Speaker 1: It's time for coffee and company, fueled my Thorntins on
Speaker 1: Sports Talk seven nine day.
Speaker 2: Holy crap, I don't know who the hell we think
Speaker 2: we are.
Speaker 1: Get off our show, idiots.
Speaker 3: The kids are playing or tail off countures.
Speaker 2: Are screwing it up.
Speaker 3: Gold Play Inner Murals, Brother, gold Play Inner Murals.
Speaker 1: They're supposed to be mature adults, but they're really not.
Speaker 1: Who's the kid here? Who's the kid here? Are you
Speaker 1: kidding me?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 2: Here's nick coffee?
Speaker 4: All right, let's get this show started. Ladies and gentlemen,
Speaker 4: welcome in. It is day one of the NFL season,
Speaker 4: and that excites me. I mean, I'm excited to be
Speaker 4: here for a variety of reasons, but knowing that we
Speaker 4: are just a few hours away from seeing well, I
Speaker 4: guess a little longer than a few hours. But nonetheless,
Speaker 4: the NFL season's here, right college football. I was gonna say,
Speaker 4: been there, done that, but no, I mean it's still
Speaker 4: relatively early, right only I mean the majority of tea
Speaker 4: they've only played one game. But the NFL starts tonight.
Speaker 4: We've got our first NFL Sunday coming up here in
Speaker 4: a few days. And this is again just another reminder
Speaker 4: that we are here, we are getting started what I
Speaker 4: believe is the best time of the year, and I'm
Speaker 4: excited about it.
Speaker 2: But I kind of feel like.
Speaker 4: When it comes to Lamar Jackson, I cannot be alone
Speaker 4: in this in this situation because I'm not a Ravens fan,
Speaker 4: but like claiming that I'm a Ravens fan, like go Ravens,
Speaker 4: it just feels fraudulent because I'm a Colts fan and I'm,
Speaker 4: you know, a sad Colts fan, because I don't know
Speaker 4: how you could not be a sad Colts fan, you know,
Speaker 4: unless you're just an internal optimist, and I'm not that,
Speaker 4: and I don't think we're going to be very good
Speaker 4: this year. But what I'm getting at is, like I
Speaker 4: have the feeling is if my team is playing today
Speaker 4: and they're not, but my guy is playing today, and
Speaker 4: we know who that is, right, That's our man, Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: He's our guy.
Speaker 4: And I just cannot remember any other scenario in my
Speaker 4: life as a sports fan where in the professional ranks
Speaker 4: I've been you know, this locked in for a guy,
Speaker 4: but by proxy it means I'm all in with his team.
Speaker 4: Like it's not like, let me give you an example,
Speaker 4: I want to see the Bengals do well because my
Speaker 4: whole childhood and even a good part of my adulthood,
Speaker 4: the Bengals were just like a joke and they made
Speaker 4: you know, they were easy to make fun of. They
Speaker 4: did a really good job of making fun of themselves.
Speaker 4: They just seem like a sad franchise. So then when
Speaker 4: I see my Bengals fans that I'm friends with enjoying
Speaker 4: the era that is Joe Burrow and they had some
Speaker 4: other decent runs, but like even when you thought they
Speaker 4: were good in previous eras you know, they always would
Speaker 4: let you down, like with Andy Dalton, even with Palmer.
Speaker 4: So when Joe Burrow took him to the Super Bowl,
Speaker 4: like I felt that was special, but I felt like
Speaker 4: a poser, as if I can't take joy in this.
Speaker 4: I'm happy for my guys, my friends who are big
Speaker 4: fans of the Bengals, but I can't. It would feel
Speaker 4: gross that like I'm a Bengals fan because I didn't
Speaker 4: sit through the sadness. So with the Ravens, I could
Speaker 4: be honest, I'd never liked the Ravens. And if you
Speaker 4: ask me Alan, do I like the Ravens, I would
Speaker 4: say well, there's this thing. There's a guy on their
Speaker 4: team who I really like, and his name's Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 4: So I'm you know, I'm not nervous because losing tonight
Speaker 4: would be what is expected. Right now as we speak,
Speaker 4: it is Baltimore, I believe, plus two and a half
Speaker 4: against of course, the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that
Speaker 4: I believe is without question in the midst of a dynasty.
Speaker 4: Some still think they need to do a little more.
Speaker 4: I'm not some of those people. I think they have
Speaker 4: shown with this, with this era they've got going with Mahomes, Kelsey,
Speaker 4: Andy Reid. Throw you throw Chris Jones in there, who
Speaker 4: is still one of the best defensive players in the NFL.
Speaker 4: Like they are in the midst of a of a dynasty.
Speaker 4: So there's not pressure for Lamar to win the night.
Speaker 4: It's just I know what that would mean for Lamar.
Speaker 4: But then again, if they didn't end up beating them
Speaker 4: in the playoffs, if it got to there, he'd be criticized.
Speaker 4: People would claim, well, you know, he just wins the
Speaker 4: MVP because he's got a good team around him, and
Speaker 4: you know he puts up big numbers. I mean, and again,
Speaker 4: I don't believe that. Maybe that wouldn't be what was said.
Speaker 4: But like, I've never in my life as a fan
Speaker 4: been so locked in for a team but only because
Speaker 4: of one guy. And I'm sure there are many Louisville
Speaker 4: fans right now that are like, yeah, I'm with you, Nick,
Speaker 4: I'm ex I'm with you now. I think Louisville fans
Speaker 4: that did not have an NFL team prior to Lamar
Speaker 4: being in the NFL, they that's their team now. But
Speaker 4: if Lamar left tomorrow, you would, you know, you would
Speaker 4: be a fan of the team he left for. And
Speaker 4: that's not a criticism, that's just the reality of it.
Speaker 4: Like I'm still a Colts fan. My sadness, Like in
Speaker 4: a way it's kind of John. It's almost like I
Speaker 4: benefit from it because if Lamar plays well and the
Speaker 4: Ravens lose. I get pissed if people criticize Lamar as
Speaker 4: if he's the problem. But like at the end of
Speaker 4: the day, I know, hey, I mean, the guy's got
Speaker 4: two MVPs. They've clearly done something right with him because
Speaker 4: he's clearly a big factor in their success. And when
Speaker 4: they lose, and again, I know, I sound like a
Speaker 4: Homer here. I think at times their struggles have had
Speaker 4: nothing to do with Lamar. Not to say he's been perfect,
Speaker 4: he's not. He didn't play great in that game in
Speaker 4: his first MVP season when they lost to the Titans
Speaker 4: in the playoffs, But like overall, like without Lamar, they're not,
Speaker 4: they're not anything. So it's almost like I benefit from
Speaker 4: it because again, if he's still putting up MVPs and
Speaker 4: yet they're struggling to get past the Chiefs, of course
Speaker 4: you are elite right now, Like it's almost like you know,
Speaker 4: what are you gonna do?
