 --> 01:32:40,280
I like Marcus Friedman, but hey,
go get your hairpin long and

1606
01:32:40,800 --> 01:32:45,840
chill out.
Man, I, so I know I put this on

1607
01:32:45,840 --> 01:32:50,320
the timeline.
I was all about Notre Dame being

1608
01:32:50,320 --> 01:32:54,960
in over Alabama.
I think Bama had a awful loss

1609
01:32:56,440 --> 01:33:00,320
against FSU that you just cannot
ignore.

1610
01:33:01,000 --> 01:33:03,680
And then so they had the worst
loss of the teams that were kind

1611
01:33:03,680 --> 01:33:08,280
of looking to sneak in there.
And then they got absolutely

1612
01:33:08,320 --> 01:33:11,880
boat raced by Georgia in that
SEC championship game.

1613
01:33:12,880 --> 01:33:16,720
So those two things for me kind
of bumped them down.

1614
01:33:16,720 --> 01:33:17,720
I thought they should have been
out.

1615
01:33:17,720 --> 01:33:19,080
I thought Notre Dame should be
in.

1616
01:33:19,320 --> 01:33:22,000
I thought Miami should have been
over over Notre Dame.

1617
01:33:22,000 --> 01:33:23,720
Regardless.
So I think they got that part.

1618
01:33:23,720 --> 01:33:26,440
Right.
It's so hard how they got it set

1619
01:33:26,440 --> 01:33:31,200
up because you know that is not
playing in a, in a, in a

1620
01:33:31,200 --> 01:33:34,000
championship game.
Some of the other things, it's

1621
01:33:34,000 --> 01:33:36,760
almost like you don't want to
make the championship because

1622
01:33:36,760 --> 01:33:38,520
you got a chance to go in there
and look bad.

1623
01:33:38,640 --> 01:33:42,440
So if we even count that.
Game, you know the committee

1624
01:33:42,440 --> 01:33:47,040
fucked themselves because they
didn't anticipate the whole

1625
01:33:47,040 --> 01:33:50,520
Miami not playing in this
championship game thing UVA

1626
01:33:50,680 --> 01:33:52,800
losing to Duke.
They didn't anticipate that

1627
01:33:52,800 --> 01:33:57,120
because they they put JMU in
Tulane higher and higher in the

1628
01:33:57,120 --> 01:34:01,160
rankings every week than these
other ACC teams other than

1629
01:34:01,160 --> 01:34:04,440
Miami.
UVA was kind of hovering right

1630
01:34:04,440 --> 01:34:07,200
there just above them, but they
were they were one loss away

1631
01:34:07,200 --> 01:34:09,080
from being behind them.
And I would see if they didn't

1632
01:34:09,080 --> 01:34:11,440
win the conference outright,
they weren't going to be in any

1633
01:34:11,440 --> 01:34:14,640
way.
And then they started, you know,

1634
01:34:14,640 --> 01:34:17,320
getting sneaky with where they
were putting Notre Dame ahead of

1635
01:34:17,320 --> 01:34:20,240
Miami.
They started creeping Alabama up

1636
01:34:20,240 --> 01:34:23,120
the ranks even though they lost
a close Iron Bowl.

1637
01:34:23,120 --> 01:34:26,080
Like they gave them credit for
losing a close Iron Bowl.

1638
01:34:26,080 --> 01:34:29,080
Winning bad Auburn team won the
iron.

1639
01:34:29,120 --> 01:34:33,240
Bowl They won the Iron Bowl.
That's the thing.

1640
01:34:33,880 --> 01:34:36,280
You said loss.
If they would have lost the Iron

1641
01:34:36,400 --> 01:34:38,560
Bowl, they wouldn't have been in
the SEC Championship.

1642
01:34:38,560 --> 01:34:41,280
I'm saying that it was a close,
close win.

1643
01:34:42,080 --> 01:34:45,040
They win.
Auburn had the loss against in

1644
01:34:45,040 --> 01:34:47,360
the Iron Bowl.
Yeah, anyway, what my my point

1645
01:34:47,360 --> 01:34:51,600
being they they moved them up
despite it it only being a close

1646
01:34:51,600 --> 01:34:53,680
win in the Iron Bowl.
Shelton.

1647
01:34:53,960 --> 01:34:57,960
They they put themselves in a
bad situation where if UVA lost,

1648
01:34:57,960 --> 01:35:01,360
they were going to have to make
some some weird decisions and

1649
01:35:02,400 --> 01:35:06,600
they were going to get screwed
either way and they screwed

1650
01:35:06,600 --> 01:35:08,120
themselves because of the way
they set it up.

1651
01:35:09,320 --> 01:35:11,800
Yeah, I think the two big things
that people are frustrated by is

1652
01:35:11,800 --> 01:35:14,280
obviously 1.
Notre Dame, Miami and then two,

1653
01:35:14,280 --> 01:35:17,760
Alabama.
Like mate was saying, it's not,

1654
01:35:17,760 --> 01:35:20,480
it's not, you know, putting
Miami in over Notre Dame and you

1655
01:35:20,480 --> 01:35:22,120
could have a reasonable argument
for either team.

