Speaker 1: That keep your booking Deep down, fail, clutchdown, Miami drawn.
Speaker 1: What is up, Dolphans And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast,
Speaker 1: part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network, covering your team,
Speaker 1: your Miami Dolphins, each and every day. How's it going everybody?
Speaker 1: It is Tuesday. I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and
Speaker 1: I'm here to bring you your daily dose of Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins football. And on today's show, we reeled in a
Speaker 1: big big Fish Championship weekend is in the books. Two
Speaker 1: teams remain and that means we are on to Senior
Speaker 1: Bowl week and we've got Jim Naggy, the director of
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, on tap for this edition. This Tuesday,
Speaker 1: January edition of the Drivetime Podcasts and practices for the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl will begin today on nf All Network. The
Speaker 1: next three days they will televise those practices. Brian Flores
Speaker 1: and the entire Miami Dolphins coaching staff will be out there,
Speaker 1: and we conclude with the game on Saturday that kicks
Speaker 1: off at two o'clock Eastern, and we're gonna jump into
Speaker 1: my interview with Jim Naggi here in just one second.
Speaker 1: But first, some Dolphins coaching news over the weekend, the
Speaker 1: Dolphins made a change to the staff at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: Charlie Fry. You might recognize that name from his playing
Speaker 1: days back with the Cleveland Browns, the Seattle Seahawks, and
Speaker 1: the Oakland Raiders. He has been named the Dolphins quarterbacks
Speaker 1: coach as the Dolphins also parted ways with a man
Speaker 1: that held that position in and Robbie brown Now. His
Speaker 1: most recent stop for Charlie Fry was as the offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator at Central Michigan in the Mac Mac Tuesday Baby,
Speaker 1: one of my favorite college days of the entire week.
Speaker 1: He led the Chippawa's offense to two D eight team
Speaker 1: point two rushing yards per game this past season, and
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen they gained six thousand seventy total yards.
Speaker 1: That was the most in the Mid American. Friends, as
Speaker 1: the coaching staff starts to round out here for one season,
Speaker 1: Brian Flores is third here in Miami. Let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and waste no more time on this edition of Drive
Speaker 1: Time and welcome in my guest Jim Naggy and writing
Speaker 1: Shotgun Now on the Drivetime podcast is the director of
Speaker 1: the Reese's Senior Bowl. He was a scout in the
Speaker 1: NFL for eighteen years. Jim Naggy, Jim, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for joining me today. Yeah, I appreciate you having
Speaker 1: me on. Yeah, it was nice to meet you. Last
Speaker 1: year Indianapolis was hoping to get a chance to do
Speaker 1: that again, but that's that's not gonna happen this year.
Speaker 1: But we we do get it to enjoy the festivities
Speaker 1: of Senior Bowl because of what it's become in terms
Speaker 1: of the national broadcast and all the stuff that goes
Speaker 1: along with it. And and Jim, I had mentioned this
Speaker 1: on Twitter, but man, these rosters just continue to get
Speaker 1: beefier and beefier each year. Dane Brugler, one of the
Speaker 1: good draft writers over The Athletic, mentioned that forty of
Speaker 1: his top one players on his first big board will
Speaker 1: be descending on Mobile this week. How have you and
Speaker 1: your team been able to make this event such a
Speaker 1: draw for some of the big names maybe in the
Speaker 1: past would have passed on the opportunity to come to Mobile. Uh, yeah, Travis,
Speaker 1: I appreciate you saying that. You know, we we really
Speaker 1: when we got here almost three years ago. Now it's
Speaker 1: our third game cycle. Really wanted to put the focus
Speaker 1: on the tape and we've never had tape here at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowls, so we had to jumped through a
Speaker 1: lot of hoops in the league office and and get
Speaker 1: the tape that all the thirty two NFL teams do
Speaker 1: so we can download anything we want, which has been huge.
Speaker 1: You know, We've hired a scouting staff of guys that
Speaker 1: have scouted in the league before, just to get some
Speaker 1: veteran eyes on these players. And I really try to
Speaker 1: run this thing like a you know, like a real
Speaker 1: personnel department. And uh so that's that we've worked really
Speaker 1: hard at that. And and then also using the social
Speaker 1: media has been really big with us in terms of
Speaker 1: connecting with players early. And we'll start watching tape for
Speaker 1: next year's game here and just just in probably two
Speaker 1: or three weeks um after this year's game is over,
Speaker 1: and so what you know, we'll start cranking out content
Speaker 1: um for the draft even before gets here. You know,
Speaker 1: it's important, it's it's important to connect with these guys early,
Speaker 1: let them know that we're looking at him. And really,
Speaker 1: the the other part of it is just changing that narrative, Travis,
Speaker 1: that you talked about. Um, to me, our game has
Speaker 1: more value for the first round picks than these, than
Speaker 1: like the middle round guys that can play their way up.
Speaker 1: That hasn't been like the popular mindset in the past,
Speaker 1: and I think it needs to be. You know, Terry
Speaker 1: McLaurin came to the game a couple of years ago
Speaker 1: as a fifth or sixth round pick. Um had a
Speaker 1: great week down here, turned everyone inside out, nobody could
Speaker 1: handle him, and he went in the third round. So
Speaker 1: that that's a huge jump for a player. You know, Um,
Speaker 1: and in hindsights, Terry should have been a first round pick.
