Speaker 1: Let's all start to what you want to presents. Off
the bench with Jacob Hester and T Bob Abert. Yeah yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah, off the bench with Jacob Hester and C
Bob aber.
Speaker 2: I gotta come off the bitch.
Speaker 1: Now here's Jacob Hester and T Bob Abert.
Speaker 3: What is going on?
Speaker 2: Guys?
Speaker 3: Welcome in to a brand new oh TV.
Speaker 2: And it's Wednesday, February nineteen, twenty twenty five, man February,
rolling right along here and uh, the spring sports are
starting to kick up. I am loving show prepping, uh
for each day now and well look, due to just
the realities of this business, like we we have to
try to throw in some Elsie football, oh el shoes,
our Little Saints football as well any pretty much every show.
Speaker 3: It's uh, it's really cool. I think, Oh that was yours.
Speaker 4: Yeah all right, that's going to be some some surgery here.
Speaker 3: As already these.
Speaker 4: Mic cough drop contraptions, a little super blue and duct tape. Yeah,
we have these buttons up here on the actual stage
that we're supposed to there's no way that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all the I mean, all the wires were still
connected just the caseine fell apart.
Speaker 3: So it's a bit likely looks like it looks like an.
Speaker 2: Eighties like it looks like an eighties robot.
Speaker 3: It does work, though, but.
Speaker 4: Why don't these buttons that were put here to be
cough buttons?
Speaker 3: They don't work and in.
Speaker 4: Fact that we were told like they'll knock us completely
off air.
Speaker 2: This is this is an awesome studio. It really is,
and it's one of the main reasons why oh, six
seven years ago, however long it's been out to the
main reasons why I wanted to come over here and
start working here again. Was I knew that this was
in the plans. But interestingly, it seems in my opinion
to have been made right before the kind of technological
revolution of it becoming really democratized in terms of like, oh,
you can get like lights and cameras and get streaming
like relatively easy. Like this, this straddles the line between
old school TV and kind of new school streaming setup.
It's kind of like, I mean, what it reminds me
of is World War One, where you have a compla
that straddles the line between like old school you know,
gentlemanly lefts line up and shoots at one another, and
then like modern like oh wait, now we have massive
cannons and the most deadly weapon you could possibly imagine,
and everybody dies. I don't know if you everybody dies
in the studio, but you run into problems like this.
Speaker 4: Yea, yeah, I mean too week, like I've been in
this studio when that button that's supposed to be the
COLF button worked and now the huge boxes have been
here for years, for years, and speaking of years, today
it's t Bob and Eyes four year anniversary.
Speaker 3: Oh man, I completely forgot about that.
Speaker 2: Four years today, four years today, February nineteenth.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, twenty twenty one.
Speaker 2: That makes sense, that makes sense. Man.
Speaker 3: I was so happy when you joined. I mean I
still am happy.
Speaker 2: What I mean, though it was a then I got
to know you.
Speaker 3: It was no, it was it was just such a
rough patch.
Speaker 2: Not that look. I mean, I'm not like, you know,
solo shows are fine and it's all well good and
you can do them or whatever, but it just it
wasn't just that. There was like COVID I think right
after too. I think right after the all the Jordy
stuff went down, and then like I think I got
COVID until I was like doing the show from home.
It was just it was just a really dark time
professional It was the only time. And this is how
I know that I'm lucky. And then I liked my
job because it's the only time I ever experienced. There
was one day where I came in here and I
just didn't want to be here at all, did not
want to do the show in the slightest bit the
only time. And again, I know many of you listening
out there maybe like, oh, we'll shut up. I feel
like that, you know, two times a week, three every day, whatever.
But then again, that's why I'm very thankful. I know
I'm lucky, but it was it was a dark it
was a dark experience, and I remember I was very
excited when there was a potential that you could come
on and then you did, and uh, it's been awesome, man,
congrats on four years. Tell yeah, cheers, Yeah, cheers to
four years TMO TV and oh shoot.
Speaker 3: Knocked it down again.
Speaker 2: You're still in the air though, Yeah, I did a
fall apart. I didn't come unplugged, no, I do.
Speaker 4: I do remember those conversation and when Gordy came to me,
it's like, hey, would you be interested And at the
time I was doing sec this morning around Serious XM
every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. But still wanted to do it,
want to be here, and so made the call, made
the switch to the afternoon.
Speaker 3: Show on on Serious XM. And four years later, here
we are, look at us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and we've we've had some great producers along the way, certainly,
but none better than the two that we got right
now in Laundra and Taylor.
Speaker 4: So let's very happy to who was it when I
first Muso was Audio?
Speaker 2: Muso was here? Danny you missed? Did you miss Palmer? Yes, okay,
you miss Palmer? Uh so you missed?
Speaker 3: By Jess, you miss because.
