DEFENSE DEPTH CHART PROJECTIONS | CFB PREVIEWS: FLORIDA STATE, OREGON, OHIO STATE

e [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're the flagship program in this state right and and a [ __ ] a [ __ ] a [ __ ] [ __ ] good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to another edition of The Raw not the raw prospit podcast deep in the heart of Longhorn Sports ladies and gentlemen Wednesday August 21st 10:05 p.m local time here in a hot and humid Houston Texas we are officially Vince Young days from kickoff you know what that means 10 days away as of today from Texas kicking off their 2024 season and we are a mere less than 72 hours away from the college football season getting going we've got a loaded show for you tonight so we have don't have much time to waste uh my name is Michael wean joining me tonight is Mr Amy Nixon before we get to him and before we jump into our content for today which I'm sure you guys will find very interesting and fun so we're going to do a little exercise here in a minute uh please like And subscribe to our Channel um likes help the algorithm and we greatly appreciate if you subscribe and tell your friends about us Emy Nixon what's up what is up is we're 72 hours away from football and honestly like like we're here man like there's games this weekend like that's all that's all you really got to tell me and like I'm just so ready for it yeah and next week will'll be game week so as we've told you before before we hop into our first segment Emy and I are are are are planning on as we enter the football season full swing we're planning on sticking to a Sunday Tuesday Thursday podcast schedule and we've kind of outlined before how that's going to go during the football season on Sundays we'll be recapping uh the games college football that weekend um Tuesdays will be recapping the NFL games for that weekend as that'll allow us to get past the Monday Night Football games and then Thursdays will be a combination of di hole and or NFL and or playoff baseball shows that or Thursday night football live streams too right it'll just vary based upon the time and place that we're in you know if we're in the World Series it might be a baseball show um if it's right before the playoffs we might be previewing uh the playoffs but otherwise it'll be mostly football until basketball season starts so you guys have a lot of great content to look forward to especially here in the next week as next th on next Thursday's di hole we're going to be previewing some games um biggest amongst Are Notre Dame A&M uh Georgia CL we'll of course talk about Texas Colorado State and then there will be a couple others mixed in there and we'll talk about how we'll we'll do that and what that will look like um but in terms of deep in the heart of Longhorn Sports I can tell you right now to expect an NFL episode tomorrow night at least from what we've discussed another di hole on Sunday night and then NFL Tuesday night and then di hole next Thursday night before week one of college football kicks off um does that sound like a good schedule to you yeah we hop into it good okay so as you guys know if you've been consistently tuning in and we've gotten some pretty consistent viewership on these shows over the past month or two uh Emy and I along with going along our individual team previews in college football we've been Episode by episode talking about the Personnel position by position on this Texas football team and in our last episode of di hole we finished officially finished all the positions on the Texas defense and so I was thinking this week why not Emy and I get together as a collective football mine say I'm say like I'm Sark or and he's PK or vice versa it really doesn't matter but we get together like we're in a in a meeting like they're going to have here over the next week in preparation for the first game and why not we try to project the to deep on the Texas defense as we see it based on what we're hearing based on what we've heard from all the reporting and how we view these players why don't we go ahead and project the two deep of the Texas defense their base defense which is a 425 uh and have a little discussion here on the show we'll just run through the exercise and we'll see how long it takes so yep I'm going to bring up and then on Sunday once we finish going through the receivers and tight ends we'll we'll do the same thing on the offense um but I thought the defense will be a fun discussion so I don't know how much bigger I'm going to be able to make this I'll try while we're working on it to make it bigger um but basically what you see here is we're going to do do a two deep depth chart projection for each position for the first team and second team this projection up top will be what who we project to run out on the field the first play against Colorado State this projection down here is going to be what we see going on at the end of the season say after the regular season is over and if what we see you know fit for this Texas team going into the playoff or postseason things of that nature okay but we're going to start of course up top with the next week what we project for next week so I'm sarc you're PK let's go ahead and jump to the positions that we know so PK I think we would agree that the best we project Anthony Hill to be the best player on our def defense and he's going to start at Mike linebacker we're going to move him around do a lot of different things with him but he's going to start at our Mike linebacker position would you agree with that yeah Steve I agree yeah okay perfect and then next to him I think we gotta go David binda don't you he's got the most experience solid in run defense right yeah very smart football player doesn't have the physical gifts that maybe some other linebackers do but definitely a serviceable plus player like he showed at the end of last year so he's going to be our weak side linebacker um okay and then on the defensive line I think for Colorado State what we know is we're going to run out Alfred Collins at our three technique defensive tackle and we're going to run out Vernon Bron and this this is one of the positions that could change by season in but based on his experience in our base defense we're going to run out Vernon Bron next to Alfred Collins on our on our interior of our defensive line do you agree with that yes yeah I agree I think uh going into camp we weren't like the highest on the prospects of verton Bron starting for this team but he's shown a lot of good things in Camp um so you got to go based on that he's been in the program for years and if he can take a a step forward that'll be big for this team yeah absolutely so as I as I format this um we're gonna finish off our our our front seven here so um here's another guy who's been in the program for a long time he's coming back as a fifth year senior he led the Big 12 impress pressures last year as our strongside defensive end or what in the Texas defense we call our Jack position um Baron cell do you agree that week one based on his experience his his strength his ability to play the run his ability to generate pressure that Baron cell will start at the strong side edge position absolutely I I think he's going to be playing on Sundays come fall of 2025 I think you can just about lock that in with the skill set that he's developed I would agree um it's just a matter of where does he end up falling in the NFL draft next year provided that he stays healthy um and by the way guys all these projections are based of course on the fact that Health Texas gets a good bill of health throughout the season meaning most of these guys stay healthy um now at our week side edge last year it was you know Ethan Burke um played some there we had some