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Speaker 1: A look at college football news, analysis and insight from

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around the Sunshine State. This is Florida Football Insiders, a

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part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast Now

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and here's your host, Jason Powers.

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Speaker 2: All right, welcome in year two of the Florida Football

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Insiders podcast, part of the College Football Coast to Coast

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podcast Feed. Appreciate your finding us. I'm your host, Jason

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down in Tampa. We are going to talk all things

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college football in the state of Florida. We're also gonna

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sprinkle sprinkle in a little NFL with the State of

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Florida teams, the Bucks, Jags, and the Dolphins this year

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as well as part of our podcast on a weekly basis. Remember,

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we're gonna be here every week during the college football

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season recapping the State of Florida teams, games, storylines, and

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all the rest. And again, we are part of the

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College Football Coast to Coast podcast Feed. You'll see you

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can definitely check out the feed. You're gonna hear podcasts

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from all over the country about a variety of different

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football topics in parts of the country, so definitely check

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that out on your favorite podcast platform. You can reach

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out to me on Twitter and x at JPO Sports.

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You can also find video interviews that we have for

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the podcasts the variety of podcasts that I'm involved with

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at the Jason Powers Sports channel on YouTube. We are

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going to today we are going to do a We're

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gonna do a full previews of the Florida Gators, the

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Miami Hurricanes, USF bowls UCF Knights. Last week I released

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our Florida State preview is part of my Powers on

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Sports podcasts. So if you want to check out the

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Florida State preview, because remember they played last Saturday in Dublin,

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losing effort to Georgia Tech twenty four to twenty one.

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But you can find out you can. You can watch

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and listen to the preview we did with Jeff Colhayne,

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the play by play voice of the Seminoles on the

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Powers on Sports podcast. And again you can check out

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the YouTube channel for the archive the video interview of

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myself and Jeff as well. So we're gonna talk to

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Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun today about the Gators.

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We're gonna talk to Jozahgaki, who's the play by play voice,

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the longtime play by play voice of the Miami Hurricanes.

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We're talked to Joey Johnston, the sideline reporter part of

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the Bulls Radio Network for the USF Bulls, and Matt

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Murchelle beat reporter for the Orlando sent and who covers

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the UCF Knights, doing a little team preview of all

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those guys as well. So that's the goal here on

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this podcast is again we're gonna focus our time on

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all the State of Florida teams, a lot of hopes

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and expectations a bound throughout the state from Miami, Mario Cristobaul,

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Year three, Billy Napier, year three, Year three, obviously Florida

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State got off to the od to one start USF

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Year two, Alex Golisch, We're actually gonna and Gus Malzon.

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We're gonna even hit on FAU and Tom Herman and

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f I you and Mike McIntyre as well. So that

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is the gist of this podcast again year two of

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this appreciate you finding us. We're gonna have hopefully gonna

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have some guests that we will have some guests throughout

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I'm working on a couple of bi weekly guests that

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we're gonna have for that's gonna be part of the

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podcast every couple of weeks, and I think you'll enjoy

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want of coaching former coach that we're working on. So

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we'll make this very interactive and entertaining for you the viewer. Again,

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tell your friends and your fellow State of Florida college

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football fans about the podcast. Appreciate you spread the word

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for us, helping us out. Again. You can find this

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in all the major podcast platforms, Apple, Spotify, Google and

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all the rest, YouTube music and all the rest. So

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all right, let's get to it. Florida State upset in

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Dublin twenty four to twenty one by Georgia Tech. This

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was to me, this was more of a game about

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what Georgia Tech did than what Florida State didn't do.

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Great job by Georgia Tech coming in there on the

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offensive and defensive lines and really controlling the game with

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or especially with their offensive line. You know, long time

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consuming drives by Georgia Tech, multiple drives that led to

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points against the evap Florida State offense. DJ Ewitt quarterback,

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new receivers, a couple of new running backs, new a

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veteran offensive line. Most people thought the Florida State offensive

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line was gonna be a strength, and they did not

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play really well, and especially in the running game on

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Saturday in Dublin. Give all the credit to Georgia Tech

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and their defense for you know, playing very even if

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not against on the other side of the line of scrimmage,

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against the Florida State offensive line and that vaunted defensive

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line at Florida said that many people around the country

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you thought was one of the top two or three

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units in the country, really did not play really well.

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And got to be honest with you, they got they

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got manhandled that Georgia Tech offensive line. Haines king the

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quarterback over there some timely third down throws, but again

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the ability of Georgia Tech to have long sustaining drives. Remember,

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Florida State ties the game up UH one twenty one

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of about six and a half minutes left in the game.

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Florida State never never sees the ball again. Tech kicks

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the game winning field goal in the last play of

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the game. Dj U made his debut. Did not play poorly,

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but he did not to me. He was not electric

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and he was not dynamic. You know, he missed a

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couple of deep throws that he probably wanted to have

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back a lot of the Most of the throws were

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very very short throws seven or eight yards or less.

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The receiving core for Florida State would it was not

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very distinctive as far as their ability to separate. Malik Benson.

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New Alabama Transfer had a couple of big catches, but

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again nothing electric out of the Florida State receivers as

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of yet. We will see if that develops throughout the year.

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But again not a right down the field on the

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first drive. Interesting that they go right down the field

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on the first drive, scoring about four minutes. You're gonna think,

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uh oh, Florida State's gonna roll these guys. But after

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the first drive, the productivity and the efficiency on offense

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really slowed down. Shout out to Ryan Fitzgerald, the Florida

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State kicker. Kicked two fifty plus yard field goals, including

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a fifty nine yarder at the end of the first half.

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I did not think Mike Norvell handled the end of

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the first half drive very well. I thought he, you know,

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he wasted a lot of time. He ended up having

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to settle for a fifty nine yard field goal. They

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really didn't even push the push the tempo at all

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until you got to about the last forty seconds of

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the half, and then then they had to scramble to

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try to get in the field goal range and all that.

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But again Fitzgerald with a tremendous effort fifty two yard

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field goal. Then he follows it up with a fifty

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nine yard field goal, but again not enough for the

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Florida State Seminoles as they fall in doublin twenty four

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to twenty one. Their season is not over, but again

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it just reduces the margin of error significantly for what

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they have moving ahead. They play Monday night at home

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Labor Day Night against Boston College. Bill O'Brien, former Patriots

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assistant coach, Penn State coach Houston Texans coach, is now

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the head coach up at Boston College. They come to

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Tallahassee for a Monday night er on Labor Day Night.

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I would expect Florida State to bounce back there after

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the couple of extra days off, have already played a

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game new coaching staff at BC, so I would expect

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a solid, convincing performance by Florida State to win the

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game on Monday night, But you never know, so we

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will see how that goes. But again, the margin of

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error season not over in Tallahassee. But again more questions

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have to be answered more, you know, again, margin of

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error is now gone. You still have to play Miami,

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you still have to play Clemson, you have to go

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to Notre Dame. Again, not a murderers row, but again

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it just reduces the margin of area. You can probably

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lose one more game, a conference game, and still have

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an opportunity to make the conference title game. But if

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you lose more than one more conference game, you're gonna

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get You're probably gonna get bumped out by tiebreakers, whether

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it's Clemson or Miami. Remember no, no more divisions in

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the ACC. Strictly the top two teams with the top

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two conference records playing the title game, and the winner

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of the a SEC title gets an automatic bid into

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the College Football Playoff and most likely a top four seed.

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So all is not lost in Tallahassee. But again, not

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a strong, not a convincing performance coming into the coming

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out of Dublin. And again we'll see how how it unfold.

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But I do expect Florida State to bounce back against

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Boston College Monday night at home. All Right, next Showdown game,

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We're gonna gain, We're gonna talk, We're gonna give you

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previews on Florida Florida, Miami, Florida, Florida and Miami USF

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and u c F this week with with with our

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guests and the other Showdown game in the state of

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Florida is Miami in Florida on Saturday in the swamp. Again,

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you got Mario Christobal, Billy Napier, both guys a little

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bit on the hot seat. More Napier, I would think

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than christa ball at this point, but again this is

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kind of the hot seat bowl, especially for Billy Napier.

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Florida's got a brutal schedule. We know what they did,

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so these non conference games they play, they're gonna play

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UCF later in the year, they're playing Miami. They need

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to win. This is the this is the kind of

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games you need to win with the kind of SEC

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schedule they got in front of them. So it'd be

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a very interesting game to to to navigate on Saturday

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in the swamp. But against Saturday three thirty Miami and

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Florida on Saturday as Saturday as well, you got uc

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USF and Bethune Cookman here in Tampa. Year two, Alex Golish,

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a lot of a lot of optimism coming out of Tampa.

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Here with Alex Golish Byron Brown, and you'll hear Joey

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Johnston talk about what the optimism coming out of South Florida. Also.

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FAU travels to Michigan State on Saturday, Year two, Tom Herman,

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year one, Jonathan Smith up at Michigan State. New coaching

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staff up there again. I would anticipate in Michigan State

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getting it done. But again, this is a good opportunity

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for Tom Herman in the FAU program to play a

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Big ten team. You got FIU traveling up to Indiana again,

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new coaching staff up in Indiana, the mc McIntyre in

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company heading up to Indiana Bloomington. Probably not gonna win

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the game, but you never know. Again, these are these games.

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You never know what these teams are gonna put out

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in week one. So an opportunity for FIU to again

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playing the Big Ten. Nice payday and such. There you go,

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and on Thursday night in Orlando, New Hampshire comes to

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town to kick off the year for you again. UCF's

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got a lot of increased hopes there in the Big

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Twelve year. Two of them in the Big Twelve. You're

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gonna hear again Matt Michelle from The Orlando Sentinel talk

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about what he thinks of the UCF team, leading in

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what Gus Malzon thinks of the UCF team. As we

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head into twenty twenty four as well. So UCF kicks

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off Thursday night at home against New Hampshire. They will

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play Florida later in the year, so a lot of Florida.

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All the teams in the state of Florida kick it

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off this week, except for Florida State, who's already kicked

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it off. They'll have game two again Monday night at

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home in Tallahassee. You will again enjoy the team previews again.

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That's what this podcast is all about, giving you a

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week to week notes and nuggets from all the teams.

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We're gonna recap all the games each week. Again, we'll

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just have some good banter with our guests talking about

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coaching decisions, quality of play, and all the rest here

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in the State of Florida. Before we get to the previews,

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want to give you a quick thought again on the

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on the NFL teams. Cut Down Day was Tuesday of

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this week for the Bucks, Jags, and Dolphins. You know,

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he had to get down to fifty three. NFL season

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kicks off a week from Sunday, the Sunday after Labor

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Day Bucks. Actually, the Jags will go to Miami in

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Week one and the Bucks are hosting the Commanders, So

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you'll have plenty of in state action in the state

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of Florida. Again, a lot of a lot of under

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the radar optimism with the Buccaneers. Very little chatter about

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the Buccaneers league wide, but I think the Buccaneers got

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a chance to have a good team. They got a

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tough schedule, but they got a good team. They bring

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member Baker Mayfield back, Mike Evans back, and all the rest.

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They bring all the guys they want to bring back, Wurfs, Winfield.

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The Jaguars looking to rebound after a meltdown to the

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year end of the year last year, Trevor Lawrence got

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his big contract. You know, they brought in some They

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draft a number one receiver out of LSU, Brian Thomas,

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a lot of revamped defense, and then you got the

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Miami Dolphins. All the things going on with Miami. You

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saw the story about Tua and Brian Flores in the

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last couple of weeks. Again, Tua got his massive contract

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extension as well, So again everybody's in the mix down there.

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Tyreek Hill got extended. Can the defense for Miami? Can

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they hold up against some injury issues on the defense

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early on Bradley Chubb and company. We'll see if Jalen

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Phillips plays. But again a lot of optimism with all

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three teams in the state of Florida. All three are

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expected to be playoff contenders, if not in the playoffs

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this year. So we'll give you some weekly updates on

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those three teams as well with the Bucks, Jacks and

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the Dolphins. So all right, before we get to our

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Florida Gator preview, we're gonna give you a little word

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by Jozahgaki, Joey Johnson covering USF, and Matt Merschelle UCF

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Knight's team previews. Enjoy the podcast again, Tell a friend again.

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We'll be here every week during the college football year,

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and we'll see you at the stadiums as our Florida

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teams kick off their college and NFL seasons. Ever feel

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It is time to do our twenty twenty four preview

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of the Florida Gators. Gators coming off of a six

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and seven year and twenty twenty three, a lot of

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heat on Billy Napier, you know, questions to be answered,

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brutal schedule which we'll get into here a little bit,

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but no better person to talk to give us at

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great insight on what the Gators look like coming into there.

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They're a clash on Saturday into Swamp against Miami. Kevin Brockway,

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beat writer for the Gainesville Sun. You can find Kevin

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on Twitter. I have Kevin Brockway g one so we

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can find this great work. And Kevin will be in

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the building Saturday for the U for for week one

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there with the with the Hurricanes coming to town, the

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State of Florida foe which this podcast is all about.

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Our State of Florida teams. Welcome into the podcast. Kevin.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Hey, it's a pleasure, uh and uh, certainly it's

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uh that time of year, right, we're in We're in August,

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and it's a it's a time for optimism for everyone.

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You know, this is everybody's zero zero. Everybody has championship dreams.

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I think certainly the mood at Florida is, you know,

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maybe not college football playoff, but you know, they want

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to see progress and and they're hopeful that Billy Naper

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in year three and with the experience for turning on

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this roster, uh, that that will result in a little

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better showing in the win loss for a Ledger and

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maybe a return to a bowl game.

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Speaker 2: Being around Billy for a couple of years, now, what

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have you sensed in Billy's development as a head coach?

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Maybe that he's gotten better at maybe I know he's

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calling plays this year, so that's a little more of

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a focus on calling plays on the offensive side. What

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have just you're just being around him from from a

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head coaching perspective, what have you noticed about him in

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the last couple of years?

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Speaker 3: You know, I think this year with us, he's been

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a little more relaxed this year and he seems to

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have a little more confidence in the tronc or maybe

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even than what some of the national pundits are expecting here,

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but I think too that, uh, I think he's been

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willing to adapt. Listen, you know, he he got rid

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of uh, you know, Corey Raymond and Sean Spencer in December,

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which he thought was going to be a move better

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for the defense, and in doing so, he may have

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lost a few recruits in that Ballyhoo class, including Xavier Philsome,

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who you know went to Texas.

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Speaker 4: So I think he sacrificed that for.

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Speaker 3: A situation where, you know, he wanted to see a

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little more cohesiveness on the field. And certainly, you know,

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he's he's he's been willing to address some of the

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problems that he's had to for seasons at eleven fourteen.

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Hasn't stood by and stood pat in certain areas, certainly

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bringing in Joe Houston as a special teams analyst after

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the special teams issues last year, bringing in you know,

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a couple of guys in uh, you know, Will Harris

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and Jerald Chapman secondary coach, and then obviously you know,

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he lost Jason Bait and j J. Bateman to Texas

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A and M, but he quickly recovered and got Ron Roberts.

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So I think was a pretty good hire. You know,

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a linebackers coach and a co defensive point aater or

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a veteran guy who was an Auburn who I think

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is going to help Austin Armstrong along a little bit

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in terms of, you know, dealing with some of these

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sec offenses.

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Speaker 2: Defensively, you mess in Austin Armstrong what you know, that

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pretty aggressive style. Do they have the personnel, does he

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believe they got the personnel to do what he wants

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to do on defense or is it still kind of

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a work in progress where you see them on just

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philosophically on defense.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think what you know they're trying to do

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on defense is just be a little more sure, be

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a little more sound, be more physical, tackle better, and

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create more takeaways and that was a huge issue last

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year only seven turnovers force that was last in the

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actually or to be more of a ball hawking defense, opportunistic,

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and then also to just the fundamentals tackling better, being

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more physical at the point of attack, you know, pass

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rush too, I think is another area where they'd like

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to see improvement as well. And it's it's it's just

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going to be an all around I will say this

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about the defense. Though first month of the season last year,

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they were actually pretty good. I mean they actually you know,

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they played well at Utah even though they lost, and

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they held Charlotte to seven points. They held mcdee State

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to seven points. They held you know, Tennessee, they got

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a big turnover in that game. Devin Moore held them

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to sixteen points. Help josh Iipels kind of have high

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powered offense with the Swamps to sixteen points and really

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started to turn in October and what I think was

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the big issue and it really crystallized. And remember when

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they lost Tamar James is at depth the lack of

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depth on that side of the ball, and I think

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they feel like they're a little deeper.

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Speaker 4: They've made some transfer portal additions.

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Speaker 3: You know, three big guys I think are gonna be

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you know, Grayson Howard at linebacker, Asa Turner at safety,

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and Joey Slackman on the defensive line. I think those

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are three transfers that they added that they feel like

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are going to be able to, you know, bring a

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little something to this defense that that will make them

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perform better on Saturdays.

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Speaker 2: Are there any freshmen that that you expect to get

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00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,119
some significant snaps that meaningful snaps here offensively or I

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00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:36,039
know I know them. A Craig kid the defensive end

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is a highly talented kid. We know DJ Lagway potentially

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00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:43,240
could could see some action in some specified packages. And

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00:21:43,319 --> 00:21:45,079
the other freshman that you think will get some get

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some snaps, meaningful snaps.

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Speaker 3: You know, Ted Hawkins is a guy who had a

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really good camp, true freshman wide receiver.

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Speaker 4: It's got some speed. I think you might see him

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on some returns.

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Speaker 3: The other freshman receiver TJ Abrams, as well Aaron Chiles

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and Miles Graham the two lines, I think you'll see

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them in there at some point during the season, if

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not early, you know, perhaps later. But I think mostly

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you're going to see a lot of guys that were

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true freshman last year as sophomores really kind of step up.

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A guy who's ad a really good campus Eiden myself

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a sophomore wide receiver, I think he's someone that is

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going to be worth watching.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 3: He he always had that good straight line kind of

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track speed, but he really worked on his hands in

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the offseason. He worked on his route running and he's

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becoming a more complete wide receiver.

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Speaker 4: As a result, mood of the.

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Speaker 2: Florida the Gator fan base a little bit. I mean,

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obviously they they want to see some offense. They want

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to see some big plays, and that's one thing Florida

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hasn't had in recent years is the skill players to

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do that. Do you feel like they're in a better

426
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position to be able to potentially unleash a little bit?

427
00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,359
I know Merch is a good, good, solid quarterback, but

428
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,039
he's not you know, he's not going to throw the

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00:22:51,079 --> 00:22:53,119
ball fifty five yards down the field. A whole lot

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00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,119
talk about the just talk about the you know, the

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mood of the Florida fan base.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, no, I mean they want to see the big play,

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00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,200
and whether they get that or not remains to be seen.

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00:23:04,559 --> 00:23:06,200
Speaker 4: I think it's going to depend on matchups.

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00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,519
Speaker 3: But you know, I a lot of it is, you know,

436
00:23:09,039 --> 00:23:11,680
Billy Napier's offense. I mean, going back to Louisian, it's

437
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:13,680
you know, run run runs, set up to play play

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00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,039
action and then hit the deep ball. So you got

439
00:23:16,039 --> 00:23:18,440
to established a run game first. And I think they've

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00:23:18,599 --> 00:23:20,559
they've got a good stable in running backs. Even though

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they lost trevortm you know, another freshman two other freshmen

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00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,079
that you know could make impacts the season, or the

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00:23:28,079 --> 00:23:30,359
two freshman running backs Katie Daniels and Jade and Ball.

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00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,599
Speaker 4: They both looked really good. It's fall. Ball had a

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00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:33,599
really good spring game.

