IB Nation Sports Talk: Marcus Freeman Talks Notre Dame Offensive Line

Intro [Music] welcome to the show iation Sports Talk up rolling it's Monday we're just like getting fired up Dario I'm Sean Styers you know I put in the chat that Vince is running a little bit behind and you know everyone starts pointing fingers in the chat from salty you know like you know even Father David is you know he's like school gets in the way of important stuff again it's like true words have never been said I feel like you're not wrong by any stretch of the imagination I you know I had one of my tasks today was to take something to every single classroom you don't realize how big that stinking school is until you have to take something to every single classroom and when you're talking about a school of like 3,300 kids it took me like two and a half hours today so that was a lot of fun for me yeah that was fun was it was it Ferris beeler's day off was that the one where they're like sitting in class and the the clock moves backwards was was that think that was Ferris do you remember that do you remember I do know exactly what you're talking about was it Fast Times at Ridgemont High maybe I don't know it was one of those seems like yeah or summer school one of the you know one of those yeah yeah 100% that's what that's what it always felt like that was that was every day of high school for me I don't know let me out of here just I can't stand it especially when the weather's like this start of school end of school and the weather's nice it's like come on man you're not wrong it is beautiful out right now I mean just beautiful outside great looking day yeah no doubt about it don't get people talking about the weather though Vince uh 12 Days 12 days in counting until noted Dame opens the College Football Update season at Texas A&M we have college football coming up this weekend as well two Notre Dame opponents over in Ireland that's right going head-to-head Florida State and Georgia Tech noon this Saturday that's gonna be awesome man like for us we've still got another week but still kick back watch a couple upcoming Notre Dame oppon play noon perfect I forgot all about that if I'm being honest with you that that that because like I'm I'm trying to take the whole football thing and like baby steps you know what I mean so like high school football starts Friday right it's like official week one you know so okay gonna kick off week one with high school football and then the following week is okay kicking it off with Notre Dame football you know so it's like baby steps I forgot that there's actual college football being played this week real football kind of excites four gam four games this Saturday so yeah baby okay I'm down it's coming it's coming we are on the way and don't forget a week from Friday day before the Notre Dame Texas A&M game and every Friday we do our uh our countdown to kickoff pregame show it's a three-man show me Vince Jesse right we'll uh typically we'll all be there there might be a time or two where one of us is missing we'll see how it goes yeah I know we'll give it a shot but we Dro those remember we don't do that show live for multiple reasons but we post that show Friday night both on the YouTube channel as well as the podcast we'll be we'll be posting them Friday to give everyone optimal time to listen to those shows before the game starts Saturday yes it's gonna be gonna be here before you know this is our last Friday I know Friday right so then we're going to be right back at it next Friday so which means we're going to be previewing an Notre Dame game which is even more exciting so yeah I'm ready to rock and roll that's for sure absolutely well we got the uh scrimmage we didn't get to see it but Notre Dame had a jersey scrimmage true on Saturday I thought it was funny because I feel like I I I Jersey Scrimmage meant to go back it felt I'm pretty sure Marcus Freeman said after the spring Jersey scrimmage that that was the best Jersey scrimmage he had ever been a part of pretty sure that he said the same well I know he said the same thing Saturday but I'm pretty sure he said it in the spring as well so maybe this one was even better than that one I don't know but I doubt it it just means it's closer to a real game yeah you know what I mean like you can actually taste it you know there's a real game a foot as they say but uh you know I'm sure there was plenty to be excited about right I'm sure that there was and I'm sure that there was plenty that they need to work on they're not going to be a finished product by any stretch of the imagination After Fall camp and so look when anytime I always got excited about scrimmages if I'm being honest I know there's coaches out there that don't like scrimmages because it's just it's all negative and you never look as good as you want to look and all that but I enjoy scrimmages personally because it it's at least an opportunity to get competitive and it's not the same old same old you know they held it in the stadium and so you've got a bit of a different atmosphere and you know the parents were there so you had you know at least some fans in the stands and so you know it was good for this team is kind of just to put a bow yeah amp and then you you know move on to Texas A&M prep and all that fun stuff get some contact get the juices FL and all that kind of good stuff but isn't this wouldn't this have been like the perfect opportunity to bring in like an IU or something like that and do like one of those combined practices slash scrimmages you know you get to hit somebody without a gold helmet on you know that kind of a thing like this would have been the perfect opportunity to do something like that but I feel like I I've always kind of favored that like that that football should be able to do some kind of scrimmage but like I don't know if you've paid attention there have been some of these joint practices that NFL teams have held during training camp and they've gotten a little feisty like there have been some Feist that's true going on and stuff like that and like what I think what would concern me like if you're noted a specifically is you know you get some coach from some other team and he decides you know he's he's gota you know show you know who's who's M who who's more Macho and all that kind of stuff and then you know some stupid things start happening I get that that's what I would worry about and that's why you bring in coaches that you trust you know what I mean like that's why you bring in coaches either from your tree or from a common tree somebody that you've worked with in the past you know something along those lines so that you at least have an understanding of what this is supposed to be you know what I mean and I realize not everybody would probably do that and you're absolutely right that that probably would that probably would happen at some of them that I mean it just would because there's some coaches that are just like that right sure but I would hope that you'd be able to have a conversation with whoever it is and be like you know hey let's can we chill it out a little bit yeah can we can we do something that's mutually beneficial for all of us and you know it's not who's you know what is bigger than who you know anybody else like that's not what we're trying to do here you know like the national title isn't on the line right right Whos Starting well as it as it happens it was a an inner Squad scrimmage of course ones twoos threes most guys got to play I'm sure yeah we didn't get to see it but we know that they were out there I mean I think we're all wishing that we could have seen what the depth chart looks like oh yeah the real depth chart yes yes because the question that we have right now with 12 days to go till the start of the season is the biggest question we have right now is basically the biggest question that Notre Dame had coming into Camp who's gonna start on the offensive line does it make you nervous that we don't know or are you pretty confident that they know they're just not telling us you know like what where where where are you on the on the scale right now here's here's where I'm at on that am I nervous about it yes would I be nervous about it if I knew who the starting five were yes I don't well that's the thing no matter what because like if it's TSH Baker a bunch of people are gonna Tosh Baker if it's Anthony NEP oh Anthony NEP you got a true friend you know like exactly like there's so many unknowns regardless of whether we know who's starting or not there's still a bucket of unknowns that we don't have gonna be qu big question mark either way so the fact that we don't know I don't really think changes it all that much for me personally right they're going to run somebody out there and whoever they run out there was a previously High ranked offensive line recruit that they got to get ready that's their job as coaches and so you know whoever they end up picking I guess we'll roll it out there and see what happens but I'm just as nervous I think as I would be if I knew who the starting five would be because you just don't know yeah it's the unknown basically and what's that going to look you know that's I think that that's where the nerves are for most of us you know like like Michael said he's not nervous he trusts the staffs they know more than he does I mean that's that's a good I think that's a good stance to take right I agree with that like 95% I think there's like a 5% of me that is just like you know Vince reserves the right to second guess anyone anywhere any time I what it comes down to I just don't want to have