1656
01:35:22,400 --> 01:35:24,640
Obviously, I think most people
would say Miami because they

1657
01:35:24,640 --> 01:35:27,360
beat Notre Dame head ahead.
It's the fact that the committee

1658
01:35:27,360 --> 01:35:31,000
decided to switch their seeds a
week after both teams did not

1659
01:35:31,000 --> 01:35:34,760
play for absolutely zero reason.
I don't know what the

1660
01:35:34,760 --> 01:35:38,520
justification for that would be,
but they don't seem to have a

1661
01:35:38,560 --> 01:35:41,800
clear process to where they
stick by and then Alabama not

1662
01:35:41,800 --> 01:35:45,280
moving down at least even one
seed after getting trounced by

1663
01:35:45,280 --> 01:35:46,720
Georgia in the in the title
game.

1664
01:35:47,240 --> 01:35:51,000
I saw STAT earlier a few days
ago that said that Alabama was

1665
01:35:51,000 --> 01:35:54,000
one of I think maybe 20
something conference

1666
01:35:54,000 --> 01:35:58,400
championship losers that did not
that did not, they were the only

1667
01:35:58,400 --> 01:36:02,280
one of 20 some teams that lost a
conference title game and they

1668
01:36:02,280 --> 01:36:04,720
did not move down a seed in the
past four years.

1669
01:36:05,320 --> 01:36:10,560
So that is pretty suspicious and
I it's not a good look for the

1670
01:36:10,560 --> 01:36:12,640
committee.
So big picture, I think you

1671
01:36:12,640 --> 01:36:15,760
know, my, my basic take of the
committee is like, I think it's

1672
01:36:15,760 --> 01:36:18,720
a massive conflict of interest.
Having a playoff is essentially

1673
01:36:18,720 --> 01:36:21,960
being run by a television
network that also owns the

1674
01:36:21,960 --> 01:36:25,920
rights to the conferences that
are being in said playoffs.

1675
01:36:25,920 --> 01:36:29,120
So I think the structurally, I
think we got to look at more

1676
01:36:29,120 --> 01:36:30,920
structural issues if you want to
solve this problem.

1677
01:36:31,200 --> 01:36:36,440
But it's it's a mess but.
Here's the biggest thing, the

1678
01:36:36,480 --> 01:36:39,680
team that they have the most
money in this conference, they

1679
01:36:39,680 --> 01:36:45,040
have the most money invested in,
amazingly has the most teams in.

1680
01:36:45,600 --> 01:36:49,680
They effectively their product.
If you did this in the business

1681
01:36:49,680 --> 01:36:52,880
world, you'd go to antitrust
court and probably lose billions

1682
01:36:52,880 --> 01:36:55,720
upon billions of dollars.
But it's OK in college football,

1683
01:36:56,440 --> 01:36:59,720
it's an antitrust suit waiting
to happen because Alabama really

1684
01:36:59,720 --> 01:37:01,880
shouldn't be in.
There are three loss team.

1685
01:37:01,880 --> 01:37:04,120
Everybody's like, well, they
have like the best win.

1686
01:37:04,120 --> 01:37:08,080
They also have the worst loss of
any of the 12 teams in.

1687
01:37:08,080 --> 01:37:12,280
They have the single worst loss.
If this was any other

1688
01:37:12,280 --> 01:37:15,160
conference, that team would have
been shoved out the second they

1689
01:37:15,160 --> 01:37:18,000
lost on Saturday.
It's a conflict of interest.

1690
01:37:18,280 --> 01:37:21,360
It is antitrust lawsuits that
should be coming out to wazoo

1691
01:37:21,360 --> 01:37:23,240
from these other conferences.
They just don't have the balls

1692
01:37:23,240 --> 01:37:26,320
to do it because there's no way.
Like you just said, Shelton,

1693
01:37:26,520 --> 01:37:28,160
they are running this playoff
committee.

1694
01:37:28,160 --> 01:37:30,720
They run the show.
They're probably telling who

1695
01:37:30,720 --> 01:37:33,440
they want in on.
So there we go.

1696
01:37:34,000 --> 01:37:37,120
Never put you.
You're right, Wilson, You don't

1697
01:37:37,120 --> 01:37:38,680
ever put it in the committee's
hands.

1698
01:37:39,600 --> 01:37:42,440
Matei.
It's almost been an hour and 40

1699
01:37:42,440 --> 01:37:47,600
minutes, man, It's like old
times every time you step in

1700
01:37:47,600 --> 01:37:50,480
here.
So it's been awesome.

1701
01:37:50,760 --> 01:37:53,640
Brian, Shelton, Talley, anything
y'all want to hit on the team?

