Could Florida State LEAVE the ACC? | FSU’s Mike Norvell, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel Join | Dear Andy

It’s a Dear Andy show before the Holiday Weekend, and YOU delivered some great questions. Before we get to Dear Andy, we have some news coming out of Tallahassee with Florida State’s Board of Trustees Meeting. We also catch up with Mike Norvell and Josh Heupel to recap signing day.

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0:00 Intro
0:35 Florida State Board of Trustees Meeting
18:01 Mike Norvell Joins
30:08 Josh Heupel Joins
39:08 Dear Andy Intro
39:48 What’s going on with Deion Sanders and Colorado?
46:05 What Happens Next in Gainesville
53:15 Evaluating QB’s worth in NIL
56:39 John Smith = Jonathan Smith?
58:25 Conclusion

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Welcome to Andy Staples on three we’ve got quite a bit to chew on on this Thursday evening still got a couple post Signing Day interviews for you to hear we’ve got Florida State’s Mike norell we got Tennessee’s Josh hyp the Norvell one we recorded on Signing Day so we didn’t

Ask him about the big news out of Tallahassee on Thursday but he’s not really one to talk about that anyway that is more of a president Board of Trustees thing and we’re going to talk about that right now Florida State on Thursday called an emergency Board of

Trustees meeting for Friday and I got a feeling there’s going to be some fireworks at this thing the last time Florida state had a Board of Trustees meeting to talk about its conference affiliation was August and Florida State’s trustees and athletic director Michael Alford and their president were

Very adamant about Florida State needing to to get out of the ACC now after getting left out of the college football playoff as a 13-0 SC sorry now after getting left out of the college football playoff as a 13-0 ACC champ The Situation’s probably even more dire and Florida State’s going to do

Something we don’t know exactly what they’re going to do uh Gan Williams at war chant who’s covered Florida State longer than anybody better than anybody he put forth a few possibilities uh you know you could have a lawsuit where they challenge the grant of rights they they

Sue the ACCC challenge the the grant of rights that remember the ACC has all of its members media rights locked in until 2036 that’s something that all the members gave to the league in 2013 because they wanted to stay together they didn’t want to get picked

Apart they just L lost Maryland to the Big 10 and so they gave the league those rights then when the the TV contract was extended when the ACC network was created that whole deal got extended to 2036 which at the time seemed like a long way away feels even farther away

Now because of how much the Big 10 and the SEC have jumped the ACC in terms of Revenue but all that stuff in August was about Revenue it was about money now there’s another piece of it the perception piece of it and also what the ACC did or didn’t do down

The stretch of this season to try to help Florida State not get left out of the college football playoff so let’s let’s talk about the revenue piece of it anyway because that is what they’ve been working on this this is not new this is something Florida State’s been trying to to

Rectify for a while now and they’ve been the most vocal about it but they’re not the only ones North Carolina Clemson and Miami have all been been doing this too but Florida state has been the one talking about it and so you go back to to August and you had the Florida state

People talking about the revenue gap between the ACC schools which are going to make they’ll get to around $40 million a year in media rights Revenue that that gets split up between the the schools as the as the contract moves forward but the SEC and the big 10 schools are going

To be in the high seven and then higher as they go and that’s a massive Gap that is a massive massive Gap you’re talking 30 to $40 million a year more for every SEC school every Big 10 School than all the ACC schools and it’s something that the Florida state

People have felt was untenable but then you add this on top of it where Florida state is a 13-0 power five conference champ and that what they were sold from the ACC going back and look they were part of it too was that they would be on equal footing with

The SEC the Big 10 the Big 12 and the Pack 12 the Pack 12 is now gone it blew itself up so that’s not an issue anymore the Big 12 is a different animal because of the teams are the schools that it’s lost so now you have what is essentially a power two

And that was concerning to Florida state from a revenue standpoint but then you saw it come home to roost in the form of Texas and Alabama being chosen for the college football playoff despite having one loss where Florida state is left out of the 14 te playoff and I know what

You’re G to say they’re starting a 12 team playoff next year why wouldn’t why would they even need to worry about they’re going to get in because the new playoff contract starts before the 2026 season there’s no guarantee that the SEC and Big 10 won’t Bigfoot everybody else

To change the rules they have enough juice to do that now so if you’re Florida State or anybody in the Big 12 for that matter or anybody else in the ACC you should be worried about that that should concern you like it’s the best deal you can get right now

But the SEC and the Big 10 don’t have to keep it as good of a deal as it is and that’s part of the problem for Florida State so what do you do if you’re the seminal do you Sue and challenge the granted rights do you further explore

The granted rights they’ve been they’ve been looking at it for for two years do you just say you’re leaving the ACC that’s probably an option I would not expect them to take tomorrow because they don’t have to do that right now so they there’s a deadline every August in the middle of a

I believe it’s August 15th that if you want to exit the conference you have to to declare by that deadline or you’re locked in for the following year so right now Florida state has locked in through 2024 if they would like to not be in the conference starting in

2025 they can declare that they’re out so if if anytime between now and August 15 2024 they can declare that they’re out for 2025 at this point I would expect them to do that at some point between now and August I don’t think I’d expect him to

Do that tomorrow so I’ll be curious to see what they choose to do and what what they’ve been doing because you know there’s been talk that they’ve been talking to private Equity folks trying to raise money because remember if you have to challenge that grant of rights

