8-21-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 3: Teams we've changed our minds on after fall camp; Jim Nagy talks Senior Bowl; the honor of being named Captain
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McElroy and Kubelik in the morning starts now. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. We've talked Dre Beats today. We've talked with Trent Dilfer. We've talked with Tyler Siskey, college football general managers, Alabama defense. The three things that our listeners hate most about me.

All of those can still be a part of the show at Mac and Cube. You can tweet in there. 800-239-9569. 800-239-WJOX. You can hop in on the Vires Rite hotline. Text in those three things that you hate most about me. 205-834-9450. Damien, have we been able to designate this officially as national three things we hate about Coal Day? Payment. You have to pay for it?

I guess that is how they stay in business. Kind of like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You got to pay for those. Do they really? Yeah. So it's like an Abbey. More or less. They had to pay taxes on the property that it sits on, too? Well, I guess it's theirs. They've owned it. I don't know. Well, no, they don't own the property. I didn't have to pay for my handprints at Denny Chimes, so get that, Reese Witherspoon. Alabama captain's named...

Is she trying to get hers in there or something? You're handing the cement. Will Smith. I don't care. Handing the concrete. Why did we go Reese Witherspoon? I don't know. She's the first celebrity that came to mind that I thought would have a walk-in. She was in Sweet Home Alabama? Bama don't have that many, so. Yeah. Non-athletes. Is she from Alabama? No, she, remember her boyfriend caught the lightning in the bottle at Sweet Home Alabama. Yeah, and turned the sand into glass. Spoiler alert. Yeah, I remember it. That's days of our lives. That's so dumb. She's from New Orleans.

Close enough. Tyler Booker, Deontay Lawson, Jalen Milrow, Malachi Moore. This is about as scheduled, GMAC. It would be tough to go a lot of other places. First time, though, where it's announced in the preseason. It's been for a long time, at least under Coach Saban, it was always at the end of the year when you voted on team captains. So a different approach with the staff. I can't remember how it went with the staff before that. Do you know? Before Saban? Yes.

Oh, gosh, dude. I don't know. Shula years? You want to remember the Mikes? I don't care. I'm interested in before that. I honestly don't know. And I don't think it's one. Brian Perkins, whoever. I feel like they've always been named after the season. I don't think it's one. I don't think there's necessarily one that's better than the other either. I think you probably get a better estimation of who your guys are at the end of the year. I mean, I think.

that sometimes a guy pops and bursts and ends up becoming a leader as they play a little more. And I think sometimes if you pre-designate, it can kind of establish a hierarchy that isn't authentic. But at the same time, I just... So if you had your way, you'd say vote at the end of the year? It's what I did, though. So I'm just more comfortable with that way. Do you like to have different game captains each week? Yeah, we did different game captains. Or would you like to have the same guys out there every week? We had different game captains every week. And...

At the end of the year, you voted and the guys that were voted captain were out there as captains at the bowl game. I mean, that was and you put your handprints in the concrete in the concrete a few months later. Yeah, I like having different game captain. I think that gives you something to I was motivated by that. I wanted to be a game. It bothered me when I didn't get it.

And I knew that there were different reasons that different guys got it. Damien, how did you guys do it? What would you prefer as far as, do you want to know your captains before the year, all year? Or do you like different game captains each individual week? I like the individual captains each and every week. But when I was in school, they did four captains to begin the year. And those are the guys that were going out there. I think they rotated like

like one of the guys week in and week out that, you know, did, you know, what they were supposed to do in practice and things like that. But for the most part, we had the same four. Greg, what is the, what's the captain situation like in the NFL? I know you get one, like there's the four stars. Yeah. You get the guys. Do you guys really care about it? Uh, because they're sending out like the kicker who actually knows the, like the verbiage in the wind and the backup quarterback. Like, I mean, I was a captain of gosh, a bunch. Um,

I think it matters a little bit. I don't think guys care that much. The C is kind of a joke, to be honest with you. In some cases, it's... Especially if you get the fourth star. Well, that means you've been there for five years and you get the gold patch and it's your fifth year captain. It's a cool honor. It's a good designation, but it's pretty unnecessary. There are guys that had the C on our thing and it was given out by the GM because he paid him a bunch of money in the offseason and was like, yeah, we got to make this guy a captain.

Oh, and Abby. Okay. It's just, it's ridiculous. So I think the NFL is a little different. But the way Rex did it and the way Marvin did it is if you played for that team, like when I was with the Bengals, like I was a captain against the Jets. If you played for that team in the past, you're a captain. If, you know, some places do it differently. So I don't know. I've always thought that rotating the captains was cool. Going out there for...

For the kickoff and for the coin toss is neat. And it's a responsibility that not a lot of guys get. So I'm always good with it. Yeah, that part was cool. I didn't get to do it many times, but I was...

