8-8-24 McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: Why Miami will (not)make the Playoffs; Alex Scarborough talks Alabama fall camp and more from SEC; first day of school shoes
46:33 Share

Welcome back. McElroy cubic in the morning. Jack's 94, 5, 8 AM here on Thursday, August 8th, just 16 days away from the college football season. It's amazing how fast it's gotten here. Cole and I were talking a little earlier. If you missed any part of the show, you can always download it. Listen to the podcast. What have you? I'm going to be honest with you. Most years. And I had told people at the seminar, this last couple of days, if you're just joining us, we had our ESPN seminar.

the last two days. So it's, it's a great event. It's always great to see everybody. We all fly up there. We all get to interact. Super fun. Uh, you just, I mean, everyone just assumes, Oh, you guys work together. You see each other all the time. I mean, literally the only people I see are Sean McDonough, Molly McGrath, Joey Galloway, Cole and booger. That's pretty much. And Reese, those are about the only people I see all season. So it's always nice to see everybody else. Um,

And I always really enjoy that. But here's the problem. Everyone was asking, so are you ready for the season? I'm like, nah, not really. Not because I'm not prepared to call games. I can still call games. Feel good about that. Not that I'm not prepared to watch tape and or do radio and or do all the other responsibilities that we have in television.

I'm perfectly prepared to do all that stuff. I feel like I know ball really well going into this year. Talking on this show helps with that. Talking on the podcast helps with that. All these things are really beneficial towards you being prepared. Let me tell you where I'm not prepared for. Traveling. And it's not because I don't really like getting on planes anyways. It's just part of the job. It's what we have to do. For those of you that travel for business and for work, like you understand, probably don't like being away, but you have to, and it just is what it is. But dude, I'm not in good shape right now.

We have a four-month-old at home. And usually, going into the season, lean and mean, baby. Like, as good a shape as I'm in all year is usually at the end of the summer. Because you want to ramp up knowing that you're probably going to lose a little of health, if you will, throughout the fall. You're in airports. The best thing to eat is Burger King. I'm eating Burger King. I'm not going to, like, skip meals. Like, I'm going deep. I don't care. But I weighed at the scale this morning, 234.8 pounds.

234.8. So I need some accountability. I need some friendly accountability here to be 234 before the season, which means I'm be 245 by the end of the season. I got dialed in Damien. It's not good. It's pretty. It's not pretty at all, but I'm going to get there. That was the wake up call. I needed it.

I might not eat until week one. What's your broadcasting weight? What do you want it to be? In a perfect world, I don't like being over 225. Okay. I don't like being over 225, but just to be going into the season feeling as though I'm kind of lacking some sleep, to be going into the season knowing that I haven't eaten good for the better part of the last six months because the last two months of pregnancy, I'm not eating good then either. No? No. Okay.

To be going into the season knowing that I don't think I've had a meal that wasn't pizza and or had a fried item in it for about nine straight days is not great. I just got to clean it up. Simple as that. Got to clean it up. 234.8. And I know someone at the gym today is going to be like, you don't look 234.8. I'm 234.8, okay? You don't need to bring it up. I don't want to. I don't make me feel better. I want to feel terrible. I want you to tell me I look awful. That's what I need to hear.

so that I can finally get my act together. I look awful, feel awful, which means I'm awful. Tell me those things. Because that will allow me to run at a 6.2 on the treadmill as opposed to a 6.0. I might even take it up to a 6.5 today. Who knows? We do have a lot that we still want to get to today. Cole will be back in a minute, by the way. He has first day of school. So hopefully their pictures and everything are...

Perfect. I'm sure they are. I'm sure the outfits and everything there for Homewood are going to be great. Very excited for the first day of school. Ours is coming up on Tuesday, so we're very much looking forward to that. So we've already had Nick Kelly on the show talking a little bit of practice. We will at 830 discuss Miami and whether or not they could could be heading towards the college football playoff. I happen to think that they're in really good shape.

I think they're a lot like Texas from last year. We'll explain why here in about 25 minutes. I'm not suggesting that they're going to go make the playoff and beat Bama in week two. No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that there are more similarities with Miami to Texas in 23 than there are things that make them dissimilar. There's a lot to be excited about if you are a Miami Hurricane fan. So, Bama hater, if you want to come back to the show, today might be their day.

We'll see. We also are going to have William Sanderson join the show here in 55 minutes. We're going to have Bruce Feldman join it in an hour and 25. We have the Beast Modes or whatever, the Freaks List that Bruce puts out every year, and he put it out just a couple days ago, so we look forward to visiting him on that. We also have Alex Scarborough, who joins the show now on the Buyer's Right Hotline. All guests appear on the Buyer's Right Hotline for your financial...