Speaker 1: But um, you know, but for if you go from
Speaker 1: eighteen or if you go from thirty six to twenty nine,
Speaker 1: I mean those jumps that you make more more money
Speaker 1: making those jumps than you do jump in two or
Speaker 1: three rounds later in the draft. So to me, if
Speaker 1: you're sitting there at twenty one and you could get
Speaker 1: to fourteen, and mean, that's like seven or eight million
Speaker 1: dollars just to like just to putt in like three
Speaker 1: days of work. So um, yeah, just it's just trying
Speaker 1: to create that mindset that been around the game for
Speaker 1: a long long time. I really do feel like this
Speaker 1: game benefits those those top round guys, those first dround
Speaker 1: guys more so than anyone. I'm glad you brought up
Speaker 1: Terry McLarin because even watching him on the television broadcast
Speaker 1: and just watching, you know, the way he looked on
Speaker 1: the field, man, that was fun to watch. Deebo Sam
Speaker 1: another guy that comes to mind that really kind of
Speaker 1: did well for his stock. And then Javon kin Law
Speaker 1: last year, I think he had what one day of
Speaker 1: practice and and he winds up, you know, showing everybody, Okay,
Speaker 1: he's one of the best players on the football field
Speaker 1: out here. So it's it's so much fun to watch
Speaker 1: those one on one drills and and what what goes
Speaker 1: on the week of practice. But this year the Dolphins
Speaker 1: Crav Travis, let me cut you off there, since we're
Speaker 1: talking Dolphins. Um On last year's board, we had three
Speaker 1: different defensive tackles at the top of the board. We
Speaker 1: had Derek Brown one, we had Javon kin Law too,
Speaker 1: and we had ray Kwon Davis like he he and
Speaker 1: he and kin Law were like touching each other on
Speaker 1: the board. They were that they were that close. One
Speaker 1: guy came to Mobile, the other guy was committed to
Speaker 1: Mobile and pulled out the day three hours before he's
Speaker 1: supposed to get on a flight and Ken law will
Speaker 1: goes four teen and Rey Kwan went what somewhere in
Speaker 1: the late fifties or something like that. So um. And
Speaker 1: you look at what Rei Kwan did on the field.
Speaker 1: He had a great rookie year. He's a great football player.
Speaker 1: But pulling out as late as he did and not
Speaker 1: showing himself in front of these thirty two decision makers
Speaker 1: that really impacted where he got drafted. So um, I
Speaker 1: think that's a perfect example of what this week can
Speaker 1: do for guys and and how it can hurt him
Speaker 1: if they choose not to play. I'm glad you brought
Speaker 1: up Rey Kwon Davis. You know coach Flora's when he drafted.
Speaker 1: When when Ray Kwan got drafted, Coach Flora's was was
Speaker 1: caught on camera with a little bit of a smile
Speaker 1: on his face there, and he certainly, uh you know,
Speaker 1: proved why that smiles on his face. In the second
Speaker 1: half of the season, he played really well, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: and you talk about this Dolphins coaching staff was gonna
Speaker 1: be coaching the national team in the game next Saturday.
Speaker 1: What was that conversation like with you and your old
Speaker 1: friend Brian Floor's you guys go way back when you
Speaker 1: offer him him and his staff that spot. What was
Speaker 1: that conversation, Like, Well, it's not us, Travis, it's the
Speaker 1: NFL league office. So the football operations on on Park
Speaker 1: Avenue pick our teams, Um, they go, they go with
Speaker 1: the draft orders. So um, yeah, Flow and I talked
Speaker 1: about it last year and I was really hopeful they
Speaker 1: would get the game. Last year I didn't work out,
Speaker 1: and it was great that it worked out that way
Speaker 1: this year. So, um, it's been phenomenal. Like I've said,
Speaker 1: he's one of my closest friends in football. Is one
Speaker 1: of my favorite people. Um, I've ever connected with. And
Speaker 1: then you know, I'm friends with Chris Greer and I worked,
Speaker 1: and I'm really good friends with Marvin Allen who I worked.
Speaker 1: We all worked in New England together, Marvin and Brian
Speaker 1: and I. So it's been a great group to work with.
Speaker 1: Those guys have been awesome. They've been completely low maintenance,
Speaker 1: they've been interactive. Um, we've had some hits on the
Speaker 1: roster the last couple of weeks with injuries and just
Speaker 1: working through trying to bring guys they want to see. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, we picked the rosters initially, but but once
Speaker 1: we get the teams on, I don't want to bring
Speaker 1: players in that they don't they don't want to coach.
Speaker 1: So UM, it's always good when you're kind of in
Speaker 1: lockstep and we've we've agreed on all these guys, but
Speaker 1: the communication has been great. Um, couldn't ask for anything better.
