Speaker 1: I'll start to it.
Speaker 2: You want to present some off the bench.
Speaker 3: Say is what we have been waiting for.
Speaker 4: The hype is over.
Speaker 2: Off the bench. Now here's Jacob Hester.
Speaker 1: Yo and welcome in to OTB one oh four five ESPN,
Baton Rouge eleven thirty am, the Tiger up in the
Port City ninety four to seven, ESPN. And Alexandria, Jake,
Alandra and Cassie here with you on this Thursday morning.
Good news is Thursday, got here quick. Some more good
news we can start the weekend vibes if we want
to here on the show. Some more good news is
we get a long weekend. Some bad news is Alandra
is gonna be stuck with Tata all week next week.
Speaker 5: This is ruined my weekend.
Speaker 3: I did. We were talking before the show and we
were kind of trying.
Speaker 1: To hype each other up, like, dude, this week's going
by fast, everything's going great, and I was like, yeah,
but you got Taylor by yourself next weekend, and joy
next week all week, even the weekend all week.
Speaker 3: At least get Cassie one day.
Speaker 5: Then one day I get Cassie. I'll be here Tuesday, yes, Wednesday.
Thank God for.
Speaker 3: That, Wednesday and Thursday.
Speaker 1: It is going to be take On, Take On, take
I'll be back Friday to Friday.
Speaker 3: I'll be back Friday, thank god.
Speaker 5: Yes, so it's only Wednesday and Thursday.
Speaker 3: Just Wednesday and Thursday. Oh that's true.
Speaker 1: See see not too bad, getting better like a weekend though,
it is getting better.
Speaker 3: Yeah, two days a week, it's getting better.
Speaker 1: Friday, I'll be back. I don't know now Flynn's not
going to be here. I mean because he starts like
officially official on that Monday.
Speaker 3: But I do think he's coming back tomorrow.
Speaker 1: Okay, so tomorrow's show has kind of turned into a
QB show. Aaron Murray, Colt McCoy, Flynn. We'll see if
we can add one or two more quarterbacks. I was
supposed to actually catch up with Tyler Schuck last night. Yeah,
he was like still in meetings like late, and he's like, hey,
I'm so sorry. Hit me with the sir, It's fine.
I'm a man, I'm forty. And I was like, okay, well,
look let's push. Like I remember being a rookie and
you're swimming in it, you're trying to stay at the facility,
and I was starting fullback you're probably starting quarterback a
little bit different there. So eventually we're gonna have Tyler.
Shuck was talking with him yesterday. You know, maybe maybe
he can add himself to the quarterback show. I don't know,
but today's show. Also, we've got a lot going on.
Connor o Gara Saturday down South, who he did pick
LSU to win a national championship.
Speaker 3: He's joining us at seven thirty.
Speaker 1: We've got LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloane joining us at eight.
We've got head baseball coach Jay Johnson at eight thirty.
We've got Munchie still with chef Michael Johnson. So we
have a ton to get to. But before we get there, like,
how is everybody going? You know, Thursday, Taylor in the
Future kind of put a little Taylor a little bit
of weight on, you know, a laundry butt. Finding out
it's only two days, Like, yeah, it feels like we're
back in good spirits.
Speaker 6: Yeah, and I am ready for the long weekend. I
don't know if Hanny's gonna make me come up here
on Monday. I help him with the handy cast?
Speaker 3: Is that so? Is that just Hanny?
Speaker 5: Is Hanny? Dan Cannavery and Doug Thompson.
Speaker 3: Oh, I hadn't thought about cano in a long time.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so it's it's a hoot, a real fun time.
Speaker 3: It's like something they would say on that podcast. I
know it's.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Somebody told me that I answer the phone like a
forty year old man the other day.
Speaker 5: So it's fine. All I say is hello. I don't
know what is wrong with that.
Speaker 1: But hmmm, I'm trying to think now, because I have
talked to you on the phone before. Yeah, whenever I'm
just away and I call in, sometimes I can tell oh,
Elana's not having a good day. You don't hide it
very well. I can tell you that, man. But I
don't think it's like a year old. And what's wrong
with answering the phone like ty year old?
Speaker 5: Nothing's wrong with that.
Speaker 3: Okay, you said it like it was a bad thing.
Speaker 5: No, I'm just not that, all right. I'm just not
forty or a man.
Speaker 3: That's true, true on both accounts.
Speaker 1: Cassie, all good, doing well house, waking up back to
back mornings.
Speaker 7: Yesterday, I was doing good, but this this morning was
a little rough to wake up.
Speaker 5: She's here tomorrow too. I am here tomorrow. I snoozed
my alarm once many times this morning.
Speaker 3: What time do we set the alarm if we're doing OTV?
Speaker 7: I said it for five forty five because I only
live like in the morning with no traffic, it's only
like ten fifteen minutes. Yeah, so I'll usually leave like
five point fifty you're rolling out, Yeah, quite literally. I
leave myself just enough time to wake up, get dress,
brush my teeth, and leave.
Speaker 1: Like you've probably got like the closed toothbrush is the toothpaste.
Speaker 7: On the tooth rush ready, But like I I sleep
as long as possible.
Speaker 1: It's fair, that's fair. I do like this time of
the year when nobody's in school. Yeah, I mean it
takes me fourteen minutes because you get from my house
all the way here, when normally it's like it could
be like twenty eight thirty minutes. Yeah, I mean we're
talking about double the time. So I do appreciate I
can hit snooze.
Speaker 3: At least once.
Speaker 6: I feel like maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but I
feel like kids go to school way earlier than I
used to.
Speaker 5: Like, what time do your kids get to school?