blind Allegiance that's all I'm saying I don't I don't want it to be blind Allegiance that's all just you know just because they got the job doesn't mean they're a great go like Brian vanor just because he was a defensive coordinator does not mean he was a good coach Fair Point you know what I mean and so point I do trust the staff I do want to say that I personally trust the staff but I'm gonna leave a little wiggle room there just to just to have it there yeah yeah yep I can see that yeah I can see that I just I am nervous about it I am I I'm not gonna lie I'm nervous about it but you know who else should be nervous Texas A&M's offensive line with what they're going to have to deal with with Notre Dame's defensive line so you know I Notre Dame is still favored to win this game in my opinion I I realize what the bookies say and all of that but they're the better team they should still win regardless of what happens with the offensive line concur we've got some interesting stuff coming out of agie Camp toward the end Carter curls you might remember had him on I think early in the summer he had some uh interesting insights from watch and practice Saturday we're going to talk about that in Rapid Fire so he actually got to watch practice that's interesting well it was it it sounded like it was pretty much the same kind of viewing that we got I think it was I think he might have even said like first four periods or something right that's okay fair enough yeah let's talk about some offensive Offensive Line line though Marcus Freeman talked about it after Saturday's practice when we got to uh talk to him at the Press conference Mike Den Brock talked about it a little bit some interesting comments I think from both of them by the way hit that like button as you would as you come into the show tonight forgot to mention that earlier we do appreciate it so we're gonna let you hear some of the comments I'm gonna set the cuts up with at least paraphrasing kind of how the questions were asked because I think it's important to sort of hear you know not just the response but how the questions were asked and the way he answered some of these questions specifically so this first one that we're going to hear since Charles since the injury to Charles jagas saww how have you seen the offensive line develop and do you think you have a starting offensive line set yet there's the question here's Marcus Freeman's answer have discussions about who's going to be the starting office line probably after uh tonight you know tomorrow um as we get into Texas A&M prep um we've been using multiple guys um at the tackle at the G positions but we know at some point we got to make a decision and say these are going to be our Five Guys moving forward we haven't made that decision yet so no decision made yet what do you think of that one for starters Vince I guess I'm not overly surprised based on kind of the shuffling that we've seen over the last that was as of Saturday of course by now they could have had they probably have that set yes and they're not going to tell us and don't they usually give out a depth chart at his weekly availability correct a week from today we should get a depth chart you know assuming he's not going to pull Harbaugh right and and leave us all out there hanging hand out of rer yeah we should get a depth chart the first depth chart a week from today if everything goes the way it's gone for the last several years so I'm not I guess I'm not overly surprised because the talk through the media with fans has been the offensive line and all the question marks surrounding it and all of that and look you get the element of surprise one time and it's game one and I'm okay with it I'm okay with him kind of leaving it out out there even if they know kind of who it's going to be I'm actually fine with him not publicly stating who the starters are right now I'm actually okay with it it doesn't bother me at all I'm not bothered by that either I don't I don't mind him not saying my personal guess is they probably knew at that point but he didn't want to say it publicly because they maybe they hadn't told everybody you know that that kind of thing and you want to be able to pull guys into the office have a conversation with them explain why certain decisions are being made what the plan is going to be you know Marcus Freeman all talks all the time about transparency and being honest and all of that and I can guarantee you that is the case with all of these position battles I did find it interesting you know because if you ask the two-part question there's always the you're always in Jeopardy of only the second part of the question being answered basically because the that's the last thing that you know that that the the person hears who you're asking Marcus Freeman is generally pretty good about answering the two-part question because it was a two-part question how have you seen the line develop and do you have a starting five the only answer he gave was to do you have a starting five he completely left like what's that development looked like he completely left that out of their answer which I you know again like there's a lot to read into obviously I'm not you know I'm not saying it's necessarily bad but there are a lot of moving Parts on this thing so it just it did feel to me like maybe he just wanted to avoid some of that with the answer that he gave here here's what I would say with the answer that he gave whether you are a Anthony knp you know Pendleton team or whether you're team you know cougan Baker Rocco whatever team you're on whatever Allegiance you have have you could take the answer that he gave and spin it any direction that you wanted that's exactly right you know what I mean like oh clearly he said he's gonna be going with the veterans now clearly he said he's gonna be going with the youth you you know what I mean like you could take his answer and spin it any way that you want I think so you're you're absolutely right about that Tosh Baker so also here's here's we we'll get to the next question and answer now so question Tosh Baker is someone we saw getting some left tackle reps what have you seen from him what do you like about the way he's handled this opportunity that's been put in front of him and here's the Freeman response to that TSH Baker question yeah TSH is a guy that's been out there has game experience um he's an older guy that has a lot of talent uh he he he's a leader in that room right and elevates those around him uh and been pleased with with what he's done um since the injury of Charles jagas okay so again what have you seen from him what are you about I mean basically it's like TSH Baker is a football player at Notre Dame well like you want to know what I heard there I was waiting for the butt that's what I was waiting for the entire time because I watched it live the entire time I'm waiting for him to be like but these younger guys have passed him up like that that's that's what I was waiting for the entire time he was saying that it's like you know buttering him up to let him down basically because what Father David here says his answer about Baker combined with his body language suggested to me that Baker will not be starting I mean that's I I I get it I do again I you know I texted you guys the the quote later on after we had it transcribed I mean it's a very short answer on TSH Baker a guy who two weeks ago according to Joe rudol was the answer at left tackle that's that's pretty far from anything definitive that you heard from the head co right there far far from definitive now if you're a Tosh Baker guy of course you could try to spin it you know he's got a lot of talent he you know he's been here for a long time you you could spin it that way but I'm trying to be as neutral as possible on this because as some people in the chat said they're team ND they want the best players to play you know that kind of stuff and I've always felt that way you know from from day one of this whole thing remember we were talking about you know who should they be giving reps to and it's like hey give everybody a shot and kind of throws everything at the wall see what sticks right it kind of appears as if Anthony knp has stuck but you know we'll wait and see kind of what that what it turns out to be but it didn't sound good if you're a TSH Baker fan no in this whole Saga us87 wants to know how to get in on that group text I feel like maybe this could be like the next like this could be the thing like the premium premium group texts premium group text what you sign me up for that you might be getting text from me you don't neily want but if you're going to pay me to send them I'll do it that's exactly right as of now we are cheap we are easy but yeah oh Father David I mean he's putting it out there he says he'd paid 10 bucks more for that that's five bucks a piece Sean I think we can make this happen and if we're including Jesse it's 33333 I know I know my math let's go I feel like I I feel like this is an idea that needs to be pitched you know like everyone's looking for something new so premium premium group text I feel like I'll I'll be that guy you got to have an iPhone to make it a little bit more simple but other than that you know yeah that way I can that's why I can text on Wi-Fi because there's no there's no signal in my building so there has to be a Wi-Fi situation usma apparently not willing to pay but he wants a cut like we make iten so not not as exciting as it sounded like I guess Father David wants not without a signal you can't yeah that's right that's right okay so next question for Marcus Freeman