Speaker 2: Palmer was a bit of a bridge.
Speaker 3: After Nathan, I learned a new producer every day, and.
Speaker 2: Then we had soon we had Moose Danny and Danny
was awesome forever. Danny really still responsible for the visual design,
the visual language of the show with all of his
wonderful eighties retro synthi vibes that he loves to create.
And then uh, and then we had Mario for quite
some time and yeah, now and now we've uh yeah,
now now we have Taylor in Alandra and it is
it is fantastic man so again, but I like, like
I would think, we've everybody that we've worked with really
has been fantastic. And it's been great too. It's been
a really fun four years for sure. Yeah, four more
years exactly four more.
Speaker 3: Years, exactly four more years.
Speaker 2: So what I was saying though before the Mike fell apart,
is that, Okay, wait, so that's right. So that means
we're actually gonna do Champagne agins today to celebrate the
four year anniversary, I believe. So that'll be fun. That'll
be fun. Uh. I guess what I was getting into
though when we were speaking on kind of the show
and everything is I love this time of year because
when you sit down to prep, you really get a
little bit of everything, a little taste of everything. It's
like it's like sports top us in a way. Right
you read about a midweek game in which the bullpen
continues to dominate really just the team as a whole,
but pitching is is is really standing out here. Early on,
you get a little bit of something like football recruiting.
Then mixed in there's some l s U gymnastics, kaylin
Chio taking them SEC Freshman of the Week for the
fifth time in seven weeks. What we have a little
bit of college basketball in there. Else you went into
in a row or Petina. It's just it's it's again,
it's it's every single sports softball going down there. So
it's it's a great time of the year for sure.
Speaker 3: Thank you everyone. Look, if you want to.
Speaker 2: Support the show, a few ways you can do that,
hit the like button right now. But they go to
our OTB saying to SOTBLSU channels, you can subscribe to those.
We have individual podcast feeds for all of these as well,
and uh yeah, just say a few different ways in
which you can help out for free. So thank you
all for real, because at the end of the day, honestly,
guys as important as anyone in this room, as everybody listening,
Like that's the whole thing that matters. And it's really
really funny to be doing this job for this long
and hanging out it feels like, you know, I know,
we're hanging out virtually, but hanging out with all the
familiar names in the chat every single morning, and anytime
I meet somebody in real life from the chat, it's
always so great to put a face to the name.
And it's great because there's never any awkwardness because it's
like you legitimately really know each other, and so that's
really cool.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: Thank you to everybody who uhh who hangs out with us.
Speaker 4: For sure, there's definitely people in the chat that I
haven't met, but if I did meet him, i'd you'd
be like, wait, why a weird like we know each other?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, it's it's in you know, there's there's
plenty plenty in there that I have, that plenty that
I have not and that I look forward to one day.
I think a lounge is working up on cooking up
some uh some some listener events. Is that right?
Speaker 5: I was, Yes, we were spitballing it. Yeah, and then okay,
Jake and I we're talking about it the other day
and he might have an idea as well.
Speaker 2: So okay, hell yeah, so we'll let you know what happens.
Be on the lookout for that. Yeah. But congrats guys,
and are very thankful for every single one of you,
both in this room and everybody listening. For sure.
Speaker 4: Magnolia Texas Tigers says is ot B cult status?
Speaker 3: I think so, yeah. I'd tell you I love like
and shows that are well. I think I think less less.
Speaker 2: Yeah, more like Jake is saying like Evil Day, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
exactly exactly.
Speaker 3: All right, I got there. I am oh god, what's
his name from Evil?
Speaker 2: Did the main character Bruce Spruce?
Speaker 3: Spruce anybody?
Speaker 2: No, I'm just gonna be out here on a on
the island, Jakes tapping away away.
Speaker 4: No, sorry, I'm looking for the most famous cult movies.
Speaker 3: Oh, Lost Boys. Uh my favorite movie if you're and
loathing in Las Vegas, that's a Bruce Campbell. Sorry, okay,
Fifth Element, great Colt movie.
Speaker 2: All right, let's do this then, uh let's let's let's
go to break and then we'll officially start the sports
talk when we get back.
Speaker 3: Keep it locked right here on off the bench, Off
the bench.
Speaker 2: Bruce Campbell, Thank you, chet See Chat's always got my back, dude.
Speaker 3: Thank you either great jall right.
Speaker 2: But yeah, big job Joe. He's in all of Sam
Raimi's movies, so like The Spider Man's he's got he's
got cameos in and everything. And he's one of those
actors you see him, you're like, oh that guy, like
he's in a ton of stuff.
Speaker 3: Yeah, get Gordon, get get Gordon, get it done.
