WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:02.720 Welcome to the Big Moon Sider Day. Gabriel with you 2 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.559 on a Friday edition of our show ahead of a 3 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:10.320 big weekend for Kentucky Athletics. You've got UK women's basketball 4 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:14.240 coming up tomorrow night, Kentucky football Tomorrow it is the 5 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.640 Cats in Murray State and as the Wildcats try to 6 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:18.640 get well, we'll have it for you right here. We'll 7 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:20.359 talk some football a little bit later. I'm going to 8 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.000 talk a lot of basketball as well. Brendan Quinn of 9 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.719 The Athletic, who wrote a great piece about Mark Pope 10 00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:28.280 and his family. Coming up at the bottom of this hour. 11 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:32.000 Brian Milem from WKYT. We'll be joining us as well. 12 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.920 He covered the Kentucky Duke game in Atlanta. Will also 13 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:38.880 talk about Murray State. Brian played baseball for Morehead State 14 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:41.840 and Ohio Valley Conference team back then, back when Murray 15 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.520 was in the OVC and was a competitive football team, 16 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:49.240 so we'll hear from him as well. And it's going 17 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:52.840 to be an interesting weekend in all of college football. 18 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:56.600 But I've got to start with a story that came 19 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:02.200 out yesterday. Bryce Underwood, who was committed a quarterback committed 20 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:07.920 to LSU, evidently got an nil deal worth about five 21 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:14.040 million from LSU. And there's a report on Bleacher Report 22 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:20.359 that this kid declined and offer from Michigan ten and 23 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:26.719 a half million dollars. It said Bryce Underwood won't be 24 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.640 tempted by a massive nil offer from Michigan. I got 25 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.560 to think he was tempted. Come on, But it was 26 00:01:32.599 --> 00:01:36.319 actually a story on on three that reported yesterday that 27 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:40.480 Michigan was prepared quote unquote to offer the QB a 28 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:44.439 four year now four year, ten and a half million 29 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:47.760 dollar nil deal, trying to flip him from LSU. I 30 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.920 think that's important. Ten and a half million over four years, 31 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:54.120 and I got to think that a lot of these 32 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:58.599 big dollar figures are four year deals as well. But 33 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:02.400 he's sticking with LSU. Tells you where we are in 34 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:06.519 recruiting right now. Though, speaking of recruiting, it's official now. 35 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.800 Jasper Johnson is a Wildcat. The for sales native six 36 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:14.639 four combo guard began his career at Woodford County High 37 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:18.000 as you know, went off to a prep school. He 38 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.120 has agreed to play for the Wildcats and made it 39 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:24.719 official by signing an agreement. So did a guy who 40 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:28.759 looked like was heading elsewhere, Kadan Lewis. But Mark Pope 41 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:31.960 and staff they went to work and they pulled him 42 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.960 into the fold. Six three left handed guard chose the 43 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:42.560 Wildcats over Duke and Yukon. And this was before Kentucky 44 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.479 knocked off Duke. Of course, he committed to the Wildcats 45 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:48.599 some weeks ago, but had to help when he saw 46 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.400 the Cats beat the Blue Devils. This kid was the 47 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.360 Gatorade Player of the Year last year in the District 48 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.639 of Columbia. There has some pretty good basketball over there. 49 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.879 Wildcats go back to work. They don't play again, as 50 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.439 you know, until Tuesday night. They've got the weekend off. 51 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.879 But that means a lot of information for Mark Pope 52 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:12.400 and his staff. And you know, just like football coaches 53 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.039 what they call game film, video, whatever you want to 54 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:19.680 call it, when yours deeply steeped in analytics, that is 55 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.280 manna from heaven for basketball coaching staffs. And Mark Pope 56 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:25.840 talked about all the great things that happened with the 57 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.960 win over Duke, but it sounds like, first and foremost 58 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.159 he likes having more information about his team. 59 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:36.360 It's just a race from you know, our first game 60 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:40.479 on November fourth to hopefully the final four. Like we know, 61 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:44.319 we have to get so much better, and there's limited time, 62 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.639 and so it's just a race to see how fast 63 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:50.719 we can grow. And so I think that's the biggest 64 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.000 thing that this game did for us, that Bucknell did 65 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:54.719 for us at Right State did for us, is it 66 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:58.800 just gave us more film and data and experience and 67 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:00.719 