Speaker 1: Seven twenty five, seven thirty. I feel like we were eight.
We start till eight when I was Yeah, yeah, okay,
we were eight to three. Yeah, because like the as
I got older, it was eight to two forty five.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, they have to be there. They start at
seven forty.
Speaker 7: We started at like seven fifty seven forty really, I
think it.
Speaker 6: Was like eight, and then when we got to high school.
Speaker 3: It was nine oh nine. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Doing in Texas, chilling must be nice. So, uh, nobody's
going to be surprised by this. But the first class
that we had when I was in high school was football.
Speaker 3: I feel like, so.
Speaker 6: If you were in football, wouldn't that always be here
or I don't know.
Speaker 1: Well, my son, I think he's actually like seventh hour
like whatever that last like whatever whatever the last hour is,
which I think it's seventh hour. Yeah, Like they do
that like workout, then they go straight into practice. We
were we had workout any any running, any speed drills,
like as soon as we got there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so like we we had to be on time.
Speaker 1: But I think you said, like it wasn't eight o'clock,
but we had to be there like at seven forty.
Speaker 6: We had like a quote unquote optional workout in the
mornings that we had to go to during the.
Speaker 1: Off seas optional which was not really almost like summer
workouts here were optional with Maffitt. Yeah, just like OTA's
were optional in the NFL. Yeah, it's nothing optional about it.
It's like it's optional and they can't technically find you
in the NFL, but like they'll find a way to
get some from you if you don't show up. So, Cassie,
you you told me you actually called Hunt out.
Speaker 6: I did.
Speaker 3: I'm not paying up on his steak dinner. She did
it on air. It was great. She sent it to me.
It was awesome.
Speaker 5: Wait do you have the video? I do have it?
Speaker 3: Oh do you have ready to play? Yeah?
Speaker 7: Let me Oh my gosh, I do you see this?
Let me unmed it and let me change this too.
Speaker 1: And Hunt didn't say like where it can be anywhere? Yeah,
there's there was no price. There's no like, hey, we're
going to like Texas Roadhouse, which is nothing wrong with
Texas Roadhouse.
Speaker 3: Fantastic.
Speaker 1: I mean I will I'll go there as well, Hunt,
but no no price limit. Here's Cassie making sure that
Hunt actually pays up on his bets.
Speaker 7: Uh. Well no, one second she does the wrong the monitors. Okay,
got it. TV and according to Jacob Pesters, you own
him and steak in it.
Speaker 4: I will take that, I absolutely do. I can't believe
he's still referencing this. I mean a wonderful wager. It
was a great play, It was bold, it was ambitious,
It was the right line.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, to be on. But it did lose.
Speaker 4: I thought that Les Miles would never win a Big
twelve game as long as he was the.
Speaker 3: Head coach at Kansas.
Speaker 4: I thought he would go over his entire career. And
he won one on a blocked field goal that got
fumbled in overtime.
Speaker 8: So wait, so wait, that was years ago.
Speaker 5: Yes it was you still holding my grudge?
Speaker 8: Okay, it's not a grudge. You you bet him and
you I al mistake. So why is it not happened yet?
Speaker 4: Hunt, I don't want to pay for the stake because
because I thought it was a good bet and I
deserved more. If he had won like nine, it would
be a blowout. The only one he won was a fluke.
The bet bet is a bat. Hunt, you lost the bet,
but I had a great bet.
Speaker 3: It was a great beat.
Speaker 8: Okay, yeah that we can all agree that it was
a good bat. Hint, But you lost. You you gotta
you gotta come correct.
Speaker 3: I don't think so. I think you do. It's pretty.
It's pretty. Yeah, well it's he I mean you are.
Speaker 4: It's not I phrased that wrong on the spot. It's
not that I mind paying for the steak, no matter
if that's garden variety or whatever, or or mad that
you lost that I lost the bet because it was
a great bet. Because it was a terrible higher. I
called it out at the time. They should have never
won a league game the whole time he was a
coach there, and they did on a fluke, and I'm
salty about it. So therefore I've renigged on the bet.
And it's a bad look.
Speaker 8: It is a bad look, and you could easily remedy
it by simply getting a steak.
Speaker 4: Maybe the moodle strike me. Now that we're neighbors, I
might be able to help.
Speaker 3: Your neighbors too. That's just it. That's all. That's pretty sad.
Hint show's about to How is it a good bet?
If you lost, like it's a good bet. It was
a good bet. No, you lost. You said they wouldn't
wind one, and they won one. I don't care if
they won two. To nothing.
Speaker 1: I don't care how it happened. Kansas beat Texas Tech.
They won the bet. He literally lives like one hundred
yards from me. Hunt, you can't like he kept saying,
good bet, A bet either wins or it loses. If
I have a seventeen parlay and six hit and one loses,
that's not a good bet. It's a bad bet because
it lost. And then he admitted that he didn't want
to pay for it. Then he felt cheap, and then
he tried to go back on it. We're talking about
five years and me trying to get this steak. Hunt's
coming on later to break down. Oh he is, well, yeah,
he's coming on at nine. I forgot to mention that
he's coming on at nine. Yeah, he's like, he likes
to bring it.
Speaker 3: Up on air. Yeah, I'm trying to shame you into
paying up.
Speaker 5: He deserves it. But this is so funny that he's like,
it's a good bet. I lost it.
Speaker 6: It's a good bet because he had to write up
I'm trying to find it. He had to write up
on Louisian Sports done yesterday that I saw that he
was like looking back at the bold predictions that he
did preseason, and one of them was that Gavin Gidrey
and Connor Ware were each gonna have like four saves or.
Speaker 5: Something like that. But then he gave himself a C
minus on that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I was like, they're both wrong.
