WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 91: Pro Day Roundup 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.320 This week on the Happy Half Hour. Signon Bradley Boseman 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:08.319 was probably the biggest move because having a three hundred 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.559 twenty pounds center a protects whatever quarterback you're going to 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:14.800 be drafting, and it keeps that offensive line together. The 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.919 starting five is now together under contract through at least 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:25.520 the twenty fourth season, and that's huge. Text it's time 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.560 for the Happy Half Hour with your friends, Kristin Balboni, 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:35.280 Augusta Stone, and Darren Gannet. That's right, it's the Happy 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:40.159 half Hour with your friends, Darren, Augusta and Kristen. Happy April, 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:45.640 Happy draft month, you two, happy spring. Yeah, it's happy, happy, happy. 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.199 We're fully happy now. Well that's part of the brand. Yes, 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:52.600 part of the brand, Darren, I know. And we're now 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:57.080 fully happy again. So we're all back. We have not 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.880 recorded an episode since the Panthers traded up to the 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:03.280 number one overall pick. Darren, and as you mentioned, Augusta 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:05.200 was on the road for Pro Days. So as we 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:07.560 were going through topics, of course we're going to talk 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.720 about your observations from Pro Days. We're gonna talk about 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:12.880 the upcoming draft, but we're like, we gotta go back 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:16.200 to free agency. A little bit a lot has happened. Yeah, 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.360 it's been a been a busy month around here. You know, 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:21.120 you trade for the first pick and then you just 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:24.800 start backfilling everything in free agency. I mean, Simon Bradley 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:28.120 Boseman was probably the biggest move of the light I 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:32.040 mean literally and physically, because having a three twenty pounds 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.600 center a protects whatever quarterback you're going to be drafting, 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:39.000 and it keeps that offensive line together. The starting five 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:41.759 is now together under contract through at least the twenty 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.520 fourth season, and that's huge. I mean when you're trying 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:48.320 to protect that investment that they're about to make with 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.160 the first pick in the draft. That was the big 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:53.520 first step. But then they just went through methodically and 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.520 checked off the entire shopping list of stuff a young 0:01:56.600 --> 0:02:00.320 quarterback needs. They got a veteran possession receiver and Adam Dealing. 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:02.800 They got a tight end in Hayden Hurst. You know, 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.520 they go get Miles Sanders, who's a three down back 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:08.280 who's good as a receiver and a running back, a 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.639 type of which we're familiar with around here, and that's 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:13.639 going to be a quarterback's best friend in a lot 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.400 of ways. So they went out very methodically, and then 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.280 they come back after the fact and get Djharg to 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.840 get the speed guy downfield to open things up a 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:25.040 little bit. So they've got a lot of options now 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.680 offensively for whoever that guy's going to be. And then 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:31.160 we also saw some moves on the defensive side, which 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.120 you know they're slotting in kind of what that three 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:38.880 four will start to look like some pieces there. So Augusta, 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.480 what I'm wondering is, you know, of course everyone who 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.240 is listening to this followed the free agents signings or 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:48.799 some still coming in now as they happened in March, 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:52.400 But where do we feel this team is right now 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.640 after all of these signings heading into the draft. I mean, 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.240 I feel pretty good about it exactly, and I want 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:01.040 to go back to a Darren said, especially about getting 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:04.440 the offensive line together. Obviously Austin Corbett's coming back from 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.800 injury and Bretty Christiansen coming back from injury. But I 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.240 was talking I've been talking with with coaches and stuff, 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.280 and that that foundation. I think I think a lot 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.280 of it is, like we said, just putting together the 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:18.000 pieces and having like a steady place to build from 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:21.120 new coaches, new quarterback coming in with with a sense 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:24.000 of you know, kind of what they know what they're 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:26.440 setting up from a good basis, a good like if 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:29.320 you're looking at like a pyramid, solid base, build up, 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.959 build up, build up, thinking of the nutrition pyramid in school, right, 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.000 so those are your grains down at the bottom. You 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:36.560 got to get a lot of those, right, you have 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.160 like actually probably kind of the meats, aren't they. I mean, 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.080 didn't we do that last year with the Rby's package. 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:44.760 They have the meats, yes, but but yeah, like I mean, 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.480 and you have like veteran veteran pass catchers like Darren mentioned. 