I was honored when I was able to do it. And then being voted a team captain at the end of the season by my teammates, my senior year, something that I'm as proud of as anything else during my playing career. So it's, it's something that a lot of guys do take serious and a lot of guys look forward to and work for. And I think when you look at this team,

Booker Lawson, Milrow more. I mean, these are, these are, if you were going to cast it, this is probably exactly the way that you would cast it and who you would want to have those spots. G Mac can't imagine it being anybody else, uh, just with their experience. And it's hard to lead if you haven't played. So, uh,

Their experience, the only other guys would be like a Deontay Lawson, perhaps. A couple of the guys would be playing transfers. I mean, would love for like a Jaheim Otis to be out there, but it's not an indicator to me of a whole lot outside of that those guys have been the leaders, but I'm not sure anyone's really surprised by that. All right, 16th practice for Alabama yesterday. Before we hear from Kane Womack again, Greg, tell our listeners about B-Dry.

Well, B-Drive's been serving Alabama and customers across the state here for 60 years. They continue to back things up with a life at the structure warranty. So if you had something worked on in the 60s, they'll still come out and take care of it because of that life at the structure warranty.

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interest-free, so you get the best price as well. Call 942-1976 or you can visit BeDryAlabama.com. All right. Yesterday, Kane Womack saying this. We mentioned the defensive line a little bit earlier and what it might look like this season. He discussed kind of the inside of that defense and his thoughts so far. I think those guys are doing a good job of starting to –

understand. I think a lot of pass rush on the interior is pre-snap recognition. Is it a run pass? Is it a run call? Is it a pass call? I may call a run-stopping defense for the defensive line, but all of a sudden they get a pass recognition and we're going to make communications out there

where they have the ability to turn that into a pass rush scenario, either themselves or we may work some games inside with the interior D-line. So I think those guys are doing a really good job of holding their roles, but we seem to be able to create some pass rush on the interior as well. So those guys are really taking to that. I think they're trying to create ownership.

That's huge, Craig, because we've mentioned that edge is not necessarily a certain for this Alabama defense, and there is a lot of talent on the inside of that defense. Some of it has been a little bit rollercoaster-ish. We've seen it flash at times. However, if you could get a consistent push, consistent pass rush by a couple of those interior guys, this can make a big difference for Kane in how he calls that defense. It would be huge. If you can get a guy that can create their own shot, that's one thing that's been super beneficial the last couple of years is you had Dallas Turner, you had Will Anderson, you had guys like

that required a lot of attention, that you didn't have to scheme things up for because they can get home with just a typical standard four-man rush. It's a tremendous luxury for the coach that's calling the plays defensively because they can do so many different things behind it if you have guys that can get home up front without having to add guys in the pressure and you get too creative with your simulated pressures. If you've got guys that can just get home, it's great. So I think that's a wonderful start.

starting point, but finding those guys on the interior is even more challenging. You had that guy look out, man. I mean, it's a game changer. And Tim Smith, one of those guys, I think a little bit more loose, uh, than some of the other interior defenders that they have. Uh, we've seen Otis, I think Keenan, uh,

Laterally, it gives you a little bit more than some other bigger, heftier defensive tackles in the league. Could you slide an Overton down, maybe play him inside some and certain packages and become a little bit more quick twitch with what you have inside possibly at times. So still some time to figure that out. And, but good news for Alabama's defense as we get closer to the season and just potentially what they're going to have and how that thing's going to look. I asked a little bit earlier about,

and we kind of started to discuss it yesterday. Team or teams that you feel more confident in, less confident in since fall practice has begun? Let's start with more confident. Is there a group out there that you feel a lot better about in a positive direction than what you felt going into fall practice based on what you've seen, what you've heard? LSU. LSU collectively as a team, I'm feeling very good about. I'm not sure how you feel, but...

Folks I've talked to, we know they're going to be good at wideout. We know they're going to be good at quarterback. I think they feel okay about the running back depth. But the folks I've talked to, they're real fired up about their tight ends. I think they have three that can go at tight end. It's a pretty good starting point. That is going to make them super versatile to complement what they already have

in the passing game with their wide receivers. And I've heard that they have some young guys along the front defensively. They feel pretty good about that have had nice camps for them and that have taken a big stride from where they were in the spring. So I think those two position groups were, you know, huge question marks, secondary and the, the defensive line. It sounds like both spots have had some really bright spots. Now they're not deep. They got to stay healthy, but their top line talents as good as anybody. Right. Um,

I hear that the defensive line situation is sort of working itself out also. Yeah, that's what I mean. That was potentially going to be a big problem, so...

So if specifically the D tackle situation is one that's better than imagined, because I think we all thought it was going to be a bit of a liability heading into the season. All of a sudden, that could make LSU different than what a lot of people believe that they were going to be if you did not think they were going to compete for a playoff spot specifically. What about the other direction? My team that I feel like I feel better about would be Alabama.

