7-17-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: SEC Media Days - Day 3: Jeff Lebby, Blake Shapen, Marty Smith, Alabama expectations, Tennessee needs Nico
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Welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning live from Radio Row. That was Chris Plank that just joined us, Oklahoma sideline reporter for their radio broadcast. Oklahoma fans still coming at me, G-Mac. They're not happy. What about? Just called a casual by one Oklahoma fan who also admitted he had never been to the Egg Bowl. I'm sorry, never watched the Egg Bowl.

You referenced me as a casual, but you admit you've never watched one of the greatest rivalry games in college football. I guess I don't understand. What are they so mad about? I didn't have Red River number one. Mad about the truth? That I would have the gall to place the Egg Bowl ahead of Red River. What did you have Red River? Three? Yeah. That's fine.

And I openly admitted that it's an awesome game. I've got a ton of respect for it. I've never been, and they'll probably change when I do have a chance to go. You had it ahead of Auburn, Georgia. You had it ahead of third Saturday in October. It's not like you had it not – it's not like it wasn't listed. I don't know what they're so mad about. Had it ahead of Texas and Texas A&M, which is one that I don't think we're talking enough about when we mention great rivalry games and the fact that we're getting that game back is just awesome. And we're not – I don't feel like we just get enough focus.

Maybe later today when Texas gets here? Yeah, it's also week 12, though. It's like we're not talking about the Iron Bowl right now. I don't know. We know what that one is, though. We've had it every year. We're focused on week 1 at the moment, week 5 maybe at the very latest. But I don't know. I think the Texas – I just expected maybe a little bit more fanfare yesterday with Oklahoma being around. I expected maybe already a little bit more fanfare yesterday.

And maybe we're just guarded from it because of where we're at on Radio Row. It just feels a little quieter than it usually does on a day where Alabama would be in attendance.

And on a day where Texas is going to be in attendance in Dallas, of all places. It's got a strange start so far. Okay. All right. Do you not agree? No, I do. It's been a little bit quiet, and I just think that's strategy. We mentioned yesterday after Georgia and Kirby Smart took to the podium, he wasn't asked about all the players and the issues in vehicles. He was asked about it.

in their local media breakout before he went to the podium. And he did announce that there have been some fines. Those have come through the collectives. There was a player dismissed. So I think there have been some solutions and some attempts to slow that down. Talked about some of the education that they're trying to put forth in front of the players to be able to manage that and sort of start to mitigate it. But it's not that he didn't address it at all yesterday. Well, it's also a more complex situation than I think some people make it out to be.

I mean, you can't... I mean, I guess you could. I mean, this is not the program, but you don't just take Joe Cain's motorcycle keys. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know how you do that nowadays. So you can find them in the NFL. That's how you hit guys. I mean, you hit them for, hey, you're late for a meeting, 500. You're late for something, 1,500, 2,000, whatever. You hit them for that, I mean, yeah, that'll get guys' attention for sure, but...

I just want to say this quickly, Greg. That's big to me because what is Kirby's number one mantra outside of winning? What is his number one focus outside of winning football games? Recruiting, right? Yeah. That can be used against you in recruiting. A thousand percent it can. And guys can leave. And that's, I think, what Nick Saban said a couple years ago. Didn't he say that a couple years ago? The portal and the lack of consequences for entering the portal will not allow you to change behavior.

So if a guy's not, hey, guess what? You're suspended for the first three weeks. All right, cool. Sounds good. I'm out of here. Yep. I'm not playing. Oh, and I've only played in three games, so I've got a whole other year left anyway. I'm transferring. Good. Yep. I'm out of here. So you can't change behavior anymore. So I think it's a more complex situation. People are all like, well, suspend them all. You've got to field the team, first and foremost. Secondly, you can't.