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:48.960 I think hayden Hurst was a big one. I wrote 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.200 a story about that that we published yesterday. I think 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:53.120 Um just kind of feeling like he was like, you 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:54.960 know what, I've been five years in the league. I 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.280 feel like I'm I'm at a place where I have, 0:03:57.560 --> 0:03:59.720 you know, the confidence that I feel good in the league, 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.880 and so I can give that to someone younger, you know, 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.839 he's ready to work. Like in a quarterback in that way, 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.040 so you start out with a bass, you just keep 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:10.120 moving up. So I kind of like like wait setting 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.680 up and then we'll have the little hop pit quarterback 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:14.240 at the very little top of the pyramid. Well, and 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.240 speaking of somebody that has a lot to give to 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:20.120 whoever this young quarterback is, we haven't even mentioned Andy Dalton, 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:25.040 someone who has a lot of experience, you know, ben 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:28.719 to the playoffs pro bowler reeve right, Yeah, And we 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.159 talked about that a lot when they started putting coaching 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.240 staff together. I mean, Frank Reich and Josh McCown both 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.560 played in the league a lot of years. Andy Dalton 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:39.880 was more productive than either one of them as NFL quarterbacks. 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.880 And Josh told me this, he said, you know, it 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:45.520 hits different when it's coming from the guy in the room, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.560 And Josh was the guy in the room for a 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:51.040 long time in his NFL career as that veteran backup 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.280 who was there as a sounding board, someone to help 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:56.560 mentor it just lands differently with the young guy when 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.279 it's somebody who's wearing a jersey on the practice field 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:01.679 in the locker room with him every day, as opposed 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.320 to the coach. I mean, that coaching staff is very 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:07.640 good and very experienced in terms of all the years 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.800 and all the different perspectives they've got to help that guy. 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:14.039 But having an Andy is going to be important for 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:17.080 whoever it happens to be. I talked to him when 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.360 he came in during free agency, and I asked him 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.360 about that. You know, I said, the evntional wisdom is 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:23.680 that it will be a quarterback, of course, with the 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.280 number one overall picks. So what is your mindset going 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.200 into that? And he said, look, I got to start 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:29.960 as a rookie. I know what that's like, and I 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:32.800 also know the pressure of that, and so whatever I 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:34.919 can do, because you know, I'm first and foremost going 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.000 to be the best player that I can be, and 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.920 but also as a contributor, as a mentor, I understand it. 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.240 I get it. And like you said, Darren, when you've 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.120 got you've got Frank Reich, you've got Josh McGown, you've 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:51.080 got Andy Dalton. The amount of combined starts that they 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.359 have or game appearances that they have is just going 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.760 to be a wealth of knowledge for whoever this is. 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.760 So let's talk about who this might be and what 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.520 you guys learned at Pro Days. I mean, if you 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:05.760 want to break any news here on the Happy half 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:09.120 Hour podcast, feel Free Well, sources close to me tell 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.160 me that the Carolina Panthers are likely to select a 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:15.960 quarterback with the first pick. You heard it here first, 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.760 you heard it here first, And we can probably narrow 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:21.000 that list to four since they went to see four 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.960 different pro days. So I've just been doing them in 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.920 chronological order of the pro day. But we go from 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:31.280 CJ's Trau to Bryce Young to Will Levis to Anthony Richards. 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:33.279 I like that, that's your It's funny because I feel 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:34.640 like you always have to have the desclip like in 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.640 no specific order, right, So your order is it's not alphabetical, 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:42.000 it's not it's it's order of pro days, right. And 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:44.760 I've had people try to read the tea leaves and 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.239 they're like, oh, Darren went to House State and Augusta 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.760 went to Alabama. That means no, it doesn't. That's just 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:52.719 it's got more to do with commercial travel schedules than 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.560 anything else. But let's so then let's go chronologically by 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:58.560 you each split it up two and two. So which 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.760 one was was first? CJ. Stroud, All right, Ohio State. 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:05.119 I start there and you walk in the door and CJ. 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:08.599 Stroud looks the part and you know, Augusta in her 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:12.920 pre Pro day road trip barnstorming tour hit Georgia, and 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.080 those guys had seen them all, and those guys had 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:19.200 played against all four of them, and CJ was the 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.720 last one they saw and consistently talked about how he 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.920 did so many things impressively. And when you get to 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:27.240 that pro day, you understand why they say it. I mean, 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:29.640 he looks like what an NFL quarterback is supposed to 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.320 look like. He's six foot three, he's big, he throws 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:35.120 a really catchaball ball. I mean. The Ohio State Pro 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:37.960 Day also stood out to me because the best player 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:40.800 in the building was a guy who's not even draft 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:43.760 eligible in Marvin Harrison Junior. And that guy is just 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.920 an alien from outer space. He will be in next 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:48.960 year's draft, and he ain't going to be there long, 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.840 so we won't spend much time talking about him, because 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.400 without a first round pick, you're not even in