other guys rotate in at that position but based on what we've seen in Camp and based on what our assistant coaches have seen I think we've got to have we got to put Trey Moore out there we went out and we got him in the portal we need some athleticism off the Edge we need to go get the quarterback and Trey Moore looks like the guy suited to do that and I think we should throw him out there first play see what he's got what do you think yeah it's an interesting conversation because it's a it's definitely a different skill set um I see Trey Moore as kind of more of a bjo speed off the edge kind of guy kind of that skinnier pass pressure um I don't want to throw the name Von Miller out there because he's one of the best of all time but kind of that skinny build of like a Tyrie Wilson that kind of that kind of guy um and Ethan Burke is I think a little bit more stocky and and can has the body tip to be able to defend the run better in theory uh but I just think the potential he that Trey Moore gives you as a pass rusher is just that much higher that you where you got to give him the The Edge no come intended so we'll go with Trey Moore and there's going to be lots of rotation at that position but for the first play we'll throw Trey Moore out there um for some pass rush you know um what's the word I'm looking for just for so just for the pass rush right the pass rush ability that he provides yeah okay third Downs now what everyone's really kind of talking about um it's been the story of Texas Camp of how good the secondary is looked in the two scrimmages um and so I think we know as of right now I think for the first play against Colorado State based on everything we've seen in practice everything that we've heard um we know that we're going to throw out Derek Williams at one safety position and likely Michael Taff at another uh safety position do you agree with that yes and and I think um the transfer that we brought in from Clemson he's still gonna play a role on this team and absolutely we're not saying he's not going to be involved but I think those are our two guys starting and I think with Derek Williams him being a five-star guy him being a guy that we see as a potential star at the safety position um it just feels like a guy that you want in there um getting experience getting reped early on in the season and if you need to go to that experience later on we'll talk about that a little bit later yeah absolutely okay so in my opinion only one of the three remaining positions is really up for grabs and it's the field F Corner because I think we know Malik muhamad has boundary corner on lockdown do you agree with that yep okay and later lock down yes and based on what he's shown in Camp um emerging as a leader and being a guy that's been thrown out by myself Steve sarkeesian a lot in these press conferences is trying to highlight the plays that he's making in Camp Jaylen Gilbo is going to be our starter at the nickel or Star position in our defense do you agree with that yeah from what I've heard he's the best tackler out of the bunch um and he's brought a physicality to the spot that hasn't been there from the other options there so I think from a coverage standpoint point I think we have really good options but I think as an overall player Jaylen Gilbo just has the edge in terms of physicality and you wouldn't think that based on his build either right okay so this is where we're going to start working our way down into the second team or players that are on the two deep and are going to get playing time but aren't going to be thrown out their first play against Colorado State I in my opinion based on the circum circumstances in what I've heard lately and what I've seen in practice we're going to give J Baron a guy who's been in the program a guy who came back to try to elevate his draft stock and a guy who we've put at outside corner has looked good at outside corner making plays forcing fumbles um to see what he can do at outside corner against um Colorado State I I think we throw J Baron who's experienced who knows our defense out there even though Gavin Holmes isn't too far behind um we will rotate in Gavin Holmes in fact I think Gavin Holmes had an interception and her last scrimmage um and he's been making plays all over the place but I think we throw J Baron out for his opportunity at field Corner opposite Mal Malik muhamad what do you say yeah and I think um moving him to the outside I've mentioned this on the podcast before it hides his weaknesses a little bit um when he's in the slot and he's facing those small quick receivers with those two-way goes he's not able to anticipate and use his his experience and smarts as the position as much U and I think on the outside you're facing those bigger more physical wide receivers I think Baron is more suited for that yeah I would agree so that finishes off our starting defense to start off our players on the two deep I think as we mentioned Malik Muhammad's got that boundary corner on lockdown barring some kind of injury which we absolutely don't hope for but Gavin Holmes is going to be the guy consistantly rotating in I think at least to start this season with j Baron at field Corner the wild card in this situation which we can potentially talk about once we get to you know our end of season projections is how does jvon Cole the transfer from San Jose um yeah San Jose State um factor into this rotational equation at the at the field Corner position but I think at least to start the season Gavin Holmes is that guy on the 2D what do you say yeah I agree um the speed and just frankly just how he's played in Camp um it just puts him in that spot pretty pretty easily okay and then I think we know that Andrew makuba is going to be getting lots of work to start the season as our third safety technically and the guy he's mostly going to rotate in with is going to be if we want our five best players on the field and this is no shot whatsoever about at what Michael Taff has become um but I think we're probably taking Michael Taff off the field rather than Derrick Williams what do you say yeah I I agree um Taff is someone who who I also think is going to get a look in the NFL but he's a he was a walk-on and had to kind of work for his spot and he's a he's a freaking heat seeking missile on defense but at the end of the day um you want that higher end athleticism on the field and that's what Derrick Williams gives you yeah um behind Malik muhamad at boundry Corner this is a curious one right now it would seem even though we haven't heard a lot of noise from this particular person you know in practice it would seem that Kobe black is that guy you know he's a five-star freshman I think he's suited with his size and physicality to play kind of the role that Manny muhamad played last year and he'll work in he'll get reps there um maybe jvon Cole moves over there at some point I don't know but I think to start the season it's uh one of these younger Corners I think Kobe black is that guy I mean there's a reason you go out and get these guys in recruiting what do you think well I I so here's the thing so I think um in my opinion the backup boundary corner is actually also Gavin Holmes but like if we were to like actually project if say Malik Muhammad got hurt I think you move up get Gavin Holmes into that spot but um for the sake of this exercise I think you're right I think it is Kobe black um and it's like you said it's an interesting conversation because there's some things that you can Shuffle around like maybe you can you know um maybe you can experiment with a little bit of Jade Baron in that spot kind of Shuffle around a few things in the in practice the week before um and of course that's if Malik muhamed gets hurt um but yeah