Depth chart notes and a lookahead to week one

howdy and welcome back to the ineligibles podcast my name is Will stone at willstone CFB on Twitter and folks it is game week for your fighting Texas agies college football we we got a little taste this past weekend with week zero Florida state Georgia Tech we'll touch on that later but this is the the the real deal is is this weekend and Thursday's got a couple games Friday a little bit lighter but Saturday man it is jam-packed you have Georgia Clemson at 11: you have uh Florida and Miami at 2:30 you get A&M and Notre Dame at 6:30 on ABC college game days in College Station Kirk herb Street Chris Feller on the call um I I if if you can't get excited for this weekend as an A&M fan or as a college football fan I I it's not for you you're in the wrong you're in the wrong sport you're in the wrong business so um real quick if you're new here like us subscribe to us on Apple uh Apple podcast Spotify YouTube ineligible pod um you can follow me uh I have very mediocre takes on Twitter at wistone CFB um although I will toot my own horn uh as if I don't no one else will um sold Florida State last week in our Buy sell hold uh thought they lost quite a bit did not think they were the number 10 team in the country and they lost in week zero so uh we're one for one so I just that's probably as good as as good as we're going to get all year we're batting a thousand right now so um lots to get into today we have depth charts from Notre Dame and A&M both coming out today didn't think we'd even get a depth chart to be quite honest with as secretive as Mike Elco has been uh throughout his his tenure here so far U but we got one we can I've got some thoughts on that some thoughts on what NRE Dame is doing I don't think we've touched on their offensive line situation up there because it was kind of in flux after the injury to left tackle starting left tackle Charles jagas saww um so uh yeah there's there's a lot to get into uh every Monday night and Wednesday night from now until um I guess until my son is born if you didn't know that I'm expecting my wife and I are expecting our first child uh November 26th days before the A&M in Texas game lone star showdown um so until uh he arrives uh we're doing this show every Monday and Wednesday so um we'll we'll figure out after that whenever whenever that gets here so um but yeah big big big big show uh Robert Barons is joining the program on Wednesday to give some season predictions um Al of course talk about this game with uh A&M and Notre Dame I'm going to try on most weeks against a a big- Time opponent like a conference game or you know like a a pretty good opponent try to get someone on from the other from the other team uh and have a little bit of you know uh different perspective and and that sort of thing so I feel like we had Ryan Roberts on a few weeks back got some good Notre Dam talk there um so yeah this week is just kind of homering it up you know we're going to have Robert on um and try not to go overboard like this is this is as high as it gets you know days before the season starts so the Kool-Aid is Flowing everyone's optimistic everyone's undefeated except for Florida State um so yeah things are great right now but let's jump in and talk about this game so it's there's so many interesting story lines around it we we've talked about it a lot but Mike Elco you know first game in College Station after the the six years of Jimbo Fischer you know pulling the trigger on that buyout all that sort of things uh you couldn't the A&M program couldn't sit through a lame duck here they had to they had to get rid of Jimbo they had to bring in someone that could kind of steady the ship and and ease everyone's anxiety and just get this thing organized and I think they've got that with Elco uh we're going to find out a lot uh this weekend um and if if anim loses this is not the end the end of elos era I can I can promise you that it's it's not a must-win game it'd be great it'd be a great way to start but it's not you know if if A&M comes up short do not start selling your your Mike Elco stock I think that's going to make you look foolish um but uh but here we are so uh Elco has coached at Notre Dame and at A&M uh played against Notre Dame last year as the head coach of Duke and nearly took them down uh college game day was also at that game uh the first time that Duke had ever hosted college game day uh oh and elco's quarterback is the quarterback for Notre Dame now that that we're playing on Saturday so um so it's it's a lot going on but let's let's talk about about A&M's depth chart first uh there's there are still quite a few ores uh on this list if you never if you don't know what that means or you don't you're not privy to to college or NFL depth charts um especially in college like in NFL like they'll tell you who's starting like there's no secrecy there for some reason college teams feel the need to uh hide as much information as possible and try to you know throw some smoke screens and in a few cases it is warranted there's one we're going to talk about in a minute that is warranted as far as ANM is concerned um but a lot of ores so for for for example at right tackle you have Demetrius crownover or Reuben FY they're not announcing a starter at this time um and all the ores are in alphabetical order so you can't say oh well this guy's listed first he's the likely starter it doesn't work that way so uh as of right now most of the of the spots well I think all the ones that we already kind of knew uh like there's no ores with those like your starting left tackle is trun your starting quarterback is Conor Wickman you know um Nick Gorton and Shamar Turner and Shamar Stewart they're starters you know like we we all knew that torian York starting middle linebacker but um a couple of interesting notes I I think number one for me and so there's no or here so I'm I'm I'm taking this I'm taking their word for it this could be wrong by the time Saturday gets here but on the offensive line they have uh three solidified starters they do not have an or designation next to their name so left tackle trun left guard Chase bantis