here's the question we' seen both last Marcus Freeman Saturday and then Thursday some number one Reps for Sam Pendleton and Anthony knp of course Pendleton as the left guard nap as the left tackle what have those guys done to put themselves in a position to either challenge to move up or actually move up the def chart and to be clear they are not number ones at this point question mark here's what Marcus frean says not named a starting offensive line yet um and we will at some point we have to soon um but what they've done is they've created a lot of confidence in the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach with what they've been doing with the Reps I don't care if it's been with the ones or the twos um we want our guys to to know that we're evaluating everything you do now the challenge is is when you're young and you're doing really good job with the twos we got to put you with the ones we got to see what you can do versus our best and um uh that's what we've done and both of those two have done an unbelievable job and so that's Marcus Freeman and now uh basically the this the same virtual question for Mike Den Brock the offensive coordinator and you'll hear what he has to say I mean I I I think it's what we ask for as coaches right they consistently perform at a high level and stacking days together and stacking periods together and stacking reps together this isn't anything we've rewarded them with they they they've earned opportunities to be seen against the best things that our defense can provide us and and then we'll make our final decisions and evaluations from there but uh it's because of the work that they've done because of the uh the consistency that they've shown and the ability that they've shown quite frankly that's put them in the position to do it okay so there's Mike Den Brock and you heard both of them and and I think you know the most interesting thing how interesting it is I don't know but you know like you heard Marcus Freeman say it specifically these guys prove themselves time and again with the number twos and it gave them the opportunity to work with the number ones and like when we were talking about this after the jagas saww injury like you were wanting more guys out there you know to get opportunities and stuff like that my point was you know you're not moving the JV guy up unless he proves that he can be dominant at the JV level first and so like in in in both of these cases specific to nap and Pendleton it sure sounds like they earned their way up the ladder and they they've just basically to you know to whatever extent we don't know the exact extent they've proven themselves with the number ones but it seems like they've at least made a a pretty good case for themselves when they've had the opportunities with the number one so far right and that and that's all I asked for in the beginning was give these guys a shot with the number ones right and see if they can hold their own and you know again it's about consistency and it's about trust and if a coach thinks that you're consistent more consistent than another guy and he can trust you to go the right direction and you know all of those different things then awesome like then you get to start I mean and and I hate to say it but even when I was a coach if I had a senior and I had a sophomore that were the exact same you know the sophomore gets the start because I've got three years with this kid I I'm sorry that you're at the same level as a sophomore but if that's the case I'm GNA go with the guy that has more upside is GNA be with me longer and I can continue to coach him up I mean and I think I think a lot of coaches would would go that path there are some not it it feels like if Brian Kelly were still here the tiebreaker would be well he's the veteran he's put in the time you know let's let's go with him but I think more coaches especially now are would go with what you're saying it's like if they're even go with go with the younger guy because that just gives him better chances to you know to improve to develop and you know continue to to help you in an even greater fashion down the road well and it and it's not like these guys are bums off the street you know what I mean like that's that's the biggest thing for me is that these guys were highly recruited other they wouldn't be at Notre Dame Notre Dame is still o lineu like Notre Dame still has quality offensive linemen they may be young they may be inexperienced but they they're talented right and so if they earn their way onto the field then you put them on the field I mean I I've always been a proponent of Best Player plays period I've sat seniors on numerous occasions you know whether it's in football or baseball or whatever sport that I've been coaching I I want to win like at the end of the day I want to win and I will do what it takes to win as far as personnel and you know I can't speak to what these guys have been doing in practice because we haven't seen anything yeah right we've seen them go through drills there there's plenty of drill all-americans out there that can't do it on Saturdays right so in this case I do have to trust the coaches because they're there all day long just the Pendleton case alone because he was the number two Center and all of the sudden he goes from the number two Center to the to getting reps as the number one left guard when you've got a guy in Pat kougan who's started 13 games Spindler started 10 games obviously on the other side Li so you've got 23 starts between these two guys and again is it just opportunities to to prove himself is he in that spot we don't know but just the fact that Pendleton went from number two Center to all of the sudden he's battling with two guys who've got a lot more experience than him maybe relative more exper you know again like basically about a season a piece more experience than him but the fact that he's put himself in that mix I I think has to speak for the just for the job that he's done to move out of that Center role and all of a sudden he could end up being the number one guy at guard I think of the two between nap and Pendleton I feel like I would be more surprised if pendon was starting than if nap was starting right because you know yes cougan is beginning second team you know Center reps and they're doing that for a reason because you know somebody goes down in the interior he's the first man in regardless of whether he's starting or not right and so I just don't I I just don't know if they didn't just take the last few practices of camp and be like hey cougan you're going to be the second team Center just that's all I want you to worry about you've already lock down the left guard spot right you know you know what I mean going to give him some looks and see what he does and whatever worries me about Rocco like what he's been up to but at the same time you know that's what Pats at you and that's again that's what's crazy to me is that Pendleton could make that kind of move basically it one it shows that there's a lot of things that have been going on when we haven't been able to you know be there and see anything obviously you know when you're getting those five period practices but Pat's asking what happened to Spindler and it's a really good question because you know nothing that we have seen would say that that Spindler has fallen off to that degree where all of a sudden he's being passed up by a guy who wasn't even playing there as far as we knew before but yeah seriously it's a crazy situation yeah I like I said that would be that would be my most surprising but at this point would anything really surprise us on the offensive line Rocco I don't know how you could at this point all right I mean considering considering that just all of a sudden you know they're doing the tempo drill at the start of practice and there's Pendleton and nap run with the first team offensive line out there right and then they stay with the with the first team offensive line when they're doing position drills after that for the rest of the time we were there so Michael's asking if Rocco is 100% as far as we know he is yeah we I mean yeah we have no idea they don't give us injury reports Michael unfortunately and they don't they just don't tell us this kind of stuff and so he could be battling something or he could have been passed up like I we just haven't seen him run with the first team in probably a week and a half now caveat you see five periods you know who knows what happens five periods and most of them are completely non-competitive right yeah exactly and so who knows what happens period 6 to 20 you know we have no idea we we just we just don't know we can talk to sources we can do different things we can talk to parents we can you know all of these different ways of trying to get information but at the end of the day we can't see it with our own eyes and so we have no idea and injuries are an even tougher thing to find out about to be perfectly honest with you right see and like Andrew and and Josh are coming here Rocco apparently had a very good scrimmage but as Josh says second team snaps and apparently look good and that had been something that I had heard as well that but their second team snaps so I mean I think that that tells you something right there if it's predominant against the second team who is with the first team though yeah which I don't know that we know the answer to that so Experience yeah okay so this will be kind of coming to the end of Marcus Freeman's comments on this this this actually came from prer someone was just mentioning prer so the question is the percentage