Speaker 2: He's in a ton of stuff as well, a ton
of billboards, a ton of commercials. And that's because Gordon
wants to remind you that he is there for you
when you need him. And so when you get an accent,
that sucks and he can feel a bit overwhelming because
here you have these big companies kind of applying their
pressure on you, leaning on you and not giving you
what you deserve. Well, get what you deserve by getting Gordon.
You can call two to five eight eight, go to
Gig gorton dot com fall Mount, just meet it and
get Gordon.
Speaker 4: Yep, you'll be able to go to the website and
get everything done there. But also, like T Bob said,
if you've got a question you want it answered right now,
it's your air coat in Louisiana, follow that eighty eight idiotio,
gig Gordon and get it done.
Speaker 1: Welcome in to the best morning sports This show around
off the bench with Hester and T Bob.
Speaker 2: One of our main chatter's been hanging out for years
is my guy Nookie. He lives in northwest Tennessee. Sixteen
degrees here in six more inches of snow on the ground.
F that groundhog. Hey, Oh yeah, sucks.
Speaker 3: Well, fat Phil.
Speaker 2: It is funny because I complained about wanting cold weather
for so long because like Christmas and everything right, But
I'll be damned if right after Christmas is over, I'm
just like I could leave it or take it at
this point.
Speaker 3: Like we could go.
Speaker 2: I was. I was enjoying the shorts weather during the
Super Bowl. We can uh, Okay, I don't have a call,
I guess, so just be ready. The Lions Man's gonna
get me today. Oh no, yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we need to fish those mushrooms out maybe today.
All right, Hey bo, if you're in the building, U
come fix our cough button please.
Speaker 2: So LSU played a midweek game yesterday. But before we
get into it, let's listen to some Kellen Moore. So
I'm just kidding this last time I'll do that bit.
Let's actually let's actually get the show.
Speaker 3: So no, it's.
Speaker 1: Time to get to work. Courtesy of Tiger Labor and Staffing,
where they can help take care of screening, training, pay roll,
and more.
Speaker 2: Now for starters, Tiger Labor truly vets their employees and
builds relationships with them rather than just looking at their
job history. Right, they get to know every employee during
their in person onboarding process and every morning over a
cup of coffee. You also have the shortest hiring terms
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Speaker 3: Just sixty days.
Speaker 2: They do this because they understand the quality of employees
that they have and they want your business to succeed.
So remember they're not just forting resumes to you, but
interviewing and dispatching in person every morning at five am.
Tiger Labor and Staffing. So LSU baseball the midweek last night,
and they take down Southern in a battle of br
thirteen to one in just seven innings. Again, the temptation
here is to say, oh, they don't pay any bit, okay,
But again, just like we did from over the weekend
where we looked at, okay, what were you forty five
ks to two walks over this last weekend. If you
looked at last season, it was thirty seven to twenty
two after the opening weekend, And well, last season you
lost to Southern twelve to seven on April Fool's Day.
So you see the difference between the two years. And
Alandra did a great job of putting together a lot
of numbers on just how good this pitching staff and
this bullpen in particular has been thus far this season.
And that's the point here, guys. I'm not guaranteeing you
they're gonna win a NAT. I'm not guaranteeing you they're
going to dominate SEC play. But you can only control
how you play. You can't control your opponent right now,
if you're a player, you can only control how you play.
Am damn near everybody that has got an opportunity has
been essentially perfect. And that's a good sign. There is
no way that that's not a good sign. Now, these
numbers are not fully updated in terms of the rankings,
given that the the national sites have not factored in
all the MIDWEK games. Yeah, but this is where they stood.
Speaker 3: So like the.
Speaker 2: Actual raw numbers are updated, the rankings may not be yet.
But going into yesterday, LSU third in the country with
a point sixty seventy r eight second in the country.
And this is where it gets exciting. With a fifty
two to three strikeout to walk ratio, pretty damn good there, Jake.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's close it, that's like, what.
Speaker 2: Is that exactly fifty two to three? What's fifty two
to five by three.
Speaker 3: Like eighteen or something around there.
Speaker 5: Yeah, seventeen point three.
Speaker 2: Yeah, seventeen to one strike out in a walk ratio.
That's that's winning baseball for sure. And again, as a
Landra points out, last year, oh sorry, second in whip
as well as that your base runners allowed per inning
only point five two. And again you compare that to
last year through four games it was a three seven
five era forty seven case to twenty seven walks one point.
Speaker 3: Four four whip.
Speaker 2: So already you are talking about a massive improvement on
the mound, Like it seems like all the hype that
we talked about with the staff last year, you finally
actually have this season.
Speaker 5: Never pass math, by the way, what I never passed math,
by the way, but asked me to calculate a whip
and I got you there.
Speaker 2: There you go, dude, I mean that's it's walks in hits,
springy pits, agains. Hid. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3: With is getting a little outside of my layman.