Insurance and HR needs. It's Buyers Right Insurance, a Higginbotham partner. Alex does a great job all over the place. Just see him in so many different places, but we really appreciate him taking a few minutes for us today. What's going on, my friend? I'm doing well. How are you? Oh, all good, buddy. You know, it's just leading up to the season time. It's going to be here before we know it. I feel like it's kind of snuck up on me, but I know you've been going to practice. You've been looking at some of the stuff, man. So what's been going on? What have you seen when you've been at practice these last couple of days?

A lot of rotation. It's kind of the thing I look at at Alabama, trying to make sense of, okay, who's going to be first team, who's going to be second team. I know Nick Saban is somewhere yelling at his radio if he's listening to this, but trying to figure out who are the guys right now. And it's really difficult, but I think in a good way.

when you look at two of the bigger position battles on this team, offensive tackle, and then a cornerback, that second cornerback spot opposite Damani Jackson, and just figuring out, okay, you've got Elijah Pritchett, Caden Proctor, and Wilkinson Formby. That's three for two spots. How's that going to work on the offensive line? And then Zabian Brown, a really good true freshman, looks like he's in a position to put himself in a spot to start, but

but can Deshaun Jones, the Wake Forest transfer, gain some ground on him? A lot of interesting areas on this team, but those are two position battles I've been paying pretty close attention to. You had a nice, I thought a really nice breakdown on Bama 247, which you guys can definitely check out. I'm sure most people listening are very familiar with it, probably have a membership, but Alex recently joined them from ESPN. But I thought you did a great job just kind of breaking some things down with

some of the highlights, I guess, priorities for you heading into fall camp. And you mentioned Ryan Williams and I, I know he's not the biggest guy in the world, but at the same time, he, it's not a position that is impossible to play at a high level as a true freshman. So how do you think Ryan Williams will handle his first year in a, what might be a featured role?

I keep waiting for somebody to pump the brakes, and it's not happening, which just leads me to believe this guy is doing all of the right things. I want to say it was Kalen DeBoer who was asked about him a couple, maybe a week ago, and was basically like, the thing you're looking for with a true freshman, especially one who's not there in the spring, is can they just get lined up right? Do they know what they're doing out there?

And he does that already. He's already put in that time. Very clearly, he was a guy who was around even though he wasn't enrolled, constantly on campus in the spring and even before that. So he's put that work in, and then you match it with just God-given ability, whether it's just athleticism, just fluidity in terms of catching the football and turning up the field. You watch him, and it does not take long

to understand that this guy was a five star for a reason. The questions you have are, you know, the size piece of it and how quickly you can catch on to the offense and the chemistry with Jalen Milrow. I think the size part is the one that I'm very curious about. I kind of asked some people I know, like, you know, he looks small to me. What do you think? And everybody's just like, no, this dude could play, go watch the film. And

And he does play a little bit bigger than what his size would indicate. 170 pounds, maybe something like that. And we've seen Devontae Smith. We know what a smaller receiver can do, especially I think you're right in today's game where it's maybe not as physical on the outside, where it's more about playing in space. Those smaller guys have a tendency to be able to succeed. The question is,

How quickly can he move up the depth chart to where he's playing meaningful snaps? And there is an opportunity there. I think Kendrick Law has separated himself as probably the... Kendrick Law and Jeremy Bernard is probably the top of the list of receivers. But then you have some other guys in that mix, right? With a Kobe Prentice, with an Emmanuel Henderson, above a Hampton. I have a feeling...

that Ryan Williams is going to find a way onto the football field, and I have a feeling it's not going to take very long. It's just a matter of how much they want to put on his plate right away. But no question, this dude's really special. Can't wait to see what he does. Alex Scarborough joining us here, Obama247. An undersized doesn't really bother me if you're strong enough. I mean, they're going to go up there and press him, but if you've got great hands, they can't touch you, then who cares? Another thing that you wrote about the other day on your Twitter, at by Scarborough,

S-C-A-R-B-O-R-O-U-G-H. You're writing about the SEC moving forward with adopting a mandatory injury report for the first time this year. What's the reasons for this? I mean, I know it's the obvious reason is to appease gamblers, I suppose. Does it appease clarity for the coaches within the

Within the conference, I mean, what benefit does this serve by doing a... I personally like it. In my role, in my world, it's great. But I don't know if it's great for the teams that want to kind of operate with the cloak of protection over what's going on within their program. So what's your thoughts on this?

I'm not going to lie. I've been a little bit surprised at the pushback of people saying this is a bad thing because I always think transparency is a good thing. I think paranoia in football is vast but ultimately overrated. The people who want...

to kind of skirt the rules, we'll continue to do that. It's like, you know, the Patriots when they put 30 people listed as questionable before a game under Bill Belichick. There's still ways you can work around it. And there's no doubt this is a move that helps gambling. No question. But I think actually the larger benefit is

is what we've seen in the last year in terms of these scandals of players and coaches feeding information to gamblers or gambling themselves. This, I think, is a move that can help back.

don't put the power in their hands because they're going to know who's going to play and who's out. If you have a practice report, it makes it a moot point. So I think in a large part, this is going to help, I think, settle some athletic directors' worries that the next scandal is going to show up on their campus because the pressure is

of gambling and information and the money that's out there and how ubiquitous it is now, it's kind of... We've went from zero to 60 in a hurry, and I think this could be a thing that helps put a little bit of a guardrail up in terms of student-athletes and hopefully not getting them involved in a situation where they can get in trouble. Visiting with Alex Scarborough here, Bama247. I don't have any... I think it's great. Like you said, I think most coaches, if...