move is that you've got TSH Baker he's a grad student Pat cougan started 13 games last year so you've got these two guys potential left tackle left guard combo with a lot more experience and the question is how do you balance those scales of experience you know but seeing the upside of nap and Pendleton at the same time it's you know kind of like you know again it goes back to do you kind of go the safe route do you or do you go more upside so here's how Marcus Freeman answered that weighing in all those factors yeah we take all those things into consideration who has experience the ceiling of of the individuals you have in that room you know really where will they be week one versus where will they be week eight you know and that's something that you even saw last year as we progressed throughout the season you know you had a couple new guys that ended up starting so those are just all those things we we have conversations about and we take all those things into consideration at some point we say okay let's name the starting five offensive line but you do you have some experience you have guys that aren't as experienced or have zero experience but are really talented football players and at some point you just have to make a decision based off all those facts you mentioned and and be confident who you're going to have out there on week one like what we decide on it's best for week one doesn't mean it's going to be the best for week five or six and and that's something we discussed as a coaching staff but we got to figure out what's best for week one and that last part was the most interesting part to me Vince what we decide on is best for week one doesn't mean it's going to be the best for week five or week six you know and again like we go back to those TSH Baker comments well he didn't sound all that excited about TSH Baker but like you hear a comment like that and it it can lead you to believe that well week one on the road all these different factors hostile environment all that stuff is it just safer and and best for week one to roll the veterans out there sure and go that route versus the young guys who have zero experience and I mean true freshman basically not just young but true freshman not even a red shirt freshman so what did you think when you Uncertainty heard that it just you know adds so much more you know uncertainty to the entire situation right and we haven't seen at least a lot on the offensive line the coaching staff in the past willing to make changes on the offensive line whether warranted or otherwise right I mean even all the way back to our boy from Marshall you know they certainly weren't willing to make a change there different coach I get that but offensive line it just feels to me like once they make their decision they're stuck with it but Marcus Freeman kind of was like no hold on a second you know just because we do something week one doesn't mean that's what we're going to do in the middle of the Season it was like oh so there is probably some discussion going on as to maybe we need to get multiple guys ready and see where they're at come middle of the season and we got to do I mean look at the end of the day as a coaching staff what do you got to do Sean you got to be good enough to win week to week right you want to be as cliche as it is you want to be one and0 right sure being one and0 to start the season is a huge Hill to climb not saying they can't do it I think they will and they should but it's still a huge hill and so you have to do what's best for your team in week one to win that game if that's the experience great at this point if playing these guys as much as they are is real and I'm pretty sure it is but you never know then at the very least if you're planning on starting TSH for example I think Anthony nap gets a few series here and there maybe maybe TSH goes two series and then you bring in Anthony for one and then you know maybe 21 21 you know something along see if he can handle the pressure and you know the noise and all of those things well check it out do you consider it experimenting if you're doing that though you know like like you were saying it'd be nice to have you know an Indiana or a whoever to go you know Western Michigan or somebody like that to come in and and have an actual scrimmage against you know like you're probably feeling better in a situation like that about potentially what you have or what you don't have than just in an inner Squad scrimmage because those guys get you know just kind of moved around all the time you're still playing against your own guys they're still to some extent kind of knowing what you're going to see you know from the other side of the line of scrimmage I I guess you know so I guess kind of going back to my point of what you're talking about like you're saying you wouldn't mind going down there to Texas A&M and even if Tosh Baker is the starter maybe you roll Anthony nap in for a series or two at at some point is that what you're saying that's exactly what I'm saying if you think he's good enough prove it like put him out there I Experimenting and I don't you use the word experiment and I don't think that's a terrible you know word but at the same time is it not an experiment to keep TSH out there to a degree I mean he lost the right tackle battle and now he's competing at left tackle and depending on how you actually feel about these guys and again the coaching staff is going to have a much more firm grasp on how they feel about these guys than us but again what have we been talking about heat is a factor defensive line is going to go 11 deep the linebackers are going to go five deep you know the secondary might go you know eight deep or you know whatever it is the receivers are going to go deep the running backs are going to go deep basically quarter back and offensive line are the two positions that you traditionally are not going to rotate but if you feel like you have true depth and you're not just you know again you know like well let's give this guy some snaps and see what he can do and let's give this guys some snaps and see what he like if you feel like it's a true rotation going up against that A&M defensive line I feel like it could be a strength but you just typically don't do that with the offensive line you you know you typically don't mix and match like that you know like you you would almost because like Joe Rudolph was saying like the decision part of the decision for the sunbowl last year after the two tackles left for the NFL draft like who started on the left who started on the right part of the decision was who they fit next to at the guard positions like who played who played better next to Billy stra who played better next to Pat kougan you know one side versus the other you know so like I I you know like if if you if you put nap out there are you just putting nap out there if you're going to make that swap or are you also sending you know like Sam Pendleton and Anthony knp out there so you've got a completely different left side of the offensive line I don't know that there is the right answer here to be perfectly honest with you it's funny because you know there's kind of the same debate going on right now at my kids high school and I'm good friends with the offensive line coach and we just talked about this last night I was like look if you think the young guy can do it you throw him out there give him a series or two see if he can do it and their game one is against the number three team in their in their uh in their class right for the whole state of Indiana now it's a class below where where this High School is but still there it's a good team so if you're confident that this kid can do it throw them out there you know that that's look at the end of the day they can either do it or they can't that's the way I look at it and so you've got to give them an opportunity it's it was kind of my same argument with the the practice reps right you got to give them at least a chance to see if they could do it if they can't do it all right you're back to second and third team whatever cool if you're confident enough that you're putting them out there for first team reps at practice that tells me you're confident enough that he can go on the road and play against Texas A&M that's what you have to do look this team has Championship aspirations right you think it's going to be any quieter at the sugar bowl or you know the final four or you know those kinds of things I I don't think so so I think you got to go out there and see if he's got the medal for it you know I think that's the goal you know that young offensive line a few years ago you know like going to to Georgia and even at home and you know they went to Florida State in 2021 obviously you know again different head coach then but they obviously felt confident enough that Blake fiser could go on the road at Florida State and be the game one starter it's really no different like maybe you could say that this environment will be a little bit rowdier louder whatever they have but but there's recent precedent it's been done before you know so like I don't I don't think that they would necess you know again different head coach different offensive line coach different coordinator the whole thing but I felt like that regime was even more conservative not even more cons was more conservative than this regime when it came to those kind of decisions like the hesitancy to put oh young but talented guys in you know over over veterans basically yeah oh huge hesitancy right I think this staff is shown they're not afraid to play young guys you know