Speaker 2: Basketball knowledge basketball. What I said, thus the three and
we can tell thus the point is crew seventeen point three.
But I mean, okay, you guys get the point. I
know there was a lot of numbers, but you guys
get the point. It is a Stark difference. You're talking
about more k's and twenty three less walks through four games.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it does have a different feel.
Speaker 4: And I know that it is the midweek game and
you're going against Crosstown Southern and nobody's going to want
to give you any credit. But it doesn't even feel
different in the lineup as well when you look at
who you know, who's played, who didn't play. Also, like
the guys that you have not even in the starting lineup,
like Ashton Larson.
Speaker 3: Right now is betting. You know, it's young season. I
get that, but he's betting five to seventy one.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and he's had already massive hits and he's got
what seven rbs already and he doesn't start this game
right now he gets into bat but like he doesn't
start this game, and you look at the lineup and
how many people you can bring it, like Jake Brown
didn't start this game, Like we know what he's capable
of as well. That's the difference for me. It's like
they are just coming at you from every single angle
down the road. When you get the SEC player, they're
gonna have so many options to be able to match
with whoever the starting pitcher no matter who you're facing against,
and give you some better options. And so like that's
the thing that stands out to me. And obviously you've
got a table setter now right there at the front.
You got like a true leadoff hitter that has like
everything you're looking for in a leadoff hitter. And just
like think right now, you don't even have to, like
Steven Mylom's down to the bottom of the order because
like that's what he can do, and that's where he
can fit in on this team.
Speaker 3: We know what he's capable.
Speaker 2: I'm saying, if that guy's the guy that's turning over
your lineup, yeah, like how scary is that for a pitcher?
And again speaking of controlling what you control, and into
what Jake's getting to in terms of LSU's offense up
to this point, listen to Jay Johnson talk about what
he saw, and you know his eye is the true expert.
I listen to Johnson break down what he saw in
last night's lineup. We had eighteen quality at bats in
a row at one point, and you know, regardless of scorer,
competition day in baseball, that's really hard to do. So
he started that quote by saying I saw something that
I don't know that I've ever seen before, and then
talked about the eighteen quality at bets in a row.
So this team, again, you talk about controlling the line
of scrimmage, like Jay Johnson talked about throwing strikes when
you're pitching, and then when you're up to bat, really again,
achieving quality at bats, status, making the pitchers work, making
them earn it, being disciplined. This team has that in spades.
This is like watching like the Eagles offensive and defensive
line through four games thus far. And I love this
quote from Chris Crenshaw, the Southern coach Jake, because it
really reinforces that LS point. He says, quote, they were
ahead of all of the hitters in the count the
majority of the time, so we never got anybody on base.
We couldn't create in the offense. I mean, that's just stonewalling, guys. Yeah,
that's putting a stranglehold on the game. And it's it's
it's a it's a further extension of what you saw
over the weekend. Like, if you're one of the pitchers
that's gonna throw tonight, how much pressure are you feeling
to keep it going because basically everybody up to this
point has been damn near perfect. Like if you wobble,
you're gonna have to do some You're to be mentally
tested to not freak out too much, right, Like Jay's
gonna be like it's okay, look man, it's just a
little whatever, cause you're gonna be like, oh man, I'm
never gonna play again.
Speaker 3: Everybody's playing so well.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and the one thing that that will do for
you And you know this as well as I do,
t Bob, Like when you have a situation like that,
it's it's like there is what you're talking about, like,
oh man, I gotta go out there. I can't be
the guy that really goes up sick runs right, nobody
else has given up anything.
Speaker 3: But also like it.
Speaker 4: Demands greatness, It demands being on point every single time
you go out there. And you know, depending on the
mental makeup of your team, that can either kind of
destroy you a bit or it can make you do
the complete opposite.
Speaker 3: And you know, like, hey, it ain't gonna be me.
It ain't gonna be me.
Speaker 4: This the guy that goes out there and doesn't dominate.
And just knowing Jay like we do I'm going to
assume he's got a mentally strong team. He's one of
the most manly, strong coaches I've ever been around, and
so like, that's not a bad thing, not for this squad.
Speaker 3: It would be for some not for this one.
Speaker 4: And excited to kind of see how it goes as
we continue on, and I realize again, I know people
want to point out the competition. It goes up tonight
against Nichols. Then you've got Omaha coming up on the weekend,
and then we'll find out about you, Like you've got
Dallas Baptist.
Speaker 3: Nebraska's a ranked baseball team.
Speaker 4: You've got them in the Frisco College Baseball Classic as well,
So we'll start to find out.
Speaker 3: And it's not gonna be that long on the road.