If you actually have to pay to get out it’s not just a $120 million exit fee it is also trying to buy back your media rights essentially at a cost of probably over $300 million now that’s a number that probably gets negotiated down in the real world but it’s still a

Big number and we don’t know how Ironclad this grant of rights would be in court we’ve never seen anybody challenge one the Big 12 had one big 10 has one and we’ve not seen anybody say we challenge the validity of this thing because there’s a thought that it could

Completely fall apart on a challenge but the backside of that is if it doesn’t you’re on the hook for a fortune and that’s where Florida State’s at right now but the reason Florida state is so sure of itself and and sounded that way back in August is because they’re just

Doing the math on this thing they’re taking the deficit of where they would be if they’re in the ACC through 2036 versus if they were in the Big 10 of the SEC and they’re gonna be that far behind MoneyWise anyway so if they’re going to

Do that they may as well spend it they may as well put you know mortgage it essentially and get out now I think the next question that that people are asking is okay well then where would they go would the SEC take them would the Big 10 take them I think that’s an

Interesting question is there’s no guarantee that either one would take them the Big 10 just added four schools the SEC just added two the big 10’s at 18 the sec’s at 16 we’ve never seen these leagues run at that size before we don’t know if it’s manageable we don’t

Know if they feel like they need anymore but here’s what I will say about this if you look at this because I think the last few weeks have been very instructive on this that SEC schedule for 2024 when it came out you looked at that thing and you were like

Damn that’s a lot of Brands that’s a lot lot of really really good games that big 10 schedule that came out a few months ago looked great until that SEC schedule came out so the 18 team Big 10 it’s a much nicer schedule when you throw Oregon Washington USC UCLA into

That mix it gets more fun when you take away the divisions it gets more fun it still ain’t as fun as that SEC schedule and so if you’re for the Big 10 if you’re Fox that is essentially pulling the string in the Big 10 let’s be real

Here and you would like to compete more with the big 10 or with excuse me if you’d like to compete more with the SEC as the Big 10 wouldn’t you want to sprinkle somebody like Florida State across nine different team schedules that seems like it would make

It much more exciting that seems like it would make the television product considerably better I think that’s something Florida state would want the question is would it happen big 10’s never taken on a new school that isn’t part of the association of American universities Florida state is not Miami is North

Carolina is Florida St Clemson aren’t would the Big 10 changed that remember they took Nebraska Nebraska got booted out of the aaou they kept Nebraska so it’s not like they they’re kicking them out is that something that they would consider is it a reorganization of priori

North Carolina coveted by the Big 10 and the SEC both the SEC would like to increase its footprint the Big 10 The Prestige of North Carolina it fits very well with the the institutions already there and also an increase of the footprint but the Big 10 getting into

Florida getting into the South how much does that matter to them how much does that matter to Fox I feel like that would matter a lot and I also think there’s a lot of eyes on FSU here because Florida state has been the one willing to say this they’ve been willing

To talk about it like I said before Clemson Miami North Carolina all doing the same thing in terms of research behind the scenes none of them willing to to say what Florida state has said in fact some of them have been pretty outwardly critical of the way Florida

State has handled this I think they should probably a be a little more grateful because Florida State’s doing the hard work Florida State’s being the canary and the coal mine for them because they went out just as bad and so I do wonder if the Big 10 decided to come

South would that caused the SEC to move because like I said the 16 team SEC you look at those schedules they don’t need to do anything different but if the Big 10 were encroaching on their territory would they try to get stronger beef up a little more to make the product even

Better is that where a Clemson might be able to get into the SEC is that where they might say no no we will take Florida State it would be an interesting situation and then what if they what if neither one wanted them that’s the other possibility do you just go join the Big

12 try to let Brett yormark renegotiate that deal because you’ve now got a stronger brand I think the question of that is is pretty secondary because they’re going to try to get into the Big 10 of the SEC if they leave the AC that’s Priority One let us

Listen to a quote from Florida State trustee Drew Weatherford now Drew is a former Florida State quarterback he is a guy who understands all of these issues very well he’s spoken very eloquently about this stuff in the past this is from August listen to him in August and

Now think about it through the lens of what you know happened at the beginning of December here’s Drew and there’s going to be a school many many schools you know almost 40 to be exact that are going to have way more resources than us and so I do think it’s an existential

Threat um and this is just one board member speaking unless something drastic changes on the revenue side at the ACC it’s not a matter of if we leave in my opinion it’s a matter of how and when we leave you know and not everyone may agree with that but

I feel really strongly about it because I don’t want to play games I want to go compete for championships moving forward that’s what Florida State is about and unfortunately we’re in a situation where Money Matters more than ever and you cannot compete without the resources necessary Money Matters more than ever

But so does perception so does a league that actually tries to help you these are all things that that are very interesting now when you look at it through the lens of what happened to Florida state with the college football playoff because the ACC didn’t even try

To politic Florida State in Greg sanki the SEC commissioner was speaking into whatever microphone he could find on the day of the SEC Championship game because he was trying to figure out if Alabama wins this thing how do I get Alabama and Georgia into the playoff that’s what he was thinking

About Jim Phillips of the AC didn’t say a Bo it didn’t say peep didn’t say Buu it’s not we’re not talking about bu Corgan the NC NC State athletic director but did not say anything until after Florida state was excluded he came out with a fiery statement that meant