Speaker 2: He's still great.
Speaker 1: I get what you're saying because I kind of did
Speaker 1: the same thing back when Kyle Schwarber was playing for
Speaker 1: the Cubs and then won the World.
Speaker 4: Sex Look, Kyle Schwarber, I love you bringing that name
Speaker 4: back around.
Speaker 1: The only thing that I can nood. But it relates
Speaker 1: relatively similar to because he was in Indiana Baseball Hoosier.
Speaker 1: He did well for the Cubs after going through like
Speaker 1: the Arizona Fall League or something like that, hit some
Speaker 1: massive home runs. That was your connection. That was my connection,
Speaker 1: and it gave me a rooting interest. But again I
Speaker 1: felt fraudulent because there are so many Cubs fans who
Speaker 1: lived through you know, the curse of however many years
Speaker 1: it was without a World Series title, that I felt
Speaker 1: like I didn't have the right to.
Speaker 2: Enjoy it the way that they did. I know exactly
Speaker 2: what you mean.
Speaker 4: And if I you know, for example, like my colts,
Speaker 4: I don't have high expectations for them, but like when
Speaker 4: they lost last year to Stroud and the Texans in
Speaker 4: the in the in the playoffs, a game I was
Speaker 4: there for. I mean, like that that that killed me,
Speaker 4: Like that was that that was a that was that
Speaker 4: was terrible and I and that stuck with me, stuck
Speaker 4: with me for a little while. But like I kind
Speaker 4: of benefit from Lamar when his team loses, because usually
Speaker 4: he's still great. But what gets me is when there's
Speaker 4: criticism towards Lamar. But what I've decided to do today,
Speaker 4: not just for the show, but just as a fan,
Speaker 4: Like with Lamar, I need to take my own advice,
Speaker 4: not my own advice, but like I need to I
Speaker 4: need to do what I've instructed fans previously to do
Speaker 4: when it comes to Lamar, and that's this, He's reached
Speaker 4: a level as a professional athlete that there's more criticism
Speaker 4: that's going to come his way than ever. He's a
Speaker 4: two time MVP. The standard is really high for Lamar.
Speaker 4: He can play great, but if his team loses, there
Speaker 4: are the occasional scenarios that will play out to where
Speaker 4: like he literally might have had one of the best
Speaker 4: games ever but the defense was trash, or you know,
Speaker 4: a coaching decision, Like there are the rare occasions to
Speaker 4: where he could lose as a quarterback with that type
Speaker 4: of a resume, that type of expectation, and he would
Speaker 4: get no heat. But when you have arrived as professional
Speaker 4: athlete the way that Lamar has, there's always gonna be criticism.
Speaker 2: There's always going.
Speaker 4: To be those that act as if his MVP awards
Speaker 4: are not legitimate.
Speaker 2: And I used to think it was.
Speaker 4: Well, there are people still trying to claim they were
Speaker 4: right about him, meaning those that said he couldn't play
Speaker 4: quarterback in the NFL, that he should work out as
Speaker 4: a wide receiver, and that you know, there's no scenario
Speaker 4: he doesn't get his body broken in half after four
Speaker 4: years in the league. I used to think it was
Speaker 4: those guys that just wanted to be able to many
Speaker 4: years later lift their head up from the grave and
Speaker 4: claim they were right and they could pull the old
Speaker 4: I told you so, But that's not what this is.
Speaker 4: Those people have been proven wrong. They're idiots. I mean,
Speaker 4: everybody gets stuff wrong. I think the first MVP, in
Speaker 4: Lamar's early success, they still felt like they could potentially
Speaker 4: have that out to where yeah, I told you guys,
Speaker 4: you were fooled her. But the guy's a fraud.
Speaker 2: No that.
Speaker 4: I mean, maybe some of those guys still are claiming that,
Speaker 4: but it's nonsense. Anybody acting as if Lamar Jackson's not
Speaker 4: one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in the
Speaker 4: last five six years is a delusional human being. The
Speaker 4: proof is there. His peers in his profession respect him
Speaker 4: as one of the greats. He has two MVP awards,
Speaker 4: and last year, you know, all they did was make
Speaker 4: and run in the playoffs and lose to of course,
Speaker 4: a team that, as I've said many times and a
Speaker 4: lot of you guys probably agree, they're a dynasty. You know,
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna say that like it's gonna be Lamar
Speaker 4: Jackson as the bull, I'm sorry, as the Utah Jazz
Speaker 4: in the mid nineties, late nineties that are running into
Speaker 4: Jordan and the Bulls, but like, if you can't get
Speaker 4: past this current Chiefs team, you know that sucks, but
Speaker 4: like not many can. So it's not about those that
Speaker 4: still claim they were right that he's not quarterback. They've
Speaker 4: been proven wrong. They may not know it, they may
Speaker 4: not acknowledge it, but that's the truth. But I now
Speaker 4: just need to just not because because tonight, if they lose,
Speaker 4: and let's say they lose about ten or more and
Speaker 4: Mahomes looks like Mahomes and Lamar has a good game
Speaker 4: but makes some crucial mistakes late, it'll be described as
Speaker 4: when or when are the MVP voters gonna learn that
Speaker 4: Lamar is not deserving it's always Pat Mahomes. That that'll
Speaker 4: be the narrative, that'll be the noise that's out there,
Speaker 4: and I just need to deal with that. I just
Speaker 4: need to just accept that that's what this is now,
Speaker 4: and it, more than anything, is a sign of accomplishment
Speaker 4: for Lamar. He's hit a level to where even if
Speaker 4: he balled out tonight and had a phenomenal performance and
Speaker 4: they win. When it comes to the talking heads, those
Speaker 4: that have the round table shows on the big platforms
Speaker 4: like ESPN, even FS one, even you know, the big
Speaker 4: platforms that are now just digital only. The name of
Speaker 4: the game is to find a way to criticize. And
Speaker 4: I'm not at all claiming that Lamar Jackson in football
Speaker 4: is Lebron James and basketball because he's not, because I
Speaker 4: think Lebron is one of one to be honest with you,
Speaker 4: just my opinion, but Lamar has reached a level as
Speaker 4: a player that no matter what, there's gonna be criticism.
Speaker 4: And I used to tell Louisvill fans all the time, hey,
Speaker 4: quit quit worrying about it, just watch him play and
Speaker 4: enjoy it. And now I find myself as we get
Speaker 4: set for tonight's NFL opener, I'm worried about what's going
Speaker 4: to be said about Lamar and I need to just realize,
Speaker 4: no matter what he does, no matter what happens, there's
Speaker 4: gonna be criticism there, even if it's not valid. And look,
Speaker 4: I'll admit Louisville fans have been super sensitive to criticism
Speaker 4: for Lamar. Some of it it's like, you know, because
Speaker 4: he's had bad games, he's made bad decisions, he's done.