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Speaker 3: So you know, he's another guy that I think you'll

447
00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:39,519
you'll you'll see a little bit, especially with Montreal.

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Speaker 4: Johnson kind of questionable coming into this in Miami game.

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00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,039
You know, I'm hearing he may play, but you know,

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00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:46,559
maybe you put him on a pitch.

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Speaker 3: Count, maybe you give him only five or ten carries

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and let that knee get back to fully one hundred

453
00:23:52,079 --> 00:23:54,799
percent for Texas A and M. But I do think that,

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you know, they feel good about, you know, the ability

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to you know just kind of you know, start off

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00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:02,640
with the run game and then work from there to

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00:24:02,799 --> 00:24:05,880
the past game. But I think that, you know, fans

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00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,200
might be upset in certain games if they go quick.

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00:24:09,279 --> 00:24:11,319
But it's gonna depend a lot on the offensive line

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00:24:11,319 --> 00:24:13,079
too and their ability to protect. And we know last

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00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:17,000
year that was a big issue. Obviously, thirty nine sacks.

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00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,240
Speaker 2: Allabed Eugene Wilson. To me, he's their most dynamic player

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00:24:20,279 --> 00:24:22,160
on offense. You know, he's the guy that you know

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00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,400
can can can can be a game breaker to some degree.

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00:24:25,759 --> 00:24:27,160
Is it going to be Is it going to be

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00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,680
a situation you believe that Merge when it's third and six,

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00:24:29,799 --> 00:24:32,039
third and eight, that he's going to really really lean

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00:24:32,079 --> 00:24:32,960
on Eugene Wilson.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you know, Billy Napier's line is we're

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00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,559
going to get our money's worth from Eugene Wilson. H So, yeah,

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00:24:40,599 --> 00:24:42,920
I think he's the guy. He proved it last year

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00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:47,240
and uh, you know five you know, so, I mean,

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00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:49,960
durability is always a concerner. He got a little stronger,

474
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,079
I think, whichell, but you can't tackle what you can't

475
00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,359
catch either, And I think that he's a shifty guy

476
00:24:57,559 --> 00:24:59,440
and he's just a really good route runner, you know.

477
00:24:59,519 --> 00:25:03,079
You know it's other is from the Tampa area Aid

478
00:25:03,519 --> 00:25:05,480
obviously with the New England Patriots.

479
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,400
Speaker 4: You know, I talked to him over the summer.

480
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,200
Speaker 3: So I think that you know, he comes from good

481
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:12,880
bloodlines and the fact that you know he's a worker,

482
00:25:13,319 --> 00:25:15,400
you know, I think, you know, being being the son

483
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,240
of a former NFL player, there's something to that I

484
00:25:18,279 --> 00:25:21,759
think to understand or it's driven home family wise, you

485
00:25:21,759 --> 00:25:24,720
know what it takes to be successful and he's he

486
00:25:24,799 --> 00:25:26,640
proved that last year as a true freshman, and I

487
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,160
think I think there's more to come for him.

488
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,200
Speaker 4: It should be a very exciting year for him.

489
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 2: Quarterback situation, obviously, Graham Mertch has been played a lot

490
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,559
of football Wisconsin, now at Florida back to back years

491
00:25:36,559 --> 00:25:39,680
at Florida. Obviously you have the big recruit DJ Lagway

492
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,160
in the wings there. What is the plan for Dj?

493
00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:43,920
Do they think they're gonna maybe get him in maybe

494
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,599
goal one wildcat situation? What are they thinking anticipating with

495
00:25:47,599 --> 00:25:48,599
with Dj Lagway?

496
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,920
Speaker 4: Possible, but they have to trust him handling the ball.

497
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,160
Speaker 3: I heard that there were some turnover issues in the

498
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,880
spring and even in a couple of these false scrimmages.

499
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,599
So I think it's just going to depend on how

500
00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:04,200
he looks and practice week to week. But you know,

501
00:26:04,279 --> 00:26:06,160
certainly he's a big body two hundred and thirty nine

502
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,079
pounds six to two. You know, he's a guy that

503
00:26:08,799 --> 00:26:12,559
certainly has has a big enough frame where you know,

504
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,480
in a power conference game like Miami or an SEC game,

505
00:26:16,559 --> 00:26:18,319
he can still you know, make some play.

506
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:20,400
Speaker 4: So it'll be fascinating to see, you know it.

507
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 3: Certainly worked with Chris Leek and Tim Tebow back in

508
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,880
two thousand and six, and whether you do that again,

509
00:26:26,559 --> 00:26:28,519
because you know, Mertz is not the most mobile guy.

510
00:26:28,559 --> 00:26:31,440
But but I think Mertz is the guy. And I

511
00:26:31,519 --> 00:26:33,839
really think Mertz is gonna have a big year. I predicted,

512
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,599
you know, I did a Bowld prediction today. I predicted

513
00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,519
thirty touchdown passes from this year. Really that you know,

514
00:26:39,599 --> 00:26:44,319
if you look at the history around you know, college football,

515
00:26:45,279 --> 00:26:47,680
a lot of these transfers make jumps in their second year.

516
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:49,359
You know, you look at shamed In and look at

517
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,519
Joe Burrow, you look at Bonnicks, you look at you know,

518
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,279
Michael Pennix, all guys that were more productive in their

519
00:26:56,279 --> 00:26:58,400
second year as transfers. And I think Graham is the

520
00:26:58,519 --> 00:27:01,119
work ethic and the football like you were, where he

521
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:02,319
can have that that kind.

522
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:02,799
Speaker 4: Of a big year.

523
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,039
Speaker 3: And I think he's gonna need to too, because I

524
00:27:05,039 --> 00:27:08,000
do think this defense is still developing and there's gonna

525
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,880
be a lot of shootout type games this season that

526
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,799
that that they're gonna need him to be, uh be productive.

527
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,359
Speaker 2: Speaking of speaking of games and shootouts, let's get let's

528
00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,359
get to the schedule quickly. Obviously you got A. You

529
00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,880
got a brutal schedule by all accounts, top top two

530
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,839
or three worst schedules in the country as far as

531
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,079
you know opponents that they're gonna play at Tennessee, at Texas,

532
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,880
at Florida State. You got a great home schedule if

533
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,880
you're a Gator fan, tremendous home schedule. You got Miami,

534
00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:36,440
you got A and M in a couple of weeks,

535
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,759
you got ol Miss, you got l s U. So,

536
00:27:38,759 --> 00:27:41,559
I mean you have some tremendous home games. I mean,

537
00:27:41,599 --> 00:27:44,960
obviously if you're if you're how do you navigate that?

538
00:27:45,079 --> 00:27:47,359
And is it Obviously it's a one week at a

539
00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:49,559
time league and I get it, but boy, that's that

540
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,279
is a gauntlet to have to go through to get

541
00:27:51,319 --> 00:27:52,000
ball eligible.

542
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, espn uh, you know Football Power and Next Rate

543
00:27:55,839 --> 00:27:58,599
is the most difficult schedule in the country, don't forget

544
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,119
you c F two, well, you know the the mighty

545
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:06,400
nights from down to Orlando, Casparla Bowl champions. You know,

546
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,240
Flora's try going to try to have to avenge that

547
00:28:08,319 --> 00:28:10,960
lots as well. So it's going to be a fascinating

548
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,960
schedule and a fun schedule, particularly for you know, a

549
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,759
lot of good in State games with Miami, with UCF

550
00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:21,000
at the end of the year with FSU along with

551
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,759
you know, certainly, you know, even Kentucky come to town.

552
00:28:24,799 --> 00:28:26,880
You know they've been in a row against that's gonna

553
00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,920
be the homecoming games. So you've got a lot of

554
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,799
games on the schedule where you know, there's opportunity for

555
00:28:31,839 --> 00:28:36,640
Florida to really, you know, if they can somehow get

556
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,079
through this schedule with nine or ten wins with the

557
00:28:39,079 --> 00:28:42,119
strength of schedule, then you know, maybe you're talking about sneaking.

558
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:43,000
Speaker 4: In the college Football Playoff.

559
00:28:43,039 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 3: But I think really it's going to come down to,

560
00:28:46,839 --> 00:28:49,559
you know, that week to week approach, being able to

561
00:28:49,559 --> 00:28:52,359
handle what's in front of you and being able to

562
00:28:52,359 --> 00:28:55,079
stay stay away from injuries. To the depth is going

563
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,160
to be a big place, you know, and this roster

564
00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:58,960
is a little deeper and I think can sustain a

565
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,839
little more from that front. But I think there are

566
00:29:00,839 --> 00:29:03,000
certain guys that you don't want to see get hurt,

567
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,400
beginning with number fifteen and Graham Mertz. I think that's

568
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,400
one one of the main ones for sure. And uh

569
00:29:10,519 --> 00:29:13,480
and you know, Eugene Wilson two, number three is another

570
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:14,960
guy that you're gonna want to keep healthy for the

571
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:15,559
full season.

572
00:29:15,839 --> 00:29:18,599
Speaker 2: And obviously Billy every you know, Billy's on the hot seat.

573
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,599
Everybody knows that he knows it. You know, that's not

574
00:29:20,759 --> 00:29:22,640
it's it's an it's not a it's not a uh,

575
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,279
it's not a secret. Everybody knows what the situation is.

576
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,400
I don't think in my view, I don't think it's

577
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,519
how many games he wins. It's it's how he looks

578
00:29:29,519 --> 00:29:31,599
when they when they don't win. It's you know, are

579
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,039
you buttoned up or do you have special teams issues?

580
00:29:34,079 --> 00:29:37,079
Do you have operational issues? You're wasting time out? What

581
00:29:37,119 --> 00:29:40,599
do you what do you what sense do you get about? Again,

582
00:29:40,599 --> 00:29:41,920
I don't want to put a number on it, but

583
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:43,759
I mean, just how they look if they're if they

584
00:29:43,799 --> 00:29:44,200
don't win.

585
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,599
Speaker 3: I agree, you know, And and with Steve spur called

586
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,359
it the football looking a little more tidy, and I

587
00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:52,160
think that's a good word, you know what I mean, like,

588
00:29:52,279 --> 00:29:55,480
you know, less of the embarrassing mistakes. And as you know,

589
00:29:55,519 --> 00:29:58,200
they brought in Joke Houston as a special teams analyst. Uh,

590
00:29:58,599 --> 00:30:01,200
he's got the launch pad you a little twister thing

591
00:30:01,319 --> 00:30:03,759
on the sidelines that they're gonna make sure everyone's lined

592
00:30:03,839 --> 00:30:06,920
up right, So hopefully that will result in a smoother

593
00:30:07,039 --> 00:30:09,680
operations on special teams and having.

594
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 4: The right number of guys on the field.

595
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,599
Speaker 3: So I think all of that will result, you know,

596
00:30:16,559 --> 00:30:20,759
in maybe a crisper looking football, and that's gonna be important,

597
00:30:21,039 --> 00:30:22,920
you know. I think six to seven wins gets them

598
00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,119
a fourth year. You know, anything below that it gets

599
00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:28,359
a little more dicey, right, I predicted seven and five.

600
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,599
I think there's a path to it, you know, I think,

601
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,720
you know, especially if they beat Miami, I think they can.

602
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 4: Go six and one on the front end.

603
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,519
Speaker 3: Question is the back end and once the injuries mount,

604
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:42,599
you know, it's it's it's a bad time to face

605
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,680
the top twelve teams in the country in the last

606
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,559
five games, which is what you're gonna be facing when

607
00:30:47,599 --> 00:30:50,640
you're still trying to develop depth within your roster. And

608
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,559
I think that's where, you know, that's gonna be the

609
00:30:53,599 --> 00:30:55,720
month that's gonna be really dicey for Florida, and that's

610
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,119
when you're gonna see I think a little bit of

611
00:30:58,279 --> 00:31:00,480
you know, games where they're a little bit of match

612
00:31:00,599 --> 00:31:02,640
but but I do think they could possibly bea at

613
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,720
LC with the swamp and now you know, listen, you

614
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:06,799
know what happened in Ireland.

615
00:31:06,839 --> 00:31:09,160
Speaker 4: Now Florida State game as well.

616
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 2: And I'm with you. I think I think the central

617
00:31:11,279 --> 00:31:13,480
Florida I mean, you can't lose the central forward. I

618
00:31:13,519 --> 00:31:16,559
think that's a pivotal game. Just from an optics perspective.

619
00:31:17,319 --> 00:31:19,440
You got to you gotta be to Kentucky at home.

620
00:31:19,799 --> 00:31:21,799
And again, I think Florida can be a pain in

621
00:31:21,839 --> 00:31:23,359
the neck to some people down the stretch. I mean,

622
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,799
I think they've got there an improved football team, and

623
00:31:25,839 --> 00:31:27,319
it may not show up in the record, but I

624
00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:28,720
think they can be a pain in the neck to

625
00:31:28,759 --> 00:31:30,680
a you know, whether it's Florida State down the road,

626
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:34,599
LSU down the road, I think built And again, fans

627
00:31:34,599 --> 00:31:36,640
don't want to hear this, but sometimes it just takes

628
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,480
three or four years to develop a roster and a

629
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:41,880
culture and all that. And I know Florida, the Florida

630
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:43,599
fan base is not the most patient in the war

631
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,200
in the country. But sometimes you have to almost bite

632
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,160
the bullet just say we believe in Billy, we believe

633
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,599
in the philosophy. Uh is that you get the sense

634
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,400
that that's what the administration thinks.

635
00:31:54,079 --> 00:31:56,039
Speaker 3: I think the administration, Yeah, I think a lot of

636
00:31:56,079 --> 00:31:58,400
the hot seat talk is more external than internal. I

637
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,240
think if you talk to the people inside the building, UH,

638
00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,480
they will tell you that Billy Napier is on a

639
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,960
lot more secure ground than than people outside, I think,

640
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:12,079
and that you know they're you're in this cycle now,

641
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:14,960
you know in Florida's and Serbert Meyer left where you

642
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,599
know you're you're going to coaches every three or four years.

643
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,119
I think they would like some stability at this position.

644
00:32:20,559 --> 00:32:23,160
I think they they love what Billy does off the field.

645
00:32:23,359 --> 00:32:27,240
Certainly they like him as you know, a guy that

646
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,599
UH is a leader, and I think they believe that

647
00:32:31,119 --> 00:32:34,160
he represents the football program the right way. I think

648
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:36,279
just to you know, in terms of creating, you know,

649
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:37,279
changing the culture.

650
00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:39,319
Speaker 4: I think they had the highest.

651
00:32:39,079 --> 00:32:43,000
Speaker 3: GPA last year UH in in you know, program history.

652
00:32:43,079 --> 00:32:45,279
So he's doing the right things off the field. It's

653
00:32:45,319 --> 00:32:47,279
just that the on field results need to show.

654
00:32:47,319 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 4: Now that's the key.

655
00:32:48,359 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 2: Well, Kevin Brockway, enjoy the year, man, appreciate the time.

656
00:32:51,079 --> 00:32:53,839
Gainesville Suns where you can find Kevin's great work. You

657
00:32:53,839 --> 00:32:57,680
can find uh, you know again every every Sunday and Saturday.

658
00:32:57,680 --> 00:32:59,920
You'll be putting stuff all over X in Twitter, can

659
00:33:00,279 --> 00:33:03,240
Brockway g One's where you can find them there. Appreciate

660
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,000
the time, Kevin, enjoy the year. We'll be in touch.

661
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:06,839
Speaker 4: Okay, all right, thank you very much.

662
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,039
Speaker 2: All right, welcome back to the podcast. Appreciate you finding us.

663
00:33:14,079 --> 00:33:16,559
Now it is time to go down to South Florida

664
00:33:16,599 --> 00:33:20,559
and visit with the voice of the Miami Hurricanes going

665
00:33:20,599 --> 00:33:23,160
into year twenty three. Is the play by play voice.

666
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,799
Been on the broadcast many many years, but he's been

667
00:33:25,839 --> 00:33:28,319
the voice of the Canes for going on year number

668
00:33:28,319 --> 00:33:32,960
twenty three. Here, mister Joe Zagaki. Appreciate you joining us here.

669
00:33:33,039 --> 00:33:36,400
Speaker 5: Joe Yep, thank you, appreciate you having me looking forward

670
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:36,680
to it.

671
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,319
Speaker 2: Yeah, just a mirror couple of weeks away here from

672
00:33:40,319 --> 00:33:42,880
the season opener for the Hurricanes, Miami coming off a

673
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,640
seven and six year last year, three and five in

674
00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,920
the ACC. You know, most people remember the Miami got

675
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:51,480
off to a great start four and oh, and then

676
00:33:51,519 --> 00:33:54,599
they had the disastrous finish in the Georgia Tech Game.

677
00:33:55,279 --> 00:33:57,039
We're able to recover after that after a couple of

678
00:33:57,079 --> 00:33:59,599
losses and then wrapped up the year at seven and six.

679
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:04,640
Year three of Mario Cristo Baal continued his adventures into

680
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:06,960
the transfer portal on such which we're gonna get into.

681
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:10,920
First question for you, Joe, how much of an impact

682
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,119
did that Georgia Tech finish have on the rest of

683
00:34:13,119 --> 00:34:15,840
the year for that team and that coaching staff.

684
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,679
Speaker 5: Well, you know, that's probably hard to measure, but I

685
00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,639
would say certainly affected them. The next week they went

686
00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:26,440
to North Carolina and lost that game. They didn't come

687
00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,679
back and recover. Briefly, they'd beat Clemson in overtime, beat

688
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,960
Virginia in overtime, So I do think they got past it.

689
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:40,280
You know, down the stretch, they lost what six of

690
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:43,519
their last nine games average twenty six points a game.

691
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,880
They fumbled the ball in the red zone, they turned

692
00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,400
the ball over in the red zone, they had penalties

693
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,440
in the red zone. I don't think that was associated

694
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,440
with the decision that was made against Georgia Tech, but

695
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,039
certainly the week after going into the Carolina game, it

696
00:35:02,159 --> 00:35:05,840
certainly did have an effect and probably did knock the

697
00:35:06,119 --> 00:35:10,840
season sideways. And there's no doubt. Listen, it's the first

698
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,880
question you asked me. I did an interview last week.

699
00:35:14,119 --> 00:35:17,639
It was the third question asked to me. So it's

700
00:35:17,679 --> 00:35:21,840
something that Mario Cristobal in the program have to get passed,

701
00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:24,119
and the only way to get past it is to win.

702
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:24,719
That's it.

703
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:27,559
Speaker 2: Do you feel like, do you get a good sense

704
00:35:27,559 --> 00:35:29,400
from the guys that are there now? Obviously you have

705
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:30,800
a lot of new guys coming in, but a lot

706
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:32,599
of the guys that are returning it they're over that

707
00:35:32,679 --> 00:35:35,239
moment and that they haven't lost confidence in the in

708
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,599
the coaching staff and all that. You think the confidence

709
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:39,199
is still there in that staff.

710
00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:44,079
Speaker 5: Well, listen, if they're still dwelling on something that happened

711
00:35:44,159 --> 00:35:48,280
last October, they had no chance. So I just don't

712
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,599
think you dwell on something in sports that happened a

713
00:35:51,679 --> 00:35:55,000
year ago. You can't dwell on stuff like that in life.

714
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,800
You got to go forward. It happened, it's over. They

715
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,880
lost the game, It did affect the season. It has

716
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,719
stained his resume. The only way to get away from

717
00:36:05,719 --> 00:36:09,119
it is move forward. If they're gonna sit back and

718
00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:11,599
dwell on it the whole time, then the program is

719
00:36:11,599 --> 00:36:14,079
never going to go forward. In addition, many of the

720
00:36:14,119 --> 00:36:17,199
players on this team this year weren't here last year,

721
00:36:17,519 --> 00:36:20,599
starting with the quarterback cam Ward. He wasn't part of that.

