Speaker 1: Bob Abert.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, off.
Speaker 1: The bench with Jacob Hester and C Bob Abert. Pitch.
Now here's Jacob Hester and T Bob Aberart.
Speaker 3: All right, welcome back in our number two of OTB
one O four five ESPN Baton Rouge. Very excited as
always to welcome all on our next guest, Connor Ogerre
Saturday down South joins US now, Connor, hope you're doing well.
Speaker 4: Sir, doing really well. I do love this time of year,
even as a football guy, Like there's just nothing to
me that quite compares to the excitement of the NCAA tournament.
So I'm I'm in a good place despite the fact
that there's just basically no spring football anymore.
Speaker 5: I know, I know, I was.
Speaker 3: Actually that was going to be my first question because like, overall,
on Saturday down South right now, normally we'd have like
a ton of football, and football would kind.
Speaker 5: Of be even leading the way during March madness.
Speaker 3: But with the way spring football is kind of approach now,
and also when you have a league that you cover
that fourteen of the sixteen teams make the postseason, seven
of the sixteen left or from the conference, I get
why it is going to be the lead story, but
there's not a lot of football that's peaking through because
like spring practice, it's treated differently like kind of everywhere.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 3: I mean, we've got Peak Golding out there throwing touchdowns
at practice now for Ole Miss, their defensive coordinator.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's about all we can get. And I'll take
the random videos like that, and I'll take content like
Kirby Smart like calling out his team and basically saying
the freshmen aren't you know, living up to the standard.
And you know that that gives us something to be
able to talk about. But yeah, I mean, it'd be
foolish for me to sit here and break down Auburn's
inside linebackers when the set is making history, you know,
on the hardwood. And that's something that I think feels
like a little bit of a shift in mindset. And
obviously the great question is what does it look like
when it's not peak basketball time? If we're talking about
the basketball versus football debate in the SEC and how
that going to look moving forward? It's all right, well,
what are we talking about when it's you know, the
beginning of June, Like, what are the conversations that are
that we're focusing on, and the vast majority of the
time is still going to be about football. It's still
going to be debating things like quarterback rankings. We're going
to be talking about coaches on the hot seat, who's
going to have a breakout year. That's just the way
that the the ebbs and flows of this calendar works
in the SEC. Still, but it does feel like such
a different sort of transition, because man, when I started
doing this like ten years ago, we had no interest
whatsoever in talking about the NCAA tournament, talking really in
depth about SEC basketball and the quality of play has
certainly changed our approach.
Speaker 3: It has done that, and we'll get to the football
portion of it. But you're right you mentioned ten years ago,
that's really when the change happened. I can remember in
twenty fourteen, SEC basketball was just it was bad.
Speaker 5: It was bad. I just retired from the NFL, just
like you.
Speaker 3: So I got into this business during that year, and
I can remember having conversations with our guy part time,
Peter Burn, and it's like, man, we got we got
to figure something out, like this is a bad product.
And Greg Sankie was already on top of it, and
he goes to the schools like, hey, y'all got to
do more. You have to put more resources, you have
to hire better coaches, you have to make this a priority.
And so they started to do that and it's raised
its level every single year. And now we're to this
point where seven of your teams are you know, like
we said in the sweet sixteen there, you know, Commissioner
Thankie has to just be sitting up legs, you know,
propped up, listening to some YouTube, big smile on his face,
just enjoying all of this because he challenged every school
and now here you.
Speaker 4: Are, Yeah, and it really kind of speaks to what
you know, he has been preaching for forever. That you know,
six of the top twelve highest paid coaches in college
basketball in the SEC coaches are what turned this around.
When SINC football began its run of dominance with two
six twenty twelve and consecutive national title winners from the conference,
four different schools, you might have known a thing or
two about that, there was this feeling of, oh, well,
Nick Staban is there now. Well, Nick Staban was the
rising tide that lifted all boats, pun intended, because the
coaching got so much better in the SEC at that time,
and that was the only thing that was really going
to change the way that college basketball was approached in
the SEC. And now you're seeing coaches that, yeah, are
a bit older, and it is weird to be talking
about coaches on the other side of sixty five at
Rick Barnes, John cal Perry, a Bruce Pearl who are
having this unbelievable success and doing so in a place that,
let's be honest, used to be an afterthought. Like I
grew up in the Big ten part of the country
and I'm a Big ten graduate SEC basketball. To me,
the kid meant nothing, absolutely nothing. I was like, that's
just what they do and to fill time until football starts.
And that has obviously changed that conversation. The fact that
so many people are rooting against the SEC outside of
the SEC footprints and wanting the conference to look fraudulent
in the NCAA tournament, that just shows you how far
this conference has come.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, they were pretty excited whenever Xavier
beat Texas and then Gonzaga was putting.
Speaker 5: It on UGA and you log on and you see all.
Speaker 3: The narratives already starting, and they might have jumped the
gun a little bit too early on that one.
Speaker 4: Connor, Yeah, big time. I mean, look, there were going
to be thirteen an SEC teams that lost in this tournament.