Speaker 2: So the Nebraska pitcher last weekend, speaking of Grit Jake,
he got uh, he got hit in the face with
the ball one hundred and six miles an hour off
the bat straight back to him, and uh, he was
smiling after the game. His face just absolutely shattered, blood everywhere,
and he's like, who thought it was? I thought it
was funny, So I thought I.
Speaker 3: Kind of meet him yet there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all right, So uh, Nichols tonight back to
back here Anthony Davis would never neither on Zion unfortunately.
Uh but who will we see a Landra? Who do
you think takes the mound tonight?
Speaker 5: We haven't seen Gidri yet? True, he is the who
was the closer last year, But I mean it doesn't
really matter. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw gidriy tonight.
Speaker 2: Start Why to get the start? Yeah, well, I mean
he needs some minis right unless he's just not gonn effect.
Speaker 5: I mean we also, like I did the baseball game
yesterday and Doug Thompson the color from do and a
former picture he was saying that Connor Ware might be
a closer to So I don't.
Speaker 2: Know, they have options?
Speaker 5: Yeah, oh for sure.
Speaker 2: Also, how does as you wrote down, like, how does
every single picture throw ninety five?
Speaker 5: Like they're all seen what?
Speaker 3: It's crazy? It's actually insane. What is happening to the
college game?
Speaker 5: Another thing about the pitching staff that like people don't
like in general talk about in pitching is like the
release point or like the arm slot. Cason Evans had
like a seven to three release point, so like when
it's coming some context that coming out that high, it
looks like it's coming at you like three miles per
hour faster.
Speaker 3: Oh wow, it's getting on you a little bit quicker.
Speaker 2: Interesting.
Speaker 3: Interesting, Yeah, I never even I've never heard of that.
Speaker 5: So you got these tall guys that have like these
high arm slots, which Jay seems to like, we don't.
We don't have a lot of like the three quarters
side arms.
Speaker 4: A lot of times when you have somebody that's like
six six six seven on the mound, it is a
little bit lower, like Paul Gervas, remember when his arm slot,
like even the big unit his arm sloteahs like, but
if you're one of those guys, it gets away up here,
it does kind of change your eye.
Speaker 2: So it so it almost simulates a bit more speed because,
like you said, it gets on you. Fester. That's very
I mean, I can't imagine, Bro, I cannot fathom trying
to hit these guys. I was, I was, I was,
I was laughing about some random Twitter baseball account quote
tweeting l s U highlights and being like, why the
hell aren't these guys pitching in the miners, Like what
are they doing in college baseball? Did everybody in there
pubs being.
Speaker 3: Like, shut up, Nerd. Yeah, that was Smith from Catholic
obviously freshmen. They're like, oh yeah, Schmid, why is this
guy not in the miners right in ninety seven? Can
I call him Billy Schmidt? Yeah? I think it's a
good name, okay, right right, I mean it's not William.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Billy Schmidt just sounding like Billy.
Speaker 3: Bout Bob Bobby on Jake, not Jacob.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I didn't know if like, but you know
some people, what if he's like, no, I'm William guy.
I don't know.
Speaker 6: Here's the thing. If he's a well, I'm a William
guy that tells you everything he needs. I mean that
that's kind of that kind of says more about him
than you. Anyway, Room, You're good.
Speaker 2: Uh, hunt Palmer says, y'all check out the unc Ashyll
staff against yesterday. May take Elsie a while to get
to that walk total. What happened?
Speaker 5: It was digit walks against Tennessee and they also won
like I don't remember, but it was like fifteen to
three or twenty five to three or something like that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well what was the score the other day, Jake
that you were talking about?
Speaker 2: It was like thirty something.
Speaker 5: It was thirty six to twenty two. I think it
was William and Mary and who they and Rhode Island
and they exhausted.
Speaker 3: They only played seven inns. We please just stop the game.
That's only in.
Speaker 5: Seven incs too.
Speaker 3: They got run rulled awful.
Speaker 5: I'm twenty nine to four was the final on the name.
Speaker 3: How do you score twenty something runs? Again? Run ruled?
How about that?
Speaker 5: That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Like, Uh, the LSU game was thirteen to one last night,
thirteen to one. Uh so Nichols, like Jake said, a
step up tonight. It's gonna be typical, gonna be cold,
right like some degrees.
Speaker 3: Cheesh, that sounds fun that.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: Shout out to the shout out to Ja Johnson squad
the man.
Speaker 2: What a stellar start to the season.
Speaker 6: We were and Moose were talking about this yesterday and uh,
because we were watching the game, we had an old
k genomics pulled up at our work desk.
Speaker 3: Shout out.
Speaker 6: Three times a week.
Speaker 3: When you highlight it, that's when it becomes bad.
Speaker 2: Just let it, just let it keep moving. But I know,
I know. But Ethan Friedgen his first home run I
think in it was an alix Box last night.
Speaker 3: Since he's played it, l show okay shut out, which
is wild. It feels like he had one.