Speaker 2: I mean, he's not perfect, nobody is. He's human.
Speaker 4: But I think just because there was so many that
Speaker 4: just wanted it to be, They wanted to speak it
Speaker 4: into existence that he couldn't cut it in the NFL.
Speaker 4: He's just nine nights. That's gimmicky. That's Bobby Patrino. He
Speaker 4: didn't have the arm. Well, nobody watched him play in
Speaker 4: college that didn't have the arm. He's got a phenomenal arm.
Speaker 4: So I today feels like game day for me. But
Speaker 4: when I tell you John, Hey, it's game day, let's go,
Speaker 4: I feel like a fraud because I don't care about
Speaker 4: the Ravens.
Speaker 2: I just care about Lamar.
Speaker 1: I think that's fair though, and especially because I'm owning it.
Speaker 1: By the way, he's been a relevant I mean in
Speaker 1: more than relevant. He is one of the best football
Speaker 1: players currently in the NFL, and he's been that for
Speaker 1: the last several years. And I think there's you can
Speaker 1: be a fan of a player. There are fans of
Speaker 1: lebron James, fans of Tom Brady.
Speaker 2: Whoever.
Speaker 1: Maybe you were a fan of Peyton Manning when he
Speaker 1: was with the Colts and maybe even when he's with
Speaker 1: the Broncos. So I mean, I think it's okay to
Speaker 1: be a fan of just.
Speaker 4: A player I learned about myself when Peyton left Indianapolis,
Speaker 4: because I became a fan of the Colts before Peyton.
Speaker 4: But obviously, like when things were good and I felt
Speaker 4: like we had a future, and obviously we had some
Speaker 4: great times with Peyton. You know, that was when I
Speaker 4: think of myself as a young Colts fan. I think
Speaker 4: of Peyton Manning. Who wouldn't I don't know how you
Speaker 4: couldn't be honest with you. So when he left to
Speaker 4: go to Denver, like I remember, like my dad, who
Speaker 4: is the reason I'm a Colts fan. He didn't really
Speaker 4: care about the Colts anymore. And if Dad, if you're listening,
Speaker 4: I might this might be me telling you for the
Speaker 4: first time, I broke my heart.
Speaker 2: Dad killed me.
Speaker 4: Because I thought you raised me to be a loyal
Speaker 4: fan and you heavy. I mean, I went up to
Speaker 4: a first I went to a preseason game when the
Speaker 4: Colts played the Arizona Cardinals when I was a little
Speaker 4: kid harball as a quarterback. They just drafted Edrian James.
Speaker 4: But I was a Colt.
Speaker 2: I knew.
Speaker 4: Dad sent me up to the game. You're a Colts
Speaker 4: fan now, and I said, I'm a Colts fan. Well,
Speaker 4: then we get Peyton. We get a Super Bowl, he leaves,
Speaker 4: and you just want me to not be a good
Speaker 4: I mean, he didn't tell me to be a fan
Speaker 4: of anybody, but like you know, he just decided he
Speaker 4: was gonna be a Broncos fan. And I wanted to
Speaker 4: see Peyton win, and I loved it when he won
Speaker 4: a champ he won a Super Bowl with. In fact,
Speaker 4: I was in a hospital the night that Peyton Manning
Speaker 4: won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. My wife
Speaker 4: and I left the hospital, left a Super Bowl party,
Speaker 4: and she claimed she thought her water broke, but she
Speaker 4: wasn't sure. Looks at me as if I've got experience
Speaker 4: in that situation.
Speaker 2: Well, honey, I can't. I don't know what am I
Speaker 2: gonna say?
Speaker 4: Like I mean, like you know, so we ended up
Speaker 4: going to the hospital that night just to be safe,
Speaker 4: you know, maybe the water did break, and sure enough
Speaker 4: it did. We had a baby the next day. Like
Speaker 4: I'll remember that, like it. I was so happy to
Speaker 4: see Peyton with no arm a noodle for an arm.
Speaker 4: But yet von Miller, I think it was was so
Speaker 4: great Defensively, it didn't matter. Cam Newton was a bum
Speaker 4: in that game, and Peyton got another and I was
Speaker 4: happy for him. But like when Andrew Luck was our
Speaker 4: next guy, like I was all in. It actually gave
Speaker 4: me new life as a fan because I realized it's
Speaker 4: not just a Peyton thing, like I'm all in. And
Speaker 4: then Andrew Luck has decided to retire. I feel like
Speaker 4: I'm I'm on the couch where you were laying down,
Speaker 4: just talking about your life, talking about my life as
Speaker 4: an NFL fan and my Colts. We got Lucky Man.
Speaker 4: We went from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck and then
Speaker 4: he just decided he wanted to go ski in Colorado
Speaker 4: and not be our quarterback a day before the season starts.
Speaker 4: And yes, I'm still dealing with the trauma of that.
Speaker 4: That's clearly what's happening here. But I'm a Colts fan
Speaker 4: and I always will be. I can't quit them. They
Speaker 4: drafted Anthony Richardson. I thought that might do it. Nope,
Speaker 4: I'm still a fan. I still care about what they do.
Speaker 4: They lost to the Jaguars the only game they had
Speaker 4: to just beat the Jaguars in Week sixteen to make
Speaker 4: the playoffs two years ago. They couldn't do that with
Speaker 4: Philip Rivers. I think it was so you know I'm
Speaker 4: a Colts fan, but with Lamar Man, I just I
Speaker 4: don't know. I think I'm chasing and seeking something that
Speaker 4: may never happen. And that's just the full overall approval
Speaker 4: of Lamar as a guy who has proven himself.
Speaker 2: To be elite.
Speaker 4: But he's already proven that and you know, me, as
Speaker 4: a fan, seeking out validation from others is just a
Speaker 4: waste of time. With all that said, though, I hope,
Speaker 4: like hell, they win the night, and I know winning
Speaker 4: tonight won't mean as much if you can if you
Speaker 4: can't get past him in the postseason, if that's what
Speaker 4: ends up happening, but man, it'd be big.
Speaker 2: I know that.
Speaker 4: Welcome in everybody. It's coffee and company fuel by Thornton's
Speaker 4: here on Sports Talk seven ninety. Thanks for hanging out
Speaker 4: with us, letting me get through my therapy session. Hopefully
Speaker 4: you guys were able to stick through that because you know,
Speaker 4: I'm just I'm going through it. NFL season starts, I
Speaker 4: know my team's gonna suck, and with the Ravens, I
Speaker 4: feel like a fraud claiming I'm a fan, but it's
Speaker 4: all about Lamar. So anyways, we got a busy show
Speaker 4: for the next two hours and forty five minutes roughly,
Speaker 4: we are gonna be joined coming up here at four thirty.
