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Speaker 1: This is Tony Pikes since e three sixty about Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: from Cincinnati, sponsored in hard by Penn Station East Coast Subs.

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Speaker 1: Pancraft It hot grilled subs, fresh cut fries in lemonade.

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Speaker 1: It's all about good taste Penn Station East Coast Subs.

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Speaker 1: Order on mine today. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati

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Speaker 1: Sports Station.

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Speaker 2: Hi, Hello, welcome in our number three Tony Pikes since

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Speaker 2: e three sixty. Here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm Austin Olmore,

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Speaker 2: No big fella today, Tony Beck tomorrow for a Friday

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Speaker 2: football frenzy. And it's been a frenzy, that's for sure.

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Speaker 2: Whether you're talking football or basketball, Bengal dumb or Bearcat Land,

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Speaker 2: there's a lot going on. I always think back to

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Speaker 2: what Moegar says, be good or be interesting. Well, the

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Speaker 2: Bengals and Bearcats have not been good, but they have

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Speaker 2: been interesting. And you see last night got a little

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Speaker 2: bit more interesting. So we go to Bearcat Journal dot

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Speaker 2: COM's Keegan Nickoson to join us now and talk about

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Speaker 2: the Bearcats. Keegan, are you keeping up with all the

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Speaker 2: stuff going on in Bearcat world right now?

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Speaker 3: Barely?

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Speaker 4: I'm hanging on by a string. I don't know if

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Speaker 4: anyone can is capable.

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Speaker 5: Of keeping up with everything that's going.

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Speaker 3: On at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Let's start with last night, Jigsel James returns. I think

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Speaker 2: my question is simple, how did we get here with

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Speaker 2: Gigsel James.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean he was dismissed from the team in

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Speaker 4: August and then he spent a lot of time in

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Speaker 4: Houston training at the John Lucas Facility.

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Speaker 5: Which kind of specializes.

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Speaker 4: In rehabbing NBA and college players. And I think he

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Speaker 4: got back into town.

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Speaker 3: Around Louisville the Louisville game.

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Speaker 4: And then ever since that Louisville game, you've had some injuries,

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Speaker 4: some guys who haven't been able to stay healthy and

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Speaker 4: be Before that, you lost Jalen Haynes for the year.

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Speaker 4: Lucas Atari from I believe he's from Brazil, came to

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Speaker 4: campus and didn't pass the physical because he had a

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Speaker 4: knee issue. So all of a sudden, you're looking at

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Speaker 4: this roster that is both struggling and unhealthy.

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Speaker 5: And then Jisel was told that he wasn't going.

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Speaker 4: To play this year, and he still told Wes Miller

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Speaker 4: that he wanted to come back and be a part

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Speaker 4: of the team and just be around the guys and

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Speaker 4: get ready for next season. But then Wes Miller is

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Speaker 4: kind of putting this impossible situation where he has this

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Speaker 4: talented player around the team who he can play this

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Speaker 4: year if.

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Speaker 5: He can kind of figure out a way to make it.

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Speaker 4: Happen, And then ultimately he did just will kind of

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Speaker 4: reconcile with his teammates, earns.

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Speaker 5: The trust back of the coaching staff and.

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Speaker 4: His teammates, and ultimately goes back on the floor. So

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Speaker 4: it's been a really, really long road and I wouldn't

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Speaker 4: blame anyone who said it's.

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Speaker 5: A desperation player by Wes Miller.

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Speaker 4: But there was a lot more that went into it

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Speaker 4: to make sure that it was a decision that he.

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Speaker 5: Could make that wasn't the best interest of both.

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Speaker 2: His team and Jigsel James, Well, that's what I was

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Speaker 2: about to ask you, because that's the word I've seen

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Speaker 2: the most is desperation for Cincinnati. And I think it's

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Speaker 2: fair to say, based off the way the season has

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Speaker 2: started that there's a little bit of that in the air.

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Speaker 2: Do you think it's a desperation move and how much

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Speaker 2: from a basketball standpoint, how much of a difference.

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Speaker 3: Can he really make or do we not know?

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Speaker 5: I do think it's a desperation move at this.

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Speaker 4: Point in the season, Like Tyler McKinley didn't play, and

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Speaker 4: he's not a guard, but he's struggling with kind of

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Speaker 4: I think it's a bone bruise issue. Shouldn't be long term.