Speaker 6: Yeah, we were we were talking about like, oh, everybody's
gonna say like you were saying, oh, we just Play's Southern.
And then I brought up the point like okay, but
you watch enough sports to where you can tell it's different, right,
Like okay, I brought up the analogy of twenty nineteen
LSU football. We had heard about it all offseason.
Speaker 3: Guys, this offense is different. You're gonna see it. It's different.
Speaker 6: You go play Georgia Southern, you score forty nine points
on them, but you could still tell everything about the
team was different. And look what happened throughout the season.
You can tell that this team is different.
Speaker 4: David gets Utah State that year. Now, Jordan Love is
a game, you know, but it's like okay, yeah, yeah,
this team's going to put up a lot of points
on whoever they play.
Speaker 2: Shoot.
Speaker 5: Even when LSU won the Baseball Natty in twenty twenty three,
the team felt different.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it I agree. You don't even Yeah, it's like
taste that I don't even know that you can explain it.
But I don't know that you have to. Yeah, if
you watch enough you can see, uh, and especially if
you watched the beginning of last year compared to this year.
So love you Jay Johnson. Gotta love college baseball.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Uh, all right, when we get back here on ot B,
the future of Harold Perkins has been crystallized and will
break down whether it's a smart or bad move.
Speaker 3: So keep you locked here on off the bench, Off
the bench.
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Speaker 1: Welcome back to more sports talk. What's some other stuff
mixed in off the bench with Hester and t.
Speaker 7: Bob Well heading y'all, welcome back O TB about Runnings
having a great day.
Speaker 2: It's the fourth anniversary of me and Jake b together
here on OTB. It's very happy that we have Matt
Flynn coming in to celebrate as well. I will do
a little champagne Shenanigans in the third hour. We've still
got a ton to get to and let's talk about
Harold Perkins because Blake Baker, I forgot why he was
talking to me. I think a coach is some and
something like that. But was talking to the media yesterday
and he was asked about Blake Baker about Harold Perkins
and We've been saying on this show that we think
that Harold Perkins's most natural role on this defense would
be the star position, and Baker confirmed that is their
view as well. And let me explain on paper why
this seems to make so much sense, because it looks
like he combines all of Perkins's greatest strengths.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: We saw him at a more traditional inside linebacking role
last year and it left a lot to be desired,
catching blocks, not really delivering the blow, not able to
fully take advantage of into athleticism like it's funny, Jake,
what we learned was whatever you thought about him in
his sophomore year when he played that kind of nickel
linebacker role where he's in coverage a lot that was
actually better for him and last year's traditional inside so
at the star position. Again on paper, in theory, it's
not as many like traditional run fills, but you're still
playing around the bucks. You can still be used in
the pass rush blitzing in a lot of interesting ways,
and you're still going to be engaging in a lot
of coverage, allowing him to show off his coverage skills.
I mean, Jake, what was his pass rush grade from
a couple of years ago. Wasn't he maybe the top
nicol linebacker in the SEC, maybe even one of the
top of the entire country. They get like an eighty
plus on his grade, so that this seems like a
hybrid position that would highlight his hybrid skill set.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think there's any question this is what
he has to play.
Speaker 4: You look at where he's really strong and where he's weak,
and this is the best position for his strengths.
Speaker 3: Yea, And so for us, and we talked about it. Hell,
it might have been yesterday on the show.
Speaker 4: We talked about where we thought maybe he needs to play,
and that's exactly where he needs to be. Like Devine
Keys was somebody that played that last year, Right, So
don't think Nickel like, that's not what it is. It
is a hybrid of a dB in a linebacker. It
is the star position. Major Burns played it a lot
last year. And I think that when you look at
what Perk does really really well his coverage skills. He
can rush off the edge steel, which I know everybody
wants him to do. And if you're still wanting him
to be an every down edge guy, it's just never
going to happen, and that's okay, that's just not what
he is. When I talk to different scouts, like they
kind of chuckle whenever we like bring that up because
they're like, no, first and second down. Every team would
run lead right at him and like attack him. I do,
I say, Okay, perfect example during football season, Jimbo Fisher
is on with us every single Tuesday. And I don't
remember if this was on air or off air, but
at that time when they were playing LSU, Perk was
on the edge. I think it was Perk's freshman year
where he was kind of living on the edge, and
Jimbo straight up said, oh, we attacked him. We went
right at him. That was our plan to never allow
him to get going because we were coming at him
every single play domin tackle with a tight end and
remember a Chane went off that yeah, right, And so
that's another SEC coach that has success against it. So
that's never where he's going to live. Now, if you
want to have a change of pace and here and
they are move around, sure, but he can do those
same things and he can come off in the star position,
you can rotate coverage, and he can be that guy.