Speaker 3: Neither one of them had a save.
Speaker 5: I'll give them right.
Speaker 6: I'll give him I maybe D minus because Gavin Gidrey
was injured so he couldn't.
Speaker 5: We wouldn't know either way.
Speaker 6: But that's just so funny that he's like, it's a
good bet and I'm gonna give myself a C minus.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Hunt, that's the same energy when you
say you had a good bet that lost. All right, Well,
he's actually he's going to SEC media days this year.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Oh, he's buying us stake.
Speaker 1: He's buying me a steak, and because how long it's taken,
he's buying Flynn a steak too.
Speaker 3: I think it's his team OTB.
Speaker 5: Now that's a tax.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, he's buying not only me, but buy one
as well.
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah, that's the interest on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we're gonna make him know the entire time
that he's buying Flint of steak, who's got way more
money than both of us and he's paying for it.
Speaker 3: That's gonna be the kicker. All right.
Speaker 1: When we come back, Landre is going to update you
on what's going on in Hoover, Alabama, and we'll do
it right here on OTB.
Speaker 2: Off the bench, all right.
Speaker 1: Go to Boudros Electrical dot com Budros Electrical dot com.
If you've been wanting to find out more information about
getting a whole home generator, or you've already made up
your mind you know that you want one for a
storm season and when it happens, or you know that
the last thing that you want is for when your
power goes out, for you to be in South Louisiana
in this heat without power, right and Budros can take
care of that because as soon as that power goes out,
your whole home generator is gonna kick on and you're
not even gonna know what is going on around you
because you were going to feel like it is a
normal day for you. That is the peace of mind
that you get with Boudro's Electrical. So if you're on
the North Shore you want to find out more information,
that number is nine eight five three, nine seven one
five six two Here in the greater Baton Rouge Area
two two five three zero zero nine three eight nine.
Get that quote today Boudos Electrical dot Com more power,
more protection.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to off the bench. That's right, big.
Speaker 3: Pimp and spinning cheese. Talk to them, bumpy timp, chick
a man. You know why tug them ubble double people
out on trust?
Speaker 6: All right?
Speaker 3: Welcome back?
Speaker 1: Yeah, otb here on a Thursday morning one oh four
five ESPN Baton Rouge And now we are going to
get an update from Hoover, film Alabama.
Speaker 3: What has been going on? Who's winning? Who lost?
Speaker 1: Remember, no more double elimination, only a single elimination. We've
had some weather, but maybe not as much as we
normally have in Hoover, Alabama. Elandra Howe did it play
out yesterday?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 6: So, if you remember, on Monday, the Texas A and
M and Mississippi State game got delayed to the next day,
So they played yesterday morning and Texas A and M
slamming the door on Mississippi State nine to zero.
Speaker 3: Hey, I did not see that one. Come. Yeah, I
thought Mississippi.
Speaker 5: State would have some fight.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they won five in a row.
Speaker 1: They you know, were plus thirty one hundred to win
the SEC tournament, like that would kind of be like
a state thing to do, like to get hot, interim coach,
maybe go make a run, and then Texas A and
M is like, who are you?
Speaker 8: Who are you?
Speaker 6: I would be surprised, honestly, would not be surprised if
they like make a run in this tournament and sneak
their way into the.
Speaker 5: Postseason because as of now, I don't think.
Speaker 3: They deserve it.
Speaker 1: Wins right, like they're two away from from what we've
always said, get.
Speaker 6: To thirteen, but highlighted by a jas Loobylett grand slam
in the second inning. So they got up six to
zero in the second inning and Ryan Prager uh did
a great job holding Mississippi State to zero runs, and
so did their closers.
Speaker 5: But they play Auburn to tomorrow.
Speaker 6: Yeah tomorrow, So no, no, no, today, my best today,
this last night.
Speaker 1: In my mind, I'm like no, no, no, Thursday day.
Speaker 3: Yeah tomorrow and then LS she plays the Winter Yes.
Speaker 6: Yes with you yes, So they play Auburn tonight. So
the Tigers have a chance to avenge a series lost
either way because they lost the series to Texas A
and M got swept by Auburn.
Speaker 5: I know same, especially if they say.
Speaker 3: I hope oh glasses wearing it. I don't know what
it was, but I'm like, hold up, wait a.
Speaker 6: Minute, because they swept us and it's your somebody who
you had on your team is out here dealing. Then
Tennessee versus Alabama fifteen to ten, Tennessee winning that game.
Speaker 5: They had twenty hits and took four Ever, yeah, I
mean twenty hits. That game is gonna take a minute.
Speaker 6: So they'll face Texas next, which is I forgot if
that's today or Battle for UT Battle for U T Yeah,
And then OU versus Georgia three to two. Oh you
getting the win there, and they used Kyson Witherspoon. He
pitched a gym yesterday. He season high seven and two thirds.
They'll face Vandy next, which should be a really good
game because Vandy and Oklahoma just flying under the radar.
Speaker 5: They really are like seed in the tournament.
Speaker 1: But like nobody everybody's talking about Arkansas. You know, l
s U is certainly getting some love other teams that
are like get a double by Yeah, nobody talks about Vandy.
Speaker 6: Yeah, but that should be a good game because they're
in terms of like stats and where they are in
the rankings, they're pretty similar in the SEC.
Speaker 5: And then Ole Miss versus Florida.
Speaker 6: I watched some of that last night, but I fell
asleep because it was a late one. Ole Miss ends
up getting win three to one. Ace Hunter Elliott was dealing.
The one run that he gave up was unearned, and
from what I watched, he was doing a great job.