Speaker 1: I kind of wish we could have the Panthers in
Speaker 1: the Dolphins coach this game every year because it's it's
Speaker 1: been a really good two weeks. That's awesome to hear
Speaker 1: and and whether it's going off of what you've heard
Speaker 1: from previous coaching staffs or just what you've seen, you
Speaker 1: know with your own eyes, Jim, what are the real
Speaker 1: benefits like for a fan that that knows a little
Speaker 1: bit about the Senior Bowl but doesn't really have the
Speaker 1: intimate knowledge, What are the true benefits of coaching staff
Speaker 1: being able to be down there and get these kids
Speaker 1: and meetings and practices and in the film room and
Speaker 1: all that stuff. What's the true benefit for this Dolphin
Speaker 1: staff to be there for you know, these hundreds of
Speaker 1: kids down there. Yeah, it's it's it's tremendous value any
Speaker 1: year and probably more so this year. I can just
Speaker 1: draw it back to two years ago when the Raiders
Speaker 1: coached the game. They had eight players from the Senior
Speaker 1: Bowl on their opening day roster the next year. So, UM,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's everything. You know, it's it's in it's
Speaker 1: a training table, it's you know, being in the locker room,
Speaker 1: it's being in the meeting room. Um, you're seeing which
Speaker 1: guys pay attention tocts, show up on time. You know,
Speaker 1: how guys learn, how they respond to coaching. Um, being
Speaker 1: on the practice field and one on ones when they
Speaker 1: take reps back to back, and you know, all these
Speaker 1: guys are gonna lose during the week at some point,
Speaker 1: so you see how those guys bounce back in their
Speaker 1: mental toughness and just how much guys love football and
Speaker 1: how how invested they are in the process. And so
Speaker 1: those takeaways, the behind the scenes stuff that you don't
Speaker 1: see it practice or in the game, and the and
Speaker 1: the other teams don't have. You know, the opportunity to
Speaker 1: get is uh is so valuable because you know, not
Speaker 1: where we're at with the NFL right now, these guys
Speaker 1: gotta show up ready to be a pro. UM the
Speaker 1: league isn't waiting for him to to do that. They
Speaker 1: gotta show up ready to go and uh and they'll
Speaker 1: they'll see all that stuff, you know, coaching these players
Speaker 1: this week. I think that might be a good segue
Speaker 1: to my next question for you, because we asked that
Speaker 1: question at a time, like what does the benefit for
Speaker 1: the Dolphins coaching staff to be down there? But you know,
Speaker 1: as as you mentioned, being someone that knows coach Flora's
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins coaching staff, what's the benefit these players
Speaker 1: have of playing under a coach like Brian Flores. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's great value for our players too to be coached
Speaker 1: by any staff. You know. It's just the NFL is
Speaker 1: a different league. So whether it's practice temple or how
Speaker 1: meetings are run, or you know, installs of a playbook,
Speaker 1: you know, a pro style offenses is I think it's
Speaker 1: morphin a little bit. I think the NFL has taken
Speaker 1: a little more from the college game than in the past,
Speaker 1: but but still everything is different, you know. And the
Speaker 1: thing about Brian Staff and there's some guys and that
Speaker 1: stuff I'm not really familiar with. But um, I know
Speaker 1: Brian is a great teacher and I know that, Uh,
Speaker 1: you know that. I'm I know that's important to him
Speaker 1: when he when he hires coaches. So I'm sure that
Speaker 1: all those guys are great teachers. So it's great for
Speaker 1: our players. I mean, a week exposure is a long time.
Speaker 1: We're not talking about like a day or two. So
Speaker 1: so to get a week with this staff, um and
Speaker 1: learn from them, they're gonna leave, they're gonna leave will
Speaker 1: be all better football players than when they came here.
Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and continue up on that
Speaker 1: with with Brian Flores, because, like I mentioned, we spoke
Speaker 1: in Indianapolis last year coming off of five and eleven season,
Speaker 1: and you know the Dolphins were they had so many
Speaker 1: draft picks and so much free agent capital they could
Speaker 1: or you know, salary cap capital that they could go
Speaker 1: out and prove the roster. I'm curious to get your take, Jim,
Speaker 1: on how you saw kind of this whole thing come
Speaker 1: together under Brian Flowers and what you saw from the
Speaker 1: beginning of his vision and where the team is now
Speaker 1: a ten one season going into year three here with
Speaker 1: again more draft capital and more free agent money to spend. Uh. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Brian's made me look smart because they hired him. It
Speaker 1: was my first it was my first year at the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl and they just hired him in a couple
Speaker 1: of people at the opening press conference asked me about
Speaker 1: Brian and I kind of gushed on him, and you know,
Speaker 1: you've got friends in the league that you're you're good
Speaker 1: friends with. But um, like I wouldn't say I wouldn't
Speaker 1: have said those things just because we're friends, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Like, there's there's certain guys that are
Speaker 1: great position coaches, are great coordinators that might not not
Speaker 1: necessarily make a great head coach. Um, but I've always
Speaker 1: felt Brian was that guy, even even you know, back
Speaker 1: to our early days in New England, Like I you
Speaker 1: could see that in him. Um. And I'll say this,
Speaker 1: like I I don't get a chance to watch n
Speaker 1: a lot of NFL uh stuff during the fall because
Speaker 1: we're so focused on the college game. Um. But I've
Speaker 1: looked over the roster and they had a nice draft
Speaker 1: last year and they added some guys. But um, on paper,
Speaker 1: that's not a ten win football team, you know. That's
Speaker 1: that's really a credit to to coach Flora's and his
Speaker 1: staff and what they got out of that football team
Speaker 1: this year. So they still have plenty of needs and
Speaker 1: with the draft capitol that they have, like you talked about, um,
Speaker 1: and as good as Marvin and Chris are on the
Speaker 1: on the personnel side and their scouting staff, they do
Speaker 1: a great job. Um. It's exciting to see where where
Speaker 1: Miami is gonna be in two years when it when
Speaker 1: this roster is gonna look a lot different. Yeah, kind
Speaker 1: of like the college coach kicking of a program right
Speaker 1: once he gets all of his guys in there, then
Speaker 1: you can kind of truly judge what his his full
Speaker 1: vision is in terms of how the program looks under
Speaker 1: his direction. And you know, we talked about Brian Flora's
Speaker 1: a lot on this podcast on Mimi Dolphins dot com.