Nothing because it was too late so the ACC failed Florida State miserably on that front meanwhile Drew wetherford talking about almost 40 it’s 35 schools essentially it’s the 34 schools of the Big 10 in the SEC plus Notre Dame that that beat everybody in the ACC everybody in the

Big 12 in a perception war and so you don’t want to be perceived as in a weaker conference and right now if you are Mike norell trying to recruit for Florida State and you’re going to hear me ask him this question during our interview how do you handle those

Questions you know people are recruiting against Florida state with this you know Auburn Georgia Alabama LSU all of those schools that Florida State recruits against on a regular basis Florida all of them they’re saying well why would you go there look at what happened they won that league and they didn’t even

Make the 14 playoff why don’t you go to a place where you can actually compete for national titles that is now what Florida state must contend with on the recruiting Trail and that you could argue if you’re Florida state is the acc’s fault so they have the arguments now they have

Even more ammo than they had before the question is do they have the war chest if it comes down to they have to just buy their way out and then if they do is one of the leagues they want to get into going to take them these are

All questions that remain to remain in the air they have to be answered but first we have to know how Florida State plans to handle this perhaps we get the first set of answers when the Board of Trustees meets on Friday get your popcorn ready you’re going to hear from Florida

State coach Mike Norville in just a minute but first I want to tell you about game time if you want to go to the college football play that the theyve excluded Florida State but they will not exclude you because you could go to the Rose Bowl and watch Alabama Michigan or

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Time so download the app use the code Staples $20 off your first purchase all right here is Mike norell again we didn’t talk about the Board of Trustees stuff hadn’t popped up yet but we did talk about his class and a stat that I found really interesting about the depth of this

Particular Florida State class we are joined by Florida State coach Mike norell and this is very interesting day for you Mike because I this is a stat that I saw on war chant that I I had not realized this is the most top 200 recruits that Florida state has signed out of high

School since 2016 this uh this build you’ve been on it it feels like it took a while to get to this point but but now people have seen what you can do and and it feels like they’re they’re wanting to jump on board no I mean it’s been a it’s it’s a

Great class first off and just so excited about the guys that have you know come into the program and you know one thing to turn on film and watch you know the way that they can play all the highlights and and the abilities that’s another thing to get to know the young

Men and uh you know this has truly been a class that’s been four years into making um you know from coming in you know starting to build a relationships at a foundational level you know we fac some challenges with covid and not being able to go and and really be in high

Schools there for the first year and a half you know that we were here but uh you know when you sit there and you look at it we wanted to have a great great emphasis and uh to be able to to really kind of make a statement with you know

The State of Florida you know with with the state of Georgia to have 17 of our 21 SES uh you’re some of the best and the brightest you in the country out of those two states I mean it’s so it’s really exciting for us and I think we’ve

Got a a great group of playmakers that incredible young men coming coming here to Tallahassee and it to get these guys to to to believe to to show them the proof concept uh I know you you had to you know work in the transfer portal but you’ve always wanted

To build through the high school ranks does it feel like you’re now getting that Foundation that you want in the program absolutely and you know for us you know it’s it’s you about finding the right fit and I know I’ve said that for the last few years um but ultimately

It’s it’s about you know addressing the needs that we have we always want to be able to start uh you know there at the high school level and finding the right guys and I think when you look at this last year I mean we had 25 All

Conference players and it was the most ever in Florida State history and you know right around half of them were guys that have developed through the high school ranks and then you know the other other you know half were guys that have come through the transfer portable so we

Found a good balance and a good mix and you know now coming into this year’s you signing class these have been guys that we’ve identified that built relationships uh you know guys that you know have have have watched this program grow and they’re some of the some of the

The best at their position within in the country and then they’re they’re coming to be a part of of what has been built and you know obviously we’re excited about where they’re going to continue to help this program to go so the quarterback in this class Luke cronik he

Committed to you almost two years ago so and I know you fended off a late charge from from some folks here in the last few days and weeks how does that when when you’ve had that guy saying you know I’m I’m here and then all of a sudden

Everybody’s trying to at the last minute Prime away well I mean you know we we identified some some great you know characteristics about him early um you know he was actually committed to us before he ever started a high school game but you know sophore year started

As a started as a receiver and and and defensive back you know there for his program uh you know they had to you a really good quarterback that was there his sophomore year and uh you know he was waiting for his opportunity now he’d

Come to camps we got to see him work but I believed in the young man I believed in in in all that he would you know grow to become and uh you now you know his first first year as a starting quarterback won state championship and then just continue to develop to what

What I believe is the best quarterback in the country um and just you know but he’s he’s about all the right things and you know he’s been a wonderful leader for this uh for this uh you know this class that’s coming together but you know so excited about what he’s going to

Bring uh you know to our football program you know on and off the field how do you how do you make that decision to offer when you’ve seen a guy in Camp but he’s young maybe he’s waiting behind a really good player at his high school

And and you haven’t seen him start the high school game yet is it just just the traits and and having talk to him is that that what says okay we can make this offer yeah and i’ i’ I’ve got my beliefs in what it takes to win what it

Takes to be successful and uh you know he had he had started games just not at that position and he and he got a chance to play quite a bit you know you even in in a backup role but you know I I TR I truly knew that when he when the