Like I hate to spoil it for everybody, but there
were going to be at least thirteen. Maybe it does
Carl Ravage, I don't know, I don't know. Someone might
need to tell them that five hundred record in conference play,
that's going to be the expectation when you're only playing
conference teams. But yeah, like that's still going to be
what defines the SEC this year. We can talk all
we want about, oh man, three teams in the Elite
eight or whatever, and oh maybe they're going to have
two in the final four. If an SEC team isn't
cutting down the nets for the first time since twenty twelve,
it's a problem and it's going to hurt the brand
of SEC basketball, and it's not necessarily going to live
up to this unbelievable regular season and so far the
first part of the postseason that it's had. And so
you could say, yeah, that's maybe a bit unfair. You know,
matchups are going to determine this thing. Who knows that
duke is, you know, the team that is just you know,
heads and shoulders above the rest of the competition. Maybe
a team like Michigan State is going to be the
last one standing that's outside of the SEC. But you know,
we're going to move past these things, and we're not
necessarily going to break down the fact that the non
SEC teams that are left in the sweet sixteam are
four and ten against the SEC. Nobody's could care about
that if the SEC doesn't ultimately win a national.
Speaker 3: Championship this year, kis never the gout connor rogera Saturday
down South and I know, look, it's what it is.
I mean, the spring practice stuff, there's just not what
there used to be out there. But as we kind
of know these rosters now, and we have to figure
out how these transfers are going to implement themselves into
whichever team that they decided to go into, and right
now we don't know that information, and so you know,
we're kind of going into like media days a little
bit blind compared to where we used to be where
we kind of knew what the roster was. But just
like a general question on the teams that you expect
to break out, teams that need to break out teams
that you know, you kind of see maybe even taking
a step back, like where are you at with some
of the big dogs in the SEC.
Speaker 4: I'm I'm gonna be interested see how many of these
teams in the SEC go after a big time receiver
in the post spring transfer port window. I think that's
gonna be the next big storyline to kind of follow
because the quarterback market. Look, if you're a quarterback, you're
going into the end of the pooral post regular season.
You just have to the previous history at the position
suggests as such. Even you know, I don't have to
remind l as you fans, even Joe Burrow post spring transfer,
it is still very limited what he was able to
do after pretty much he comes in camp, you know,
in fall and you kind of have to figure things
out on the fly. But yeah, that's going to be
the really fascinating discussion is how many of these teams
in the SEC are paying big, big, top dollar to
go after that top flight receiver. I think there's gonna
be big time tampering. I think there are gonna be
teams like Florida, like Texas, A and m maybe even
a team like Alabama that's going into the portal, going Leuddy,
we need help, and we need it in a hurry.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 4: Not everybody was fortunate enough to do what Ellis you
did by revamping the pass catcher spots in the portal
and getting some of those guys being early on the
likes of Nick Anderson and barry On Brown and having
the ability to go out and get those guys early.
There were a lot of teams that were kind of
you in a tough spot. What's this guy going to do?
What's that guy going to do? I think that's going
to be a really fascinating storyline to watch because I
think people have realized everybody needs receiver help everybody, and
if you're not going after that position in the portal,
I think you're only hurting yourself.
Speaker 5: Last one before we let you go.
Speaker 3: Connor, he's sitting there talking about maybe some needs of
some different teams, teams that lost a lot. I was
looking at Old Miss yesterday and we just talked about
Jackson Dhart maybe being a first round pick and he
was a quarterback there. Gosh, I mean, it just seemed
like he was there for so long and he was
so steady, got better every single year. Him and Lane
Kiffin had a great relationship. Is that a team that
you can see taking a step back just because of
everything they lose, not only on talent but leadership as well.
Speaker 4: I'll be stunned a full Miss doesn't take a step back.
I really will be. And I like Austin Simmons a lot.
And I don't necessarily just put that on what he
did in relief of Jackson Dart in that Georgia game.
The fact that Austin Simmons delivered the biggest tribe of
Old Miss season is pretty impressive to think back on.
But I do think defensively, how are they not going
to regress? With all due respect to Pete Golding, sneaky
athletic Pete Golding. As we found out from the spring practice,
look at the dudes that they lost up front, man
like Jared Ivy, Jjpgeez Walter, Nolan prince Lyuman Miellen, Like
they are going to be in a really, really tough
spot this year with avoiding that defensive aggression because at
Old Miss, the defensive floor can be low when Lane
Kiffin is your head coach, and we've seen that in
the past and they were unbelievably good last year and
they're losing, Like I mean, we're going to look up
and be like, oh my gosh, look at South Carolina
and Old Miss. How many defensive players they're having come
off the board early in the NFL draft. So I
do think that they're a team that, even if Boston
Simmons is awesome, as we know from LSU a couple
of years ago, you can have an unbelievable breakout quarterback
and still be you know, you know, sitting in a
spot where you're winning eight nine games because your defense
just isn't there.
Speaker 5: Damn you, Matt House. I know well.