722
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:25,800
Damian Martinez he wasn't part of that. The centaer Zach Carpenter,

723
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,400
not part of that. Sam Brown wide receiver, not part

724
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,559
of that. The defensive line, almost the entire defensive line

725
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:37,719
weren't here, not part of it. So I do think

726
00:36:38,559 --> 00:36:42,719
guys that weren't here it doesn't affect them at all.

727
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:47,119
They came to the transfer portal. To me, the bigger

728
00:36:47,199 --> 00:36:50,559
challenge is how do you bring all those guys in

729
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:54,519
here and create a team, especially when you do have

730
00:36:54,639 --> 00:36:58,000
adversity like they did against Georgia Tech. How do you

731
00:36:58,039 --> 00:37:02,880
get those guys bond together well together become a team

732
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,719
at the moment of truth, these are not only in Miami,

733
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:10,480
but all across college athletics. We've almost created a system

734
00:37:10,519 --> 00:37:14,159
of mercenaries. So now you've got to figure out how

735
00:37:14,199 --> 00:37:17,119
to make them a team. To me, that's the bigger challenge.

736
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,280
Speaker 2: And if you look at the Miami you know twenty

737
00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,159
twenty four Miami Hurgan as you mentioned, a lot of

738
00:37:22,159 --> 00:37:24,639
new faces, a lot of expectation. A lot of people

739
00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:27,880
nationally think Miami is a sleeper team. They avoid Clemson,

740
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,880
they avoid Carolina, they avoid NC State on the schedule.

741
00:37:31,119 --> 00:37:34,199
They've got some they've got they've got a very manageable schedule,

742
00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:36,360
and you're now in a situation where you don't have

743
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:38,199
to go twelve and zero. You can lose a game,

744
00:37:38,519 --> 00:37:41,159
maybe two, and if you win the conference, you're still

745
00:37:41,159 --> 00:37:43,199
you're still You're still gonna be in the college football play.

746
00:37:43,559 --> 00:37:46,239
Hard to believe that Miami has never been in the

747
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:49,400
AEC title game in twenty years or so of the

748
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,920
a SEC heart That is just just a stat that's

749
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:52,480
that when I.

750
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,880
Speaker 5: Saw not quite they've been in the championship game they

751
00:37:55,960 --> 00:38:00,000
lost for whims. Correct, They actually won the championship games correct,

752
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,880
and they did call people do forget this. It gets

753
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:07,239
under my skin a little bit. They did qualify for

754
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:14,760
the ACC Championship game under Al Golden, they forfeited their

755
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:20,280
opportunity to play in the ACC Championship game because they

756
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,760
thought that would help them with the NCAA and punishment

757
00:38:24,199 --> 00:38:27,639
because of the Nevin Shapiro situation.

758
00:38:30,119 --> 00:38:30,280
Speaker 2: There.

759
00:38:31,119 --> 00:38:35,000
Speaker 5: To your point, they haven't won the ACC championship since

760
00:38:35,039 --> 00:38:38,400
they joined the league, and everybody thought Miami would play

761
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,119
Florida State quite a bit in the championship game. It

762
00:38:42,159 --> 00:38:45,519
has not happened. They have a team this year that

763
00:38:45,679 --> 00:38:50,480
is built to get to the ACC Championship game, whether

764
00:38:50,519 --> 00:38:53,920
it happens or not. To me, it will happen if

765
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,119
they cut down on their turnovers, they cut down on

766
00:38:58,159 --> 00:39:01,920
their penalties, and they improve their red zone offense. And

767
00:39:02,079 --> 00:39:06,079
often those three things are in conflict. So if they

768
00:39:06,119 --> 00:39:09,119
figure out those three things, I think they'll they'll have

769
00:39:09,159 --> 00:39:12,880
a chance to appear in that ACC Championship game. You

770
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,119
also mentioned the schedule, and I would agree with that.

771
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:19,880
And you know, Miami is not held up their end

772
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:25,000
of the bargain inside the ACC, There's no question about that.

773
00:39:26,039 --> 00:39:30,719
But the ACC and these are little things. I don't

774
00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:35,760
know that they've done Miami any favors anywhere along the line.

775
00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:38,679
Same with Florida State. That's why Florida State wants out.

776
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,320
When people will go, well, what is it that they

777
00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:46,360
could have done? Well, how about I'm going to whine

778
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,519
a little bit probably, how about, for example, when you

779
00:39:49,559 --> 00:39:52,800
played Florida State, don't follow that game up with Clemson, right,

780
00:39:53,239 --> 00:39:57,159
or don't follow that game up with North Carolina. Because

781
00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,840
for Miami and Florida State so much ride on that.

782
00:40:01,639 --> 00:40:04,320
Why do you put them in a position the very

783
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:10,440
next week to get beat? And how about you invited

784
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:14,599
Miami in this conference to be Miami, and that means

785
00:40:15,039 --> 00:40:17,920
everything that comes with it, whether you agree with their

786
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:21,239
style of play or not. Let them be Miami. But no, no,

787
00:40:21,679 --> 00:40:24,679
they've they've kind of neutered Miami and tried to force

788
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:28,159
them to be Duke. So I'll probably get in trouble,

789
00:40:28,599 --> 00:40:30,920
but that's my feeling on it.

790
00:40:31,519 --> 00:40:33,480
Speaker 2: Let's get to the Let's get to week number one.

791
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,840
Such a pivotal game in Gainesville against the Gators. You

792
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:40,199
got two coaches that are feeling a little bit of heat. Obviously,

793
00:40:40,199 --> 00:40:42,400
I think more more heat up in Gainesville than in Miami.

794
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:47,320
But still a massively critical non conference game in Gainesville.

795
00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:50,320
What is the You know, Florida and Miamis. Give Miami credit.

796
00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:52,960
They're playing in Gainesville. A couple of weeks later, they're

797
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,880
playing here in Tampa against USF. They're gonna see obviously

798
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,519
in Florida State later in the year, So a true

799
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,119
state championships on the line, and if Miami can navigate

800
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:04,960
at least two out of those three they're in, they're

801
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,239
gonna be in a great spot to have a big year.

802
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,519
Just talk about the importance of that first game on

803
00:41:09,559 --> 00:41:10,519
the road in Gainesville.

804
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:16,400
Speaker 5: Yeah, I just I put the Florida game on a

805
00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:21,239
separate island, and that is it's the University of Florida

806
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:28,320
in Miami. If you're a Miami person, you hate Florida,

807
00:41:29,559 --> 00:41:32,280
and so you got to win that game. You can't

808
00:41:32,679 --> 00:41:37,159
cannot lose that game. Now the series is twenty nine

809
00:41:37,199 --> 00:41:40,039
to twenty seven in favor of Miami. That's how close

810
00:41:40,079 --> 00:41:43,840
it is. But first of all, they should play every year.

811
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:47,480
One of the greatest Miami Florida games I ever saw

812
00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:51,199
was in the eighties six season in Gainesville. One of

813
00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:55,119
the hardest hitting college football games I've ever seen. Kind

814
00:41:55,119 --> 00:41:58,280
of epitomized when Miami and Florida was supposed to be.

815
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:01,880
If we have that kind a game this year, have

816
00:42:02,159 --> 00:42:04,719
both both sides will be you know, have their guys

817
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:09,440
tossed out because in eighty six that game was so physical. Uh, nowadays,

818
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:13,400
you can't play that way. That being said, you gotta

819
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:16,320
win that game. You're the University of Miami. Yes, if

820
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:20,000
you lose, can you recover, Yeah, sure, Miami recovered in

821
00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:23,320
eighty three, they recovered in eighty five. Yes, you can

822
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:27,920
recover from that game if you lose. But from a

823
00:42:28,199 --> 00:42:32,360
bragging standpoint, from a stick your chest out from a

824
00:42:32,679 --> 00:42:35,519
our program is better than your program. You gotta win

825
00:42:35,599 --> 00:42:38,679
that game. It's Miami in Florida. If you're Miami, you

826
00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,280
gotta win that game. Florida doesn't want to play it,

827
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,320
do come down here next year. If Florida doesn't want

828
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:45,960
to play Miami, you're Miami.

829
00:42:46,119 --> 00:42:49,719
Speaker 2: You gotta win that game, no doubt, no win that game.

830
00:42:50,239 --> 00:42:52,360
Speaker 5: And and by the way, the way the way to

831
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,199
win that game is in the swamp at three point

832
00:42:55,199 --> 00:42:58,159
thirty is not gonna be a picnic. That crowd is

833
00:42:58,199 --> 00:43:01,519
gonna be repped up, ready to go. They are going

834
00:43:01,599 --> 00:43:05,199
to try to affect cam Ward the best way they can.

835
00:43:05,519 --> 00:43:09,679
The Gators had three interceptions all of last year, seven

836
00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:13,880
takeaways all season. If you're Miami, you cannot let them

837
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:17,039
get into a feeding frenzy. You cannot turn the ball over.

838
00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:21,159
You played bully ball with Damian Martinez and take the

839
00:43:21,159 --> 00:43:23,360
crowd right out of it. You've got to be able

840
00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,679
to Miami ran for two hundred and eleven yards against Clemson,

841
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:28,719
put two hundred on the Gators on they win.

842
00:43:29,599 --> 00:43:32,039
Speaker 2: Let's talk about you mentioned cam Ward Damian Martinez. Those

843
00:43:32,039 --> 00:43:35,519
are the two big portal guys that come in offensively.

844
00:43:35,760 --> 00:43:39,000
Cam Ward at quarterback the Washington State transfer. I looked

845
00:43:39,039 --> 00:43:41,800
up the stats. He's guy's thrown for fourteen thousand yards

846
00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:44,840
in his career, one hundred and nineteen touchdowns. I know

847
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:48,039
he's played in some smaller, you know, not massive Power

848
00:43:48,119 --> 00:43:51,239
five programs, but he's still produced when he's at an opportunity.

849
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:54,480
Damian Martinez, a bell cow kind of back, kind of

850
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:57,119
reminds me of a Steven Maguire back in the Miami Day.

851
00:43:57,199 --> 00:43:58,000
Speaker 5: Yeah, good one.

852
00:43:58,159 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 2: A guy you can just hand it to twenty five

853
00:44:00,039 --> 00:44:02,679
thirty times if you need to. You know, big production

854
00:44:02,719 --> 00:44:05,440
in Oregon State, big offensive line is back. A lot

855
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:07,880
of expectations, Mario. We obviously know his background with the

856
00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:10,480
offensive line. So do you do you do you anticipate

857
00:44:10,519 --> 00:44:12,360
this being a wide open offense or a little more

858
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:15,559
of a between the tackles bully ball kind of offense

859
00:44:15,599 --> 00:44:16,599
that you mentioned.

860
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:20,599
Speaker 5: You know, Jason, that's a good question because in my

861
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:25,760
in my opinion, cam Ward and you mentioned his numbers

862
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:29,719
and uh, two years in two years at Washington State

863
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:32,559
he threw for six thousand nine or yours and just

864
00:44:32,559 --> 00:44:37,519
two years there. In my opinion, he came here, came

865
00:44:37,559 --> 00:44:41,280
here to throw the football right, show his arm off,

866
00:44:41,519 --> 00:44:44,199
show the NFL. I can throw the football. I want

867
00:44:44,199 --> 00:44:47,320
to be a quarterback. I'm gonna direct traffic. I'm gonna

868
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:50,199
be the guy. When he signed here, he didn't have

869
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:57,800
Dave Hitt Martinez. So, uh, the question is you throw

870
00:44:57,840 --> 00:44:59,000
it for show and right win?

871
00:44:59,519 --> 00:44:59,719
Speaker 6: Yeah?

872
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,119
Speaker 5: Yeah, some battance there, you know, throw for show, run

873
00:45:03,159 --> 00:45:07,480
to win. And you cannot not give the ball to

874
00:45:07,559 --> 00:45:11,199
Damian Martinez. He you can't tackle this guy. There's gonna

875
00:45:11,199 --> 00:45:13,440
be a lot of swings and missus trying to tackle

876
00:45:13,519 --> 00:45:19,199
Damian Martinez. He's as impressive physical wise as I have

877
00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:23,320
seen last year, one of the top runners with yards

878
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:27,639
after contact. So originally I thought cam Ward comes here

879
00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:31,400
to throw the football. But I think the blueprint to

880
00:45:31,519 --> 00:45:34,719
win is give the ball to Damian Martinez and work

881
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:36,039
a play action game off of that.

882
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,519
Speaker 2: You got Xavier Rostreppo back at wide receiver eighty five

883
00:45:39,559 --> 00:45:42,079
catches last year, clear than the number one option. There

884
00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:47,039
any any significant upgrades there at the other wide receiver spot,

885
00:45:47,079 --> 00:45:48,840
tight end, Give me, give me a player or two

886
00:45:48,840 --> 00:45:50,960
that to keep an eye on there other than a Strepo.

887
00:45:51,559 --> 00:45:54,400
Speaker 5: Well, Jacoby George is coming off the great season he

888
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:57,280
had fifty seven catches, was a big play guy for

889
00:45:57,519 --> 00:46:00,239
ninety eight touchdowns. I think a lot of people he

890
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:03,519
could play at the next level. His problem has been behavior.

891
00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:07,960
You know, in games, he gets a lot of silly

892
00:46:08,400 --> 00:46:11,320
for a wide receiver that's barely six feet tall. He

893
00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:14,199
picks a lot of fights, so you just can't have that.

894
00:46:14,719 --> 00:46:19,360
And he's been costing Miami with personal foul penalties. But

895
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:24,159
he's an explosive player, so if he can take the

896
00:46:24,519 --> 00:46:27,559
one selfish part out of his game, I think he's

897
00:46:27,599 --> 00:46:30,239
got a chance to be a really good player. Sam

898
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:35,880
brown Is came into the transfer portal. He's bigger than

899
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:38,599
I thought, he's tall, long legged. I think he's got

900
00:46:38,599 --> 00:46:42,280
a chance to be a really special player. Jojo Trader

901
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:46,960
is a five star player wide receiver from Shamana in

902
00:46:47,039 --> 00:46:51,119
high school. Elijah Arroyo is a really good tight end

903
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,280
who's been injured the last few years. And then freshman

904
00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:58,280
Elijah Lafton. He's a tight end, HVAC running back. Can

905
00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:00,639
do a lot of different things. So they don't have

906
00:47:00,679 --> 00:47:03,440
a shortage of weapons. There is a shortage of footballs,

907
00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:05,000
but they don't have a shortage of weapons.

908
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,039
Speaker 2: And again they're gonna lean on that offensive line and

909
00:47:07,119 --> 00:47:11,119
experienced offensive line a pretty good unit there again, Mario's

910
00:47:11,159 --> 00:47:14,480
again that's his wheelhouse, so I expect that offensive line

911
00:47:14,480 --> 00:47:16,400
to be very very productive as well.

912
00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:20,760
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, look, the offensive line all comes back

913
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:22,679
from a year ago. For the most part, they lost

914
00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:26,679
their left guard, lost their center. But Matt McCoy, who

915
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:29,480
I think will be the starting left guard, has played

916
00:47:29,519 --> 00:47:31,400
a lot of left guard, played a lot on the

917
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:35,559
offensive line last year. Zach Carpenter comes in from Indiana,

918
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:39,199
He should be okay for them at center, and then

919
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:43,719
Jalen Rivers and as Cooper, Francis Marino. All three guys

920
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:48,320
are massive. They all played last year, so I think

921
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:50,280
the offensive line is gonna be very good. They only

922
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:55,719
gave up sixteen sacks last year, so I suspect they'll

923
00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:58,320
be very tough in the trenches again.

924
00:47:58,639 --> 00:48:00,360
Speaker 2: And before we get to the defensive go to the

925
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:04,400
kicking game. He got Andre Borgallas, all acc player could

926
00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:06,719
be a major weapon for you, especially in these tough

927
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:09,880
road environments at lake field, goal field position, things like that.

928
00:48:10,039 --> 00:48:12,119
Talk about the importance of bor Gallas.

929
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:15,760
Speaker 5: Yeah, Bora Gallas. You look at his numbers, He's made

930
00:48:15,800 --> 00:48:18,800
fifty six field goals in his career. Yeah, that's pretty good.

931
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:22,440
Fifty six for sixty seven, hit on twenty two at

932
00:48:22,519 --> 00:48:27,679
twenty six last year, so he's accurate. He's confident, he

933
00:48:27,719 --> 00:48:32,880
can hit with distance, pretty consistent. Long last year is

934
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:36,719
fifty one career long fifty five. He still has one

935
00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:40,920
his freshman year for the win against Virginia where he

936
00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:44,400
knocked it off the upright. But I think he's overcome that.

937
00:48:45,039 --> 00:48:51,400
The punter Dylan Joyce good job last year had had

938
00:48:51,679 --> 00:48:55,199
twenty punts or fifteen punts inside the twenty yard line,

939
00:48:55,199 --> 00:48:57,960
so I always think that's a pretty good number. I

940
00:48:57,960 --> 00:48:59,679
didn't have any had one block to think at the

941
00:48:59,679 --> 00:49:02,199
beginning of the year, so I think they're solid there.

942
00:49:02,559 --> 00:49:06,800
There's still shorting out the return game. Chris Johnson's got

943
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,880
great speed, so I suspect we might see him on kickoffs.

944
00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:13,519
It just seems like a natural fit to me. It's

945
00:49:13,559 --> 00:49:17,599
not etched and stone punt return. I think there's been

946
00:49:17,599 --> 00:49:21,559
a problematic area for Miamis for some reason, them not

947
00:49:21,599 --> 00:49:24,239
being able to find a guy that can catch it

948
00:49:24,559 --> 00:49:26,639
and give you a great return. They've had a hard

949
00:49:26,719 --> 00:49:29,280
enough time finding somebody to catch the damn ball so

950
00:49:30,280 --> 00:49:31,480
we'll see what happens there.

951
00:49:31,559 --> 00:49:33,440
Speaker 2: And let's give a shout out to Devin Hester just

952
00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:38,360
inducted in the Yeah yeah, what what a weapon he

953
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:41,000
wasn't Miami. And again, just what that shows is what

954
00:49:41,039 --> 00:49:43,599
you the hidden yardage in the in the special teams area,

955
00:49:43,599 --> 00:49:46,880
whether it's punting, pinning them deep, good return game, those

956
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:49,639
are all hidden yards that can really help uh this

957
00:49:49,719 --> 00:49:51,800
Miam team. Let's go to the defensive side to me

958
00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:53,760
looking at the kind of the depth chart, kind of

959
00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:57,519
the area that shoring up is defensive line and secondary.

960
00:49:57,559 --> 00:49:59,480
That would that be your your assessment as well?

961
00:50:00,039 --> 00:50:00,159
Speaker 6: Well.

962
00:50:00,159 --> 00:50:02,880
Speaker 5: They needed to fix the secondary because they lost Cam

963
00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:07,480
Kitchens and James Williams and then they lost Jane Davis

964
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:11,679
their starting corners, so they've got some holes there. They

965
00:50:11,679 --> 00:50:15,880
brought in Mish Powell, who's a safety from Washington, played

966
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,039
a lot of football for Washington last year on their

967
00:50:19,039 --> 00:50:22,599
team that went to the championship game, had forty three

968
00:50:22,679 --> 00:50:26,360
tackles for them, kind of a glue guy in the secondary.