It's just hard to keep guys around. I mean, you've got to kind of meet them where they're at. The players have a lot of power now. It's unfortunate. It really is. It is, and it's kind of just what we have to deal with, where things are in today's college football. You guys have heard me talk about Royal Automotive and how I listed my truck on Facebook. If you're trying to sell anything online, just don't do it. It can be dangerous. There's scammers. There's hagglers.

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at royalautomotive.net. And remember, for every ride, there's Royal. Catch up just a little bit more on what happened yesterday and some of the things that we heard. Josh Heupel has asked about eliminating divisions, something that I don't feel like has gotten a lot of focus now that those are gone. This is the Tennessee head coach on that new aspect of the new SEC.

Adding two more teams, the depth of this league, the quality of this league, there's nothing like it in college football. Now you're able to try to put the two best teams. You get an opportunity with the scheduling format. You're able to rotate, play more teams.

You know, you come in as a freshman, you're going to get to every venue within the league in your four years. I think that's unique and important, especially with the quality of this league. And, you know, for us as a conference now, you're able to get your top two teams in the league no matter where they result.

So that was Josh Heupel yesterday just discussing eliminating divisions. And another coach yesterday, GMAC, my main takeaway from Josh Heupel, confidence. Yeah. And I understand that it's easy to have a little bit more confidence in this setting. Sure. But he felt super comfortable with his football team yesterday when I talked to him. Yeah, and I didn't get a chance to visit with him. But he should. He should feel good about what they have. I mean...

Look, nobody really knows. I remember a million years ago when Gus Malzahn was real excited about what they had in Jeremy Johnson, right? And ultimately, it didn't go the way that everyone had hoped. So you don't know for sure. But man, I'd be hard-pressed to see a scenario where Nico Iamaleava isn't as good as we think he's going to be. Just because of his mobility. I mean, if nothing else, the guy can run.

So I just think he's going to be really, really good. And when their offense is so quarterback-centric and you have a dude at that position, you're in really good shape. But you've also referenced before how this offense goes through the quarterback. It does. And the quarterback has to be, I mean, honestly...

Really good, pretty good for that thing to even go at all. Yeah, you can't have an average guy and expect your team to be good. If they're going to be in the mix for the playoff, we're going to have real conversations about Tennessee being a playoff team middle of November. What does Nico have to be? Statistically or... Just kind of both. I mean, statistically it won't even tell the full story, but just both. Statistically, I mean...

Does he have to be 3,500, 4,000? Yeah, I don't know about stats. Stats, I think, are just a little bit misleading. Because remember that first year with Hendon, the numbers weren't insane, but he was really good and really effective. Because I think people look at that offense and say, well, he's going to probably have to go for like 4,200 yards and 42 touchdowns. It's like, no. I don't know if that's necessarily true. Because if Dylan Sampson stays healthy, he's electric. Yeah, I think they'll have more balance. I think there's been a...

I think there's been a bit of an effort to create a little bit more balance in this league. I think it's only going to help you. I think he has to be a top three quarterback in the league when we fast forward to season's end if they're going to be in the playoff mix. So he's got to be right up there with Ewers and Carson Beck.

Okay. I mean, if they're going to be in the playoff, that's where he's got to be. Of the teams that we think can be on the brink of a playoff spot late in the season, who needs their quarterback most? That's a great question. I would say... Let's go backwards. Who do you remove from their quarterback has to have a... might not have to have a monster year and they can still make the playoff? Georgia? No, because I think Carson Beck's that important to them. Okay. And look, I don't know...

how good the guy is behind him, Rashada or whatever, Jaden Rashada. But, I mean, he's played some football. But I think Carson Beck is the key to them being a national championship contender. You lose your guy, it's going to be really hard to go and get a natty. I think Quinn, you lose him. He's got to be pretty good. Arch will be ready to roll. I think Arch is ready. I really believe that.

I don't know the quarterback depth behind Garrett Nussmeier very well. So I think if they lost him, that could be it. I'm told A.J. Swan didn't make much progress, so it ain't looking good. I think he's got to stay healthy. I mean, really, really got to stay healthy. So that's going to be challenging. I think if Tennessee loses Nico, that's a huge problem.