Speaker 3: On that note, Connor, that one too soon. It will
always be too soon. Hey, I appreciate your time, sir.
Always look forward to our conversations. And you know how
this works. We'll do it again soon.
Speaker 4: Appreciate it, man.
Speaker 3: All right, Connor Gara Saturday down South, good enough to
join us here. We'll step away now, and when we
come back, we're going to be joined by the LSU
defensive coordinator, Blake Baker right here on OTV. Off the bench,
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Speaker 1: Welcome back to off the bench where the takes are
hot and the sports talk is questionable.
Speaker 5: Hi, welcome back.
Speaker 3: He in OTV one O four five ESPN Ben Rouge.
Very excited for our next guest. It is our guy,
Blake Baker, the LSU defensive coordinator.
Speaker 5: Coach. We appreciate the time. Thanks hopping on with us
this morning.
Speaker 6: I appreciate you having me, Jacob. How are we doing?
Speaker 3: We're doing well. Hey, how's that wing doing. I felt
so bad last time I saw you. I forgot about
it and I did the classic meathead thing. I hit
you right on the back, probably where it hurt the worst.
Speaker 6: Oh man, you're not the only one. That's my own
fault for I need to put like a big stop
sign on my shoulder. But it's doing good, man. I
got probably have more range of motion than I had
at any point last season, So it's getting there.
Speaker 3: Oh Man, those shoulders playing linebacker and fullback. I don't
know that they ever fully get rehealed. But glad you
finally got that fixed. And you know, still trying to
continue fixing the LSU defense. Big steps last year, coach,
But how much how much different is it? I guess
this year in this spring now that I mean, look,
you know, everybody everybody knows you, they know the expectation.
You got a lot of the same staff members. Does
your number two feel different than your number one.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think you know, like you talked about a
lot of consistency on the staff, and then you know,
even though we brought in a few guys in the portal,
you know, majority of the of the defense has already
been through it one time, and so they know the expectation.
You know, just recall from calls how we fit certain things.
You know, we like to be multiple on defense, So
sometimes it's hard to get everything taught through a spring
and through a fall camp as far as what you
might see on any given Saturday. So it's definitely been
I would say, much smoother from that standpoint as far
as getting you know, getting everybody aligned in the same direction.
And then again with the additions that we made, I
think we brought in a lot of mature and hungry guys.
So it's been it's been a fun.
Speaker 5: Spring so far, coach.
Speaker 3: Obviously, when you and I were playing college football, there
wasn't a ton of transfers. I mean my entire career,
we might have had like two transfers come in come out,
probably the same situation for you when you were playing.
But now it is the norm, and now you do
have roster turnover. So that's just something that everybody's kind
of used to. But when you bring somebody in, like
what is that process? Like do you try to get
you know, maybe a leader to kind of show them
the ropes? Do you try to put him in certain
groups like, hey, take care of this guy showing bat
and rouge showing LSU tell.
Speaker 5: Him what we're all about.
Speaker 3: Like what's kind of the steps you take whenever somebody
knew because it oftentimes is an older player who's already
you know, known one culture at another place, and now
he's got to learn this culture.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think some of it happens organically. I think
some guys, uh, you know, I'll use a Jack Pieburn
for example. I think it didn't matter what program he
went to. He's a uh, you know, take the bull
by the horns kind of guy and he's gonna lead
straight out of the gate, where some guys you know,
take a little longer to adjust. But the one thing
that we talk about is making sure that you know,
they're comfortable and whatever that means, whether it us as coaches,
you know, spending extra time with them, making sure that
we try to pair them up with guys that we think, uh,
you know that they'll get along with and and the
quicker they're comfortable, the quicker they're going to you know,
be the best version of themselves on the football field.
So I would say it's not just the standard operating
procedure cookie cutter, like this is what we're gonna do.
I think each guy you got to treat differently. And
each guy, you know that transfers in is sometimes in
different stages of their career. Some guys, you know, I
call it their contract year. They're coming in for their
senior year, and and some guys you know, happen to
be younger. So you know, I think you got to
handle it a case by case basis.
Speaker 3: You mentioned Jack there, and you know this about me, coach,
meathead is a term of endearment for me, like I
am a card carrying member of meathead Nation. Jack as
as well. Like I saw the interview is with Weeks
or West. Weeks mad that he might be the most
meathead on the team.
Speaker 6: They like to compete for it. Man. So I don't think, honestly,
those are three guys that hit it off right away,
because all three of them are are meatheads, and and
they they're like you and I, they're like accepting that role.
They don't. They don't take it as a as an
insult we call the meathead. But you know, I think
I think there's something to be said for that. I
think again, when you when you talk about building a
defense in particular and probably a team in general, you
don't want one hundred of the same guys, right if
you want guys with different personalities. But those guys have
all pushed each other. They're all best friends. Off the field,
you know, they're they're competing, uh, you know for the
same goal in mind. So it's been it's been fun
to watch and.
Speaker 3: Coach kind of staying with the linebacker position, I mean
with the Week's brothers. And you also talk about Devine Keys.
