WEBVTT - Uncommitted Friday Orbit: Brandon Huffman talks Recruiting 0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:15.560 Three two one zero, all engine running looked off. We 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.680 have a look of Welcome back to the UFO Show. 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:24.000 My name is Ty Hildebrand, joining me as always over 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:28.920 there in wintry Chicagoland. Actually, I guess it's not more 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:33.400 wintry than here over in Eastern Land. Yeah, with our 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:36.080 ten inches of snow on the ground. But mister Rubinstein, 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:36.960 how are you? 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:41.160 I'm fantastic. I am looking forward to this annual show 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:43.800 that we do and reviewing. You know what, I haven't 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:47.080 heard the term lifeblood as much as I normally do 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.960 this week. Yeah, and maybe are read or heard. Maybe 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.720 I'm just watching a lot less espnu I really am. 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:56.240 Though I usually love signing Day or early signing Day, 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.120 but it seemed to be kind of devoid of the 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.920 usual drama, hasn't it. Because there's there's the fewer announcement ceremonies, 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:07.440 there's fewer last second secret visits that result in flips. 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.240 It just it seemed like a workmanlike early signing day, 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:11.720 did it not. 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:17.280 Fewer recruits actually being able to play their senior seasons. Yeah, 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:22.199 all sorts of nuance to this recruiting cycle. And look, 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:25.120 you know where I stand on recruiting, you often anonymously 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:30.200 threaten prospects online. Well, outside of that, outside of I'm 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:34.920 always looking for a new angle that can make it interesting. 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.080 A wrinkle, sure, right, That's why we talk about announcement 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:42.160 ceremonies and funny names and things of that. Ilk this year, 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.920 there's more than enough to at least make it interesting. 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.880 I'm not saying it's favorable with respect to how you 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:52.600 recruited some of the stars of tomorrow, far from it. 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:57.280 But given that travel has been restricted, that seasons weren't 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:01.760 being played, that eligibility rules up and down the sport 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:03.800 have been drastically altered. 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:08.720 Ability to evaluate coaches in person, you know, recruiting writers 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.400 not being able to be at games, and travel and 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:16.800 camps and all American games and practices altered, very different experience. 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:18.880 There is a lot that we need to cover with 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:22.080 our guest d Jore. His name is Brandon Hoffman. You 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.520 know him well from twenty four seven Sports. We're going 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:29.440 to have him on momentarily. Dan. The other bit of 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.160 news that I wonder show there's not a whole lot 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.040 of news not going to play the sound. We had 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.000 an extension for your boy Mario crystaball, we had less 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:39.880 Miles getting a vote of confidence despite a winless season, 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.160 and why not? And why not? We had a couple 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.400 other schools opting out of their bowl games, which we'll 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.920 talk about more as you progress through into the offseason. 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.680 But I count eight at the moment, by the way, Ucla, 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:54.960 Kansas State, Virginia Tech, Stanford, Virginia Pitt Georgia Tech, Boston. 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.960 College, and Virginia Tech. I'll forget Virginia, I. 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:57.840 Said Virginia Tech in there. 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.280 Yeah, But the big news here is that play Winter 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:09.040 Wonders are super secret Patreon only game is now live. 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:15.959 We've got our first batch of questions live for participations 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:19.760 that listing, Yeah to select, We've got a couple things 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:21.680 going on. So each game, right, each game you pick 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:25.000 the winner against the spread. I think it's a little 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.799 bit harder, right, we do that just normally, But then 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.480 it gets a little bit harder. Then we start talking about, 0:03:31.480 --> 0:03:34.560 all right, well, how many total rushing yards will app 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.000 State have in their bowl game against North Texas total 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:41.800 rushing guards m h. And then we go a layer deeper, 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:46.360 Dan just that fantasy things layer that we I think 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:47.760 hinted at. 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:49.840 We start docsing athletes. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:54.440 No, how many times will the announcers reference app states 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:56.880 thrilling upset of Michigan way back. 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:00.280 When that's true, setting over under over under one and 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:06.040 a half. I almost don't want to reveal all of 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.320 these props because they could be altered. We could have 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:12.360 inside jobs a lot of a number of announcers. 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.240 Yeah, we do know a lot of folks here. Okay, 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:18.039 we're not gonna reveal that publicly, but there are more 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:22.359 props like that. We've got the standard issue against the spread. 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:27.880 We've got the layer deeper about specific total rushing yards 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:29.560 or passing touchdowns, things like. 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:32.679 Pop culture references, b roll video footage. 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.080 Yeah, and then we get the solid verbal layer that 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:38.120 puts a bow on all of it. Playwinterwonders dot com 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:40.160 is where you can find all the info on how 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:44.080 to join our special bowl pool. I also activated the 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.320 Confidence pool over an ESPN dot com. I So, so 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.960 you just go there and search solid verbal. Yeah, there, 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:52.480 search socials, search for the solid verbal. If you were 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.279 in the group last year, you should be able to 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:57.920 just click rejoin. If not, just search for the soliverble. 