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Speaker 4: Kerk c Reaese is shooting under thirty percent from three.

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Speaker 5: I think he just went one for eight last night.

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Speaker 4: He's averaging something around seven points a game. Keischan Tillery

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Speaker 4: hasn't been playing a ton. He's not really living up

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Speaker 4: to expectations, which moving the goalpost isn't really fair because

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Speaker 4: he wasn't expected to play this year a ton in

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Speaker 4: the first place, because Jigsel and Kerr were supposed to

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Speaker 4: be the point guards.

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Speaker 3: For U see, and then all of a.

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Speaker 5: Sudden, you throw this true freshman into a really tough

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Speaker 5: situation since your hairs just struggling with the back issue.

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Speaker 4: And it seems like data Thomas is the only guy

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Speaker 4: who's kind of completely healthy, so he didn't really have

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Speaker 4: a choice, which I guess means.

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Speaker 5: That it's a desperation play.

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Speaker 4: But it's not just this thing where Gisel was away

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Speaker 4: from the.

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Speaker 5: Team and had no interest.

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Speaker 4: In coming back, and then he was offered this opportunity

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Speaker 4: because Wes just.

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Speaker 3: Like was begging him to come. He had to come back.

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Speaker 4: And go through the right processes and take the necessary

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Speaker 4: steps to assimilate back and back with the team where

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Speaker 4: I'm pretty confident that he wouldn't be playing right now.

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Speaker 2: By no means, I am not a basketball expert, but

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Speaker 2: it feels like in the West Miller era offense has

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Speaker 2: always been a struggle, and consistent offense has always been

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Speaker 2: a struggle.

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Speaker 3: Why do you think that is.

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Speaker 4: Well, that's a million dollar question or like ten million

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Speaker 4: dollar question.

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Speaker 3: I really I don't know.

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Speaker 5: I think his best offense.

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Speaker 4: Was year two when he had Lander's Dollee and David

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Speaker 4: de Julius and lambders Knowlledge just kind of went absolutely

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Speaker 4: bonkers from three, made a ton of shots, and then

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Speaker 4: you have a point guard who can go and get

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Speaker 4: you a bucket. And even that offense, I think it

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Speaker 4: was in like the.

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Speaker 3: Seventies or eighties.

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Speaker 4: According to Ken palm Like it was by no means

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Speaker 4: the top offense in the country, but they had a

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Speaker 4: solid enough defense to have a pretty good season. I

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Speaker 4: think a lot of it is players just not panning

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Speaker 4: out and not being able to take the next step.

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Speaker 4: And that's on coaching. That's not me throwing the players

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Speaker 4: under the bus. If the players aren't getting better from

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Speaker 4: year to year, it's on the people who are supposed

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Speaker 4: to be developing them. You think Dan Skillings goes to

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Speaker 4: a baseball.

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Speaker 5: Game and gets on.

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Speaker 4: An interview between innings and says, Yeah, I'm going to

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Speaker 4: play one more year at Cincinnatian and go to the NBA,

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Speaker 4: and then he has a really bad year and makes

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Speaker 4: a couple million dollars to go to Baylor. And you

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Speaker 4: think of Gisel James, who was supposed to be the

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Speaker 4: best player of the team last year and he really struggles.

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Speaker 4: Dylan Mitchell didn't have a great offensive season last year.

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Speaker 4: Simos Dukoshias started the season shooting like forty eight percent

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Speaker 4: from three, but then really really struggled.

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Speaker 5: And he just couldn't put together a consistent season.

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Speaker 3: So I don't know if it's.

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Speaker 4: The assistant coaches or there isn't just a great offensive plan,

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Speaker 4: but it seems like there's been a decent amount of

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Speaker 4: stuff thrown out the wall and it just hasn't hasn't

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Speaker 4: stuck like you're kind of counting on Kerkkrisa and saying, okay,

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Speaker 4: last his last year at West Virginia, he was good,

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Speaker 4: and then he goes to Kentucky and gets hurt and

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Speaker 4: only plays nine games. If we can get that West

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Speaker 4: Virginia Kerkkrisa, everything will be fine.

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Speaker 3: But then you don't get them.