Speaker 4: I'm sorry, three thirty, by the one and the only,
Speaker 4: mister Kendrick Haskins of Way three is gonna join us.
Speaker 4: We'll talk about a variety of things, and at four
Speaker 4: thirty will bring in former Louisville Cardinal Alex Kupper. And
Speaker 4: I'm curious to hear what Cup's going to give us
Speaker 4: as far as what he wants to see from week
Speaker 4: one to week two, in regardless as far as feeling
Speaker 4: as if Louisville can take steps forward here. I know,
Speaker 4: I kind of feel like the worst thing about these
Speaker 4: two games being the openers is that I've gone through
Speaker 4: the entire offseason just impatiently waiting for football to start,
Speaker 4: and then it's here, and you know, they're real games, right.
Speaker 4: You had a real game when you beat Austin p
Speaker 4: You got a real game coming up on Saturday against
Speaker 4: Jacksonville State. But you're like, you know, you know you're
Speaker 4: gonna win, and you're not really sure what you can
Speaker 4: really take from it regardless of the result, because again,
Speaker 4: if you'll blow them off the field, that's what you're
Speaker 4: supposed to do, and that would be encouraging.
Speaker 2: But if you end up, you.
Speaker 4: Know, win in thirty eight to ten and you don't
Speaker 4: cover twenty eight and a half, you know, some people
Speaker 4: might feel discouraged, and I guess I would understand, but
Speaker 4: I would also know that like, hey, it probably doesn't
Speaker 4: mean much of anything. So again, I'm I'm looking forward
Speaker 4: to seeing this team on the field once again, getting
Speaker 4: more familiar with all the new players, all the new
Speaker 4: pieces that you have, because that's exciting. But I have
Speaker 4: never been more I've never been more content in my
Speaker 4: mindset as a fan. Don't give me these games, And again,
Speaker 4: beggars can't be choosers, right, I want I wanted football
Speaker 4: season for months and now it's here, and I mean,
Speaker 4: I guess I'm complaining. I mean, it's better than not
Speaker 4: having a game, but man, I just want I want
Speaker 4: some value there. And I could keep going back to
Speaker 4: this Kentucky South Carolina game. It's not gonna matter a
Speaker 4: whole lot in the grand scheme of like the SEC,
Speaker 4: but overall, like that's that's a game that matters when
Speaker 4: it comes to conference standings. And I think whatever happens
Speaker 4: with Kentucky here on Saturday is going to really I mean,
Speaker 4: it won't define their season because who knows, Maybe whatever
Speaker 4: happens ends up being an outlier, like maybe they win
Speaker 4: big and then stink, maybe they lose and end up
Speaker 4: pulling off some upset.
Speaker 2: You just never know.
Speaker 4: But like week two for them, they're gonna get a
Speaker 4: real feel for which direction they think their team is going.
Speaker 4: And we won't have that as Louisville fans for a
Speaker 4: little while longer, and I'm I'm just jealous of that.
Speaker 2: All right. Some other things we'll get into today.
Speaker 4: There's more information coming out as far as Penny Hardaway
Speaker 4: ditching all of his staff in September, which is rare,
Speaker 4: unheard of, honestly. Well, it's because there's there's been some
Speaker 4: allegations made about his program. And nobody is going to
Speaker 4: be clutching the pearls anymore when it comes to players
Speaker 4: getting money, even if it's before nil was allowed. Nobody's
Speaker 4: going to get upset about an academic advisor maybe doing
Speaker 4: some coursework for an athlete, because you know what this is,
Speaker 4: pro sports, ladies and gentlemen, it.
Speaker 2: Is and you can get away with it.
Speaker 4: It's all online now they probably got They've probably got
Speaker 4: people doing class work for kids that you know aren't
Speaker 4: even in the same state. I mean, I don't know
Speaker 4: that for sure, but it wouldn't shock me. But what
Speaker 4: I want to know is who wrote an anonymous letter
Speaker 4: of the Memphis Athletic Department with specific details about what's
Speaker 4: going on, because that's somebody on the inside. Penny got
Speaker 4: turned in by one of his own and I don't
Speaker 4: know if we're ever going to find out who it is,
Speaker 4: but I'll tell you what I hope we do. I'm
Speaker 4: fascinated by it. Also, Jasper Johnson did commit to Kentucky.
Speaker 4: It certainly looked as if that's the way things we
Speaker 4: were going. And it's a big get for Mark Pope,
Speaker 4: no doubt about it. And these kids Michael Moreno, Jasper Johnson,
Speaker 4: two highly regarded recruits, kids that honestly, had they committed
Speaker 4: to Caliperi, both these guys would be viewed as big
Speaker 4: time editions. So I'm not sure it could have worked
Speaker 4: out any better for Mark Pope. He comes in right away,
Speaker 4: and you know, these two kids, who again had offers
Speaker 4: and options to go to big time schools, they want
Speaker 4: to stay home and play for Mark Pope. Good sign
Speaker 4: for him. There's no way to like, I mean, I'm
Speaker 4: not trying to give any kind of a of a
Speaker 4: spin zone here to set it up as anything other
Speaker 4: than what it is. It's impressive, but did he set
Speaker 4: the standard? Like could this potentially give Kentucky fans maybe
Speaker 4: an unrealistic expectation for him as a recruiter, because with
Speaker 4: Cali Perry, that's the one thing they never struggle at
Speaker 4: putting together elite recruiting classes. They thought maybe Pope wouldn't
Speaker 4: be able to do that, but it wouldn't matter as
Speaker 4: much because that's not as important. Now you can use
Speaker 4: the portal and be really good and really you could
Speaker 4: have a team that makes a final foward to where
Speaker 4: there's not a freshman on the roster that gets a
Speaker 4: sniff of playing time in real games like that. That's
Speaker 4: where we are now. But I'm just curious, and we
Speaker 4: won't know this for quite some time. Will this lead
Speaker 4: to that being the expectation? Well, people realize that these
Speaker 4: kids the biggest reason why they went to Kentucky is
Speaker 4: because they're from Kentucky and they I mean Jasper Johnson. Again,
Speaker 4: it's a credit to Mark Pope and his staff for
Speaker 4: really kind of starting fresh and getting this kid to
Speaker 4: decide to stay home and play for Kentucky. But he
Speaker 4: had I mean he had a I mean his father,
Speaker 4: his uncle, his grandfather. I mean, he has connections to
Speaker 4: UK that like it would be a shocker if he
Speaker 4: went anywhere else. But before Mark Pope got involved, I
Speaker 4: don't need the Kentucky was even in the mix. I mean,
Speaker 4: I think it was going to be Carolina or Alabama
Speaker 4: it sounds like, so no doubt it's a big git
Speaker 4: for Pope And for those wondering will he be able
Speaker 4: to recruit, it's just you know, it's one class up
Speaker 4: to this point. But right now, the foundation of that
Speaker 4: class features a highly regarded five star in Jasper Johnson
Speaker 4: and Michael Moreno, who's one of the best bigs in
Speaker 4: that class high four star. I think he may be
Speaker 4: a five star somewhere. So no doubt that's a big
Speaker 4: git for Mark Pope and his staff. And then I
Speaker 4: don't know, I mean not to turn this into TMZ,
Speaker 4: but this story about an expected slash planned breakup between
Speaker 4: Travis Kelcey and Taylor Swift. Kelsey's attorneys are fighting to
Speaker 4: find out who put together this fake document to that
Speaker 4: that lays out a very detailed plan for them to
Speaker 4: break up later this month in September. And you know,
Speaker 4: there's a lot of stuff on the internet that looks
Speaker 4: real that's not. But like, I'm still of the belief
Speaker 4: that they may not actually be a real couple. I'm
Speaker 4: not a conspiracy theory guy, John, You know that about me.