0:04:57.920 --> 0:04:59.720 It's one of the bigger groups out on ESPN dot 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.359 com and so we're going to play this Bowl season 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.960 a couple different ways. The games actually start on Monday, 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.719 so we'll have to talk a little bit more about 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.760 that on Sunday and certainly as we go through next 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:15.800 a week. But that's the big thing going on in 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:19.480 our world outside of early signing Day, outside of conference 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.400 championship games, which as many of you listen on Friday, 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.520 are going to be taking place later tonight and all 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:28.720 throughout the day tomorrow. Sure, very true. 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.640 Did you what was your recruiting cycle as a Notre 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.120 Dame fan? Like for you? I mean, you know, I 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.880 come in and out of checking how Organ's doing, et cetera, 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:42.000 et cetera. Were you more attached less attached? You're spending 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.240 more time at home in front of a laptop. You know, 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.200 you can check on these things probably more often than 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:48.880 you can when you're at the secret day job overseas. 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:53.080 So what was your involvement level with Notre Dame's class 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:54.839 this year and recruiting as a whole? 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:58.560 I always follow recruiting from AFAR, so I'll check in 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:01.799 a couple times throughout the course cycle. I certainly don't 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.160 know it as well as a number of folks who 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:06.760 listened to this show and live and die by it. 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.960 But I have been particularly interested, and I'm going to 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:15.479 ask Brandon about Tyler Buckner from California, but going to 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:17.960 Notre Dame because a friend, Pete Sampson, wrote a nice 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.440 piece for The Athletic on just some of the challenges 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.080 that he faced not being able to play a senior year. 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.120 I have at least paid attention on that level because 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:32.040 this has been such a quirky season and that extends 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:35.080 all the way through to recruiting as well. We're gonna 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:38.680 have subjects that came up with regard to this recruiting 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:42.680 cycle that probably won't ever happen again, and that aspect 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.440 of it, at least to me, is interesting. I've enjoyed 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:47.680 looking at what's going on and thinking about what are 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:49.680 the longer term ramifications of all this. 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:53.520 I just looked up would you say his name? 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:54.320 Tyler Buckner. 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:59.440 Yeah, he's from La Mesa, California, San Diego area. If 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:02.480 you do a Google image search for La Mesa, California, 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:09.279 Spanish for the table doesn't look like South Bend. It's 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:10.160 gonna be different. 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:10.960 I don't know. 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.080 Maybe he's from Indiana originally but this is holy moly, 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.040 is it beautiful down there. Not to say South Bend 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:18.480 doesn't have its own beauty. I've been, but it's not this. 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:21.360 So yeah, I mean, that's all gonna be very different 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.120 this year. A lot of guys not spending as much 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:25.360 time on campus during the season, you know, official visits, 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:29.520 on official visits, and excited to talk to Brandon. He's 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.840 always just the absolute best and an encyclopedia of both 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:35.360 the you know, drilling down on the details and the 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:36.280 big picture stuff. 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.920 Totally, totally, well, let's not waste any time. Don't forget 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.400 to subscribe to the show if you haven't already. Don't 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.320 forget to go on out and follow us on social 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:50.120 media if you don't already. Shall we dance, Daniel, I've 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:54.120 been waiting joining us now to help break down the 0:07:54.160 --> 0:08:00.800 recruiting scene. It was National signing Day, early early. We've 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:01.640 got two now. 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:02.600 Yeah. 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.239 I believe this is also the first time we've ever 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:10.720 had someone calling in from the Last Frontier, Dan, the 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:13.160 Land of the Midnight Sun, the Great State of Alaska. 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.480 Brandon Hoffman, how are you? 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:17.720 I can see Russias from my hotel room. 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.120 Whoa how are you? 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.680 Man? I'm good. How are you guys doing it? 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.160 We're good? Why are you in Alaska? 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:29.360 So I have a buddy who's running a camp, and 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.000 he's running a football camp that go that's of course, 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:36.320 the Avery Huffin Foundation, and he's been doing a number 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:38.680 of camps over a few years around the West Coast 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.480 and says, hey, let's do one to Alaska, and let's 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:43.360 do it in December. And I'm like, there's no better 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:45.560 time a year to go to Alaska than in December 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.200 where it's going to be in the teams all week. 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.760 So here we are for the very first Avery Strong 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:53.400 Alaska Showcase and there's probably about one hundred kids from 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.920 Alaska all throughout the state come into this camp this weekend. 