All you got to do is look at the guys going through warm-ups. We've seen this. The biggest one to me a couple years ago, Dylan Gabriel. He had a concussion the week before. They're playing Texas. We're on the call. I'm sitting there looking at Jeff Lebby. I said, Jeff, I know he's not playing. Just tell me.

And he wouldn't do it. He said, nope, he's going to try to give it a go. I'm like, Jeff, he's not playing. He was knocked out cold on the field five days ago. I know he's not playing. Just tell me so we can adjust. He goes, no, he's going to try to go. I'm like, oh my gosh. So that's not to like take a shot at Jeff Levy at all. But like that kind of gets rid of that element of the game, the gamesmanship, if you will, that is irritating. I just want to know what,

Give us clarity who's available, who's not, who's 100%, who's not. That's fine. But hopefully, do you think this will curb that behavior? Because I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of lying on injury reports, personally. It's going to be like a hockey injury report. Like, he's got lower body injury, lower body issue. Okay, I saw him break his leg. All right, well, you can just say it's a leg. Like, whatever it is. So, do you think that there's going to be some gamesmanship still?

A million percent there is going to be. If it ends up looking like what the Big Ten did, the first conference to really move forward with it, it's very simple. It's out or questionable. Out is pretty cut and dried. Out, I think, is where you can't really get away with lying. Questionable is where you can really...

kind of color between the lines a little bit or color outside the lines a little bit. I think some coaches are going to work that questionable list to no end. A guy might, you know, stub his toe. Oh, he's questionable. He's got a lower body injury. I don't know if he's going to play. Or the reverse of that, like you said, he's got, you know, he's got a high ankle sprain and you're going to lie and say he's going to be back in two weeks. We know that's not feasible. So all of those things are going to continue to happen.

The ultimate check is going to be, though, like, how often are you writing, are you doing this, and this person is either playing or not playing. There's a way of going back and seeing, okay, you said this guy isn't going to play, he played snaps. So I think over time, there's going to be some pressure and some understanding that this guy is forthcoming about it and this guy isn't. I do ultimately think the whole practice is silly. Like,

You know, LSU did a practice report last year. They didn't lose multiple games because of an availability report. They lost because they had a terrible defense. They had nothing to do with that. And there are ways of getting information. If an opposing coach wants to call up somebody they know on the staff or a scout who's been there for an NFL thing or a reporter they're friendly with who might have information, there's all these ways.

of getting to it if you don't have one. So just be forthcoming. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we're going to know and we're going to put the football down and they're going to play a game. And it'll all be a moot point at that point. Yeah, without question. Lastly, we'll get you out of here with this. And this is a little bit more 30,000 foot perspective. As we now have surveyed the SEC and you've covered the league for a long time, there is a

Pretty significant assumption. The text is just going to come right in and there would be no problems whatsoever and they'll be fine. I don't know if I totally subscribe to that idea. But then again, I don't think George is going to get through their schedule unscathed. I don't think Bama is going to. I don't think anyone's going to get through their schedule unscathed. So what do you think a great record in the SEC will be in 2024 and beyond?

That's a really good question. I think one loss is outstanding. I can make the argument that Missouri might have the easiest path to an undefeated record, which is a weird thing to say, but you just look at their schedule and you say if you survive that Alabama game, you're in obviously a really good position to run the table during the regular season. I'm with you. I have question marks.

about Texas. I do think they've recruited toward the SEC for long enough that they have the bodies, right? I mean, you know what it looks like coming off the bus, an SEC team versus a non-SEC team, and they look the part. I mean, I was in Austin sweating my behind off when Alabama barely came out of that game alive a couple of years ago. They're ready in terms of overall talent,

The question to me is depth, and the question to me is wear and tear. How do you hold up over the course of the season? Because there aren't very many weeks off.