I mean, you've got guys that have kind of played
multiple positions. I mean Devine Keys is playing Stars sometimes
a year ago and actually did really well. And we
think of the star position as maybe it's a safety,
but he goes in there as a linebacker and does
really really well. I mean we saw him not only
in the bowl game where he has the interception for
a touchdown, but you go back to the Florida game,
I mean he had key moments in this year and
so like, is that a player that maybe got accelerated
a little bit a year ago, but now you're going
to be counting on him this upcoming season.
Speaker 6: Oh very much. So you know, we we laugh all
the time now, you know, he was an early en
roll leee and we were so deep at the beginning,
you know, going back to last spring and even at
the beginning of last year, he really didn't get a
lot of reps. And a big credit to him as
far as staying in the playbook and not losing sight
because you know, as a freshman, especially man, that can
be hard your first time away from home. You're coming,
you know, you're you're ambitious, you want to say the
world on fire. And there was days he maybe got five, three,
four reps a day in spring, but it never it never,
it never deterred him as far as staying with it,
staying in the playbook. And you know, as coaches, you
you talk all the time about you never know when
your number is gonna be called. But last year linebacker
in particular, that definitely held true with with West having
the red shirt, with Perk going down with you know,
Wit even going down in the Bowl game. But he's
a guy, you know. Him and West were rotating them
positions pretty much every single day in the spring, between
Mike and will Man, and they have done an outstanding
job and a lot of that's just to provide position flexibility,
so we don't, you know, buying like we did last year.
And both of those guys are are taking heed to
it and and really been studying the playbook because it's
not easy to flip positions every single day. And I'm
really proud of those two guys.
Speaker 3: Could yea with LSU DVIS coordinator Blake Baker here on
O t B. You mentioned Perk there as well. We
know w spin out with injury and we've seen some
of the video of him working out. And I know
you and harl Perkins have a great relationship, remember talking
with you about that last off season, how much film
y'all watch together, kind of where is he at now
as far as his mindset and maybe what you see
his future looking like in the.
Speaker 6: Fall Man Perk is extremely locked in, you know. And
I said this and when it happened, and I didn't
mean it in a negative light, but but in some ways, uh,
you know, being hurt might have been the best best
thing that ever happened to him, kind of just sit back,
you know, let the game unfold from a mental standpoint
in front of him. But but the the the attention
to detail, the work that he's putting in with with
Jack and Marucci downstairs, with the VR obviously not being
able to get the physical reps on the field, he
could easily, you know, take take it easy and just
come to the hour film meeting that we do every
single day and that be it. But he's going above
and beyond and answering questions and and he's extremely locked in.
So I think, uh, he's gon have a He's gonna
have a big year next year, you know. And I
don't want to put I think part of the problem,
in my opinion, has been the expectation that's been put
on them. And obviously with a player that talent and
that caliber, uh you know, we still got to remember
that he's he's, you know, twenty years old or whatever
he is. So but I do I do think he's
gonna have an outstanding season. I think he's really focused.
And I think between him and and and West and
Devon and with and some of these you know, Ty
Singleton's coming along, and then we get three more freshmen.
I think they're all gonna they're all gonna compliment each
other really really well. So I don't think the onus
is gonna be on. Oh, here's harl Perkins, He's the
star of the defense. I think we have a lot
of really really good players in that room that that
feed off of each other make each other better.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you mentioned a little bit earlier coach bringing
some new faces in to help with that, and I
mean we could go name for name and Cooley coming
over and Peyton coming over and all these different names.
But like all the players that have come over, like
maybe kind of how they integrated themselves, because we're talking
about seniors.
Speaker 5: We're talking about fiftier seniors.
Speaker 3: Tell my guys that have been dudes in other places
now trying to help this l s U defense. What
are some of the things you've seen from that group
of players, Those veteran players that have come over from
the portal.
Speaker 6: Man, they they're they're about their business man. They they
just they come in, they work. There's not a lot
of talking, uh as far as in between plays. You know,
they're they're they're just they put their head down and
they grind. Man. They're blue collar guys that have really really,
in my opinion, they've really helped our culture. And you know,
and we talk about Spring being about independent player development,
like we're not worried about who goes out there with
the ones, who goes out there with twos. We switched
that up daily as far as and within the day
one period it might be uh, Jamari and Jack out there,
and then the next day might be Pat and and
Gabe Brutherford. So, uh, I think they're an unselfish group,
Like I said, a lot of them it is. They're
they're you know, I think half of them probably they're
they're the last year. So they just want to win.
And to me, sometimes you got to be careful that
in the recruiting process when you're bringing in transfer some
guys can be mercenaries where they're all about themselves, and
this group is not that at all. They're all about
LSU football. They're all about winning a championship and hard
work and unselfish, blue collar guys. So I think they've
added to our culture.