Speaker 1: Whatever it is as a guy that has done so
Speaker 1: many jobs in the NFL, and you mentioned the scouting
Speaker 1: background with him back in New England. What what was
Speaker 1: Brian floors the evalue what you're like and how does
Speaker 1: that kind of help him, you know, excel in this
Speaker 1: role where he does so many multiple things and where's
Speaker 1: the multiple hats like a head coach has to do well? Again, Like,
Speaker 1: I know, Brian's a good evaluator because we've always talked
Speaker 1: about players together. But honestly, when we were together in
Speaker 1: New England before before coach Belichick was smart enough to
Speaker 1: reach upstairs into the front office and and yank Brian
Speaker 1: downstairs and coaching. Um, he was. He was a scouting
Speaker 1: assistant man. He was filing report their reports that that
Speaker 1: us the scouts were writing. You know, he was. He
Speaker 1: and Pat Stewart, who's now uh, you know, one of
Speaker 1: the top dogs in Carolina. That's why it's been fun
Speaker 1: with having Carolina because Pat Stewart, who met Rule hand
Speaker 1: picked last year to head up his personnel department. He
Speaker 1: and he and Flow were the two we're a two
Speaker 1: scouting assistants those a couple of years. So, um, you
Speaker 1: know in both those guys are great. You know, you
Speaker 1: knew what you kind of know if a guy has
Speaker 1: the eye or not right away. It shouldn't take that
Speaker 1: long to know if a guy is gonna be a
Speaker 1: good evaluator. Obviously, you can hone your craft and you
Speaker 1: get better the more players you see because you build
Speaker 1: out that rolodex of players. Um. But you know, you
Speaker 1: can talk players with guys early on and kind of
Speaker 1: see if they have an eye forward if they don't. Um,
Speaker 1: and and Brian finitely did from right from the jump
Speaker 1: in New England. Yeah, it's you know you talk about that.
Speaker 1: It's fun to see what the industry has become in
Speaker 1: terms of all the people that are interested in scouting nowadays.
Speaker 1: It's just it's beneficial for all of us who think
Speaker 1: it gives us, you know, even more people to choose
Speaker 1: from in terms of who does get in those positions.
Speaker 1: But let's go ahead and transition now back towards the
Speaker 1: week at Mobile and talk about this game. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: scouts and coaches are gonna be their decision makers. What
Speaker 1: exactly are they looking for this week? Like, I'm curious, Jim,
Speaker 1: what's the process of an organization? As they all descend
Speaker 1: upon Mobile, they get their their eyes on the field,
Speaker 1: their eyes and the player. They get the meetings and
Speaker 1: all the fun stuff that goes along with that, and
Speaker 1: then they convene afterwards. What are those conversations sound like
Speaker 1: in terms of what they take away from the entire
Speaker 1: week in Mobile? Uh, Travis, It's it's everything, man, Honestly,
Speaker 1: they they are looking for everything. And I tell the
Speaker 1: players that orientation the first night they come to town.
Speaker 1: I tell them, guys, You're you're on watch the entire
Speaker 1: time you're here. You're being evaluated every time, every time
Speaker 1: you get in front of these guys, whether it's walking
Speaker 1: from uh, you know, training table to the to the
Speaker 1: elevator go back up to your room. These scouts are
Speaker 1: are hanging out in the hallways and they're watching how
Speaker 1: you do stuff. So um, like in pre practice, like
Speaker 1: our guys just you know, monkeying around or are they
Speaker 1: focused on what they're doing, Um, you look like we
Speaker 1: talked about bouncing back from from mental mistakes. They're looking
Speaker 1: for that stuff. They're seeing who loses two reps in
Speaker 1: a row and who bounces back that second rep and
Speaker 1: and gets after somebody. Um. So it's it's a full takeaway.
Speaker 1: The interviews is a big part how those guys performing
Speaker 1: the interviews. UM. And it's a lot of the stuff
Speaker 1: you can't get on the tape right and and this
Speaker 1: is a huge year for that. So all these all
Speaker 1: these decision makers, I've only spoken to, UM, a couple
Speaker 1: of gms in the entire league that actually went and
Speaker 1: saw college football players this fall. And uh, because you know,
Speaker 1: if they did that, well, then they couldn't re enter
Speaker 1: their teams. Bubble and go to the game on Sunday.