Speaker 1: So Florida was a team that I thought maybe would
make a run. Yees, because not that I think Mississippi
State or Florida were the best teams in the SEC,
but they were playing well.
Speaker 3: They still had something to play for.
Speaker 1: Like Mississippi State in the latest D one projection was
a three seed, Well they want to They don't want
to be a three seed, right. That means you're facing
off against two really good teams, like you want to
be at least a two seed. You're not going to host,
but you want to improve it. In for Florida the
same thing, like you want to just continue to improve
the resume there. So those those teams going out in
the in their first game, it did certainly surprise me.
But shout out to Oklahoma. I mean, they've kind of
played this thing. Well, now they've got a couple of victories.
They were on a three line in the latest projection there.
Certainly I think now they've done enough to be a two.
I don't think there'll be a three anymore.
Speaker 5: For uh for regional Yeah yeah.
Speaker 6: Oklahoma you mean yeah, yeah, I mean, I mean Oklahom
had a good season.
Speaker 5: So I kind of agree with you.
Speaker 6: But it's just so hard to tell sometimes with the
committee and what they're thinking, because you never really I
don't know. Sometimes I think I haven't figured out, and
I never do. But so today we'll have Florida versus
Ole Miss or just kidding that happened last night.
Speaker 5: Why isn't this updated?
Speaker 3: It was three to one Old Miss, right.
Speaker 6: Yeah, So I don't know who they'll play next, but
I can look at that real quick.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're gonna have Jay Johnson join us at eight
point thirty and gonna preview LSU, And you know, obviously
still waiting around to see who they're going to play,
but maybe hopefully I'll keep trying to get how they're
going to play it out.
Speaker 6: Yeah, at a Jake so Ole Miss will face Arkansas.
I forgot they were the other team with a double buye. Yeah,
and then Tennessee Texas, Oklahoma, Andy Ole Miss Arkansas, and
then we play whoever wins versus Texas, A and M and.
Speaker 3: All Arkansas is still the answer.
Speaker 1: Like so on off campus on my afternoon show, we
have a lot of D one baseball people, ESPN baseball people,
and I kind of always throw them the question, all right,
now that we know where we're at and we're in
conference tournaments, like who's your favorite?
Speaker 3: Like who do you think can go make a run.
Speaker 1: It's a tough question because we have so much baseball,
but it's been unanimous Arkansas. Yeah, unanimous, like I've had
I've asked seven people probably that cover baseball every single
day and they just love Arkansas. Yeah, say most complete
team team that they can see, you know, finally winning
a championship. And I'm like, they're good, They're really good.
But it's crazy how quickly that answer comes out.
Speaker 6: It is because well we talked about it, like you
said there before LSU faced Arkansas, That's what we talked about.
Speaker 5: They're the most complete team, but LSU b Arkansas.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's just like I said, it has been
like unanimous, not Arkansas and it's quick too as well,
So we'll see if the Razorbacks are able to win
in the SEC tournament. Very excited to find out who
LSU is going to play because a great point by
a Landra.
Speaker 3: Either way, they are going.
Speaker 1: To be able to have the opportunity to get revenge
on A and M, who took two of three from them,
And of course Auburn was the only sweep that LSU
went through this year. And then for Texas, A and M,
we were kind of joking, but not joking, like we
don't know who you are. They started off number one
team in the country and then it was just bad.
It was bad from Jump Street right and then it
hit like, oh here they come, and it was like, okay,
well they figured it out. And then it hit like
another little roll and then they beat LSU two of three.
It's like, okay, well, this is who they're going to be.
They're gonna go sweep Missouri. Yeah, all right, they're going
to get to be fourteen wins.
Speaker 3: In the SEC.
Speaker 1: They'll make the postseason and look out. Then they get
swept by Missouri, the only wins that Missouri has and
now they beat Mississippi State nine to nothing. So like I, I,
can they make the postseason with eleven wins unless they
win the SEC.
Speaker 6: Turn, unless they go deeper and win the SEC tournament.
Speaker 5: I don't think so.
Speaker 1: I mean I had some people tell me yesterday if
if they made it to the weekend, they felt like
I was like, man, eleven's just that's crazy. And maybe
the math has changed a little bit because you go
from fourteen to sixteen, But I still don't know that
eleven wins deserves to get into the postseason.
Speaker 5: No, and they just had just a really bad season overall.
Speaker 6: Yeah, so I don't think so. But maybe this is
just my bias against the Aggies and I'm like, they
don't deserve it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, they really don't.
Speaker 3: You need yell leader Taitey in here to defend the Aggies.
Speaker 1: Real quick before we get to connor ogeire A Saturday
down South. Obviously, the SEC's the SEC, but the ACC
is probably the league outside of the SEC is going
to get the most teams in the NCAA Tournament. You
had a an upset cal yet again, remember they beat
Miami twelve to two a couple of days ago. Yesterday
they beat wake Forest fourteen to twelve. They are a
team that only won nine conference games, nine and twenty
one in the ACC, but yet again they are victorious
in the tournament. And it's just crazy how that plays out.
Clemson took care of va Tech, probably ending Virginia Tech season.
They were one of those teams that need to make
needed to make a deep run in the ACC tournament.
Duke takes care of Pitt, so pitt season is done.
And then Boston College, like CAL eleven and nineteen in
the ACC, but they beat a bubble team in Virginia,
So now Virginia's got to sweat this thing out. Boston
College and Cal still moving forward in the ACC tournament.
And I believe we're still gonna have like the early
games here that are going to start at the end
of the show, So we'll continue to update you on
some of those scores as they come in. But when
we come back again, we're gonna be joined by Connor
Ogera Saturday down South right here on No TV. Off
the Bench alright, go to pelicanroof dot com. Pelicanroof dot
com where you can see all the five star reviews.