to try and figure out how we can become a 68 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:01.479 great team. 69 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:04.400 When you think about it in those terms as a race, 70 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.680 you think, man, that's gonna be a long, long slog, 71 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.000 And yeah, it's the old marathon versus a sprint. But 72 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:12.159 you know as well as I do, march is going 73 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:16.360 to be here before we know it. Right, So, anytime 74 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.439 you pick up a win like that over Duke and 75 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.040 you can learn about your team and how to get better, 76 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.160 it's a huge help. And one of the ways they're 77 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:28.959 improving is conditioning. You saw that at play against Duke, 78 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:33.319 and Pope talked about one of the changes they made 79 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:38.439 in practice and it's similar to the way he played 80 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.240 under Patino. Go like crazy for two or three minutes, 81 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:43.879 will sub for you like a hockey shift, only they 82 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:45.079 call it something different. 83 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.920 Right now, Randy Twner and Brandon Wells are doing an 84 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.079 unbelievable job, and we actually try something that I've never 85 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:57.680 tried before. It's a segment of practice that is we're 86 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:03.439 lovingly calling it our shame guest segment in practice. I 87 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.560 think Andrew Carr might have referred to that in the 88 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:09.480 post games Coach Fox's notion that you just keep coming 89 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:12.079 in waves and coming in waves and coming in waves 90 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:14.240 until you break someone. Right, It's just it's kind of 91 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:15.399 a hard tominology for that. 92 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:18.120 But where we're. 93 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:21.279 Trying to find a twelve to twenty six minute segment 94 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:26.279 in practice where there's very little coaching and there's no stoppage, 95 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:28.240 and we're going to go until we drop. 96 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.800 And it's paid off. The other night with the Blue Devils, 97 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:36.879 younger guys who aren't used to that consistent, relentless pace 98 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:40.560 yet of college basketball, they'll get it. By March, they'll 99 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:42.959 have it. But you know, by March, Kentucky he'll be 100 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.839 even further ahead because of the way they condition in practice. 101 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:49.800 Talking with Sean Woods on Wednesday and some others, I 102 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.360 talked about the fact everybody has that Kentucky wins that 103 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:58.600 game with virtually nothing from Jackson Robinson on offense at 104 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:00.920 one point, but as I pointed out as well, he 105 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.519 did have a couple of blocks. And that brings us 106 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.600 to what Mark Pope talked about when he talked about 107 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.160 Jackson Robinson. He told the media he said, I haven't 108 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:11.920 really talked to him about the game because he wasn't 109 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:17.160 that Pope wasn't that upset with Jackson's struggles on offense. 110 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:22.040 It's because Robinson evidently did so much on defense, and 111 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:24.879 it may be the kinds of things that you and 112 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.759 I don't notice, you know, we might notice him struggling 113 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:30.360 on offense. Sean Woods and I talked about the fact 114 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.279 that he wasn't that competitive on offense, and Duke took 115 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.120 him out of the game, but then he took Duke. 116 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:40.079 According to Pope, he took the Blue Devils out of 117 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:40.519 a lot. 118 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.319 Yeah, you known't saying about Jackson's like he played great, 119 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:47.240 Like he made huge defensive plays down the stretch. We 120 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:50.920 kind of just do a it's a pretty raw reporting deal, 121 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:53.399 but we do points given up, and Jackson was responsible 122 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:55.879 giving up two points in the entire game. And you 123 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:59.639 think about the matchups that he had. He was actually elite. 124 00:06:59.680 --> 00:06:59.920 He had. 125 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.279 It's a massive toughness plays down the stretch. I was 126 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:04.560 incredibly proud of him. 127 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.279 So let that be a lesson to all of us. 128 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:10.319 Just because somebody is not scoring the way you thought 129 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:13.759 they might, we think they should, that doesn't mean they're 130 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.879 not contributing at the other end. We should have known that. 131 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.279 But I was so excited to see what Jackson Robinson 132 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:25.639 could do against Duke that I was kind of scratching 133 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:26.879 my head about it. But when I went back and 134 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.720 looked at the score sheet, I noticed the points. I 135 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:32.160 noticed