WEBVTT - The Second Year Coach Re-Draft 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:06.880 Welcome to the solid verbal hell that for me. I'm 0:00:06.880 --> 0:00:08.119 a man, I'm forty. 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:10.119 I've heard so many players say, well, I want to 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.080 be happy. You want to be happy for a day? 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:14.440 Edo Steak is that woo woof? 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:20.600 And them and Tye welcome back to the soliburbo boys 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.480 and girls when we are driven by Geiko. My name 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.439 is ty Hilda Brandt. That fine gentleman over there in 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:32.040 snowy and blustery and wintry but steer kind of cheerful. Yeah, Chicago, Illinois. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.479 Is Dan Rubinstein, sir? How are you? 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:38.480 I'm pretty good. I can't complain. Got a good night's 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.160 sleep last night. Hit that wordle hard first thing around 0:00:42.200 --> 0:00:44.839 six am Central, nailed it in three tries. I know 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.040 everybody cares. But the thing is, I'm trying to feed 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:50.400 my brain, as are you. You're working out early. I 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:52.879 try to do some crosswords early on. I want to 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.080 be the best me because I'm about to evaluate with 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.840 you a bunch of gentlemen trying to be the best 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.920 versions of them elves for their teams and for their program. 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.200 So I'm trying to do my part. Also, I'm quite 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:07.440 hungry right now, and so if my blood sugar waxes 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:08.440 and wanes during the show. 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:10.760 That's why did we want to tell the story about 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:11.960 me doing the fake wordle. 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:15.560 You were doing fake wordles. Yeah, you downloaded a copycat 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:16.880 app that was not at all wordle. 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:18.880 I did not know that it wasn't an app. I 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:21.120 didn't know it was a web app and not a 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:24.520 phone thing, and so we had a bit of confusion 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:26.760 this morning trying to figure out where we stood in 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:30.319 the world universe, until you made it apparent to me 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:31.880 that they needed to go to the weblink. 0:01:32.640 --> 0:01:36.320 Yeah, it's a fun it's a fun, fun little exercise, 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:37.520 and I like that you can only do one a 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.040 day and everybody's doing the same word and comparing notes, 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.160 and you can compare like the green boxes or whatever. 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:43.720 If you don't know what wordle is or you don't 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.440 like wordle, I'm sorry, look it up or just move 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:50.760 on fast forward. But it's not an original game. I 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:53.640 was on the game show Lingo, which Wordle is a 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.520 direct ripoff of, And that's okay because I enjoyed Lingo 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.160 and I enjoy wordles, so I'm okay with it. 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.120 Well, we will at some point have a wordle themed 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.760 episode if we can figure out exactly how to shoehorn 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:07.520 that reference into the college football world. But in the meantime, 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:10.400 for the next forty five to sixty minutes or so, 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:15.519 you'll be here with us talking all things second year coaches. 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.040 We'll get into that momentarily, tell you exactly what we've 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.600 got in store before we go any further. If you 0:02:20.800 --> 0:02:25.160 like the show, subscribe, slash, follow anywhere you can find 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.080 the podcast. If you can give us a rating or review. 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:31.240 All that stuff really does help, especially now in the 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.240 doldrums of the offseason where people who are out there 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.400 they're college football fans. They don't know about us. Believe 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:39.000 it or not, we've been around for a decade plus. 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.520 People still don't know about podcasting or the solid verbal 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.400 or they've got this college football itch that they need 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.040 to scratch, and maybe we can help them do that. 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.720 So let your friends know, rate, review, all that stuff. 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.519 Follow along on social media. We're on all the platforms. 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:58.079 We'd appreciate you following along if you haven't already. Reballers 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.640 dot Com is also something that we will continue to 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:05.600 water and feed throughout the course of this offseason. It's cold, 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.120 there's not as much sunlight in the college football ether, 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:10.120 but we're going to do our best to make that 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.919 world grow. Just keep feeding the community with more content. 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.680 We've got the Weekly Brew and a episodes. I read 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:22.840 the first hand account the testimonial that we received on 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:26.000 the website after we did our last episode. We have 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:27.640 a lot of fun with those. We do them every Friday. 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:30.040 We've got a bunch of other bonus stuff that is planned, 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:32.359 So going out to verballers dot com and check out 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:37.520 our updated, certified and premium Verballer tiers if you are 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:41.480 ever so inclined to support the show. And last, but 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:43.720 not least, we have a new solid giveaway. It is 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.440 a signed Reggie Bush mini helmet. If you are like 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.600 Dan and I, if you worship at the altar of 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.720 Reggie Bush. Even if you're not an SC fan, it 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.520 gives a damn. It's still Reggie Bush. He's a big 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:58.440 part of why we're all college football fans. You can 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:00.680 win a sign mini helmet. You just need to go 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:03.760 through a few quick and easy and free steps to 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:06.480 get your name in the hat and subsequently the hat 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:10.960 in the ring. We will draw that victor on February 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.200 the fourteenth, fittingly on Valentine's Day. 