I I think I'll tell you I think it is Kobe black I I think it it could vary based on our matchup right so there's a thing that teams do in depth charts where they'll put an ore at certain positions um you'll see it on the Texas depth chart once it's released on Monday I'm sure they'll have ores um at certain positions on the depth chart so I'm going to put Gavin Holmes because I think you make a good point or Kobe black how does that sound to you yeah yeah I think that I think that's more realistic okay um okay so let's work a little faster here so I think similar to what you said about Gavin Holmes um I think since they have some depth at corner I think if anything were to happen to to jayen Gilbo they just move j Baron back to to Nickel because he's he knows that position better than anyone else what do you think yeah yeah I agree I I think um that's definitely our best option um the other option year yeah the only other option I could think of that we could put an or proposition here is um goodness is uh I think it's the kid with three names I can't remember no is that who you're thinking up to no I'm uh thinking of gosh I don't know why I'm blanking on his name uh the only other option in my opinion would be galani McDonald who's worked some at safety and he's worked some you know he's in the same recruiting class as Jaylen Gilbo was a borderline five star um he's worked some at safety um and he's also works some at nickel I think the first options behind Jaylen Gilbo is J Baron but if we were to put someone else into this conversation I think it'd be galani McDonald or do you just want to yeah I agree I think uh I think we put both there again okay because if you wanted to keep that would be if you wanted to keep J Baron at outside corner um but that you know might might vary based on the matchup that week so who knows um all right so that's that um I think in terms of what we have at linebacker I think it's pretty set in stone yeah um I I don't know how comfortable right now we are with um our backup plan if Aunt ant hill was to get hurt but right now that guy seems to be Leona Le foul yeah um and then the way it's been the past couple years is Mo Blackwells gonna play that weak side linebacker behind uh David Benda do you agree with that yeah yeah um those are those are the main guys those are the Main Stays um I do want to run something by you though okay um we are approaching 30 minutes here and I'm thinking if we WRA this up in wrap up the first uh season first part of the Season projections at around 30 minute Mark I think maybe we instead of doing an end of season projection this episode maybe we do like a four-week checkin um after the week four game around the start of SEC play okay that sounds good to me yeah that way we can move on to the team previews okay um all right so let me I don't know why I didn't uh Mo Blackwell and all caps okay so here's where some conversation is going I'll just fix that later um it's all right here's where some conversations going to ensue because we're really deep at Edge at both of our Edge spots I think right now because he played both positions last year but he played mostly on the strong side with Baron cell I think Ethan Burke's that first that third Edge right now I and I think he's mainly behind Baron cell um but the question becomes then are we because I think technically you could make the argument that Ethan Burke is kind kind of that third guy behind both Trey Moore and uh Baron cell but there's also the Callin Simmons Factor um of this whole equation and then Justice spinley is a guy that's been in the program a couple years so since we're so deep at these positions what do you think is the way to go here um well I think we have Ethan Burke set in stone I think that's correct um with the defensive tackles though I don't I don't know if I really see it as a first string second string type of thing I I think who we have at the first team spots are kind of set in stone I think those guys are going to get the most stats out of the defensive Tacs but behind that everybody else I think is going to be on a even amount of snaps just kind of spread out uh the Alex januaries um the two guys we brought in from Arizona um do do you kind of see it the same way um you know who who in your mind has emerged within that group against Colorado State you might be right because it's going to be close to 120 130 degrees on the field and you know they're going to beat Colorado state they're they're hopefully going to beat Colorado State's brains in if they're the kind of team that we think they are um so I do think based on how hot it's going to be and you want fresh legs in there they want to get Reps for these guys in game in that game in preparation for Michigan which will will obviously be a much bigger challenge I do think you're going to get a lot of snaps for Alex January and I don't know about Cy or Mitchell that might be going a little too far um but I do think Alex January based on what he showed in Camp's gonna get snaps I based on what I'm hearing Germaine lay and Bill Norton would kind of be those Frontline guys behind Alfred Collins and Vernon Bron you would have Bill Norton play uh the nose tackle um you know no shade but right behind Vernon Bron and then you would have Germaine lay kind of play that three technique as he's more suited to do that behind Alfred Collins and yeah let's go ahead and lock that in then then you would then you then you could kind of work in Tia sea and Alex January okay that's at least what I would I would do for the yeah game I was really tuned into the defensive tackle room at the start of Camp um but since then my brain has more so focused on the secondary and to be fair like we still haven't heard a ton about Bill Norton Germaine lle and tia sea really emerging as guys that are standouts in practice now that could be a whole lot different like in 12 days we could be talking about how Bill Norton you know had three tackles for loss and had two sacks against you know Colorado State and how he should maybe take Vernon Bran's job or at least be vying for it but right now I think based on experience I would probably go Bill Norton um and Germaine lle as your two guys behind alred Collins and Vernon Bryan and then um beyond that man we just have the this other Edge position um for me it's probably a Ethan Burke or Colin Simmons discussion but I don't know it's it's tough what do you think Ethan burer Colin Simmons um where where do you see Colton bassic fitting against all this um that's a good question I um on the two deep right away I don't know yeah I I wouldn't say he's in too deep either um from what I've heard heard yeah I've heard Rod babers talking about this a little bit is apparently they're gonna move Colin Simmons around quite a bit like they'll have him here at this spot as the second as as kind of like a fourth Edge as a weak side guy but also he might play a little bit of weak side linebacker as well yeah he's along with Mo Blackwell that's a fair he's gonna play kind of the Anthony I think they wanted to play kind of the Anthony Hill roll that Anthony Hill played last year you know when he was moving around a lot before before he really kind of sat in stone at at you know weak side linebacker next to Jaylen Ford at the end of last season um but in terms of two deep and how we set it up for the sake of time I'm just going to put Colin Simmons here yeah can't go wrong with that but to your point like I do think when we check in after four games because you know Texas is going to get they're going to play Louisiana Monroe they're going to play UTSA they're going to play Colorado State mix all that in with the Michigan game uh Colton vasic who's a guy who's had his fair share of