Speaker 1: So a couple of a couple of guys chose to
Speaker 1: do that this year. But but by and large, these
Speaker 1: guys are coming down here and seeing these players for
Speaker 1: the very first time. So, you know, I think the
Speaker 1: you know, the eyeball test, the bodies is a really
Speaker 1: underrated part of the evaluation process, just looking for growth
Speaker 1: potential and how a guys built. I mean, there's old
Speaker 1: takeaways we could we could probably do a whole podcast
Speaker 1: session on that, but uh, but they're there. This is
Speaker 1: a big year for that. You know, these guys haven't
Speaker 1: been seen yet. So um, it's everything. Man, They're they're
Speaker 1: gonna be have their eyes opening in their eyes opening,
Speaker 1: their ears open at all times while they're down here. Jim,
Speaker 1: you're teeing me up well here because I wanted to
Speaker 1: go ahead and mention one of my favorite Saturday traditions
Speaker 1: from you on Twitter is when you're on the field
Speaker 1: and you're you're looking at a player in warmups. I
Speaker 1: love seeing the way they move and the size of
Speaker 1: those guys next to normal size human beings, right, It's
Speaker 1: always one of my favorite things. I just I'm so
Speaker 1: fascinated by the entire process of evaluation. So it's it's
Speaker 1: cool to see you have that access. And I want
Speaker 1: to finish with this because you mentioned you could talk
Speaker 1: for an entire podcast just about this. I could turn
Speaker 1: this into a Joe Rogan three hour long podcast in
Speaker 1: a blink if I had asked you everything I had
Speaker 1: for you here. But we'll keep it brief. And I
Speaker 1: know it's not easy for you to select names from
Speaker 1: these loaded groups, But who are some of the names
Speaker 1: you're gonna you out there this week throughout the week
Speaker 1: that you personally cannot wait to see on the field. Um,
Speaker 1: I mean really, the answer is all of them. Um.
Speaker 1: For me, this is tomorrow when the players arrive on
Speaker 1: on Saturday. That's that's truly my favorite day of the
Speaker 1: whole year. Um. It's just it's so exciting to get
Speaker 1: these guys here. We've been tracking them for so long,
Speaker 1: and you know, once they accept we really connect with
Speaker 1: them and and uh so to get them here is great.
Speaker 1: But I'm excited. I'm always excited to see the smaller
Speaker 1: school guys, right, Um, I mean this game is great
Speaker 1: for for everybody, but you know, these smaller school guys
Speaker 1: like that Dylan Ravens from North Dakota State was an
Speaker 1: offensive tackle, Spencer Brown and other offensive tackle from Northern Iowa. UM,
Speaker 1: Robert Rochelle, a corner from Central Arkansas. These guys are
Speaker 1: Day two guys right now, and I'm just curious to
Speaker 1: see how high they can get. Um. You know, right
Speaker 1: now Ratents and Spencer are rated on our board. We
Speaker 1: got those guys higher than we had Titus Howard a
Speaker 1: couple of years ago, Um, the tackle from Alabama State,
Speaker 1: and Titus came down here and tore it up all
Speaker 1: week and went overall of Houston, Texans. So UM, I'm
Speaker 1: just curious to see how how how those guys can climb.
Speaker 1: Similar like Jeremy Chinn last year from Southern Southern Illinois.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, Jeremy's gonna be in the mix
Speaker 1: for Defensive Rookie of the Year this year. I know
Speaker 1: he won the Defensive Rookie of the Month in October
Speaker 1: and November, so um, and he went late in the
Speaker 1: second to Carolina. So I know one of these guys
Speaker 1: is gonna pop and do that, and hopefully all of
Speaker 1: them will. But I always love watching those small school
Speaker 1: guys get the big stage. You know, talking to my audience. Now,
Speaker 1: I did not send Jim my notes pre show here,
Speaker 1: but my next question was about small school under the
Speaker 1: radar guys, So checking those boxes off from me, Jim,
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. One of my one of my favor
Speaker 1: you mentioned your favorite days when they arrive. I love
Speaker 1: the helmet stickers that I don't recognize. I'm like, where
Speaker 1: is that school? And then Charles Davis comes on TV
Speaker 1: and tells me all about the kid where he played
Speaker 1: his high school ball, his wrestling background, all that fun stuff. Man,
Speaker 1: if you can't tell by the excite of my voice,
Speaker 1: my favorite week of the year when it comes to
Speaker 1: the evaluations, it's so much fun to see. I'll leave
Speaker 1: you with this question, Jim. You wound up getting Davonta
Speaker 1: Smith and Naji Harris at the and kind of a
Speaker 1: late pusher to get those guys of the game. How
Speaker 1: many high fives were you guys having around the building
Speaker 1: down there when you got both those guys in the game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Mac Jones too. Those were those were those were
Speaker 1: fun ones. But we we have a bell in the office. Um,
Speaker 1: we put a bell in the office two years ago. Uh,
Speaker 1: the first year I was down here. We put a
Speaker 1: bell in the office and we ring it every time
Speaker 1: a guy we've been an acceptance fact, we get an
Speaker 1: acceptance email and we get somebody on the bell to
Speaker 1: ring that thing. And uh and it's fun, man, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's really fun. I was never part of the
Speaker 1: college game, but I can only imagine it's like landing
Speaker 1: a five star prospects um, you know, in the cool
Speaker 1: part of the phone calls, you know, calling these guys
Speaker 1: up when we you know, through the fall process, will
Speaker 1: send me invites to the head coach like we do
Speaker 1: every year. That's kind of our protocol. And uh, leave
Speaker 1: it up to the coaches at their discretion when they
Speaker 1: wanted to seminate the invites. But once we get through
Speaker 1: the season, you can you can connect directly with these
Speaker 1: guys and uh, man, we've had some tears over the
Speaker 1: past couple of weeks with some guys. They were so um,
Speaker 1: you know, just blown away and and you know, overwhelmed
Speaker 1: by the emotion of it. And then so those are
Speaker 1: cool moments. And then for a guy like Naji, you know,
Speaker 1: getting Naji on the phone the other day, I was like, hey, man,
Speaker 1: I know he's beat up right now, he's got he's
Speaker 1: got an ankle that he's working through. And uh, I said,
Speaker 1: you know, Naji will will work if you on the ankle,
Speaker 1: We'll try to get your right. He's like, he's a coach.