And just hearing about some of the continuity on the offensive line, some of the defenders that are doing different things in a little bit better fashion than maybe we thought. A lot of it, Jalen Milrow and some of the areas he struggled with throwing the football last year has improved. And some of those are the 10 to 20 yard range, things over the middle of the football field, not afraid to do as much there. So if those things keep coming along, some of my concerns about Alabama beginning to diminish. Team you feel worse about since fall practice has begun? Missouri.

You hated Missouri before fall practice, though. Yeah, but I'm feeling stronger in my convictions about them not achieving what a lot of people are expecting them to achieve. And I also think, too, when you look at Missouri's schedule, I don't think it's as easy as everyone wants to make it out to be. I think Missouri's schedule is somewhat challenging as we've gotten a little deeper in the weeds. Now, let's not get it twisted. They're not playing the same schedule as Georgia.

If they play Georgia's schedule, we're not having this conversation. They become very human very quickly. But I look at their schedule, and I think it's a little tougher than people realize. Then let's just go through it, okay? Yes, the first four are manageable. Murray State, Buffalo, Boston College, Vanderbilt. Manageable. I think at A&M, they're losing that game. I think Auburn at home, tough game. Toss-up. At Alabama, they're losing that game, more than likely. Oklahoma at home, toss-up. At best. At South Carolina, toss-up.

Toss-up. Mississippi State's progress offensively. Mississippi State's progress offensively. And they're there in Starkville? Toss-up. I think there's a lot...

I think there's a lot more question marks about Missouri than people are wanting to pay attention to right now. And while I think they'll be okay, I just don't know if I'm on the same page as many that are putting them in the college football playoff. Okay. All right. One of the all-time great coaches potentially has a new destination. We'll tell you who that is, where that is when we come back on the other side. Also, Jim Nagy will join us.

Senior Bowl watch list out today. Guys he's keeping his eye on, guys of intrigue that we're going to talk about. We'll move on and discuss that. But if you're looking to move into a new home, move out of your current home, Greg, who should you call? That would be our friends at Crocker Movie Search. It's our local company owned by an Iraq War veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring movies you can trust to complete full background checks and run drug tests on every single employee. These are good guys, and you can trust them in your home. Whether you need your whole home packed up,

move. Your company headquarters moved to cross country or you just want them to come rearrange a living room. These guys got you covered. They also do deliveries for furniture that you purchased and need to get to your home. Call or visit them online today for a free quote. The website's crockermovieservices.com. That's crockermovieservices.com. Support your veterans by choosing Crocker Movie Services for your next move. Quarterbacks Jim Nagy is watching in the SEC this year. We'll discuss that and more next right here on Macaron Cubic in the morning.

Catch up with all things McElroy and Kublik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kublik in the morning. 918, Wednesday, August 21st. Jock's 94.5. Pete Carroll nearing a deal to return to Southern California in a new role.

So Cal's got that bread. This good for USC. If he's out there fundraising. Yes. And that's important. We mentioned it with the GM role in today's college football, what coaches have to do, taking some of that pressure off, um, could be something that would be great both for him and for USC. And with a lot of the new created roles around college football, uh,

A name like that, the success that he's had, could be massive for that program. All right, let's go to Jim Nagy of the Senior Bowl, joining us now on the buyer's right. Hotline, Senior Bowl watch list coming out today. I want to start just in the Southeastern Conference quarterbacks. What guys towards the top of your list, Jim, that intrigue you the most that you're excited to watch this season?

Yeah, hey, Cole, Greg, good to be on, guys. Yeah, SEC quarterbacks, I mean, Carson Beck is the first guy that comes to mind, but most intriguing, that word. Jalen Milrow, really, really excited to see what Jalen's going to

Going to turn out to be this year. You know, in year two as a starter, he should be a big jump. And then Garrett Nussmeyer. We've got a really small sample size on Garrett right now. Basically just that – I mean, the only game I've watched is that bowl game against Wisconsin. I didn't watch any of the mop-up duty in some of the other games. But Garrett's got a lot of talent. Just watching that kid throw with some practices and the man in camp, things like that. I'm excited to see what he looks like as a full-time starter. How would you assess where the –

quarterback evaluation process has changed. I know that it used to be like, if you didn't start 27 games, like don't even think about going to the draft. Now it's like, if you start three, we'll draft you in the first round, like Trey Lance. Uh, so it's changed a lot. So I know that those are the guys you're eyeing coming in, but maybe the evaluation will tilt and change. Maybe a Nico, Ia Maleava, uh, at Tennessee will adjust your, your thought process. I know he's not eligible for your game, but, um,

How quickly do you usually change your opinions on quarterbacks nowadays? I think you've got to stay open-minded at all positions, Greg. I know what you're saying, though. Back to that old Bill Parcells model that all the different criteria that Coach Parcells used to have and how many starts a guy...