uh we knew that uh but Right Guard penciled in uh with no or next to his name is armaj Reed Adams the Kansas transfer now we talked last week about some uh experimentation that was going on with the offensive line um they were looking at uh Reed Adams at right tackle and maybe and Mark nabou or cim duberry at Right Guard with kie Fu the Utah transfer at Center and uh and no Ruben FY in that lineup you know because I I I thought he would be your starting right tackle coming into the year and then you know I think he was there the first week of camp and then they kind of mov Reed Adams out there to see hey what do we have with him at tackle can he play it is he our best one you know do we need to like we should look at that and see if he is it looks like from this depth chart that they have settled on Reed Adams as the starting Right Guard um so what that means is now there's a battle at R tackle between crownover and Ruben FY I would lean heavily to sing Ruben FY uh take the field as your starter at right tackle on Saturday um but what's interesting is you know in all of those when people would talk about oh they're looking at Reed Adams at right tackle and they were like oh if we do that it'll be uh it'll be coie from the the Utah kid it'll be [ __ ] at Center and then Mark neoo at Right Guard and then read Adams at right tackle or if it's not that it'll be Mark Neo at Center and then read Adams at Right Guard father he right tackle and the whole time I'm like why can't [ __ ] start at Center anyway you know and you know I think and that's what's listed here like there's a battle at Center between kulie Fu and Mark nabou so it's not like this set in stone thing like like those two lines that I just talked about are your only options there's still a battle going on at Center between those two guys there's still a battle at right tackle although I think that one's probably a little more uh favored toward one side with FY being the best bet there um but very intrigued to see with what they do at Center um but I I love if this is the lineup and I'm taking their word for it I'd love this I thought that I think this is their best chance to get the best five on the field and what you can do like I've said over and over I think Chase bantis is is going to play at an all conference type of level this season I've got a ton of faith in him uh just a big strong dude at guard can move people in the Run game uh will look for work in pass Pro and not give up any ground in pass Pro um but Reed Adams you know on the opposite side at guard 6'5 330 you know fifth year player from Kansas um just a big physical like the the Run game is what he does best is run blocking um and I I would rather have that I'd rather have your two guards be these you know Road grading type of run blockers uh and they're both pretty great like pretty good in pass Pro too like Reed Adams he's got he's he's pretty lightf footed um he's got long arms uh I thought he showed very very well in pass Pro in the spring game I know that's just one instance but uh even you watched some Kansas state from last year and he's handling Byron Murphy and tandre sweat just fine you know uh and those were two abs absolute stud defensive tackles for uh the Texas Longhorns so uh I think this gives me a lot of hope that uh A&M will run the ball very effectively and I think that's kind of the theme as much as I love Connor wigman calling client's thing is I mean it it's it's getting you know it's getting the ball to your Playmakers and and scheming Guys open in the passing game but it's also creativity and ground and pound stuff in the Run game and I think these two guys at guard are going to be a terrific tandem but a big big fan what they're doing there um at receiver pretty interesting um I think if you followed it closely you kind of already knew this uh Noah Thomas uh is your starter of course at The X receiver um Jay Walker will start at Z and then Cyrus Allen the Louisiana Tech transfer will start at the slot um moose Muhammad who most people thought is a top three guy uh is listed as uh second string behind Juday Walker at the Z receiver I think he's going to play a lot I think those four guys are going to play a ton what's not listed here or I guess who's not listed here is Terry busy I think that's the trump card that elco's going to hang on to for a few more days until Saturday um I actually caught a little bit of Marcus Freeman's press conf conference today in Notre Dame uh he was asked about Terry busy you know I think I think they're aware that he's practicing on offense and Coach Freeman was like yeah like we don't know where he's going to play we don't know if he's going to line up at running back or receiver or slot or uh I think Freeman said you know they expect busy to return kicks and punts uh against them this Saturday but as far as on actual offense they don't really know what to expect so they're kind of preparing for it all you know for anything that that uh the aies might throw at them with with Terry busy but um he is listed as uh the number one punt returner and uh the main kick returner along with Levon Moss so um you're going to see number two in in maroon and white uh field some kicks this weekend and probably get some run on offense I'm really really intrigued to see how they use him I think it's an interesting story uh storyline um on defense there's some interesting stuff here so we talked about the dline uh three of those spots are solidified no ores next to their names uh at one defensive end you have Nick scorton as your starter uh Joshua celiscar the UCF transfer as his backup uh a defensive tackle I think this is probably the three technique uh Shamar Turner uh listed at 6'4 300 lb second Team all a year ago he's your starter at uh at the 310 Tech and then uh my man Gabriel Brownlow dindy listed as a second string or along with Rus Johnson the transfer from Wisconsin so I think you'll see all three of those guys and then at the other Tackle Spot DJ Hicks or Albert reaches uh so 65 300lb true sophomore uh or the 6'2 310 lb fourth year player from leaport I think those guys will rotate probably more than any on the defensive