Opportunity was his what it would uh what it would look like and uh you he’s just continued to get better and you know he’s played himself into exactly what I thought he would be and Charles Lester from Venice on the on the west coast of Florida a long Corner big

Position of need big value I mean everybody needs good corners but but what what was it about him that that really attracts you I mean he’s a game changer and you know he’s got he’s got an incredible Spirit you know he’s got unbelievable athletic ability uh you

Know just with what he can do um you know his ball skills his speed his change of Direction you really the mindset he’s one of the smartest you know football players uh that I’ve recruited you know coming out of the high school ranks and you know I think

He’s got a chance to be the total package uh but uh you know it’s that that’s been a recruitment that’s been over three years you know of building that relationship and uh you know just so excited about you know where he can go and yes you mentioned the position of

Need I think we hit a home run in our defensive back class we have assigned four DBS that you have such great versatility and and athletic ability uh but really I think that’s going to be a special group as we’re moving forward so you mentioned yesterday that you’re

Still struggling with with what happened with the the college football playoff and you know dealing with I I can’t imagine you know how you how you address the Players how you deal with that but do recruits ask about that did have you had to address that with with these high

School players before they signed no I mean as you sit there and you watch I mean there’s um you know for all the things and you know obviously the national Spotlight that has been put on uh you know you know that I mean our guys we controlled what we could control

And it was unfortunate that we had you know you a great player that went down with injury but I think it showed the heart and the character of this team and how we responded around you know gra great adversity and and that’s what these guys want to be be a part of you

Know obviously they they have all the ability in the world and um you know being able to come into a program uh that’s going to Showcase you know their skills and talents on and off the field and an opportunity to to go and compete for a national championship and to be

Able to continue to take those steps as something that you they’re all excited about and so it really didn’t U you know obviously it was talked about but it wasn’t something that was uh was ever a point of contention so you talk you’ve talked a lot about the culture you want

To build and and that you’re looking for a certain kind of person how good of an advertisement was it to you know future players that you might be recruiting the way your guys rallied after Jordan got hurt the way you played in that ACC Championship game I mean it uh it

Showcased the the heart and the identity of of of who we are and you know anybody can say the right things when when they feel good or when things are going uh you know you you going well but when you face real adversity you know always tell

Our players and you know tell recruits I mean you get a sense of the character by the response you you see the true core of what what a program is about and you know we did what was what was necessary and you know that was I’ll forever be

Proud of this football team I mean we faced you know great adversity great challenge you know plenty of people doubted that uh what we could what we could do and and how it could be done but they just continue to answer the call and you know I think that’s

Something that has you know recruits and and everybody you around watching Florida State I mean excited for where we’re where we’re headed so you got a few more decisions that that you’re still waiting on obviously you can’t talk about anybody till they’ve actually signed but what is it like when you get

To you know into the afternoon into the early evening on Signing Day and there’s still some some names out there some you know maybe that that weren’t weren’t in your class that you think maybe you still got a shot at well I mean it’s it’s it’s usually a long day on signing

Day and you know we’ve um you know we’ve got a great sense of kind of where we are um but obviously there’s always the you sometimes or I say always the the unexpected you know sometimes works in a good way sometimes works in a bad way so

Uh um you know you just you be true to be true to who you are I mean obviously these these gray hairs are well earned and I think you when you look through through the previous signing days uh you know it’s it’s it is a celebration because you know the guys that are

Coming in are gonna gonna be come in and leave their mark on the program and you know for the previous three years here at Florida State uh all those guys helped build what was a 13 you know 13 and0 ACC Championship team and I believe the guys coming in this class are going

To continue to help uh Elevate us to a whole new level and and as you wait on this and try to figure how much math do you have to do in terms of what you’re also doing simultaneously in the transfer portal because I I don’t know that anybody’s handled the transfer

Portal better than you guys over the last few years but how how do you make those decisions of okay maybe we want to chase this guy or maybe we want to hold this the scholarship back in case there’s somebody we want in the portal yeah it’s it’s always about finding that

Fit and uh you know we’ll we’ll continue to evaluate that um you know there might be there there might be a position or two where we can add you know experience or competition that’s going to help our football team uh but you’re never going to never going to sacrifice you know

What we have uh for something that that that doesn’t fit or isn’t isn’t a big need uh you know at at any of those positions and so uh you know I think that it’s one of the things we stay true to over the years and it’s it’s worked

At a very high level and looking forward to wherever that leads us you’ll he you know going into this next season well Mike thank you so much and uh and good luck in the Orange Bowl thank you Andy appreciate you and go Nolls all right that is Mike Norvell

With a team going the Orange Bowl but a school that is thinking about a lot of different things right now next up Josh Hy he’s also headed to a bowl in Florida he’s going to the cheit Citrus Bowl against Iowa he’s got some extra help at practice though some of the guys that

He’s already signed have already joined the vs we’re going to get to him but first I got to tell you about prize picks flipas was on Wednesday Christmas is on Monday but it’s also a merry pixas prize pick is the most fun daily Fantasy game in America and you just download that app

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Essentially he does have to score one point go to prize picks use the code Andy get that first deposit match up to a 100 bucks all right now it is time to talk to Tennessee Coach Josh hyp we are joined Now by Josh hyp Tennessee coach and uh you just got back

