Speaker 1: Good morning.
Speaker 2: It's nine am here on Friday, June thirteenth. Today and bedverage.
You can expect rainy skies if they at eighty six
and that we're three of today's show. Jam Pittel have
won three sports tops on at nine am, then Peter
Burns at ninet thirty. If you missed hours one or
two of the show, you can catch it in the
on demand section at one of four five ESPN dot com.
You can also follow us on Twitter or Instagram at
a TV underscore ESPN and watch us on YouTube at
the one of four to five ESPN channel. Our number
three of Off the Bench live from the Mercedes Benze
Bedrouge Studios starts now.
Speaker 3: I'll start Toyota Presents Off the Bench with Jacob Hester
and Matt Flack Am.
Speaker 4: Sday Hester and Hester.
Speaker 3: From carrying each other's and Natty to carrying each other
on the air. Yeah, there's live from the Mercedes Benz
Baton Rouge Studio. It's Off the Bench.
Speaker 5: All right, welcome back in our number three o t
B here on this Friday morning. Let's keep these weekend
vibes going very excited as always to catch up with
our next guest JD. Pkel joins us, of course, the
host of the Hard count there on on three.
Speaker 1: JD. Always a pleasure, sir, hope you're doing well.
Speaker 6: I'm doing a phenomenal Happy Friday. What a lineup too,
I mean I'm batting right in between Big Mike and
Peter Burns. Are you joking like, what a what a launch?
Bad boys with y'all?
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, definitely a downgrade once we go from
you to Peter though.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean that is is not my assessment to me.
I am honored you said that. I have honored you
said that.
Speaker 1: Uh JD.
Speaker 5: Somebody we were talking to here in studio right before
you hopped on. I gotta ask who is coordinate else
rival in the IVY League Because so I've done a
lot of different shows and me and Dallan cuff Dow shows.
Speaker 1: He was a guy that played basketball for Columbia.
Speaker 5: I've had great teammates that have played in the IVY League,
and there's always like that one team that every IVY
League school just does not like.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, I mean we're kind of the bad
boys of the IVY League. I'm not gonna lie to you.
You know, we don't like anybody. Nobody likes us, and
we love it that way. I think on on paper
we share a state with Columbia. So the Empire State
Bowl is what we played at the end of the
year when you battle for uh state of New York,
which is I mean it gets ugly.
Speaker 1: Boys.
Speaker 6: You think you think Auburn Alabama get ugly, this one
is there is. There's no love loss. We got stat
scores being thrashed, we got we got trust funds being
being talked about. But I will say this, anybody in
the conference, we all just kind of hate Harvard Yelle
Princeton because they're the most peakies up operation hole, you know,
like they have to throw their name around. We all know.
You get into school there the grade you want to curve,
and you can just ride that all the way to graduation.
We actually, we actually have academic integrity over at our school.
But I hope that answers your question.
Speaker 5: No, it's actually perfect and gosh, now we've got to
rethink a lot. So my oldest son is going to
be a sophomore. He is a large human being. He
is like almost six two two fifty. I think he's
got a real chance to play some college football. But
and my wife, his mom gets mad at me because
I'm like, ever since he was little, I've envisioned him
playing in a winged helmet, but not for Michigan, not
for Delaware, for Princeton.
Speaker 1: But you just you just made that.
Speaker 5: I mean, you just maybe changed my mind there with
the way you said the pinky yet, because look, I
can't have a tagline of too gritty to be pretty
and then have a pinky up son.
Speaker 6: That I'm I'm so glad you're saying that way. I'm
stu glad that you've already been fed Princeton in that
In that context, listen, you don't you don't want your
son to go to school and have a college experience
in Princeton, New Jersey. I mean, that's not nobody's nobody's
talking about their memories out. I mean also, I'll say this,
there's no Greek life, so they have eating clubs. You
don't want your son talking about eating clubs in the
college experience. You want, I'm talking about being upstate in
the orchards at a school with the dairy farm. That's
I think more sure than to britty to be pretty
mantra for you. So yeah, we'll talk off the year
we're gonna yeah together and we'll get okay.
Speaker 1: Thing happens look fair enough, fair enough.
Speaker 5: One of my favorite teammates ever played at Cornell, so
I can certainly get behind that eating club. I have
to text you about that. I don't know what in
the hell a eating club is, but I'll text you.
I'll get that information. Of course. JD want to have
you on Talk a little LSU Talk a little sec
but like before, I you know, throw any thoughts into
your brain. Don't want to cloud your judgment. Here your
initial thoughts on this twenty twenty five LSU football team.
Speaker 6: I love this LG football team in twenty twenty five.
And that's not just because I'm on y'all's wonderful program
right now. It is genuinely a thing to me. Where
last time we had to talk, Jacob, last time we
got to talk together on another show that you have roling.
I was just telling you, like, the longer we go
into the offseason, the more I'm looking at LSU and
I'm running out of reasons to not like them. And
I understand there's the offensive line that you know, you're
just kind of wait and see about a little bit
when you lose a Will Campbell, and I know there's
a little bit of a hey, how to the portal
pieces fit together? But like on paper and the off
season is played on paper. I fall more and more
in love with LSU every day. And I will say
this too, because we get a lot of pushback on
our show around Brian Kelly, and I can't imagine the
same for y'all. I can't imagine anyone in the right
mind is saying a negative board about that van. But
if they are, if they are seeing if it's maybe
a reason to not be successful in twenty twenty five,
I go back and look at the course of his
career and it's like, one, really the National Championship is
really freaking hard. They only give out one a year
to one of one hundred and thirty plus teams throughout
what thirty six now, So that's the first part. The
other part is he's coached over twenty years and one
north of seventy percent of his games. Does it feel
like he's the problem? If that's the beture? For so,
I love LSJU, I love the roster of nuts, I
love all that.