at other positions I'm not sure sure I am not so sure that's 100% true at offensive line yet right maybe it is I guess we'll kind of have to wait and see but again I don't think I don't think we've seen the starting offensive line play together yet I I I don't think we as media has seen that yet so we'll see and and I don't I don't know NE I'm not saying I know who the starting offensive line is I'm trying to read as much into the all the situation as I possibly can which can be very dangerous but I I don't think I will say don't think we've seen the starting five line up together yet but we'll see interesting I mean obviously we've seen some of them yes but I don't think we've seen them all together yeah so Bas Anthony Nap basically what I'm saying and I know somebody was asking who our starting five is or whatever and that's that's kind of where we're leading to right now I was I was just looking up because there was another question that sloppy joe had asked do you think Anthony knap being named to the Freshman All-American team means Notre Dame spilled the beans to Insiders on who starting at left tackle I just looked Brian posted a story 20 minutes ago it's it's an Onre freshman All-American team KVA and Anthony nap both name to it KVA is not starting either so well that we know of well fair enough I don't think he's starting he's in the rotation I don't think he's starting but okay interesting it's also very difficult it's gonna be interesting when that too deep comes out considering according to Max bullo there is no deep you know yeah well guess what there has to be one so right anyway I I do probably say or I would imagine right yeah exactly I do think that it's very difficult to find a freshman All America team because there's not a lot of true freshmen that play so you do have to dig a little bit to find freshman I'll just I'll just put that I'll just say that salty I feel like this is this is a little bit of a you know a little bit more of a shot than when I say interesting it always means something other than that means I either but I do think that it well not not I think some of these like fresh like All-American teams and stuff like that like the Notre Dame sports information you know media relations department they will send you different information packets to different outlets and stuff like especially the bigger ones like the associated pre you know like the Walter C you know those like the the the bigger quote unquote more prestigious the on three I don't know like is is it just a matter of nap has started to get more reps here recently he's got more pub he's got more publicity so they're just including him as a you know potential freshman All-American type because there's a good chance that he's going to end up playing because let's be honest I mean you know right especially when it comes to offensive line there aren't going into a season there aren't going to be a ton of candidates for freshman offensive line All-American exactly unless you know they're GNA play and that's the point and here's the other thing on three is going to ask their school specific site people for potential freshmen that are going to play right and I'm sure they ask the on three guys which is I believe blue and gold right I think I'm sure they ask the blue and I can't keep all the affiliations straight because they switched so much or maybe they're not I don't know I'm sure they asked the on three guys hey who's going to play and I'm sure they said oh well we're hearing a lot of good things about Anthony nap I bet you he's gonna be at all America you know so they go with what they get you know what I mean yeah they do include red shirt freshman like if you which is why it's stupid to me like it should be true freshman only my opinion if you're a rro freshman you're a sophomore like you shouldn't be on a freshman list Starting Line okay so Andre is asking the million-dollar question who are the starting five as of today right for naming our starting five how confident Are You Vince in naming a starting five so here's what I think they're going to do and I have no basis for this this is a gut feeling of just listening to everything seeing what we've seen Etc I think it's going to be Anthony Napp at left tackle I think Pat huggan is going to be at left guard I think and then Center onward is all going to be who we think it is that's what I that's that's where I'm leaning as well that's what I think because again I go back to that Tosh Baker comment that Marcus Freeman said and I hear that and it's like he didn't say you know he said nice things about TSH Baker he didn't he didn't he didn't you know he's worked his butt off you know to get to where he is and you know he's got this you know any of that kind of stuff to me it just sounded like TSH Baker is a football player nice leader you know like he's there I think it's going to be Anthony knp based on hearing that and I think you're right I think it's going to ultimately be Pat cougan and then Ashton Craig at Center Billy schr at Right Guard Emil Wagner at right tackle that that based on what we've seen and heard that's that's the five that I would go with I just with seeing cougan take all of those reps at left guard I just don't see how he got passed up I just I I just think they were using the last few days of Camp to get him reps at Center because he's gonna be starting at guard if something happens to Craig he'll slide over and whoever the second team uh guard is is g to step into that spot that that's how I think it's going to be Sam Pendleton yeah I'm looking who is Sam I'm looking like oh Pendle p Pendleton yeah you some 8 I mean there are a lot of Pendleton fans I get it out there to me I'm not saying that's who I want I'm saying that's what I think it's going to be I think it makes the most sense if you're going to you know again like when when you look at how Joe Rudolph did this for the sunbowl when he talked about Comfort level playing next like who who plays best next to this guy as the guard when you're talking about the tackles of course it just feels like if you're going I I I don't think you start a a completely raw left side of your line you don't start the you know the the most important side of your offensive line I don't think you're going to start completely no one with any experience out there so I think if you're going to start nap that means you're gonna start who's who's got the next who's got the most experience like in terms of starts on the offensive line right it's Pat kougan like and that's the entire line you know like Tosh baker has 37 games of experience but he doesn't have 13 starts under his belt which got last year and so I just feel like if you're going to start a true freshman I'll be at early and R Le true freshman left tackle I think you're going to start the guy who started at left guard 13 games last season next to him and again like going back to what Marcus Freeman was saying that doesn't necessarily mean that cougan is the guy for the entirety of the Season or that nap is the guy for the entirety of the season because like Freeman said in that cut that we played what's best on game one might not be the the best for game five or six or week eight or whenever it happens to be so I think we could definitely see some change as the season goes on and that'll be interesting and I I will also say if it is the line that I said it's going to be I think that they you know if you like I said if you if you think Sam Pendleton is a dude give him a series you know what I mean give him a series when the game is still on the line when there was when there's still something to play for give him a series you know if it's a train wreck well you go back to who you started with you know I still think you should do that and same thing if they start Tosh Baker I think that you should give Anthony knp some time if you think he's the guy and somebody asked well then who's the second string line you got to understand guys they will have a depth chart that has somebody backing up everybody but the reality is they won't li like if Pat hugan starts at left guard he won't be listed as the backup center but something happens to Ashton Craig hugan is the backup center like it it's not as fluid as a okay here's the first five and here's the second five like that that's not how any offensive line is put together you you get the best five out there and you find a spot for him you know that kind of a thing and obviously Center is unique because you got a snap and all that but that's what they would do if if Ashton Craig went down correct all right uh a week from today we'll see that depth chart and we can all overreact and then we'll have to play The Guessing Game of is the depth chart actually the one that we're going to see when the game kicks off well and that's a solid point I I don't know that they would lead us astray in that regard but you God at this point you never know I mean let's be honest you never know I and I don't even know I don't know man this is It's just nuts I know Vince are you ready for Rapid Fire oh why the heck not let's do this got a lot more things to talk about here today fill in the blank it's blank that the Notre Dame offense beat the defense in Saturday's Jersey scrimmage it's a great sign and I will say that you know listening to Mike Den Brock talk and you know Mike demock is I mean he belongs in the balcony with you and me at times you know as a grumpy old man which I love I he's just he's he's just prickly and I love it and you know he's never happy which I love he's he's a stickler for you know detail and all of that that's