He wanted to have and all that. Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing with evaluating the position that's changed over the years is just the athletic element, the mobility element to it. You know, when I started off in, well, really my second job in scouting was with the Patriots, and we wouldn't even look at guys under 6'4". You know, I mean, that was kind of the benchmark. I remember I went to the Kansas City Chiefs with our GM, and as good as Russell Wilson was, like,

We didn't want Russell Wilson because he wasn't even close to, I mean, 5'10 and 5'8 wasn't close to that 6'4 threshold. So, you know, to me, that's the biggest thing they've changed. We're looking at better athletes at the position now. But you're right. I mean, ideally, they still do have a lot of starts. We've seen, look at the guy, you mentioned Trey Lance. I mean, look at what happened there. I mean, the 49ers, you know,

traded a bunch of picks to move up and get him. Now he's not even there anymore, and they're playing with a seventh-round quarterback, Brock Purdy. So I still think people want quarterbacks with a lot of starts. I mean, just going through last year's cycle, talking to teams about Bo Nix and Michael Penix,

who were in the senior bowl last year. I mean, that was a huge thing for most teams. They love the fact that those guys had a lot of starts because the other thing that's changed in just how we handle the quarterback position is that we're forcing them on the field. These teams are forcing these kids on the field way too early. I saw Tom Brady kind of go off on a rant on social media the last couple days about that.

that these guys aren't being, you know, they're not given the opportunity to sit and learn. And the guys that have recently, you know, Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love, it's worked out really well. But for a lot of reasons, you know, these guys are just being forced out there. So if they're not getting the reps in college, you know,

the developmental reps in college, they're not getting them in the pros. You know, we're just kind of throwing them out there and sink or swim. I think, I think Zach Wilson's probably the best illustration of that. And now Zach's, you know, fighting for his NFL life in Denver is, you know, it looks like he's going to be the third string quarterback behind, behind Bo and Jarrett Stidham. So yeah, it's, it's, it's definitely changed a lot.

You're right. Evaluating the QBs has changed quite a bit. Jim Nagy, Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline. Only 19 Alabama players on your watch list. Some that I don't think we need to have a lot of conversations about. Tyler Booker, I think we all agree and know how great he is. I'm interested in your thoughts on Parker Brailsford because we've

We sort of picked his game apart a little bit. I obviously watched him a lot last year as he was a part of the Joe Moore Award winning offensive line at Washington. Missed some of the spring ball there at Alabama and Tuscaloosa. How do you project him into this specific offensive line and into this season?

Well, you know, Cole, that's a good question. We talked about him in the, in the office here recently. Um, and we've got a former Alabama offensive lineman here on our staff as a scouting assistant, Jackson Roby, who was there for five years as a walk-on. How, how awesome is that? You walk on for five years and get your brains beat in by Quinn and Williams every day. And, and, uh,

And come answering the bell. So we were talking about this. We were talking about Parker. And, you know, the latest weight we have on him is 282 pounds. And if that's the case, that's a huge outlier in the NFL. There's not any guys in the NFL playing at 282. So you love the athlete. You love the mobility. You love what he can do up at the second level and getting out on the perimeter.

But at the end of the day, he's got to block 360-pound really athletic nose tackles at the next level. So, again, the league wants to stay away from outliers in all positions for all reasons, whatever that might be, you know, too short, too slow, whatever it might be. I mean, 282 pounds, I mean, he's got to get that weight up. And I haven't talked to anyone up there in Tuscaloosa since fall camp started. But, you know, I think that's where the NFL is really going to scrutinize that kid is can he hold up, can he anchor, can he move people?

because at 282, he's going to struggle to do that as a pro. What do you make of how that position might be changing, though? Like you said, 282, not ideal, but athleticism is very valuable. And in pin and pull schemes, and you have to be smart with them. He's not going to be a first-round pick,

But just looking at it from Alabama's perspective, how can you coach around an undersized offensive lineman? Are there things that you can do with scheme or protection adjustments or things like that to help him out as he transitions to what's likely to be a more physical league?

Yeah, Greg. I mean, he's going to be scheme specific for sure. I mean, he's only going to fit for zone scheme teams at the next level. So, you know, right there, it's going to cut down. Like in Seattle, when I ended up with the Seahawks, this guy would have been in the mix for us. You know, like we would have really dug into the functional strength of the guy. And again, sometimes weight isn't everything. I mean, you watch guys and they play bigger than what it looks like on paper. But I will say in terms of like playing around this, the Alabama team is built the right way because they've got

two really big guards. You know, I mean, you got, you got, you mentioned Booker and Roberts and those two guys are good bumpers on both sides, but there are going to be times where he gets, where he gets matched in that conference against, you know, much bigger, stronger people than he was used to playing in the Pac-12. I mean, there's, there's no doubt about it. This is going to be a big, a big prove it year for him. But having those two, those two big guards next to him can have, will certainly help.