Missouri could be a ground-and-pound team. Marcus Carroll, Nate Noel, easier throws to burden. Yeah, they can do some creative things at the line of scrimmage and not be in a situation where they have to put too much on their quarterback's shoulders. Here's the weird part about that. You know what we haven't said about any of these teams? Oh, that's okay. They can lean on their defense. I mean, are we going to have elite defenses in this league this year? No. No.

Are we going to have an elite defense in college football this year? Yes. Michigan? It's going to be in the Big Ten. It's going to be Ohio State or Michigan. I mean, yes, the Big Ten has gotten slightly more explosive with the additions of SC and Oregon, but let's be real. I mean, the reason why the Big Ten's defensive statistics are what they are is because they lack dynamic offenses. Okay.

I mean, let's be real. If I got to play Iowa, that's really going to help my defensive numbers and rankings. Like, I always have Penn State fans tweet at me, Ohio State fans tweet at me, Michigan fans tweet at me, like, look at our defense, our defensive numbers. We're number three in the country last year in yards per play. I'm like, yeah, because you played Illinois, Purdue, and Iowa. Like, okay. And Minnesota, congrats. Like, that's awesome. So you've got to take that with a slight grain of salt.

But no, I don't. I don't think you can be a dominant defense anymore unless you have complete takeover-the-game monsters along the defensive line. That's how you do it. And there's not very many of those guys in the league compared to what's been in the league in the past.

I'm just taking a picture of how this is. Yeah, what are we taking a picture of? I think this is how we prepare for the arrival of Billy Lucci. Like all the Tex-Tex people stand up, the ring light's on, the photographer's ready. This is how we prep for Billy Lucci to show up every day for work. I wonder if he demands this. He demands that everyone stand up and prepare for his arrival and

They probably should. Acknowledge that he is, that he's in the building now. Well, 820 is his arrival time. That's his first hit, according to the Ags, the Tex-Ags folks. Really? Yeah. You mean wake up at 820? 820. That's what I was told. I'm going to take the over? I went to bed last night at about 11 o'clock, so a little later than I would have liked. And I'll just say the lobby bar, Tex-Ags was well represented. As was...

As was most publications. But, yeah, they were holding down at least one corner of the room for sure. I had an early dinner last night with our friends from the Big Boo cast, and I got back to the hotel at about 8.15, and I saw what you saw, and I said straight to the room. See you.

And was in bed by 9.15, but could not fall asleep until well after 10, unfortunately. That's the way it always happens. I always, on media days, kind of replay the events of the day. Yeah, what did I miss? What do I need to do tomorrow instead? I'd be lying if I haven't watched a little bit of news television at night the last couple days. I don't usually do that. Did you watch any All-Star game last night? I did not. Did you see pictures? Nope.

I would like to get your thoughts on the uniforms quickly. I did see the uniforms when I was in the gym yesterday. Humble brag. That's a straight brag. It's not like I was in there throwing weight around. I was in there with Ben Watson was in there, and I was feeling a little insecure. Ben Watson could go catch five for 62 right now. Over. He looks really good. Well, I was just...

I mean, I feel like that would be a decent day for a tight end that hadn't played in like six or seven years. Yeah. I mean, he is put together. Yeah, he looks like he's going to camp tomorrow. Yeah, he's put together. There's no doubt. Really put together. Tell our listeners about Iconic Carts. They're put together well as well. They are. And they have so many options that you can customize your carts with. And the brand new Evolution and Denago carts, you need to Google these things. I mean, they are really, really pretty.

We'll be right back.

at the beach or the lake or around the neighborhood. So go check them out in one of their two locations, downtown and in Chelsea, or you can go online at iconiccarts.com. All right, we'll take a break, come back quickly. Dennis Dodd going to hop on the show at some point. Marty Smith will be with us a little bit later this hour. Kalen DeBoer, live at 9 a.m. He'll join the show, or not join the show, but we'll hear him at the podium for the first time as the Alabama head football coach, live from SEC Media Days. More next on Jocks 94.5.

Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubrick in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in.

McElroy and Kublik in the morning, live from Radio Row, JOX 94.5. Listen online, joxfm.com. The app is in your App Store, iPhone, Android. You can always download that for free.

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It's always interesting to hear different perspectives of what people want to hear from certain coaches on the podium. This will be Kalen DeBoer's, because you and I have been around him a lot. Yeah. We've talked to him collectively maybe more times than we did Coach Saban in the last year and a half. But what do you want to hear? What do you need to hear from Kalen DeBoer today as the first time he takes the podium at Media Days as the Alabama Head Football Coach? I think just more than anything, just show his personality. I mean, it's just...

People have seen his introductory press conference. I'm sure, obviously, people that are listening to our show are more engaged with his weekly press conferences throughout spring ball. And every time he stepped at the podium, he's probably commanded a decent audience. But for the national audience, this will be the first time that people really get to see him in a spot like this. So I think just show your personality. Be transparent to an extent.

Don't divulge all your secrets or anything, what you got going into the season, but talk glowingly about your team. And I think for him, too, it's going to be a nice opportunity to kind of present a vision of where he expects Alabama to be. And I'm not necessarily saying, hey, I expect to go 10-2 this year, 9-3, 11-1. I'm not saying that.

but where you see the program going and the identity that the program might have in the years to come. So I think that would be valuable. I just don't really know how you properly articulate that, but still worth a try for sure. I do think he's done a good job, though, of, I don't want to say respecting the standard, but letting Alabama fans know, I know what it is. I'm fully aware. I know what you expect. I know what it's been. And we don't have a lot of plans of dipping from that. It's what it needs to be. We've talked about recruiting how...

It's kind of stayed there or at least gone further from what it was, depending on, I guess, what services you pay attention to or how you view it. But that part has been maybe more than what a lot of people expected. But he's also done a good job of making folks very aware of what it has been and that he knows that and doesn't plan on it being a whole lot different. Yeah, I mean, I think if you're at Alabama, you have to embrace the expectations. I mean, you don't take that job and shy away from it. You've got to be built different. I mean...

You don't want to go to Alabama and blend in. That's not what you do. So I think that embracing the expectations is kind of to be expected. But I also am kind of curious to just see how things have gone. I'm really interested in hearing a lot about what has happened on the recruiting trail. I know we can't go into specifics, but what the heck has happened in the last month? I mean, it's insane.

What they've been able to do. I mean, in some publications, rising all the way up to number one team in the country. And I know that that's not related to this team. Those guys will arrive and sign in December. But I am curious, like, what's the pitch been? Because it's pretty amazing the momentum that they have on the recruiting trail without having played a game. I really want to hear about the development of the young players.

And they have freshmen that are going to be playing pivotal roles for them, particularly in the secondary and at wide receiver. So I want to hear what they've done to accelerate those guys' readiness to play those roles in the fall. We had Dusty Dvorak on a little bit earlier, Greg, and yesterday we discussed our top five offensive lines, defensive lines in the SEC. And he brought up Alabama.

As far as offensive line goes, he was like, I think they should be higher. And I said, listen, if you're talking about the two guards, it might be the best guard tandem in college football. It's definitely the best guard tandem right now in the SEC. But I have two concerns, and it's not just tackle. It's that one of the potential starters at tackle packed his stuff up and moved to Iowa and then didn't practice. And then packed his stuff up and moved back to Tuscaloosa and didn't practice. And he had fundamental flaws last year. And he hadn't put pads on this offseason. That worries me.

because you know how to get good at that position just like I do. And I'm interested to hear your thoughts on where should we be on our concern level of the Parker Brailsford sort of in the facility, out of the facility, at practice, not at practice. I don't have a good feel of where that is. I know he's expected to be a starter. I know he's a good football player. Yeah. But I also want my center with my quarterback and with my guards. Right. And working on that. And I don't know how much of that's actually happened. I think that's fair. Yeah.