Speaker 5: I think the difference this year is going to be
like actually having depth, because like Lshu's had top line talent,
we could go with Jayden Daniels with elite neighbors and
Brian Thomas junior, like we could give you top end
talent Will Campbell like you just mentioned. But the problem
I think has been you're so paper thin in some
of these positions, Like one injury really caught like even
last year, like you have a guard Dellinger go down
in the A and M game and it was like
doomsday for you, Like at a place like LSU, like
you got to be able to have another guard that
can go in there and it's not something that's like
a blaring just deficiency for you. So I think what
they've added in the portal has created some great competition
as well, because even those portal pieces now on the
offensive line, they're not guaranteed to start. Because the players
that were brought in through high school recruiting, they knew
they had to kind of raise their level of play,
and then they played like this you know, air quote
bomb squad that they had to put against Baylor in
a bowl game, played really well against a pretty good
Baylor team. And so I think just having more bodies
that you can count on is going to help LSU
this year.
Speaker 6: Even just the awareness to exactly what you just said,
go through a season realize, hey, what we had in
place wasn't good enough. So it felt like to me, Jacob,
that they were a team that decided to not just
participate in the portal, but actually go like win in
the portal. You know, we all have those classes where
it's like you get credit for speaking, you know, when
you raise your hand, it's like, oh, you answer a question.
Speaker 4: Good for him.
Speaker 6: Like they went from doing that to now actually like
making study guide, passing tests and doing more than passing tests,
doing the extra credit. And so now they got a
top two portal class according to our metrics at on
three And I think that's going to be a massive
part of this. One more thing I'll add to Garrett
Nusmeyer being in a situation now to where just mentally
knowing what he's walking into when he walks into a
semi sort of playoff situation in the month of November
early October, like when he goes and play against Alabama,
even when it was at home, you know, and that
was his first time having to deal with that kind
of pressure. And that's not to say that it got
too or didn't get to him, but now he knows
that feels like I think it's only gonna lead to
a better performance from him on the field.
Speaker 5: This does feel like the year of the quarterback in
the SEC. So certainly Garrett Nessmeyer is right there at
the top of that conversation. But you look at DJ Lagway,
you look at Lenora Sellars, you look at everybody that's
coming back, I mean, the unknown of Arch Manning. But
you got Diego Pave you could throw into that conversation.
Who might get the headlines Matier coming over from Wazoo
and what he did in his career going to Oklahoma. Like,
from top to bottom, this is one of the best
years I can remember in the SEC. And what's funny
about the JD is the teams with the questions are
like Alabama and Georgia.
Speaker 6: Yeah yeah, And you said Texas like the best rosters
have sort of this unknown at quarterback, which to me,
I think he was across college football even like you
said SEC, and you're absolutely correct, and we're looking to it.
Ohio State, look at that Oregon, I mean, Penn State
has the most proven thing at quarterback, and we're still
not sure if they can beat a team with the
logo of any substance. So I think going back to
the SEC what you just said that to me makes
this extremely intriguing, like you mentioned, but also I think
it just continues to favor LSU because they are the
best combination right now in my mind of what you
just said top to your roster plus approven commodity at quarterback,
and then the opportunity across the SCC of like we
don't know exactly what we're getting from Understocks and exactly
what we're getting from March Channing, and so all that
to me builds into this idea of I think LSU
will be playing in Atlanta for an SEC championship on
conference title weekend. I really do.
Speaker 5: Yeah, one of those quarterbacks that you were mentioning across
the country, LSU's going to face in week number one.
Speaker 1: K Klubnick.
Speaker 5: I mean last year certainly took a lot, I mean
just continue to take big strides, I mean leaps from
what he was the year before, and it was probably
a little bit unfair of the expectation that he had
thrown on him when he was a young football player.
But I mean last year really showed what he could be,
what we all thought he was going to be. And
you talk about marquee matchups up on the blinking lights
right there, LSU Clemson their version of Death Valley primetime.
It is going to be. I know, Texas and Ohio
State is going to get like get all the conversation
game days there. But if you're giving me a game,
and not just because you know I'm gonna you know,
be there calling the game whatever, you give me a
game that I would watch from start to finish in
Week number one, how can it not be that game
between those teams and those two quarterbacks.
Speaker 6: Oh, I mean in terms of impact, like that might
be the one when it comes to fan base vibes
that will be the most impactful. Because I mean if
Brian Kelly loses a Week one game again and he
you know, put a pretty solid fist to that table
in Vegas last week last year, I could say in
Week one he made Bills Mafia this whole thing to
get it. I mean it may be top row onto
the table, crack that thing, and I mean I'd be
here for the content that would provide. But no, I
mean also too, if you're if you're Clemson, like exactly
what we're saying with LSU as to how much they have,
you know, via the portal and the roster and the
quarterback Like it may not be so much through the portal,
but Clemson has the best for turning production, the most
turning production in all of college football. Like, if there's
another team up there with LSU saying, hey, this is
our year, uh, it's absolutely Clemson. And I mean credit
Clemson too for the way that I think they have
kind of adjusted their approach as well. And that's not
saying that Dabo's gone gung ho in the portal or
that they're you know, throwing out the biggest bag in nil.