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Speaker 4: And on Celesting has had a decent year but also

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Speaker 4: hasn't been great. And then Shawnabaiah, who's supposed to be

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Speaker 4: maybe your best shooter on the team him battling with Celestine,

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Speaker 4: is also kind of struggling from the from the free

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Speaker 4: throw line and the free point line, and now to

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Speaker 4: a point where Dade Thomas is kind of your most

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Speaker 4: most efficient shooter.

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Speaker 5: Which no one would have pictured two years ago.

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Speaker 4: So I think a lot of it is it's development,

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Speaker 4: and a lot of it as players just not panning out.

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Speaker 4: I wouldn't say that they're constantly getting bad shots. A

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Speaker 4: lot of it is just you're not making shots. And

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Speaker 4: that's going to go back to what what are you practicing,

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Speaker 4: what are the drills they're doing, and just how locked

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Speaker 4: interview on those things.

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Speaker 2: How would you assess the season that we've seen from

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Speaker 2: Shaunabaiah this year.

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Speaker 4: I think I unfairly kind of saw him being.

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Speaker 5: One of the highest rated recruits to.

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Speaker 3: Come to Cincinnati and said.

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Speaker 5: Okay, well, he's just going to be the best player

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Speaker 5: on the team, and I kind of expected him.

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Speaker 4: To do much more, knowing that he was a really

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Speaker 4: really high four star of five star by some outlets,

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Speaker 4: and then you just kind of think about that and

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Speaker 4: you say, Okay, well, this kid's going to be a stud.

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Speaker 4: I think he definitely has to play better. And I

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Speaker 4: think if anyone asks him if he's played up to

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Speaker 4: his standard or what he believes he can play to.

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Speaker 5: If you ask Wes.

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Speaker 4: Miller, both of them would say no, and that he

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Speaker 4: needs to play better and that he will play better.

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Speaker 3: I mean, Wes Miller said.

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Speaker 5: Last night he's going to shoot the ball well this season.

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Speaker 5: Take that to the bank. And you know, Wes has

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Speaker 5: also said that about free throws.

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Speaker 4: And it hasn't really come true. So I don't know

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Speaker 4: how much credence you can give it. But I think

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Speaker 4: he's a really really talented player.

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Speaker 3: I think he's a smart player.

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Speaker 4: I liked seeing him against Alabama State be aggressive on

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Speaker 4: takes to the rim and then kind of pass out,

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Speaker 4: or draw some foul shots, or get some layups.

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Speaker 3: And not just settle for threes.

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Speaker 4: Because he's been a very, very high volume three point shooter,

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Speaker 4: so I'm expecting him to play much better.

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Speaker 5: But I wouldn't argue with.

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Speaker 4: Anyone who says, you know, we saw the Michigan game

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Speaker 4: in the exhibition when he scored I think fifteen points

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Speaker 4: and looked great, and you're not just seeing that now.

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Speaker 4: So he's going to be really really tested at the

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Speaker 4: start of Big twelve play to see if he can

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Speaker 4: kind of come along.

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Speaker 2: Talking to Kegan nickoson Bearcat Journal dot Com, let's flip

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Speaker 2: over to football. There's a lot going on as the

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Speaker 2: Bearcats get set for the Liberty Bowl. The big news

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Speaker 2: this week, of course, Brendan Sorosby going into the transfer portal.

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Speaker 2: What did we learn from Scott Saderfield when he talked

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Speaker 2: earlier this week about Sorsby and about what the plan

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Speaker 2: might be to replace him.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean what we learned is that Cincinnati put

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Speaker 4: together a very competitive package and finance.

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Speaker 5: Wise to compete with other schools. But at the end

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Speaker 5: of the day, I just think this.

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Speaker 4: Was I think Brendan Soorzy wanted to play somewhere else.

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Speaker 4: I don't think it was a thing where he was

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Speaker 4: willing to come back and kind of in a sense

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Speaker 4: start over offensively because of all the players that they're losing.

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Speaker 4: I know for a fact after last season he turned

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Speaker 4: down higher paying offers because he saw.

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Speaker 3: What they were building.

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Speaker 4: He saw Joe Royer, he saw the wide receivers they

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Speaker 4: could bring in, and Cyrus All and Jeff Caudwell, Caleb Goody,

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Speaker 4: he saw Evan Pryor the offensive line, and he knew

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Speaker 4: that he had something to build around.