969
00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:30,679
Zakwan Patterson's a five star player, came in from shamanad

970
00:50:30,679 --> 00:50:34,000
I suspect. As the season goes on, we'll see more

971
00:50:34,039 --> 00:50:38,800
of him. Mark Heath Williams and Jadeen Harris are kind

972
00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:42,800
of battling for that other safety spot. Harris has really

973
00:50:42,840 --> 00:50:46,199
good speed. Mark Heith Williams he didn't play a lot

974
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:50,000
last year, fifteen tackles in eleven games, but he does

975
00:50:50,079 --> 00:50:54,280
have the experience. But that's your last layer of defense.

976
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:59,039
So they lost two great players there on the corner.

977
00:50:59,079 --> 00:51:01,480
I feel pretty good about Yerol Porter and Damari Brown

978
00:51:01,920 --> 00:51:04,719
have a freshman has had a really good camp and

979
00:51:05,159 --> 00:51:08,159
Oj Fedrick. The question is is that going to carry

980
00:51:08,159 --> 00:51:12,360
over into the regular season. Sometimes guys flashing training camp.

981
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:15,320
You don't know if he carries over. But so far

982
00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:17,920
three weeks in the training camp he's been pretty good.

983
00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:21,400
Where they think they made some significant improvement through the

984
00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:24,559
transfer portal. He's on their defensive line. The whole key

985
00:51:24,599 --> 00:51:27,559
to the defensive line. Though, to me, you've got Bin.

986
00:51:27,719 --> 00:51:29,840
I know Bain's gonna be a great player. I know

987
00:51:29,960 --> 00:51:33,559
Bain's gonna play with intensity, He's gonna do all the

988
00:51:33,639 --> 00:51:38,280
right things. Acc Freshman of the Year, Preseason All American,

989
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:43,280
great leadership in his family. He is not going to

990
00:51:43,360 --> 00:51:46,159
let Miami down. With Miami needs is for a key

991
00:51:46,199 --> 00:51:51,840
messidor to play and Messador only played three games last year.

992
00:51:52,159 --> 00:51:54,679
The year before that was kind of banged up as well,

993
00:51:55,039 --> 00:51:57,239
so he's got to play. He wants to be in

994
00:51:57,239 --> 00:52:03,000
the NFL, and he was a foot injury, so give

995
00:52:03,039 --> 00:52:05,480
him a little bit of space on that. But if

996
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:08,719
Miami's defensive line is going to be elite, it's going

997
00:52:08,800 --> 00:52:11,639
to be Mesador. And then they brought in Simeon Barrow,

998
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:17,119
Tyler Baron, CJ. Clark through the transfer portal, Elijah Austin.

999
00:52:17,719 --> 00:52:24,039
All guys, they are older players, good strength, good edged players,

1000
00:52:24,039 --> 00:52:27,599
good inside players. So they were tough to run on.

1001
00:52:27,719 --> 00:52:30,599
Last year. They were twelve in the country. They should

1002
00:52:30,679 --> 00:52:33,199
be just as good this season, if not better.

1003
00:52:33,480 --> 00:52:35,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, last couple of questions to get you out of

1004
00:52:35,800 --> 00:52:38,000
give me the sense of the mood in South Florida.

1005
00:52:38,360 --> 00:52:40,239
I mean, we've we've gone through some head coaches the

1006
00:52:40,320 --> 00:52:43,440
last ten twelve years. We've had some moments where we've

1007
00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:47,079
thought they're back. How hungry is that South Florida community

1008
00:52:47,159 --> 00:52:49,679
for Miami to put together an eleven and one, twelve

1009
00:52:49,719 --> 00:52:50,440
and oh kind of year.

1010
00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:53,840
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think it's always the same every year. At

1011
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,719
this time, they've got eye black underneath their eyes, you know,

1012
00:52:56,800 --> 00:52:59,880
they're ready to go. Get the helmets on and chin straps.

1013
00:53:00,239 --> 00:53:02,760
Fan base is ready to go. They can't wait. They

1014
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:03,880
have high expectations.

1015
00:53:03,880 --> 00:53:04,360
Speaker 4: And why not.

1016
00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:10,280
Speaker 5: You know, they've heard they've hurt everything, so they've got

1017
00:53:10,320 --> 00:53:14,599
high expectations. They've seen them recruit at a high level.

1018
00:53:14,920 --> 00:53:17,400
They've seen them bring in transfer portal players at a

1019
00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:20,440
high level. They've got a quarterback with a great resume.

1020
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:23,559
They've got to go out and win. And you know

1021
00:53:23,639 --> 00:53:27,920
I always hear on campus stadium. Listen, the University of

1022
00:53:27,960 --> 00:53:32,719
Miami could play on Mars and if they won, people

1023
00:53:32,760 --> 00:53:35,239
would find a way to get there. They just got

1024
00:53:35,239 --> 00:53:38,119
to win. If they win, people will go to hard

1025
00:53:38,199 --> 00:53:41,039
Rock Stadium and it'll be a great environment. If they

1026
00:53:41,039 --> 00:53:45,280
had a stadium on campus and they give them what

1027
00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:47,599
they've given them the last twenty years, they're not going.

1028
00:53:48,039 --> 00:53:48,760
Speaker 2: They're not going.

1029
00:53:49,039 --> 00:53:52,199
Speaker 5: This is a community that has spread out, So win

1030
00:53:52,320 --> 00:53:56,079
and they will show up and they are excited. They

1031
00:53:56,079 --> 00:53:59,559
should be excited. And if Miami gives them the right product,

1032
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:02,920
that'll be the twelfth man for him. They will empty

1033
00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:05,840
their lungs. They will do whatever they can to help

1034
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:08,320
Miami win. But you've got to give him something out

1035
00:54:08,559 --> 00:54:10,519
to cheer for and.

1036
00:54:10,480 --> 00:54:11,880
Speaker 2: Give me a quick thought of it. I'll and I'll

1037
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:13,079
get you out of here. Give me a quick thought

1038
00:54:13,119 --> 00:54:15,480
on the Dolphins. So much excitement down there. Year three

1039
00:54:15,480 --> 00:54:20,079
when McDaniel Tua gets his extension, same kind of with her. Yeah,

1040
00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:23,880
just dying for a monster year, maybe a home home

1041
00:54:23,880 --> 00:54:26,400
playoff game and such. Talk to me about Miami Dolphins

1042
00:54:26,440 --> 00:54:26,840
real quick.

1043
00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:30,880
Speaker 5: You know everybody was excited last year and deservedly so.

1044
00:54:30,920 --> 00:54:36,800
They're playing great football, very exciting, great offense, scoring at will,

1045
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:41,760
and the off season. Of course, the whole conversation was

1046
00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:48,679
about Tua, which I didn't even understand because he did

1047
00:54:48,719 --> 00:54:51,079
what he was supposed to do a year ago. The

1048
00:54:51,199 --> 00:54:55,559
reason they played doubt wasn't Tua. It was the injuries.

1049
00:54:55,880 --> 00:54:59,599
And that's the NFL. You're asking the NFL to play

1050
00:54:59,639 --> 00:55:03,880
seven games. The key in the NFL is great quarterback

1051
00:55:03,920 --> 00:55:07,599
play number one, and right there is one a battle

1052
00:55:07,599 --> 00:55:11,000
of attrition. Who has the healthy bodies at the end

1053
00:55:11,039 --> 00:55:15,079
of the year, and the Dolphins lost almost their entire

1054
00:55:15,159 --> 00:55:19,599
defense and their offensive line, so there was nothing left.

1055
00:55:19,639 --> 00:55:22,599
They were down to bare bones by the time they

1056
00:55:22,599 --> 00:55:27,119
got to Christmas. And so everybody's excited if they make

1057
00:55:27,159 --> 00:55:29,920
it through healthy. I think they'll get that home playoff

1058
00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:31,199
game and a home win.

1059
00:55:32,159 --> 00:55:33,599
Speaker 2: All right, Joe, last thing I'll get you out of

1060
00:55:33,679 --> 00:55:35,480
talk to me about the broadcast. Everybody back with the

1061
00:55:35,760 --> 00:55:38,280
broadcast crew and tell the fans that aren't in South

1062
00:55:38,320 --> 00:55:41,400
Florida where they can find the hurricane broadcast in your

1063
00:55:41,440 --> 00:55:42,559
in your your great crew.

1064
00:55:43,199 --> 00:55:47,079
Speaker 5: Yeah, well we're back, and Don Bailey's my analyst, Josh

1065
00:55:47,119 --> 00:55:51,880
Jarrow on the sidelines. So we worked for Odyssey, so

1066
00:55:52,039 --> 00:55:54,679
Odyssey dot com as an app. Odyssey has an app.

1067
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:58,679
You can tune it in on the free Odyssey app nationwide,

1068
00:55:59,199 --> 00:56:02,559
and of course I think every game is on Serious

1069
00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:05,079
XM as well. Then of course if you're here locally

1070
00:56:05,119 --> 00:56:09,280
in South Florida, WQEM. But with the apps now you

1071
00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:11,400
can listen wherever you are, wherever you want to listen.

1072
00:56:12,440 --> 00:56:13,639
Speaker 2: Absolute, no doubt about it.

1073
00:56:13,639 --> 00:56:18,280
Speaker 5: And again replaced transistor radios. I remember my dad would

1074
00:56:18,320 --> 00:56:21,159
go we'd go to a Dolphin game and my father

1075
00:56:21,199 --> 00:56:24,280
would be like this the whole time, and it was

1076
00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:27,320
a transistor radio, right, So now the phone is the

1077
00:56:27,320 --> 00:56:28,159
transistor radio.

1078
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:31,400
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Joe is a legend in the South Florida media market.

1079
00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:33,400
Been down there a long time, done, a lot of

1080
00:56:33,400 --> 00:56:36,639
great work and lots of different venues, and again twenty

1081
00:56:36,920 --> 00:56:41,199
three years calling Miami Hurricane football and basketball went to

1082
00:56:41,199 --> 00:56:44,639
the Final four last year, which was great. So Joe,

1083
00:56:44,719 --> 00:56:46,719
keep up the great work. We'll look forward to your

1084
00:56:46,840 --> 00:56:51,239
opening day showdown in Gainesville on QAM down South Florida

1085
00:56:51,239 --> 00:56:54,280
and obviously odyssey around the world. So enjoy the year

1086
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:56,000
and have a great year. Joe, appreciate your time.

1087
00:56:56,400 --> 00:57:00,000
Speaker 5: Okay, Jason, thank you.

1088
00:57:00,159 --> 00:57:02,639
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1089
00:57:02,679 --> 00:57:05,800
purchase that you've been desiring, or maybe a second home

1090
00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:08,679
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1091
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1092
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1093
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1094
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1095
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1096
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1097
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1098
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1099
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1100
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1101
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1102
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1103
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1105
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1106
00:58:03,079 --> 00:58:05,960
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1107
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1108
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1109
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1110
00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:20,800
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1111
00:58:20,840 --> 00:58:23,079
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1112
00:58:23,079 --> 00:58:25,719
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1113
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1114
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1115
00:58:34,639 --> 00:58:37,039
All right, welcome back to the podcast. Now it is

1116
00:58:37,079 --> 00:58:42,199
on to the University of South Florida. Burns Up. Bulls

1117
00:58:42,199 --> 00:58:45,440
come into year two under coach Alex Golis. After a

1118
00:58:45,519 --> 00:58:49,199
successful year one, seven and six, a Bowl game win,

1119
00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:54,000
an emphatic forty five nothing Bowl game win over Syracuse,

1120
00:58:54,639 --> 00:58:59,559
and now expectations are rising, lots of optimism down at

1121
00:58:59,559 --> 00:59:02,039
the universe to South Florida here in Tampa, and no

1122
00:59:02,199 --> 00:59:05,519
better person to talk all things USF Bulls than a

1123
00:59:05,639 --> 00:59:10,559
part of their broadcast coverage since twenty seventeen, longtime local

1124
00:59:10,599 --> 00:59:13,519
media member, great writer here in the tamp Buria mister

1125
00:59:13,639 --> 00:59:14,639
Joey Johnston.

1126
00:59:14,679 --> 00:59:17,760
Speaker 7: Welcome in, Joey, Thank you, Jason, thanks for having me.

1127
00:59:17,840 --> 00:59:22,280
Looking forward to another college football season coming fast and furious.

1128
00:59:22,760 --> 00:59:24,480
Speaker 6: All our lives will change very soon.

1129
00:59:24,960 --> 00:59:27,719
Speaker 2: It is. It is almost here here, We're about about

1130
00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:30,280
eight nine days away from it starting in over in

1131
00:59:30,639 --> 00:59:33,559
Dublin with Florida State and then you guys will kick

1132
00:59:33,599 --> 00:59:36,960
it off with with Bethune Cookman to start your season.

1133
00:59:37,159 --> 00:59:39,280
Let's just give a quick overview of last year. Again,

1134
00:59:39,679 --> 00:59:41,639
not a lot of expectations going into last year and

1135
00:59:41,639 --> 00:59:44,079
not a lot of people knew who coach Goldish was.

1136
00:59:44,519 --> 00:59:46,559
Just give me an overall thought of being around him

1137
00:59:46,559 --> 00:59:48,880
for a year or so. Now he did a great

1138
00:59:48,960 --> 00:59:52,079
job kind of rebuilding the confidence of the program. To

1139
00:59:52,159 --> 00:59:54,559
talk about coach Golish through year one.

1140
00:59:55,480 --> 00:59:57,639
Speaker 7: Well you're one, as he says, all the times you

1141
00:59:57,679 --> 01:00:02,039
know there no there were no expectations. USF was picked

1142
01:00:02,079 --> 01:00:05,280
thirteenth in their league of a fourteen team league and

1143
01:00:05,360 --> 01:00:09,079
to coming off a one win season and had to

1144
01:00:09,119 --> 01:00:12,320
replace a lot of people, so they basically started from

1145
01:00:12,320 --> 01:00:15,719
ground zero, and they did some things that they hadn't

1146
01:00:15,719 --> 01:00:17,360
done in a good while. They won on the road,

1147
01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:21,400
they won conference games, they got to a bowl game,

1148
01:00:21,400 --> 01:00:23,960
and they won it. So the sum total was a

1149
01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:27,639
seven and six season. Now you can look closely at that,

1150
01:00:28,800 --> 01:00:31,280
and it came very close to not happening that way.

1151
01:00:31,400 --> 01:00:34,039
They had to win a game at Yukon where they

1152
01:00:34,039 --> 01:00:36,400
faced a third down situation. If they didn't get it,

1153
01:00:36,400 --> 01:00:38,360
they probably don't win the game. But they did get it,

1154
01:00:38,679 --> 01:00:40,599
they did win the game, and they did get to

1155
01:00:40,639 --> 01:00:43,360
a bowl game. So they had the right things happen

1156
01:00:43,599 --> 01:00:45,480
late in the season. And you might say, well, the

1157
01:00:45,599 --> 01:00:48,679
right things happened because the coach had the good process

1158
01:00:48,719 --> 01:00:51,760
and they saw it through. So they were able to

1159
01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:54,360
do things in games that they hadn't done before in

1160
01:00:54,440 --> 01:00:55,719
terms of coming through in the clutch.

1161
01:00:56,280 --> 01:00:57,639
Speaker 6: So the sum.

1162
01:00:57,519 --> 01:01:00,559
Speaker 7: Total was they had a lot to sell after last

1163
01:01:00,599 --> 01:01:04,280
year seven and six, A great bowl win forty five

1164
01:01:04,280 --> 01:01:07,880
to nothing over a depleted Syracuse team, but a Syracuse team.

1165
01:01:07,719 --> 01:01:08,960
Speaker 6: Nonetheless from the SEC.

1166
01:01:09,960 --> 01:01:12,440
Speaker 7: So they have taken that moment and gone into the offseason,

1167
01:01:12,519 --> 01:01:15,679
signed a lot of new, promising young players and gotten

1168
01:01:15,719 --> 01:01:20,159
some good transfer portal acquisitions. They return a lot of

1169
01:01:20,280 --> 01:01:23,960
key players, such as quarterback Byron Brown. So instead of

1170
01:01:23,960 --> 01:01:28,559
being picked thirteenth, now they are picked fourth. And while

1171
01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:31,840
people don't necessarily say they're gonna win the championship, they

1172
01:01:31,880 --> 01:01:34,760
are contender and they have a chance to win a championship.

1173
01:01:34,800 --> 01:01:37,159
And that's where they are in year two under Alex Golish.

1174
01:01:37,159 --> 01:01:41,800
And that's a long way in one year, A long way, indeed.

1175
01:01:42,320 --> 01:01:45,719
And the biggest thing would be, just if you want

1176
01:01:45,760 --> 01:01:47,800
to summon up a one sentence, last year, there were

1177
01:01:47,920 --> 01:01:51,159
no expectations. This year there are a great expectations. So

1178
01:01:51,239 --> 01:01:53,639
that's what's happened under Alex Golish.

1179
01:01:53,800 --> 01:01:56,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great point you make there. I mean, again, again,

1180
01:01:57,039 --> 01:01:59,599
a program like US up that they should be pretty

1181
01:01:59,599 --> 01:02:02,480
competitive in this conference most years. I mean, they've got

1182
01:02:02,599 --> 01:02:05,119
a fertile recruiting ground here in the state of Florida.

1183
01:02:05,360 --> 01:02:07,599
You got you got new facilities, you've got a new

1184
01:02:07,639 --> 01:02:10,159
stadium coming give give the audience in the fan base

1185
01:02:10,199 --> 01:02:12,159
and just a quick update on the stadium process.

1186
01:02:13,079 --> 01:02:16,159
Speaker 7: Well, the stadium, the on campus stadium, thirty three hundred

1187
01:02:16,159 --> 01:02:19,760
and fifty million dollars, thirty five thousand seats. It's it's

1188
01:02:19,840 --> 01:02:24,639
due to open for the twenty twenty seven season. This year,

1189
01:02:24,840 --> 01:02:28,920
at the homecoming game against UAB, there will be a groundbreaking,

1190
01:02:29,360 --> 01:02:31,760
which is essentially a bunch of people with shovels and

1191
01:02:31,800 --> 01:02:34,800
people taking photos, so you know, it is what it is,

1192
01:02:34,840 --> 01:02:38,119
but it's a ceremonial moment and it's it's a big moment.

1193
01:02:39,239 --> 01:02:42,000
So from that point on there will be actual construction

1194
01:02:42,119 --> 01:02:45,559
going on on a stadium, and we've we've seen the renderings.

1195
01:02:45,559 --> 01:02:47,760
For the most part, I believe it's going to be

1196
01:02:47,760 --> 01:02:50,559
a beautiful place. It's going to be state of the art,

1197
01:02:51,159 --> 01:02:53,559
and it's gonna be something that's going to really change

1198
01:02:53,840 --> 01:02:57,719
life at USF. To have a football game on your campus,

1199
01:02:57,760 --> 01:03:00,159
which has never happened before. It's going to change not

1200
01:03:00,199 --> 01:03:03,559
only football, but all sports and the whole perception of

1201
01:03:03,599 --> 01:03:06,880
the university. And it's something that's been sorely needed for

1202
01:03:06,880 --> 01:03:10,840
a long time. So it's really in a way hard

1203
01:03:10,840 --> 01:03:14,599
to believe, but really cool to know that it's going

1204
01:03:14,639 --> 01:03:18,159
to happen now it's coming. So that is a big

1205
01:03:18,199 --> 01:03:20,039
piece of what they're going to build for the future

1206
01:03:20,079 --> 01:03:23,960
and really a very attractive part of what USF looks

1207
01:03:24,000 --> 01:03:26,519
like to other leagues down the line if they have

1208
01:03:26,559 --> 01:03:30,960
a chance to, you know, up their status. The fact

1209
01:03:30,960 --> 01:03:33,039
that they have a brand new stadium opening on campus

1210
01:03:33,119 --> 01:03:35,000
is going to be a heck of a thing to

1211
01:03:35,079 --> 01:03:38,760
offer to other places. And so yeah, where everyone's really

1212
01:03:38,800 --> 01:03:39,599
excited about it.