In in the room here in your office uh but your your Sid Bill Martin came in there was some Justin Bieber playing and is is that part of your playlist or has someone hijacked your play playlist my daughter might have hijacked uh the list she came to practice today and and uh

Her and my wife my dog might have been out there to our I should say our dog um she might have been uh hitting some Taylor Swift music and it transitioned over to Bieber okay good that’s just that that’s the Spotify algorithm that’s not your taste I appreciate that we’ve

Now cleared that up let’s talk about that well listen hey when you when you’re a dad of a daughter you listen to whatever she’s uh she’s wanting to play I got a 12-year-old and I can assure you that is the truth so uh let’s talk a little national Signing there you got

Some new vs but it’s interesting because some of those guys have are are there and with you uh like Mike Matthews and bu Carter the receivers are are already already practicing with you guys yeah we uh we ended up bringing in uh 27 guys so far um obviously in today’s landscape uh

It’s an Ever ongoing process with uh with your roster and and evaluations uh but we got 10 guys that are already here for uh for Bowl practice we’ll end up with 15 uh High School midyear enroll leads um it’s uh it’s been a lot of fun

Those guys have gotten a ton of work I think they’re maybe on day four or day five already of being out on the grass with us and uh it’s been great to see those guys um it’s a it’s a highly skilled group you mentioned a couple of

Those guys that are are elite players those guys have already been making plays out there with us I was say when when Mike committed to you guys it it was a very big deal but what’s it like now getting to see him against your current players who you I mean you know

What they can do does it help you kind of figure out what you can do with with those young guys as you get them into their first spring practice Yeah it’s almost like another Spring ball um by the time that that we leave here break for Christmas break and and then get

Back uh to Orlando um those guys have been in one-on ones um they’ve had an opportunity to to go out there and compete with some of our guys um seen them make plays and uh you find out you know what their physical attributes are as much as anything uh but you also find

Out some things just fundamentally uh where you got to help them grow before we get back out there in uh in March for Spring ball and so it’s not just the the high school guys coming in because you’ve also got people coming in from the transfer portal as well Holden stays

The the Notre Dame tight end transfer you got him what what have you seen from him so far yeah uh he actually just got to to campus today so uh tomorrow will be our first day out on on the the field with him um you know we’re really

Excited about him uh we’re losing uh two really good uh tight ends that uh are running out of Eligibility that we be playing at the next level um we have good young tight end here on campus and Ethan Davis uh but it’s a room that we

Knew that uh we had to um in some ways kind of kind of patch that roster spot and um you know we’re really excited uh about him being here with us you can see on the film against high level competition him out there making plays he’s got length and athleticism to be a

Real threat in the past game Dynamic with the ball in his hands after the catch uh the ability to use his body and and create separation and win some one-on ones uh but he’s also got the ability to do everything uh in the Run game uh when he’s in the core uh that

Helps us uh go play the way that we need to play so you’ve got the you know guys who actually run out of Eligibility that that still happens I I feel like that’s just starting to happen yeah how how do you handle the math on that when you are

You’re trying to fill out this roster and you’re you’re talking to people in the transfer portal you’re recruiting High School guys two and three years out H how do you handle that math yeah you got to understand that uh you have a plan of you know where you think your

Roster is going to be at some things that you need to to do um High School recruiting is still uh Uber important uh you got to bring in guys that you can develop you know physically and fundamentally uh and also the culture of your locker room in in in your program I

I think that’s still extremely important um but you also know that on a minute’s notice you might lose a guy um and U you know based on on who you have on your roster you’re projecting you know where you think guys will be at by the time

You get to training camp and if you feel like there’s a veteran guide that fits the culture of who and what your program is about they can also uh bring some playmaking ability uh or be a dominant player at the the line of scrimmage you got to make sure that uh that you’re

Covering your bases and and making your roster as strong as it can be before you get to next fall how have you managed to to maintain that culture because you know you guys do seem to still be having a lot of fun uh that’s one thing I

Noticed when I when I visited with you guys is is players are always in around the offices and and wanting to hang out how do you encourage that sort of atmosphere then are you looking for for guys out of high school who who kind of

Fit in that or do you or do you want them to see that and say okay that’s something I want to be part of yeah I I think you know it’s got to be the basis of of who you are inside of of of your building uh you got to have like-minded

Coaches you got to create uh a staff Dynamic where everybody’s uh on the same team uh you got to have fun as a staff too that’s got to be a part of your interactions with your players you you got to be intentional in creating that that culture of you know competing

Extremely H hard uh having you know the the core principles of what you got to be to be a Tennessee ball um but you got to create that Dynamic and you do that you know through your team activities uh but it’s also the energy that you got to

Have out on the practice field every single day and the consistency of that and the message that you deliver uh we got a great staff here uh we got great leadership inside of our locker room um as you go out and you start recruiting

That can be in the portal that can be uh your high school recruiting I do think it’s important that uh you understand the type of people that you’re bringing in and do they fit that culture and uh everybody’s on on a journey of becoming the man that they want to be in the

Player too um so you got to balance you know where they’re at you know what they’ve been exposed to um how you feel like they have an opportunity to grow and and can uh you know your your staff and your players inside of that locker room help them develop extremely quickly

Well one thing I found interesting talking to coaches Day Josh is it people have have said over and over again when you’re recruiting these guys out of high school now you have to make sure whether they want to come to your school or not that that the last time