what offense is right you you don't necessarily have to be detail oriented on defense you know what I mean but offensively you need to be detail oriented you're the one that knows the play you're the one that is going in motion you're you know defense is more reactionary you know things like that so I love that and I was talking to Brian he's like dude we've been around denrock for a long time when he acts like that he's actually really happy and I was like okay I'll take your word for it but uh no I I think I think that's a really good sign for the offense because I think generally the defense is ahead of the offense right now and this is and we know that this is a really good defense so I think it's a good sign I I think it's a great sign and the fact that like Al golden was talking a little bit the other day about how Mike Den Brock's offense has pushed the defense during this fall training camp and Jaden great housee was making comments about that as well like there's there's much more push against this defense especially considering like I think this defense challenges the offense because of all the things that we've talked about Al golden and the ability to bring pressures from different spots and never knowing where the pressure is coming from keeping the offense off balance and stuff like that and the fact that the offense is able to keep the defense off balance you know one I think that it it's you know if you if you want to go to the iron sharpens iron thing I think it's great for both sides but like if you want to like we knew coming into this training camp based on what we saw last year that this is a championship caliber defense that Al golden is going to put on the field this year and even if it was a close you know close game 42 to 40 was the score and as Marcus Freeman said it's like a scoring system that no one even really knows what it is but you look up at the scoreboard and it's like oh okay you know now the offense has however many points 42 points would it's all said and done the fact that they were able to come out on top against that caliber a defense going into a season with a new quarterback with with the whole thing it's nothing but a great sign and it just should have you you know even and with these questions that they've got on the offensive line going up against that defensive line I think that that just adds to it you know like yeah like maybe there's good call maybe there's more to it than we even know and like marus Freeman said there were a couple of interceptions couple of turnovers by the offense but they were third string turnovers you know by second yeah none by the first or second string so I think that that's a great sign as well really good sign you know you would need more context obviously watching the scrimmage where were who were the points scored by who were the points scored on you know we know Howard cross didn't play in the scrimmage they were holding him out they said it was load management whatever it was somebody else that they Mitchell Evans I don't think played in the scrimmage right uh you know and again they're nursing some minor stuff he said if they had a game today they would have played you know that kind of a thing okay cool like I there's G to be Nicks and bruises and things like that in training camp like that happens that happens and so they didn't get to play in the scrimmage I don't care you know what I mean so you were lo you did lose to Dynamic if not Howard cross being your most dynamic defensive player you can make an ARG ment for that and Mitchell Evans is A Pretty stinking Dynamic you know weapon for Notre Dame on the offense so you're missing two pretty Dynamic guys in this scrimmage and so maybe they wash each other out but I'm I'm interested I would have been interested to see this like I was really hoping and I knew it wasn't G to happen but I was really hoping Notre Dame was gonna be like hey you know we're gonna open up the scrimmage to the media scrimmage you know what I mean yeah and it never happened but I was really hoping that was going to be the case yeah um Josh Phillips yeah Tucker has a lower leg injury Marcus Freeman talked about that the other day and Al golden kind of touched on Leonard Moore has been a little bit banged up but they expect him to be ready to go and it's you know again like you talk about depth in the secondary it sounds like Leonard Moore is is gonna provide some some good depth and cobs as well so yeah yeah I think Chance unfortunately for chance it sounds like he's been passed up uh but you know again we have't haven't seen a depth chart so kind of hard to say at this point yeah Dane says am I the only one that Is Notre Dame better than Texas AM thinks our defensive line is better than A&M if that's the case does our offensive line go against every day I mean I think we've kind of touched on this before A&M's front end guys might be better than Notre D at the very at the very worst maybe it's a push but yeah but when you're talking about the 11 deep that Notre Dame can roll out there I think absolutely Notre Dame is going to have a lot more depth than what A&M is going to have in terms of quality there's going to be like A&M might be able to roll some bodies out there but I think there's going to be a lot more drop off in what they get from them when they when they do yeah and I and I I feel like A&M has maybe the advantage on the edge but I think Notre Dame would have the advantage in the middle if we're talking defense and defense but you know Notre Dame's I mean like I said earlier aam's offensive line has to block Notre Dame's defensive line too and last time I checked Notre Dame's going to roll out five really talented athletic guys a linebacker too that this offensive line for A&M is going to have to deal with so yes we have these questions for Notre Dameon they're legitimate questions and we take it very seriously it's all true but I would hope that Texas A&M podcasts and media and all of that are having the very same question marks about them when it comes to Notre Dame's defensive front and if they're not good luck that's what I have to say if you're not prepared for what Notre Dame is about to do to you defensively then this is going to be a very long hot afternoon for A&M so Notre Dame named five captains for the season they did this weekend Riley Leonard Benjamin Morrison Riley Mills Xavier Watts Jack Kaiser what do you think about these five captains being named I was surprised at first but then not so what I mean by that is in the past like Brian Kelly was like pretty much hamstrung into okay we got to have this many guys on offense we got to have this many guys on defense maybe we'll have a special teams guy maybe we'll have a walk- on like like it has to be even everybody gets a trophy kind of a deal like didn't he have like eight captains one year like just a ridiculous number so in that regard I was surprised it's four defense one offense right but then when you take a step back it's like okay these are the leaders on the team and okay four of them play on defense but defense is is so experienced and has so much you know senior Laden and all of that that it makes sense the offense is very young right they they've got a lot of young Talent we were trying to guess last week who they might be struggling on other than yeah other than Leonard like Thomas and Evans are the only two right who probably made sense and you know look let's be honest we don't you know again like we haven't been there at the end of all these practices when they're doing competitive stuff we don't know what Thomas's role is g to be on this team like does you know like does that warrant being a captain and like Andrew was talking about cross and Evans being snubbed so here's Marcus Freeman on Saturday he was asked like how many C captains there might be this is obviously the day they announced these yesterday so two days the day before they announced them here's Freeman talking about how many captains they might end up having that will be based off of uh really the voting um we'll give them opportunity to vote for uh who they feel are the captains and then I'll get a final save with the numbers and that's always based off to me hey like what do the team view as captains usually it tells you there's a a clump there might be one Captain there might be two captains there might be five captains I it's going to be based off the voting so I mean it's basically like the Heisman Trophy because like in one you know it depends on how many guys get the votes and you know there might only be three Heisman Trophy finalists one year and there might be four the next if the you know if that fourth guy like if the Voting is close enough so like when you talk about snubs and who get it and who who who got it and who didn't get it I mean the bottom line is like other guys you know I I think we were all a little bit surprised that that maybe cross didn't end up being a captain but that's obviously not how the votes went if you know like Howard cross Mitchell Evans didn't get enough votes to to sort of be in that cluster if they had they would have been captains as well so you know I can't complain with who's a captain and who's not because that's the way the team voted for him right and that's you know you could say that guys were snubbed or whatever they were snubbed by their own teammates so either there wasn't enough guys that looked up to them as Leaders or they're not leaders like I don't I don't look at Captain ships as snubs especially when it's based on team voting you know what I mean and we we are led to understand and led