that 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.440 zip code. But CJ's always had that kind of talent 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:00.920 around him. So when you watch him work out, yes, 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:04.240 he throws a catchable ball. And when you're where we were, 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.520 you know, standing kind of on the sidelines with the 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.400 scouts and stuff, you hear these guys whisper to each 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:13.400 other and stuff like catchable ball makes it easy for 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.640 his receivers. I mean, that's kind of the buzzwords you 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.800 get with CJ. Stroud And so he's really I think 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:24.440 that Georgia game elevated his stock a lot. I don't 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.080 know that we're necessarily talking about him in the same 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:30.640 way without that game, but doing that against that grade 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:34.000 of defense got everybody's attention and put him put him 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.520 on the radar. And then, hypothetically, if you are you 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:41.120 making your pros and cons list, what are the things 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:45.480 that are standing out to anyone who's evaluating him in 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.559 terms of Okay, we know all the good stuff, so 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.160 what are the things that give you pause? One of 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:51.800 the things and I hated about scouting business, but it's 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.240 real and people lean on it is he's an Ohio 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.440 State quarterback. And people think, because of all those weapons, 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.520 because there's a Marvin Junior out here on this side, 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.560 because there's always top shelf receiving talent around him, how 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:06.560 good is he really? How much of it is he 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:10.160 doing himself? And the one thing from being up there 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.720 and talking to his offensive coordinator, who's you know, believing 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.760 or not an old Josh McCown teammate, Because everybody who's 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:19.120 ever passed through the NFL is an old Josh McCown 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:21.880 teammates a lot of teammates. But Brian Hartline talked about 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:24.800 how CJ handled a lot more stuff at the line 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.200 of scrimmage than a lot of other quarterbacks up there 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:30.360 have done, and and just a mature guy, he said, 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.680 he does it the right way. So I think those 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:36.920 negatives can almost become positives at a certain point because 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:40.319 he knows how to manage talent. But that's going to 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:42.960 be a knock until two or three Ohio State quarterbacks 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.920 in a road play well in the NFL. That's those 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:50.320 old stereotypes die hard. Yeah, but I think you know, 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.640 there's also the question of he was a little up 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.000 and down prior to that Georgia game. There was the 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:57.600 game before the Georgia game was kind of a disaster 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.400 against Michigan. And when you do it against Michigan, people 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:04.440 in Columbus remember it a lot more. All right, Chronologically, 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:08.559 which pro day was next? Rice Young at Alabama? All right, Augusta, 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:10.640 what do you got for us? Yes, so very next day, 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:12.360 Darren and I split it up. I will say we 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.360 split up geographically too. For the people reading the tea leaves. 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.800 I went south and he went north, so that's another 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.000 way it went. But um, yeah, Alabama Pro day walk in. 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.559 I think the first thing I noticed about Bryce was 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.400 he waited to throw obviously till the very end. Wasn't 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.280 doing anything else. Was there with his teammates. He has 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.680 a calming let's say, I don't want to quiet. Confidence 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.160 is the word. But it's one of those things where 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:38.040 it's like, Okay, yeah, this guy kind of runs the show, 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:39.559 but he's not in your face about it, like going 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:43.280 around all of his teammates, you know, hitting bumping fists 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:46.800 one thing, and I tweeted about it. But before he threw, 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.120 he talked with Frank Wright for about ten minutes and 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:50.960 I was just standing there and I was almost timing. 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:52.679 I'm like, how long are they going to talk? Kept 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:54.920 talking so like he had a rapport with a lot 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:57.360 of people. There was just talking. I met his family, 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.800 his dad and his mom, who were very sweet people. 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.599 I mean, his quarterbacks coach. It felt like one of 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.240 those it was just the whole thing. It's a big day, right, 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.760 but it felt like it was just locked in, very cool, 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:12.440 very calm. It looked looked great. I think I talked 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.360 with his quarterbacks coach. He started working with him when 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.240 they were when he was in eighth grade, so he's 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:20.160 been working with him for almost a decade. Yeah, and 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.640 he was he was telling me, you know, the program 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:25.920 that we put together for him today was basically just 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:28.320 kind of shown as much variety as possible. I mean, 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.120 he was completely locked in, very much so on target, 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.680 just Bryce Young, Bryce Young things and also pro day. 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:36.560 Like Darren mentioned, it's like the perfect environment. Everyone's calm, 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:39.600 everything's cool. Just it felt like, yes, there's a big 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:41.200 day and there's a lot going on and there's so 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.959 many cameras, but something about it still felt like very chill. 