injuries since he showed up on campus and hasn't really been able to to work towards getting good playing time I think he red shirted last year from not mistaken so as a red as a red shirt freshman now that he's healthy and has shown flashes in Camp he could be a guy that in week four we're talking about potentially emerging into the 2D right um based on how things are going if or if there's an injury that that occurs but for right now we'll go uh Colin Simmons all right I agree with that that pretty much does it accept this other safety position I think based on what I've heard it's probably galani McDonald um who can play the nickel or safety um maybe Xavier filmy the five-star freshman I think that's probably a uh Andor situation but based on you know senority in the fact that galan's been in the system for a year now whereas Xavier philson he's been on campus for you know a mere six seven months I think for the first game of the season early on the season they would air on the side of caution and go with Galan McDonald but right that's my opinion yeah yeah I I agree with that okay um all right so that's our that's going to be our two deep projection segment I found that segment to be pretty fun we'll do the same thing uh for the offense next episode and then we'll do our four-week check-ins after the first four games you ready for some team previews yeah yeah let's do it man rapid fire team previews all right let's do this thing uh let's first start with a team that plays their first game this weekend against Georgia Tech in Dublin that is the fora State seminal um in couple minutes maybe even less than that go ahead and recap for us what was Florida State's controversial 2023 season well they did what they had to do um they went undefeated in the regular season they went they did what they had to do in theory of course they they had the unfortunate injury to Jordan Travis I think it was week 10 uh late late on the season and unfortunately for them with a mixture of their strength of schedule and they a mixture of their backup quarterback play looking incompetent because I think if their backup quarterback went in there and completed you know 10 of 19 passes for 120 yards in a touchdown yeah this this wouldn't have happened they would have been in the playoff right but because their backup quarterback wasn't would barely even able to complete a pass it just became a situation where they were left out um and now they come into this year obviously Mike gell as a super respected coach now with this rally and cry to back up what is already a very motivated roster here um they obviously lose a lot of talent but they also this is a team that just reloads every year man the transfer portal recruiting you name it um and this year is no different they brought in dju from Oregon State and word from Camp is that he's he's looked to have improved quite a bit um in this time in Oregon State and over the summer here um so this is a team that has playoff expectations like there's no way around it yes that is absolutely 100% correct everything you said was spot on look at the end of last year and I last year was it was the year of me standing on the table for Florida State um and of course it kind of all fell apart the SCS once Jordan Travis had that horrific injury to his lower extremity um but Florida State won all their games last year they won the ACC they took care of business they scheduled under right everyone wants to say you know Florida State schedule was weak last year and that I think that's more so a product of the ACC not necessarily having a strong year last year um outside of Florida State and that's fair but they did schedule and beat two SEC opponents in the in the regular season remember the opening game against LSU um where Keon Coleman went off and right took control that game in the second half like we all we all can look back on that and say well LSU's defense was awful um but they had an offense right that Florida state had to go up against they had a potent offense number one off held them to under 20 points yeah well I think it was 24 or something but like they held him to one of their lowest outputs looking back on of the Season uh and they they blew him out and then uh in addition to that I think they played who was the other uh SEC team that they beat last year uh was it Florida yes it was Florida and you know Florida wasn't great either but um that's still a rivalry game so yes they did everything they had to do they were one of three under under defeated power five Champions and it was unprecedented just because we we never seen a team a power a power five conference Champion go undefeated win their conference Championship and be left out of the playoff but because of the circumstances the unique circumstances that were there and obviously the ugly bow game uh they ended up getting left out so Mike norell returns for his fifth year um and he's one of the better Co Coes in college football knows how to recruit knows how to go out and identify the talent that fits their program in the transfer portal he basically built a lot of that team last year was built off the transfer portal key guys at key positions Keon Coleman Jared verse to name a few right um and he's done it again this year in some specs I think the ACC just in general the the top of the ACC is not getting enough attention for how competitive it could be this year I think Miami who we already discussed is gonna be a really formidable team a playoff Contender um if Cam Ward and some of those portal editions pan out the way that I think they can I think Florida State looking at their schedule um once again can be that kind of team and then Clemson you know his ever to be slept on if if Kate kumnick and that offense can take another step and they have The Playmakers on the outside you know and they have a much better offensive year than they did in past the past couple years they could emerge as a dangerous team because of what they have on defense right the other thing about the ACC too is they have a lot of Plucky teams in the middle pack too that can really upset all of those teams Virginia Tech NC State Louisville right yep those are the packet teams that we're not going to talk about individually but once we get into the season absolutely will be a factor of the equation so in terms of Florida State the main things you need to know are um you know this was a top 20 offense a year ago they were 19th in scoring offense they were they were um 12th in points per play um they were 46 in passing offense offense uh 40th in quarterback rating Jordan Travis had a really good year fifth in touchdown and interception raaco they were a good offense right they averaged almost 35 points per game not an elite offense but a really good offense um Jordan Travis departs after four seasons as the starter um and his best season was his last season so who comes in that quarterback will they go out and they get DJ uaga gay um who comes from Oregon State previously at Clemson um and you know he improved at Oregon State last year after a couple rough years at Clemson to start his career but he's a former five-star recruit with a huge arm uh just an absolute Hower for an arm he's a big guy 65 245 250 pounds um he's kind of a bowling ball in the Run game when he gets going downhill um he's not going to be nearly as Shifty or elusive or creative as Jordan Travis um but he can definitely extend the defense vertically and can help in short yardage as kind of like a goal line QB sneak guy um but the the one thing that's always been the concern with him is his accuracy um pretty much at almost everywhere on the field and so how much is that going to improve um could have a lot of you know impact on how far this Forida State