two block shots. They didn't notice the minutes. He 136 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.399 played a lot of minutes, But now you know why, 137 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:39.680 because he played so well defensively. Now reminder, you've got 138 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:43.079 Kentucky basketball tomorrow night. It's the women taking on the 139 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:46.519 Louisville Cardinals at six o'clock, five point forty five pre 140 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:49.439 game on our sister station, ninety eight point five FM. 141 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.279 Because there was a chance that there'd be a little 142 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:56.160 football runover on the AM side. So when you're done 143 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.879 listening to the football postgame with Tom and Jeff and me, 144 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.560 you can flip over and listen to Darren Hendrick as 145 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.920 he calls the action Wildcats for the first time under 146 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.680 Kenny Brooks playing against the Louisville Cardinals, but not the 147 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.759 first time for Kenny Brooks and a couple of his players. 148 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:15.600 Of course, the ones who came over from Virginia Tech. 149 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:18.519 They know those Cardinals already. 150 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.079 More familiar with them than anybody yet that we faced. 151 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:23.120 And you know, I can probably tell you I can 152 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.040 give you the scout on every one of their players 153 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.480 because the familiarity that we've had with them, and those 154 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.160 players are great players. And you know, I'm looking forward 155 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.200 to being a part of the rivalry. Obviously, when I 156 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:35.480 was a Virginia Tech, it was always with Virginia, so 157 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.679 you understood the rivalry and the different feel of the 158 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:40.960 game coming up. We just have to get our kids 159 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:44.200 to understand that too. And you know, George's played against Louisville, 160 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.440 Claire Strack has played against Louisville, tianni Key has played 161 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:53.159 against Louisville. But nobody's played against Louisville in the Kentucky uniform, 162 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:54.960 and so it's gonna be a little bit different. And 163 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.039 I think probably the edge they might have is that 164 00:08:57.080 --> 00:08:59.720 they've got some players who played against Kentucky in their 165 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:00.960 local uniforms. 166 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:03.840 Again, Uku l on ninety eight point five at five 167 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.799 forty five. Up next, Mark Stoops talks about game preps 168 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.080 for Murray State. That is next in The Big bloon 169 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:14.600 Sider six thirty WLAP Welcome back to the Big Blonsider. 170 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:16.879 Coming up in just a few minutes, Brendan Quinn will 171 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.240 join us from The Athletic. He wrote a terrific piece 172 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:23.440 about Mark Pope, and not so much about Pope and 173 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:26.080 his career and all that, but his career is part 174 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.559 of it. But through the eyes of Mark's family. He 175 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.960 has spent a lot of time, did Brendan with Mark's wife, 176 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:37.519 with his daughter's kind of tracing the steps to electing 177 00:09:37.639 --> 00:09:39.840 in from Brigham Young but really all over all the 178 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:45.080 different coaching jobs Mark head, starting with that assistant ops 179 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:48.120 director job at Georgia something they created for him. So 180 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.519 it's a great story. Brendan's gonna tell us about it 181 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:53.840 and about the access he got to the Pope family. 182 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:55.559 That comes up at the bottom of the hour. A 183 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:58.639 little bit later on, you're gonna hear a segment from 184 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:02.320 the Wildcat Whip. That's the that Tom Leach, Jeff Piccorl 185 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:08.000 and I record each week. It's basically similar to the 186 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:11.440 really quick segment we do just before Playboy Play begins, 187 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:15.480 the whip around Tom and Jeff and me talking about 188 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.039 the upcoming game, and we thought, well, we'd like to 189 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.639 do more. We'd like to share more thoughts. There just 190 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.960 isn't as much time during the broadcast of the pregame, 191 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.399 so we sit down each week and we whip it around. 192 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.360 We are usually at South of Wrigley. This week we 193 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:33.399 couldn't get over there, but they have been so gracious 194 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.279 hosting us each week. It's a great place to go 195 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:41.960 for Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago style hot dogs and 196 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.879 things like that. But Tom and Jeff and I got 197 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.320 together here in the garage. You'll hear a segment of 198 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.159 that coming up a little bit later on as we 199 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.879 break down Kentucky and Marie State. If you'd like to 200 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:55.840 hear the entire podcast, not that long, take you about 201 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.240 fifteen or twenty minutes, but you can check it out 202 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.399 on the UK Sports Network site, on x or Twitter, 203 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.360 on my Facebook page which I think Tom has shared 204 00:11:04.840 --> 00:11:07.519 as well. So that's all coming up a little bit 205 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:11.159 later on. But tomorrow night or tomorrow afternoon, actually it's 206 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:13.960 Kentucky Murray State. How about that? A day game here 207 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.519 in lectionon Wildcats and Racers. Kick it off at one thirty. 