Speaker 3: To be quite honest with you, Well, I mean you
mentioned all those traits and you also brought a coaching
that has all those traits and cares about LSU, loves LSU,
and unfortunately for me, I've had to deal with this
human being since district play in high school football when
we were in the same district. Luckily we were teammates
at LSU. But I got my welcome to LSU moment
when I was running fullback belly cut it backside, thought
I had an open gap and he closedlined me. It
was number ninety five Kyle Williams. Then he goes and
plays like a thousand years in the NFL. What's it
been like getting Kyle Williams into the fold now, going
to be working with that defensive line. I think we
all know the mentality and I know you know him
as welcoming in.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Kyle's been He's been awesome. I mean when you
talk about all like we just talked about all the
trades that you look for in a player you look
for to coach, you know, extremely humble, you know, and
he played like you said, he played thirteen years or
whatever it was in the NFL and it's been an
all pro. But you never know it when you sit
down and talk with him, you know, He just wants
to bring out the best in our guys, and I
think that, you know, he's bringing out a little more attack,
a little more vertical presence on the inside, which is
what we want. And when we sat down and talked
for the first time, I mean, shoot, I'm not a
big phone guy. I know he's not a big phone guy.
We sat there and talked for an hour in forty
five minutes, and you know, so we hit it off
right away just from a personality standpoint. Then when we
talk ball, we hit it up from a stylistic standpoint,
and I think he gets the most out of our players.
Even talking to some of the guys at Rusting beforehand,
you know their strength. Coach. At Rustin actually played for
me at Louisiana Tech and he said going things and
Kyle's lived up to it. Man, He's been really really
fun to work with.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was really excited about that hire, just you know,
being a teammate, knowing what he's all about. I think
he's doing a fantastic job already. Going to continue to
do that, all right, Coach, Before we get you out
of here, the chat wants to know something you talk
about not wanting to have poodles. You said, no poodles.
Don't want any poodles over here. T Bob's out sick today.
Would you consider that a poodle?
Speaker 6: Absolutely? Man, there's there's no reason to miss talking on
the radio. They got they got cough drops. T Bob.
I hope you're listening, and I'm thoroughly disappointed. I did
not expect that type of behaviorality you.
Speaker 7: But we'll get you.
Speaker 6: Over here, get you some plate pushes, man, and get
you fixed right back up.
Speaker 5: That's exactly what I needed to hear. Coach, you're the man.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3: I'll actually see you, like in a couple hours over there,
pro day, looking forward to it.
Speaker 6: Awesome, slea, Jacob. I appreciate you having me. Man.
Speaker 3: All right there he is lsudbits coordinator Blake Baker good
enough to join us there. We had like we had
to do it. We had to do it. Like when
y'all brought that up. I was like, Oh, we have
to do it. We gotta get that SoundBite.
Speaker 8: I can't wait to pull that clip and show T Bob.
Speaker 5: He's gonna be disappointed.
Speaker 8: He is, because he's he's gonna throw a fit.
Speaker 5: No, he is. We love you tea.
Speaker 2: I'm waiting he's gonna be like, guys, did y'all not
see me on Tuesday?
Speaker 5: I couldn't have made it.
Speaker 3: No, and look like I've taken a sick day. I
took one after the super Bowl?
Speaker 5: Maybe Yeah.
Speaker 3: Now Landra, Elandra's the too gritty to be pretty. She
was drowning last week. I mean she sounded like she
was underwater.
Speaker 8: Talking checking on me like every segment. I'm just like,
I don't know, it's getting progressively worse.
Speaker 5: Oh man, oh so yeah, we love you. Ta just
don't be a poodle'll be a poodle.
Speaker 3: Uh, we will step away. Want to react to some
of what Blake Baker said. There's certainly a lot of
great stuff there Transfer Portal, Kyle Williams, uh, Harold Perkins,
a lot of stuff to break down, a lot of
stuff to get into. And we'll do that when we
jump back here on OTV. Off the bench, all right,
go to get Gordon dot Com. Get Gordon dot Com, Alandra,
doesn't sound like you're fully healed yet with that cough.
Getgordon dot Com is the website and you can really
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soon as you log in, it's gonna pop up, Hey,
how can we help you today? Remember, you can get
that free consultation set up on the website as well.
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Speaker 1: Back to sports talk, maybe off the bench.
Speaker 3: I'm just letting this breathe. There's nothing I'm looking for anything.
I just I really enjoy the song Taylor. Can you
tell me the lead singer of Wallflowers.
Speaker 2: Michael Wall all right, tenor Flowers.
Speaker 5: Alandra Jacob Dylan.
Speaker 2: Yes, that was my third, guess Jacob with a K.
Speaker 5: Jacob with a K. Yes, I should think that was
the no. No.
Speaker 3: I thought that was cool when I was growing up.
I thought that was cool. Uh, can you tell me
Jacob's father?
Speaker 5: Is it Bob? There you go context clues, Yeah, not
to say Dylan, all right, great song, great song.
Speaker 3: This kind of falls back into my like, hey, the
wallflowers are like really big, Like what we're in the world.
What are they doing now? Blake Baker just joined us
LSU defensive coordinator. Anything stand out to y'all?