line um and maybe even tradeoff I think they they probably swap out like within the same series and maybe maybe you see Albert reges on first and second down you see David Hicks on third down and uh I think you see both of them a lot uh in in in games this this fall uh they're the defensive end Shamar Stewart uh 6'6 290 Pounds uh true Jr he's he's set to have a really really big year behind him is Malik Sila 6'6 245 what's interesting to me about this and I went back and looked at some dep charts at A&M from when Mike Elco was here I looked at 2020 I looked at 2021 I didn't see this position on here so maybe this is a new thing um I guess Duke just doesn't do depth charts I could not find one online so if you have a Duke dep chart from 2023 or 2022 send it my way because I could not find it uh but there's a position called Jack which I'm assuming this is like a you know outside linebacker Edge rusher type of guy that that there will be certain packages for this position um and the starter is uh number 18 cases Hal uh transfer from Bowling Green and behind him is Ryland Kennedy uh up to 6'4 and 240 lbs uh I bet he got here at close to 190 maybe 200 lbs so he's he's made a big big jump in his in his physique and uh I think both those guys are certainly guys to watch off the edge uh the will linebacker spot still not settled there's there's a couple spots on here where there are three ores um and this one is one where it's in like it's for the starter not and not second string so uh like we said last week Solomon to Shields the transfer from from pit uh Damen Sanford and Scooby Williams are all listed as ores so you know co-starters for that will linebacker spot uh likely a competition still going uh there at the nickel so this is where you see a little bit like this is one of the few places where you see someone's name at two different spots you didn't see that really anywhere else on the depth chart unless I miss something um but torian or sorry tyreq Chappelle is listed as your starting nickel um well he sorry He's listed as an or with Jaden Hill um side note very very dumb thing uh that uh my good friend Carter Carl pointed out today um Jaden Hill who could be your starter at nickel it's going to be himmer Chappelle uh will have to sit out the first half of this game because of a targeting penalty that he got while he was at Florida against Florida State nine months ago in in a in a game where you know for a team that went five and seven didn't play in a bowl uh this is just so dumb like and and it's it's surprising to no one that the NCAA would do such a dumb thing like make a guy sit out after transferring schools and like no bowl game and like nine months later like after the fact oh you have to sit out for a half a football because uh we thought you had targeting on that play um just incredibly dumb stuff from the nacaa but um I think Chappelle starts if you do see Jaden Hill it won't be till the second half uh due to that penalty um and then at corner uh fiveman battle here looks like for two spots at one at one corner spot you have Tyreek Chappelle or BJ Mays or Javon Thomas at the other spot you have Willie III the transfer from Kansas State or Dez rcks the transfer true sophomore from Alabama former five star Prospect um those I would I would think so I think Chappelle starts at nickel and it's not one of your outside corners but any two of those other four it wouldn't shock me to see them run out there if it's if it's will Lee and BJ Mays if it's BJ Mays and Dez Ricks if it's Willie and Dez Ricks if it's Javon Thomas and BJ Mays like it could be any combination of of those four um and I think once again a bunch of these guys are going to play I think on defense especially defensive line in the secondary maybe that second linebacker spot um you're going to see a lot of guys rotating in and out and a lot of different guys uh log playing time this this Saturday not just against the the more cupc games on the schedule but I think in in the big games like this weekend you're going to see a lot of different guys uh getting snaps on defense um at one safety spot Bryce Anderson you know he's the lone starter there's no ore there we all know what he can do at the other safety spot there's a three-way battle between Dalton Brooks Trey Jones uh the grad transfer from from Central Michigan or Marcus Ratcliffe so those are three ores at the other safety spot I would think Dalton Brooks takes the field first and maybe there's a package where you have you have Bryce Dalton Brooks and Trey Jones on the field at the same time and you know just trying to play some different matchups and see what they can do um on the back end uh your place kicker appears to be Randy Bond uh coach Elco has raved about him in in in press conferences I know agie fans are pretty tough on our kickers um we've had some uh some great ones we've had some uh some very average ones over the years Bond bond has the ability he's he's hit some from 50 plus it's just the consistency and playing playing without a special teams coach is probably where is probably where you see his struggles you know uh like you see the struggle of not having a coach the most is not like you have a kicker that like is Jimbo like was he teaching him how to kick I mean uh it doesn't make a lot of sense to me so uh Randy bond with an actual special teams coach um well let's hope he's a little more consistent this season uh Tyler white he's your partner for the next four years he's tremendous um and then Jacob Graham is your holder uh great name and then Tyler white the punter is also the holder uh we talked about kick returner uh Lev on Moss a lot of folks don't like that um I tend to agree it was different when you had achain like obviously you want the fastest player on your team who's a just an incredible player and athlete you want that guy returning kicks because exhibit a against Alabama that changes the tide of the whole game when you house one in that kind of environment and situation so but Moss it's different with him I think this probably would have been Ruben Owens had he been healthy um but with him out I and may it maybe like this is one of