But the thing that we've all been asking of Clemson
for a while now, it feels like, is do you
have guys on the outside that can actually separate and
strike a little bit of uneasiness into the heart of
a secondary And for the longest time that was missing
and that was what made old Clemson so good. Is
the Mike Williams, the Rtavius Scott that you go down
the line. Now you have granted their young but Bryant
westco TJ. Moore, you got the vet in Antonio Williams backs.
There's a lot more names for Clemson now where I
think they feel a lot better as to the formula
they can actually play with you making Kay club Nick
give him a lot of credit, I think nationally for
just his resilience, because I think we see a lot
of times quarterbacks play with a lot of expectations, they
play too early and then either their confidence gets bruised
or they develop bad habits or whatever it ends up being.
Kate Clubney didn't have all the success in the world
from the jump, but ended up being able to stay
the course, develop, you know, keep the maintaing the main thing.
And now looking at a season where I think a
lot of people will have him on you know, the
heights and watch list going into the year.
Speaker 7: JD.
Speaker 1: I do want to bounce real quick to the Big twelve.
Speaker 5: Last year Arizona State and what a great year in
camp Scattaboo. Love watching that guy play, obviously, I mean
somebody that you know. He won the meat Heead Player
of the Year award on my own show, and so
they're going to be without him. But the Big twelve
is very interesting to be because I think they're gonna
have some really good football teams and it's going to
be a battle to see who wins that league.
Speaker 1: But I was thinking about you the other day.
Speaker 7: Man.
Speaker 5: We had like three guests on my Serious x SIM show,
and they all were pointing to.
Speaker 1: Baylor being potentially this year's Arizona State.
Speaker 5: So I know, I know you've got something ready to
go and wax poetic about the Baylor Bears.
Speaker 6: Well, what I would say, who has the worst I
was to win the conference? Let's just let's just bet
them because that was a few a year ago. So
maybe maybe we cash in. Yeah, but no, Man, the Bears.
I think I think doing this job at a level
where we're talking about all the teams, which is such
a blessing in a blast like, has maybe soured some
of that relationship in Waco for myself and the fan base.
I want them to know I can't quit them. I
wish I could, I can't. I can't quit them, and
this year to bring back Swier robertson their top ten
and returning production. Dave A. Randa's is the stoic of
college football. Like, there's a lot to like there, and
so I think what you just said about Baylor kind
of being that that sneaky maybe a little bit lower
or under the radar kind of team. I just I
love the way that their schedule works together, which is
funny to say because you open with Auburn and Waco.
But we talk a lot on our show about teams
that get to, you know, kind of step under the
heavy bar early on in the season. I know y'all
both played ball, so you know, like whenever you're going
to max, a lot of these different strength stafts will
have you put something on your back before you squat
that you don't actually squat with, just like fire up
the service system and you know, kind of have you
feel what it what it's like to have that that
weight on your back before you go a little lighter
and squat it Like that's Baylor when they play Auburn early,
that's Bailey when they play SMU early. That's Baily when
they play ASU early. And so if you can get
out of that stretch with one loss and find yourself
in a spot or at least one big twelve loss,
I should say, and find yourself in a spot where
you know you gotta got to work into a compete
for big Bold championship. Unbelieving all right, like like that
song and Shrek Man, I'm.
Speaker 5: A believer, hey, and that's all you gotta have. It
is a little belief, just a little bit of faith there.
Speaker 1: So JD. Man, we truly do appreciate your time.
Speaker 5: Know how busy you are, so thanks for hopping on
with U and give us a couple of minutes down
here in Baton Rouge.
Speaker 6: Always a pleasure. I appreciate y'all. Hey, Matt, welcome Man.
You're doing a phenomenal job with the Blast. Talking to
you and excited to watch y'all just absolutely continue to
skyrocket us.
Speaker 5: Think I appreciate that. JD Man all as well. We'll
catch up again with you soon.
Speaker 6: You'll have a great one.
Speaker 1: JD didn't know Man's on vacation.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but you know, what does that mean?
Speaker 1: Me and Matt sound alike?
Speaker 4: Not really?
Speaker 1: Not do all white guys sound alike? Is that what
he just said?
Speaker 4: I mean a little discrimination?
Speaker 1: I felt like or do you feel bad he thought
Matt was here?
Speaker 2: Maybe he's just like that doesn't have much to say ever, So.
Speaker 5: Now now to be fair, to be fair, we had
an interview last week where it was a seventeen minute
interview and Matt asked one question.
Speaker 1: Okay, so maybe he thought that's what was going on there.
Speaker 7: I will take JD Bkel as one of those guys
that does his research, so he probably did watch that
and was like, oh, yeah, this guy's he holds his tongue.
So it's like one of those moments where he's like, oh,
good talking Matt, knowing he to say that word, you know.
Speaker 4: Good talking.
Speaker 1: Oh Flynn, such a slappy I.
Speaker 7: Still haven't worked with him yet. That's the crazy part
I saw. I was like kind of hyped up to them.
Speaker 2: But it would have been better if JD was like,
all right, j t Bob, see you later.
Speaker 5: Now he knows my boy T Bob would have got
a question let me talk that long.