It would have been really valuable to have him in spring, but he's played enough football. I'm not super concerned with Parker Brailsford. Plus, it's hard to screw up center when you're between those two guys. I mean, seriously, let's just be real.

And he knows the offense. He knows the offense like the back of his hand. He's a pro. He knows what he's doing. The Proctor aspect is interesting, especially a guy that hasn't practiced, maybe had a couple weight issues last year, a little heavy. Maybe they wanted him that way, or maybe that was just out of young players. No, they got him down to where he was to play last year. So, yes, it's fair to say that that was a little bit of an issue. But I'm sure they're monitoring him this summer. I mean, there's no way...

That's going to be a problem moving forward. I think Elijah Pritchett is going to be fine. And to be honest with you, I look at the tight end collection, and I think tackles are going to be really aided by the identity of the tight end room. Those guys are all 255 and are in many ways hammers. Specifically, Dupree and Oots, what they can do. That's probably a position we're not talking enough about.

I mean, you've seen Danny Lewis in person like I have. Yeah. He looks like a power forward. Yeah. So that's a group that absolutely could help the tackles this fall, no doubt. But they're just a big group. And think about it. They did it with a 228-pound tight end last year. Oh, yeah. And he was a good player. Don't get me wrong. And you're not going to get as much in the passing game out of that room. Right. That's just not who they are. But you do have some tone setters in there. Yes. That are going to really help the tackles in the event in which they are not

necessarily up to speed. I had some sleepless nights midseason last year about the offensive line. I don't have as many about this team this year. I think they're going to be okay. And what helps the offensive line? Mobile quarterback. And now that they have confidence in the depth of the quarterback spot, there's going to be no holding back Jalen Milrow in the quarterback run game.

Like in the event in which he, I think there were times last year where it's like, golly, we can't run him. He gets hurt. We got problems because I don't really trust the number two and the number three guy to go in there and perform at a high level right now. But Ty Simpson's come along tremendously. Dylan Lonergan is right where he needs to be in his development. So they have adequate depth at that position. So mobile quarterback, guess what? You can't pin your ears back and take off anymore.

We can keep you off balance with our play calling if your defensive linemen get overly aggressive with quarterback run. So I think that's going to be a valuable asset as well that I expect them to lean heavily into. John, it's got to be a quick break. Do you want me to wrap now? Because Lebby's walking up. I don't care that we're doing this on the air. I'm just going to let you know. We've got to go.

All right, Jeff Levy. Peek behind the curtain. We'll peek behind the curtain there. Of radio life. We're not going to go to break now because we've got Jeff Levy, Mississippi State head football coach coming in. What's up, my man? Good to see you again. Doing well. Hey, Bob. Good to see you, man. There he is. Just put that headset on right there. We decided to skip a break for you, coach, so that's how important you are. Yeah, so if you could just pay us back on the missed advertising because we're skipping a break right now. Yes. You will? As soon as I get back.

Perfect. Perfect. We've got to get the bowl bonus before the bowl bonus. Got it. Year one. There we go. I had you in the spring. Had you in the spring game.

I know where a lot of your confidence was in the team. Where has your confidence grown in your football team since you ended spring ball? Leadership. You know, watching these guys and how they've operated since we finished up spring and understanding the race for us was, man, how good can we get before we get back on the field together in August? Our guys have done a great job with it. And so...

Proud of what they've done this summer, how they've gone about their business. Also proud of our guys. It's the first time in school history we had a CUME GPA of over 3.0 in the spring, so the way they finished academically was a huge deal for us and kind of set the bar for where we're going. Looking at kind of establishing an identity,

I know everybody... It's so funny. We had this conversation all of last year. It's like, oh, well, it's Air Raid, and they're just moving into the Appalachian State offense. It's no different. They're in shotgun. How different is that? But moving from that offense to this offense and just going... I mean, look...