1213
01:03:40,320 --> 01:03:42,159
Speaker 2: Let's look at the schedule. We'll start with the schedule,

1214
01:03:42,159 --> 01:03:43,599
then we'll get to the to the offense and the

1215
01:03:43,639 --> 01:03:48,159
defense part. Again, give give Alex and a d Mark

1216
01:03:48,239 --> 01:03:50,679
Kelly credit. They've they've gone out and scheduled some big,

1217
01:03:50,760 --> 01:03:53,639
big opponents. The return game with Alabama we saw last

1218
01:03:53,719 --> 01:03:55,840
year LM but came to USF last year in Tampa.

1219
01:03:56,280 --> 01:03:58,239
The USF played them very well for three and a

1220
01:03:58,280 --> 01:04:01,440
half quarters. And then now they're going back to Tuscaloosa

1221
01:04:01,519 --> 01:04:06,079
in week two. Up in Tuscaloosa in September seventh, you

1222
01:04:06,159 --> 01:04:09,360
bring Miami to town. Miami comes two weeks after Alabama,

1223
01:04:09,400 --> 01:04:11,159
which a lot of people think Miami is gonna be

1224
01:04:11,159 --> 01:04:15,119
really good. So again a great interstate intrastate rival regained

1225
01:04:15,119 --> 01:04:17,440
there with Miami coming to town, and then you got

1226
01:04:17,519 --> 01:04:19,920
then you got Memphis most people probably think is the

1227
01:04:19,960 --> 01:04:22,519
best team in the league. Memphis comes to town later

1228
01:04:22,519 --> 01:04:24,559
in the year. Just talk about first of all, the

1229
01:04:24,599 --> 01:04:27,159
out of conference games and the quality schedule that that

1230
01:04:27,239 --> 01:04:29,679
Coach Kelly and I mean that Mark Kelly and Coach

1231
01:04:29,719 --> 01:04:32,519
Golis continue to to put for the for the USF

1232
01:04:32,559 --> 01:04:33,039
fan base.

1233
01:04:34,239 --> 01:04:38,000
Speaker 7: Well, you're right, it is a really attractive non conference schedule.

1234
01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:38,800
Speaker 6: It's very rugged.

1235
01:04:39,239 --> 01:04:42,280
Speaker 7: There's also Southern Miss in there on the road, which

1236
01:04:43,039 --> 01:04:45,360
I don't believe this is a vintage Southern Miss team,

1237
01:04:45,400 --> 01:04:47,599
But at Southern Miss it can be a trap kind

1238
01:04:47,599 --> 01:04:50,199
of game. But I think on paper US should be

1239
01:04:50,239 --> 01:04:53,280
able to handle it this year. So at Alabama, I mean,

1240
01:04:53,360 --> 01:04:57,199
he a heck of a challenge going to before ninety

1241
01:04:57,280 --> 01:05:01,280
thousand plus fans. It's also the that they will rename

1242
01:05:01,360 --> 01:05:04,559
the field in honor of Nick Saban. There'll be a

1243
01:05:04,599 --> 01:05:07,960
lot of ceremony going on. Last year, the score was

1244
01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:11,519
seventeen to three here in favor of Alabama, which was

1245
01:05:12,440 --> 01:05:15,719
a score no one really anticipated playing that competitive a game.

1246
01:05:15,719 --> 01:05:18,559
It was ten to three late in the game. Alabama

1247
01:05:18,559 --> 01:05:22,760
attacked it on the defense of USF played great, the

1248
01:05:22,760 --> 01:05:26,480
offense really had trouble getting anything going. If the offense

1249
01:05:26,519 --> 01:05:29,119
had been a smidge better, Bulls could have won that game.

1250
01:05:30,920 --> 01:05:34,400
The one x factor that people may remember Jalen Milroe

1251
01:05:34,400 --> 01:05:38,000
did not play. He was pinched. He will play this year.

1252
01:05:39,519 --> 01:05:40,840
I think we're going to see a little bit of

1253
01:05:40,840 --> 01:05:44,800
a different Alabama team. You know, it's going to be

1254
01:05:44,800 --> 01:05:48,440
a huge challenge for USF's defense, a huge challenge to

1255
01:05:48,440 --> 01:05:52,880
protect Byron Brown and deal with that environment. I don't

1256
01:05:52,920 --> 01:05:54,800
know what the points spread might be in a game

1257
01:05:54,880 --> 01:05:57,559
like that, but realistically, I don't think anybody would pick

1258
01:05:57,599 --> 01:05:59,880
us have to win it. But it is a great

1259
01:06:00,079 --> 01:06:02,920
opportunity to go on the road in the sec atmosphere

1260
01:06:02,960 --> 01:06:08,159
at night and see how you fare. USF hopefully will

1261
01:06:08,199 --> 01:06:10,639
be competitive and and have a chance to win the game,

1262
01:06:11,039 --> 01:06:16,119
but on paper, difficult to see it happening realistically. Two

1263
01:06:16,159 --> 01:06:19,880
weeks later, they play Miami at home, get the Hurricanes

1264
01:06:19,880 --> 01:06:22,000
at home, and as we all know, the Hurricanes will

1265
01:06:22,000 --> 01:06:25,480
begin the season at Florida, So we don't. We know

1266
01:06:25,639 --> 01:06:31,000
Miami's talented. Miami is a tough one to gauge.

1267
01:06:31,079 --> 01:06:31,480
Speaker 6: We don't.

1268
01:06:31,519 --> 01:06:33,559
Speaker 7: You never quite know what you're gonna get with Miami.

1269
01:06:33,960 --> 01:06:36,239
They certainly have a great quarterback coming in and Cam

1270
01:06:36,360 --> 01:06:38,960
Word who was the ACC preseason Player of the Year.

1271
01:06:39,639 --> 01:06:42,920
And they could be great, they could be less than great.

1272
01:06:42,920 --> 01:06:43,320
Speaker 6: We don't know.

1273
01:06:44,079 --> 01:06:47,039
Speaker 7: So on paper, at least you'd think USF has a

1274
01:06:47,039 --> 01:06:49,800
fighter's chance, a puncher's chance in this game to get

1275
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:53,440
the Hurricanes at home. So there there at least appears

1276
01:06:53,480 --> 01:06:56,280
to be an opportunity to get a great non conference result.

1277
01:06:56,559 --> 01:06:59,119
If that could happen, then the world opens up for

1278
01:06:59,239 --> 01:07:03,840
USF going in conference play. But you know the fact is,

1279
01:07:04,159 --> 01:07:06,920
it's exciting to think about it. At Alabama Miami, those

1280
01:07:06,960 --> 01:07:08,920
are those are juice games that are going to give

1281
01:07:08,920 --> 01:07:11,760
the Bulls an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

1282
01:07:11,840 --> 01:07:14,360
So we'll see where it goes from there. But the

1283
01:07:14,400 --> 01:07:18,079
non conference schedule, certainly you cannot complain about it. It

1284
01:07:18,119 --> 01:07:18,840
is very good this.

1285
01:07:18,880 --> 01:07:21,679
Speaker 2: Year outside of Memphis at home, and looking at the

1286
01:07:21,719 --> 01:07:24,679
schedule looks pretty workable. If they can somehow get out

1287
01:07:24,719 --> 01:07:27,280
of those, the Alabama and the Miami game fairly healthy

1288
01:07:27,719 --> 01:07:29,840
and you and you can beat if you can beat

1289
01:07:29,880 --> 01:07:32,239
Memphis at home, I think they got an opportunity here

1290
01:07:32,280 --> 01:07:35,440
to win this league. Because it's a pretty doable schedule

1291
01:07:35,480 --> 01:07:36,199
when you look at it.

1292
01:07:36,960 --> 01:07:41,079
Speaker 7: Yeah, the league now the before the Memphis game, they

1293
01:07:41,079 --> 01:07:46,440
actually open it at Tulane is one of the top

1294
01:07:46,440 --> 01:07:48,280
teams in the league, even though they have a new

1295
01:07:48,320 --> 01:07:52,000
head coach and so a lot of new players. So

1296
01:07:52,199 --> 01:07:54,920
it's possible that Tulane could take a step back, but

1297
01:07:55,039 --> 01:07:57,239
you have to respect Tulane what they've done the last

1298
01:07:57,280 --> 01:08:00,239
few years and and feel like they're going to be one.

1299
01:08:00,199 --> 01:08:00,880
Speaker 6: Of the top teams.

1300
01:08:00,880 --> 01:08:04,000
Speaker 7: So they're at tu Lane followed by a bye week,

1301
01:08:04,079 --> 01:08:07,280
followed by Memphis at home on a Friday night. So basically,

1302
01:08:07,280 --> 01:08:09,519
as you look at the schedule, you could argue that

1303
01:08:09,559 --> 01:08:12,639
their most difficult two games in the league are the

1304
01:08:12,639 --> 01:08:15,199
first two games. So, as you said, if they can

1305
01:08:15,199 --> 01:08:18,520
get out of those two games with victories, they could

1306
01:08:18,560 --> 01:08:20,720
really be sitting pretty in terms of winning the league.

1307
01:08:21,079 --> 01:08:23,760
And the interesting thing about Memphis is that's a Friday

1308
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:25,359
night on ESPN.

1309
01:08:26,319 --> 01:08:27,560
Speaker 6: What that means is.

1310
01:08:28,680 --> 01:08:32,039
Speaker 7: Everyone in the college football world will be watching because

1311
01:08:32,079 --> 01:08:34,239
that's what happens on a Friday night because all the

1312
01:08:34,279 --> 01:08:37,319
players and coaches around the country are at hotels, you know,

1313
01:08:37,439 --> 01:08:39,600
their home or a way getting ready for the game.

1314
01:08:40,199 --> 01:08:42,720
And after your meal and your meetings, what are you doing.

1315
01:08:42,800 --> 01:08:47,359
You're watching the game on ESPN. So if USF has

1316
01:08:47,399 --> 01:08:50,840
a great result against Memphis with the nation watching, that

1317
01:08:50,960 --> 01:08:53,159
is going to give them a boost of perception like

1318
01:08:53,239 --> 01:08:56,079
never before. Similar to the West Virginia game in two

1319
01:08:56,119 --> 01:08:58,880
thousand and seven, which was a standalone Friday night game.

1320
01:08:58,920 --> 01:09:01,840
That beating in West Virginia was great, but the fact

1321
01:09:01,880 --> 01:09:03,960
that everybody in the country saw it was even greater.

1322
01:09:04,319 --> 01:09:07,159
So that's what they have a chance to do against Memphis.

1323
01:09:07,159 --> 01:09:11,000
So if we could visualize USF coming away to to

1324
01:09:11,119 --> 01:09:14,399
zero in the American Conference, then we got a realistic

1325
01:09:14,520 --> 01:09:17,119
chance at running this thing out to a conference title.

1326
01:09:17,239 --> 01:09:19,239
So that could be very exciting as we come to

1327
01:09:19,880 --> 01:09:22,880
middle of October with that possibility. But as they say,

1328
01:09:23,039 --> 01:09:25,479
got gotta play the games, gotta win the games. But

1329
01:09:25,920 --> 01:09:28,119
opportunity is there for USF and the and.

1330
01:09:28,079 --> 01:09:30,359
Speaker 2: The added value of that is if you win that league,

1331
01:09:30,479 --> 01:09:32,279
then you have an opportunity to be in the playoff

1332
01:09:32,439 --> 01:09:35,920
as the Power five representative. So there's there's greater opportunity

1333
01:09:35,920 --> 01:09:38,039
to not just winning the league, now you've got a

1334
01:09:38,119 --> 01:09:40,720
chance to be in that twelve team playoff because you're

1335
01:09:40,720 --> 01:09:44,039
guaranteed the spot of the best power non Power five school,

1336
01:09:44,159 --> 01:09:46,319
So that's added incentive there as well.

1337
01:09:46,560 --> 01:09:49,560
Speaker 7: Yeah, and backtracking back to the non conference would be

1338
01:09:49,600 --> 01:09:52,039
And we don't know exactly what the college football playoff

1339
01:09:52,840 --> 01:09:55,239
and the decision making is going to look like this year.

1340
01:09:55,279 --> 01:09:58,760
We haven't experienced the twelve team. But if if USF

1341
01:09:58,840 --> 01:10:03,039
is a is in a debate against another group of

1342
01:10:03,079 --> 01:10:05,760
five team, they can bring their non conference to the

1343
01:10:05,760 --> 01:10:08,359
table and say we played Alabama and Miami, and you'd

1344
01:10:08,399 --> 01:10:10,279
have to think that will be a nice chip to

1345
01:10:10,319 --> 01:10:13,239
have at the table in terms of slicing and dicing

1346
01:10:13,239 --> 01:10:15,680
where the USF should get in over say Boise State

1347
01:10:15,840 --> 01:10:16,840
or somebody else.

1348
01:10:17,199 --> 01:10:18,880
Speaker 6: That would be a wonderful.

1349
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:23,920
Speaker 2: Time, you would think, no doubt, no doubt about all right,

1350
01:10:23,960 --> 01:10:26,199
let's go to the offense. Byron Brown back. They found

1351
01:10:26,239 --> 01:10:29,399
their quarterback eight hundred yards rushing, almost thirty three hundred

1352
01:10:29,439 --> 01:10:33,960
yards passing twenty six touchdowns. Really really dynamic athlete. Needs

1353
01:10:33,960 --> 01:10:36,039
to be a little more consistent in the passing game,

1354
01:10:36,439 --> 01:10:39,119
a little more hitting the gimmes in the layups talk

1355
01:10:39,159 --> 01:10:43,079
about Byron Brown in which the more things that now

1356
01:10:43,119 --> 01:10:45,279
I think in year two they probably can do with Byron,

1357
01:10:45,479 --> 01:10:47,800
if they can just get him to play a little

1358
01:10:47,800 --> 01:10:49,920
more in a little bit more structure and to be

1359
01:10:49,960 --> 01:10:52,079
able to just hit the automatic stuff.

1360
01:10:53,039 --> 01:10:53,279
Speaker 6: Yeah.

1361
01:10:53,279 --> 01:10:55,239
Speaker 7: The thing about Byron first of all this year is

1362
01:10:55,760 --> 01:10:58,439
you see him and in my goodness, the guy's body

1363
01:10:58,600 --> 01:11:03,079
is pressive. He's two hundred and twenty seven pounds sculpted.

1364
01:11:03,640 --> 01:11:06,840
He looks like a pro quarterback. And I believe he

1365
01:11:06,960 --> 01:11:09,039
is going to put himself in the position one day

1366
01:11:09,039 --> 01:11:11,840
to be a pro quarterback. He could very well be

1367
01:11:11,960 --> 01:11:16,439
the best quarterback USF's had. You know, if he has

1368
01:11:16,479 --> 01:11:21,479
another great season. Is he is a really really great kid,

1369
01:11:21,720 --> 01:11:26,960
an outstanding person, a great worker, a great leader, very talented,

1370
01:11:27,039 --> 01:11:31,800
can run, can pass. I think he's He's the kind

1371
01:11:31,800 --> 01:11:34,279
of guy that will look at his shortcomings and work

1372
01:11:34,319 --> 01:11:38,239
on them and will he will be there first at

1373
01:11:38,319 --> 01:11:40,600
the facility. He will be the person that leaves last.

1374
01:11:40,680 --> 01:11:44,279
He's everything you'd want in a quarterback and a leader

1375
01:11:44,319 --> 01:11:49,720
and a great young person to boot And he's on

1376
01:11:49,760 --> 01:11:53,600
the radar people now. Certainly people know he's a potential

1377
01:11:53,680 --> 01:11:57,680
All Conference quarterback. He could be the dark horse Heisman

1378
01:11:57,720 --> 01:12:01,760
guy if he has a great season and potential All American.

1379
01:12:01,960 --> 01:12:04,560
So he is he is in a position to get

1380
01:12:04,600 --> 01:12:07,159
He's got people's attention now. If he can do something

1381
01:12:07,199 --> 01:12:10,399
with it, he could really have an outstanding season. He

1382
01:12:10,520 --> 01:12:12,680
probably needs to do a better job of staying in

1383
01:12:12,760 --> 01:12:15,359
the pocket at times, which he did better of late

1384
01:12:15,439 --> 01:12:18,079
last season, instead of just taking off and running at

1385
01:12:18,079 --> 01:12:22,000
the first sign of trouble. Now, the line obviously has

1386
01:12:22,039 --> 01:12:24,800
to protect him, that's part of it, but he has

1387
01:12:24,840 --> 01:12:27,840
the ability to turn nothing into something. He did that

1388
01:12:27,880 --> 01:12:31,119
a lot last year. But you're right, the consistent sea level,

1389
01:12:31,159 --> 01:12:35,560
the staying in the pocket, the making the consistent easy plays.

1390
01:12:35,960 --> 01:12:38,479
He has to do a better job of that. But

1391
01:12:38,560 --> 01:12:40,880
I would say, given the way the kid works and

1392
01:12:40,920 --> 01:12:43,279
how much it means to him, I think he's ready

1393
01:12:43,319 --> 01:12:44,680
to make a step like that for sure.

1394
01:12:44,920 --> 01:12:46,560
Speaker 2: And he's only and he's still a young player. It's

1395
01:12:46,560 --> 01:12:48,560
not like he's a Jewe's only nineteen years old. Yeah,

1396
01:12:48,600 --> 01:12:50,760
I mean, he's a very young player still. So those

1397
01:12:50,840 --> 01:12:53,159
kind of things. The more football you play, you'll get

1398
01:12:53,159 --> 01:12:56,279
better at those things. Offensive line pass protection was an

1399
01:12:56,279 --> 01:12:58,680
issue last year. They ran the ball okay, but they

1400
01:12:58,760 --> 01:13:02,680
seem to struggle and pass partis action on the overall.

1401
01:13:02,840 --> 01:13:05,279
Speaker 7: Yeah, and I think you know they it was a

1402
01:13:05,319 --> 01:13:08,720
patchwork group last year. They had some transfer portal guys

1403
01:13:08,760 --> 01:13:11,600
and some young people, and they had some injuries where

1404
01:13:11,600 --> 01:13:14,359
they to move people around. It looks like, you know

1405
01:13:14,439 --> 01:13:16,720
again that the one thing you love from an offensive

1406
01:13:16,720 --> 01:13:20,880
line is stability and consistency and continuity, and it looks

1407
01:13:20,920 --> 01:13:23,239
like they have most of the group back from last year,

1408
01:13:23,359 --> 01:13:25,560
so they have a chance to build on it and

1409
01:13:25,960 --> 01:13:29,119
become even better. They have what looks like a potential

1410
01:13:29,520 --> 01:13:33,760
All Conference center and Mike Lofton he's the leader. Zane

1411
01:13:33,760 --> 01:13:37,560
Herring is being looked at by the Outland Trophy on

1412
01:13:37,600 --> 01:13:40,399
their watch list. He is a transfer from Florida State.

1413
01:13:41,239 --> 01:13:44,039
They also have some really promising young players that maybe

1414
01:13:44,199 --> 01:13:48,319
could figure into the rotation. So again, I think the

1415
01:13:48,319 --> 01:13:50,960
talent level has been upgraded a lot in two years,

1416
01:13:51,600 --> 01:13:54,039
and I think the continuity appears to be there from

1417
01:13:54,119 --> 01:13:55,920
last year where they have a chance to work together

1418
01:13:57,039 --> 01:14:00,920
more consistent consistently as a group, which, as you know,

1419
01:14:01,039 --> 01:14:03,199
is really important for an offensive line to have the

1420
01:14:03,239 --> 01:14:06,039
same people together week after week after week, and you

1421
01:14:06,039 --> 01:14:06,720
can build on that.