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:46.200 And I think that's very Bryce Young. I agree, And 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:48.439 that's what we've always heard. And it's cool to see 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:51.840 to know that you got that same firsthand experience, because 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:54.520 that is one of the things that everyone says when 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:56.480 they first meet him, or they first watch him, or 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:58.720 you can see it when he's playing, is that the 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:00.760 moment doesn't never seems too big for him. He is 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:05.400 he is your prototypical quarterback leader, right. He is the 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:10.600 guy that is gonna command the offense. I'm sideline reporter 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:12.319 for the Panthers. So I see a lot of the way. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:14.559 I always paid special attention to the way the quarterbacks 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:18.800 address the other team members coming off the field, good 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.040 or bad. Right, And just like you're saying, like dapping 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:23.320 guys that like all that stuff, like you're in command, right, 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.760 you are the de facto leader if you're the quarterback. 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:31.319 And it does seem like he always has had that 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:34.679 right since we've been watching him play. But then, of 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.560 course everyone knows what if you want to talk about 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:39.760 what what CJ. Strauto at the knock on CJ Strout 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.400 is or what the hesitation is, we all know what 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:45.880 the typical hesitation with with Bryce Young is. And that's 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:49.240 his size, Darren, Right, he's not big. He's not big, 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.040 and if big is a hang up for you, he's 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.280 probably not going to be your guy. But there's simply 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.160 not a lot of comparisons. I mean, there's two of 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.800 but two's bigger than him. There's Drew Brees, there's Russell Wilson. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:05.080 But it's a pretty short inventory unintended of guys who 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.520 have played in the NFL at his size. But also 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.880 not three bad comparisons, you know, like if I mean 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:12.680 those are the three guys that have done some things 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.439 succeed in the NFL at that size, you've got to 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.679 be pretty special, and I think bry Shon can be. 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.400 I mean, to me, when I look at him, it's 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.120 it's the fact that he's been running an NFL offense. 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:25.760 He's been down there with Bill O'Brien and he's been 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.800 calling plays at the line of scrimmage. He's been making checks, 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:32.360 he's been doing NFL quarterback stuff at the line for 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.520 the last couple of years and doing it at a 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:38.120 really high level. How this is something that we haven't 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:41.640 talked about. I'm sure it's it's been talked about or 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.520 written about, and I've been meaning to ask you about this, 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:49.560 So why not right now, hypothetically if you are Scott Fitter, 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:51.760 if you are Frank Reich, And as you talked about, 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.240 the big thing in free agency was making sure that 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:56.760 Bradley Boseman came back. So you know what this line 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:58.880 is now. Of course, as you said, Austin Corbett, Brady 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:02.400 Christiansen rehabbing from very serious injuries, and you know that 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:07.200 this line does not put their quarterback in a bad 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.480 situation very often. And you have, as you said, three 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:14.160 hundred and twenty pounds in front of your quarterback. Does 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:19.760 that give you a little more confidence about Bryce Young's size? 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.640 I think so, I mean the obvious. And I've talked 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:26.720 to other coaches and other personnel people in different places 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.600 where they've used first round picks on quarterbacks about how 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:32.640 you do it. And I think people the first thing 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.840 they say is often you got to protect that guy. 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.920 You got to make sure he's protected offensive line wise, 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.960 am with weapons. And you know, I just think when 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.200 I go back and look at the very deliberate job 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.440 they did in free agency last year. You signed corbitch, 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:50.760 you signed Bozeman, You can the draft icky, Yeah, to 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:52.840 put that foundation in place so you can drop a 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.240 quarterback in this is a good spot. I mean, this 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.600 is a good place for him to be. And I 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:00.760 think it was intentional. They didn't know it was going 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.640 to be Stroud or Young, or it's intentional because you 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:05.640 want to have the best offensive line you can have 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:08.600 for any quarterback. But I but I think in that 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.280 context of a smaller guy, absolutely, it's crucial to be 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.400 able to have those level of guys in front of them. 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:18.400 So and they do all right, so chronologically, which pro 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.600 day was next well, well le Kentucky, and it was 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:24.560 kind of I was going through the map with the 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:28.440 dotted lines, you know, it was very Chevy Chase. Vacation 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.720 holiday road was playing in the back from Ohio on Kentucky. 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:35.480 Aren't that It's not right? Yeah, we flew it. Darren 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:38.200 is making it. If you're listening, you can't see. Darren's 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:40.720 got you know, one hand over here and then ten 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:46.040 feet away, pointing a map all the way. Yes. Now, 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:48.040 we flew in a Columbus and then drove down a 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.440 Lexing in about a three hour drive, not too bad 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:55.000 and you know, very Chevy Chase. Yeah, it's uh yeah, 0:15:55.080 --> 0:16:00.160 it's we're taking Root sixty six to the Grand Canyon. Everybody, um, 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.680 but no, we rode down in Lexington. And here's the 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.760 thing about Will Levis he is he can throw the 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.360 football over a mountain. I mean he has yoked up. 