Speaker 2: I run our YouTube channel obviously, and I've been, you know,
replying to a couple of people asking where T Bob is.
This one guy goes, what's happened to T Bob? I
listen every single day where'd he go? And I'm like,
in the nicest way possible, be like, my guy, he's
been going three weeks, so you don't.
Speaker 1: Listen listen every single day.
Speaker 2: It's been three weeks now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but but.
Speaker 5: Our boys content is starting to get out on barstool,
starting to get there, starting to get that workflow.
Speaker 7: So you know it's about time because I complain the
tailor every day. I'd be like, dude, I know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. I'm like, hold up, where's our boy?
I'm like, why's it not on? I'm like, what's going
on here?
Speaker 5: I knew, I like, I knew the situation, but I
was like, hey, barstool, use this guy literally right, he
is going to be well you are again URSA.
Speaker 1: He's a star, but he's going to be even more
of a star there.
Speaker 5: So glad to see our boy is getting his run
and he is going to take over very very soon.
Speaker 1: All Right, we will step away.
Speaker 5: We've got part time Peter Burns joining us in about
thirteen minutes from now.
Speaker 1: More OTB when we come back here. One O four
five ESPN betrooms.
Speaker 3: Off the bench.
Speaker 5: Very good to Central Plumbing dot org. Central Plumbing dot
Org is the website. Two two five nine two five
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Speaker 4: We is out from we is out. We call it that. Yeah,
we is out. We is out. We is out, we
is out.
Speaker 2: We is out is out.
Speaker 3: You won't from the locker room to the airwaves. Gets
off the bench with Jacob Hester and Matt fun.
Speaker 1: Well, really, I.
Speaker 5: Was trying to explain this to EJ ej Man and
my co host on off campus. He was like, Okay, well,
like I'm from He's from Virginia. It's like I'm from Virginia,
like we do consider that the South. I'm like, yeah,
I think a lot of people consider Virginia the South,
like maybe technically, yes, it is, you know, you know,
and which are talking about it? And he's like, you know,
and then I went to Florida State. That's the southeast.
He's like, you went to l s U. That's that's
the southeast. I'm like, I said, I don't know. He's like,
what do you mean. It's like, we're Louisiana. He's like, yeah, no, no, no, no,
Louisiana South. I was like, no, no, no, like we're Louisiana.
Speaker 1: He's like, what do you mean. It's like, well, I mean.
Speaker 4: If you know, you know, it's kind of like that,
if you know, you know.
Speaker 5: It's like the South is Alabama and Mississippi and like
and you still, you know, people like the Southeast. I
think of like Georgia and Florida, and I think of
the Carolina's ye, both South. I was like, Louisiana's like, right,
we're Louisiana.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Like I was like, look, if you don't know
what I'm saying, then we're not ever going to get there.
Speaker 7: But I was like kind of our own thing really though,
I mean, where else could you go in the world.
Speaker 5: I just think it's so like the state from top
to bottom. There's so many different versions of Louisiana. It's
just Louisiana.
Speaker 7: Well, like I was saying, like where else could you
go in the world. You can go to the gas station,
get you a hot plate, and get you some liquor,
all in the same. Like it don't got to be
It can be ten o'clock at night. You know, some
places the liquor still close at a certain time, so
you can't even go get something. You can go to
the gas station and get your plate of food, some liquor,
lotto tickets, whatever, like that's on Louisiana shirt.
Speaker 2: Just understand, Like Louisiana is a vibe, no offense. Virginia's
kind of laying yeah, oh what's cool about Virginia. About Virginia,
Virginia's not bad, not bad.
Speaker 4: I don't even know.
Speaker 2: It's not like Virginia Tech.
Speaker 4: They're not even good anymore.
Speaker 7: Like what, I couldn't tell you nothing about Virginia. I
might say something about me though, because I don't Other
than like the I know it's the d MB, you know,
the mv area.
Speaker 5: But ghoft South says Louisiana, Texas, and Florida are their
own places.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I can agree with that.
Speaker 5: Florida's got a little bit of like Louisiana as far
as like the panhandles different than Orlando. Orlando's different than Tampa.
Tampa is certainly different than the Miami area. So it's
got a lot of, you know, different types of people
in the same state as well, like different cultures and
different just things that they do within said cultures.
Speaker 7: So I'm not even behind that about to say especially
Texas too though, because Texas is driving through Texas that's
like one of the worst things you can do. It's
it's unbearable, unbearable, unbearable, man.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 5: Tristan Abert, I just moved to Virginia last year after
my whole life in Louisiana.
Speaker 1: Not a day goes by that I don't miss home.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Virginia just seems like it sucks, really though, Like, what
what do you go do out there?
Speaker 4: What's what's a popping city?
Speaker 2: Everybody's gonna say beaches, Virginia Beaches. I guarantee you suck.
Speaker 1: That's where he is from. Virginia Beach, Junia Beach.
Speaker 5: Like, okay, now you look, you look at who's come
out of that area though, Like sports wise.
Speaker 4: Michael Vick Virginia, Virginia is a great.
Speaker 5: Percy Harvin, I mean Harven dogs that spot. EJ and
Percy played AAU basketball thing together growing really, yeah.
Speaker 2: See why did EJ And and Percy Harvin leave the
state to go to college? Because I couldn't wait to
leave Virginia, guys.