1422
01:14:07,520 --> 01:14:10,000
Speaker 2: Quick thought on the wide receivers, does US have a

1423
01:14:10,119 --> 01:14:12,399
legitimate number one receiver? I know they got a lot

1424
01:14:12,399 --> 01:14:13,760
of guys that do a lot of different things, But

1425
01:14:13,760 --> 01:14:15,920
do they have a clear number one guy that when

1426
01:14:15,960 --> 01:14:18,319
it's third and seven, the ball's going to him.

1427
01:14:18,840 --> 01:14:23,279
Speaker 7: Yeah, absolutely they do. Sewn Atkins former walk on. He's

1428
01:14:23,319 --> 01:14:26,760
a smallish guy. He's a smurf, but he is a

1429
01:14:27,439 --> 01:14:30,960
tough kid and a hard worker. You know, not a

1430
01:14:31,000 --> 01:14:34,760
physical guy in stature by any means, but he will

1431
01:14:34,760 --> 01:14:37,520
get open. He will get open past the chains. He's

1432
01:14:37,520 --> 01:14:40,720
a smart receiver. He's not a burner or a game breaker,

1433
01:14:40,800 --> 01:14:44,479
but he is a tremendous possession receiver. And he has

1434
01:14:45,199 --> 01:14:48,119
broken all the single season receiving records and I think

1435
01:14:48,439 --> 01:14:50,880
has another great year, he'll break all the career records.

1436
01:14:51,159 --> 01:14:52,920
And this is a guy that nobody wanted. It was

1437
01:14:52,920 --> 01:14:58,520
a walk on. So there's that. There's also Naim Simmons,

1438
01:14:58,880 --> 01:15:00,760
who's coming back from Lawlast year, he had a two

1439
01:15:00,840 --> 01:15:03,880
hundred and seventy two yard game against Rice to set

1440
01:15:03,920 --> 01:15:06,800
the State of Florida record. He didn't do anything resembling

1441
01:15:06,840 --> 01:15:09,479
that the rest of the season, but he certainly showed

1442
01:15:09,479 --> 01:15:12,720
that afternoon that he had great potential. There's also the

1443
01:15:13,000 --> 01:15:16,319
receiving room that is very different from last year. Great

1444
01:15:16,359 --> 01:15:19,119
depth and a lot of guys we haven't heard of

1445
01:15:19,199 --> 01:15:21,880
yet that could be very good, young guys who do

1446
01:15:21,920 --> 01:15:24,720
have the physical skills, who do have the speed.

1447
01:15:26,199 --> 01:15:27,239
Speaker 6: You know, it's hard to.

1448
01:15:27,119 --> 01:15:29,439
Speaker 7: Know until they get into the games, but I can

1449
01:15:29,479 --> 01:15:32,600
tell you there's at least four or five to six

1450
01:15:32,720 --> 01:15:36,720
guys that have the potential to be special. You know, again,

1451
01:15:36,840 --> 01:15:38,960
got to play the games, got to see it. But

1452
01:15:39,880 --> 01:15:43,479
receiving could be surprisingly deep if these guys come through

1453
01:15:44,239 --> 01:15:44,520
all right.

1454
01:15:44,520 --> 01:15:46,159
Speaker 2: On the defensive side of things a lot, you know,

1455
01:15:46,239 --> 01:15:47,960
last year was it kind of an up and down year.

1456
01:15:48,000 --> 01:15:50,039
Defensive that've played great against Alabama and then they had

1457
01:15:50,079 --> 01:15:53,159
some other games that didn't play as well. Talk about

1458
01:15:53,199 --> 01:15:54,920
the run defense, and that seemed to be the one

1459
01:15:54,960 --> 01:15:58,079
area of concern for the most part throughout the year

1460
01:15:58,159 --> 01:16:00,399
was the ability to stop the run. Give me a

1461
01:16:00,399 --> 01:16:01,119
thought or two.

1462
01:16:00,960 --> 01:16:05,760
Speaker 7: There, Yeah, I mean, I would say up and down

1463
01:16:05,840 --> 01:16:09,560
might be charitable. It was mostly a down season. There

1464
01:16:09,560 --> 01:16:13,720
were some highlights, but some real difficult moments as well.

1465
01:16:14,560 --> 01:16:17,239
But that is clearly the area where USF has to

1466
01:16:17,239 --> 01:16:19,800
get a lot better is stopping the other team, and

1467
01:16:19,840 --> 01:16:21,920
it starts up front where they are not going to

1468
01:16:21,920 --> 01:16:24,000
be as big as others. So they have to be

1469
01:16:24,000 --> 01:16:27,760
as athletic and as smart as you could possibly imagine.

1470
01:16:27,760 --> 01:16:31,119
They do ever shot Cheney coming back in the middle.

1471
01:16:31,159 --> 01:16:33,720
They have a player named Bernard Gooden who did not

1472
01:16:33,800 --> 01:16:36,520
play last year, who they have high hopes for, and

1473
01:16:36,560 --> 01:16:38,800
they have a rotation of others upfront that they are

1474
01:16:38,960 --> 01:16:39,720
confident in.

1475
01:16:40,720 --> 01:16:44,600
Speaker 6: But again, it has to be shown on the field.

1476
01:16:45,319 --> 01:16:47,760
Speaker 7: You can talk about improvement, you can talk about the

1477
01:16:47,800 --> 01:16:51,560
potential players, but the fact is they give up fifty

1478
01:16:51,640 --> 01:16:57,039
or more points four times last year and that is unacceptable.

1479
01:16:57,079 --> 01:16:58,479
So they have to get much better there.

1480
01:16:59,239 --> 01:17:02,199
Speaker 2: Does coach have any has has coach made any comments

1481
01:17:02,319 --> 01:17:05,800
to publicly about maybe changing their style of play a

1482
01:17:05,800 --> 01:17:08,399
little bit to help protect the defense, maybe slow down

1483
01:17:08,720 --> 01:17:10,880
the offense just a little bit. And you know, I

1484
01:17:10,920 --> 01:17:13,680
know he wants to run plays every X number of seconds,

1485
01:17:13,720 --> 01:17:16,000
but more plays you run on offense, the more you

1486
01:17:16,079 --> 01:17:18,399
expose your defense if you're not making first downs and

1487
01:17:18,439 --> 01:17:20,960
all that. Has there been any thought of just tweaking

1488
01:17:21,000 --> 01:17:22,279
the philosophy a little bit on that?

1489
01:17:22,760 --> 01:17:26,600
Speaker 7: Yeah, there's been zero thought of that. And I would say,

1490
01:17:26,720 --> 01:17:31,159
you make a good point, and you probably are touching

1491
01:17:31,159 --> 01:17:34,520
on a very sensitive area for the coach perhaps, Yeah,

1492
01:17:34,640 --> 01:17:41,039
that your thought process is not wrong, but I don't

1493
01:17:41,079 --> 01:17:44,399
see it happening at this point. I think that they're

1494
01:17:44,600 --> 01:17:47,359
looking for a way to get the defense better under

1495
01:17:47,359 --> 01:17:51,439
the current system, and that they you know, I think

1496
01:17:51,439 --> 01:17:54,159
a lot of it is just getting better quality players

1497
01:17:54,199 --> 01:17:57,520
at certain positions, more depth, more depth.

1498
01:17:58,079 --> 01:17:59,319
Speaker 6: The depth was a big problem.

1499
01:17:59,439 --> 01:18:01,520
Speaker 7: They put people on the field late season that they

1500
01:18:01,760 --> 01:18:05,800
did not imagine doing, so they've addressed that to the

1501
01:18:05,840 --> 01:18:06,800
degree that they can.

1502
01:18:07,319 --> 01:18:11,680
Speaker 6: I think always you're going to have a problem with

1503
01:18:12,199 --> 01:18:13,039
up front.

1504
01:18:12,800 --> 01:18:16,840
Speaker 7: The size, the the There's only so many of those

1505
01:18:16,840 --> 01:18:18,479
guys to go around, and most of them go to

1506
01:18:18,479 --> 01:18:21,319
the SEC and the big ten, and you're just not

1507
01:18:21,399 --> 01:18:24,159
going to have the three hundred and twenty pound athletes

1508
01:18:24,479 --> 01:18:26,359
in the middle of your defensive line. You're gonna have

1509
01:18:26,359 --> 01:18:30,640
to get by with something different. So I will say that,

1510
01:18:31,119 --> 01:18:33,439
you know, again, you look at the defense as a whole.

1511
01:18:33,520 --> 01:18:38,000
Last year, there were these incredible efforts like Alabama and Syracuse,

1512
01:18:38,600 --> 01:18:40,520
and then you had these other ones where there was just,

1513
01:18:40,760 --> 01:18:42,159
you know, you couldn't stop anybody.

1514
01:18:42,239 --> 01:18:44,199
Speaker 6: So it was like, well, which is real.

1515
01:18:45,239 --> 01:18:49,880
Speaker 7: I do believe on the occasions that the USF was

1516
01:18:49,960 --> 01:18:53,279
very effective. They did have a great scheme. Alabama complimented

1517
01:18:53,359 --> 01:18:56,560
it after the game. You know they were they were

1518
01:18:56,640 --> 01:19:01,159
confusing the opposing offense. So Toddar Orlando, US can can

1519
01:19:01,199 --> 01:19:03,800
coach him up and can draw up some stuff when

1520
01:19:03,880 --> 01:19:06,199
when it when it has to happen. It's just it

1521
01:19:06,680 --> 01:19:08,439
just needs to happen more consistently.

1522
01:19:08,960 --> 01:19:09,439
Speaker 6: And uh.

1523
01:19:09,520 --> 01:19:12,159
Speaker 7: And part of that will be getting better players and

1524
01:19:12,159 --> 01:19:15,600
and and and better depth on the field to back

1525
01:19:15,680 --> 01:19:16,239
up the scheme.

1526
01:19:17,399 --> 01:19:20,079
Speaker 2: That's probably want to get to special teams. Again. US

1527
01:19:20,199 --> 01:19:21,920
have had a little bit of an issue making field goals.

1528
01:19:21,960 --> 01:19:24,600
Last year. They brought in a name. They brought brought

1529
01:19:24,640 --> 01:19:26,920
in a freshman name that you and I both know

1530
01:19:27,000 --> 01:19:29,399
with a with a with a last name that the

1531
01:19:29,439 --> 01:19:32,680
city of Tampa knows very well. Gramatica, the son of

1532
01:19:32,760 --> 01:19:35,680
Martine Gramatica, is now uh in the building. I don't

1533
01:19:35,680 --> 01:19:37,840
know if he's won the job yet, but I would

1534
01:19:37,880 --> 01:19:40,039
fully at some point, you know, if he's not won

1535
01:19:40,119 --> 01:19:42,359
the job, then that's a good thing for the other guy.

1536
01:19:42,399 --> 01:19:45,319
But but again, has some pedigrees talk about talk about

1537
01:19:45,319 --> 01:19:46,960
the kicking game a little bit and in in the

1538
01:19:47,359 --> 01:19:50,359
and and bringing in Santiago Grammatica.

1539
01:19:50,920 --> 01:19:53,840
Speaker 6: Yeah, actually, yeah, I'm sorry.

1540
01:19:53,760 --> 01:19:58,239
Speaker 7: Santiago was a former US uncle, so two of two

1541
01:19:58,239 --> 01:20:01,039
of his uncles were kickers here USF the other one

1542
01:20:01,079 --> 01:20:04,159
his father, was the pro bowler for the Bucks. But

1543
01:20:04,520 --> 01:20:06,840
to answer your question, no, he has not won the job,

1544
01:20:06,960 --> 01:20:10,079
and actually it's being portrayed now as John Cannon's job

1545
01:20:10,159 --> 01:20:13,720
to lose. He's the incumbent, so we will see how

1546
01:20:13,760 --> 01:20:16,960
it develops. I mean, it's you know, it's kind of

1547
01:20:17,000 --> 01:20:20,000
the same thing here every every place at training camp.

1548
01:20:20,119 --> 01:20:23,399
You know, the kicking competition. Both guys are looking good.

1549
01:20:23,600 --> 01:20:26,880
You know, you're always wondering how does this get decided?

1550
01:20:27,840 --> 01:20:31,479
It appears based on what you know, you hear what

1551
01:20:31,520 --> 01:20:34,399
you saw from Nico in high school. You know, he's

1552
01:20:34,800 --> 01:20:37,680
certainly has the ability to make these long a field goals,

1553
01:20:37,760 --> 01:20:41,439
and his pedigree is unquestioned. I guess it's just a

1554
01:20:41,439 --> 01:20:43,560
matter of, you know, over the course of the camp,

1555
01:20:43,600 --> 01:20:46,640
who's more consistent. And it may be a situation where

1556
01:20:46,680 --> 01:20:49,760
maybe we don't see Nico Gramatica immediately, but we we

1557
01:20:49,840 --> 01:20:55,720
could very well see him eventually. But anyway, the kicking

1558
01:20:55,840 --> 01:20:59,640
has not been publicly decided, and John Cannon, the incumbent,

1559
01:20:59,680 --> 01:21:01,840
appear to be the guy who's who's leading the charge

1560
01:21:01,840 --> 01:21:02,319
at the moment.

1561
01:21:02,760 --> 01:21:04,920
Speaker 2: But again back to my point on special teams, this

1562
01:21:04,960 --> 01:21:06,680
is where you gotta you gotta make hey here, you

1563
01:21:06,720 --> 01:21:09,720
gotta make the kicks you're supposed to make. Field position wise,

1564
01:21:09,760 --> 01:21:12,199
you got to pump the ball better, more consistently, and

1565
01:21:12,239 --> 01:21:13,479
you got to have return.

1566
01:21:13,880 --> 01:21:15,560
Speaker 7: I would say to I would say too that I

1567
01:21:15,600 --> 01:21:18,000
think Alex Golish's philosophy would be, we don't want to

1568
01:21:18,079 --> 01:21:18,800
kick field goals.

1569
01:21:19,039 --> 01:21:20,279
Speaker 6: We want to score touchdowns.

1570
01:21:20,720 --> 01:21:24,680
Speaker 7: And probably they were put in position, uh maybe too

1571
01:21:24,720 --> 01:21:26,439
often last year where they had to settle for field

1572
01:21:26,479 --> 01:21:28,920
goals and that's not that's not what they want. They

1573
01:21:28,920 --> 01:21:30,439
want to they want to get in the end zone.

1574
01:21:30,640 --> 01:21:35,520
So but you're right when in these games, when you

1575
01:21:35,560 --> 01:21:37,920
when you are lining up, you.

1576
01:21:37,920 --> 01:21:38,560
Speaker 6: Got to make them.

1577
01:21:38,920 --> 01:21:39,199
Speaker 1: Uh.

1578
01:21:39,239 --> 01:21:41,720
Speaker 7: And that was that got cost him a couple of

1579
01:21:41,760 --> 01:21:43,920
times last year in some games that could have swung

1580
01:21:43,960 --> 01:21:46,960
their way. So you're right, Uh, not that they want

1581
01:21:47,000 --> 01:21:48,680
to be a field goal team, but when they kick them,

1582
01:21:48,680 --> 01:21:49,399
they got to make them.

1583
01:21:49,680 --> 01:21:52,279
Speaker 2: That's it. That's it. That's what separates the good teams

1584
01:21:52,279 --> 01:21:54,359
from the great teams from the championship teams.

1585
01:21:54,399 --> 01:21:58,760
Speaker 7: Those those moments, Yeah, you can't have a great drive

1586
01:21:58,840 --> 01:22:00,920
that stalls and miss your field goal. That just takes

1587
01:22:00,960 --> 01:22:02,800
the wind out of the whole thing. So you're right,

1588
01:22:02,920 --> 01:22:03,720
you got to make them.

1589
01:22:03,840 --> 01:22:06,520
Speaker 2: Coaching staff wise, Any massive changes on the staff, any

1590
01:22:06,560 --> 01:22:07,680
significant changes of.

1591
01:22:07,680 --> 01:22:12,279
Speaker 7: Note, No, just just a few tweaks here and there.

1592
01:22:12,399 --> 01:22:16,600
DeMarcus van Dyck is in the secondary now. He's former

1593
01:22:16,640 --> 01:22:20,000
Miami player, former NFL player, so he's he's brought a

1594
01:22:20,039 --> 01:22:23,279
lot of credibility. Jack Taylor was elevated to the tight

1595
01:22:23,399 --> 01:22:29,479
ends coach. But you know, the coordinators are intact pretty much.

1596
01:22:31,119 --> 01:22:34,760
It's a stable staff, which is good plus because at

1597
01:22:34,800 --> 01:22:37,840
a at a school like USF, at times guys can

1598
01:22:37,840 --> 01:22:40,319
get opportunities and get plucked. So the fact that they

1599
01:22:40,319 --> 01:22:43,680
were able to maintain that continuity is another plus in

1600
01:22:43,800 --> 01:22:46,760
terms of of having, you know, the same message for

1601
01:22:46,760 --> 01:22:48,479
for year two in NIL.

1602
01:22:48,600 --> 01:22:51,640
Speaker 2: And the NIL program is continuing to grow, the Fouler.

1603
01:22:51,399 --> 01:22:54,399
Speaker 6: Collective, Yeah, the fell Tlor collective.

1604
01:22:54,399 --> 01:22:59,680
Speaker 7: And also they're putting in place a department where Andrew

1605
01:22:59,720 --> 01:23:02,319
wars Saw, who had been the chief of staff actually

1606
01:23:02,399 --> 01:23:05,119
still is, is in charge of it and he's hiring

1607
01:23:05,199 --> 01:23:07,680
some people on his staff that that's what they're going

1608
01:23:07,720 --> 01:23:12,039
to do is raise money and explore nil opportunities. And

1609
01:23:12,119 --> 01:23:13,760
I guess that's what we're going to see at every

1610
01:23:13,880 --> 01:23:16,840
athletic department now, is people that that that is their

1611
01:23:16,960 --> 01:23:22,359
job is to raise money to for compensation of players.

1612
01:23:22,600 --> 01:23:24,680
And the you know, the backdrop of it for not

1613
01:23:24,720 --> 01:23:26,960
only us up but for everywhere is we don't we

1614
01:23:27,039 --> 01:23:29,840
still don't exactly know what this is going to look like,

1615
01:23:30,079 --> 01:23:34,039
and we still don't know exactly if this lawsuit is

1616
01:23:34,399 --> 01:23:37,439
going to lead to more lawsuits, and well it already

1617
01:23:37,720 --> 01:23:42,760
has actually, so the twenty two million dollar figure has

1618
01:23:43,079 --> 01:23:44,600
been put out there, but I don't know if that's

1619
01:23:44,640 --> 01:23:47,279
actually going to be the end game of it. So

1620
01:23:47,439 --> 01:23:50,640
it is as clear as mud right now, Jason, We're

1621
01:23:50,680 --> 01:23:54,279
going to keep battling through it. I think the bottom

1622
01:23:54,279 --> 01:23:56,680
line is they know there's going to be a very

1623
01:23:56,720 --> 01:24:00,159
big line item on the budget soon. They don't know

1624
01:24:00,159 --> 01:24:02,079
how big it's gonna be, but it's gonna be there,

1625
01:24:02,239 --> 01:24:03,600
and they got to figure out a way to get

1626
01:24:03,640 --> 01:24:05,800
to that number. So that and that's true of everyone

1627
01:24:05,840 --> 01:24:06,520
around the country.