those things where he's just like the the lead blocker type of guy but even then I I I I would I would I would prefer our lead back not be uh in the line of fire on kickoffs um he's he's too valuable but uh these coaches know more than we do so we'll have to you know trust them to to do what's right so um I think I hit everything on on the depth chart but um I like what they've done on the offensive line or at least what it appears that they are are trying to do um putting Reed Adams at Right Guard um yeah I mean there's there's not a lot here that we didn't already know I think that's probably the biggest piece um maybe Cyrus Allen being the full-time starter at the slot uh maybe a little bit of a shock to some folks but um I'm I'm expecting some big things out of him um also Trey Watson is your your starting tight end so uh number 84 6'5 250 from presno State uh he's your main guy you will see multiple tight end packages some some 12 personnel and things like that this weekend I I would assume the third you know or sorry the second string tight ends a three-way battle between Shane Calhoun Donovan Green and melon orstrom uh this the the kid from Sweden I would think that melan orstrom is your first uh or sorry is your tight end too um but we'll see we'll see how they play that um looking at Notre Dame and their death chart uh so I I don't think that we talked about their oine plan like at like since so we had Ryan Roberts on like right before fall Camp started and then he's like yeah he's like this offensive line is is talented but they're very young and inexperienced um at that point he was like oh there's less than 20 starts uh career starts that are going to be on the starting line I'm like oh that's that's kind of a concern well then the the guy that was going to start a left tackle he gets hurt he's out for the year uh that was Charles jacksaw he they they've got high hopes for him he was a very highly rated Prospect you know 67 330 big athletic dude um not a a a great player yet but we'll probably get there at some point um and but he only had one start so uh they were going to plug in Tosh Baker that's what I thought fifth year senior former five star Prospect but it appears that Tosh baker has lost that battle to a true freshman Anthony knp uh Anthony knp is a 6'4 290 lb true freshman uh who I think was a composite fourstar but not like a super highly rated one um and I'll be honest like I watched the spring game I I think the kid has a lot of a lot of talent and a ton of potential but to ask a kid who's a true freshman in his very first game of college football who's 6'4 290 going against 66 290 and 64 295 or 290 um future first round second round NFL draft picks in a college station at Kyle Field with 105,000 at night uh that's tough like any any way you spin that that is that is not a good situation uh to have to have that be your your your left tackle in in this game so um it's been talked to death kind of on Twitter message boards but um you can't overstate it like that is that is bad I would assume Notre Dame's coaches are extremely worried about how they're going to block A&M because there are four or five guys that are going to be draft picks there's probably more than that but like like like high draft picks like first round second round you know next next spring next April so um yeah it's that's tough on the other end what we don't talk about a lot because I think I think Notre Dame likes this kid I think he is athletic he'll be a good player but the right tackle is Emil Wagner who is uh I think a third-year guy 6'6 290 I mean you look at him in patch you're like this is a right tackle in in a power five conference and not that and not that he's going to be a bad player I think he could be a very good player but there's there's a thing called physics where it doesn't really matter what uh like how good your Technique or how strong you are if there's guys that are bigger are the same size as you that are uh you know third and fourth year players who are physical and you know have have the the technique that a guy like Nick scorton has has the you know explosive ability and uh and strength that uh Shamar Stewart has that's rough man I mean if if they had two tackles that were talented kids that were 67 330 on each side then I be like okay that may be a little tougher to handle uh a little bit bigger guys that can you know slow our guys down if they get their hands on them but um man that's rough that that's a that's a that's a tough matchup for these for these kids in their in their first starts first starts for both of those guys neither one has started a football game uh in college and then it left sorry it left guard um in talking to Ryan Roberts he said oh like less than 20 starts well 13 of those 20 were from one guy who's who got beat out this all in Pat cougan Uh Pat cougan started every game for them last season and then was in a battle with him and Roco Spindler and then uh true sophomore or sorry Retro Retro freshman uh not has not played in a game I don't think or maybe if he has uh he definitely hasn't started maybe he's played mup but uh Sam Pendleton and you know highly rated kid 6'4 305 beat out some veteran guys which is that's a positive a positive thing but once again your entire left side has never started a college football game and their first game ever starting is on the road at cyfield in a night game first game of the year first game of a new coach where the energy is going to be off the charts and yeah that's it's probably the the biggest it's certainly one of the biggest factors in kind of my feel on this on this game on this matchup it's not the only one but man that's it's just such a it's such a key position uh for one side to have such a decided Advantage which I think A&M has um so now the other spots Center Ashton Craig uh Right Guard Billy shra I believe both those guys started the final three games of last season played well the coaches they love them up there uh all the you know the the Notre Dame folks I listen to think they're they're pretty uh they're pretty good players so I don't think this is some scrub offensive line you know across the