Speaker 1: I'm coming there to compete, and you could hear in
Speaker 1: his voice it was a it was a pretty cool moment. Um.
Speaker 1: So I know Naji's he's fired up. So yeah, they're
Speaker 1: all great, man, They're all great. But yeah, with those
Speaker 1: with those Crimson Tide guys, Um, it's always big on
Speaker 1: here in Mobile, Alabama because our fans love him. But
Speaker 1: when you get the Heisman Trophy winner and a guy
Speaker 1: like Naja Harris and a guy like Mac Jones who's
Speaker 1: gonna be a first drop pick, um, those are those
Speaker 1: are pretty cool. That's that's really awesome. Jim, I really
Speaker 1: appreciate that. Jim Naggy, the director of the Reese's Senior Bowl. Again,
Speaker 1: appreciate your time and definitely your work to get this
Speaker 1: game and this week to what it is now. Like
Speaker 1: I said, Jim, one of my favorite weeks on the
Speaker 1: entire calendar. And try not to eat too many peanut
Speaker 1: butter cups over next week, Alright, my friend. Alright, Travis,
Speaker 1: I appreciate you having me on today and look forward
Speaker 1: to seeing you. That sounds good. We'll talk to you
Speaker 1: soon there, Jim, yes, and away he goes. Very lucky
Speaker 1: to get Jim here on the Drive Time Podcast. He
Speaker 1: was one of my first interviews in this job when
Speaker 1: I was again fortunate enough to flag him down at
Speaker 1: the scouting combine last year and talk to him on
Speaker 1: one of the very first episodes might have been the
Speaker 1: very first episode of the Drivetime Podcast, as well as
Speaker 1: the team's YouTube page with video clips at the combine
Speaker 1: last year. Those were a lot of fun to do.
Speaker 1: Hopefully we can get back to doing those here in
Speaker 1: the very near future. And with the Senior Bowl starting
Speaker 1: off today with the practices, let's go ahead and take
Speaker 1: a look at the rosters this year. And you know what,
Speaker 1: before we do that, I mentioned the connection off the
Speaker 1: top of the podcast there with Charlie Fry and to
Speaker 1: a tongue of Valoa, And first things first, you have
Speaker 1: to be encouraged by that because I think you look
Speaker 1: around the league over the years and the quarterbacks that
Speaker 1: did not pan out, and I think oftentimes there's a
Speaker 1: correlation between those players and the organizations they played for
Speaker 1: with a bit of a failure to surround their young
Speaker 1: quarterback all the resources you need for him to be successful.
Speaker 1: And I get there's a chunk of the population out
Speaker 1: there that will say, hey, no excuses, don't baby the kid.
Speaker 1: He either is or is not the guy. And I
Speaker 1: could not disagree with that sentiment more than I do.
Speaker 1: You go out and buy a Ferrari, and I'm not
Speaker 1: a car guy, So forgive the very generic car example here,
Speaker 1: and you put regular unleaded gas in the gas tank
Speaker 1: and you buy plastic hubs from Walmart. No, you don't
Speaker 1: do that. You feed that thing premium fuel and you
Speaker 1: put top of the line accessories on the vehicle. Same
Speaker 1: deal with the quarterback. How often do we talk about
Speaker 1: the connection between a coaching staff or even a GM
Speaker 1: and the quarterback. Traditionally speaking, those positions all kind of
Speaker 1: succeed together or they failed together. So protecting your investment
Speaker 1: by giving him every single resource he needs is absolutely paramount.
Speaker 1: And I think that's what you'll see this year with
Speaker 1: Toungo Voloa and what does that market offer. We're gonna
Speaker 1: get into free agency at a later date here on
Speaker 1: the podcast, when it's a bit more prevalent. But if
Speaker 1: you just scour at list, there are a lot of
Speaker 1: name brands scheduled to hit the market this offseason, and
Speaker 1: how many of them actually will remains a big mystery,
Speaker 1: of course, But there are attractive names and fits up
Speaker 1: and down that list at receiver as well as the
Speaker 1: running back position. But since it's Senior Bowl week, let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and take a look at these rosters and
Speaker 1: start with where I left off, asking Jim at the
Speaker 1: end there about getting the guys off the national champion
Speaker 1: Crimson Tide team Heisman Trophy winner Davante Smith and author
Speaker 1: of four million touchdowns over his career at Alabama, Najy
Speaker 1: Harris Smith first is absolutely pure and seamless as a
Speaker 1: route runner. He transitions in and out of his brakes,
Speaker 1: attacks leverage, plays a lot bigger and tougher than his
Speaker 1: frame suggests, and had his outstanding feel body control, hand
Speaker 1: eye coordination, and makes tough catches look routine. He's a special,
Speaker 1: special player. Then there's Nagy Harris, who features a rare,
Speaker 1: rare blend of lateral agility but also straight ahead power
Speaker 1: and absolute monster in the passing game. Out of the backfield.