Speaker 6: What was?
Speaker 3: Maybe there's a lot of great stuff and there're a
lot of great insight. Anything stand out more than others
to y'all.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: His complimenting of Harold Perkins. Look, I'm not saying that
we've ever heard anything negative about Harold Perkins's work ethic,
but it's very easy to come in as a five star,
have a lot of success early on, and when things
don't go your way, you know, you can just kind
of sit around and mope about it. He said, you know,
two injuries here in back to back seasons, but he
talks about all the extra work that Harold Perkins has
put in all the side things that he's doing that
he's not required to do. He's doing that just because
he wants to. I mean, think about it. Blake Baker
has said, look, we're going to move him to this
star position full time, so he's kind of learning a
new spot at least full time. I mean, he had
played there a little bit. The fact that you know,
kind of unprovoked mentioned Harold Perkins and brought out his
work ethic that was big for me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I thought so as well. You know,
it is wild the career that Perk's had. I mean
his freshman year one of the best in the country. Right,
It just it fit for that defense. And then you
know you're trying to find where he is.
Speaker 5: Going to live.
Speaker 3: And again, I know a lot of people want to
see him on the edge. He can be there, some
he cannot live there. That is not where he Just
trust me when I say, I've talked to SEC head
coaches that went against him when he was playing more
edge than not, and they were running right at him,
and that's okay, Like that's not what he's built to be, right.
I mean even Michael Parsons falls into some of that
in the NFL. Right if you want to try to
have a comp for perk. Star position is going to
be great for him. It's some what he can cover.
His covered grades on Pro Football Focus were incredibly high
when he played the star position. I would assume Blake
Baker is going to bring him off the edge still
because remember how many times we see major burns off
the edge last year. Well, that's going to be harl
Perkins this year. So you'll still get that portion of him.
You got to get him healthy though before anything, and
so Harold Perkins being healthy, with Weeks being healthy, that's
something certainly that else you is going to focus on
as they head into summer training.
Speaker 5: Elandra, anything for you stand out.
Speaker 8: I just love that he confirmed that t Bob's a poodle.
Speaker 5: I can't get over that.
Speaker 8: But no, like I know that Taylor like he really
it's not that there's like questions on his work ethic,
but there have been like a little bit of questions
on Harold Perkins, like in general, So the praise for
him is pretty big coming from someone like Blake Baker.
But like Blake Baker just generally impresses me every single
time he talks, like he's just like a very smart person,
and I don't know, Like, I just love Blake Baker.
I don't think anybody better could be in that role.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm excited for your number two.
Speaker 3: You're number one. You try to implement. Hey, here's who
we are, but here's who we need to be. Here's
who we're going to be. Mentioned pybrin there and coming
in with his attitude, Like his attitude is what I
think of when I think of Blake Baker. Yeah, and
that's why, like, and Blake knows this about me, Like
I am aoka, Like being a meathead is it's not
a joke, it's not a stick like I. That is
a term of endearment for me. You have to have
a handful of meatheads on your team, and he's got some. Yeah,
that's like, that's how he played, That's how he coaches.
It is all grit, don't care who gets the glory.
We're gonna go out there. It's gonna be bass to
the wall and we're gonna give you everything we have.
It is the old Dan Campbell, right, We're gonna bite
you in the kneecaps. Yeah, and you that I do too.
And some people it's not for them. Some people can't
handle that. I want all of it. Yeah, right, I
want that mixed with you know, the guys that they
brought in to be off the edge, mixed with Cooley
from North Carolina State, mixed with whoever. Right, you have
to have a portion of that on your defense, certainly
when your defensive coordinator has that as like kind of
his mindset. So I look, I'm looking forward to it.
Is there questions. Absolutely, it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
Who's gonna play safety? We got to find out who's
gonna be your best edge rusher. We got to find
out who's going to be the tandem in the middle.
As far as defensive tackle, we gotta find out. You
got a lot of candidates at inside linebacker. I feel
really good about that position. But who's going to be
the main two? We got to figure that out, right,
So there's still questions, there's still concerns. But with who
they brought him, you know, pair of that with Blake
Baker with his mindset, what he wants to get done.
You're number two compared to your number one. This defense
is going to be better. They are going to be better.
Last year's defense, you know, didn't explode, didn't blowing themselves
and you know, have those old miss moments. But Blake
knows that it's going to continue to get better. So
I'm excited about it. Still have things they've got to
figure out, still have to figure out a couple of
different positions. I love adding Kyle Williams, Bo Davis, Bo
Diddley's my guy as well. Bo didn't want to do
college football anymore. Bo wanted to go to the NFL.
So Kyle Williams is somebody I've got the utmost respect for.
I think he's one of the best players I ever
played with right and I know his mindset. I know
what he said in front of the team when he
was a player. He was like a coach on the field.
I love bringing in Kyle Williams. And you heard Blake
Baker talk about that as well, So UH enjoyed that.
Always enjoy catching up with Blake, and I definitely did.