My first thought when Greg was saying that, Jim, was, yeah, have Tyler Booker and Jaden Roberts next to you. That'd be the number one way I'd try to scheme around it. But not every team's going to be able to pull that off. You have four guys from North Dakota State. No surprise. Gray's able at offensive lineman. Actually, Cam Miller, their quarterback on your list as well.

I'm interested to hear just about North Dakota State still, because you've had some players come through there. Greg just mentioned one be very successful at the Senior Bowl. But how just in general, how much more difficult or maybe less difficult has the FCS gotten to scout because of the transfer portal and so many different guys on the move?

Yeah, we've got 81 sub-FBS players on the list. And again, this list is 859 players. That's a bigger list than we want to put out. We want to be more selective than that. But it's bigger for a couple reasons. One, we added the juniors this year. There's 81 juniors on the list. The NFL didn't allow us to bring juniors. They announced that thing at the beginning of last November. So last year's watch list didn't reflect the juniors. This year it does.

We added specialists this year. But getting back to your question about the small school guys, that number is actually going down, and you hit the nail on the head. It's because of the transfer portal. One of the great things about the Senior Bowl going way back in time, you know, to back when –

when Walter Payton was coming out of Jackson state and John Stolworth was coming out of Alabama A&M. I mean, there was the small school element of the senior bowl has always been awesome. You know, I mean, a few years ago we had Quinn minors from a division three school, Wisconsin Whitewater. And a few weeks ago he signed the biggest offensive guard contract in NFL history. So, so there's some cool stories, but those, unfortunately, those are going to diminish a little bit with the transfer portal. I mean, these guys,

if they have two or three good years at a small school level, they're going to look to make the jump to prove themselves as seniors rather than, rather than proving themselves in a week here in Mobile, they're, they're going to look to do it in a full season. So we love the small school guys. It really adds something about our week. I think it's, it's, you know, really for the entertainment value of the week. I mean, people love seeing the underdog, but it's certainly getting harder to find those guys for our game. I think last year we were only down to like,

seven sub-FBS players, which isn't a big number at all. Finally, as you evaluate some of the big storylines moving into this season, I know it's early, but who has the best roster? I think it's Ohio State. I know other people might feel differently, but as you've kind of surveyed the entire landscape,

Who is the program that kind of has the best players, the deepest roster here heading into the season? Well, Greg, I mean, I agree with you on Ohio State. They're loaded. But, you know, you look at our list right now, we've got 11 schools on the watch list with 15 or more players.

seven of those 11 come from the SEC as no surprise right Ole Miss for the second year in a row has the most they have 21 Georgia's got 20 like Ohio State's in there they did it they did a really nice job in the transfer portal they didn't go heavy on it but the guys they got are big-time players Caleb Downs and Quinshaw Junkins and you know even Will Howard the quarterback I mean

I mean, he's a mid-round draftable player. I mean, that's an upgrade for them at quarterback. But I would start with Georgia. I mean, they've got that thing to the point where Alabama has been throughout Nick Saban's tenure. I mean, Kirby's got that thing to that point right now. I mean, they're kind of reloading. So I would probably start with Georgia. And Ohio State is probably right there behind them.

Jim, we appreciate the time. Always fun. Just overall, before you go, where are we from an offensive line perspective heading into this season? Up, down, good, bad, tackle heavy, guard heavy? Your opinion, kind of where are we? Because I know this is what Greg really wants to talk about.

Yeah, I knew you were going to go there. It was probably down a little bit, Cole, from last year. Last year was a really good class. I think we had five first-round offensive linemen here in the game and a bunch of top 100 guys, a bunch of guys that are going to start year one. We're just watching these guys in the preseason right now. A lot of these guys are playing great. So it's going to be a little bit of a down year. The center class is really thin.

We're talking about the Alabama center. You know, he's up there on the board right now because it's a thin class. So, yeah, it's down a little bit. This isn't a great year to need offensive line help. I think most teams understood that, and that's why you saw a lot of teams go O-line heavy in this past year's draft. Jim, thanks for the time. Always appreciate it. Great stuff. Look forward to catching up soon.

Yeah, guys, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl. You can go to seniorbowl.com right now, at Senior Bowl on Twitter, and check out the watch list for this upcoming season. A lot of guys from a lot of different places. And some you'll know, some you won't know. But always cool to kind of get an idea who the Senior Bowl is watching, keeping their eyes on as we head into this college football season. And you're probably going to need gear for this college football season. Greg, you can get it at the Pan Store. Pan?

Pants Store has you covered. So many different places to help you out. It's really amazing. All the different things that they have. And the Pants Store, they have the best brands. And you go in, you'll understand what I'm talking about. When you see things like Cutter & Buck, Horn Legend, Antigua, Gentile. Nobody does game day apparel quite like the Pants Store. Ladies, they also have you covered.