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Speaker 3: And then you know, kind of.

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Speaker 4: Just looking at the situation and going in the next year,

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Speaker 4: you have to think, you know, how much better can

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Speaker 4: I get?

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Speaker 5: How much can I raise my stock for the NFL?

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Speaker 4: And at this point he thinks he's either going to

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Speaker 4: go to the NFL or he's going to trainsfer somewhere

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Speaker 4: else and try to raise.

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Speaker 5: That stock even more. A school like Texas Tech, who.

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Speaker 4: Has a forty million dollar roster this year and has

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Speaker 4: a ton of money. Maybe Indiana, where he played for

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Speaker 4: multiple years, and that's where you see got him out

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Speaker 4: of after a successful stint. I've heard some Tennessee I've

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Speaker 4: hurt some Miami, but I ultimately think it's going to

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Speaker 4: come down to Texas Tech and Indiana if he doesn't

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Speaker 4: end up going to the draft.

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Speaker 5: So yeah, it's it's tough.

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Speaker 4: Scott Saderfield basically said, look, we couldn't afford him, and

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Speaker 4: you know, I don't think anybody.

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Speaker 3: Should be surprised by that.

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Speaker 4: He's one of the best quarterbacks in the country, especially

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Speaker 4: when you look at who's coming back for next season.

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Speaker 3: He's going to be.

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Speaker 4: One of the most sought after quarterbacks. So you know,

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Speaker 4: you see, he's in a tough spot and they're going

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Speaker 4: to have to replace him with the transfer quarterbacks. He's

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Speaker 4: going to have to come in and really battle for

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Speaker 4: a starting spot next year.

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Speaker 2: Not only is their roster turnover, but there's turnover on

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Speaker 2: the people that help build the roster. They've lost a

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Speaker 2: couple of guys in their player development and the portal

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Speaker 2: operations and all that stuff. What is the latest on

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Speaker 2: replacing them so that they can continue to acquire talent

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Speaker 2: through the portal and otherwise.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it hasn't been officially announced yet by Cincinnati, but

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Speaker 4: they're replacing Jack Griffith with Nick Lematina from Western Kentucky.

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Speaker 4: He was an intern at Western Kentucky under Zach Grant

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Speaker 4: and I believe twenty twenty and then he's been there since,

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Speaker 4: and he was one of Tyson Hilton's biggest player personnel guys.

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Speaker 4: He actually was a lead guy in replacing a team

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Speaker 4: that won eight games and then lost sixty players after

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Speaker 4: the twenty twenty four season, and then they replaced the

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Speaker 4: sixty players that they lost and then won.

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Speaker 3: Eight more games this past year.

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Speaker 4: So he knows about roster turnover, he knows how to

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Speaker 4: evaluate talent. They sent defensive linemen to I think Auburn,

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Speaker 4: Florida State, Wake Forest, and Alabama after the last season,

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Speaker 4: so he's been involved in all that kind of stuff.

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Speaker 4: Everything I've heard from everyone is that he's a stud.

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Speaker 4: And you know, I'm very very high on Jack Griffith.

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Speaker 4: I think he was one of the best portal evaluators

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Speaker 4: and hardest working guys in college football. And it sounds

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Speaker 4: like they got a guy to kind of rivaled that

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Speaker 4: or at least get close to it, especially when we're

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Speaker 4: only a couple weeks away from the portal here.

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Speaker 2: Speaking of the portal, it feels like there's a thousand

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Speaker 2: Bearcats in it right now. I say this like jokingly,

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Speaker 2: but also not like are there going to be enough

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Speaker 2: people to play in the Liberty Bowl against Navy, especially

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Speaker 2: in the defensive side of the ball.

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Speaker 4: The defensive backfield might be a question, but we're going

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Speaker 4: to be seeing a lot of true freshmen and red

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Speaker 4: shirt freshmen who haven't seen a lot of snaps in

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Speaker 4: their Cincinnati careers. We actually talked to Tyson Bite today

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Speaker 4: after practice and he said to look out for Patrick Williams,

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Speaker 4: a corner from Florida who's a true freshman who has

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Speaker 4: really taken on that mantle.

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Speaker 5: And taken the opportunity to get.

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Speaker 4: Those extra snaps, and he's taken advantage of it. You

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Speaker 4: saw Michael Coleman enter the portal today. He hasn't been

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Speaker 4: at practice. But yet they're going to have enough guys.