Are you going to be the same in November? Can you get up for every single game mentally on top of it? And there's still, quite frankly, this piece of me that isn't so sure that the offense is just going to be seamless. You lose two of the best receivers in the country. Athletic freak shows, it's okay, we're just going to move on. I'm not sure Isaiah Bond is everything he's cracked up to be. He's very inconsistent in Alabama. And then you have the news about the –

and Baxter being out for the season. Those kind of things happen, but it adds up, and you want to see more consistency out of this offense, and there are some pieces that need to be replaced. Although I think Sark is as good as it gets in terms of a play caller, I do think they've got some pieces they've got to get going, and then over the course of an SEC schedule, I don't think it's an undefeated. It's just a question of can they get...

to an SEC championship game with one or two losses. Very interested to see how that plays out. Yeah, no question about it. Alex, great stuff, man. We really, really appreciate the time and look forward to visiting again soon. All right, enjoyed it. All right, Alex Scarborough joining us here. Bama 247, you can find all of his work there. They do a great job. Bama 247 does cover in the team and obviously it's a great place to go and interact and

and kind of learn what's going on, not just behind the scenes, but in other places. It's really a cool setup. So go and check it out at Bama247. They also have just 247sports.com, all those. They have a million of them. If you're a fan of...

Birmingham Southern. They probably still have a Birmingham Southern site. Well, that was unnecessary, but hey, I'll take it. I'm just saying they might have one. I don't know for sure. They might have one. I don't know if they do or not. No. No. We don't. I'm just saying. I didn't know. I mean, you don't need to be mad at me. I haven't seen you in two days, and you're going to hit your boy in the gut like that? I haven't seen you in a week, actually. That is true. I feel like I've been gone for a month.

By the last time I was in studio was last Thursday. So I am back here, I'm afraid now, for the foreseeable future. It was just a shot across the bow. It wasn't like a direct shot. No, man. It hit my soul. All I said was I didn't know. Well, no, they don't because the school doesn't exist anymore, man. But they might still have a really good fan base and they might still have BSC 247. I don't know. They might. These are possible things.

I know what will work is that B-Dry, they won't might stop the flooding in your basement or crawl space. They absolutely will. This is the largest waterproofing company in the country. It's the only company with a solution that stops all five ways water can enter your foundation. They also are going to offer the strongest lifetime warranty in the business. Right now, B-Dry is offering 12 months interest-free water.

That's 12 months interest-free and not a single payment for 12 months. So you can job finished, still have some cash on hand for some end of the summer fun. So call B-Dry now to get the job done right with the strongest warranty and the best price. Call 942-1976 or visit B-DryAlabama.com. All right, let me come back, continue to kind of dive into what's going on. We'll just do some camp whispers.

Should we click, you know, just telling you that some, just some buzz. So we're hearing just a little buzz and we'll tell you what that buzz is next. I'm macro and keep it in the morning. I'm Jackson four, five. Interesting song to come back to Damien. Not that this isn't a jam. It's a power ballad, but the, I mean, we're talking about injuries in camp and never going to dance again. It's kind of just a little dicey. I just, I mean, I mean, golly.

Oh, you're talking about my first grader. My wife's not listening to this. No. I feel like now would be an appropriate day for all the moms that just sent kids to school for the first time. Yeah. Now would be an appropriate time to just go into your closet and cry. Like, I think that's going to happen at our house next year, or next week. Like, I just know that. So maybe we should just play super emo music.

Maybe play Dashboard Confessionals next? Dashboard Confessionals. Hadn't heard that one before. Very emo. The most emo band ever. What does emo mean? Emotional. Okay, sorry. I did not know that. I am not Gen Z. Okay, well, emo I think was more like early 2000s. Same thing. But yeah, wife dropped off first and fourth, first grader. Can I have a kiss goodbye? And he looks at her and says, nope. Oh, wow.

Nope. Middle finger. He's a big boy now. Things are changing. He's a big boy now. Yep. We're going to have a little talk with Judge. He grown. Listen up, buddy. You can be too cool for me. That's fine, but you're never too cool for your mom. Exactly. Remind him, never too cool for mom. Is it bad that on the way into school, all I did was compliment all the kids I knew kicks on the way in?

I mean, it's probably... Like, I'll bill you with the new balance. Hey, you made him feel good on the way in. I was like, Jacob got the J's. Okay. Did they stand in pose after you said it? Did they give you guys like a little stick out? They liked them. That's all I noticed is kids' new shoes. What percentage of the population at Homewood had new shoes today? Because we got new fair shoes last week. Of children? Yeah. All that I saw. Every single one. But I mean, I didn't see every kid. Yeah. Yeah.

But most, yeah. We got a fresh pair of Nike Air Max 90s. That's what we're going with. A little bit, and I'm fine with that. A little bit surprised that the... And when you get to the kid sizes, sometimes it's hard to tell. Either the Air Force 1s or Dunks. I don't know which they are for children. That seems to be kind of like the...

The low-key, cool shoe for a lot of kids. I saw a lot of kids going with those. You said Air Max Dunks? No, not Air Max. Just Nike Dunks. I was like, is there an Air Max Dunk that I don't know about? Air Force One or Dunks. You can't tell the difference really at that age. Yeah, you're right. But I think the Dunks at that age have a Velcro strap, which makes it just a lot easier to manage. Yeah, that's true. But I mean, the Air Force Ones...