team can go if he's the same guy he was at Florida State though I'll ask you this question or sorry at Oregon State what is um Florida State ceiling in your opinion because I think a lot rests on the shoulders of dju for this offense to succeed well I think if he's the same guy he was at Oregon State I think that's more than enough for this team to be able to to be able to compete at a very high level um I think he was very solid last year obviously Oregon state had a very potent running game that they had to offer as well um and I think DJ U will bring that to the table also I think they'll be able to move with the ball regardless of whether he's an elite passer but I think whether or not their National Championship threats or even I guess a second round threat you could say um that would depend on whether he can be efficient in the passing game but I think that's something that they'll tackle when they when they tackle it um and I and I also I have a lot of confidence in his ability to improve because the development track he's taken has been a steady CL like even in those rough years that Clemson he improved from the first year to the second year U so it's clear that he's putting in the work yeah he's always been a guy I've rooted for but I think if he's kind of around the same guy that he's been the past couple years last year organ State completing 57% of his passes with 21 touchdowns and seven picks that's good enough to get you through this ACC schedule to the ACC Championship game maybe at 11-1 10 10 or 10- two kind of record and maybe even get you in the playoff but I don't think the same guy he's been over the past couple years is is contending for say a national championship I think Florida State could be you know if they win their conference they'll get a buy and maybe then having to play in that environment getting that home field advantage getting it by they can make a run towards the national championship but if he's kind of this same guy that he's been I don't see them contending for a National Championship now having said that I like a lot of what they brought in offensively on defense though is where there are some questions they were a really Stout defense a year ago I mean if you take out the the bowl game just leave that out against Georgia which was an ugly one um Everybody sat out they yeah they were were a top five they were top five in most of the opponent adjusted defensive metrics they if you take out that game they were right up there with Ohio State Penn State Iowa and Georgia some of the best defenses in college football but seven other 12 starters are gone on the defensive side of the ball Five Guys return um and they are impact players but on the defensive line you're losing Jared verse who was kind of the local leader along with Braden Fisk on the interior um you lose two linebackers two longtime starters and kin Deo and Tatum bethon um and then in the secondary you're losing Renardo green jeren Jones and AEM D so you're losing a lot of experience and talent influx from this defense a year ago which made it one of the best defenses in the country um but they have F tril Cy who was a top transfer they got in last year's transfer class who set in stone at one of their Corner spots um they have a they have a really good uh nickel uh specialist azeri Thomas I think is how you say his name who's gonna headline their secondary back there they have a couple good safeties they recruit the defensive side of the ball extremely well Josh Farmer's going to return on the defensive line Daryl Jackson who was a rotational player last year is going to come back um they had DJ Lundy at the linebacker position um who was an ACC honorable mentioned guy last year they have three top top 200 kind of recruits behind him at that linebacker in that linebacker room I still think this defense can be very good I don't know if it can be as good as it was a year ago um but fora state has proven to under Mike norell to pump out really good defenses so I think overall this team has the Personnel to win the ACC um provided a lot of their key players stay healthy um for me it's more of a race between them in Miami than it is them in Clemson although I know that Florida State Clemson game is one of the big biggest games every year uh and still will continue to be I just um right now if you're asking me who I think is going to win the ACC I don't know that I view Florida State as kind of the the the favorite right now because I I kind of view Miami as that team yeah and with the conversation of gju is whether he and whether he improves to me it's the difference between them being a favorite in AC ACC Championship game against Miami or being the underdog to me that's the difference um and I think I would probably agree with you I have more confidence in cam Ward as a passer I have more confidence in Mike norell as a coach over Mario chrisal at this moment so that to me even things out um but regardless of what happens in their first matchup I think if they were to meet in the ACC Championship game it's all going to depend on the form of dju um and because I think Florida State's program is more established and even with all the roster turnover is more experien in these big games yeah I would agree okay to the Big 10 we go um these are teams lots of our audience and everyone around college football are either waiting to hear people talk about or are talking about every single day y uh let's start with Ohio State and then we'll talk about Oregon we haven't really talked a whole lot about Ohio State since portal portal nuggets yeah um they did a lot and they have a lot coming back there's a reason lots of these media Outlets as they start to unleash their predictions as we're now basically going full force into the regular season have Ohio State winning uh the national championship um they have a new quarterback they have a ton of starters coming back on defense they're just loaded at every and all positions but the the storyline around Michigan state is um you know from 2005 to 2020 the covid year Ohio State went 15 and one against their arch rival the Michigan Wolverines they were dominating Michigan uh um they had Michigan figured out but ever since then as we know the tables have kind of turned a little bit Michigan made it three in a row and this time they did it with a clock training a clock draining seven minute drive and an interception to seal it um so they they've kind of physically imposed their will on Ohio State in the last couple matchups in the running game obviously we know Michigan team is going to look a whole lot different this upcoming season the the some of the main pieces of the national championship team went to the NFL I mean I think it was 16 of them what what was the number for Michigan players getting drafted I think it was around there so the story around the number one story in my opinion around Ohio state is are they going to beat Michigan and if they don't what happens to Ryan day or what does that conversation look like um what is your kind of vibe on what happened last year with Ohio State their their you know the stretch that Ryan Day the the record that he has against Michigan now being one and three and um kind of how you view Ryan day going into this year well I I think uh I think for one you got to get the quarterback position right um obviously CJ Stroud what we know now like maybe okay like looking back on it maybe you could you should have taken advantage a little bit more of CJ stoud in terms of beating Michigan but regardless he ended up playing they end up making the playoff regardless and and took Georgia the eventual Nation champion champion to the brink uh so they've been in the conversation year over year over year for the