Speaker 1: You can give him an eight percent snap account workload
Speaker 1: because of that versatility. He changes angles on pursuing tacklers,
Speaker 1: converts short yardage, and can hit the big run. I
Speaker 1: wanted to get both those two guys off the top.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and go over the rest of the
Speaker 1: roster here and start with the quarterbacks. We're not gonna
Speaker 1: go by team, just by the quarterbacks at the game
Speaker 1: in general, and on the American squad, Kellen Mon, Kyle Trask,
Speaker 1: and Jamie Newman some interesting players. They're probably more Day
Speaker 1: three prospects off that list, but these guys have a
Speaker 1: chance to help improve their stock. A couple of these
Speaker 1: guys can push the football down the field. Kellen Mond
Speaker 1: a very athletic, mobile quarterback who improved over his time
Speaker 1: at A and M and had a big season here
Speaker 1: in his final season with Texas A and M. Curious
Speaker 1: to get a look at those quarterbacks on the practice
Speaker 1: field as well as the quarterbacks Miami will be coaching
Speaker 1: and Sam Ellinger at Texas Ian book from Notre Dame
Speaker 1: and Phelippe A. Franks from Arkansas. Ellinger has kind of
Speaker 1: that twitchy, athletic playmaker type of trade the like as
Speaker 1: far as being able to escape pressure and getting off
Speaker 1: the spot. There and Ian Book kind of in that
Speaker 1: same mold, but both have to kind of prove themselves
Speaker 1: more this week. I think as a pocket passer at
Speaker 1: the running back position, you look at the Dolphins roster
Speaker 1: here we talked about Naji Harris Michael Carter out of
Speaker 1: North Carolina, a name that I'm very intrigued by in
Speaker 1: terms of his pass catching ability and he can run
Speaker 1: the football to part of a very nice one to
Speaker 1: punch there at North Carolina this past season. On the
Speaker 1: other squads of attractive names as well, kyl And Hill
Speaker 1: out of Mississippi State. That guy is a very complete
Speaker 1: type of player as well. I'll be get curious to
Speaker 1: get a look at his skill set on the practice field.
Speaker 1: At the tight end position, I curry favor here to
Speaker 1: Kenny Yoboa, the tight end out of Old miss who
Speaker 1: just has the athletic building trades to be able to
Speaker 1: kind of be that guy that can come in and
Speaker 1: play the f play the y flex out wide play
Speaker 1: receiver as well, but he can do some work in
Speaker 1: the passing game and the running game that you like
Speaker 1: as well. At the receiver position. Both these groups are
Speaker 1: very deep and very good. I really love myself from
Speaker 1: Kadarius Tony out of Florida talks about him throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the season, tweeting some videos of him and
Speaker 1: showing you what he can do. That guy's electricity and
Speaker 1: a bottle. As far as getting off the top of
Speaker 1: the route, he can really break some ankles, turn guys around.
Speaker 1: You're gonna see him get some one on one reps
Speaker 1: where he turns guys completely around at the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 1: Shy Smith out of South Carolina another guy that has
Speaker 1: great body control and feel for for the holes in
Speaker 1: the zone coverage. That type of thing catches the football
Speaker 1: very seamlessly as well. A Mari Rogers out of Clemson
Speaker 1: another big name there and then on the Dolphin squad
Speaker 1: here the national squad at the receiver position, I sure
Speaker 1: do like Tyland Wallaces Game out of Oklahoma State. He
Speaker 1: can certainly make guys miss in the open field. Has
Speaker 1: that thick lower half build that can kind of be
Speaker 1: your jet sweep guy. He can take carries out of
Speaker 1: the backfield, catch screen passes, but also can get vertical
Speaker 1: as well. Sage sur Rat out of Wake Forest he
Speaker 1: has some nice route running ability and smooth separation skill
Speaker 1: set there as well. So you look at these receiver
Speaker 1: groups as far as talking about building around your young quarterback.
Speaker 1: Guys that can separate, Guys that can win quickly, Guys
Speaker 1: that can make big plays after the catch because we
Speaker 1: know this quarterback is going to put the receiver in
Speaker 1: position where the ball is accurate on target and stride
Speaker 1: on some deep shots and vertical shots. You get guys
Speaker 1: that can make that catch and then make the defense
Speaker 1: pay after the catch. That's a big, big benefit of
Speaker 1: big big boom to support two what tongue to my
Speaker 1: lower strengths. I think there are plenty of guys in
Speaker 1: this class in this game that feature both those traits
Speaker 1: in spades. You look along the offensive line here, some
Speaker 1: small school kids kind of stand out. You heard Jim
Speaker 1: Naggy talk about the North Dakota tackle Dylan Redunds. He
Speaker 1: has some special special traits where you can get to
Speaker 1: the second level and white bodies off in the running game.
Speaker 1: Also solid pass protection. You also like the Wisconsin Whitewater kid.