Very, very popular shoe amongst the children. And sometimes I look from a distance, and I'm not getting up like, hey, dude, show me your shoes. I'm not asking them to get that close. It looks a little like Jordan 1 Lowe's. Jordan 1 Lowe's I'm with. I will not do the dunks. That's just a personal life rule. No one in my house is going to have them. I'm not going to have them. It's just... It's time for Bob's Dare to Compare. You get style. You get features. You get style.

You get quality in thousands of dollars in savings. Everyone's winner when you dare to compare. Insta-war at MyBobs.com. Former Navy SEAL Sean Ryan shares real stories from real people from all walks of life on the Sean Ryan Show. Tucker Carlson, what is it that you think that people gravitate towards? I'm not self-aware. I refuse to be self-aware. I don't even look in mirrors at all.

which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ, or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts, ever. The extent that I have, I've gotten in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen. Too many middle-aged men thinking they're cool wearing those. Sorry. That have never put on sneakers before. That's fair. I'm not going to do it, man. That's fair. Sorry. At what age do you become middle-aged? They're like the new Fila's. Going on 60? You say Fila's?

Fee-lies. Fee-lies? Yeah. What is a fee-lie? I think that might be a culture thing because I've always, all my life, heard fee-lies. I've never heard that pronounced that way. Literally not one time. Did we get a Twitter poll, fee-lie or fee-lie? Fee-lie. Fee-lie. I think I know how it'll skew. Maybe it's just an enunciation. You'd say Tennessee? No. Okay. I've always said fee-lie.

never heard it i promise you like some people literally sold the grant hills in brooklyn mall at foot action and we did not call them felines let's say a feline do you call it chick feline no i swear all my life i've said feline never nobody's ever corrected me until today i'm pretty confident that i'm pretty sure but i don't know hey

You guys, honest truth, never owned a pair. So I'm not really going to dig in. If it's Fila, that's fine. I don't care. I have not had a pair of Fila's either. Because I thought, like, you're listening to me say it wrong. Listen to y'all saying it wrong. Like, somebody's got to say it right. Yeah, I've never been a fan of the Jordan 1 Lowe's. Like, yeah, I can go to the mids. The Lowe's just look like a skateboarding shoe to me.

And I can't get on board with that. I just can't. I've just never been a fan. And look, I'm not even going to try to pretend. My best shoe game days are way behind me. I just stopped caring. I think COVID is about when it stopped. I just stopped caring. It was sad. I've given up. Fila. Fila. Fila. Okay. You know how technology is. It's not always right. Yeah.

I'm going to lean that way. We're right on that one. I have a pair of the Jordan Lowe's. I like them. A lot of people wear them. I saw a couple kids with those. They look like Air Force Ones to me, and I don't like Air Force Ones. That's fine. I don't like Dunks. That's fine. So, I don't like you for liking them. We know that.

We know that you don't like me. I think we're going to be an Air Max family. I got Vince Hart on the Air Max 90s. If we want to stay in that, just different colorways, I'm good with that. We can do that forever. That's a good, solid, steady, right down the middle shoe. 270s popular with the kids too. Like the 270s. A lot of those at school today. A lot of 270s. Got those. That was my favorite part of back to school.

deciding which pair of kicks you were going to wear. Cole was definitely the kid back in the days like, oh, you went with the Air Pegasus 201s today for the first day? How many kids did you judge in high school? A lot because a lot of them had the sabagos with the twisted lace on the outside so they never had to tie them. Oh, I remember. Or the bass. Yeah. The suede bass. What about Sperry Topsiders? Nope. Nope.

We've had that conversation before. I never heard of those until I met you. No, stop. I'm dead serious. I don't know what those are. They were huge in Homewood. No. Yeah, they were. Maybe in your day, not in my day. Yeah, when I grew up in Homewood. My first time in Birmingham was seven years ago. I'm trying to think of the sneakers that a lot of the other kids, like the common sneakers that everybody wore. Back in our day? Maybe like Air Pegasus. The big ones when I was in school were Shox.

Yeah, those were big. Like we had those. Those were big. If you had a new pair of shocks, those were fire. Definitely didn't work either. No, they're terrible. Jays, standard.

They didn't work. You don't say. Didn't work. No way. Just like those LA Gear catapults my dad got me for Christmas one year. Did not jump higher. There was a moment when foam posits were pretty big. Have you seen the Olympic foam posits that just came back out? No. They look really good. Really? And I'm not a big fan of the foam posits. I've never liked the foam posits. But these Olympic ones look really good. I'm just not a big enough guy to rock a foam posit. Like, to me, when I think foam posit, there was a guy I played with in the NFL. Uh...