Speaker 5: Pretty good, pretty good argument for you. I mean EJ
was like an inch from coming to l s U. Really,
I mean, so EJ would have been the quarterback on
the eleven team.
Speaker 7: Oh my goodness. I know that's funny you say that
because I was watching them.
Speaker 5: He was like, like, so, Jimbo got the job at
Florida State and that's why he brought him.
Speaker 1: And yeah, but I mean he was a heir from
going to l s U.
Speaker 7: That would have been beautiful because go watch that, you know,
the Alabama game, the seven zero game, well seven whatever,
the greatest game of the century. Jordan Jefferson was Yeah,
Jordan Jefferson was terrible and the other guy Lee was
got off with. So I'm like, bro, this is quarterback
play a decade ago. This is dude, Jefferson stunk. And
then I think Lee threw a pick on the first
player or something. They benched him immediately immediately, and I
was like, yeah, this, this is this is hard to watch.
And Asian McCarron wasn't nothing special either, but he was
just making the right place. So it was like, quarterback
play a decade ago is way different than.
Speaker 1: It and look at it. What it's that right now
in the sec.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you have thriving quarterback play. All right, TATA is
the time now for the NFL Story of the Day Day.
Speaker 3: It's time for tata's NFL Story of the Day day,
your daily dose of NFL news from Taylor Sharp.
Speaker 2: We got two quick ones here, and we'll start with
the fun one, the one that doesn't make me mad.
Derrick Henry might be in the next Adam Sandler movie
if he rushes for two thousand yards. So, Derrick Henry
was on the Dan Patrick Show back on Tuesday, and
Patrick told Henry, because and Patrick and Adam Sandler are
good friends, that he would get Derrick Henry in an
Adam Sandler movie if he ran for two thousand yards
again this season, and Just two days after that, Adam
Sandler made a video sending it to Derrick Henry and
he said, two thousand yards this year not only gets
you in a movie, but we'll have a nice dinner
together and talk trash about Dan Patrick. So it's it's
kind of a little fun thing they're doing there, a
little extra incentive because apparently Derrick Henry was saying that
he is a big fan of the Adam Sandler movie.
So Derrick Henry may be putting his acting chops to
use if he rushes for two k again this year.
That's the fun one. Okay, not so fun one is
Shamar Stewart. So Shamar Stewart, for those who don't know,
drafted out of Texas A and m all on potential
because he did well next to nothing this year in
college football. He has not signed his rookie contract yet.
He has left mandatory mini camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.
And it's not because the Bengals are low balling him,
because I originally was like, okay, they're notorious for doing this,
but he was set to get eighteen point four million
base on where he was drafted.
Speaker 4: That's what he was going to get.
Speaker 2: But the Bengals were trying to put language in the
contract essentially saying that they would be allowed to avoid
any guaranteed money if he were to get in trouble,
get suspended for any reason, or be cut by the team,
they would void any of the future guaranteed money. And
Chamar Stewart has completely walked away from the table. And
there is rumors now that according to the CBA, which
was modified recently, Stewart could actually re enter the NFL
Draft in twenty twenty six. So if he is not
signed by November eleventh with any team, he could sit
out the remainder of the year and actually re enter
the draft in twenty six. I don't think we'll see
that happen. I mean, that's obviously I can't remember that
ever happening before. But look, I don't know how much
leverage Stewart has here. He wasn't super productive at A
and M. I imagine that's why they wanted to add
that clause in case he was cut. He left the
Senior Bowl early. If you remember, you probably remember that
you were down there are now he's left the mandatory
mini camp. I understand you want the contract a certain way,
but I don't. I think this is a bad look
for him. I think this is a bad look for
the Bengals. I mean there's just a lot to unpack here.
Speaker 5: Yeah, what are we doing here? I mean we now
have slotted money. Yeah, and he's in the draft like
we have. Hey, this is what this pick got last year.
Here's what he's going to get this year. And there's
certain ways we do contracts so we don't have to
deal with this anymore. Remember we used to have holdouts
all the time. Well in the training camp. Nobody does
that anymore. So like the Bengals, they got to stop
doing stupid stuff, Like the Bengals have to run their
organization like they have a generational star at quarterback yep,
and stop bawling on a budget like you spend the
money on receivers, but like Trey Hendrickson's just chilling.
Speaker 2: I'm using the Chamal I'm moving on from Shamal or Stewart.
I'm using them money on Trey Hendrickson.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I mean I think that relationships cool. I think
it's already damn it.
Speaker 4: I don't. I don't think he will play there again.
Speaker 5: So so you would get a compick if you don't
sign him, you.
Speaker 2: Would that's my next question. Well, since I'm thinking treated
like the Bengals didn't have a first round pick this year,
just give him two next year like something like that.
But I mentioned Stewart could be drafted again in twenty
twenty six, but according to the CBA, any team can
draft him except for the Cincinnati Bengals, so they're not
allowed to redraft the player, even though they wouldn't anyways
because that relationship would be completely for actioned. But yeah,
he could actually re enter. So it's November eleventh is
the last day to sign. If he doesn't, he could
sit out the whole year, re enter.
Speaker 1: The Bengals keep on being the Bengals. It's just man.
Speaker 7: So I was watching the Pat mcavie show and he
had Adam Adam Shefter on there talking about it, and
he's like, dude, it would it should take three minutes
to sign your rookie, Like it's that's how easy to
see show. He set up like it's in there for
you to have this money already ready to go, and
he's like they're sitting there trying to like you said
put this clause in there, but you didn't do that.