board that Notre or that A&M is just going to you know completely dominate but there's a very very decided advantage to to A&M in this game with I mean there's there's six starts on this offensive line there's one third-year player sorry two third-year players and and a true freshman and two two sophomores I mean that's not good you know that's not that's not where you want to be so um I think we're definitely going to have more you know uh on on Wednesday's show but um man that's that's tough for Notre Dame okay so Elsewhere on the Notre Dame depth chart so there's a couple of things I want to touch on with not just the depth chart but with kind of the whole their whole vibe at Notre Dame um trying to sound like a as objective as I as I can here which I know is an impossible feat um but so Notre Dame seems very confident in their team which they should be they have a very good football team their defense was fantastic a year ago they upgraded at quarterback um they brought in a new coordinator on offense it's Marcus Freeman's thirdd year they have depth they have talent all that good stuff um offensive line obviously big question but something that that kind of irks me when I hear it uh and it's it's definitely it falls under the the coach speak umbrella is when some or and even the media umbrella when a when a team when someone says about their team that they cover or or that they coach and they're like oh this is the deepest blank room we've had ever you know this is the deepest receiver room we've had in in 20 years this is the deepest linebacker room we've had since 1920 I'm like okay so you're saying that like being deep with players who are above average or good doesn't mean a whole lot I mean if you're if you're deep if you have a true to deep of all NFL players like Alabama and Georgia have then that's great then that's that's what depth is if you have guys that like oh like we have a freshman who's really talented we think he'll be good um we have a red shirt sophomore that hasn't started yet but has a lot of ability that's not being deep at a position if you have like unless you've got without a doubt proven guys like it's just kind of a false it's kind of a false message like you're saying oh like it's saying this is the best linebacker room we've had or the best receiver room we've had in a long time or forever and if your if your top-end talent isn't as good it doesn't matter how deep you are you know if you're deep with above average players who don't suck but aren't Elite what does that really matter you know in terms of being a a a elite football team you know I I just don't understand that but um I say all that to say that Notre Dame thinks that uh you know this is the deepest linebacker room they've ever had the deepest um receiver room they've had in a long time and I don't I want to talk about their receivers because they they love their receivers like their media do um apparently from talking to some folks up there I don't really know why they are so optimistic I mean to be frank I I don't think I would trade A&M's receiver room for theirs and that's like our biggest weakness that's what every A&M fan would say oh like I love our defense I love our quarterback but I don't know about our receivers you know like that's kind of our that's kind of our unknown at the moment and they've got some guys you saw on their dep chart they have they have three receiver spots and they also like every starter has an ore next to him they think they have a top six of guys who are going to get in the game and play uh most of the most of the snaps but um like they got Jaden great house who was a true freshman last year injured I think had a knee injury and came back he's fully healthy um Westlake kid good player I I like I like what he can do kind of a tweener I thought he may be a tight end h-back type coming out but he's a full-time receiver and uh that's that's what he what that's what he's going to play for Notre Dame um they have a guy who was a lacrosse player who's actually reminds me a lot of an ni Smith very quick um seems to kind of always be open plays with a lot of effort uh in Jordan fison but then you have guys like I I don't see a lot of difference makers like they they got Bo Collins from Clemson uh he never did anything at Clemson like there's no track record of being a awesome player at Clemson um I know they've had their struggles on offense in uh in in Clemson South Carolina but uh I I don't think that that the offense was holding Bo Collins back I just think you know he's he's a fine player he's not an elite player uh Chris Mitchell from uh Florida International very fast kid over a, yards a year ago for Florida for FIU uh playing in in the cusa um yeah that's that's cool uh we got some guys from from some lower conferences that we like you know we don't think they're going to set the world on fire and be you know they got the OC from LSU from the past couple years Mike Den Brock um I I I don't know if they're expecting these guys to be Malik Neighbors in ran Thomas but they're probably not going to be that um so I don't know I mean they talk about oh you know we have the best secondary in the country which not going to argue with that they have a great secondary but the re the the confidence in the receivers I I don't quite understand for them yet um but honestly a a pretty good test a pretty good first test for our defensive backs um a position that was so porous and much maligned a season ago um that really held the team back so uh great first test I may eat my words next week you know up here uh up here talking all this mess but um where else uh so they're they're linebackers um they've got five or six guys that are probably going to play um mostly BigTime recruits very athletic kids uh that's something that I've got my eye on is their linebacker room um and really this whole team but I need to get a sip of water before I finish this thought real quick quick okay oh good okay I've got some comments here from uh from Joe long I think Joe long's a another Dame fan um you have to understand we've had nothing for years in our wide receiver room I I get that I I can I can