national championship regardless of whether or not they've beaten Michigan and they've they it's not like they're getting blown out blown off the field by Michigan either um I mean losing by one possession at home to the eventual National Champion if you put it that way then it's a lot easier to to contemplate but because it's Michigan the sky is falling I think a lot [Music] of unnecessary like a lot of unnecessary discourse has taken place with Ryan Day in my opinion I think he's a very good coach and I think he's shown a willingness to evolve this offseason that I think that I like and I'm rooting for him to succeed this year because he went out and got a Chip Kelly to help him uh run things so that he can focus on the entire team as a whole uh not just the offense as much um he went out and added to the coaching staff and look to add a bit more physicality to their team um little things of that like that I think show that you're not just stuck in your ways as a coach and to me that's the sign of a good coach so if whether he wins this year or not uh whether he gets you know booted after this year or not I think um how we view success is just gonna I think is a little bit tainted when it comes to this right so here's here's kind of where Ohio state stands as a roster and then we probably got to jump to Oregon so we can wrap this up in less than an hour 20 um So based on and this is no shot at Kyle mcord who's still a young quarterback because he still did Place actually in the top 15 nationally in in quarterback rating last year but from what after what was such a fantastic run of elak you know NFL firstr caliber quarterback play for Ohio State under Ryan Day last year felt like a major step back from what they have had in the past um there were long patches of inconsistent play from Kyle McCord um you know 24 touchdowns thrown were the fewest by starting quarterback since Ryan day was hired in Columbus so he transferred out he went to Syracuse I think he's going to start for Syracuse I hope he does good things there but this year they go out and get a winner a big 12 Champion an experienced quarterback in will Howard um to to go along with their deep quarterback room they they've got a a a five star coming in this year in the 20 24 cycle a guy who they got you know from Alabama after Nick sain retired and Julian saan um who's a young guy who's going to be in this quarterback room they have Devin Brown um who was in a quarterback competition last year with Kyle McCord ended up losing it I expect him to probably be the primary backup to will Howard uh they have a lot of talent in this quarterback room um but will Howard he's a good player he's a winner he's experienced he's not going to be I don't think like frightened by these these big environments right I mean the weather up there is going to obviously be different you know the weather conditions are going to be different than down south in the environments that he was playing in in the Big 12 um but that's probably really the only thing you question about will Howard is how will he handle those different environments um but with the Talent around him as long as people stay healthy um in his experience in college football the player that he is second Team all Big 12 a year ago you know ahead of Quinn yers ahead of a lot of talent in that conference um 48 you know career touchdown passes I think um he's going to do really good things I think he's already been named a starter what what's your take on will Howard for this year um well you mentioned the experience you mentioned the fact that he's won big games before to me it's just going to be all about you're driving a you're driving a Ferrari you're driving a Lamborghini here um just don't crash that's really all you got to do um and obviously there's going to be moments where maybe the tire pops you got to repair it and then you got to keep moving like I I think uh for him it's just going to be all about who are you in the fourth quarter when it's third and 13 against an Elite pass rush in Eugene Oregon or something like that like we know who he is down to down in terms of consistency it's can he deliver in those big moments and that's really a question with any quarterback um but to me that's what I question yeah I think I had the same questions but when you talk about what he has around him I think the hire of Chip Kelly more so than anything is going to really boost Ohio State's running game not that Ohio State's running game has been bad in the past couple years but I don't think based on the talent that they've had up front and the athletes that they have in the the Back Field I don't think it's been you know as imposing as it could be at times in years past and when you look at Chip Kelly's UCLA teams what did they do they ran the they ran the damn football and they ran it effectively they were physical U I think that's the first thing he's goingon to do I think more so than anything you know he comes in as offensive coordinator he's gonna help with the offense um obviously I kind of view this as kind of like a tag team you know Ryan day very Adept in in calling you know scheming up passing I think Chip Kelly will really help this running game um you know I think based on their personnel they they they shouldn't really have any problem doing so they they return three um offensive linemen including both their tackles who got good playing time last year and they added a two-year starting center from Alabama and Seth mlin um who will fit right in on the interior that that offensive line and help the running game as he did at Alabama they have a a a [ __ ] ton of talent at running back and a [ __ ] ton of talent as they always do at wide receiver with Julian Fleming transferring to arrival by the way in Penn State they still have a meca egbuka um who was a thousand yard receiver back in 2022 and is now kind of being relied upon to be the number one Target and then behind him just four five stars you know we just have four five stars behind him that we'll throw out including the the the number one overall rated receiver in this past Year's recruiting class and Jeremiah Smith who's probably gonna start game one for them um then you have quinan jkin who you go out and get from Old Miss along with trayon Henderson who's coming back from an injury this offense should be one of the elite offenses in the country and that's to go along with a defense that was one of the best defenses in the country a year ago and they get eight starters returning um plus an allamerican safety in Caleb DS for some additional star power I mean are you kidding me um it it's really unreal what the kind of off season that they had any final words that you want to mention on Ohio State well I think um people need to realize that this is not a team that is overwhelmingly built on transfer portal and new additions obviously there is quite a bit of them and high-profile ones but there's also the the Bedrock the core of the team that is just all just returning starters um outside of maybe the wide receiver core that got a little bit um I guess uh poached a little bit by the NFL outside of that you look at just about every every position group on this team and you look at production standpoint oh you go oh that guy's returning that guy's returning that guy's returning and you realize just how deep and how good this team really is yeah yeah um Ohio State look they they retained almost all their players from last year they added another top five recruiting class um they layered on five of the best transfers in America they I think this year is the year that they're they're going to fix their Michigan issue whatever that is I think they get that game at home I think they'll win that game this year I expect