Speaker 1: He's got some some popular last couple of weeks, Quinn
Speaker 1: Minarez out of Wisconsin Whitewater some similar traits there, and
Speaker 1: then Creed Humphrey Oklahoma will be on the Dolphins national
Speaker 1: squad as well to get an up close look at him.
Speaker 1: He's a captain type of player, a very very strong leader,
Speaker 1: a guy that can anchor and pass pro pass off
Speaker 1: the game's very intelligent offensive lineman in the middle there
Speaker 1: for the Oklahoma offense for a number of years at Oklahoma.
Speaker 1: On the other side, Tray Smith out of Tennessee one
Speaker 1: of the most imposing, physically gifted players in this entire
Speaker 1: draft class. He had some medical concerns early in his
Speaker 1: college career, came back this year, proved himself, played more
Speaker 1: games at Tennesseee. That guy's a possible first round talent
Speaker 1: with his ability to get pushed in the running game.
Speaker 1: Also on that American squad Alex Leatherwood out of Alabama
Speaker 1: a possible first round pick. Deontay Brown a massive, massive
Speaker 1: guard three and fifty pounds there a huge frame that
Speaker 1: helps him play big at that position as well, so
Speaker 1: more options in the trenches on offense. We flipped over
Speaker 1: to the trenches on the defensive side of the football
Speaker 1: in the American squad Kansas States why Wyatt Hubert This
Speaker 1: guy is an effort player that plays with strength, with
Speaker 1: power and plays the run on the way to the quarterback.
Speaker 1: Was a big fan of his and twenty nine team.
Speaker 1: He came back in to play this final season here
Speaker 1: at Kansas State and produced once again. Marvin Wilson the
Speaker 1: defensive tackle inside for that Florida State squad. This guy
Speaker 1: is a big, powerful player that can get some quickness
Speaker 1: off the snap as well and win that way. So
Speaker 1: you've got your options there in terms of physicality versus speed.
Speaker 1: On the national squad the Dolphins team, Jonathan Cooper out
Speaker 1: of Ohio State. He had a fantastic season this year.
Speaker 1: Really helped kind of pick up the slack there for
Speaker 1: Chase Young when he went to the NFL last season
Speaker 1: out of Ohio State. Good pass rusher, good five technique
Speaker 1: off the edge there, and can condense inside as well.
Speaker 1: Out of Washington. Levy Unwosk the defensive lineman out of Washington.
Speaker 1: He can really get some push and just toss bodies around.
Speaker 1: He is so strong and so stout at the point
Speaker 1: of attack as both a pass rusher and a run defender,
Speaker 1: and has some versatility that way as well. To Ron
Speaker 1: Jackson out of Coastal Carolina. Another similar player that has
Speaker 1: that long, big, strong build that we talked about here
Speaker 1: on the podcast, A lot and shocka Tony out of
Speaker 1: Penn State. This guy is a pure pass rusher as well.
Speaker 1: Love to see a look at him in terms of
Speaker 1: what he can do getting after the quarterback this week
Speaker 1: and those one on one drills. Then at the linebacker position,
Speaker 1: one of my favorite players in this game, Chas a
Speaker 1: Rat out of North Carolina. Kind of that modern blend
Speaker 1: of linebacker where he can do some safety stuff and
Speaker 1: some linebacker stuff down around the line of scrimmage, both
Speaker 1: in coverage the run game and as a pass rusher
Speaker 1: blitzing off the edge or inside the other squad, the
Speaker 1: American squad. Patty Fisher out of Northwestern kind of your
Speaker 1: b gap to be gaps slammer, the guy that can
Speaker 1: come in there and defend the run that way. Also
Speaker 1: Monti Rice out of Georgia. That guy has a quick trigger,
Speaker 1: good pursuit, good effort, good tackling. A guy that I
Speaker 1: think will will really show out well this week at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl. And then finally in the defensive backfield,
Speaker 1: a couple of names I'm really intrigued to get a
Speaker 1: look at this week Tyree Gillespie out of Missouri. That
Speaker 1: guy can come down and lay the wood as a
Speaker 1: box defender, but also playoff in two high, three high,
Speaker 1: single high structures. And then maybe remember Obi melifon w
Speaker 1: out of Connecticut. His brother, I food to melafon Wu
Speaker 1: is gonna be in this game this week. I can't
Speaker 1: get it. Can't wait to get a look at that
Speaker 1: kid and his athletic traits. We're gonna cover this game
Speaker 1: and the practices and get some quotes from coach Flooroy's
Speaker 1: and the Dolphins coaching staff throughout the course of this week.
Speaker 1: So keep it locked here on the Drivetime Podcast to
Speaker 1: get a listen and they look at some of the prospects,
Speaker 1: coaches and what happens this week down in Mobile at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl. As for this edition of the Drivetime Podcast,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be my time you all. Please be sure
Speaker 1: to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Leave us
Speaker 1: a rating, leave us a review, give me a follow
Speaker 1: on Twitter. It's at Wingfield, NFL. You can follow the
Speaker 1: team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank and
Speaker 1: the Audible Podcast. Last week on the Audible they had
Speaker 1: Zach Jason Taylor on the podcast to talk about Zach
Speaker 1: Thomas's Hall of Fame prospects. Don't miss that, and of
Speaker 1: course Miami Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, fins Up.