He had to have been 375 pounds. He was a big dude. Look how big. His name is Kendrick. And he, he just, he always wore foam posits. I'm like, I've done those shoes are just too big for me. I would look like, yeah, he was also probably wearing a 17. So on him, it might've been bigger. Yeah. I mean, they were like the biggest shoes I've ever seen. Um,

But either way, yeah. I don't know how we got down this road. Oh, yeah, shoe game. Some back-to-school shoes. The Shocks were definitely the big ones. I'm trying to think. You know what were big in middle school for us were the standard white K-Swiss. That was probably fifth and sixth grade. It was elementary school, middle school, right there. We had a lot of Birkenstocks. Birkenstocks were big in ninth grade. I remember the time vividly. I was like, I need some Birkenstocks. They were Jesus big back in the day. We didn't have those.

The Birkenstocks were the standard ones with the cap on the front. Those were not the first ones. The standard ones were like the two flap, two strap, whatever. Yeah, those never got big. Then the shell-toe Birks came in. The shell-toe Birks, those were the ones that we rocked in ninth grade. I remember it vividly. Wore them every day, literally every day. They molt to your foot. That was the selling point. It was the selling point. That was the selling point. Yeah. God. I'm trying to think of what else.

What other shoes? I mean, I was so standard. You know what were big? I mean, just the standard Adidas Superstars. Those were pretty big there for a little while. Like the Gazelles or Gazettes, whatever those are? No, it's the Superstars. Yeah, I'm out. I can't even remember. Back in those days. We had some Berks, though. So we got a text message in from Max. He said, uh, Fee Lies are the plural form of Fee Lies.

So when you are saying it, is it F-I-L-I-Z-E? That's how I hear it. Fee-lies. I'm not really sure on the spelling, but like fee-lies? But if I were to draw the pronunciation, like you'd have to do this. It would have I-Z-E. I-Z-E. Okay. Fee-lies. Yeah. Yeah.

Wow. I'll tell you, all my life I've been saying Fila. Nobody's ever corrected me until today. Didn't know. Well. The more you know. I'm actually really happy that we've been on the show for however many years and Fila's have never come up. That is unique. Fila. Do you have an individual pair of sneakers that stands out back to school? Like one that you had that you were just super pumped about? 100%. It was like the original Concordes.

Oh, yeah, that's strong. Those were unattainable in my day. Oh, yeah, no, we could get them. And it was by far. And I think when they came back out and they came back around, what was it, like 2018, I think, when the Concords came back, I was right. I went and got the Concords the second they came out. I mean, I'm talking immediately. I was so fired up about it. I loved the shoe game back in the day, but those days are...

Long gone, I'm afraid. Damien, did you have a specific back-to-school shoe that you were more excited about than the others? Nah. I wasn't too big on shoes. I was more of the wear. I used to bust out some of the freshest stuff on the first day. Then after that, it's kind of... What did you have, like that Carl Canai back in the day? Yeah.

Sure. Sure. I'm just asking. Like, what? No. So what was like most of the time I would wear a jersey like I would I wear I had multiple jerseys growing up. So my first day of school was like, all right, what jersey am I feeling today? And I know specifically in I think it was ninth grade, I believe it's when Michael Vick was released and it was a Philadelphia Eagle. And I got that jersey and I remember, oh, this is pretty fresh. Yeah. Oh, you know what? We're big back in our day. I just went back and look at this. I completely forgot about this. Remember the T-Max?

The Tracy McGrady's, the Adidas Tracy McGrady's. You don't remember those? Those were Adidas, right? Yeah. I forgot about those. Gosh. I didn't really roll with Adidas back in the day. You don't mess with anybody. You're all swoosh. No, no. There was a Shaq Reebok pump in the day. Shaq? Yeah. The Shaqs when they came out. I did have a pair of Shaqs growing up. They were strong. They were durable. That was a good look. Durable. Heavy. Heavy. A lot of ankle support. Yes. Yes. Definitely heavy.

So those, I will say, going back to school in those Air Max 95s, that was a good day. The neon green. What about these? These Ranger loafers. Yeah, that would be really cool for going back to Grandpa's house maybe. You know what was big? Chacos. I know what was big probably at Homewood High. I guarantee wallabies were big. That was universal. A couple folks. I wouldn't say all over the place, no. What about Clarks?

I mean, listen, I didn't hate on Clarks because Raekwon wore Clarks. Understandable. Raekwon Davis? No, no, no. Not that one. No, no. Raekwon the chef. Only built for Cuban links. It's all foreign. I get it. I understand. But he would dye his, and I was down with that. I was cool with it because if a member of the Wu-Tang Clan is wearing Clarks, then I'm fine with it. But I didn't have any. But a couple other folks did. So there we go.

That's our segment on back-to-school shoes. Should I join Business Insider for a dollar a month just so I can read this story about the most iconic shoes the year you were born? No.

Because if they're those black dress shoes you just showed me, that's a waste of an article right there. That's probably the year you were born, back in 1977. That is a total waste of an argument if you show me what you just showed me there. Stay far away from that and don't go anywhere near it. Go to the CBD store, though. Your CBD store. They have products that can help you get better night's sleep, help you focus better throughout the course of your day. Also...