He had just had I think it was either labram
or rotator surgery, because all linebackers from the early two
thousands have had it at some point, and I just man,
I gave him one of the good.
Speaker 5: Old like what's up, coach? Oh Man, I felt awful.
I felt awful. I was that guy.
Speaker 8: Yeah, he was probably like like.
Speaker 5: He was, he was trying to like, yeah, yeah, if
you had to punch me, i'd understood.
Speaker 8: I do love that he said that. Uh and Jack
kind of compete over who's Yeah, yes.
Speaker 5: The West too, Yeah, yeah, that that is amazing.
Speaker 3: You can't have a team full of them. You can't
have eleven of them out there, but man, I need
three or four, Yeah, I need three or four. Hit
your limits, You've hit your psycho wipe.
Speaker 2: You may have hit your limit with the coaching staff
as well. You're talking about Blake Baker. Like guys, Kyle
Williams is the epitome of that. Like anybody to watch
Kyle in the NFL, Like, that's Kyle to a t.
Speaker 3: I'm not kidding in I had to go against Kyle
in high school, like he's been that Yeah as always when.
Speaker 2: He was he was a senior when you got there, ring, No.
Speaker 5: He's a junior.
Speaker 3: You played two years together here, Yeah, because yeah, yeah,
because he was a senior sophomore when he was at
RUST and I was out of Bangel.
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right.
Speaker 3: We'll step away. Coach Matt McCall serious XM field of
sixty eight. We'll join us to talk about n CUAA tournament.
We'll have that for you when we come back. It
is OTB one O four five ESPN Batterage.
Speaker 1: Off the bench, back from the break where the sports
talk gets real, kind of off the bench and with
the Hester and t Bob.
Speaker 3: All right, welcome back to you in OTV one of
four to five ESPN Baton. Rouge's going to catch up
with coach Matt McCall talk about NCAA tournament here in
his second It is not his fault. It is Chris Childers,
the Show Pony's fault, because he's on with full ride
on Sirius xm over on our channel eighty four. And
I should have known the Show Pony was going to
go long, maybe even new Heisel did. But we'll get
coach Matt McCall on here with us coming up. Until then,
like we can take a look at the brackets over
there on the wall, even though coach is coming in
and I'm sitting here and I'm looking at mine right now, and.
Speaker 5: Gosh, it's doing well.
Speaker 3: But just seeing the Florida Gator logo next to my
name just does not feel right. But our next guest
is going to enjoy that because not only was he
an assistant coach for Florida, he's Florida through and through.
He's the head coach U T Chattanooga U Mass as well.
I've got too many Gators in my life, and this
man's one of them. Coach Matt McCall, what's up, brother, tester?
Speaker 7: Don't forget son of a Florida Gator linebacker, the greatest,
the greatest linebacker in the history of the University of
Florida's program. Not Brandon Spikes, not not any of these guys.
Spikes to me all all right, Number thirty eight, Wayne
McCall after the defense nineteen sixty seven. So, Hester, man,
what's going on? I know we're here to talk some moves.
And it seems like the last time I've talked to you,
we had like eighteen other coaching changes, eighteen other coaches
get hired. So what's the word, man?
Speaker 5: I mean, how different is that?
Speaker 3: I mean, you've been through this, You've been a head
coach in multiple places, and you're right, it's like, hey,
this job's open, this job's closed. I mean, Xavier is
a job that you and I talked in linked on Monday.
Now Richard Patino takes that job, and we weren't quite
sure were actually I think we were talking Villanova when
we brought his name up. But now he goes to
Xavier and he's going to go against Pops twice a year, Like,
how about that move for them?
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's a great move. In fact, I was just
on with Childers and New hisl and they were asking
me about it, and you know, isn't an upgrade for
for Richard? And it one hundred percent is an upgrade.
It's funny story. And I'm not trying to bash New
Mexico's program by any means. But I talked to Richard
right after the Mountain West tournament, and two days after
they had lost, he was walking around Las Vegas and
I said, what are you doing? He said, our Southwest
flight was canceled. He's like, we're gonna wait on another
one to come come take us home. Are we flying commercially?
He ain't flying commercial as Xavier. I can promise you
that he's not flying commercial to games, He's not flying
commercial recruiting. Yeah, so really happy for him. You know,
when when you lose your job, he gets let go
at Minnesota It puts a lot of things in perspective
for you, and you know, you can become a better coach,
you can become a better leader, and that's he's evident
of that with the job that he did at New Mexico.
So for him to be able to get a Big
East opportunity, happy for him. I think it's a great
hire for Xavier, and I think it's a great move
for Richard. And like you said, we're gonna get Patino
on Patino hopefully more than twice next year, maybe even
in the Big East Tournament.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great point. Possibly could get it three
to now.
Speaker 3: Coach, you were on the bench there for the Florida
Gators winning national championships and so you know SEC basketball
to be played at a high level. But I mean
what's going on right now is just ludicrous. Fourteen teams
make the tournament seven in the suite sixteen, Like, how
do you compare maybe when you were coaching in the SEC,
because it was really good at the time. I mean
LSU made a Final four run in two thousand and six.