1628
01:24:06,640 --> 01:24:09,359
Speaker 2: The only thing we know, Joey, is attorney fees keep

1629
01:24:09,359 --> 01:24:11,760
getting racked up. That's the one constant in life.

1630
01:24:11,920 --> 01:24:14,159
Speaker 6: Global hours, right.

1631
01:24:14,680 --> 01:24:17,159
Speaker 2: All right, tell tell the fans. First of all, is

1632
01:24:17,199 --> 01:24:20,159
the broadcast crew all back together, everybody back at tell

1633
01:24:20,159 --> 01:24:22,079
everybody where they can find all the great broadcasts if

1634
01:24:22,079 --> 01:24:25,039
they're not in the stadium or here locally well.

1635
01:24:25,479 --> 01:24:30,119
Speaker 7: Bulls Unlimited is the twenty four to seven network and

1636
01:24:30,279 --> 01:24:35,119
you can access that via go go USF Bulls dot

1637
01:24:35,159 --> 01:24:40,199
com or all the the tune in apps things like

1638
01:24:40,239 --> 01:24:44,319
that on your computer, on your phone. You know, clear

1639
01:24:44,399 --> 01:24:49,520
signal from everywhere from Tampa to timbuck to and you

1640
01:24:49,560 --> 01:24:52,079
know we'll continue to do that. We'll have a two

1641
01:24:52,119 --> 01:24:55,199
hour pregame show before each game. Yes, believe it or not,

1642
01:24:55,239 --> 01:24:56,600
we can talk for two hours about.

1643
01:24:56,359 --> 01:24:58,560
Speaker 6: A football game. We do it every week. I don't

1644
01:24:58,600 --> 01:24:59,520
know how, but we do it.

1645
01:25:00,079 --> 01:25:03,159
Speaker 7: And so yeah, Jim Luck will be back because the

1646
01:25:03,199 --> 01:25:07,239
announcer play by play, Sam Barrington will be in the booth.

1647
01:25:07,279 --> 01:25:09,800
I'll be on the sidelines, Jim Lighthall and Derek Sharp

1648
01:25:09,840 --> 01:25:12,680
will be on hand. Cast of thousands as it were,

1649
01:25:12,960 --> 01:25:14,760
and we have a great time. It's a good crew,

1650
01:25:14,800 --> 01:25:18,039
and we enjoyed last season and going to a bowl

1651
01:25:18,039 --> 01:25:21,039
game and looking forward to more fun this year.

1652
01:25:21,520 --> 01:25:23,960
Speaker 2: Absolutely, Joey does a great job again. You'll see some

1653
01:25:23,960 --> 01:25:26,840
written articles by Joey about the program as well as

1654
01:25:26,880 --> 01:25:29,840
part of the part of USF Athletics. And again, Joey's

1655
01:25:29,880 --> 01:25:32,279
been around the Tampa Bay market for many, many years.

1656
01:25:32,359 --> 01:25:34,960
Award winning rider does a great job and again he

1657
01:25:35,039 --> 01:25:37,920
knows all things USF. And you guys will you got

1658
01:25:37,920 --> 01:25:40,119
a good schedule again, you'll be in Tuscaloosa on that

1659
01:25:40,239 --> 01:25:42,119
night with Savings Honor. So that'll be prettyctive.

1660
01:25:43,000 --> 01:25:43,880
Speaker 6: That'll be fun cool.

1661
01:25:44,199 --> 01:25:47,079
Speaker 2: Yep, you got Miami coming to town. And again it's

1662
01:25:47,079 --> 01:25:50,000
a big opportunity here. This could be six eight weeks

1663
01:25:50,000 --> 01:25:52,680
from now. This could be the team the country's talking about,

1664
01:25:52,760 --> 01:25:55,399
is that non Power five playoff contender if they can

1665
01:25:55,439 --> 01:25:58,279
get through that two lane Memphis stretch in early October.

1666
01:25:58,319 --> 01:26:01,720
So Joey appreciate the time. All great luck, good luck

1667
01:26:01,760 --> 01:26:04,399
with the season, good good, safe travels and all that

1668
01:26:04,439 --> 01:26:05,880
good stuff. And we'll talk real soon.

1669
01:26:05,920 --> 01:26:08,000
Speaker 6: Okay, thank you, Jason, appreciate it.

1670
01:26:11,239 --> 01:26:13,520
Speaker 2: All right, welcome back to the podcast. We are going

1671
01:26:13,600 --> 01:26:17,560
to talk a little University of Central Florida the Nights.

1672
01:26:18,279 --> 01:26:20,520
UCF coming off of a six and seven year and

1673
01:26:20,600 --> 01:26:24,079
twenty twenty three three and six in their inaugural campaign

1674
01:26:24,159 --> 01:26:27,439
in the Big Twelve. Now the Big Twelve is without

1675
01:26:27,520 --> 01:26:30,319
Texas and Oklahoma, a lot more of an opportunity I

1676
01:26:30,359 --> 01:26:32,640
think for Central Florida to be a major player in

1677
01:26:32,680 --> 01:26:35,520
this conference. No better to person to talk all things

1678
01:26:35,560 --> 01:26:38,760
Central Florida than their beat writer for The Orlando Sentinel,

1679
01:26:39,119 --> 01:26:41,800
mister Matt Merchelle. Welcome back to the podcast.

1680
01:26:41,359 --> 01:26:42,720
Speaker 8: Sir, Thanks for having me.

1681
01:26:42,720 --> 01:26:45,319
Speaker 2: Appreciate it. Hope you summer went well. I know you

1682
01:26:45,359 --> 01:26:48,399
were at media days out in Las Vegas. Give me

1683
01:26:48,439 --> 01:26:50,720
a sense of you know, obviously you cover this program

1684
01:26:50,800 --> 01:26:54,039
year round. Give me a sense of the I want

1685
01:26:54,039 --> 01:26:57,159
to say disappointment, But what was the consensus of post

1686
01:26:57,319 --> 01:26:59,720
year one in the Big Twelve? Are they where they

1687
01:26:59,800 --> 01:27:01,960
kind of I thought they would be kind of you know,

1688
01:27:02,079 --> 01:27:04,119
obviously record wise, they wanted to be a better record

1689
01:27:04,119 --> 01:27:06,600
But are they feeling like they got some things accomplished

1690
01:27:06,640 --> 01:27:07,760
in year one of the Big Twelve?

1691
01:27:08,399 --> 01:27:10,439
Speaker 8: Well, you know, yeah, I think Gus mauls On, if

1692
01:27:10,479 --> 01:27:12,800
you ask him, the ucfad coach, will tell you it

1693
01:27:12,840 --> 01:27:15,079
was disappointing. That's the word he's used many many times.

1694
01:27:15,159 --> 01:27:16,800
Is that, you know, they felt like they had an

1695
01:27:16,800 --> 01:27:20,199
opportunity to maybe have a better season that first year

1696
01:27:20,520 --> 01:27:22,920
in the Big Twelve, and it just didn't happen. You know,

1697
01:27:22,920 --> 01:27:27,079
they struggled to finish games, they struggled with depth. You know,

1698
01:27:27,119 --> 01:27:29,479
there were opportunities to win some games, laden games that

1699
01:27:29,560 --> 01:27:32,000
they just weren't able to get to. I think there

1700
01:27:32,000 --> 01:27:34,399
were four or five of their losses which really came

1701
01:27:34,439 --> 01:27:36,079
down to the last quarter where they could have had

1702
01:27:36,079 --> 01:27:37,720
an opportunity maybe to get the win, but they weren't

1703
01:27:37,720 --> 01:27:41,039
able to do that. That just shows the level of

1704
01:27:41,199 --> 01:27:43,199
you know, the difference between going from a group of

1705
01:27:43,199 --> 01:27:45,880
five conference like the American Athletic Conference to a power

1706
01:27:45,960 --> 01:27:47,800
five conference like in the Big Twelve. You know, you

1707
01:27:47,960 --> 01:27:51,039
have to have depth, you have to be able to last,

1708
01:27:51,079 --> 01:27:52,920
you have to finish these type of games. If Gus

1709
01:27:53,039 --> 01:27:55,880
knew that from the SEC, but getting to that point

1710
01:27:56,159 --> 01:27:57,960
took a little bit. So in the offseason they spent

1711
01:27:58,039 --> 01:28:00,840
a lot of time revamping this program. He brought in

1712
01:28:01,159 --> 01:28:03,840
a whole new strength and conditioning program. You know, he

1713
01:28:03,920 --> 01:28:05,800
went out and got some new coaches, brought in a

1714
01:28:05,800 --> 01:28:09,319
new offensive, a defensive coordinator. They tweaked some things, and

1715
01:28:09,359 --> 01:28:11,479
Gus said he wanted this team he felt like it

1716
01:28:11,560 --> 01:28:12,000
was soft.

1717
01:28:12,199 --> 01:28:13,720
Speaker 2: He wanted this team to get tougher.

1718
01:28:13,920 --> 01:28:16,439
Speaker 8: They needed to be more physical, and he also wanted

1719
01:28:16,439 --> 01:28:18,199
this team to take on his personality. He felt like

1720
01:28:18,279 --> 01:28:21,399
last year this wasn't really his team. They act like

1721
01:28:21,439 --> 01:28:23,840
his team, So he wants to take on that be

1722
01:28:24,000 --> 01:28:26,520
up more of his team. And he's gone back to

1723
01:28:26,520 --> 01:28:29,520
taking over play calling duties. So all this together he

1724
01:28:29,560 --> 01:28:31,600
feels like will help them have success in the year

1725
01:28:31,640 --> 01:28:32,399
two of the Big Twelve.

1726
01:28:32,479 --> 01:28:35,800
Speaker 2: And when if you followed Gus Malzon's career, Gus has

1727
01:28:35,840 --> 01:28:39,119
always had a when they've had a dominant running attack.

1728
01:28:39,159 --> 01:28:41,600
I mean they you know, bigger quarterback. I know the

1729
01:28:41,680 --> 01:28:43,880
year with Nick Marshall, they obviously had the year with

1730
01:28:43,920 --> 01:28:47,079
Cam Newton. When they've been able to run, run, run,

1731
01:28:47,439 --> 01:28:49,880
that's when they've been the most effective under Gus Malson.

1732
01:28:50,279 --> 01:28:53,279
And to you know, they've got an opportunity this year.

1733
01:28:53,319 --> 01:28:55,680
I think looking at what they brought in with kJ Jefferson,

1734
01:28:56,000 --> 01:28:58,479
they still have r J. Harvey, came off a fourteen

1735
01:28:58,560 --> 01:29:03,239
hundred yard rushing year. Bring in Perry Bone from Toledo.

1736
01:29:03,760 --> 01:29:06,880
I mean, to top two of the top ten running

1737
01:29:06,920 --> 01:29:09,640
backs in the country last year. Now in the same backfield,

1738
01:29:09,880 --> 01:29:12,239
talk about that philosophy that he's kind of probably gonna

1739
01:29:12,239 --> 01:29:15,039
want to get back to of a grinded out, you know,

1740
01:29:15,199 --> 01:29:17,640
run run, run to set up the pass kind of deal,

1741
01:29:17,800 --> 01:29:20,520
and really lean on that running game. Oh yeah, for sure.

1742
01:29:20,520 --> 01:29:23,600
Gus's offense has always have been predicated on the ground game.

1743
01:29:23,680 --> 01:29:25,520
He wants to run the football. They were able to

1744
01:29:25,520 --> 01:29:27,039
do that last year obviously. I mean they were the

1745
01:29:27,079 --> 01:29:30,039
number fourth best rushing team in the country. You know, r. J.

1746
01:29:30,199 --> 01:29:32,399
Speaker 8: Harvey had a career year with fourteen hundred yards. But

1747
01:29:32,479 --> 01:29:35,600
John Rice Plumber, who was a dual threat quarterback, got hurt,

1748
01:29:35,880 --> 01:29:37,880
was limited. His knee really wasn't able to him to

1749
01:29:37,880 --> 01:29:39,640
do some of the things they wanted to do. They

1750
01:29:39,640 --> 01:29:44,319
bring in kJ Jefferson, a huge back. That's a huge quarterback,

1751
01:29:44,479 --> 01:29:47,279
you know, six ' three, he's about two hundred and

1752
01:29:47,319 --> 01:29:49,239
fifty pounds I think the last we heard, you know,

1753
01:29:49,279 --> 01:29:50,880
big guy who could throw the ball down the field,

1754
01:29:50,880 --> 01:29:53,039
but also could take off running. They added a few

1755
01:29:53,079 --> 01:29:55,239
more running backs to the running back group. They added

1756
01:29:55,279 --> 01:29:57,920
in a guy, a transfer in Miles Montgomery from Cincinnati.

1757
01:29:57,920 --> 01:30:01,880
He was basically the bearcats second leading rusher. They brought

1758
01:30:01,960 --> 01:30:04,239
him into help out. They brought in Penny Boon, as

1759
01:30:04,239 --> 01:30:06,439
you mentioned, you know from Toledo, a guy who had

1760
01:30:06,479 --> 01:30:09,000
over fourteen hundred yards. It's I had to look this up.

1761
01:30:09,079 --> 01:30:11,520
I don't think except from North Carolina a few years ago,

1762
01:30:11,600 --> 01:30:13,000
I don't think there's been a team that's had two

1763
01:30:13,079 --> 01:30:15,960
over thousand yard rushers on the same team. So they've

1764
01:30:16,000 --> 01:30:18,479
really kind of built up that running backscroup. It's probably

1765
01:30:18,520 --> 01:30:20,560
one of the best in the country. And Gus feels

1766
01:30:20,560 --> 01:30:22,640
like this is a group that they can run the

1767
01:30:22,640 --> 01:30:24,479
ball and then they can open up the play action

1768
01:30:24,600 --> 01:30:26,880
game and maybe get the ball down deep and do

1769
01:30:26,960 --> 01:30:29,720
some other things with the passing attack. So this running

1770
01:30:29,720 --> 01:30:31,520
attack is going to be the reason why UF is

1771
01:30:31,560 --> 01:30:32,119
gonna have success.

1772
01:30:32,239 --> 01:30:34,479
Speaker 2: Sure, do they have the offensive line production to be

1773
01:30:34,520 --> 01:30:37,000
able to open up those running holes, Yeah, they think so.

1774
01:30:37,039 --> 01:30:40,079
Speaker 8: They've got three guys who are returning starters from last year.

1775
01:30:40,399 --> 01:30:42,039
They've got a lot of depth. They brought in a

1776
01:30:42,079 --> 01:30:44,399
few transfers as well. They feel like they have some

1777
01:30:44,439 --> 01:30:47,079
guys that can they can move around. Versatility is the

1778
01:30:47,119 --> 01:30:47,479
word on.

1779
01:30:47,439 --> 01:30:48,840
Speaker 2: The offensive line. They had to listen.

1780
01:30:48,880 --> 01:30:51,359
Speaker 8: They had four different guys take snaps at center last

1781
01:30:51,439 --> 01:30:53,800
year because of injuries. They're trying to limit that. They

1782
01:30:53,800 --> 01:30:56,199
want to make sure they have a consistency on that

1783
01:30:56,279 --> 01:30:59,119
offensive line, and part of that is training other guys

1784
01:30:59,119 --> 01:31:01,279
to be able to handle those situations because a lot

1785
01:31:01,279 --> 01:31:03,039
of teams don't do that. They've got four or five

1786
01:31:03,079 --> 01:31:05,720
guys that they've trained at center so they could step

1787
01:31:05,760 --> 01:31:07,720
into that center spot in case something were to happen

1788
01:31:07,840 --> 01:31:10,079
in other spots as well. So I think they've got

1789
01:31:10,399 --> 01:31:12,920
they believe they've got enough offensive linement to help out

1790
01:31:13,039 --> 01:31:14,159
and keep that running game going.

1791
01:31:15,640 --> 01:31:17,960
Speaker 2: Let's look at the defensive side of the ball. Obviously

1792
01:31:18,000 --> 01:31:19,640
that was that was the weak are. They were not

1793
01:31:19,760 --> 01:31:22,600
very good against the run last year. Stat I saw

1794
01:31:22,640 --> 01:31:24,359
they were zero to six when they gave up more

1795
01:31:24,399 --> 01:31:26,479
than twenty six points in a game. They didn't win

1796
01:31:26,520 --> 01:31:28,199
a game all year when they give and they were

1797
01:31:28,199 --> 01:31:29,640
like you mentioned earlier, they were in a lot of

1798
01:31:29,640 --> 01:31:32,079
close games, a lot of fourth quarter games that you know,

1799
01:31:32,239 --> 01:31:35,119
six and seven record could easily have been eight and

1800
01:31:35,239 --> 01:31:38,199
five or nine and four if the fourth quarters go differently.

1801
01:31:38,520 --> 01:31:42,279
Talk about the defensive improvements or the lack or the

1802
01:31:42,319 --> 01:31:45,840
personnel improvements that they're trying to see in twenty twenty four.

1803
01:31:46,239 --> 01:31:47,960
Speaker 8: Yeah, you're being kind when you say they were very

1804
01:31:47,960 --> 01:31:51,840
good running the football. They were futrid running defensively stopping

1805
01:31:51,840 --> 01:31:54,600
the run. They had ten guys run for over one

1806
01:31:54,680 --> 01:31:56,840
hundred yards against them last year and at one point

1807
01:31:56,960 --> 01:31:59,720
they gave up sixteen rushing touchdowns in that five game losing.

1808
01:32:00,479 --> 01:32:02,479
So they just were not good. And so they brought

1809
01:32:02,479 --> 01:32:05,960
in ted Roof, who was a longtime assistant coach. He's

1810
01:32:05,960 --> 01:32:07,560
worked with Gus before. He's going to be the new

1811
01:32:07,560 --> 01:32:11,159
defensive coordinator. His forte has been run defenses. That's one

1812
01:32:11,199 --> 01:32:12,960
of the things he's really good at. They brought in

1813
01:32:13,039 --> 01:32:15,800
some guys that really kind of overhauled the whole middle

1814
01:32:15,840 --> 01:32:18,920
linebacker spot. All those guys are all transfers. They brought

1815
01:32:18,920 --> 01:32:21,319
an Ethan Barr from Vanderbilt. He was a captain there

1816
01:32:21,359 --> 01:32:24,479
at Vanderbilt. Deshaun Pace is a versatile guy that plays

1817
01:32:24,520 --> 01:32:27,359
not only linebacker but also corner and safety. They like

1818
01:32:27,439 --> 01:32:30,680
him in that spot. Ziree, like Xander, came in from Idaho.

1819
01:32:30,760 --> 01:32:32,840
I mean, they brought in a lot of fresh faces.

1820
01:32:32,960 --> 01:32:35,600
They've got a defensive lie that's also another year older.

1821
01:32:35,840 --> 01:32:37,760
They feel like they've got guys that can make some

1822
01:32:37,840 --> 01:32:39,680
plays as well. And one of the things that ted

1823
01:32:39,720 --> 01:32:42,000
Roof has been pushing is they want to be more aggressive.