Products that can help with arthritis and anxiety for you or your pet. First company to have USDA certified organic oil supplements have got the stamp seal on those products.

Go check out your CBD store today. Four locations. Skincare, gut health. They can help you out with that. Highway 280 by Bailey Brothers, 150 by the Cajun Cleaver, Trustful just off 459, and now downtown in Five Points. Your CBD store where good health hits home. You want to do some camp news when we come back? Yeah, we got to get to Miami. Tease that at 830. Camp news, Miami. Will they make the playoff? Coming up next, Mac and Cube in the morning.

All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Zach Manning tweeting in, all-time favorite back-to-school shoes. He goes with the Nike Air Trainer SC High, which most people would know is the Bo Jackson's. They were strong. They were legit. Unattainable in my early days when they came out, but do have a pair now. There we go. The Broken Bats. Yes, they were, that was a strong shoe.

All right, team of the day, GMAC. We have one each and every day leading up to kickoff. Will they make the college football playoff? Today, Miami is that team. And it's one that I actually talked to a couple people at the seminar about. It kind of went back and forth on Miami a little bit. Some people...

really high. Some people not so high. Some people have some real concerns. You shouldn't have concerns about your HVAC system. It's one of your largest investments this time of year. It's constantly being pushed to the extreme. You can trust the train home comfort system to give you reliability and peace of mind day in, day out. For years to come, visit train.com to find a comfort specialist near you. Remember, it's hard to stop a train. What do you like most about this Miami team going into this year? Both lines of scrimmage and the quarterback.

I think they've improved over the last two years, too. It's just funny to me how people just refuse to acknowledge their advancements. Like, you can look last year and say, okay, yes, there were some disappointing performances. No one disagrees with that. But people don't want to acknowledge the fact that two years ago they were terrible and got beat 42-3 against Florida State. Last year they went to Tallahassee and gave a future 12-0 team, 13-0 team, all they wanted.

And I think when you look to it, Miami's roster, like offensive line, a position of strength, defensive line, a position of strength. That's a pretty dang good place to start in the ACC. I mean, their biggest question mark secondary. Fine. I didn't think their safeties were that good anyways. If they were fine, everyone made cam kitchens out to be the greatest football player in the history of the world. I thought he was fine. I didn't think he was Ed Reed. He was all right.

So I think they're going to be just fine in replacing the pieces that they lost. And the biggest thing they lost last year was a guy that turned the ball over. And all they did was have turnovers. They're terrible in the red zone. They couldn't effectively run the football because their running backs were banged up and in and out of the lineup.

Now they got a workhorse in Damian Martinez. They got a secondary back in Mark Fletcher that is a hammer. He's a little beat up right now, but he'll be all right. And then you have other great players around him at wide receiver. You bring back two receivers, one that went over 1,000 last year at 85 catches in Restrepo. And Cam Ward's not a guy that has been beat up a lot in his career.

I think you just mentioned one that's flying way under the radar for Miami, and that's Damian Martinez. Just an absolute hammer. And a back that not only you're going to be able to lean on, it's going to give you a lot of tough yards. He could change the mentality of your football team. And if the offensive line is above average, good, very good, as you say, with him and some mobility, a quarterback that you have the potential to build in, it's going to be tough to defend. And like you said, you've got a good group of receivers. You also bring in Samuel Brown from Houston, who,

that is going to be just another big play threat. My biggest question offensively is just the fit. How does it all come together, the continuity of it? With a new center, a new quarterback, a new running back, a couple new receivers, how quickly can they sort of get it all together and make it work? After the Florida game, it slows down a lot. Florida A&M, Ball State, at South Florida,

Then you get Virginia Tech at home, at Cal, week off, at Louisville. We've talked about this little part of the schedule before, G-Mac. You got those two road games in three weeks that are going to be tough, but we'll get to the schedule in a moment. Defensively, you mentioned, added a couple new defensive linemen, which should make the front seven pretty strong. Linebackers, solid. So you have a couple question marks in the secondary. But if you can get to the quarterback...

Shouldn't be a big problem. Tyler Barron can do that. I don't know exactly what they get out of him. I feel like he's been at seven different schools since I saw him actually put a uniform on. But he's a guy that we know can rush the passer. And you go get Simeon Barrow from Michigan State, who is going to be a problem inside. So I'm with you. The front seven should be solid. The line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball should be good.

The continuity and then the in-game coaching, I think, is the biggest question for me. And it has to be something that you at least put a question mark next to. You can't go into this having the utmost confidence that just the organization is definitively going to be there because it hasn't in the last couple years. That's fine. I think everyone's going to point to some of the decisions made. I get it, especially in the Georgia Tech game. That one is a boiler point issue for sure. But

Mario Cristobal has won multiple Pac-12 titles. When Mario Cristobal was out there, were there things that he did in the game that might have helped and or hurt his team? I don't recall any off the top of my head. I don't feel like he's a bad in-game coach. He had a couple instances late in a few games at Oregon. I remember there being one in particular where after the Georgia Tech game last year, it came to the forefront. Well...