Get your game day ready. Head to toe. Hoka, New Balance, Western Boots. You need a romper, a perfect dress, Pant Store has you covered. They also have those clear purses so you can just go right through security. Makes it easy, painless, going through security when you have one of those clear purses. So go and make sure you check out your game day headquarters at one of their amazing locations at the Pant Store. I just saw this come across social media. Puma and LaMelo Ball are dropping new slides later this year.

So we were wondering about LaMelo and how things are going, where things are. There you go, Greg. We're back. And he drives a Cybertruck in the picture. So you know he's doing well. That explains so much. You know he's doing big things. No one has ever been more back than Mello and Jell-O Ball.

Why did it hit harder this time than last time? I don't know. Like when you know the joke is coming and still it makes it better. I think I forgot about it. And then I didn't. That's not even the reason I went there. But I'm glad now I did so we could get that again. There you go. It's all for you. Thank you. Anything for you, Pards. I appreciate that. All right. Some college football notes, injuries, coaching news around camp. We'll get to those in just a moment. Next on Mac and Cube in the morning.

The capital of the sports talk nation. This is jocks 94.5 and jocksfm.com. Hurry hand. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kublik in the morning, Wednesday, August 21st. We're here on jocks 94.5. Greg, this one brought back some memories. I heard this one yesterday. And I know it brought back some memories for you, especially, obviously not the exact same year that you were there.

But former Notre Dame linebacker discussing pregame before the national championship game against Alabama. This is how Manti Teo described it. You remember this.

We were playing at the Hard Rock Cafe Stadium, Miami Dolphins Stadium. For people that don't know anything about that stadium, there's only one tunnel. So both teams come out of the tunnel. We were the number one ranked team in the country that year, so we're the home team. We came out of our locker room first. Alabama hadn't come out of their locker room yet. So everybody stopped us at the tunnel and said, "Hey, you have to wait. You have to wait until Alabama comes out." So I'm one of the captains. I'm in front of all my guys.

Alabama hasn't come out yet. My guys are hype. They're getting there loud. They're doing their thing right. And I have a when I'm in game day mode, I see things, but I don't. I'm kind of just in my own little zone. Alabama's locker room door opens and they start running out. Right. And they're going out. And I do remember this very vividly. My soon to be teammate, DJ Fluker and Chance Wormack come running out of the locker.

the locker room with their jerseys tucked underneath. No, it's up. Their big bellies are out. And they have their fours up. And I remember DJ going by and saying, womp, womp, womp, womp. And I remember vividly remembering the silence behind me. And I kind of glanced back at my teammates and the eyes on them were so large. I knew at that time I was like, all right, this is going to be a long day. Oh, no.

To my guys' credit, they never flinched. But let me tell you guys, when we played the Alabama team in 2013, there was a difference. There was a difference with those Bama boys. May not have flinched, but were pushed off the ball. Correct. Just a smidge. You know how many games Notre Dame won that year? 12. 12, wasn't it? Zero. They're all vacated.

Oh, boy. Gotcha. Here we go. Get you every time. The old vacated wins. I just thought it was interesting to kind of hear that because that was pretty much the height of bully ball, murder ball, the Nick Saban era G-Mac, and...

I think a lot of us saw that one coming. Maybe not exactly to that extent that it was, but it was a show that the Crimson Tide put on that night. Yeah, I remember talking to Kirby Smart like the night or two before the game. He goes, yeah, if we can just take care of their tight end, we should be in pretty good shape. I was like, Eifert? That's it? That's all you want to worry about? He goes, yep. I said, all right.

chalk this one up as a dub. What are we going to do after the game? Pat said the same thing for years, and it's one thing for Pat to say because he was there, but to hear not only a player say it, but an opposing player to say it. Whew. Yep. And kind of sometimes it's cool to hear a guy just be honest like that and say, we were still...

I've told people we went down to Greenville High School to play in a state championship game. And they had a tradition. You know, when you first get there, like you go to the locker room real quick and then everybody kind of goes out and does a little like walk around warm up like their own little warm ups for the like affiliated organized warm ups. Yes. They had this deal where they came down the ramp from their field house and they went all the way around the field to the other goalpost and then ran right down the middle of the field. Yep. And most of them did it without their shirts on.

and half the team looked like adults. And I just, watching some of my teammates, a couple of my buddies and I were off to the side like, F. Uh-oh. It's about to be a long one, fellas. We better step it up.

And it was a long night, mainly because of Michael Fagan running for like 189. Why didn't you just toss right? Well, because they ran a lot of toss sweeps, Greg. And I didn't play out there. Well, I'm sorry. If they were running toss sweep and I was playing D-line, I would have said. I should have moved myself to outside linebacker. I'm going to middle linebacker, and I'm going to take this game over. I got my TFL. We're going to remember the Titans.