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.680 At Valentine's You got plans yet, Ty, Come on, you're 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:16.880 a romantic. 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:17.160 I am. 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:21.200 It's a different kind of year. I get that, I am, But. 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:25.080 No, not not yet. Okay, we're about a month out. 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.280 That's a level of planning that I don't know. 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:28.760 Never too soon. 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:32.719 If either you or I inherited from our parents. 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.400 We'll do a Valentine's Day show. We will at some point. 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.000 Will That is not the Valentine's Day I have in store? O? 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:42.359 Yeah, you should just record the show and play it 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:45.000 for the solid wife Kate and sit silently on the couch, 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:47.279 listening to yourself and pristine digital audio. 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.400 You would look at that. Oh, I'm sure I love that. 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:52.039 What is today's show? 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:58.039 So today we are drafting humans who don't get drafted. 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:00.800 That's not we're doing a redraft. But it's not really 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:04.320 a redraft. It's sort of a new draft because we 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:09.080 are drafting second year head coaches. Now we've already seen 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:13.080 a couple fall by the wayside, at least a couple, 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:16.320 and then we've seen one leave for a new job. 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.720 Kaitlin de Borr, Right, So that's Fresno State to Washington 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:23.799 and of course, Jimmy Lake and Nick Rolovich no longer 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.880 employed by their the schools that hired them two years ago. 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:31.880 So these are coaches that were put into extraordinary circumstances 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.000 in that they took over in a very strange twenty 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.160 twenty COVID year and had to make the best of 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:42.280 things with some unforeseen obstacles as a head coach than 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:45.919 twenty twenty one. Obviously much more normal. And we're going 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.120 to go back and forth. We have a bunch of 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.160 I think, bigger names to choose from. Oh yeah, and 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.599 we're going to select the coaches, but I think we 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.840 have to lay out some parameters of I mean, it's personal, right, 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.000 it's why you're selecting this coaches, these coaches. We're gonna 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:02.960 go back and forth. Of course, we are not forming 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:07.240 squadrons of coaches. We're not forming a team, but just 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.919 who we value and why because of the job they've 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.560 done or the job that they appear to be doing 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.039 and can do at their current place. How I'm choosing 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:20.440 to look at this, and you can tell me if 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:24.520 I'm wrong or whatever, but like I am looking at Okay, 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.360 I'm trying to find the most average school. By the way, 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.159 I'm watching you take a water break because you can 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.640 feel me talking as much as I am. I don't know, 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.719 And maybe this is a point of contention, a point 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.160 of debate too, but like who is the most average 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:40.360 school in that the upside is pretty high, Like if 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:43.599 everything breaks correctly, they could win double digit games, but 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:46.440 they've got a clunker of a year in them if 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:50.640 things break exceedingly poorly across the board, with coaches, with injuries, 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.520 with players not working out, with transfers, whatever. Like I 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.800 looked about at twenty twenty one, and I looked for, like, okay, 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.919 who are like the net like zero teams that forever 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:01.799 point they put on the board they took off points 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:03.400 per drive, is how I looked at it. And so 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.359 there were teams like cal and Virginia and Louisville. So 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:10.000 that's the kind of that's the gauge I'm going with, Like, Okay, 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:12.160 who would I want to hire at a place like 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:16.200 this to maximize not an elite place, but a place 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.440 with potential to succeed on an interesting level. 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.280 So this is all going to a place where you 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:25.120 take Jeff Hathley number one overall, I don't know. 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:27.520 This is where it's going you game this out. 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.640 You know, you're all about the half, but who. 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:32.360 Is that team? Who? What is that program? To you? 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:35.680 We're just like, look, they're gonna go six and six 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:38.600 or seven and five sometimes, but they get the right 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.120 QB in there, they get a hot shot, young coordinator, 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.400 they get their load up on transfers, and it all 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.559 works out. They go nine to three, ten and two. Yeah, 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.680 because like Louisville has been to a New Year six game, 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:53.760 Virginia has been to a New Year six game, cal 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:55.880 has not. But those were just some of the teams. 