You talk you end on a really good note because you may wind up recruiting them again you may you may have another shot whether that’s as a potential flip candidate or in the transfer portal is that something that that you have to talk to your coaches about and say Hey

You know make sure we you know we end things on the right note with these guys even if they tell us no well our staff is a group of individuals that uh that care about you know developing young men and and are relationship driven so

That’s who they are um if I remind them or or not um they’re professional they handle themselves the right way um but I do think it’s important um because uh you know there are going to be opportunities to recruit some of these guys again um based on uh you know kind

Of what the the landscape of college football is right now so when you get off the road Dan Lanning told us he gained nine pounds in in just basically in home visits is it a detox when you when you finally get home for that Dead period

Man I’m ready to go to go to sleep at some point I feel like it’s been a long uh long I don’t know what it is three weeks since uh since we played last um you know flying all over the country uh spending o or having an opportunity to

Get in uh lot of these recruits houses um I certainly need uh need to sleep and and uh I’ll take a detox too at this point well the college football calendar doesn’t give you any breaks though because you still have to figure out how to score in the Iowa defense so good

Luck with that Josh I appreciate it hey yeah the uh Iowa defense is uh is legit um but uh we’re looking forward to uh to getting down there into uh to Orlando and and uh getting an opportunity to go compete um you know I was in Orlando for

A period period of three years too so you know former players um got an opportunity to get get together with a bunch of those guys too attention 407 the vs are coming that’s right that is Josh hyp the vs facing Iowa in the Citrus Bowl I’m not going to

Make the joke you know where I went to school not not going to do it not saying it and you know you want me to but I am going to talk about my alma Mo here in a minute because it’s time for dear Andy your question questions answered or at

Least to the best of my ability you have some great questions this week we will start with a with a popular topic here of the last couple days I think the shoden Freud is probably the the word that that you would use in this particular situation but we will start

With a video submission from Nathan about Coach Prime dear Andy when Dion was hired at Colorado he was the toast of the town and pretty much everyone expected him to basically instantly put together one of the most talented rosters in America But as time has gone

By he’s proven to be a good portal recruiter but a not great to maybe even downright terrible traditional recruiter is his recruit his traditional recruiting class this year a signed that the Dion experiment is going to start heading south or is it just a sign that he has a different strategy and it’s

Going to be okay because honestly it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be okay Tyler uh put it a little more directly on Twitter he said did Colorado only sign six players do they know they need 11 just to make a legal formation well on national Signing Day Colorado

Only signed five players out of high school and yeah it it looks like Dion is all in on the portal the biggest problem I saw was the Jordan Sean situation Jordan seatan very publicly committed to Colorado he’s the number one offensive tackle Prospect in the country you know

He goes on Undisputed commits to Colorado goes on the reizen show talks about what what he’s going to do as a buff he is still not signed uh the day before signing day he posts the the GIF GIF GIF GIF whatever we’re going to call it however we pronounce it of the the

Guy sweating as he has the choice of two buttons and all it’s been since then is people just giving him unsolicited advice about what should do whether he should go to Colorado he should go to Tennessee he should go to Oregon he should go to Maryland well we don’t know

What Jordan Sean’s going to do but he we know he hadn’t signed with Colorado yet and it’s it’s funny because when Josh Newberg made a video right after Jordan Sean’s commitment he was talking about Dion on the recruiting Trail and his number one thing that Dion had to do was

Actually sign Jordan Sean Josh who is really smart he nailed that one he nailed that one because right now Jordan seedan as I record this is unsigned that was the one that I thought when when he committed and he seemed very certain of that commitment I was

Like okay I was a little worried because Dion hadn’t been doing much in the high school recruiting area and his portal recruiting I I’ve seen all these stories about how he’s dominating the portal I don’t really get that from what we’ve seen I mean like our scouting people who

Rank the portal no Louisville is dominating the portal all Miss is dominating the portal Florida State always dominates the portal but Colorado is not really dominating it right now and so Jordan seatan coming out of high school plug Inplay offensive tackle you just don’t find those people like they

Don’t exist in the portal you have to recruit them out of high school and so I thought all right this is a good sign but if he’s not coming and if Dion’s just going to keep trying to do this out of the portal every year it’s not going

To work and he’s always talked about how it’s part of the plan there’s that there’s a grand plan to this there’s no grand plan if you can never block and right now they have a great quarterback and shador Sanders in an offensive line that was not good last year and that if

If they’re just going to take a bunch of guys out of the portal is probably not going to be great this year next year the year after that the year after that like you got to start building in the trenches in the high school ranks we talked to Kirby Smart on Wednesday it’s

The only way to do it like he’s got the best offensive defensive line classes almost every year he’s won the last two national titles not going to win this one but guess what they’re going to compete for the next one and the next one and the next

One I don’t know what Dion’s doing I really don’t because if you’re not going to get good high school players it’s not going to work long term it yes the game’s changing and perhaps this was an experiment to see all right with all of the situations for everyone

Changing can we do it this way and succeed and the answer is to a point you can but not winning big like you’re in a league like Utah came with you to the Big 12 Utah recruits really good offensive and defensive linemen every year out of high school and then they make them