To nobody else. So it's like he doesn't want to
be the guinea pig in the situation and set that
president that Okay, well I'm going to be the test
dummy on this new whatever. So that's what Adam Scheff
was saying.
Speaker 2: I know he doesn't want it in his clause. I
get that. I don't know what you think about shim
Ar Stewart. To me, there's a reason the Bengals shows
to do it to him. I mean, just outside looking in.
I don't know the situation, but.
Speaker 7: Bengals are being being I mean, I just I mean, yeah.
Chefter was like, dude, it should take three minutes.
Speaker 1: There's no reason, there's not there's not is slotted.
Speaker 5: Give them what everybody else got in those slots around him.
You got to guarantee some money. Get over it, do
the deal. You have two pass rushers right now that
are sitting at home and not at your camp, and
you just paid these receivers because you're going for it now.
If you're going for it now, that doesn't mean you
have step into it. That means you fully jump into it.
Stop being the Bengals, go go figure it out. It's
super easy, all right, Peter Burns SEC Network joins us
live boosting the ground from Omaha, Nebraska. When we come
back here on O TV, off the Bench, are go
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Speaker 3: Tigers turn Talkers. This is off the bench.
Speaker 5: All right, Welcome back A and O TV here on
a Friday morning, gonna go to the phone lines. Now,
we got our boy, Peebe Peter burn boots on the
ground there in Omaha, Nebraska.
Speaker 1: Peb, what's up, sir?
Speaker 6: Did you just hit me with some mystical this morning?
Like like I'm in a good spot, like I'm a
little hungover from last night. I'm here in mystical at
nine point thirty. I'm I'm ready, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 5: Uh yeah, I mean today, Jordan, our producer, has done
a great job all Louisiana. Basically today everything's about Louisiana
and LSU. We're trying to say good vibes there to
you in Omaha.
Speaker 6: We're gonna need it. It is. It's a weird vibe
because we got out here. Normally, we get out here
first day, so we always have an SEC team to cover.
And now like this whole side of the bracket doesn't
have any SEC squad. It's the fewest amount of SEC
squads that we've had here since I think twenty sixteen,
back when coastth Carolina win. So the vibes are a
little bit different so far. But let's be honest with you,
unless you still went in the jello shot challenge, so
we at least got the good vibes that are going
on at Rockers, right.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah.
Speaker 5: The surest bet I think in Omaha is that LSU
is going to drink the most Jello shots and UCLA
is going to drink the least amount of yellow shots.
Speaker 6: I mean that was that was like this, does Flynn
still have the same energy on a Friday as we
have it on Monday? Like these these are things that
we're all trying to figure out. Here is the show
to roll off?
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, peebe? How about this? Right?
Speaker 5: So Flynn takes over for t Bob, he does seven
straight days. Was feeling himself after doing seven straight days
and then he's in uh Turks and k Ghost there
for the last three days.
Speaker 6: I don't blame them. I don't blame them honestly at
that point, like that's why I do three days of
radio a week. I'm just like, man if I had
to put up a test for five straight days, probably
need back. Like this is what's impressive is that was
part of his contract. When I'm doing the morning show
with you, that Gordy and the guys who are like, yeah,
you're right, let's go ahead. And that's that's that'll work.
You know, so seven days on it's like the guys
that work off shore, we're off front of Homo. It's
like seven days on, you know, two weeks off in person,
ko works well, load load load advantaging. Be I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that is such a Flinn thing.
Speaker 5: Like we set the line and we had we asked
like everybody that came on. I think it was Joe
Sloan that that came over, like, hey, what's what's Flynn's
the line? Like, if you're a Vegas setting the line
for every week, how many days he's going to make it?
Speaker 1: He set it it three and a half. And that
feels like the perfect number.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean three enough hook is a good number.
I don't you know. I feel like at that point though,
like he can't put money on it because then he
would go to him actually place the money on four,
like the over, just because the odds are in his
favorite he'd be there. But man, it's it's fun. This
is this is my favorite week. I we we broke
it down with Todd Walker yesterday. David ULITCHI will be
out here Tomorrow's batteries. The counselman that's right. You know
we'll be out here breaking it down. But I mean,
right for this jump man Lsu Arkansas good versus good.
I had d Van Horn on yesterday, and I tell
you what, like, I definitely one thousand percent pool for Lsu.
But if Arkansas wins his whole thing, it ain't gonna
kill me because to his day Van Horne man like
that guy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've heard that a lot last week.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, like he told a story about how
he was he was trying to get Todd Walker to
commit when he was a Texarkana juco coach and he's like, man,
I was trying. I was trying to I was like
I had Todd Walker locked in, Like Todd Walker's coming
to text Arcana Baby, It's gonna be great. And then
skip Bertman's like you want to come, Melishee, and Todd's like, yeah, yeah,
it worked out well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, worn't that well for Todd. Todd. Todd did okay
for himself there.
Speaker 5: And you know, there's only two SEC teams and so
it is different than past years and they're playing each other.