They tried to run a couple traps. Didn't go anywhere. Uh-uh. Because I had my hand in it. They gained another yard. They can have the last one of you out. Put me and Coach Lance will block it. I mentioned Oklahoma State a little bit earlier. Not only are they going with the QR codes, which those are going to be used to assist in some negotiations. Mike Gundy says no more negotiations.

That's what I told the players. There's no negotiating now. The portal's over. All the negotiation's history. Now we're playing football. You can enjoy a crazy conference and a 12-team playoff and everything being so different and just the newness of it. Yeah, and the business side of what we do now is we have to have those conversations with them. Tell your agent to quit calling us and asking for more money. It's non-negotiable now. Start again in December. So...

Now we're able to direct ourselves just at football, and that part is fun because there's been so much other stuff going on, it's been hard to really focus on football. I'm going to be honest with you. Based on experience, I disagree. It is negotiable in season. Oh, boy, here you go. Not at Oklahoma State, though. It has been negotiated in season at multiple places, with some actually not playing and some being very close to not playing.

Well, it doesn't sound like he's going to be putting up with that, which I respect. That's what the GM is for. If you're worried about your money during the season, I really don't want you there. Easier said than done. I know it's easier said than done, but guess what? Hold out, and I'll tell everyone why. I'm not sitting here saying I like it. Oh, that's going to go great in recruiting. I don't care. Good luck with that. That's going to go great in recruiting. Hey, this guy's not playing. It's because he doesn't agree with his NIL situation. And...

We have plenty of guys here that are happy with their NIL situation that want to play. So we're going to give those guys a chance. And I don't think it's going to kill you in recruiting. What do you think would go over better, that in recruiting or this audio the next time Coca-Cola tries to negotiate a deal with the Ole Miss Athletic Department? Does anybody drink Coke? You guys had 130% of your sugar for the entire day is in this one bottle.

You have to eat 15 oranges to get the sugar from the powder of a Coke. 65 grams of sugar. When was the last time you had a Coke? A long time. I don't know. Chris Lowe drinks Coke, though. I do know that. All right. See you guys. That is true. You do. Why is he going after Chris? I'm guessing Chris sat right up front. He probably had a Coke on his desk. Probably had a Coke sitting right there on his little... He wouldn't have had to clarify that it's true, then. He could have just said, look...

See? Why is he going after Chris and Coke? I don't understand. I don't know. My wife and I have this discussion all the time. Like, I'm a diet soda drinker when I drink them. I don't drink them that often, but I'm Dr. Pepper Diet Coke. That's pretty much it. I don't really have a huge issue with anyone that decides to drink regular. My wife prefers regular. I think 95% of us would prefer it. Correct. We're trying to avoid what you just described. I actually don't. I actually...

grown to prefer the taste of Diet Coke to regular Coke. It's just because you haven't had a Coke in like 11 years. That's why you say that. That's not accurate. If this was 11-year-old you and you had no knowledge of the 65 grams of sugar or 190% of your daily sugar intake, you would not like Diet Coke better than regular Coke. Perhaps not. I firmly believe this. You might be right.

Your brain has convinced itself that it's better for you, so therefore it tastes better. What you're saying is, what you're giving me right now is circumstantial evidence. I cannot say that you're right. I feel like we got a conviction coming, too. You're the one that got excused from jury duty, not me. I can also tell you that what you're saying is not right, but it's also not wrong. I don't know. It's somewhere in between. It might be 100% true. I like the taste of Diet Coke, personally. Regular Coke is too syrupy, and I have had it recently.

I don't recall, probably within the last three months, perhaps. But he's not wrong. I mean, soda's a killer. It's delicious, but it's not the best thing for you. You just... So is pizza, and I had it last night. So... How was it? Delicious. I had the boys for dinner last night. It's been a long time since I've had it. I had the boys for dinner last night, and I said, what do you guys want? We can go anywhere. They said, Odie's. I said, we're not going to Odie's. Where else? I said...

No, I love it. I'm here for it. I said we can go anywhere you want. But the reason why they want to go to Odie's is because there's a toy store. They know I ain't going. They got a toy store next door. They said Davenport's. I said, done. Let's go. Went to Davenport's. Smashed it. It was amazing. Atta boy. As always, Davenport's is the GOAT. How many video games? Vince put $5 in the Cruisin' USA video game. I'm like, buddy, I give you $5.

I gave you five tracks. I gave you five single track he's riding on today. I had to show him, Hey, this is the quarter machine. And usually I get the quarters for him, but now our new thing. Now you're in kindergarten. You can do things on your own. He thought you just take the money and put it right in the cruising USA thing. You do just not all of it. He got spinners. There was like 10 credits and like all these other kids are going over there and like plan. Oh, there goes my five bucks. What's the turbo boost thing called?