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Speaker 4: It just might not be the usual product that you

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Speaker 4: saw at the end of the year from an experience perspective,

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Speaker 4: but I would say that a lot of Cincinnati fans

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Speaker 4: weren't very satisfied with what they saw in the first place.

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Speaker 3: To getting some new.

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Speaker 5: Blood out there against Navy might be a good thing.

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Speaker 2: Well, like going up against a team like Navy and

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Speaker 2: with everything you just mentioned and the inexperience and all

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Speaker 2: the turnover, Like how much can you really get from

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Speaker 2: the Liberty Bowl? Like does winning it matter that much?

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Speaker 2: Do those snaps matter that much? Like how much are

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Speaker 2: you actually getting out of this game?

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Speaker 3: I don't know.

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Speaker 4: I mean, there's a few names that I'm interested in.

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Speaker 4: Zion Johnson, a running back, is one. What does he

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Speaker 4: do as possibly a starting running back? I think Evan

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Speaker 4: Pryor's status for whether Hill player or not is kind

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Speaker 4: of up in the air. Zion Johnson's a really really fast,

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Speaker 4: true freshman who's expected to have a big role on

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Speaker 4: the team in the future. So I'm going to be

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Speaker 4: watching him Sadderfield said that both quarterbacks, Brady Littenberg and

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Speaker 4: Samage Jones will play, and I think this is a

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Speaker 4: great chance for Samage Jones to prove to the coaching

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Speaker 4: staff whether he can and compete for the starting job

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Speaker 4: next year. How aggressive do they have to be in

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Speaker 4: the portal going after a guy? And you know, Navy

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Speaker 4: isn't like the most talented team in the country, but

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Speaker 4: they're gonna play discipline, and they're gonna play really, really

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Speaker 4: hard and really aggressive brand of football. So it'll be

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Speaker 4: a good test for the quarterbacks other than Matt I'm

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Speaker 4: looking at I'm looking at dB like I mentioned earlier,

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Speaker 4: how does Patrick Williams play?

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Speaker 3: How to CJ.

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Speaker 4: Krit play a safety who I'm really intrigued by. They

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Speaker 4: brought in some true freshmen last year with some length

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Speaker 4: and size, which is what Scott Saidifield said they needed

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Speaker 4: to get in the offseason. So just looking at those

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Speaker 4: kind of things, red shirt freshmen, true freshman who could

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Speaker 4: possibly have an impact next year. And also like the

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Speaker 4: offensive line is looking like it's going to stay together

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Speaker 4: pretty well, as they just announced that they're all coming

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Speaker 4: back next year, So see how those guys can continue

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Speaker 4: to gel against the Navy defensive line.

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Speaker 2: Good stuff, Keegan, appreciate your time. Before I let you go.

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Speaker 2: What are you working on and how can people follow along?

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Speaker 3: Yeah?

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Speaker 4: I got a bunch of portal stuff coming. It opens

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Speaker 4: on January tewod and then going to continue to have

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Speaker 4: bowl game and basketball coverage coming.

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Speaker 5: Make sure to subscribe to Barcott.

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Speaker 4: Journal, follow me at k Nickison forty two on X

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Speaker 4: and you should see all my stuff.

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Speaker 3: Awesome, Keegan, we'll talk to you in a couple of weeks. Man.

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Speaker 3: Thank you and having Merry Christmas. Thanks awesome, you too.

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Speaker 2: That is Keegan nickoson Bearcat journal dot Com. About half

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Speaker 2: an hour from right now, we'll be talking to the

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Speaker 2: head hont show of Bearcat Journal dot Com. Chadbrindle is

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Speaker 2: going to stop buy for quick hits because Chad has

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Speaker 2: most show this afternoon from three to six. It'll be

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Speaker 2: the Chadbrendle Show on The Moegger Show. Got an update

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Speaker 2: from Bengals practice when we get back, and we'll do

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Speaker 2: a quick whip around college basketball here from West Miller,

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Speaker 2: from Richard Patino, from Darren Horn all after games last

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Speaker 2: night here in the Cincinnati area. This is Tony Pikes

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Speaker 2: Sincy three. Sixty hour three continues next on the Home

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Speaker 2: of the Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 1: Is it possible to me