But but it is going to be a heavyweight pay
per view. Mike Tyson in nineteen eighty seven title bout
like it is going to be like two of the
best fan bases, I think, the two best fan bases
in college baseball in Omaha rooting against each other. So
it might only be too teams pbe they might be
playing each other. But whatever the peak of an opening
round game in Omaha can be, that's what you're going
to see tomorrow night.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Saturday night, right. I mean, the weather's supposed to
be great. I mean LSU fans have already shown up
here in throws. I've seen a lot of razorback fans
as well too. And the importance ester of winning game one. Right.
Out of the last forty three champions, thirty nine of
them won their game one. And actually every time the
LSU's won it all seven times if they won a title,
they won their first game. So the importance of you
know Cade versus you know zach Rude is incredible. Now
you know me and you know me and me and Todverert.
The last night we're talking about, you know, the lineup
and how Jay's been changed up the lineup, which you
know again he said, Hey, these guys aren't major leaguers.
They don't they aren't just set to one place in
the lineup. We can move them around depending on how
we do it. But we started getting like listening they'd
be like nine drinks. Then last night we're like, wait
a minute. If you're looking at the entire bracket and
you assume U c l A odd jar that they'll
they'll take out Murray State tomorrow like they beat him,
and U c l A has a ton of lefties,
and so do you saved kid and throw him in
the second one and then you throw ianson to absolutely
crushed Arkansas lineup that last time. And Todd looks at
me and he goes, yeah, we need to stop drinking.
So yeah, that might be a bridge too far.
Speaker 5: Uh So we had we had Mikey Matak here for
an hour with us today PB and we were talking
about some of the you know, different scenarios and different
things and kind of the same conversation. He's just like, look,
you don't ever think this deal. It's omahall, it's game one.
You go out there and you just get it done.
But like, honestly, no matter how like LSU format, if
it was Ironson today and they had Anderson or Anderson
and then Ironson Nobody is set up in this tournament.
This isn't just purple and gold glasses between you and I.
Nobody in this tournament is set up better for a
game two on the mound than LSU, regardless if it's
in the winner's bracket or losers bracket.
Speaker 6: Yeah, because there's a one A, one B. Yeah right,
I mean this is not you know, in twenty three,
it was Schemes was your guy, and then you threw
everybody at else and to good starters as well, and
a good bullpen, but it was more of you had
your one workhorse.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 6: Now it's like, all right, well you got that. And
then the way that Evans pitched and he shoved last
time with a nine straight strikeout, I mean you're like,
all right, well we've got that set up as well.
I'll be honest with you. Cooper Williams, the freshman, Yeah,
I mean him doing that and that was such a
high leverage spot. I couldn't believe how well he pitched
because I got worried of that game. It's four two
the vibes, which is dead in the box. And when
he got you, when he came out there just painting
the play, I mean he was just putting. He was
spotting at everything he wanted to. That got the crowd
back into it, and then LSU got bats, got into it,
and then they were off for the races.
Speaker 5: What's the weather like there in omahall PBu, It's terrible
here in Baton Rouge. And we know if we had
a region or super regional that this thing wouldn't get
started until probably ten pm.
Speaker 1: What's the weather like there in Omaha?
Speaker 6: I mean hot and alcoholics as a basically because LSU
was in town. Actually, what's funny is they were telling
me that they had been really crappy weather all year long.
It had been like, I mean, just nasty, rainy, and
this was the first sunny week that they've had. And
this thing, man, and I think you've done it before.
And you know, so many of the people listening have
made the trek up here. If you haven't, it's as
good of a bucket list item because it's probably the
last really really pure sporting event that I think that's
out there. You know. Okayc is good for women's College
Wow series as well too, but man, this event. This
ballpark's downtown, The bars are downtown, the restaurants are great.
Everybody's been a good food and and in Nebraska basically
at Omaha has adopted LSU because it's the success over
the last four decades.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we were talking about that all throughout the week.
It's not like college football. It's not like the Final
Four where it rotates. And I get, you know why
it does that. I understand the dollars and cents of it.
But to have one spot, and you mentioned Oklahoma City
and softball and baseball, it's Omaha. To have like that
one spot that you know, this is what we're working towards.
We're working towards Omaha, and you can envision it. You
can see yourself in that stadium. We just we don't
have anything like that. And it does remind me. I
was saying this earlier, like about like high school football
in Louisiana, it was all about getting to the Superdome,
get to the Superdome. You broke it down on super Dome,
you know, in July, and that's kind of what Omaha has,
and we just don't have that anymore. So it's just
a completely different feel. Like you and I have covered games,
like I covered a National championship game between Georgia and
TCU and La not a swinging soul knew we were
there to cover that game. When you drive up or
pull up to Omaha, you know exactly why you're there.
Speaker 6: Oh, I'm getting my rental car, you know, here at
the airport and they're like, who's your team? And I asked,
I asked the guy who's the team. He's like, man,
LSU And I like, okay, Like, are you from there?
He goes, Nope, he goes, I just I just love
it because like everybody has made this like a destination.
He's like, every time I get here, he goes, I
love fans like, He's like, we see all different dans, famis.
He's like, I don't like Texas fan base. He's like
they're not cool. He's like Pack twelve scenes like they
were never really kind of cool to us. He's like,
LSU fans like aston as they show up, you know
who they are, and they're like the nicest people. And
I'm like, well, you haven't been to a Tiger. You
never been to a seat of that death valley where
in the other tweek's color set. But uh, it's it's
gonna be good man And again we were breaking down
all kit called yesterday and their fans have been great too.