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.199 So I'm going on behalf of our foundation and getting 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.360 to watch these guys football. So it's gonna be And 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:03.840 I brought my son with me, so you know, I'm 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:06.599 going to make the most of freezing in places I 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:08.080 didn't think I could possibly freeze. 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:14.440 Yeah, okay, Mining for talent Tye because in Alaska there 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:15.440 was a gold rush as well. 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.800 That's what he does. He's a national recruiting editor for 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.480 twenty four to seven Sports of course, early signing day 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.520 in the books, and surprise, surprise, brand in Alabama again 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:30.920 on track for the top class yet again. Of note, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:35.959 this year, they snagged four of the top ten wide 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:39.120 receiver recruits in the class, one of which they flipped 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:43.560 from LSU. Were like, we're so far beyond calling these 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:47.280 classes ridiculous at this point. I guess the operative question, 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:49.520 and we ask it every year, is which of the 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:52.120 guys that they're bringing in have the best chance to 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.360 make a real impact in the twenty twenty one cycle. 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:59.440 Well, I mean, here's what's crazy. They still might not 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.880 even be done at adding to this class because they're 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:04.720 one of the five finalists to the number one overall 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:08.079 planned the country by twenty four seven sports jac two moowile. 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:11.040 So if they get him, I mean that's I think 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.960 we were talking about this yesterday. That would put them 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:18.360 potentially as the highest rated class in recruiting history, at 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.240 least in the twenty four to seven era. And so 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.280 that's what their class still could potentially be. Ohio State 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:27.360 second right now behind them, and they could get him, 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:29.320 so that might close it a little bit. But the 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.839 guys if they got signatures from you got JC Latham 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.760 who is the number one offensive lineman of the country 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.880 who you know, obviously Alix lether would graduating, You've got 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.040 some other upper classmen there. He's a six six studenter 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.760 pounder who can just move like a gazelle. And he's 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:46.080 a tackle prospect that probably plays early. Maybe he doesn't 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.160 start right away as true freshimon, but it wouldn't surprise me. 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:50.560 On the other side of tackle, they got the number 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.320 two tackle in the country, Tommy Brockermeyer, and that was 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.040 a big blow out of Texas. That was kind of 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.800 one of those first recruiting kind of losses. Tom Herman 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.440 took this offseason that really started to make the always 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:06.320 hot seat even warmer. His father played in Texas. I 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:08.440 believe his mom went her as well, and Tommy and 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.480 his twin brother, who's not as highly rated as Tommy, 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:15.000 both signed with Alabama. Then you throw in Dallas Turner, 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.640 you know, the elite pass rusher. So even if they 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.840 don't get JT who's the number one strong side defensive end, 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:22.920 then got the number one week side defensive Then coming 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.360 in in Dallas Turner, you got to Quincy mckinstrey, who's 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:29.560 an actual Alabama kid who's coming from in state and 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:31.640 we haven't even gotten to any of the receivers yet. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.880 It was to the point yesterday where Ziger Worthy, who 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.880 was a top one hundred player, ultimately chose to stay 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.600 with Michigan rather than flip to Alabama because even though 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:42.840 he's a top one hundred receiver, they had so much 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.400 good receiver talent coming in that it's scaring others away. 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.439 So I don't think we should go any further without 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.320 kind of getting into the actual context of a very 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:58.280 different recruiting cycle because of limitations slash no ability to 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.320 go on official visits and coaches to see prospects in 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.840 person for the majority of the senior years of these guys, 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:07.480 and in home visits not being available because the dead 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:11.360 period is still ongoing. What is this just a fully 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:14.719 upside down recruiting cycle? Is it more similar than I'm 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.160 giving it credit for. What do we need to know 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.040 about the realities of this past cycle. 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:23.719 Well, here's what you need to know, and I think 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:25.800 you guys have probably talked about this before. The NCAA 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:28.200 is going to vote in January about the one time 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.320 transfer rule where you can transfer without sitting out penalty, 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:33.880 which the timing couldn't be more perfect because of how 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.600 many guys had to make commitments to schools, school site unseen, 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.640 town unseen, campus facilities unseen. Heck, these guys haven't even 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.240 seen the coaches that they sign to play for in person. 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:46.760 They basically have done their you know, their their homework 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:50.000 on an LCD phone screen or an iPad or a computer. 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:52.319 On the flip side, a lot of college coaches kind 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:55.199 of felt like they needed to fill out their recruiting classes. 