Speaker 4: I usually think anybody that's thrown out conspiracies has just
Speaker 4: lost their mind. They need the tenfoil hat. Yeah, I'm
Speaker 4: still not convinced they're a real couple, just just for
Speaker 4: the TMZ stuff that you mentioned. I mean they've been,
Speaker 4: They've been anytime last year, especially where's the wedding?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was the kids.
Speaker 1: Anything that was an NFL story that wasn't related to
Speaker 1: football specifically was about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcey well.
Speaker 4: And then like with her lifestyle and even his, how
Speaker 4: could they even like when do they hang out?
Speaker 1: I mean they I don't know when they hang out,
Speaker 1: but they've there's been video proof, I guess, or evidence
Speaker 1: of him being at Taylor Swift's concerts on accsion.
Speaker 2: It's all for show, John, But that's.
Speaker 1: What I'm saying like that they're seeing each other. Whether
Speaker 1: it's real or not, it's still.
Speaker 2: Just could be AI. You don't know.
Speaker 4: I'm not again, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but for this,
Speaker 4: I kind of am.
Speaker 2: I would.
Speaker 4: I would love to like it eventually be proven that
Speaker 4: they were never really together.
Speaker 2: Just because of all our time.
Speaker 4: But it would expose all the sheep, it would in
Speaker 4: this country that are here among us. All right, let's
Speaker 4: get to a quick break. We'll bring in Kendrick Haskins
Speaker 4: of Way three on the other side. Appreciate you guys
Speaker 4: hanging with us, but take you up till six o'clock.
Speaker 4: NFL season opener tonight Ravens Chiefs good stuff. I mean,
Speaker 4: I was gonna say right here, you want to hear
Speaker 4: the game right here, but you know we're gonna be
Speaker 4: here till six, So hang out.
Speaker 2: It's Sports Talk seven ninety.
Speaker 4: It's right coffee and company rolling along here on a
Speaker 4: Thursday afternoon. Appreciate you, you guys hanging out with us here
Speaker 4: on Sports Talk seven ninety. We are fueled bout Thornton's.
Speaker 4: Make sure you sign up and become a member of
Speaker 4: the Refreshment Awards program. At Thornton's. If you haven't already,
Speaker 4: it's easy to do. Just download the app. You've an
Speaker 4: Android and iPhone, you'll find it. It's easy and again,
Speaker 4: your life will be better if you are a member
Speaker 4: of the Refreshming Awards program. Our lives are now better
Speaker 4: because we now bring him in. He's mister Kendrick Haskins
Speaker 4: from Way three Sports.
Speaker 2: How we doing today, brother, I'm doing well.
Speaker 3: It's just now my way into the station for the day.
Speaker 2: Well, let me let me start with this.
Speaker 4: Is there anything Louisville can do in this game against
Speaker 4: Jacksonville State to where you can say, okay, you know
Speaker 4: they got better from week one to week two? And
Speaker 4: I ask that telling you straight up, I don't have
Speaker 4: an answer, because you know, you do what you're supposed
Speaker 4: to do against Austin p Now you've got Jacksonville State,
Speaker 4: who's a you know, a notch above, but you know,
Speaker 4: a forty point win is really taking care of business.
Speaker 2: Fans can be encouraged.
Speaker 4: But I mean, it's been a while since Louisville's had
Speaker 4: games like this, Kendrick, where you know they start off
Speaker 4: the first two games with with opponents of this caliber.
Speaker 3: Right and it's hard to gauge. You don't want to
Speaker 3: get excited because of the opponent, and so I think
Speaker 3: the best way to show improvement, well, if they can
Speaker 3: put up another shutout, that would be pretty impressive. Back
Speaker 3: to back shutouts is impressed regardless. But if you really
Speaker 3: at this point you just want to see the offense
Speaker 3: move the ball like they're supposed to, like they did,
Speaker 3: and really just take care of business. I don't think
Speaker 3: you want to glean too much of it, and you know,
Speaker 3: have projections towards the future, but just want to make
Speaker 3: sure that they're not going to take a step back.
Speaker 4: And again, the competition was certainly a factor as far
Speaker 4: as what happened against that Austin you know, against Austin
Speaker 4: p But I felt like Tyler shuck more than just
Speaker 4: the numbers, you know, he looked the part. And again
Speaker 4: that can be misleading. You never know what to make
Speaker 4: of it against these kind of teams. But he looked
Speaker 4: like he had a confidence in himself in his arm
Speaker 4: that I think fans I think understandably got excited about.
Speaker 3: I was here to say the same thing. There was
Speaker 3: a confidence back there in the pocket.
Speaker 5: That you.
Speaker 3: Basically all the last season. So it is out there
Speaker 3: on the field and you've got the confidence, and he
Speaker 3: had time to throw, and you know, if you got
Speaker 3: time to throw, you can go through your progressions. That's
Speaker 3: gonna give you a lot of confidence and hopefully the
Speaker 3: offensive line can keep them up right and.
Speaker 2: Keep them healthy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, let's switch gears here and talk about the Kentucky game.