I mean it wasn't just Florida, you know that. I
mean it was highly competitive. How do you compare that
to now.
Speaker 7: Well, look you just said it. I mean I was
fortunate enough to be a part of three final fours
in two thousand and six. You know, US and LSU
were both there. In twenty fourteen, US and Kentucky were
both there, So you know, getting two teams from the
SEC into both of those final fours. But when you
look at the league from top to bottom, I think
back in the two thousand and six, two thousand arrow
of the twenty fourteen era. At that time, you know,
you look at the bottom of the league, and the
bottom of the league wasn't great. So where you were saying, okay,
this is almost a guaranteed win, This is almost a
guaranteed win. Like Auburn. Back in the day, it was
like the jungle. Wasn't the jungle? I promise you that.
I mean, you go in there. There was nobody in
those seats. And now you've got what I think was
a good LSU team this year. I had him early
on in the season, Matt McMahon and you know Lamont
Parris is South Carolina. Those are the only two teams
that didn't make the NCAA tournament. Well, had this not
been such a historic year. Maybe those teams would have
had an even better year because both of them had
some talent on those rosters. That's just how good this
this league is. To have sevent teams seven get to
the sweet sixteen. I mean, that is that obviously. I mean,
do the map amost have the field right now left?
So it's really remarkable. I think, you know, we were
joking around radio yesterday. If this final four ends up
being at least three SEC teams, someone needs to get
Greg Sank one of those team chairs and just let
him sit there on the court and feed them grapes
and bring them wine and put a crown on his
head and just let him wave to the crowd because
this is exactly what he wanted and he got it.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I think between if that happens, baseball always being where
it's at, gymnastics being where it's at, football certainly always
being where it's at. I mean we could go softball
being where it's at. Yeah, I think that would just
be something you just go ahead and do because you're right, like,
if you get three of the four, that is exactly
what he visioned back in twenty fourteen when he said
you have to make changes real quick.
Speaker 5: I know you know Matt McMahon a.
Speaker 3: Little bit there, and LSU is a place that wants
to be good at basketball, and the fans want to
be good at basketball, and certainly Kim maulkey and the
women's side of things, they've done exactly that. They've won
national championship. They're in the sweet sixteen again. You had LSU,
as you mentioned earlier in the year. Do you think
it is something that can happen. Can LSU be the
Missouri of this year that you went winless in the
SEC the year before the Mazoo makes a tournament?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think it's. Look, when the clock hit zero
for Matt McMahon and his staff, it's it's you know,
this is not time to head to the beach and
drink a corona. This is this is time to get
to work. And with over a thousand kids, think about that,
Hester there's a thousand kids in the transfer portal right now.
They need to attack it, and they need to attack
it the right way, and not just get talented guys
in there, but get some guys in there that fit
his personality, get some guys in there that are about
the things that he's about, and guys that he can coach.
You know, go back to your days at you know,
Murray State and look at your rosters and look at
the years that you had the best. You know, obviously
John Morant was a terrific player. Campaign was a terrific
player for those guys at Murray State. But there's also
some hot character guys there too, and that that may
be something that he and his staff need to look
at of. Hey, look, we're not just going to accumulate
talent here. Who can Matt McMahon coach. Who does he
do a great job coaching? And let's go find those guys.
Let's go find him. Make sure we've got a healthy
nil budget, but let's go find him. It can be
flipped in one year. I mean, Dusty may Is two
games removed or two games from a Final four, and
Michigan program last year was the shambles when he took
it over, that's the bottom line. And now all of
a sudden he brings in the right guys, he gets
a little bit of retention, he brings this big man
with them, black Golden and they got a chance to
get to a Final four. So it can be done.
I think it's just it's self evaluation. And now that
the portal's open, it's like, who can this guy coach?
That is your job as an assistant coach, not to
just bring him talented players. Who can he coach who
reflects his personality as a coach. Go find out, guys,
and Matt McMahon. Look, he's a good coach. He's proven it.
He hasn't forgotten how to coach because he's had a
couple bad years at LSU. He knows how to coach
the game of basketball. It's just about surrounding him with
the right players coaching.
Speaker 5: Matt McCall rub against the clock.
Speaker 3: I blame the show pony and coach ring new Heizel
for taking too much of his time. But we appreciate
your time, coach. Are we on later today.
Speaker 5: On eighty four?
Speaker 7: I believe so? Oh we're gonna talk even more.
Speaker 3: Absolutely looking forward to that, coach. I appreciate your time
as always, and I catch up with you here.
Speaker 5: In a couple hours.
Speaker 4: Alkie bros All, Right, there he is.
Speaker 3: Matt McCall does a great job for NBC Field of
sixty eight. Sirius XM been a head coachy humas UT
Chattanooga and was an assistant there for the back to
back national championships at Florida. All right, we will step
away our number three. We're going to kick off a
little D one baseball. Kendall Rogers talking LSU off the
bench