understand that um when you go from now I I will give Notre Dame some credit here they were beat up pretty bad at receiver last year guys getting hurt missing games that sort of thing so just to have a room that's fully healthy with some guys that have some talent I I can understand that if if if that's where your confidence is coming from um and Mike denrock is a guy that wants to open it up and get the ball downfield so um if that's if that's what the the the synopsis The synopsis is then okay I would tend to agree that that's a uh a reason for optimism for them so um I appreciate these comments Joe this is this is good stuff from another Dame fan um only problem in the linebacker room is is Kaiser he's the captain of the year um sorry he's the captain but only guy that really played last year um I think Drake bow is the other starter uh he was a guy that A&M recruited uh super athletic Super Active uh at linebacker um but a young kid so um certainly something to watch there um but my thought sorry for getting sidetracked I have my the way my screen is set up I'm covering up comments so I didn't want to do that and certainly wanted to get uh Joe's comments on there um so appreciate that for uh for for commenting but here's my thing with with how I kind of see this game playing out between uh the agies and the Fighting Irish so so nutre Dam has two defensive tackles who are very very good the the main one Howard cross he's an an elite player um All-American last year preseason All-American this year will get drafted next year kind of like a miniature like a miniature Aaron Donald type not that he's that good good but that type of player and he plays with a ton of effort like it's it's a like he's a player that you you definitely want on your team um but he's 285 pounds I think going off the depth chart here um yes he is 61 288 so not the biggest guy at defensive tackle the other guy Riley Mills you know pretty active as a pass rusher uh 6 fo five um let me find him here 65 295 uh fourth year or sorry fifth year player cross is a sixth year player um and this is probably along with the secondary like the defensive line is certainly a strength for Notre Dame uh but it's it's primarily the two guys inside uh the defensive end uh Jordan uh I think Jordan patello is how you say it um he's a fine player very veteran uh just not you know not some menacing presence off the edge uh I like the other end RJ Obin he came over from duke very very good pass rusher um if he in the Run game we'll see how that goes but that's kind of my point is you know they're not huge up front uh they have you know they have 288 and 295 a defensive tackle you know A&M fans are probably used to seeing 320 you know 315 uh at defensive tackle with Alabama with LSU and those types um and with a youth at linebacker I think A&M can run on this team I really do I think I think that's probably the plan that Colin Klein's going to have is to you know Colin Klein loves loves I cany he loves the motion the different formations the you know making you think one thing and then doing another and I think these Notre Dame linebackers are very quick to read and react and I think it's going to get them in trouble and get them out of position against uh the A&M Run game and that's what I go back to the the the A&M side of this thing why I wanted a 330lb guard in Reed Adams is you know you got 35 40 pounds on the the guy across from you you know the defensive tackles that you're going to be blocking I just think if if we can get some good you know it's always been the technique thing the last two years with the with Theo line if if we can coach these guys up and you know work these double teams and I I think you can move these guys off the ball and with some you know uh with a a tough back in Levon Moss um a big old line I think we average you know 320 is 320 325 on the o line on amongst our starters um that's that's what I see happening I think you know for Notre Dame I think maybe you know maybe Chris Mitchell's ready maybe a you know Jordan FIS on Jaden great house maybe those guys can get get open deep and Leonard can hit some deep shots or you know Leonard incredibly athletic can kind of escape from the pocket and uh and chew up some yards on the ground but for because here's the thing I don't think that Notre Dame can really run against A&M's front I think that's going to be the plan for A&M you know on the other side of this like Hey we're going to try to mash these guys we are going to you know take our big 330lb offensive guards and double team their undersiz tackles and you know get to the second level block these linebackers do some some motion some you know counter some jet sweeps all these kinds of things uh that that Klein likes to do um that's that's kind of my key to this game on how Klein uh chooses to attack Notre Dame that's that's just my take on it but um want to save some of that for for Wednesday show when we get Robert on um but yeah I mean I wrote down not an overly big football team and that's not a that's not a a a necessarily a knock because I think with crosses like Howard cross is that good because he's not like if he was 330 he couldn't move the way he does and B is disruptive so um I think you don't want a guy like him being that big but on the defense line on their offensive line they're just not they're not the size that you would see from uh an LSU or an all miss or you know Mississippi State even in some years so I just think it's a different it's a different looking football team than what A&M fans are probably used to um now if this is last year they've got you know huge tackles huge guards you know big bruising running back with audri est uh that would look more like an SEC team so um but but that's not where they are this year those guys are in the NFL so uh it's man it's a it's an intriguing matchup between these two squads so um that's that's one thing I I did want to bring up um you know the first game of the year week zero you know this past Saturday was Georgia Tech and Florida State I think that game lived up to the hype it was entertaining it was fun to watch it was a a a good football game I don't