Speaker 3: They've got the instant quote tool.
Speaker 1: You put in your address and it's gonna outline your
roof and give you a great idea of what it
is going to cost you.
Speaker 3: Just an incredible tool.
Speaker 1: But also remember financing zero interest fro up to twenty
one months for qualified applicants with Pelican Roof incredible deal.
There a couple things they've got going on here in
the month of May. Remember they are growing their Baton
Rouge team and looking to hire ten new sales reps
during the month of May. They are paying up to
ten thousand dollars signing bonus and applicants can apply at
pelicanroof dot com slash careers. Also, they're giving away a
free roof, so a free roof, completely free roof to
a mother in need. They are collecting nominations during the
month of May and will announce a winner on June
the second. To nominate people, you can go to Pelican
Roof slash contests and you can also check out their
pinned post on Facebook book cuckanroof dot com.
Speaker 2: This is off the bench, I'm holding on your room, SIMPI.
Speaker 1: Off ground all right, welcome back in OTB on one
O four five ESPN Baton Rouge. Always a pleasure to
catch up with our next guest, Connor O'Gara Saturday, down
South joins US.
Speaker 3: Now, Connor, what's going on, sir? How we doing this week?
Speaker 9: I'm doing well.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 9: I have a severe sports fomo last night after going
to bed when the Pacers and Nicks had about like
two forty left. And that's that's tough, like that that
fomo of waking up the next day and seeing what
I hold it that you've missed out on. Like if
I had to stayed up fifteen minutes, I could have
seen it. But yeah, pretty tough look for me to
wake up and see that.
Speaker 3: So you went to Indiana. Are you a Pacers fan?
Speaker 9: I am not, but my wife is, because my wife
is from Indianapolis. Just had my father in law in
town got to watch the other side of the Eastern
Conference finals last week, and we were watching we rewatched
the winning time documentary the thirty for thirty Reggie Miller
against the Knicks. We're rewatching that kind of getting the
spirit of the series. And I texted my father in law.
I've already been texting with them this morning about it,
and yeah, let's just say I have a lot of
interest in the Pacers, but as someone who grew up
in the stubbers of Chicago with the ninety bowld. I'm
more of a believer that Reggie flopped at every chance
that he could.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm I Look, I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I'm actually like a Knicks fan growing up, because the
Pelicans weren't here yet and the MAVs were kind of new,
and that was the closest team. So I just I
was like, hey, who's like the gritty team? And it
was like Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley, John Starks, Patrick Ewing.
Speaker 3: So I went with the Knicks.
Speaker 1: And so I watched last night's game all the way
to the finish of overtime.
Speaker 3: It was fun, it was great.
Speaker 9: That's that's tough. Look, but as a Knicks fan who
experienced the nineties, you get it. I mean, at this point,
even though it is a different era, like, you understand
the dynamics that come to play. Look, I wasn't allowed
to say that I hated anyone growing up, with the
exception of one person. I think I might have told
you this before, but just in case I haven't. The
only person that I was allowed to say I hated
growing up was John Starks. Oh really, that's the only
guy because you know, he had the big time dunk
on the left side coming down the baseline or whatever. Yeah,
but John Starks was just the guy yeah or whatever.
But like he was just a guy that could get
under your skin in such a unique way. And I'm
sure there are a ton of those people in college
football that there's just always been that one. Maybe for
a lot of Georgia fans this year, Carson Beck is
that guy, Lord knows. For Tennessee fans, Nicolava.
Speaker 3: Is that guy.
Speaker 9: Those are guys that are villains for different reasons, But
I feel like it's been a while since we've had
true villains in a way that a John Starks was,
at least for me as a kid.
Speaker 1: I was hmm, So I was maybe not allowed just
to keep my hate at one person. I hated the
entire nineteen nineties, certainly early nineties Philadelphia Phillies because me
being a Braves fan, so like Lenny Dykstra, Darren Dalton,
John Krug, Mitch Mitch Williams, oh my gosh, him for sure.
It's like especially Shilling was on those teams. I'm pretty
sure Mike Mordecai was on those teams, like all of them.
They could get all the hate.
Speaker 9: Lenny Dyster, though, is just such a Jacob Hester type
player though.
Speaker 3: I mean that's yeah, trying to steal people's money.
Speaker 9: But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, player not it's just a player,
not per I still have a baseball card of Lenny
Dykstra with just the fattest lips. Oh my gosh, I
mean that guy is he was. He was one of
one Nails all time great nickname, true gritty nickname. There
was a kid that I played high school football with
that got the nickname Nail, and I was so unbelievably
jealous of that, just for the Lenny Dykster association. Again,
Lenny Diyster, the player, not Lenny Dykers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what position did Nails on your team play?
Speaker 9: Every position that I played like? He was played strong safety,
He played uh, he played a little bit of full back,
which I know you would appreciate, but then played you know, yeah,
of course, and then played guard and basketball, played in
the outfield in baseball. He didn't catch those about the
only thing I did differently than him. But he was
objectively tougher than me and a much better comp for
the the Lenny Dykstra player Association than I was.
Speaker 1: Shout out to Nails. If you're listening somewhere, I'm sure
you're still you're jealous now of Connor and all the
big things he's doing in sports media.
Speaker 3: How about that Nails.
Speaker 9: I look James Pecoon, if he's listening someone out there,
good dude, good dude, Nails. Nails is just an all
time cool nickname. I would stick with that forever.
Speaker 1: So this was not like a self given nickname. And
I still don't know, like whatever, how I feel about it.