them to I I it's hard to say who they're going to play in the Big 10 championship game maybe it's the team that we talk about here in a second in Oregon most people are projecting that I wouldn't be surprised if you know they go say they go to Oregon October 12th on the road they lose that game but then they get him back you know in the Big 10 championship game something like that happens uh but they're going to have a really good year and I expect them to return to the playoff and this year is the year where they need to contend for a national championship all right let's go ahead and talk about Oregon um just here in the next three four minutes give me your overall paint the picture for me last year and this year what you think about the Oregon Ducks well Landing is clearly building something really positive something that a lot of uh the media got behind including Josh Pate uh Joel clatt guys that we listen to a lot picking them to beat Washington twice in some cases and I think both of us did too uh we really bought into what Dan laning was selling here and I mean how could you not I mean the receivers that they had um the physicality on defense um for whatever reason though they just couldn't get it done in those two Washington games and that was their downfall they just needed to win one and that would have that would have done it um particularly the second one um that one really hurt the fact that they really got torn up on the ground the way they did and they come back this season they addressed um some of those things that Washington kind of exposed them with which is defensive physicality and Dan lanny's culture is still getting implemented here so it's another year on top of what is already building towards something really really special here so I feel I feel really good about where this Oregon team is at and losing B Knicks and bringing in Dylan Gabriel I think it is a downgrade in terms of playing in the Big 10 not having a guy with as big of an arm but Dylan Gabriel still is one of the best quarterbacks in college football last year so not a huge drop off yeah um it was really six points that made the difference for Oregon last year is a three-point loss to Washington in October and a three-point loss to Washington in December that really um made the difference in Oregon being in the playoff and not being in the playoff uh they competed in both those games they came up a field goal short twice though um against a bitter rival and you know losing to the National runner up two times isn't a bad thing uh most years from most programs but Oregon with what Dan Lanning has done having Oregon's Talent acquisition at an all-time high and having unlocked a higher tier of recruiting than what was initially a imagine for the Oregon program given where they are located in the country um you know kind of secluded in the Pacific Northwest which is a disadvantage for them in recruiting Dan Lanning give him credit because of his familiarity with SEC country and you know because of nil which Oregon has a ton of um they're doing some the Big 10 yep and moving and moving conferences definitely has something to do with it they're starting to really up their level of talent acquisition both from the high school ranks and in the portal um and and you know for a program like Oregon the goal for them is to close the gap they really don't have that much further to go they've done a really good job over the past couple years in closing the Gap in terms of elite of the Elite Talent meaning super Blue Chip level prospects from the portal and at the high school Rings those High fourstar five-star guys the elite of the elite um and they're not there yet like they're not yet to the level of Texas Georgia Alabama Ohio State in terms of the number of elite elite football players on their roster but they're the next thing closest to it and they're getting closer and if they continue to recruit like this over the next one or two years they'll be right there with those programs when it's all said and done so yeah um you know top 10 transfer classes backtack years um uh a high school class last year which shattered their previous records I think it was near top five nationally or somewhere around there they're they're definitely I think out of all the Pack 12 schools heading to the Big 10 they're clearly the best position of them all to have success right away and there's a reason why they're projected to finish you know second in the conference much like Texas is in the SEC and their first years in the conference uh but in terms of the roster before we wrap up here you mentioned Dylan Gabriel uh what they were able to do at quarterback in the portal is really impressive I don't think they get enough credit for not only getting Dylan Gabriel but also getting five star Dante Moore who was a five star in the 2023 recruiting class and started games at UCLA he's gonna sit behind Dylan Gabriel this year but you have your quarterback for now this year and trying to win a National Championship this year and then you have a a quarterback for next year a guy who'll be ready to step in right away um or at least we think um I like that okay Dylan Gabriel last year over 3500 yards 30 touchdowns only six picks and a 70% completion rate um he was a quasi Heisman Contender at Oklahoma last year one year of Eligibility so you have to make the most of it this year or at least you want to try to how do they do that well look their top their top rusher Bucky Irving he departs Troy Franklin's in the NFL now right that's so you obviously lose Lots from your team last year um but you pass the torch to Jordan James who I think is going to emerge as a well-rounded complete back and then even though you lose Troy Franklin like you you you return TZ Johnson um and you bring in a former five star and Evan stort uh from Texas A&M a guy who I wanted to Texas to get badly before like he was my number one choice even over jonte cook by the by the slimmest of margins in that 2023 recruiting class but he ends up going to A&M jonte cook comes to Texas and now things didn't pan out as well as I think they probably should have at A&M for a variety of reasons for Evan stort now he's at Oregon um and I think that's going to really work for them I I expect their offense to be good um defensively yeah you know they they killed it in the portal they went out and got Jamari Caldwell from Houston uh who was an all League defensive tackle last year in the Big 12 they they go out and they steal Jabar muhamad from Washington uh to fill that boundary Corner Spot he was first team all Pack 12 last year uh he kind of fills in behind Kyrie Jackson the hole left by Kyrie Jackson um they have uh a a really nice transfer from UTSA cam Alexander who's going to start in the secondary Jal Florence they're pretty deep at corner um they're replacing two starters at at safety we'll see how that goes but I think this defense with what they've added in the portal they're going to have impact Playmakers and I think they're going to be plenty good in terms of the physicality up front to to um to win a lot of lot of football games and position themselves to be in the Big 10 championship game and go far beyond that so I think after what happened in the Alabama coaching search where we heard you know that Dan Lanning was possibly a a candidate for that job I think after Dan Lanning released that video confirming that he was staying at Oregon kind of saying we have a program that can be the best in the country um I think that speaks a lot for the the culture that they have at Oregon now you know like Dan Lanning is gonna if you're being recruited whether through the portal or in high school you know Dan Lanning is gonna be here no matter what he's trying to