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.640 I think the popular phrase now is rocked up. You 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.280 hear college coaches say all the time. He is muscular, 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:19.479 he is big, he is strong, he's got the big arm. 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.720 He hits the ceiling of the facility, because that's gonna 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:27.120 be the new thing now. Josh Allen, Yeah, I mean, 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.280 I'm old enough to remember Kyle Bohler doing hitting a 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:33.680 crossbar from the fifty yard line on his knees, and 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.040 so hitting the roof is going to be the new thing. 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.440 So let's get Michael Jordan to check in the ceiling 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.680 is the roof. But he's got a big strong arm. 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:44.800 He's never been surrounded with a lot of talent around 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.040 him At Kentucky, obviously it's a different situation. But after 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.200 transferring him from Penn State, he put up a lot 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:54.120 of numbers as junior especially, and he's one of those guys. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.520 Before they knew they were picking first, they spent a 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:00.600 lot of time looking at Will Levins. You would walk 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.840 by Scott Fitter Dan Morgan's office last fall and there 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:07.920 would be Kentucky tape on the screen because when they 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.199 thought they were picking ninth, I mean, that's kind of 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:12.159 the range. I think a lot of people were thinking 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:14.640 about for Will leave us at the time. So he's 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:16.680 somebody they've been looking at for a long time. They 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.600 went to the weekend of the Falcons game on the road. 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.400 They ran up to Knoxville the night before to see 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:26.040 him play Tennessee and it's you know, he's somebody they've 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.320 paid attention to for a long time, talented kid and 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.560 can move around. He is a mobile guy in addition 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.760 to big strong arm, so he's an interesting prospect. But 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.199 the thing that kind of came through up there is, 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.160 you know, I don't know that I think it would 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.159 be a huge surprise to a lot of people if 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:45.679 Will leave us was necessarily the guy. But to me, 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:50.840 it's an example of how thorough they're being because David 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.159 Nicole's still there, going out to dinner with him the 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.520 night before, going through the entire process, the whole offensive 0:17:56.520 --> 0:18:00.280 coaching brain trust is they're talking to him. They still 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.040 had a huge contingent there, and Kentucky didn't have a 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.640 lot of other people other than Will Levis to look at. 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:07.960 You go to Alabama, you go to Ohio State, there's 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:11.919 always half a dozen other first round picks on the 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:15.040 side at the two places, so not so at Kentucky. 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:17.399 Everybody was only there to see Levis. And it's just 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:20.320 an example to me of how thorough the process is. 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.239 You want to make sure you button up everything, you 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.520 check everything. And Scott said when we was up there, 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.640 when I talked to him after the workout, he said, 0:18:29.240 --> 0:18:31.640 you know, hey, even if it's not in this draft, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.960 you know, maybe it's four years from now in free agency, 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.240 maybe it's at some point down the line, or you know, 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:40.440 something happens and you're looking at a trade or you're 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.119 playing against him. You want to have as much base 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.760 of information about a guy as you can. And also 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:50.359 something that is, you know, a check mark in his column. 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:54.119 Is that system right and the and the coordinators that 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.200 are the coordinates are typically at Kentucky's. Yeah, the thought 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.639 is that you know, he has the tools and has 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.639 been in the system too. Yeah, make the transition to 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.120 the next level fairly. And I think he's got an 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.840 opportunity to be good. With all these guys, it's about fit. 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:10.480 That's the most important thing in the NFL is getting 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:12.960 to the right spot. Because I can see, you know, 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:15.399 I can see Will Levis with the right set of 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.280 people being really successful in the NFL. I can see 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.160 any of these guys if they get in bad situations 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:24.480 with the wrong people, becoming a complete disaster, because that's 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:26.760 what happens in the league. A lot of good quarterbacks 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.399 go to bad places and you never hear from them again. Yeah. 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.639 All right, So the last one on the list. Anthony 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:37.159 Richardson at Florida, Yes, and came right after the owners 0:19:37.200 --> 0:19:40.040 meetings in Arizona. So they were coming in hot from that. 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.520 The Panthers, Yes, the Panthers, yes, yes, yes, not Anthony 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:45.480 richards No, no, no, he was not there. He was 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.040 not there, So coming in hot from that. This was 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:51.560 about a week or move from the other three. Again 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:53.679 very similar to Will Levis. I think the biggest thing 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.639 with him is his strength and his size. I snapped 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.400