know how good the teams are but it was a it was a good game you know good to watch not a ton of Miss Q's certainly there were some but uh I think this game between these two teams these two teams I think it lives up to the hype I really do it's going to live up live up to the hype uh it's you know it's game day it's the you know it's elco's first game college game day night game at C field elco's former team former quarterback former quarterback pardon um but yeah like it's this is not going to be a snoozer of a game you know and I I'll give a caveat Notre Dame played a great game in Texas six seven years ago uh or maybe longer against the Texas Longhorns and that was a great game everybody you know everybody watched that one and Texas is back and then they go five- seven and Notre Dame goes 4 and8 and uh I would highly highly doubt that these two teams do that the rest of this year regardless of the outcome but um I think Notre Dame is a very good football team I think A&M is a very good football team uh probably two of the top 15 teams in the country and it's G to I think it's the best game of the day I know you got Georgia Clemson and and that sort of thing but I think this is where I I think they they made the right call with with game day there's no doubt we've still got Joe long in the chat yes I do remember uh Logan Diggs and love Jeremiah Love is a is a very athletic running back for Notre Dame uh great great speed catches the ball very well um that's another way that if if our dline is just tearing up their o line in in the Run game and in the drop back passing game I think you have to try to get the ball in in the hands of a Jeremiah Love or jaran pricey running back back um those guys can make big plays you know it's not all on the receivers um obviously Chris Mitchell he appears to be healthy they're tight end um excellent tight end can make some incredibly difficult catches um and move the chains so um it's going to be a dog fight there's no doubt about it but we'll talk more about the game on uh on Wednesday real quick just some kind of you know just a little a little teaser of the weekend as far as week one goes uh Thursday the big one here is North Dakota State at Colorado uh 700 p.m. on ESPN uh I believe this is at nine and a half for Colorado um I I like them to cover that to be quite honest I know a popular pick is going to be uh the North Dakota State man they're the FCS Powerhouse you know national championships and all that stuff Colorado is soft they're flashy and yada yada and trust me I get it but when you look at Colorado's roster and at least at their starting lineups the amount of speed and now even in the trenches the amount of size that they have uh I don't think this is going to be a uh a super close game um Montana state did whip New Mexico but they were favored in that game Montana state was uh New Mexico New Mexico was lucky to be hanging around um so yeah I I like Colorado to cover that and uh maybe even quite handily um f Friday's the day that's just it's it's a snoozefest man like we couldn't get any better games than this I mean Florida Atlantic at Michigan State you've got Temple at Oklahoma um first look at Jackson Arnold uh for the Sooners um TCU at Stanford you know 9:30 on ESPN uh I'm kind of surprised it's not a conference game with his crazy things have gotten um so it's just kind of you know you're going to have it on in the background but you're not going to watching that closely because it's just not very interesting to be quite honest um T rickyon yes yes I did watch SMU uh a lot of folks picking them in the ACC and sorry in the preseason for the ACC to do some damage uh they looked flat awful in that game and Nevada is a bad football team and and they probably should have won that game I thought SMU was the worst uh I think they they showed the worst of any team uh on the weekend so um yeah definitely not not sure they can make a bowl with the with their ACC schedule now um but Saturday I mean Saturday it's it's it's not I struggle with this because as a fan I like to have well now I'm torn because I've loved the buildup of this Notre Dam game I really have but as a fan and I know our coaching staff would prefer hey let's play play you know Sam Houston let's play Austin P or Illinois state or Chattanooga or Portland State or akan you know let's get a warm-up let's get a win under our belt get our guys some reps that that kind of thing uh but as a as a fan you look at this and you're like man like like where's the big games like where's uh you know they don't do those those one-off kind of you know and and those were at NFL stadiums which kind of sucked anyway but uh you just don't see a ton of of Marquee matchups in in this week one um obviously Clemson George is the big one let me pull up the line I've got the sorry I've got my unofficial uh sports book of the inable podcast uh sorry minus 13 and a half for Georgia um you know it's I I like the Bulldogs there I really do um I I think Clemson is they're struggling to figure it out on offense I don't think they get it done against Georgia um Miami at Florida I I said this a couple weeks back I think Miami whoops the dog out of out of out of Florida you know I know it's in Gainesville it's a it's in the swamp it's a hard place to play um but Miami really hit the portal hard brought in some some big- time players cam Ward at quarterback uh Damen Martin has a running back um they got some guys on defense I'm just I'm I'm selling every Florida every piece of Florida stock that I've got so um that's where I'm at there sneaky good game sneaky good if you're not an an Notre Dame fan and you just want to watch something that's totally sick uh UNLV at Houston UNLV led by Barry odm former maou head coach former Arkansas DC uh very good coach um at Houston who is under new leadership with uh Willie Fritz coming over from two lane so that's at 600 p.m. on ESPN sorry on FS1 um so yeah if uh you don't care at all about A&M or Noto Dame then you should check that out it should be interesting for sure um Fresno State at Michigan I've got a good friend who's a big Fresno State fan listens to the show my old roommate