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.280 So if they needed to fill twenty twenty five spots, 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.960 there's probably at least half of those guys they never 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.760 seeing in person. They're having to rely on the video. 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.160 They're having to rely on the pictures with no camp, 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.080 no interest and evaluation. So I have a feeling there's 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:10.840 going to be some regrets by both parties over the 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:15.600 next twelve thirteen months. I anticipate a very loaded transfer 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.640 portal about a year from now. But what the other 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:20.800 thing is, I think it also took away a lot 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:24.400 of the intriguing drama from yesterday because so many guys 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.839 were worried and concerned about being left behind. There were 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:31.520 far more earlier commitments this year than we've ever seen 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.439 in the recruiting year, so more guys just secured their 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.480 place at the table and then ultimately signed because they 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.400 still never had that opportunity. Some guys were making reservations 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:42.960 committed to schools with the expectation they would be able 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:44.880 to take visits down the road, but when the business 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:47.080 were taken off the table, they just decided, I'm gonna 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:48.920 firm this up and then you know, we'll see how 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:50.040 I adjust when I get there. 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:54.520 Counterpoint, And maybe this is not based in reality at all, 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.640 but is it possible that this could mean that prospects 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:04.160 are making fewer decisions off of the emotions based around 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:08.319 a huge win or a particularly charming head coach or 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:12.559 position coach in his parents' living room or parties facilities, 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:17.559 an amazing nightlife in whatever college town he's visiting. Could we, 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:22.120 maybe in some cases anyway, be looking at actually more 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:23.880 pragmatic decision making. 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:29.120 One percent, guys are actually making the decision based on 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:31.920 the relationship they're developing with this coach. Is the trust 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:34.760 I mean, the trust on both sides is probably greater 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.680 than it's ever been in this recruiting dynamic. But now 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.120 there's not that last second. Jordan paytoning of a recruitment 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.360 where that coach comes in to be a home for 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.680 the in home visit on a Saturday night the last 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.920 weekend and gets the kid who's been committed to a 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.760 school for eleven months to flip you're seeing. You know, 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:53.520 there's no intrigue with but last official visit, there were 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:56.600 any official visits. There were hardly even unofficial visits this 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.720 year taken you had, you know, the Pac twelve and 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.760 the Big Ten aren't let fans in the stadium, so 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.320 you had guys go to the Big twelve schools and 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.400 go to SEC schools and still buy tickets to go 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:08.880 and see those games. But when you take out twenty 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.440 four schools from having any kind of person inside the 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:15.160 game that's not playing the game, guys weren't able to 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.480 use that to let the emotions kind of sway them 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:19.320 that way. So yeah, I think you're right. I think 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.240 there's a lot more trust involved, but a lot better 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:25.440 decision making in the process, And it's not about who's 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.200 got the sexiest uniforms or the best looking photo shoots 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:31.720 or the best weekend party game day atmosphere. I think 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.000 there's a lot more research that has been going in 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:36.800 with kind of the free time that these guys have 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.280 suddenly developed without being able to go to campuses. 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.920 Yeah, and branded on the other side of the coin, 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:45.920 we also have weird eligibility rules in twenty twenty for 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.920 the kids who are already on campus, being so it's 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:51.960 essentially a free year of eligibility. Has that had any 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:53.320 impact on the recruiting trail? 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.320 Absolutely? And I think what you're having is a lot 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:01.720 of schools that basically didn't fill classes yesterday and they're 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:05.560 not anticipating filling that class in February because there's no 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.360 hard cap number that has been put down yet to 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.880 know how many guys can you have on scholarship out 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:13.120 of maximum Maybe you were planning to take twenty five 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:15.920 this year, but you've got twenty seniors that you thought 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:17.640 were graduating and now all of them are planning to 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.760 come back. You're on the hook for those I had 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:22.040 one pack twelve school tell me at one point, you know, 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.800 we don't know how many scholarships that the NCAA is 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.680 going to allow us to max out it. But we're 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.840 not Alabama or LSU. We can't necessarily afford one hundred 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.440 and five one hundred and ten guys on scholarship. We're 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.640 on the hook for that. And so imagine now what 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:36.440 group of five schools are at. They have a hard 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.240 enough time getting to eighty five scholarships, and now they 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.960 have twenty seniors that don't want to leave. So schools 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.080 have basically said that, you know what, we'll just hit 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.520 the portal hard instead of filling our numbers. Are filling 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.760 our numbers now and wait and see what the attrition 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:53.280 looks like after the season, after the screen. Because there's 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:55.520 so much uncertainty with what the NCAA is going to 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:58.560 limit or cap that number at. Nobody wants to put 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.120 too many guys on scholarship because that will now have 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:01.680 to pay for. 