build something special at Oregon and um that's going to help them in terms of their talent acquisition so I think I think if organ is healthy they're a they're pretty much like a a a top five top six team lock for me and a lock for a playoff spot do you agre with that yeah yeah I agree I I think the last thing that I would say on Oregon is just the the game against Ohio State the game do they play Michigan this year uh yes they do play Penn State I think um no Penn State they do play at Michigan right okay so Ohio State and Michigan yeah do you win one of those two games or both or neither I think that's where the narrative is going to start to be built on Dan Lanning if they end up losing both of those games it's gonna be when will Dan Lanning win win the big one or will he win the big one and if they end up winning both of those all of those questions will go away like that because he does everything else as a coach he motivates his team he recruits at the highest level he he gets guys in the transfer portal so all he has to do now is win yeah I would agree and they're in a very similar spot to Ohio State given you know Oregon even more so like Ohio State returns seven starters on offense nine on defense Oregon returns eight starters on offense and nine on defense and both did a fantastic job in the portal so they both have the luxury of getting a lot of their team back from good teams last year adding to it through the portal having impact freshmen that are coming in ready to contribute right away in different roles these are the two teams at the top of the Big 10 that are going to get the majority of the attention but there are you know as we've talked about we we we we discussed Penn State the year that they could have we've discussed Michigan kind of the wild card that they are this year and then you know if Iowa has a lick of offensive competency you know they could um based on what they are defensively um you know they could be 10 and two based on their schedule um same withka yeah and that they've already been going 10 and two you know with horrible offenses so it's not to say that I I'm predicting Iowa's going to be in the playoff or Nebraska's going to be competing for the Big 10 or even USC can make a run at that it's just like when you look at the the the top of the Big 10 and then you look at the middle class there could be a team in the middle class that emerges as a bubble playoff team like in Iowa or you know I don't know about Nebraska but you know one of these teams could could emerge as kind of that team I think Iowa would probably be the most popular pick Maybe USC if they get to 10 and two uh but we'll we'll have to see how it all plays out that's why we play the games ladies and gentlemen any closing remarks or parting shots before we get out of here tonight um I think that I think that episode went really well man I uh in terms of closing remarks I just think I don't know it's just it's been a long time coming talk waiting to talk about these three teams in particular Ohio state was one that I had on my radar for a while obviously um as we said at the start of the show like this is these are the three teams that are just that just live in media conversations when it comes to college football so um there was obviously a lot to say and we we did it an hour 20 minutes which is a little over what we normally do but um I think it's well worth it yeah it's it's going to be kind of the nature of the Beast for the next week and a half as we get into the swing of foot of of game weeks but I think once we get into our recap episodes you know we have so much to talk about so much that is on our minds going into the season as Texas fans but outside of that trying to cover the broad scope of college football mainly the SEC and Big 10 with the new 12 team playoff and everything else that's thrown to play here um that these preview episodes are probably going to end up being a little bit longer and drawn out um than the inseason episodes will be I I anticipate the End season episodes being more so in our target range 45 minute to an hour kind of kind of shows right but obviously Texas show so yeah it's going to be like we're going to cover the full scope of college football as much as possible but it's going to be in the frame of of how it affects Texas and teams that Texas is competing with in terms of the playoffs right and I was you know one of the exciting parts of moving to the secc and this is this will kind of be my my paring shot and I've heard this brought up on a couple different other outlets from a a couple Outlets that I listened to um is watching an A&M game is going to have different meaning for Texas Fan because you you're you're on that collision course for the end of the season that huge game at the end of the year um watching Michigan's game in week one is gonna have a whole lot more meaning for Texas than it did in the big watching any Michigan game you know watching any Georgia game early on the season has a whole different meaning for Texas fans than it did when they were in the Big 12 and there was no real Collision Course for Texas and Georgia to play um that's one of the exciting parts of moving to the SEC because I don't know I can't speak for you but I think I can speak for a lot of Texas fans maybe you included that weren't watching TCU really closely the week before Tex play to try to see what that what that potentially is going to look like or honestly yeah on that note too is like that could even be a segment just like opponent Texas opponent scouting yeah um I think that's we'll we'll talk we'll try to drill down into that idea more but that'll be something that that in some form or fashion will be a part of our our Thursday episodes um okay uh 10 days from kickoff we're getting there folks um Technically when we do our deep in the heart of Longhorn Sports episode on Sunday it's game week because I consider Sunday the start of the week so yeah uh there's that um and then um we'll have an NFL episode for you guys tomorrow night that's going to be I believe it's next up the Lions and Texans I think is what it is I had to double check that but because I believe we have I believe we have well I won't reveal the rankings but I think it's lions and Texans that's what we'll be doing tomorrow and then I haven't quite decided on my recruiting show obviously we missed out on it last week but there wasn't a whole lot of action on the recruiting front this week the recruiting show is going to be pretty jam-packed um that's all I can really say right now we've got you know the Michael fusi decision we've got Jonah Williams is committing on on on Saturday we've got Nick Brooks um who's an offensive lineman he's committing on Friday Jamie French is committing next week um it's commitment season in the world of recruiting we've got diaab Bell Texas's quarterback commitment the in the class of 2026 playing live on ESPN on Friday night there's a lot there so um yeah we'll be talking about all that I don't know when that will be yet probably be Friday night maybe I don't know yet we'll see uh but until then until tomorrow night and until Sunday night this has been deep in the heart of Longhorn Sports 10 days away from kickoff of the 2024 Texas Longhorns football season we cannot be more excited please if you are watching live like And subscribe it helps our algorithm it helps recommend our videos to you know people on YouTube and tell your friends about us if you have friends that like sports or like the Longhorns tell your friends to check us out we greatly appreciate it for Emy Nixon and for Michael wean we'll see you on Sunday night for another edition of deep in the heart Al horn sports but until then keep your horns up hook them and peace out