First I've heard about it. So like, I don't remember it. So now he's operating, you know, in a spot where, Hey, he's, he's not going to be able to get away with stuff like that. And I just don't think he's going to take unnecessary risks. Maybe I'm naive, but, but we'll see. He's got a better roster than almost everybody in his conference. Like when you have a better roster, you have margin for error. And I think his roster is the best in the, in the league.

All right, get tailgate ready at Royal Automotive. My friends at Royal Automotive want to help you experience how car buying should be for Royal-owned dealerships, one location, selection, savings, unmatched sales.

Royal, the only place to find over 19 unique truck and SUV options in one spot right now. Get up to $14,000 off select 2024 GMC Sierra models. 0.9% financing on 2024 Volkswagen Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport, or 9.9% financing on select Volvo XC40, XC60, XC90 models. Go see my friends at Royal. They're going to help you get the best deal available.

All offers valid through September the 3rd. Certain restrictions apply. Royal Buick, GMC, Royal Volkswagen, Royal Automart, Volvo Cars of Estavia Hills, all at the corner of I-65 and Highway 31 in Vestavia. Online, royalautomotive.net. Again, make Royal your first and last stop when car shopping. Remember, for every ride, there's Royal. We will continue that conversation. You can be a part of it. 800-239-9569.

If you want to tweet into the show, at Mac and Cube, let us know your thoughts on Miami potentially to the playoff. More on that right after this on Jocks 94.5. It's time for Bob's Dare to Compare. You get style. You get features. You get quality and thousands of dollars in savings. Everyone's winner when you dare to compare. In store at mybob.com.

Former Navy SEAL Sean Ryan shares real stories from real people from all walks of life on The Sean Ryan Show. Tucker Carlson, what is it that you think that people gravitate towards? I'm not self-aware. I refuse to be self-aware. I don't even look in mirrors at all.

which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have, I've gotten in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.

All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Appreciate you guys tuning in. Talking Miami to the college football playoff. Will they be in? Yes or no? 800-239-9569. 800-239-WJOX. I want to tell you quickly about Ox Foundation Solutions. They're excited to announce their back-to-school promotion and a lot of you heading back to school today. Designed to keep your home dry, stable, and make repairs more affordable.

Right now, you can get 10% off any job over $3,500, including their expert warrantied services in foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space, mold treatment, and concrete leveling. Take advantage of Ox Foundation Solutions. Same as cash payment option. No payment, no interest. For one year, making your home repairs affordable has never been easier. Act fast. Special offer from Ox Foundation Solutions ends August 30th. Cannot be combined with any other coupon or discounted quotes.

Don't wait until it's too late. Visit OxStrong.com today to schedule your free foundation inspection. 10% off back-to-school offer now through August 30th. Game peace of mind that lasts a lifetime. Ox Foundation Solutions. How strong? Ox Strong. Coupon or coupon, Damien? Coupon. Okay.

Some people say Coopin'. No, I had a teacher in high school that used to say Crayon. Crayon. I've heard that before. We'll come back to this after we have the Coach Wim Sanderson on GMAC, but you think Miami has the best roster in the ACC? Yes. Is it close? Yeah. Yeah, it's close. Just Florida State close or Florida State-Clemson close? I think Florida State and Clemson are both close. I think Florida State has some question marks. There was something I came across the other day that I thought was kind of interesting.

We've talked so much about Florida State and DJ Uyunglele and all this stuff, right? We've spent a lot of time talking about him and whether or not he's going to be good. You realize that DJ Uyunglele's total QBR last year of 81 was actually higher than Jordan Travis, which was the highest in the ACC. I will say that my opinion on that would be that I feel like DJ's, what he was asked to perform was a little bit less difficult. No one's suggesting it wasn't.

But you cannot deny the fact that when asked to push the ball down the field, an average 10.7 yards an attempt, that's pretty good. So while the offense might look a little different with DJ, I think it will. I think their goal is to become Oregon State in the southeast. Then maybe DJ is a little better than we anticipate. Okay.

Completed 57% of his passes last year. The coach, Wim Sanderson, will be with us next on Jocks 94.5. Are you tired of losing your fantasy football league year after year? Lindsey Rhodes, Emmy-winning sportscaster and football analyst, is your new secret weapon on the Believe Fantasy Football Show. Watch the quarterbacks and his ADP. I think he has massive high-end upside.

Get expert analysis on player rankings. Wide receiver 22 in fantasy Cecil Shorts. That kid can run, so I'm thinking he can have a breakout season this year. And you can too by searching the Believe Fantasy Football Show. That's B-L-E-A-V wherever you listen.