1824
01:32:42,000 --> 01:32:44,039
They want to be able to go in, create pressure

1825
01:32:44,039 --> 01:32:46,800
in the backfield, force teams to maybe kind of get

1826
01:32:46,800 --> 01:32:48,520
out of what they're trying to do, get to the

1827
01:32:48,600 --> 01:32:51,079
running back earlier, you know, force him to maybe make

1828
01:32:51,119 --> 01:32:53,680
a cut or do something more than they weren't doing. Listen,

1829
01:32:53,680 --> 01:32:55,359
a lot of times last year the running back would

1830
01:32:55,359 --> 01:32:58,600
get into that linebacker spot middle of the defense and

1831
01:32:58,640 --> 01:33:00,920
then get to the secondary or he would even get hit,

1832
01:33:01,159 --> 01:33:02,920
and that can't have that. They need to get those

1833
01:33:02,920 --> 01:33:05,119
guys to be hit early on and maybe false that

1834
01:33:05,199 --> 01:33:06,880
as well. So that's one of the things Ted Ruff

1835
01:33:06,880 --> 01:33:08,720
has been working on. They brought a lot more depth

1836
01:33:08,760 --> 01:33:11,680
in the secondary and and on the defensive line. They

1837
01:33:11,680 --> 01:33:13,840
feel like that's all all gonna help this defense be

1838
01:33:13,840 --> 01:33:14,319
a lot better.

1839
01:33:14,439 --> 01:33:16,720
Speaker 2: Schematically, Are they a three four more of a four

1840
01:33:16,760 --> 01:33:19,680
to three? What is the kind of the defensive alignment?

1841
01:33:20,600 --> 01:33:22,439
It looks like it's gonna be. It's gonna be a

1842
01:33:22,479 --> 01:33:24,199
four to three for what everything we've seen.

1843
01:33:24,439 --> 01:33:26,359
Speaker 8: But Ted's also said that they're not afraid to move

1844
01:33:26,520 --> 01:33:28,800
to do some different things to give some different looks

1845
01:33:28,800 --> 01:33:31,159
as well, because they want to They want to change

1846
01:33:31,199 --> 01:33:33,079
things up. They want to make people kind of be

1847
01:33:33,520 --> 01:33:35,560
you know, kind of be confused by what's going on there.

1848
01:33:35,560 --> 01:33:36,920
And that's one of the things the players have told

1849
01:33:37,000 --> 01:33:39,600
us is that this defense is very fast. They do

1850
01:33:39,640 --> 01:33:41,800
a lot of things, they move around. They think that's

1851
01:33:41,800 --> 01:33:43,640
gonna help them maybe kind of confuse with people.

1852
01:33:44,319 --> 01:33:47,159
Speaker 2: This is gonna be an opportunity this year for you. See,

1853
01:33:47,159 --> 01:33:48,760
you have to really get into that upper three or

1854
01:33:48,800 --> 01:33:50,640
four of that of the of the Big Twelve. If

1855
01:33:50,680 --> 01:33:53,319
they play well, they've got a they've got a not

1856
01:33:53,399 --> 01:33:56,319
a brutal schedule, they've got obviously a balance schedule. There's

1857
01:33:56,319 --> 01:33:58,079
gonna be a lot of teams in the middle, the

1858
01:33:58,720 --> 01:34:00,920
middle of the pack there that you're you're gonna have

1859
01:34:00,920 --> 01:34:02,079
to be able to figure out a way for one

1860
01:34:02,119 --> 01:34:03,880
of those two teams to rise up. And when you

1861
01:34:03,920 --> 01:34:07,079
look at the schedule, you got four and on October fifth,

1862
01:34:07,359 --> 01:34:09,720
you go to Iowa State on the nineteenth of October,

1863
01:34:09,800 --> 01:34:11,640
and then you got Utah coming to town late in

1864
01:34:11,640 --> 01:34:14,880
the year. That Utah game could in theory, be for

1865
01:34:14,960 --> 01:34:16,680
all the Marbles to get to the to the Big

1866
01:34:16,720 --> 01:34:19,119
Twelve title game. If your UC just talk about their

1867
01:34:19,119 --> 01:34:22,960
schedule a little bit, and where do you see the Landmines. Well,

1868
01:34:23,039 --> 01:34:24,600
I think for them, it's going to be road games.

1869
01:34:24,680 --> 01:34:26,439
I mean, listen, they struggled last year on the road.

1870
01:34:26,439 --> 01:34:29,399
They do very well, but again, they had one of

1871
01:34:29,039 --> 01:34:31,439
the longest road trips in history. I think it was

1872
01:34:31,479 --> 01:34:34,399
seventeen thousand miles last year among the games they had

1873
01:34:34,439 --> 01:34:36,399
to play. So they have to do a better job

1874
01:34:36,439 --> 01:34:38,960
winning on the road. They go to TCU in Week three,

1875
01:34:39,279 --> 01:34:41,359
that's a challenge for them. They have to win that game,

1876
01:34:41,399 --> 01:34:43,680
I think. I think Florida game is obviously going to

1877
01:34:43,720 --> 01:34:45,600
be a game that a lot of people have a

1878
01:34:45,640 --> 01:34:46,279
lot of eyes on.

1879
01:34:46,479 --> 01:34:48,520
Speaker 8: Even though it's not conference game, there's gonna be a

1880
01:34:48,520 --> 01:34:50,880
lot of attension because let's not forget they play Colorado

1881
01:34:50,920 --> 01:34:53,199
and Deon Sanders the week before that, so there'll be

1882
01:34:53,239 --> 01:34:55,159
a lot of buzz on that as well. You mentioned

1883
01:34:55,199 --> 01:34:56,960
the Iowa State game. I think that's going to be

1884
01:34:56,960 --> 01:34:59,199
a challenge for them. I think West Virginia going to

1885
01:34:59,239 --> 01:35:01,239
Morgantown's all. It's been a tough challenge for a lot

1886
01:35:01,239 --> 01:35:03,199
of teams. That's gonna be something they have to look at.

1887
01:35:03,279 --> 01:35:05,159
They got to go to Phoenix across the country to

1888
01:35:05,199 --> 01:35:07,239
take on Arizona State. I think that could be even

1889
01:35:07,239 --> 01:35:09,399
though in Arizona State is not a good team. I

1890
01:35:09,439 --> 01:35:11,760
think that's just traveling for them is gonna be that.

1891
01:35:11,800 --> 01:35:13,920
And you mentioned Utah, So those are the games I

1892
01:35:13,960 --> 01:35:16,199
think that they've really got to kind of lock themselves

1893
01:35:16,279 --> 01:35:18,520
in and make sure they win. They could if they

1894
01:35:18,520 --> 01:35:21,399
start out strong early on, maybe get to that four

1895
01:35:21,479 --> 01:35:23,720
or five wins before the halfway part of the season.

1896
01:35:24,000 --> 01:35:25,600
I think then they've got a good shot going in.

1897
01:35:25,640 --> 01:35:27,399
But the second half of the season it's gonna be

1898
01:35:27,439 --> 01:35:28,880
a lot tougher, and they're gonna have to have a

1899
01:35:28,920 --> 01:35:30,520
lot more road games and they're gonna have to They're

1900
01:35:30,520 --> 01:35:32,199
gonna have to win some of those games to kind

1901
01:35:32,199 --> 01:35:34,520
of get them a chance to have a spot maybe

1902
01:35:34,520 --> 01:35:36,760
going in. Now you mentioned that Utah game and both

1903
01:35:36,800 --> 01:35:39,800
teams maybe are are maybe competing for a championship. That

1904
01:35:39,800 --> 01:35:41,119
could be able to have a lot on the line

1905
01:35:41,159 --> 01:35:41,600
for that game.

1906
01:35:41,720 --> 01:35:43,920
Speaker 2: And interesting about this conference is here you could have

1907
01:35:43,960 --> 01:35:45,840
the number you could have the number two team in

1908
01:35:45,840 --> 01:35:48,239
that league, have three or four losses, you could have

1909
01:35:48,319 --> 01:35:50,279
it could be an eight and four, and you could

1910
01:35:50,279 --> 01:35:53,119
be in that championship game. In theory, because you know

1911
01:35:53,239 --> 01:35:55,079
there's so much of a middle you know, there's so

1912
01:35:55,239 --> 01:35:58,039
much parody in this conference now with no more Oklahoma

1913
01:35:58,039 --> 01:36:00,439
and Texas that you could have. You could be eight

1914
01:36:00,479 --> 01:36:02,640
and four playing for a college football playoff.

1915
01:36:02,680 --> 01:36:04,640
Speaker 8: Berth, Yeah, very much so. And I've talked to a

1916
01:36:04,680 --> 01:36:06,399
lot of coaches about that. You know, there's not the

1917
01:36:06,439 --> 01:36:08,920
feeling of if we lose a game early on, we're done,

1918
01:36:09,199 --> 01:36:11,640
you know, the season's over. They feel like, okay, we

1919
01:36:11,680 --> 01:36:13,680
could lose a game early on and still have an

1920
01:36:13,680 --> 01:36:16,479
opportunity maybe to finish strong and be right there, like

1921
01:36:16,479 --> 01:36:19,159
you mentioned right there for that twelve team playoff, I think,

1922
01:36:19,680 --> 01:36:21,319
but you have to make sure you can't let some

1923
01:36:21,359 --> 01:36:23,520
of the little things kind of can't get you to

1924
01:36:23,520 --> 01:36:25,880
spend That's what kind of caught up with UCF last

1925
01:36:25,920 --> 01:36:28,199
year in their five game losy streak, they lost a

1926
01:36:28,239 --> 01:36:30,279
Baylor and that was a game that was really difficult.

1927
01:36:30,479 --> 01:36:32,680
They had that game, they were up big, they gave

1928
01:36:32,760 --> 01:36:34,439
up an eighteen point ly in the second half, and

1929
01:36:34,479 --> 01:36:36,319
they were never really kind of right after that, they

1930
01:36:36,399 --> 01:36:38,000
kind of they spun out of control for a few

1931
01:36:38,039 --> 01:36:40,039
weeks and had a bunch of losses. They can't let

1932
01:36:40,039 --> 01:36:42,640
that happen or something like that again. Two loss season

1933
01:36:42,720 --> 01:36:44,560
maybe three loss. Maybe you're in it Nicks at the

1934
01:36:44,640 --> 01:36:47,319
very end, so they can't let themselves get thrown off

1935
01:36:47,399 --> 01:36:49,439
by something. Maybe they get their derails them early on.

1936
01:36:49,840 --> 01:36:53,359
Speaker 2: How excited is Gus about kJ Jefferson. We know, obviously

1937
01:36:53,359 --> 01:36:55,720
he's played a ton of football at Arkansas. He's had

1938
01:36:55,800 --> 01:36:58,399
great moments where he's thrown the ball really well. He's

1939
01:36:58,439 --> 01:37:02,359
a bruising, rugged, kind of a Dante Culpeper body type.

1940
01:37:02,600 --> 01:37:05,119
Not the thrower maybe that Dante was, but that kind

1941
01:37:05,119 --> 01:37:07,720
of body type, six three six four two point fifty.

1942
01:37:07,760 --> 01:37:10,399
I mean, he's a bowling ball kind of guy. How

1943
01:37:10,439 --> 01:37:12,119
excited are they to be able to utilize the different

1944
01:37:12,119 --> 01:37:14,760
skills that kJ Jefferson has. Oh, very exciting.

1945
01:37:14,760 --> 01:37:14,880
Speaker 6: You know.

1946
01:37:14,920 --> 01:37:16,520
Speaker 8: I think the thing that really helps Gus too is

1947
01:37:16,560 --> 01:37:19,239
Kj's not he's he's a fifth year guy. He's got

1948
01:37:19,239 --> 01:37:21,640
so much leadership and maturity on him that, you know,

1949
01:37:21,680 --> 01:37:23,760
they said, when he comes in here, you know, it's

1950
01:37:23,800 --> 01:37:25,840
not like we have to hold his hand to get

1951
01:37:25,920 --> 01:37:28,039
him to do stuff with his teammates. He understands exactly

1952
01:37:28,119 --> 01:37:30,279
what this is my last chance. I want to make

1953
01:37:30,319 --> 01:37:32,720
sure everything is on the same page. They like his

1954
01:37:32,800 --> 01:37:35,359
skill set. kJ has told us by the fact, by

1955
01:37:35,399 --> 01:37:37,159
the way, that he doesn't want to be doing just

1956
01:37:37,199 --> 01:37:38,920
as a running quarterback. You know, he wants to be

1957
01:37:38,960 --> 01:37:40,840
able to go out there and be better. He wants

1958
01:37:40,840 --> 01:37:42,439
to be able to throw the ball deep down the field.

1959
01:37:42,600 --> 01:37:45,479
He wants to identify defenses and blitzes. He wants to

1960
01:37:45,479 --> 01:37:47,039
be able to make plays with his arm, because he

1961
01:37:47,079 --> 01:37:49,279
knows if he's going to have success at the next

1962
01:37:49,399 --> 01:37:51,479
level in the NFL, he's going to have to be

1963
01:37:51,479 --> 01:37:53,000
able to do those kind of things. You can't just

1964
01:37:53,079 --> 01:37:56,439
run the football alone. So he hopes this year those

1965
01:37:56,520 --> 01:37:57,920
kind of things will be able to come to come

1966
01:37:58,000 --> 01:37:59,880
to fruition because he doesn't have to do it.

1967
01:38:00,119 --> 01:38:00,800
Speaker 2: Let's think about it.

1968
01:38:00,840 --> 01:38:03,359
Speaker 8: He's got two fourteen undred yard rushers, he's got, you know,

1969
01:38:03,439 --> 01:38:06,159
talented wide receivers, he's got a talented tight end. He

1970
01:38:06,199 --> 01:38:07,680
doesn't have to carry the load of the offense on

1971
01:38:07,720 --> 01:38:09,479
his shoulder. Now, he just has to make sure he

1972
01:38:09,479 --> 01:38:11,319
doesn't turn the ball over and get the ball out

1973
01:38:11,359 --> 01:38:12,960
to his playmakers and let them do what they need

1974
01:38:13,000 --> 01:38:13,159
to do.

1975
01:38:13,359 --> 01:38:15,800
Speaker 2: Are there any high school freshmen that the true freshmen

1976
01:38:15,840 --> 01:38:18,119
that are coming in that that maybe males On has

1977
01:38:18,119 --> 01:38:21,079
been impressed with in camp that potentially could could could

1978
01:38:21,319 --> 01:38:22,520
get some serious playing time.

1979
01:38:23,000 --> 01:38:25,159
Speaker 8: Yeah, there are a few. I mean, he hasn't Gus

1980
01:38:25,159 --> 01:38:26,920
doesn't like try to pump them up too much because

1981
01:38:26,920 --> 01:38:28,840
I think he realizes are true freshmen. We've heard a

1982
01:38:28,840 --> 01:38:31,279
lot of names. Bridell Richardson as a wide receiver that's

1983
01:38:31,319 --> 01:38:33,640
come in that they really like. They feel like he's

1984
01:38:33,680 --> 01:38:35,800
a guy that they can you can see some action

1985
01:38:35,880 --> 01:38:38,279
here or there. Chason Johnson is a guy who's on

1986
01:38:38,319 --> 01:38:40,640
the defensive back and Christian Peterson is a guy that

1987
01:38:40,840 --> 01:38:43,720
they've talked about on the defensive secondary that they like

1988
01:38:43,760 --> 01:38:45,279
a lot of the players have said they've had really

1989
01:38:45,760 --> 01:38:48,399
good camps. They feel like they have an opportunity to play.

1990
01:38:48,640 --> 01:38:51,359
Walt Claire Flynn is a is a offensive lineman who

1991
01:38:51,359 --> 01:38:54,079
came in. He's been working out at center during the spring.

1992
01:38:54,119 --> 01:38:56,279
He worked out like the first and second team at center.

1993
01:38:56,600 --> 01:38:58,319
I don't think he'll get starts, but I think he'll

1994
01:38:58,319 --> 01:38:59,960
probably find a way to be maybe getting that road

1995
01:39:00,079 --> 01:39:02,199
tation as well. So they have a few guys they

1996
01:39:02,239 --> 01:39:04,960
feel like they can usually insert and maybe have some

1997
01:39:05,039 --> 01:39:07,119
playing time and do some things, which is important to

1998
01:39:07,119 --> 01:39:09,560
their recruiting because they need to get showcase that listen,

1999
01:39:09,760 --> 01:39:12,279
you can come here and play almost immediately if.

2000
01:39:12,199 --> 01:39:15,359
Speaker 2: You have the talent. And obviously Orlando being such a

2001
01:39:15,399 --> 01:39:17,960
fertile recruiting ground with high school kids and then high

2002
01:39:17,960 --> 01:39:20,760
schools and within a probably one hundred mile radis for Orlando,

2003
01:39:20,800 --> 01:39:24,479
there's there's tremendous talent in that area. So well, Matt Rachelle,

2004
01:39:24,720 --> 01:39:26,720
give me, give me a sense of where do you

2005
01:39:26,720 --> 01:39:28,720
think Ucf'll end up? I mean, is this an eight

2006
01:39:28,800 --> 01:39:31,800
and fourteen, is this a seven and five team? What

2007
01:39:31,880 --> 01:39:33,439
sense do you get where they're gonna end up?

2008
01:39:34,079 --> 01:39:36,880
Speaker 8: I'm having them between the seven and eight mark win mark.

2009
01:39:36,920 --> 01:39:39,079
You know, I think they're probably right there. I mean,

2010
01:39:39,119 --> 01:39:41,239
they could get to nine, you know, if some things

2011
01:39:41,279 --> 01:39:43,479
go well and they're able to maybe catch some teams

2012
01:39:43,479 --> 01:39:45,800
of surprise. A lot of it I think stems from

2013
01:39:45,840 --> 01:39:47,520
the early on schedule. If they I said, if they

2014
01:39:47,520 --> 01:39:49,520
can go, if they could start out strong, if they

2015
01:39:49,600 --> 01:39:52,079
beat TCU, if they beat Colorado, and then you go

2016
01:39:52,119 --> 01:39:54,000
in that Florida game and you're four and oh you know,

2017
01:39:54,199 --> 01:39:56,159
or you know, all of a sudden, then maybe you

2018
01:39:56,159 --> 01:39:57,760
know you have an opportunity to get to nine wins.

2019
01:39:57,760 --> 01:39:59,720
How events, But I think again they have to win

2020
01:39:59,760 --> 01:40:01,279
on the that's going to be the secret to how

2021
01:40:01,319 --> 01:40:02,439
they're going to find success.

2022
01:40:02,880 --> 01:40:04,560
Speaker 2: Well, Matt Michelle, keep up the great work and you

2023
01:40:04,640 --> 01:40:08,720
find all match great work at The Orlando Sentinel, at OS,

2024
01:40:08,760 --> 01:40:12,560
Matt murschell on X and Twitter. Matt'll be uck said

2025
01:40:12,600 --> 01:40:15,399
he'll be at all the games covering on the road

2026
01:40:15,439 --> 01:40:17,920
at home. Does a great job covering UCF and the

2027
01:40:17,920 --> 01:40:20,439
Big twelve in general. So appreciate the time, Matt, and

2028
01:40:20,439 --> 01:40:22,600
we will catch up as we get through get moving

2029
01:40:22,640 --> 01:40:25,960
through the season. Sounds good. Thanks a lot, appreciate your time.

2030
01:40:26,920 --> 01:40:30,520
Thanks for listening to the Florida Football Insiders Podcast as

2031
01:40:30,600 --> 01:40:34,560
part of the College Gridiron Coast to Coast podcast Network.

2032
01:40:34,680 --> 01:40:38,039
Please remember subscribe, rate, and review if you've not already

2033
01:40:38,079 --> 01:40:40,319
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2034
01:40:40,359 --> 01:40:43,840
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2035
01:40:43,840 --> 01:40:48,039
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2036
01:40:48,680 --> 01:40:52,000
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2037
01:40:52,439 --> 01:40:56,399
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2038
01:40:56,680 --> 01:40:59,439
on the Florida Football Insiders Podcast