to believe and I don't have any reason to doubt that it was all the team voting and Marcus Freeman of course has veto power or whatever but these are all five really good guys and there we know that these five guys are are all leaders on this team we know this for a fact and if guys got snubbed I guess in your eyes then I guess they got snubbed but at the end of the day these are what their teammates voted on and to me that's who you want yeah and I mean cross said himself that he's far less vocal than Riley Mills I saw Michael talking about cross not being that vocal Riley Mills is is a lot more vocal you know so like if that matters then you know maybe your your teammates noticed it because again the teammates voted on it well and here's the other thing you don't have to have a SE in your chest to be a leader good point because now I want to play this comment from Al golden because that kind of came up he led me right into this and he kind of talked about you know like being a captain versus being a leader and I thought that this was a great Point by Notre Dame's defensive coordinator there's going to be some captains but we got way more leaders than captains you know what I mean um everybody has a potential lead you know and like even when I uh you know try to send uh notes to the defensive guys that are part of that leader group it's it's it's a big number and it's not just seniors you know um there's guys that you're grooming that are sophomores that or Juniors that have a chance to be leaders so um again um there's leaders and great teammates you know as long as there's no third parties we're going to be in great shape long as there's no third parties I'm not sure exactly what that I mean I'm not sure what that means either I was trying to figure that out myself I just noticed he said that but yeah as long as there's no third parties I'm not sure basically you don't have to be a captain right to be a leader period I I I've look you've coached for a long time I've coached for a long time there are plenty of opportunities for non-aps to be leaders and I've seen it before and I'm sure you've seen it as well I I had a couple of senior captains on my baseball team and one of my better captain or one of my better leaders was a junior you know and he wasn't a super vocal guy he just led by example he's always first in Sprints he was always first you know doing whatever it needed to be done he was always making sure the younger guys knew what they were supposed to do that's leadership you don't have to be vocal to be a leader and his teammates noticed that and he got voted to Captain the next year you know so it's like yeah you don't have to have that c on your chest to be a leader yeah like Andrew is saying it's prestigious to be a c i mean it's prestigious to be a captain is it prestigious when there's seven right and like he says it's a total snub to cross who they beg to come back for I mean what are you going to do like if the team doesn't vote for him are you just going to make him a captain as like it like the coaches are just going to push him on there like Terri that looks terrible by the way if a Coach names a captain who kid didn't vote for that's a major major problem M I've seen that too I've seen that too I don't think cross came back to be a captain he came back to make his game better and give himself a better chance you know to you know to to help Notre Dame hopefully be in the college football playoff and compete for a championship and and ultimately bigger picture to give himself a better chance to make it in the NFL and probably earn some nil money along the way know let's be honest like like if I'm if I'm ranking the things that Howard cross came back for it would have been nice to be a captain but I don't think that that was probably at the top of his list I think I think Howard cross will be fine oh yeah not being a captain hey and if it makes him play harder with a chip on his shoulder so be it yeah I'm not dismissing that guys might want to be captains and stuff sure but I just don't think think that I just when there's when there's so many of them though I feel like that Waters it down a little bit too you know but like I said when when Brian Kelly had that I forget what year it was but there was like nine or eight or like it was a ridiculous number and it's like is that really a prestigious thing to me now like yes it's a small percentage of 120 guys but that seems like oh it's an awful lot of guys to be Captain you know what I mean I I I have a problem with that type of thing you know what I mean I my kids Team all the seniors are captains real it's a bit much I don't like that personally you know what I mean and at the end of the year then they vote who the actual captains are but everybody gets a captain star like I don't know how I feel about that you know what I mean too many cooks in the kitchen it seems yeah ex 100% exactly 100 per. so Freeman was asked about having Tyler Buckner back as a walk-on receiver and how he's progressed as a receiver here's his response great job it's it's good to see him back it's good to see his face um there's a level of comfort obviously I have with him U being a part of this program but he's owned his role um obviously he's in the white out room uh there's some different things we're going to have him do to help our program but that's what he wanted to do he said coach all I want to do is help our this football program whatever I can do whatever you guys ask me to do I'll do it you know every once in a while I see him throwing balls in the uh White outs drills um which I think he just wants to have it itch to throw the football but um he's been a great teammate and that's all you can ask out of him doesn't sound a lot to me Vince like a guy who's more than a walk-on Wide Receiver right now I don't know what do you think for all the people that want him to be throwing passes and running fakes and doing all these different things doesn't sound like he's part of the plan to me and that's okay because from everything that we've heard that's not even why he came back so he came back because he just wanted to be a part of something special period And I think everybody respects him for it I think he's a good teammate I think he you want to talk about leading without having a c on your chest that's being a leader right there knowing your role and doing it day in and day out that's being a leader and that's who he is and that's how he's always been to be honest with you and I I do I did find it funny he's like every once in a while I look over there and he's throwing passes yeah he does that every day I G say name over there all the time I got some video of him doing it the last couple practice is it's like and I started thinking about it it's like if you're a receiver like shouldn't you just you know like if you want to get better as a receiver shouldn't you be out there running receiver drills instead of throwing everybody else the ball I mean I don't know that's hilarious but he is I mean he's he's doing the teammate stuff he's he's backing up what he told Marcus Freeman when he came back that he would do anything that he could to help the team and obviously that's what he's doing right now he's part of the team helping out the team in any way can so we got to talk with Fighting Irish receiver Jaden grous last week he and Jordan Faison have been the top two punt return guys and I'll be curious to see how that comes out when it's all is said and done that we get the depth chart next week as well but here's how great house described how James randell's punts look like when they're coming down to it when he's when he's set up back there he's receiving the punt it's it's interesting it's kind of got like a diagonal spiral to it uh like usually it'll go end over end or it'll be like a like full spiral like a pass but like his like kind of like they're like diagonal it's it it's weird he's got some weird spin on it but um you know just like being a a a returner for me I know that other returners are going to have a hard time feeling the ball so um that's definitely good for our offense so some interesting perspective looking at that James Randell punt come down so my question Vince over under one and a half fumbles or muffed punts that Randell causes this season over I'm taking the over and here's why that little piece that Notre Dame Fighting Irish media did on renell and they were you know asking him about good day mate and all this other crap but they they showed a little bit of him kicking and they showed a little bit of the ball coming down and I immediately noticed what great house said there I have yet to see him kick in person right but I immediately noticed it was a sideways spiral that was coming down at an angle that is going to be incredibly difficult to catch and I guarantee you our guys will be able to catch it they'll they're gonna be really good with their hands because they're going to be used to catching his punts right and most punters I've seen thousands of punters over the last three months okay and that's not an exaggeration they that's not how they go and that's not how they're taught to kick the ball they're taught to make it look like a pass you know what I mean because that's the way it cuts through the air the best and the way his balls come down these kids are not going to be prepared for that and I'm not so sure you can simulate that in practice the first time they're GNA see it is in a game exactly exactly I'm take whatever number you would have given I'm taking the over I feel like I probably set this too low and I and I told