Our radio announcer in high school gave me the nickname
freight Train. I was playing running back, you know, just
kind of whatever, and they made T shirts and it
was like the Purdue boiler Maker logo, like bursting through
like freight train hester or whatever. And I still have
friends and they know, like I just like, what are
you doing? They still call me freight Like, so, do
you still call Nails Nails?
Speaker 9: I would, yeah, I would if I saw him Nails
to have that nickname. See that that's incredible because you
can step into a room and Freight's coming like that
every single time you walk into the cafeteria.
Speaker 3: Oh is that?
Speaker 9: Jacob Pettner and a freight is coming. He's got a
tray full of chicken nuggets and a paper cup of
chocolate milk. He's ready to roll that. Okay, now, I'm
more jealous of you than I am of Nails from
my high school.
Speaker 1: Well, I'll send you the poorly bait t shirts when
I get home later on today and I'll show you
what I was talking about. But shout out to Nails.
Glad he made it here on the show today.
Speaker 3: I want to.
Speaker 1: Ask you first SEC question because I do want to
get to the LSU stuff and LSU fans are going to,
I think, enjoy what you have to say. But so
our guy Aaron Murray. I don't know if you've heard
the clip yet. He went on our SEC show on
Sirius X and M and was talking about arch Manning
and basically, to sum it up, if he was as
good as we say he is, would he have sat
behind a seventh round draft choice in Quinn yours, which
I think is a little unfair to a lot of people.
I get kind of what Aaron was trying to say. Basically,
we've already crowned arch Manning even though he's only started
a handful of games. And we have some other quarterbacks
in the SEC that have done it for the totality
of a full or maybe even two full seasons. But
what do you think about what Aaron had to say
about arch Maning?
Speaker 9: Yeah, I texted Aaron this week to let him know
how much I disagreed with this sack.
Speaker 1: No, he's coming on tomorrow, So just talk to him
now exactly.
Speaker 9: I'll try and talk some sense into him. Look, I
get what he's saying, and I think that there is
definitely a desire to jump the gun with arch Yeah,
I understand kind of that dynamic of Look, if your
guy is supposed to be up and coming, then eventually
that talent is going to win out and a coaching
staff is going to see side by side, this dude
is better than the other.
Speaker 3: Grud Okay.
Speaker 9: I think we need to remember, though, that it's not
so much where they were at last year, it's where
were they at this season before, because arch Manning was
not the second string quarterback as a true freshman. He
was the third string quarterback because Malik Murphy beat him out.
And Malik Murphy came into spring and really had the
right approach, and so there was a lot more separation
between Arch and Ewers in twenty three than I think
we remember, and so coming into last year was all right.
Now Arch gets to be the backup. He's kind of
moving off the ranks. Quinn Ewers comes back as one
of the top five or top ten, depending on where
you look quarterbacks in all of college football, and nobody
at the time is saying this guy is a seventh
round pick. And he gets off to a great start.
I mean, let's go back to that Michigan game, what
he did against the defending champs in ann Arbor. I
know it didn't age unbelievably well because Michigan didn't have
this incredible season, but it was still a remarkable performance
in which he was so dialed in. And then he
obviously gets hurt and the season follows a different kind
of pathform where he's playing with a torn o bleak.
Still going in the NFL draft, nobody thought Quinnwers is
going to be a seventh round pick. And that's where
I would push.
Speaker 3: Back on this.
Speaker 9: We thought he'd be like a Day two type guy,
maybe in early Day three or something like that. But
that'd be the part that I would say that that's
kind of where the argument falls apart a little bit.
He had established more seniority and he had done more
in the Steve Starkusian offense to show, hey, this guy
is ready to go, and quinns is ready to play
now and not necessarily deal with some of those freshmen mistakes.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I actually think that Quinn's going to get
an opportunity in the NFL. And I actually think that
he has the qualities of a starting quarterback in the
NFL in the right situation. And so even though he's
a seventh round pick, I still wouldn't just write him off.
Speaker 3: So we'll see how that plays out.
Speaker 1: But if I ask you this question, because there's a
lot to choose from, if I was like, Hey, Connor,
your jobs on the line. You have to choose one
quarterback to lead your team into this one game scenario
next year. Out of SEC quarterbacks, who would you choose.
Speaker 9: I'm not just saying this because of the audience, but
I would still go with karen Na Smeyer, and I
have been saying that since he announced who's coming back
to school. I think there's definitely a part of me
that goes back to the drive that he had laid
against Olenists, wherein he showed so much resilience in that
moment to understand, Look, I have not had my best
day at the office. This has been a rough go
against one of the nation's best defenses. But I've got
a chance. And sometimes in this game, that's all you
can really ask for, and it's up to you to
kind of seize that moment. Now, obviously he didn't seize
that moment in the same sort of way against Texas
A and M, and he fell apart in those key
moments and that was a huge defining moment of LSU's season.
But do I think that by the end of the
season he figured out enough to be confident in his
abilities to understand that no matter how he's performing, he
can still put forth his best effort and lead you
on that game when you drive. Yes, I believe he
figured those all important things out and I think it's
going to pay huge dividends for LSU next season. So
while you could definitely go in a variety of other directions.
DJ Lagway, I love me some DJ Lagway of his
shoulders healthy. Lenora Steller's the try that he had laid
to be to be Clemson in in the other Death Valley.
I just think that there is still something about nuss
Meyer that just makes you go, Yeah, that guy can
just find a way and fourth down, I'm just going
to find a way to trust that guy, and I
think he's going to deliver in the clutch.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Connor, I want to get to some some LSU thoughts.
But what about John Matier coming from Wazoo to Oklahoma.
Speaker 3: It's a little bit of a mixed bag.