This is best for him, it's best for the team.
He is going to be a major upgrade I think
from what Major Burns gave you a year ago, and
it allows Devine Keys to slide back into a more natural,
you know, middle linebacker position, which I think, I think
it's going to behoove him like he was good too
at the star position at times, like his coverage skills
surprise me. But you'll have the Weeks brothers, You'll have
Keys right there. You've got a really good room.
Speaker 2: You got Charles Ross who flashed last year, and somebody
who know that they're very, very excited about. So yeah,
I mean I want to say they feel like they've
got one of the better linebacker rooms in the entire
country right now. I mean, I guess, like from a
spy standpoint, I mean, Weeks is really good in that
role last year. Perkins's freshman year is one of the
best I've ever seen. So again, versatility and hybrid are
the words when I think about the star position, and
versatility and hybrid are kind of the words with Perk.
And now let's look at the defense overall, because when
I read Blake Baker's comments, it's hard not to start
to want to hype the expectations up for this side
of the ball a little bit. And here's what Blake
Baker had to say. Quote, I mean, I think it's
fair talking about expectations. Obviously you're at LSU, so there's
always expectations. To be honest with you, I counted last
year for us on defense as year zero. I do
think we squeezed every bit of juice out that we could,
which I agree with. What's today's date, February fourteenth. I
feel good about what we we have to work with
in a style of defense. We want to be able
to play a lot of man and tackle in space,
and that takes players. You can be in a really
you can be a really good coach, but at the
end of the day, you can't play for them. I
would say, we've got to go through spring and see
what we've got, but I have high expectations for this season.
He goes on to say, I think when you look
at what we did out of the portal, I think
every single one of them is either going to be
a starter or an immediate contributor. And that's really what
we want. Last year. What we didn't have was competitive
depth last year. Some guys played a lot more than
they should have, and you run out of tread on
your tires by the end of the season, and you're
really not getting better unless somebody's pushing you. That idea
of competitive depth, it's something that we don't talk about
a lot of times. We only talk about depth in
an injury since right to make you more injury proof.
But it goes back to exactly what you were just
talking about with LSU Baseball, Jake. Competitive depth. Those are
the great rosters, the ones you can't get complacent because
if you do, somebody's gonna come for your job and
all of a sudden you're no longer played.
Speaker 3: You and I both played in competitive debt. Yeah in
our college cutter yeah.
Speaker 4: Right, Uh, you know for us it was me, it
was Charles Scott, it was Richard Murphy, Keela Williams, Trendon Holiday,
young Stephen Ridley.
Speaker 3: And you better bring it.
Speaker 4: You better be able to go out there and get
your job done, or you were going to have somebody
that's a really good player, like all those players that
I mentioned had an opportunity in the NFL. Same thing
for you, like in y'all's offensive line, like nobody was
setting Stone.
Speaker 2: Now every guy wasn't an NFL player, no good right
position you just named, But.
Speaker 3: Yes we had.
Speaker 4: But yeah, y'all had really good college football players and
it wasn't s Stone. And if you didn't get the
job done, somebody else was going to come in. But
it wasn't a bad player.
Speaker 3: It was a good player.
Speaker 4: And that's what competitive debt can do. Like it can
do for you and it pushes you, it motivates you.
You know you can't half step into whatever the situation is.
And it does feel like that that position for the
Tigers as well.
Speaker 2: So I got I got high expectations for a major
staf forward for Blake Baker's defense in year number two.
Like I give them more credit than what the numbers
are safe form last year because I do agree that
I did they squeezed all the blood out of those Stones.
But I think this defense could be not just oh okay,
I'm impressed with how they're fighting, like, oh okay, they're
actually bullying people.
Speaker 3: I want to see the defensive line. I want to
see what that looks like.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I get a biggest question because think about the
elevation of a Braden Swinson, how much better he was
this year compared to a couple and it wasn't bad,
But I mean he just different player, Like he's gonna
get drafted. I wouldn't have said that before. Yeah, like
Xavian Jones, his play continued to go up. They got
every single possible thing out of guys like Gopiaz yep,
right there in the middle. And so I think this
is a group that has added some players and you've
got some of the best defensive line coaches in America
in my opinion, and that's the unit that you need
to see kind of go up and go to another level.
Speaker 7: Uh.
Speaker 2: Another one of our longtime friends in the UH chat,
Champ says, you two ass clowns, which is funny. So
I was crazy when I said Perkins needed to play
the Troy Paula molly Roll said he had to play
in the middle and go along with dub has Brian Kelly.
Speaker 3: I will say, I thought I was wrong, Jim. That's fine.
Nobody's Troy.
Speaker 4: Nobody in the history of football has played the role
that Troy Poula Malol played, Like literally nobody Troy.
Speaker 3: Would do some of the craziest stuff you've ever seen.