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.480 And like Florida State had an offense and defense ranked 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:00.840 in the sixties this year. But they themselves already have 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.480 one of our second year coaches that's draft eligible, so 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.320 I'm not gonna consider them in that conversation. They've also 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:08.920 won a national championship. They're a step above in terms 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.600 of stealing in terms of ceiling. So that's what I'm 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:15.600 going with. Who can transform that kind of place into 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:19.720 a maximizing place? More often than not. 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:24.520 I think I am approaching it from the standpoint of, uh, 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:28.080 I'm not. I'm not too far removed from what you're describing, right, 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:32.040 You're you're taking a relative measure. You're looking at a coach, 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:34.800 and you are saying, who is the right guy at 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:36.880 the right time to get the most bang for the buck? 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:37.800 Mm hmm. 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:40.360 I feel like I'm in a similar spot. I am 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:43.400 a little bit more enticed by the wind totals though, 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.760 of course, and we have a couple instances like that. 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.080 I'm sure they're gonna be like David Randa's gonna be 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.120 on your list, Sam Pittman's gonna be on your list. 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.960 Mel Tucker is going to be on your draftable list. 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:59.000 These are guys who had pretty noticeable increases in win 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:01.280 totals going from twenty twenty to twenty twenty. 0:09:01.360 --> 0:09:03.320 This is a very interesting crop of coaches. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.720 Absolutely, and so I think that suys me a little 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.680 bit more. To be honest with you, I don't know 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.480 how I feel about Jeff Trailer. I know that Jeff 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.760 Trailer did an awesome job with UTSA. I know he 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.640 won five more games in twenty twenty one than he 0:09:19.679 --> 0:09:25.920 did in twenty twenty point yep. Is he the right 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:29.480 guy that i'd want to pick for my team? Well, 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:31.040 who's your team? I don't know. 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.720 Well that that's why I'm asking an imaginary team. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:36.240 I'm working through it as we go here. 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.280 Okay, I can tell you some of the like the 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.400 net like zero point zero ish teams that are like 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.040 either had amazing offenses and terrible defense or we're just 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.680 sort of average at everything, Like Miami was at point one. 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.680 They had the number forty seven offense and seventy five defense. 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:53.440 So if we're looking at Power five programs like Memphis 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.640 is right there negative point one, three Texas Tech with 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:58.600 a not so good defense, but the offense, even with 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.360 injuries at quarterback, was pretty decent most of the year. 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:05.640 West Virginia was right around there, Mississippi State at point two, 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:10.040 Texas at point one, certainly Texas with more advantages, Oregon 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:13.600 State at point one, Auburn right there at sixty two 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.480 net rating net points per drive, So like, there are 0:10:16.480 --> 0:10:20.160 interesting programs in there that you're like, Okay, like, how 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.280 do I fancy Jeff Trailer at Auburn for Miami? That 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:25.079 kind of thing I think is worth thinking about. 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:28.600 Okay, We've got a list here in front of us 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:33.880 of all the coaches who were hired going into twenty twenty, 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:39.880 twenty twenty notably called year zero by a great number 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:43.280 of folks in college football media for obvious reasons, twenty 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:45.959 twenty was the weird COVID year, not to say twenty 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.600 one wasn't, but twenty twenty was far more uncertain and 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:51.520 we had no idea what to expect. There were some 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:55.400 teams I'm looking at, like Michigan State played seven games, 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:58.440 it went two and five. Rady Hope went four and 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:02.560 four for San Diego State. So it's not exactly comparing 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:06.080 apples to apples when you look from twenty to twenty one. 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.280 But we still have a pretty good idea based on 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.720 what we saw this past season. Who truly improved versus 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:16.000 who stayed stagged in in some cases, which schools took 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:20.680 a step back. Yeah, why don't you make the first 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:25.000 pick and justify my god, this entire crop coaches? Yeah, 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:30.080 if you have your druthers, who are you taking first? Overall? 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:33.320 Who's your guy for your team? It's a great question. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:34.240 It's a great question. 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:36.800 My parameters are what have we seen, How do I 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:39.240 feel in the moment, what do I believe they're ceiling 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.280 to be? And do I see them being able to 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.320 adapt and go with changes in college football and not 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:48.520 be stubborn and just like try to stay a step 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.520 ahead of the competition. Somebody that is That's what I 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.360 look for in a coach, right, Okay, guys are transferring. 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.079 I'm getting in on the transfer action. This is where 0:11:57.160 --> 0:11:57.920 offenses are going. 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:58.720 I see. 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:02.760 I'm right there. I'm not afraid to flip things around. 0:12:02.760 --> 0:12:05.280 That's what I value. Yeah, my first overall pick I'm 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.160 looking at. I'm loading up my draft board right now 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:12.840 because of age, because of performance, because of sealing to me, 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:18.320 because of what I believe where recruiting will go. You 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:21.160 read me like a book. I'm going Dave Randa. Yeah, 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:24.160 well number one Dave Randa, because I think he's going 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.120 to continue to hire smart. I think he has been 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:30.680 around the sport enough that his connections are pretty deep. 