Speaker 1: I know a lot of people are excited to see
how it looks in the SEC. You come with your
offensive coordinator. John Matier did some really big things for Wazoo.
Oklahoma needs to be dynamic at quarterback. They were not
a year ago. Where are you at right now with
Job Matier?
Speaker 9: I am definitely lower than the consensus is because I'm
surprised that so many people are already assuming he's one
of the top five quarterbacks in the sport, not just
in the SEC. And to me, that's jumping the gun
a little bit for a guy who played against a
mostly Mountain West schedule. And You're right, I do think
it's a mixed bag. Like there are a lot of
different numbers that you could point to with him and go, well,
that's really good, but also that would that would terrify me.
Like he had thirteen turnover where he plays when he
was kept clean, that was tied for the third most
in FBS according to PFF. But at the same time,
it's like, well, he also had sixteen big time throws
when he was kept clean, and that's really really good.
So like, I think he's going to have a lot
more variance. You know, you look at some of the
downfield numbers where you know he threw more interceptions, he
had six of those than than anybody an FBS on
those on those types of throws. So there's certainly a
gunslinger mentality type element to his game. But I wonder
how that's gonna pair with Brent Vnables because last year
Brent Bennables did not tolerate mistakes Jackson Darnel at that
stage of the season, with the receivers that he had
banged up, with the offensive line that was new and
not up to the task, he did not perform well
enough to be able to keep that job. According to
Brent Fvnnables, is Jeo Matsier going to get that kind
of grace? Can he stomach too maybe three dud games
in a row. Is that variants going to be too
much for Brent Ventables, the defensive minded guy, to tolerate.
That's what I want to see play out. And I
know he's got his offensive coordinated with him at Ben Arbuckle,
and I know it's going to be an improved offensive line,
better pass catchers who will stay healthier. But I agree,
I think the variants could be all over the place.
I think there could be moments in which he looks
like an all in CD quarterback and then moments in
which you wonder if he's about to get benched.
Speaker 1: Catching up whether I got Connor o Garre Saturday down
south here on OTB. All right, Connor, you made a
statement last week and you were I think it was
me and EJ.
Speaker 3: Might have been me and Bobby.
Speaker 1: Either way, does not matter about how you feel about
this upcoming football season for the LSU Tigers. And I'm
not even going to try to steal your thunder. Just
tell our great audience here what you think the expectation
should be for LSU.
Speaker 9: I have LC winning a national championship, and it took
me a while because at that point I was not
at that point in January. I don't even think I
was at that point in April. If I'm being a
horn then honest. But the more and more I think
about the moves that have been made to this roster
from Brian Kelly and the staff that he's assembled and
all the pieces that are in place, I just think, Man,
this is the opportunity that's there for the taking four
LSU a team that I don't really believe was that
far away this past season, and despite the fact that
obviously they didn't end up making the College Football Playoff
when they seemingly had a wide open path to be
able to do so. But I think they make those
improvements this year. I think they have more of a
defensive identity in year two with Blake Baker. I think
the addition of Monsieur Delaine is going to be instrumental
in a secondary that just needs to show it's not
a doormat. Had six consecutive games to close the regular
season without allowing two hundred and fifty passing yards. I
think this is a defensive line that you're going to
have questions about. Can they have that post spring edition
that they got from South Florida. I'm blanking on his
name right now. If he's going to be the difference
maker to kind of be that run stuff er up front,
that's a massive question. But this offense should be one
of the top five offenses in college football. Nick Anderson
can stay healthy, the addition that he is going to
be for that team is going to be so important.
He's not a contested catch guy yet, but he is
a big play waiting to happen. He and barry On
Brown and then Aaron Anderson, who is the number three
receiver in the SEC as far as I'm concerned, maybe
one of the most underrated players in all college football.
That group is going to be special. So on top
of the fact you already know how I feel about
Garrett Nutsmeyer. An offensive line that has an interior that's
rebuilt via the portal, I just think this is elsu's time,
and I think that they are ready to finally capitalize
on this. They have this sense of urgency. There's no
better time than the president for Brian Kelly to get
it done.
Speaker 3: Yeah, very well said, and I agree.
Speaker 1: I mean the moves that they've made and what they've
done in the portal along with the high school recruiting
and the guys that have already been here. If not now,
then when certainly feels like the time for LSU. Connor,
you're the man, appreciate your time as always, sir, tell Nails.
We said what's up, and we'll catch up again with
you soon. Absolutely all right there he is, I mean,
and I do want to kind of point out for
we go to break like this isn't one of those
situations where you know Connor leans LSU like Connor covers
the entire sec I've been catching up with Connor for.
Speaker 3: I guess seven seven eight years.
Speaker 1: Now, and I've never heard him be that bullish on
an LSU team, no, no team, no team ever, like
in obviously twenty nineteen, Like there wasn't a lot of
people predicting that, but I've never heard him be as
bullish as he is on LSU. Certainly some high expectations
here in Baton Rouge for all the things LSU has done,
who they have coming back, and so it's going to
be exciting season. And we've got Joe Sloan LSU offensive
coordinator set to join us in about fifteen minutes from now.
He obviously can talk nus Meyer break down kind of
that receiver room, the offensive line. It's going to be
certainly completely different. But we saw in that bowl game
against Baylor those guys are ready to play as well.
All Right, more OTB when we come back here on
one of four to five ESPN, Baton Rouge off.
Speaker 2: The bench.
Speaker 3: Right, go to All Star Toyota Batonrouge dot com.
Speaker 1: All Star Toyota Batonrouge dot Com is the place to
go to if you're looking to buy new, if you're
looking to lease, or if you are looking to rent
a Toyota. Right now, you are probably out of school.