In that lineup, is I mean they did all that
work in regionals in super regions A Lloyd or Lloyd
Brothers didn't even play well, right, Like that's the scary
part right now. This Davalon kid at the top of
the lineup is, I mean, this kid is unbelievable.
Speaker 5: Predictions on maybe how it goes, you can, like, you
can give them an LSU Arkansas. I know you like
working for the network, So if you want to leave
that one off, that's fine, But like maybe day one
between all the games. Coastal, Arizona, Oregon State, Louisville, you
see LA Murray State, how do you see that plan out?
Speaker 1: PB?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean I like, I like Coastal. It's not
just the twenty three twenty four game win streak. It
just they do everything really well and it doesn't and
the like and just watching them and practice yesterday, I mean,
like there's certain people you can tell that like they're
taking it in like Wow, this is awesome. Like Coastal
work like a team that's like, yeah, this is game
seventy five of a one hundred and sixty two game series.
You know, like just the way that they've carried themselves.
I like, I like Coastal on that side of the
bracket and on and honestly, and I know it's going
to be a cop out that I was like, I
like Coastal versus the winner of Saturday Night from LSU
in Arkansas. I mean, it's that simple because you get
such a leg up if you when you win that
first game in Omaha. And you know this is basically
like the Spider Man meme of Arkansas at LSU pointing
at each other right now, now.
Speaker 1: I agree with you wholeheartedly.
Speaker 5: There, man, it is going to be again just must
watch TV, just a heavyweight title.
Speaker 1: But I can't wait to watch it.
Speaker 5: Pebe on the way out, like Derek Dooley used to
tell us, they will brew more beer in Omaha.
Speaker 1: You don't have to consume it all in one night.
Speaker 6: We're gonna try and listen. I think would have been
in good shape. Have we just stuck the beer. We'll
just put it that way, we just stuck the beer,
would be in good shape. Now I'll rally for our
show at ten pm tonight, so I'll be I'll be.
Speaker 1: Okay, Phebe, you're the man, we appreciate you joining us.
Speaker 5: Man enjoy the trip, and if LSU makes it to
the Championship Series, Sir, I will try to find my
way to be there with you.
Speaker 6: Uh, we'll find, we'll find, we'll find that Splints private
jet and will make sure we do the show up there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's not too far off what I'm thinking.
Speaker 6: So we'll splin some of that Seattle Seahawks Trust Fund month.
Speaker 5: I'm all right, p be appreciate it good, all right,
Peter Burns boots on the ground sec nowhere. Colleague gets
serious XM enjoying Omaha as Peter Burns always does. All right,
we will take our last break up the week, finish
it up like we always do. Getting to your ask
the mench questions right here on one O four five ESPN.
Speaker 1: Bett Roose top the bench.
Speaker 5: So we got bad weather here right now right, I
mean just dark skies rain, So we got some bad
weather coming.
Speaker 1: Can you imagine?
Speaker 5: Can you imagine if you were getting ready to watch
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oh man, my whole home generator has kicked on.
Speaker 1: Games on.
Speaker 5: We're good, got lights, air conditioner, the snacks are good,
the beer is good. But if you don't, you're gonna
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Speaker 4: Ready ready check this out.
Speaker 7: Talk that stuff now, roll talk that stuff. No, roll
talk that stuff now, roll talk that stuff now.
Speaker 3: From players to legends, Hester and Flynn breakdown L s
U Football like only champions can.
Speaker 5: I do find it hilarious that JD. Piquel Thalt Flynn
was here the whole time.
Speaker 1: Still you can't.
Speaker 7: You just gotta give him the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes,
you know, you gotta hit him with the thanks for talking, Matt,
you know, thanks for chiming.
Speaker 5: Like he's an Ivy leaguer. He's smarter than all of us,
so maybe he just outplayed us all. Uh, ask the bench,
did we spend enough time enjoying Tennessee going down?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 2: I don't really think about Tennessee that much. Like, yeah,
I'd spend enough time.
Speaker 1: Best airline snack food. Oh those little cookies on cookies.
Those things and coffee are easily they are elite.
Speaker 5: Uh. Long road trip, first stop to get gas? What's
the go to snack and drink? I'm gonna go coffee
for sure. With the drink maybe energy drink, depending on
what it's like snack. That thing changes versatile with my
snacks and a beef jerkey and go candy.
Speaker 1: You know a lot of different trail mix. Some flower
seeds always good.
Speaker 4: Doctor pepper King says Nicker.
Speaker 5: You have the worst eating habits, ask the bench. Have
you seen the new Mission Impossible movie? No? But I
really really really want to. I just I got you know,
I got five kids. It's not easy to get to
the movie theater. Favorite city to visit more than once.
That would be San Diego, California. My favorite city outside
of Louisiana.
Speaker 1: I love Nashville.
Speaker 4: Denver.
Speaker 1: Denver's great too.
Speaker 7: Denver felt like there was in twenty twenty seven. I
just felt futuristic out there as the bench. Best website
to look up baseball card value. Hey, we got some baseball.
Speaker 5: Card football card news coming here from this show pretty soon.
Me and Flynn working on something. When he gets back
next week, we'll tell you more about it. We'll be
back next week. Go Tigers, go beat the hell out
of the Hawks.
Speaker 3: Off the bench.
Speaker 5: Please do not have me doing wu pig Suie in
Atlanta for SEC media days.
Speaker 1: Please don't do.
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Speaker 1: When you drop that, it's gonna take away.
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