208 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:21.120 It's going to be streamed on SEC Plus. Of course 209 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.879 you've got your radio, we'll have it for you eleven thirty. 210 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.399 Pregame network Local covered starts at ten thirty. Then the 211 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:30.639 kickoff at one thirty as Kentucky tries to get well 212 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.480 and get right against the team that just is really 213 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:37.440 having a nightmare of a season. It is added near 214 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:42.720 the bottom of offense and defensive stats Murray State in FCS, 215 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:47.240 which is essentially one Double A football, and Murray State 216 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:51.120 at one point was a contender in one Double A. 217 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:52.960 And I'm going to talk to Brian Milin about that. 218 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:56.039 Coming up an hour number two, Brian with WKYT. We'll 219 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:58.879 talk to Brian about his trip to Atlanta to cover 220 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:04.720 the Wildcats and Duke. But Brian played baseball at Moorhead State, 221 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:07.840 a member of the Ohio Valley Conference for the longest time, 222 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:13.200 and he remembers when Murray State was a playoff team 223 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:15.759 in one Double A. It has just really fallen on 224 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.480 some terribly, terribly hard times. So this comes at a 225 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.120 good time for the Wildcats, you know, like I said, 226 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.799 it's a get well game. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Mark Stoops 227 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.000 talked about the fact that coming off the bye week, 228 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:31.960 went into these last three games. Somebody asked him about 229 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:37.159 Rock Vandergriff finishing well because he's got another year of eligibility. 230 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.879 Whether it's here somewhere else, or maybe he wants to 231 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.639 try the NFL, who knows. But Stoops talked about the 232 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.639 fact that really everybody needs to finish well. 233 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:48.440 Our players have been a good place. 234 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.080 You know, we talked about to buy. I think was 235 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:53.480 at a good time. You know, we're beat up and 236 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:58.159 we're getting better. We're still not, you know, anywhere near 237 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:01.440 full strept, but I think antily you can see guys 238 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:04.639 in a better spot, and we're trying to finish strong. 239 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:08.639 Over the last week or so in practice, they've gone 240 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:11.679 what they call good on good first team against first team, 241 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.480 just trying to sharpen things up a little bit and 242 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.679 it should work out. But you know, we have seen 243 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.840 one Double A teams come in here. I mentioned this 244 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:22.639 the other night. Eku came in here and nearly upset 245 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:28.039 the Wildcats. Remember it took some late heroics from Patrick 246 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.200 Toles throwing a couple of touchdown passes to fight off 247 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:35.759 the colonels ut Chattanooga came in a Division one but 248 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:39.720 not a highly harald the team and Kentucky needed some 249 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.000 last second magic to win that game, So it's not 250 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.720 a giffn Nothing ever, is a given, especially in college football. 251 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.639 So Stoops talked about the fact that, yeah, he would 252 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.679 love to play more than one quarterback. He would love 253 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:56.960 to get deeply into his bench, into his roster, play 254 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.200 the young guys who deserve a chance to go out 255 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:01.320 and be reward good for the work they've done. But 256 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:05.399 you don't just walk out there and expect Murray to 257 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:06.919 lay down. You got to make it happen. 258 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:07.720 I've been open. 259 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:10.399 I've talked to the team about this. You know. We 260 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:14.559 haven't always you know, taken care of business with with 261 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:17.679 somebody that everybody thinks you're much better than or whatever. 262 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:20.200 We can't ever you've heard me talk about that, and 263 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:21.960 I think I think you all know you believe me 264 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.000 when I tell you that because I've lived it, right, 265 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:26.799 I mean, you you all have seen me out there struggling, 266 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:30.240 you know at times to be the you know an 267 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.320 FCS team, you know or one Double A teams and 268 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:35.879 and uh, you know, we don't take anything for Brander. 