Nitrogen oxide, whatever the hell. He got that on his car. Put all the money in there. Play all night. Dump it all in there. So good. So you're out on Coke. Not out on Coke. I think Coke's outstanding. I just prefer Diet Coke. Lane's out on Coke. Or maybe Coke's out on Lane after this one.

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Bad box score of the day. Next, Mac and Cube in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. We're

We're going to get to our bad box score of the day here in just a moment. First, at 9.51 a.m. Wednesday, August 21st, same about our friends at Wayne's. If you don't have the Mosquito Plus, you need to. We know summer has technically come to an end for a lot of the kids in school, but we

We also know this weather is going to stay warm for another month or two. So the mosquitoes are still going to be out. Got to have the Mosquito Plus program from Wayne's. It's going to keep all the mosquitoes away from your yard, porch, patio, all your outdoor spaces. And that's not the only thing Wayne's can do to help our listeners, Greg. That's right. Wayne's can get you taken care of your lawn. They were at my house for the lawn yesterday. The mosquito...

the other day as well. And I know that the pest is coming here in a couple weeks, so really appreciate all the different services you can get from Wayne's. Call them at 866-WAYNES-1. You can get the fire ant treatment absolutely free right now if you sign up with Wayne's. So call them today, 866-WAYNES-1. Visit callwaynes.com and let Wayne's continue to create your happy place. All right, bad box score of the day. We bring it to you each and every day. It is the best of the worst.

Personal file, 69. Offense, he was giving them the business. Potential rounding, offense number 7. It's a 10-yard penalty. I'm talking to America here. That's the game. All right, welcome back in. Bad box score of the day. I'm excited, I'm sorry. I can tell. They are back. Our chosen sons from Alaska are back. The Soldotna Stars, baby.

Just snuck past the Palmer... Frontier. They were here like 11 times last year. Oh, Dales. No. Pioneers. Moose. I thought you guys remember that. It's been a while. Our boys...

also died in 11-0 last year 13th state title lost their quarterback lost two or three running backs top rushers from last year don't mean anything but head coach caitlin brantley jr did not get to 158-9 as a head coach by not knowing how to replace his players that's the board level right there and he got there with a 63-27 win against palmer to open up the season

Soldatna only ran the ball 41 times for, stop the music, 418 yards. Let's go. 10 yards on pop. That's your kind of game right there, big dog. Offensive line getting beat. 41 for 418. What's the weather? Junior and in Wolverton rushed. Wait for it.

Five times, 117 yards, and two touchdowns. Let's go. Jacob Kemp thrust 10 times, 145 yards, and a touchdown. I love it. And senior Lokini Wong, the tweets are coming in about my mispronunciation there. Correct, right. He rushed 45 yards and another touchdown. Let's go. Ground and pound, baby.

sold out and scored on their first six drives of course 41 14 with two minutes left in the first half let's go i love needless to say they took the gas off foot off the gas oh so he's a bad coach oh okay yeah he kept it classy owen buckby junior quarterback four for eight 104 yards touchdown and ran one in see easy work baby

Easy. Game manager right there. He knew what to do. Turn and hand the ball off. They must be running that old Tennessee Titan offense. Toss it to the other guys. I love it. Our chosen sons are back. I love that team. Sons of the stars. 21-7 at the end of the first quarter, by the way.

So I think the band gets tired of playing the fight song again. Strike it up, baby. That's all right. I'm here for it. Palmer went 10 of 22 through the air for 73 yards. Ain't gonna get it done. No, not, I mean, not, not, not against, not, not against the stars, baby. Palmer leading rusher for carries 43 yards. I mean, that's, you know, that's still somehow put up 27.

Second leading rusher, 9 for 41. It's actually not bad. Not bad. Not terrible. But not enough. Seen worse. The Soldatina Stars are going to make a lot of appearances in bad box score today. I'm just going to go ahead and tell you guys that. Just get ready. Is that your favorite team? It feels like...

Our stars are going to have another big year. Are you suggesting the... Our chosen sons. They have suggesting stars and sons. They are our new Fresno State. I will say that. Stars and sons. Ooh. They have yet to... Son is a star. They have yet to not win a championship because of us. Are you suggesting that the stars are aligning? Okay. For bad box scores? Maybe you should go back to Coke.

This is Daiko right here. He's like, you mad. You mad, mad. The Jell-O would not be proud. The Jell-O would not like that. He would not be proud. Sugar-free Jell-O, maybe. Definitely not. Jell-O mad. Not good there.

All right, appreciate Trent Dilfer, Tyler Siskey, Jim Nagy for joining the show today. We're back tomorrow, 7 to 10 a.m. Three-man front coming at you next. All your college football news. Keep it locked here all day long on Jock's podcast of all those interviews and all hours of the show available at jocksfm.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get yours. Go check them out there, and we'll keep you locked on Soldotna for the rest of the year. This is McElroy and Kulik in the morning.

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