Better that’s what you got to deal with you know Baylor can recruit good offensive line and defensive line where they are in Texas so can TCU Houston has an abundance of them living right there this is not going to be easy if they are not going to and it’s not even

A matter of oh Dion has to follow the rules everybody else follows or or you know suddenly we we can’t respect him no it’s not that if there were an easier way somebody would have figured it out by now like people would have been following Dion’s example here but

There’s not any easier way and so I just don’t know what’s going to happen to them going forward if they’re not going to engage in trying to get really good high school players because if that’s not part of what they do then ultimately they’re probably going to continue to be

Lackluster on the lines of scrimmage and that’s going to produce lackluster records they improved Colorado this year I think they’ll improve again I think maybe they get a bowl eligible next year but it doesn’t go much past that if you can’t start building in the trenches and

The only way right now is through the high school ring maybe that changes maybe you can start doing that through the portal in future years but it’s not happening right now and I just I don’t know given his magnetism he seems like a natural recruiter I would think Dion

Could do better recruiting guys out of high school and I realize there’s a significant nil piece to this and that Colorado probably isn’t as robust in terms of of its Collective as some of these schools that are signing the best players but you got to you got to try

You got to do better than this it’s it’s got to be better than this speaking of it’s got to be better than this got a couple questions here that are of a similar tone we’ll start with Logan dear Andy first time emailer question asker longtime listener I’m a

Senior at UF my dear any question naturally is about the Gators obviously national Signing Day wasn’t the result everyone in hope for and the portal moves haven’t exactly been aggressive either now we find out this morning that Jay baitman the linebacker coach is leaving for Texas A&M seemingly leaving

Legacy top 100 S miles Graham and Company high and dry bottom line if you’re Billy Napier in his army of assistants where do you go from here all things considered at present do you believe the problem is Billy Centric or do you think that it’s more at an Institutional level and said Scott

Strickland the Athletic Department Florida Victoria versus the collective he said thanks again look forward to hearing back and now we also have one from Andrew a little more direct during the season Florida’s 2024 recruiting class was the answer to all criticisms of Billy Napier the product on the field

Was bad but look at those recruits after that class faded away like the last two minutes of infinity War are there any signs of progress left at UF that is my producer River cheering at the Marvel reference my former co-host Ari wasman wouldn’t even know what that meant with

The last two minutes of infinity War well if I’m spoiling it for you too bad it’s like 10 years old everybody turns to dust after Thanos snaps his fingers that probably is a an app description of of Florida’s 2024 recruiting class which at one point was

Ranked as high as number three in the on three industry rankings but they got a lot of guys flipped here in the last few months including a few in the last few days uh Xavier Phils to Texas ad Darius Hayes to Miami AMS Williams to Auburn nasier Johnson to Georgia jamonte Waller

To Auburn Isaiah Williams to Texas A&M Wardell Mack to Texas they did sign GJ lag way the the Cornerstone of the class the quarterback they also signed LJ McCrae the number one ranked Edge rusher in the country he goes to Daytona Beach Mainland High but that team is not the same team

That was being sold during the season as the wheels were falling off on the field and it’s number 16 as a class in our on three recruiting rankings it’s just not it’s not good it it’s not what was sold you’ve even got Dan Mullen trolling

Where uh there was a a radio guy in South Carolina who tweeted the the Billy Napier recruiting ranks and how similar they were to the Dan Mullen ones and Dan Mullen responded that saying I wish I had the facilities they had it was a pretty Dynamite troll job

From Dan Mullen who got criticized a lot for how he recruited and yeah his successor who came in talking a huge game about how he was going to build through High School recruiting was going to sign players the way Georgia and Alabama signed players he’s not doing

That and so now Florida has to hope that DJ lagway can get this done that LJ MC McCrae can contribute because as Logan pointed out they’re not they’ve not been particularly aggressive in the transfer portal they’ve gotten some guys but you know getting a safety from Oregon who didn’t really play last

Season because he was buried on the depth chart like that’s not encouraging that’s not exactly what you want to see and this is this is a problem and then adding the coaching situation you know they fire Sean Spencer as the line coach they don’t hire a defensive line coach

Before Signing Day uh then they they lose Jay baitman their linebackers coach who’s now going to be the the defensive coordinator Texas A&M and so Logan mentioned the miles Graham situation miles Graham is a linebacker for buol high in Gainesville his dad is Ernest Graham former Florida running back and

Ernest Graham was not pleased on Thursday here’s he tweeted my son was raised to understand the business as it exists but there have been new levels of Disconnect with this program that I have never ever experienced no calls no communication and the driest experience imaginable I’m just going to start there that’s

From not just a great former player but the dad of one of your SES which by the way I do enjoy all of the comments under that tweet where fans are saying Earnest you don’t need to be airing this in public like telling a guy who was a great player at Florida

And the dad of a s what how he should feel about this I think he he feels pretty strongly and I think there’s a lot of people who share the way he feels here’s the thing about all this so much has been put on DJ lagway I kind of feel

Bad for the guy he is a great high school player in Willis Texas he may be a great college quarterback but the the problem is you can’t expect him to do the saving of the program as a true freshman also he’s not even really supposed to start

This year Graham Merz is supposed to start this year at quarterback for Florida so I don’t know what what everybody’s expecting because the schedule’s brutal the roster does not seem to be any better so all of a sudden they’re supposed to be better than five and seven because that’s the only way I