I think yesterday was the last day for a lot
of people, but some people still have.
Speaker 3: To go through. Friday.
Speaker 1: Does not matter because even if you've got your trip,
your vacation coming up on Saturday. On Sunday, it is
not too late to reserve that rental. Everything is available.
So if they offer it new, they're gonna offer it
in the leasing process. If they offer in the leasing process,
they're gonna offer it in the rental process. You don't
get that anywhere else. A lot of times, like if
you're renting a car, it's like, hey, we have one Sedan,
one SUV, maybe you get a truck, maybe you get
a van. Everything available over at All Stars, So look
at your calendar, find out when that trip is. Once
you do, call Miss Lisa's sessions in that rental department
to reserve it today All Star Toyota, Van Rouge dot Com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to off the Bench.
Speaker 3: You love me.
Speaker 2: On conditionally.
Speaker 1: Let's say you never leave me.
Speaker 3: No matter what.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, all right, Welcome back in OTB Thursday morning,
Little R and B Thursday.
Speaker 3: Here on OTB.
Speaker 1: Gonna catch up with LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan in
about ten minutes from now. I can't wait to dive
into what this offense is going to look like. And
Connor mentioned, like some of the transfers that LSU brought in,
they're not going to just easily walk into starting roles
on this LSU offense. Like I think Nick Anderson, Barrion
Brown great players, but they got to go earn the job.
Like we saw what Chris Hilton can be at the
end of the year, certainly in the Bowl game, and
that's why you want him fully healthy.
Speaker 3: Was not healthy last year.
Speaker 1: Certainly we saw in camp what it was going to
look like and his health is a concern, but Xavion Thomas,
like that's a player that's got some real juice to him.
So those players, Anderson Brown very excited about them coming
to campus, transferring in from Kentucky and Oklahoma, and I
think it's a great thing that they're going to have
to go out there. They're gonna have to earn those positions.
It's certainly not going to be given to them. Same
thing with Braylan Moore, Josh Thompson, who you get from
Virginia Tech in Northwestern on the offensive line, those players,
you know, DJ Chester is not just going to give
that job over Weston Davis, not just going to give
that job over Tyree Adams we saw in the bowl
game and some last year just not going to give
that job over. There's real competition. There was in spring football.
I fully expected to be all throughout training camp as well.
And that's what it should be like when you bring
players in like this and it's not out of necessity,
like you bring in good players, let the cream rise
to the top, and that that should be very exciting
for all LSU fans. The fact that they brought good
players out of the portal, that everybody wanted, like you
had to be very competitive to get these players. But
it doesn't mean that they're going to be day one starters.
Because you had some guys that raise their level of
play in spring football because of it.
Speaker 3: And really that bowl game and that bowl game prep.
Speaker 1: I think it's gonna be times that we go back
next year and we highlight what happened in the Texas
Bowl and it was a meaningless game against Bayle Like
what do you mean. I don't think it was meaningless
because you had your best players decide to not play
and you know, get ready for the NFL Draft.
Speaker 3: That happens all over the place.
Speaker 1: But what it did, it gave the offensive line like
all these new faces. Fifteen practices with Miles Fraser, Remember
he played in the game. He was like the mentor
for everybody throughout that couple of weeks of practice, and
I think we're gonna point back and say, okay, well,
like this was huge, Like this was a big step
forward in them becoming the guy they've been waiting their turn.
So certainly on offense. Now in defense, maybe it's a
little bit different. Like Pyburn from Florida, he's gonna have
a role in the team he comes in as a transfer.
But you heard Blake Baker say, like gab Brotherford's not
going to just give up those snaps, right, So it's
gonna be competitive there. Maybe if Patrick Payton is the
day one guy always going to be the guy. There's
a couple of guys, certainly in the defensive backfield that
Blake mentioned yesterday as well, DeMarcus Cooley somebody that I'm
very interested to see kind of where he lives. But like,
even with all these transfers coming in, and I think
more on offense and defense, but even defense, as you
lay it out and you kind of look at the
depth chart, it's not just guaranteed, Hey, you're coming into
the portal, you're going to start, which I think again
is a good thing. I think that's happened times before
where you count so heavily on somebody out of the
portal and maybe it doesn't work out, or maybe they
don't have that competition that's pushing them every single day.
I just don't think that's the case. Maybe in the
defensive back room that's where you're thin. So maybe like
defensive back's a little bit different. But when I start
looking at these edge defenders, when you start looking at
defensive tackle, when you start looking at receiver, when you
look on the offensive line, when you look at the
tight end. Room like it is going to be competition
throughout training camp, and we're gonna catch up with LSU's
offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to break it all down. How
did they finish spring, what's camp looking like moving forward?
What's Nussmayer looking like heading into this season? And we'll
do that right here on o T beat off the
bench right go to KTZ Blinds dot com, KZ Blinds
dot com, k to z in Tiars and Outdoor Living
been doing it since two thousand and four. That phone
number two two five seven nine to one one two
two zero. Now, I always encourage you to take a
look at the waite, see what they can do for you.
Check out their story, check out their team, check out
the area that they're going to be able to service,
and chances are they're going to be able to help
you out like Brandon Barton for me, has gone above
and beyond, like he's helped my father out. My dad
came over to my house, he saw the outdoor shade
that you always hear me talking about and the motorized screen,
push a button comes down.
Speaker 3: Well, my dad like loved it, like absolutely loved it. Well,
my dad, my dad lives in Shreveport, Okay.
Speaker 1: Brandon had a conference in Dallas, made a pit stop
to install one in my father's home. That's just who
he is. That's what katea z is. That's the kind
of service that you get. KTOZ Blinds dot com