uh sorry buddy Michigan is going to uh crush them yeah I mean even the late game you or not even late uh Wyoming at Arizona State I mean that's going to be ugly Arizona State's trying to figure things out Wyoming they're all defense they're you know slow the game down that sort of thing just not super not super interesting um and then of course let me get down here uh Sunday you've got LSU versus us C I don't I don't know what to think about that I mean for we haven't talked about you know SEC or you know predictions and that sort of thing but you know LSU thinks they can be a playoff team which they they can that's within reality no doubt about it um if they go and loose to USC uh that's it I mean not that that they can't bounce back uh but I mean uh it's going to get a lot harder than LSU for LSU than playing USC um so yeah and you USC Lincoln Riley fraud alert you know all that kind of thing uh lost the number one pick in the draft Caleb Williams they like Miller Moss I've got Zachariah branch on all of my college fantasy teams I think he's outstanding uh they they finally fired Alex Grinch who was a defensive coordinator they actually hired the North Dakota State the aforementioned bison they hired their head coach to be their DC um so uh could they could do some things I mean I'm not I'm not saying you know I think LSU is a six and a half Point favorite here but I don't really know you know I don't think they fix their secondary I think USC and Lincoln Riley are going to score points um if Garrett nesm is not ready uh and not able to play consistent football ball uh this could get bad it could be bad um yeah definitely bet the over with you on that um Monday Boston College at Florida State uh this is I mean actually with Florida State losing I kind of like this uh Boston College has a very exciting dual threat quarterback and Thomas castios um if he can do to them what Haynes King did to them uh last week then man I mean Florida State might be down bad in in it's in in just just two games into the season um I don't mean to to poke fun a lot of A&M fans hate Notre or sorry hate Florida State you know after the whole Jimbo debacle and and you know uh we hated them because they ended up being right you know they talked all this crap that Jimbo was over the hill and washed up and uh pretty much everything they said came to fruition and uh they kind of nailed it um but an& in hate them for that Florida State fans still hate A&M even though we've admitted like hey jimo was a mistake they I I I I wish Florida state would have been good this year and maybe they still can be but man give me a Florida State A&M matchup in the playoff and that will be some of the most vitriol and hate filled uh fan interaction that that you're going to find um that'd be fun for sure um so yeah yeah I mean that's that's your week one slate there's not a whole lot I I'll try to go back and look at Saturday but um you know uh actually there's one that I'm interested in and I'll if I can find a good tailgate and uh that's got some TVs I'll probably be flipping between these two with Clemson and Georgia but uh Penn State at West Virginia West Virginia's got some guys now and this is this is in Morgantown In The Sticks the hills of West Virginia um Garrett green at quarterback Jem white at running back CJ Donaldson kind of a Do-it all tight end running back HB back kind of guy uh Neil Brown really turned things around for them last year he was on the hot seat um Penn State that was my that was my whole team last week you know uh didn't really know what you know I think they have a lot of talent uh great talent on defense former five-star quarterback former five-star receiver Julian Fleming from Ohio State two great running backs they got it they fin have a really creative offensive coordinator in uh Cotto Nikki from from Kansas so can they you know I feel like Notre Dame and and Penn State have kind of been in this offensive Purgatory you know like they've had both teams have had great receivers in the past and they've they've just lost it you know they haven't had that for a while and you know Penn State is all running game and Good Old Line very very average to below average Quarterback play um you know if if they can get it right and and get some good scheme on offense and maybe find a receiver or two uh they could be dangerous but if they haven't if they go in there and if if uh if if Garrett green and Jem white just kind of run all over them you have greens a d thre at quarterback so um very interested in how that plays out but uh that's one to watch um for sure uh vek at Vanderbilt you know that's on ESPN don't don't really care for it uh Yukon at Maryland um Colorado State at Texas that's also on ESPN um curious to see you know we had a longhorn guy on last week um he he's like hey with Michigan coming up we're not going to do a whole lot you know on offense um maybe lean to Colorado State at least on the as far as as the betting goes because they're probably a 36 point Underdog something like that um something to watch for for sure I think they have a good coach up there as well and and J norell um elsewhere I mean that's that's that's probably going to do it for us today I mean there's just not a lot I mean Bama gets a cupcake Oregon's going to score 80 in their opener again like last season um I mean UTP at Nebraska I'm intrigued by Dylan Rola the true freshman five star uh Nebraska man I should have bought them that should have been my buy not Miami me um I know we're going back to the '90s here with these names but um Nebraska's they've they've got my attention for sure but um we're just we're coming up on the hour so uh I'll go ahead and get out of here and uh yeah man it's it's freaking game week I've for for those of us like if you're listening to minute 57 of this show um then you're like me then you that means you love this stuff you love college football this is your thing and this is is this is our week you know this is where this is where this is uh where another season starts and um I'm just excited as as ever so um thanks so much for hanging out and we'll talk to you guys on Wednesday thanks so much