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:34.839 Having coached what Utah State, Wisconsin, LSU. Now Baylor has 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.640 the West Coast ties, made the change in offensive coordinator quickly, 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:42.480 has the defensive background within the state of Texas. I 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.880 think he is going to continue to do well. Now, 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.120 he might not compete with Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A, and 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.280 M on that level for recruits, but if we're dealing 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:55.120 with this like Central Anonymous School, I think he has 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.920 enough connections and he has enough of a vision that 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.439 I'm going to go with a guy who went from 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.280 taking a team that was kind of bad to a 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.280 conference champion, a Power five conference champion in just a season. 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:09.319 So I think there's there's proven stuff there. I think 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:12.680 there is upside with recruiting. I'm going Dave Randa to 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.800 spearhead my program. Of this list of coaches, we can 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:17.599 go through the bank of available coaches as well. I 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.040 don't know if people know these off the top of 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:19.360 their head. 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.319 We could, we could, but quickly on the Randa point, 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:23.200 random went. 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.200 And feel free to pick on it, like you know, 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:26.480 nitpick my selection. No. 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:29.840 I mean, look, Randa went two to seven, yeah, in 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:34.240 twenty twenty last season. This past season twelve and two 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.720 won the Big twelve. That's a pretty good turnaround. That's 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:39.559 ten more games. You're not going to find a lot 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.800 of coaches that can pull that one off. And I 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:46.280 think what you alluded to is really the important point 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:49.360 about Dave Randa. There are a lot of coaches that 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.840 are stuck in their ways that they come to a 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.760 place and they've got a system or an idea of 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:57.480 a system, and they stick to it. That's not always 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.960 a bad thing if it works. But what I think 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:03.000 we saw that of Dave Randa in year one is 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:05.680 that he was always willing to crumple it up and 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:09.079 throw it at the waste basket. Yeah right, Larry Fedora, 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.720 big name hired run the offense wasn't working when a 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.880 drastically different direction. Fedora tried to do a little bit 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:20.200 of everything. Grimes said, Jeff Grimes, who came over from BYU, 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:25.120 he was much more simplistic in his philosophy, and he said, 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:27.240 let's do a couple things really well. And that's what 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:31.640 they did and it worked. David Randa caught hell for 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:36.560 being too conservative on offense in twenty twenty, especially as 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.360 it relates to things like fourth downs. He went for 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:43.840 it a lot, a lot more this season. He read 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:46.200 the internet in the off season. I don't know, but 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:49.640 he took it to heart. He was a lot more concerned, 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:53.600 a lot more aggressive, excuse me, when it came to 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:56.760 moments like that, And I think it paid dividends. So clearly, 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.560 if flexibility, if the willingness to kind of go a 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:03.320 different to look at the landscape, figure out what's working, 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.040 figure out what's not working, not have so much of 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.200 an ego about you that you're stuck in your ways. 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:13.400 Aranda is the guy, man, He's got to be the guy. 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:15.040 He's gonna be a name. And I hate to say 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.080 this for Baylor people, but it's true. They know it. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.640 He's going to be a name that every big job 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:24.240 that comes open, either in college, if he continues on 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.720 this trajectory, maybe even the NFL. You're gonna have to 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:29.880 get used to hearing Randa's name in the same manner 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.520 that you heard Matt Ruhle's name, because in such a 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.880 short period of time, this turnaround story has been remarkable. 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:38.800 So I'm jealous you got Randa here and pick one. 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:42.920 There are other really good names that we can go through, but. 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:45.800 It was not easy for me. You said you like 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:48.040 had to be Randa. I don't think it has to 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.960 be Rando like I think. I mean, the other two 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.680 considerations I had for a picking number one overall would 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:58.400 have been Mel Tucker and Sam pitt Pittman, right, Yeah, 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.840 those are my other considerations. I think when you look 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.920 at turnarounds, when you look at vision for programs, when 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:06.400 you look at hiring, especially in the case of Sam Pittman, 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.320 and the Barry otom higher Like, I just, yeah, the 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:12.040 early returns on Arkansas and how competitive they are and 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:14.200 what that program is looking like moving forward, and sam 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.760 can be said from Mel Tucker for sure, especially on 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.520 the recruiting front. It was not an easy decision. It 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:25.680 came down to I suppose personal preference, and that's sort 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:29.440 of what I went with. But yeah, like Arkansas got 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:32.280 blown out a couple of times, I believe. Obviously Michigan 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:35.880 State did against Ohio State. I don't think that's a 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.360 defining characteristic of these guys. But when I went with 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.840 what Baylor looked like this year, I thought to myself, 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:43.600 you know what, I think that the uptick and recruiting 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:45.680 is going to keep happening and they're just going to 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:47.280 get better and better. We saw how we hit the 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:50.120 portal daved Randa in year one. It was Apuika who 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:53.520 came over from LSU to help anchor that defense up front. 