Speaker 4: Because they opened up against Southern miss and mother nature
Speaker 4: was not cooperative. That game was delayed and then it
Speaker 4: went into another delay once the game had started, and
Speaker 4: then they just never resumed. I mean, I'm sure there
Speaker 4: are many many fans that were not thinking about you
Speaker 4: guys in your industry and what you guys do for
Speaker 4: for for the television side of things. But like you
Speaker 4: all that that's the worst for you guys, right, Like
Speaker 4: dealing with that waiting it out, not knowing, I mean,
Speaker 4: like that that makes it to where like your your
Speaker 4: your shift essentially on that day becomes never ending.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the worst part because well a lot of
Speaker 3: people don't realize. So on the weekends, you know, there's
Speaker 3: sports on the morning shows. Obviously those are recorded before,
Speaker 3: so so when the game does an end on one
Speaker 3: one o'clock in the morning. You have to have the
Speaker 3: final score. Those are times when I've given up on
Speaker 3: like day one, here's the final score, and we just
Speaker 3: put the score up there on the screen, you know,
Speaker 3: And I don't like that because it didn't start to
Speaker 3: what after ten o'clock on Friday on Saturday nights again
Speaker 3: with so yeah, it gets it gets a little tricky
Speaker 3: and on late games like that to start and stop.
Speaker 3: But it did help me out though.
Speaker 2: Okay, God, So I had.
Speaker 3: A parlay play with QB throwing uh.
Speaker 5: Two and a half touchdown passages, okay, scoring a touchdown,
Speaker 5: so I hit those two, but I didn't have Kentucky covering,
Speaker 5: so because they suspended the game, they threw that part
Speaker 5: of my parlay out, so I won my I hit
Speaker 5: two of my leaves of parlay, got paid, so that
Speaker 5: was nice.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So that's that.
Speaker 4: I mean, like I had a similar I had a
Speaker 4: buddy who was in a similar situation where he had
Speaker 4: a parlay in the last leg was Kentucky covering, and uh,
Speaker 4: they didn't have a chance to cover. So therefore it's
Speaker 4: just like like it's an easy decision for the books
Speaker 4: because if a game did not actually get the full Lenk.
Speaker 4: Then like both sides can claim that any any decision
Speaker 4: would be invalid. Now, if you're somebody that you know,
Speaker 4: uh felt like if they would have finished, it would
Speaker 4: have given you a win, where when they called it void,
Speaker 4: it didn't you know, I guess you could be sol
Speaker 4: but no, I I you were not the first person
Speaker 4: I've heard that you know, they're they're they're there there,
Speaker 4: they just got avoided. But so that actually, so that's
Speaker 4: that's great. I don't know where you bet and we
Speaker 4: don't need to know. But like the fact that they
Speaker 4: still honored the others is I think a good look
Speaker 4: on their part because they could avoided everything and just claimed, hey,
Speaker 4: the game didn't finish.
Speaker 2: We didn't know you anything, right, right.
Speaker 3: They could have they could have avoided it all the
Speaker 3: way out, or they could have been like, hey that
Speaker 3: was the final score and then I would have lost. Yeah,
Speaker 3: they would have covered because the cover was twenty eight
Speaker 3: and they had thirty one. So they voided it all together.
Speaker 3: So it helped me out. Said, yeah, that's a good look,
Speaker 3: a good good pr move by this.
Speaker 4: I love it because again, before sports betting, you may
Speaker 4: not have had a silver lining.
Speaker 2: After Saturday night being a long night, right, and now.
Speaker 4: You got one because the because because we're betting on
Speaker 4: sports and it makes it fun.
Speaker 2: It's uh, that's a that's the good stuff.
Speaker 4: Uh. What do you make of tonight's matchup? Obviously it's
Speaker 4: it's a big time match to start the NFL season.
Speaker 2: Mahomes Jackson.
Speaker 4: I mean I I talked about at the beginning of
Speaker 4: the show, Kendrick I, I'm not a Ravens fan. I'd
Speaker 4: be a fraud to say that I am, but clearly
Speaker 4: as a Louisville fan myself, I want the best for Lamar,
Speaker 4: and today was a day where I did some soul searching.
Speaker 2: Uncle Kendrick.
Speaker 4: I decided that I need to not worry about the
Speaker 4: noise about Lamar because he's already proven everybody wrong that
Speaker 4: he couldn't be a quarterback in the NFL. He's got
Speaker 4: twimv P trophies, and he's given the Ravens a lot
Speaker 4: of success. He's been a huge factor, maybe the biggest
Speaker 4: factor in their success at least in the last couple
Speaker 4: of years. And like, no matter what happens, he's reached
Speaker 4: a level as a professional athlete that there's always gonna
Speaker 4: be noise, no matter what happens with him about him
Speaker 4: not being good enough or not getting it done, because
Speaker 4: that's just kind of how this works. But yet I
Speaker 4: want it so badly for him. I want him to
Speaker 4: do something tonight to where everybody will say, you know
Speaker 4: what this guy really is.
Speaker 2: He's something special. We should never doubt him again.
Speaker 4: But there's always going to be doubters because that's the
Speaker 4: level he's reached as a pro athlete.
Speaker 3: I think a lot of that has to do with
Speaker 3: the type of person Lamar is, because Lamar is just
Speaker 3: a lovable guy. Anybody who's been around Lamar knows that
Speaker 3: he just the guy that's easy to root for. He's
Speaker 3: one of those guys. Even Kentucky fans root for Lamar.
Speaker 3: How could you think, right, He's just a guy that
Speaker 3: you root for. So you see people hating on him,
Speaker 3: and it's for a lot of times it's the stuff
Speaker 3: that's outside of his control.
Speaker 2: Then yeah, it does.
Speaker 3: Kind of rub you the wrong way. You do want
Speaker 3: to you want to see him shut them up, But
Speaker 3: at the same time, that's the business he is. He's
Speaker 3: so he's got to show show up in the playoffs
Speaker 3: and win playoffs games and make the serious Super Bowl run.
Speaker 3: It seemed like last year was he was a year
Speaker 3: of any so far in his career where he could
Speaker 3: have done it, and again somewhat out of his control,
Speaker 3: a little bit in his control but not totally was
Speaker 3: to play calling. They decided they wanted Lamar to be
Speaker 3: a pocket pass instead of using his most dangerous weapon,
Speaker 3: which was his legs, and they ended up not beating
Speaker 3: the Chiefs in the playoffs. And so it's one of
Speaker 3: those things he does kind of have to get it done,
Speaker 3: but you're rooting for him forward to get it done.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think this Ravens team, like where do you see?
Speaker 4: Their window to me is still in a good place,
Speaker 4: meaning that they have a lot of I mean, Lamar
Speaker 4: obviously is their franchise quarterback. They're heavily invested in him.
Speaker 4: He's coming off of an MVP season. They drafted well
Speaker 4: at receiver. I think Z eight Flowers has a bright future.
Speaker 4: They brought in Derrick Henry. Not sure much gas he
Speaker 4: has left in the tank, but certainly he's a good weapon.