269 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:37.720 But I did talk to the team about that with work, 270 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:40.279 if if you're supposed to take care of business at 271 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:42.799 a certain spot, didn't do it. But but you know 272 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.480 what happens sometimes us is you know, it's it's guys, 273 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.200 believe that you're just going to go from zero to sixty. 274 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.480 Doesn't happen. Then just one play at a time, right, 275 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:52.279 that's all we can do. 276 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:54.600 And you know I've. 277 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:59.240 Challenged the team to embrace that. Just just taking care 278 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.840 of your business, do your job, do it right, and 279 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:04.960 then you know things will happen. 280 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:08.600 And of course he's right, they haven't always taken care 281 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:11.360 of business. So that's job one tomorrow. The other thing 282 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:14.840 is stay healthy. You've got Texas and Louisville coming up. 283 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:17.559 You know you're gonna win this one. If you don't, 284 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.360 you don't deserve to go anywhere in postseason. But uh, 285 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:24.000 you've got a shot at going to a bowl game. 286 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.200 Finishing six and six. It's going to take a huge effort, 287 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.320 but yeah, you've got Texas in Austin, then the home 288 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.879 game with Louisville, a good Louisville team coming up. So 289 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.240 win this one and come out of it healthy and 290 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:41.559 at least give yourself a fighting chance, and we'll have 291 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.960 it for you right here, one thirty kickoff. You can 292 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.960 listen on six thirty WLAP. It's a huge college football weekend. 293 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:54.120 This this game doesn't really I mean, it's vital for Kentucky, 294 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.639 of course, but in the national picture, there are a 295 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:01.759 lot of huge games and one of them Tennessee Georgia. 296 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.320 Tennessee can put itself into the playoff picture with a 297 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:11.080 win over the Bulldogs. And Pete Thammil of ESPN has 298 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:14.799 written that Tennessee has turned into Georgia, so they have 299 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:20.360 the better defensive line one through ten and that's how 300 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:26.039 Georgia dominated over the last few years, with a defensive 301 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.480 line deep and talented, and so many of those guys 302 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:33.480 now are in the National Football League. But a lot 303 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:36.720 of people expect Tennessee to win this one. They are 304 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.000 eight and one, number one in the Southeastern Conference. The 305 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:44.080 only team to beat Tennessee this year Arkansas, and remember 306 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.360 that was a bit of a surprise. Tennessee has beaten 307 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:51.840 three top twenty five teams Alabama, Oklahoma, and NC State. 308 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:56.279 You saw Kentucky Tennessee. The volunteers looked mortal. They left 309 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.200 the door open. Wildcats didn't have enough to storm through 310 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.840 it with all those injuries and mistakes Kentucky made. But Jordia, 311 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:06.680 Tennessee is going to be a big one this weekend, 312 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:11.640 the biggest very likely. Up next Brendan Quinn of The Athletic. 313 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:15.200 We'll talk about the piece that he wrote about Mark 314 00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:18.400 Pope and the entire Pope family. He sat down with 315 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:21.799 Leanne and all the girls, and it's a great piece. 316 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.519 I urge you to try to find it either on 317 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.599 The Athletic or the New York Times, but it is 318 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:28.880 worth the read back in just a minute here on 319 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.039 the Big Blue and Sider six thirty WLAP. Welcome back 320 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.160 to the Big Blue Insider. And you have heard me 321 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:36.119 through the years as we talked to our old pal 322 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:41.039 Kyle Tucker talking about the Athletic, a terrific website. And 323 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.599 the other day something popped up in my feed and 324 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:46.359 I am a subscriber, have been for a while, and 325 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:49.599 it was a wonderful piece by a gentleman named Brendan 326 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.680 Quinn who's on our Celebrity hotline. He wrote a great 327 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:56.039 feature story about Mark Pope and Brendan welcome to the show. 328 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:57.839 I appreciate you joining us. 329 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:03.599 Thank you, Dick. I got if you you're gonna need 330 00:18:03.640 --> 00:18:06.839 to check that hotline. If this is a celebrity status. 331 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:07.279 Here, I gotta. 