Can see Billy Napier keeping his job after this season and as the Logan’s question about institutional that I I I I get confused because people keep asking asking me well they say they got to fire Scott Strickland if you’re going to fire Billy of course you are like Scott Strickland

Knows that Scott Strickland’s floor’s ad he’s well aware that he will be fired before Billy Napier is fired if they’re gonna go down that road like he knows that they’re not going to let him hire a third football coach this situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better and this is as

Apathetic and just checked out as I can remember a Florida fan base being it used to be they would get angry about stuff like this but I don’t I don’t see that from them right now I see them sort of resign to their fate and that’s

Probably a worst place to be and so there’s a massive buyout Billy Napier is gonna go into the 2024 season there will still be a massive buyout after that season but guess what if they have the same year they had you’re going to have to do something because everything’s going to

Dry up after that so it’ll be a very interesting next few months in Gainesville just to see how they try to spin this what they try I mean there’s really no spinning it so if you’re Billy a you don’t even bother like don’t try to spend this at all just try to make

The team better if you can and try to be better and you I don’t know what does it like is it seven and five is it eight and four that seems impossible with this roster against this schedule but you never know you don’t know how how teams

Coales you don’t know how chemistry goes perhaps some of those young players that he has brought in perhaps they’re better but offensive line defensive line remain very worrisome positions we’ll just see what happens but it it doesn’t look very promising for Florida right now next one comes from Jonathan more of

A statement than a question but I thought it was really interesting to me at least it’s become obvious that if a top 10 high school quarterback wants his biggest payday it won’t be at a top 10 program we’re talking about nil stuff and this is a a really interesting point

And I think it’s true I think you you look at lague you look at the the Dylan Rola situation I would bet I haven’t seen the numbers but I have talked to enough people and heard figures bandied about I would bet that Dylan riola and DJ lagway are probably the top two

Earners in the class of 2024 and it’s because Nebraska and Florida have to have them Dylan riol was committed to Georgia Georgia doesn’t have to have Dylan riola and that’s the that’s the one difference I you you’ve heard me talk a million times about how the the pay scale with

Nil and and eventually when whatever they’re going to get to mimics the NFL pay scale quarterbacks at the top offensive tackles and Edge rushers defensive tackles cornerbacks like those are the positions of importance but here’s the thing here’s where it’s different in one way in the NFL you must have an elite quarterback

If you want to win it all only way you can’t do it without one in college football you don’t have to have one if you have great offensive and defensive lines if you have couple Dynamic Playmakers on offense couple lock down DBS on defense you can have an above average

Quarterback and still win a National Title I’m not going to say an average or a bad like if you’re looking for STS and Bennett slander here you’re not going to get it I thought STS and Bennett was a really good college quarterback but STS and Bennett wasn’t a first- round draft

Pick you don’t have to have that to win a National Title so I do think the programs that can build in the trenches and you heard me just talking about Kirby Smart when I was talking about Dion Nick sain Kirby Smart Ryan Day those coaches do not need to overpay for

A quarterback they do not need to stretch out their wallets they do not need to be held Ransom by a quarterback they just don’t they can find somebody to make it work because they have people who can block and they have people on the other side of the ball where their

Four can beat your five those are the two most important things in college football that’s where the bulk of your money should go they understand that I I I think the other schools need the pop they need to overpay and that’s why you’re seeing some of this Talent spread out

Because your Alabam your Ohio States your georgas your michigans they don’t have to do that they know what they need they know how to build it and they’ve already got the foundation set these ones that don’t have a foundation you need the pop you’re going to have to pay

Texture and unfortunately you get a little uh you little today’s price is not yesterday’s price when that happens but very astute observation from Jonathan but not as astute as this one from Nathan which I love is Michigan State the first school to have two coaches with the same or similar enough

Names with John L Smith and Jonathan Smith I can’t think of another one I I can’t now granted the names have changed over the years you used to have names like Wallace Wade or you know Amos Alonzo stag like you’re never gonna get another Amos stag I don’t think but

What’s interesting about this one the name we’re talking about is John Smith if this was ever going to happen in in America it was going to be with someone named John Smith because I would imagine if we were to put all of the male names

In a hat first name last name the most common one the one that appears the most times would be John Smith so yes John Smith was going to be the first coach with the double name the the first time a school hired the same named coach although I will say these two guys

Could not be more different Jonathan Smith who Michigan State just hired from Morgan State is yeah he he’ll get fired up on the sideline sometimes but he’s he feels pretty stoic most of the time he’s he’s not going to get too to up or two down

John El Smith beat himself up during a halftime interview and I don’t mean said I’m doing a bad job of Coach he did say that too but literally slapped himself so just because you have the same name doesn’t mean you’re the same coach or the same kind of Coach but yes

I do believe that this is the first time that happened and if it was gonna happen of course it was GNA happen with a John Smith what a question this is why I love you guys programming note we are off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we will be back on December

26th please have a merry Christmas everybody enjoy some time with your families we love you so much we’ll be right back when the holidays end be ready for more bowl games get you ready for the college football playoff but everybody be safe if you’re traveling and go hug the people you love you’re

Get to spend some time with him always a good time to do that never a bad time and thank you so much for being with us this first six months at on three it has been a blast and it’s only to get better we’ll talk to that for Christmas