Speaker 4: I mean as far as the window to succeed, I mean,
Speaker 4: I just put it this way. I worry about Lamar
Speaker 4: and the Ravens having one of the best runs they've
Speaker 4: had as a franchise. But you know who's going to
Speaker 4: be in their way is the Chiefs team that I
Speaker 4: don't see slowing down anytime soon. And I have no
Speaker 4: problem saying right now, even if they don't get another
Speaker 4: Super Bowl, I feel like you can claim that that's
Speaker 4: that's a dynasty.
Speaker 3: It is a dynasty. It's it's it's It's kind of
Speaker 3: like Jordan back in the nineties. It's like, you know,
Speaker 3: those Knicks teams are as good as any teams in
Speaker 3: the history in the NBA, and they couldn't get past
Speaker 3: Mike and then stock them alone, Stocked them alone to
Speaker 3: one of the best one to two punches you ever
Speaker 3: had in the NBA. Could not beat Michael Jordan's And
Speaker 3: it kind of feels like that with the Chiefs. You
Speaker 3: do wonder what the Chiefs, what's it gonna look like
Speaker 3: when Kelsey retires, because Kelsey probably only has a couple
Speaker 3: more seasons left in it, because you know, you know,
Speaker 3: he's actually older than Kronk.
Speaker 2: Are you serious?
Speaker 3: I've heard that somewhere he's actually older than Gronk.
Speaker 2: I would have ever known that, right.
Speaker 3: How many years he has left in it, And what
Speaker 3: does that offense look like with Allen, because I mean
Speaker 3: he means so much, especially last season when those receivers
Speaker 3: the last couple of seasons, the Chiefs receivers have not
Speaker 3: exactly been first class in the NFL since Mahomes and
Speaker 3: Maholmes can make plays and Kelsey makes plays, so you
Speaker 3: wonder what it looks like after that. But also getting
Speaker 3: back to Lamar, it's not only just the Chiefs. The
Speaker 3: Bengals are right there in the division and like the
Speaker 3: best quarterbacks in the NFL, all in the AFC for
Speaker 3: the most part, and so it's and they're all young,
Speaker 3: they're all right around the same age. So it's going
Speaker 3: to be fun to watch, but it's going to be
Speaker 3: an uphill, an uphill client for everybody not named Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 4: Kendrick Hassen Sarch guest joining us here on Sports Talk
Speaker 4: seven ninety. I'm sure you've seen the news of Jasper
Speaker 4: Johnson committing to Mark Pope in Kentucky. Two big time
Speaker 4: commitments here from within the state for Mark Popen. The
Speaker 4: first class he's really putting together. I know obviously last year.
Speaker 4: You know, coaches are always viewed when it comes to
Speaker 4: their first class being the one that they actually had
Speaker 4: some time to go out and put together. He did
Speaker 4: inherit a couple of commitments from from last year's group,
Speaker 4: But I mean, I would say if you ask Kentucky fans,
Speaker 4: you know, when he was hired and they calmed down
Speaker 4: and realized, hey, you know, maybe this could work out.
Speaker 4: Like they have to be super pleased with what he's
Speaker 4: done with keeping both of these guys in Kentucky, which
Speaker 4: again I think them being Kentucky kids certainly helped Pope.
Speaker 4: But these guys had options to go really anywhere, especially
Speaker 4: Jasper Johnson, So I mean, big big shoes to fill
Speaker 4: when it comes to recruiting because of Caliperry and what
Speaker 4: he's been able to do. But I don't know if
Speaker 4: he could have worked out any better at this point.
Speaker 2: For Mark Pope, that's.
Speaker 3: Worked out great for him. He had he had an
Speaker 3: inside on both of us though, from Reno really just
Speaker 3: being up the street from Lexington and then Jasper Johnson's
Speaker 3: staff playing football at the UK, so he kind of
Speaker 3: had a feeling they were both gonna end up in
Speaker 3: Kentucky anyway. But whatever they got there as all that matters.
Speaker 3: He got him and we've we've seen guys go different
Speaker 3: places before, but Jasper Johnson, I saw him younger and
Speaker 3: younger in his career. I think he was a sophomore
Speaker 3: when I saw him play in the Sweet Sick And
Speaker 3: he's an electric, electric guy. He's athletic, he's long, he can,
Speaker 3: he can get to the hole whatever he needs to.
Speaker 3: So he's going to be a great addition to them.
Speaker 3: And Mark Pope is doing what he's supposed to do
Speaker 3: as a Kentucky coach. He'sposed to know there's the top
Speaker 3: tier talent in the state he's supposed to be able
Speaker 3: to give him and so.
Speaker 2: Far, so good.
Speaker 4: All right, one more question for you, Kendrick Again, Louisville
Speaker 4: and Jacksonville State not a big time matchup by any means,
Speaker 4: and I don't think Kentucky South Carolina is viewed as
Speaker 4: a big game on the card for a lot of
Speaker 4: folks that just are interested in college football. But for
Speaker 4: both these teams, you know, this is a game both
Speaker 4: needed a major way to have the type of season
Speaker 4: they want to have. And I don't mean, you know,
Speaker 4: went out and go to the SEC Championship, but they
Speaker 4: look at each other as Okay, if we're going to
Speaker 4: be not at the bottom of this league, we got
Speaker 4: to win this game. South Carolina has had Kentucky's number
Speaker 4: as of late, although big picture, Mark Tuops has done
Speaker 4: pretty well against South Carolina. I mean again, it's not
Speaker 4: a big game on game day, it's not going to
Speaker 4: lead the common versation. But I feel like this is
Speaker 4: a huge matchup. I'm just curious of your of your
Speaker 4: your thoughts on this one for Mark, for Mark Stoops
Speaker 4: and his team, because I do think they're deserving favorites
Speaker 4: or they are better. But a potential loss, I kind
Speaker 4: of feel like you'll hear more noise about not fans
Speaker 4: wanting Stoops to be fired, but like this would be
Speaker 4: a bad loss for them.
Speaker 3: I feel like it would be because of at home.
Speaker 3: This series has been really weird because, like you said,
Speaker 3: Stoops has had good success against South Carolina. It's been
Speaker 3: plenty of times when Kentucky's when South Carolina was the favorite,
Speaker 3: in Kentucky's beat them.
Speaker 2: Has been a weird series, right, Yeah, they kind of
Speaker 2: own South.
Speaker 3: Carolina there for a while. In South Carolina ut up
Speaker 3: to beat them a couple of times. It will be
Speaker 3: an interesting game on Saturday. I think I think it's
Speaker 3: going to be more interested than the national media is
Speaker 3: gonna give them credit for them. But yeah, it's a
Speaker 3: measuring sticks game for both teams because iew both of
Speaker 3: them as kind of on equal footing as far as
Speaker 3: the SEC goes, and you know, you want to get
Speaker 3: to that next level and you've got to beat those opponents.
Speaker 3: You got to beat the opponents that you're equal, who
Speaker 3: are better than I think Kentucky is slightly better than
Speaker 3: them this year, and so Kentucky needs to win this game.