like do I make it three and a half two like I don't know I feel like there's going to be a lot though this year because of what you said there I don't think there's any way like I don't think that you can set the machine right to make the ball do what rendell's ball does when it comes down because we did get to see it on that first day of training camp and we were sitting right there in those you know bleachers on the sideline and he's kicking basically right out in front of us who were watching it go up watching it come down and those guys were all having a hard time like figuring out where it was going to come down one and then two trying to get it into their hands and like you hear great house talk about it that way and fison talked a little bit about it as well if these are the guys who are seeing this every day when they're back there from him how is a guy who's never see who's who's just used to seeing a traditional punter put the ball in the air come down how's he going to adjust to it in a game if it happens look at this point I don't even care if he kicks it long ways like that doesn't like his booming kick and all this his Thunder leg what how I don't care but if his punts do that every time I would much rather have that than the outkicking your coverage and things like that you know what I mean I would much rather have it be more difficult to catch well and and crazy because it's like you know you see that and it just keeps going up and up and up and up and then it kind of sits there for a second and then it starts coming down com out that weird yeah that weird angle and he's accurate with it you know in terms of being able to to to put it inside the 10 inside the 15 right yard line I'm I'm like who's excited to watch a punter like it doesn't happen very often you know other than you on Friday nights right seriously seriously it it does not happen that that often and it's going to be very interesting to see because you know they're going to take advantage of his hangtime right to get guys around the football when when it lands and therefore if there is a muff there's a great chance that Notre Dame's gonna recover it because they're gonna have guys all over the place and so yeah I I guess you know the 5-second hang time he's not consistent at five seconds let's be very clear on that can he do it yes and guess what most of the top punters in the country can also kick 5sec Hang Time it's just we haven't seen it at Notre Dame in a long time that I mean that's that's realistically the difference and he can't do it every single time so it's I'm telling you the advantage is the way it comes down not the way it goes up yeah so it's going to be very interesting yep concur so Carter Carl covers Texas A&M football you might remember he was a guest on this show we talked about earlier this summer and of course he used to cover Notre Dame football a few years back before he moved on but he had some interesting comments he was watching a little bit of Texas A&M practice on Saturday and here's what Carter curs said quote I know it's a small sample size but considering it was against air there were a ton of drops from A&M wide receivers it sounds like drops were a big problem for them during the scrimmage last Saturday too it's fair to be concerned with this group they not only lack an alpha number one option but they also have an issue with drops Conor wigman's timing with them on deeper routes seems to be off too end quote that's from Carter curls watching practice over the weekend so what do you think about that Vince you know who's a lot better than air Defenders Morrison specifically Notre Dame Secondary like Notre Dame arguably one best secondaries in the country right and if they're dropping balls against air I can only imagine what's going to happen when they're got a Defender draped all over them now I don't want to get too excited because it is practice and you don't you know you don't want to you know glean too much from prce like he said you don't want to overreact or whatever but we've seen what happens when one guy says something about a practice and then everybody takes it and runs with it right you know want to be but it's a lot different than when they were all C you know they were catching everything that came their way and and all that because if that happened at Notre Dame we would all say it was against air you know there was no Defenders there they should catch everything that comes their direction right that's what we would say it's concerning if you're a Texas an& M fan that they were dropping everything against air that is concerning and it's also to be honest with you it's also concerning that they were having issues with the Deep ball and the timing and all of that because that should have been kind of worked out in the summertime like that's not something that they really should be working out right now that should have been already taken care of when we're talking about on air right you throw one of the best secondaries in the country against these guys let's see what happens I would be very concerned if I was A&M and again I don't want to get too excited but you're absolutely right right you don't get one of but it is air like you said who's better than air well a lot of especially when you're talking about a secondary with last year's Defensive Player of the Year and another All-American in it and two other guys who have the potential to be all-americans and it was funny because this came out I think I think he someone put this out yesterday the day before someone tweeted a picture from practice Texas A&M wide receivers recreated this iconic Alabama wide receiver picture did you see it oh I sent it to Brian last night actually he's like it was it was jayen Wadd Henry rugs Devonte Smith and Jerry Juday so in these Texas A&M receivers recreated the same photo and Steve wiltfong another guy who used to work here covering the noted a beat but he covers recruiting of course Steve Wilfong reposted it saying four highly drafted white outs on the left which is the Alabama guys four very successful future Orthopedic salesmen on the right because they're all Walk-Ons I'm pretty sure it's what they were which is hilarious by the way that they try like look listen you're a walk-on have fun with your media day or whatever that they were doing in their uniforms or whatever like that because that's obviously not their starting group of wide receivers right I mean it was it's just it's going to be taken the wrong way like they're probably just having a good time and being silly about it you know that I don't think that those four guys think that they're as good as those Alabama guys right and I guarantee they would tell you that they're probably just having fun with it but it's a bit of a bad look when they when it gets splashed all over social media and I'm sure they didn't intend to go viral but I thought that was really funny actually but just in terms of the the the Aggie like the actual guys who will play right wide receivers like there have been a lot of people hyping up Connor wigman here this summer and since training camp started and you know maybe maybe he's the real deal but we've seen before you can have a good quarterback if you don't have the receivers to go with it it's it's not going to matter that much and if they don't have the timing together it's not going to matter that exactly I mean and you know you guess what else disrupts timing you know really good front sevens and blitzes you know what I mean like that'll be uh that'll be very interesting because look these receivers for for Texas A&M and you know say what you want to when the other team has the ball but these receivers for Texas A&M are gonna have to make plays not just go out there and play and do whatever they're going to have to make plays for Texas A&M to win this game they're GNA have to because the front seven is going to be making plays in this game they're they're too good not to make plays right so wigman and their wide receivers are going to have to make plays to score points on this defense to keep up with what I think the Notre Dame offense is going to be able to do right so if they're dropping balls against air that's very concerning if you're an Aggie fan Mr 2.0 you know what else disrupted timing dead jokes okay all right I mean he's not wrong can live with that I can live with a good dad joke all right well I think that's gonna do it all right for tonight it's uh it's the start of our last noname week crazy for for quite some time crazy yes I'm so excited I am too fired up ready to go football's coming back usma said you look done I mean it's been a long day I'm not not going to lie to you but I'm ready to roll like I I we're we're into the we're into the season where I really enjoy the night shows because just kind of put in the background everything that happened during the day so I'm I'm in great shape I'm not done at all yeah I just heard my family walk in the door though so I'm not going I I was alone but that ship has now sailed so unfortunately you know it's where we're at all right smoke them up Johnny we'll talk to you later hit that like button before you leave we appreciate you being here as always we are one day closer to the start of Notre Dame football 12 days from today if you're listening to the podcast on Tuesday it's 11 days away you're just you're just one day closer it's coming and it's coming fast one week from today we'll have our first inseason Marcus Freeman press conference just to get us rolling depth chart yes hit the like button and we will talk to you later IB Nation Sports Talk f