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:56.040 I don't know, I just what with my gut there. 0:16:56.760 --> 0:17:00.480 Okay, So that brings it to my pick, right, Yes, 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:04.600 I will go Mel Tucker. Okay, surprise, surprise, Yeah, you 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:08.080 have to eleven and two. It's well documented how well 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:11.760 this season went for Michigan State. That is an increase 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:15.960 of nine wins from what he did in year zero, 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.160 which was two to five. Mel Tucker, I think also 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:24.359 showed that willingness to adapt. And we all know that 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.560 the past defense was not what it should have been. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.639 This year it was awful, really bad. They got to 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.040 get better. Still won eleven games. How did he do that? 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:35.600 First off, he went out and he hit the transfer 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:39.400 portal really hard. I mean really hard. Keep in mind, 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:41.280 this is a guy who took over very late in 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:45.600 the cycle after they had the retirement, right, so he 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.840 comes in. He did the best he could in year one, 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.560 but we always knew it was going to be slow going. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.480 With the benefit of a full offseason, he hit the 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:58.399 portal hard. He brought in fifteen guys. He also was 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.760 able to cobble together what I think is a pretty 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:05.359 good offense. Right the Kenneth Walker the third transfer, paid 0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:08.320 huge dividends for him, and over the course of time 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.280 Peyton Thornton came or Peyton Thornton excuse me came around. 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:14.920 They were able to find ways to make this offense 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:19.199 really potent in clutch situations. I think back to that 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:23.119 Michigan game, right, They needed to get an incredible effort 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.119 late in order to pull off that dub. They were 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:27.480 able to do it. What I like about this team 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:29.040 is how they were able to play hard week in 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.560 a week out. They really played hard week in a 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.080 week out. And you never expected a Michigan State team 0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:38.560 to take weeks off. They didn't. They didn't know. So 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:41.520 I like that about him. I think it's meaningful that 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:44.080 mel Tucker was one of the names that came up 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:47.560 for some of the big openings came up, of course 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.680 for the LSU jobs. You know, you can go around 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:54.720 college football. Everybody was talking about Meltucker. So I also 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.639 credit Michigan State for locking him up. They read the 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:00.399 tea leaves. They knew that this could pretend actually be 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:03.080 a very wild coaching carousel. They locked him up, gave 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.320 him a ton of money, made headlines nine and that 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:08.000 was it. Nine and a half million yep for mel Tucker. 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:10.600 Big old booster came in, yep, nine and a half million. 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.320 What are we what are we talking about here? But 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.400 they had the foresight to do that, to lock him up. Yeah, 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:20.159 And I just feel like there's nowhere but for me. 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:23.480 It's hard to improve on eleven wins. But I do 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.040 feel like there really truly is nowhere but up in 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.240 terms of stability for this program. It was in a 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:32.680 good place before, had maybe petered off a little bit 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:36.080 under the previous regime, but now with this boost, I 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.440 think they're going to continue to get the most out 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:41.240 of their talent. Peyton Thorne, I think in your in 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:43.600 year two for him as a starter coming up will 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:47.080 be much improved. I like the direction of this program, 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.200 So for me, mel Tucker's the answer here. He's a 0:19:50.200 --> 0:19:52.760 good recruiter as well, Like there's just so much to 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.800 like about what this guy brings to the table. The 0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:58.399 fact that he would move on as quickly as he 0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.040 did frankly from Colorado a bummer for the Buffs, but 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.560 another credit to the administration at Michigan State that they 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:08.600 were able to see what he or what they thought 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:11.520 he brought to the table and snag him real quick. 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:14.440 So I like Meltucker a Lot's. 0:20:14.000 --> 0:20:18.440 Okay, So mel Tucker clearly a strong pick. Clearly has 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:21.280 done a very strong job at Michigan State. The nitpick 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:25.040 to me with mel Tucker, in my considerations, is leaves 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.200 Colorado after a year, can recruit against him be like, look, guy, 0:20:29.280 --> 0:20:33.680