Speaker 3: But I really wouldn't. I mean, I think they're was
Speaker 3: a touchdown favorite in the game, but I wouldn't be
Speaker 3: surprised in South Carolina won that game, because how weird
Speaker 3: that series has gotten lately.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and you know, if you're if you're Kentucky, you know,
Speaker 4: I think you look at this game is knowing it's
Speaker 4: when you certainly can win. But the importance is is
Speaker 4: much more knowing that you're not in divisions anymore. You
Speaker 4: got Texas on the schedule, Oklahoma's now in your league.
Speaker 4: And I just feel like, whoever loses this game, the
Speaker 4: fan bases are gonna be and they could be wrong, right.
Speaker 4: Maybe whatever happens here's an outlier. But I feel like
Speaker 4: this gives both fan bases here Kentucky specifically, it gives
Speaker 4: you a week two I guess, look ahead potentially as
Speaker 4: to where your season goes.
Speaker 2: And I think, you know, I think they will win.
Speaker 2: I think they're better.
Speaker 4: But to your point, South Carolina pulls off an upset here,
Speaker 4: it's not something that's gonna be that's gonna send shockwaves
Speaker 4: through the college football world and.
Speaker 3: For Kentucky specifically, because this schedule is so insane. You
Speaker 3: gotta get as many home wins as you can and
Speaker 3: so and this is a winnable game at home. You
Speaker 3: have to get this one because like the rest of
Speaker 3: their schedule, this insane in South Carolina. This week been
Speaker 3: Georgia next week. Yes, yeah, you gotta get the wins
Speaker 3: when you can. So the South Carolina is the Ohios
Speaker 3: and those games even Vanderbilt, even though Vanderbilt I think
Speaker 3: it's gonna be a tougher game than usual. You have
Speaker 3: to get those games at home.
Speaker 4: Kendrick, you are the man. I appreciate you making time
Speaker 4: for us and we will chat with you soon.
Speaker 2: My friend.
Speaker 4: Take care, man, You take take care. That's Kendrick Haskins
Speaker 4: from Way three Sports. Always appreciate him making time for us.
Speaker 2: Good stuff.
Speaker 4: Let's take a quick break. We'll come back on the
Speaker 4: other side. Wrap at the three o'clock hour. Don't forget
Speaker 4: what we're taking you up till six o'clock at his
Speaker 4: Coffee and Company. Fuel about Thornton's right here on Sports
Speaker 4: Talk seven ninety. Laren Tippin here on a Thursday.
Speaker 2: I like it. Good stuff.
Speaker 4: It's coffee and company. We are fueled by Thornton's on
Speaker 4: Sports Talk seven ninety. Don't forget you could take us
Speaker 4: with you wherever you go. Listen live on the radio app.
Speaker 4: Also listen live at seven ninety Louisville dot com. This
Speaker 4: text says Nick, let me see Nick as a Kentucky fan.
Speaker 4: I will say the recruiting love is not what it
Speaker 4: once was. Had Jasper Johnson committed ten years ago, it
Speaker 4: would have been a huge deal with the portal. Now,
Speaker 4: although it's a good piece of news, it just doesn't
Speaker 4: hit the same Yeah, I mean, I think that's not
Speaker 4: a I mean I think that, to be honest with you,
Speaker 4: I think it makes total sense, right, I mean, you
Speaker 4: still want to get really good freshmen. And I think
Speaker 4: every coach will tell you that there's still value in
Speaker 4: going out and getting elite high school players in both
Speaker 4: basketball and football, though it is different. I mean, in
Speaker 4: football it's just tough. I mean, it's rare for a
Speaker 4: super talented freshman to make such an impact in his
Speaker 4: first year as a college football player. In basketball, you
Speaker 4: can have. I mean, I happen to believe and we'll see.
Speaker 4: You know, maybe I'm way off here. I think the
Speaker 4: best player in college basketball this year is going to
Speaker 4: be a true freshman in Cooper Flag.
Speaker 2: So, but that's rare.
Speaker 4: You don't, you know, have guys that come around like
Speaker 4: that that often. So yeah, it is kind of sad,
Speaker 4: you know. I as long as your team's winning and
Speaker 4: and you know you're bringing in players, regardless if it's
Speaker 4: a freshman or a transfer, if they're giving you success,
Speaker 4: then that's that's what you want. But there was something
Speaker 4: about knowing, hey, we got a special class, and we
Speaker 4: know that right away, maybe only two of these four
Speaker 4: or two of these five are going to make somewhat
Speaker 4: of an impact. The others we might have to wait,
Speaker 4: but man, this group could be one that is special.
Speaker 4: When it's all said and done, there is something to
Speaker 4: be said about no longer really having that because you know,
Speaker 4: let's say Pat Kelsey or Mark Pope each bring in
Speaker 4: five freshmen next year that are really talented to really
Speaker 4: give you, you know, a nice boost. Realistically speaking, on average,
Speaker 4: I'd say two, maybe three of the five are going
Speaker 4: to be there after two years, because that's just what
Speaker 4: college sports is now with the portal. I mean, that's
Speaker 4: that and I think there's already been some examples of it.
Speaker 4: But sometimes you're gonna have guys leaving. It's nobody's fault.
Speaker 4: It's just the players now have the control, they have
Speaker 4: the power. They can do whatever they want, and if
Speaker 4: they know that they can go closer to home, maybe
Speaker 4: go somewhere they've always wanted to go after now showing
Speaker 4: as a college athlete that they're you know, able to
Speaker 4: compete at that level.
Speaker 2: Like it's just you know it.
Speaker 4: I'm someone that realizes that it's you know, you can't
Speaker 4: you can't go backwards now. I mean, the portal's never
Speaker 4: going away. Nil's never going away. This is what it is.
Speaker 4: So as much as it is different, I love college
Speaker 4: sports so much, especially basketball and football to where like
Speaker 4: I don't give much thought to like, man, I really
Speaker 4: miss what it used to be like. However, it is
Speaker 4: a lot different. There's no doubt at that, no doubt
Speaker 4: about that at all, all right. Also no doubt about
Speaker 4: my inability to manage the clock here because very short segment.
Speaker 2: But that's okay.
Speaker 4: We got two hours left, a lot more to get into.
Speaker 4: The NFL season starts tonight, just a couple of days
Speaker 4: away from another college football Saturday, and.
Speaker 2: I'm feeling good.
Speaker 4: John made me a cup of coffee and I'm already
Speaker 4: feeling the energy from it. Yeah, the kick is there,
Speaker 4: so stick with us. We got two more hours left.
Speaker 4: It's coffee and company. Feel about Thornton's right here on
Speaker 4: Sports Talk seven ninety