It's not sound.
Speaker 4: It wasn't anything anybody would draw up. But because he
was one of one, he could do it. This man
would be in the a gap and drop and play
cover two after the snap of the ball, like him
and Ryan Clark. The the ability that they had to
read each other without saying a word was incredible and
that was the only reason they can get that done. So, yes,
he was not a middle line but he ain't Troy. Like,
come on, no one of those ever, that's one of those.
It's like me speaking of ask clowns, what no saying.
Speaker 6: That's one of those statements that's like almost correct, like
shout out, sure, he's not a middle linebacker. Also, this
is not close to Troy Palamala's role. So like Palamala
would line up as a stack linebacker, he would line
up as a deep safety. He would line up on
the edge.
Speaker 3: Perkins isn't going.
Speaker 2: To do that. Now.
Speaker 4: If you want to say, maybe, if you're trying to
pick like an early two thousand safety, maybe some Bob Sanders. Yes,
maybe a little bit of that, but it ain't Troy
and it ain't eds someone who would lay the wood
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Speaker 1: Back to sports talk, maybe off the bench.
Speaker 2: The only reason I think about t Sissle that much
is because Jake always gives him such props. Trail Sus
is definitely underrated in the uh kind of football. The
vast football mind.
Speaker 3: Was Who was I talking with at the Super Bowl?
That's Chris Long. We were talking about him.
Speaker 4: We were just talking about edge rushers because James Harrison
walked by, and look how Long played in the NFL
for a forever.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and some of the longest arms I've ever seen.
And I was like, yeah, yeah, the guys you used
to get paid to block. I had to block. And
tilS came out.
Speaker 2: Another guy who we should try to stud, Howie Long. Yeah,
you know, yeah, Like, I know, I'm beating a little
quarterback centric with Archie Manning, but like you could sell
Howie Long for quite a bit as well. Yeah, like,
good god, his sons are just physical specimens and funny. Yeah,
I know, I know, I hate I hate them. They're
good looking, like they've just got it all. Dude, you
know who else has it all? Kaylen Chio? I mean,
how crazy that we talked to Jay Clark last Friday
before the one v two matchup, and really the entire
interview kind of gets high hijacked by chio praise, and
he says, like, this girls is an absolute killer. I mean,
she keeps saying up freshman the week. I don't understand
like she's a freshman, but she's not a freshman. Well,
we mentioned it yesterday. Over the weekend, she put up
the second highest all around score in the entire country
thus far in the season. She beat out an Olympian
Elijah Finnigan. She beat out to three of the top
four who are all on Oklahoma's roster, and now she's
been named SEC Freshman in the Week for the third
straight time and the fifth time in seven weeks. She
currently leads the nation on vault, She's eighth on beam,
ninth in the all around. Let's go Kaleen Chio and
this l shree team not at full strength yet, Hayley
Bryant still limited by injury, kJ Johnson by Andrew They're
only going to get better and better. They'll be on
the road this Friday six pm against Kentucky. It's gonna
be on the SE network. You're gonna check it out.
Speaker 4: And when ever you have injuries to you know, your
stars and some of the best competitors that you have,
even if they can go, they're not full strength.
Speaker 3: Tee, what do you have to have?
Speaker 4: You have to have somebody step up, yeap has to like,
that has to happen if you want to continue to
you know, be a top program in the country, which
LSU certainly is. And so uh look, that's a that's
a that is not an easy path to be a
freshman on the defending national champion with all of these
incredible gymnasts.
Speaker 3: Well and also like there's competitive depth on that roster.
Speaker 4: Yes, and the best atmosphere that I think you have
in college gymnastics, which the p MAC, I mean just
continues to you know, be sold out every single week.
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's like it's like the p MAC, Right,
Utahs up there, Oklahoma's up there, certainly. But again for
my money, nothing better than the PMAC for some gymnastics
on the road though again at Kentucky. And I remember
the SEC when it comes to gymnastics, and this is
why Chio's accomplishment means so much more. Is the SEC
when it comes to gymnastics is probably even more I
mean it's just like football. It's just like baseball in
that there's more investment, more emotion, more talent, and they're
just better than the rest of the country. And yet
Chio continues to emerge at the top of that pile.
All Right, we got flestering coming up next hour. I
want to say happy thirtieth anniversary to Heavyweights. Oh thirty thirty, Yeah,
I know, I don't feel too old. Now get on
the scale, Get off the scale, get on the exactly.
That's my favorite, I mean, best line in the movie.
You have Netflix trying to take over the NFL. I
want to play the Rick Pattino a bit. Potentially, Miles
Garrett trade odds are up, so we got a ton
to get to.
Speaker 3: Matt Flinn's gonna be in studio. Keep it logged here
and off the bench.
Speaker 1: Off the bench.