332 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.880 Something's going to wright. But I appreciate Yeah, I appreciate 333 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:12.440 you having me on. 334 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.720 Here's the rule. While you're on the celebrity hotline, you're 335 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:19.640 a celebrity. Once you hang up, that's all. It's all you. 336 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:20.720 It's all you. 337 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:21.200 Okay. 338 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:23.559 I will say this though, in the Big Bow Nation, 339 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:26.119 if people read your story, you'll become a celebrity, at 340 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.039 least locally. Here was a terrific piece of mark and 341 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:32.000 there have been a gazillion stories written about him. Of course, 342 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:34.799 you kind of went at the family angle, which I 343 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:38.200 thought was fascinating. Tell me, first of all, why you 344 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:42.160 chose that, and secondly, tell me about the access you got. 345 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:47.039 Yeah. So this all of this kind of starts more 346 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:51.559 so last basketball season when I wanted to do a 347 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:58.359 story on BYU basketball and the intersection of you know, 348 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.200 the school being owned operated by the Church of Jesus 349 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:04.720 Christ the Latter day Saints, and that's been kind of 350 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.400 the mission of the university and the athletic department being 351 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:12.720 a vehicle for exposure for the religion, et cetera, et cetera, 352 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:16.640 et cetera. So that the dynamic of that and the 353 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:21.240 direction of college sports with pay for play with nil, 354 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:23.079 you know what I mean, where there's this kind of 355 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.400 it seems like there's a fundamental tension between those two goals, right, 356 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:28.599 So that's what I wanted to write about. So I 357 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:32.640 went out to Provo and spent three days with Mark 358 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:35.640 and had some behind the scenes access at in on 359 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:40.359 some meetings, got to know him fairly well. You know, 360 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:42.960 I thought the story was interesting, et cetera, et cetera, 361 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:45.319 But you know, we had a lot of conversations that 362 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:49.039 had absolutely nothing to do with the story, and it 363 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:50.519 was about him, and it was about his life, and 364 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:52.680 it was about his family. And I'm the son of 365 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:57.279 a coach, so I kind of grew up around. We're 366 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.519 in a family that kind of was, you know, described 367 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.240 to the schedule of a college coach. And now my 368 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:05.359 dad coached you know, track and field, across country and 369 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.200 all that stuff, but it was every weekend news away recruiting, 370 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:10.359 all that stuff. But so we talked a lot about 371 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.319 that and him having you know, a large family that 372 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.599 he was raising and you know, Leanne's experience of growing 373 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:17.640 up as a coach's child. So I just kind of 374 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.240 stored all of that right in the recesses of the mind. 375 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:26.119 And once you know Mark at the Kentucky job, you know, 376 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:28.319 one of my first thoughts was, Wow, that family's about 377 00:20:28.359 --> 00:20:31.839 to get you know, a lot of exposure, and that's 378 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.599 that's going to be difficult. And then obviously, once you know, 379 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:39.519 the great Kyle Tucker decided to you know, take his 380 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:43.559 talents elsewhere, you know, we had a void for the preseason, 381 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:46.400 and you know, we needed to do something on Mark. 382 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:49.799 I would argue that, you know, it's they're interconnected, but 383 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.920 him going to Kentucky and Calgo in Arkansas, and those 384 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.640 two and Cooper Flagg are probably the three biggest stories 385 00:20:57.720 --> 00:20:59.799 of the preseason, so you know, we needed to have 386 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:05.160 them accounted for. So I reached out to Mark and said, listen, 387 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.000 I would like to write something about you, but I 388 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:11.240 think it needs to kind of come maybe from the 389 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.519 perspective of your wife and your daughters, and maybe that 390 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:19.160 can help kind of have a broader audience learn about you. 391 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:21.000 Because one of the big things that you like, you know, 392 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.000 is you know, the second the game starts you know, 393 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.799 the human sides over. No one cares anymore who you are, 394 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.000 right once there's wings and losses. You are a video 395 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:35.400 game character and no one cares. So you know, I 396 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:39.079 just wanted to maybe give a portrait of the person 397 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:43.920 underneath the job title before before things got real. 398 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:47.759 Yeah, how did he respond? Because a lot of coaches 399 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.880 are very pretense as well, they should be of the 400 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.920 wife and especially the kids. 401 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:59.200