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.400 All those guys, right, I mean, it's just it's such 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:08.080 a different year with regard to everything, especially recruiting. I 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.359 think of a guy like a Tyler Buckner, who was 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.359 the big quarterback recruit for Notre Dame. You know, in 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:17.399 a normal year, we're potentially talking about him starting as 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:20.800 a true freshman ahead twenty twenty one. But it's not 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.760 been a normal year for those kids either, Right, Like, 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.399 first off, eam book could come back if you wanted, 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.960 and too Tyler Buckner couldn't play his senior season because 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.600 of the virus. Our friend Pete Sampson over at The 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:34.560 Athletic wrote about this. I know you guys over at 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.119 twenty four to seven did as well, but like, how 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:40.679 does this odd year where maybe we didn't have that 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:43.440 extra year of development for some of these top recruits 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:47.600 affect your expectations about how they perform as a freshman, 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:51.159 or even how they develop as a college recruit in general, or. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:54.520 How you compare them to people who do play right. 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.120 And that's the thing. So you look at a guy 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:58.919 like Jackson Dark who signed with USC yesterday. You know 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.520 they say a lot of times you're abilities availability, Well, 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.400 what did Jackson Dark do this season? He played fourteen games. 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:06.840 You know, that's more games than most states that were 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:08.600 playing their seasons. He can played. He got a full 0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:11.119 fourteen game schedule and he went off this season. I 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.240 think he had forty touchdown passes, like four interceptions, ram 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:16.320 for about fifteen touchdowns. He took over at the same 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:18.720 school as Zach Wilson played his high school ball, so 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.040 leads into a state championship. He had I think a 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.960 Utah State offer going into the season, By the time 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.240 that got down to it, he was decided between USC UCLA, 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:30.600 going to BYU, going to Arizona State. He had plenty 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:33.040 of options and kind of bet on himself and became 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:35.360 one of the hottest commodities. Then you get a guy 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:37.840 like a Tyler Buckner, who there was the question how 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.719 good is he really? He's tearing up lower level San 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.720 Diego football, so he makes the transfer to Helix High School, 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:45.920 the same school Reggie Bush and Alex Smith played that 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:49.040 jumping from the lowest division in San Diego to the 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.440 highest division in San Diego. But now he'll never have 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:55.520 that opportunity. Another good example in their kid in Portland, 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:58.679 Nithon Rollins Kbanji, who's the number two player in the 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:01.440 state of Oregon who's committed a Oklahoma. At one point 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:03.240 in his high school career, he was committed to play 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:07.000 basketball Washington State. His head coach at Jefferson High School 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:09.520 at the time, Don Johnson Junior, who's now the director 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.240 of high school relations at Oregon, convinced him to come 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.040 play football. Said, you can go play pack what basketball 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:16.600 is a six to six forward, or you can go 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.639 play in the NFL as a six to sixth defensive end. 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:21.440 He comes out for football, plays ten games last year, 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:24.040 has offers from all over the country, but then decides 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:26.640 he's going to enroll early at Oklahoma. So now you've 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:28.480 got a six to sixth pass rusher who is really 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:31.520 a basketball player who's showing up at Oklahoma, which has 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.480 all the worry of the world over time to say, hey, 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:37.160 we get these defensive players that they have federally can't 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:39.480 tackle in the biggest games of the year. Here's the 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:41.560 guy who's going in and he literally has ten high 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:44.320 school football games under his belt because he doesn't play 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:47.280 his senior season. So you have the expectations thinking he's 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:49.480 going to develop from his junior to senior year. Now 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.480 that senior year's gone, he shows up to campus in 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:55.320 the middle of January. How did you know Oklahoma's going 0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:56.760 to have to get him ready to play? Maybe he 0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:58.960 didn't play right away, but that's what you're talking about. 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:00.880 You have a lot of guys that they still haven't 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:04.320 even learned a game, and now they're on scholarship at 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:07.600 a major university who has expectations We need you to contribute. 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.080 I want to go back to quarterbacks for a second, 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:13.880 and I guess, if anything, recent history has told us 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:16.320 that even though we look at this what looks to 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.400 be a pretty good roster of class of twenty twenty 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.520