1702
01:37:53,640 --> 01:37:56,480
Anything you need to hit on
before we wrap this up tonight?

1703
01:37:58,320 --> 01:38:00,920
I'll say one thing, just really,
I know we've been going for a

1704
01:38:00,920 --> 01:38:05,880
long time, but I was listening
back to when we were kind of

1705
01:38:05,880 --> 01:38:10,840
previewing this class and one
name I brought up, T Ron

1706
01:38:10,840 --> 01:38:13,240
Richardson.
I was like, that's the guy.

1707
01:38:14,160 --> 01:38:17,520
He's way better than a three
star stick by that today.

1708
01:38:18,760 --> 01:38:20,840
Go back and listen to that if
you're curious.

1709
01:38:20,840 --> 01:38:25,280
But favorite of the cycle.
So I'm just going to leave that

1710
01:38:25,280 --> 01:38:27,040
there.
Kind of put a bow on the clock.

1711
01:38:27,360 --> 01:38:30,720
Flip flip at the end.
Flip, flip, Brian Shelton,

1712
01:38:30,720 --> 01:38:33,760
tally, anything to hit Mattel
with as we get to DOE.

1713
01:38:34,360 --> 01:38:36,320
I'm all set.
I'm glad the chat got to see us

1714
01:38:36,320 --> 01:38:38,480
react to the Danny O'Brien news
in.

1715
01:38:38,480 --> 01:38:39,800
Real.
Yeah, that was crazy.

1716
01:38:41,720 --> 01:38:43,160
That's why so much fun doing
these.

1717
01:38:43,160 --> 01:38:46,320
Live well.
Listen mate, as always man, it

1718
01:38:46,320 --> 01:38:50,840
is awesome having you join us.
We'll try to get with you.

1719
01:38:50,840 --> 01:38:54,200
It took us a while to get with
you last year but you know

1720
01:38:54,200 --> 01:38:58,640
things happen.
Do not forget you can join Vt

1721
01:38:58,640 --> 01:39:03,560
Scoop 247 Sports 50% off a
annual VIP membership where you

1722
01:39:03,560 --> 01:39:07,080
can see Matei's writing some of
his scoops.

1723
01:39:07,160 --> 01:39:11,280
You Evan and Colby are doing
awesome jobs over there, man.

1724
01:39:11,640 --> 01:39:15,000
You guys do awesome jobs just
putting content out.

1725
01:39:15,360 --> 01:39:19,640
So shout out to you all on that.
I but anyway, we are going to

1726
01:39:19,640 --> 01:39:22,680
wrap up this episode of the
Boundary Corner podcast brought

1727
01:39:22,680 --> 01:39:24,920
to you by Counts Family Pharmacy
in Blacksburg.

1728
01:39:25,200 --> 01:39:31,080
Brought to you by moments on the
mall in Lexington with our guest

1729
01:39:31,080 --> 01:39:32,720
Matasis.
I'm Curtis Wilson.

1730
01:39:33,120 --> 01:39:35,680
I'm Brian Siegler.
John to tell it.

1731
01:39:36,520 --> 01:39:39,720
I'm John Moss.
Visit boundarycornerbt.com to

1732
01:39:39,720 --> 01:39:42,440
listen to all of our episodes.
Go back and look at when he did

1733
01:39:42,440 --> 01:39:45,280
suck about TR on Richardson, one
of the flips from down in

1734
01:39:45,280 --> 01:39:47,880
Hopewell.
Also follow us on Twitter,

1735
01:39:47,880 --> 01:39:50,800
Facebook, Instagram.
Make sure you are subscribed to

1736
01:39:50,800 --> 01:39:53,440
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We really appreciate you guys

1737
01:39:53,440 --> 01:39:56,720
have been really tapping the
subscribe button there also all

1738
01:39:56,720 --> 01:39:59,200
your favorite podcasts forces.
We are on all of them.

1739
01:39:59,240 --> 01:40:02,120
As always, we let our buddy
Jason Long play us in play us

1740
01:40:02,120 --> 01:40:04,320
out.
Check out Jason Long, music.com.

1741
01:40:04,600 --> 01:40:07,720
Where you can find where he is
playing live, all of his music

1742
01:40:07,720 --> 01:40:10,920
on Apple and Spotify, his
Facebook and YouTube pages.

1743
01:40:11,200 --> 01:40:14,480
We appreciate y'all listening.
We appreciate the chat cuz you

1744
01:40:14,480 --> 01:40:18,040
guys are on fire tonight and as
always, let's go.

1745
01:40:18,720 --> 01:40:19,040
OK.

Matej Sis

247 Sports Writer

Matej is a Writer for 247Sports.com's VTScoop. He joined the staff as a Sophomore while attending Virginia Tech and has worked there ever since. He primarily focuses on VT Football, but has coverage on VT Basketball as well. He also helps with recruiting coverage.

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