Look, they've obviously been pass-happy in the past, but how much of a change is it from where Leach was to where they were last year to where they are now under your leadership? Yeah, I think the biggest issue there's been is there has been so much change. And the two systems before are quite a bit different, the pace and the tempo and everything.

The aggressive style of play, as much as anything for us, is where it is completely different. We're truly trying to dictate how the game is played every single snap. And so that's, for our guys, understanding the urgency piece of it, I think it does help from the standpoint of the portal and being able to bring some guys in that you know are going to be really good fits that have played a bunch of ball at other places and give you a chance to get off the ground the way you want to.

What do people need to know about Blake Chapin? We saw him at Baylor, know about his skill set, what he's about. But what do we not know about him? Yeah, I think the thing, again, I'm most excited about him is being year one, one of the guys that's going to go put it on the line. You're going to watch the guy play, and he's going to play with toughness, edge, attitude, passion, and he's going to inspire his teammates to play better.

And so that is quarterback. That is playing the position. That's what it's all about. And he's going to do that for us. And for me, having that year one, huge deal. I love that Cole asked about shape, and I'm going to ask about the O-line. That's ironic to kids. You bring in a bunch of new guys there.

Transfer portal, of course, has been a huge, huge asset to you at that position. How do you develop continuity when there are so many new faces? Yeah, I think it being year one and understanding that everybody –

in the room got the install the first time together. And I think that's helpful so that they're all hearing the messaging at the exact same time. So whether it's Albert Reese, who has been here and been through a bunch of changes with me today, or it's Leon Bell, an offensive tackle that's going to have a chance to be a great player for us at right, he's hearing at the same time that

You know, the other guys are hearing it, like Mack Pounders and Ethan Miner, and we're going to be in a good spot at that position just because, again, we've got guys that have played a bunch of ball, not for us, but at other places, and really you get to know what you're getting.

The experience that some of the transfer guys have in the system, is it close? Did that make it easier? You wanted a guy like Ethan Miner. He comes from North Texas, right, and a guy that played incredibly well there last year, completely different level of football, understand all of that. But him being able to lead the way and understand that the type of offense that we run was a huge deal. His old line coach at North Texas was John Cooper. Cooper's our tight end coach.

So there's great familiarity from a system and a run game standpoint, which for me and for us is huge. Looking at the defensive decisions that you made, bringing in Coleman Hutzler, knows the league, but doesn't have...

you know, down-in, down-out play-calling experience. I really like the guy. I think he's a good coach. But I'm just curious, what was it about him that made you think, all right, this is my guy and this is the defense that I'm wanting to run on that side of the ball? The first thing was having the understanding of what our league looks like. I wanted a guy that had lived our league and understood what it was going to take, not just week four, but week eight, nine, ten, and understand the grind of it. And then a guy that had maybe

maybe not calling it play calling success but had had great defensive success so he's been in the room with some of the best to ever do it whether it was at Florida South Carolina

at Alabama, at Texas. And so for him, just knowing exactly who he was and who I was getting was a huge deal. And then being able to supplement him with a guy like Matt Barnes. It was. It was a great package deal because Matt's got this play calling experience. He's had a really good career as a play caller, whether it was at Maryland when he took over there at Ohio State and then at Memphis. And so being able to put those two in the same room together with

Coleman leading the way, man, was a huge deal. And, again, I want guys that are similar to me from the standpoint of toughness, edge, confident, fun, competitive, and creating that culture for our entire building. And knowing that's happening in the defensive room for me was huge. Leon Bell still at the team? Yeah. Yeah.

We talked about it a little bit in spring. Yeah. For folks that don't know, almost average a double-double in basketball, 6'8", 330. No, that was the big. That's not Leon Bell? No, sir. The basketball kid's still with you guys? Not with us. Not with you, okay. Not with us. I was interested if he was going to be able to help you out. No, he's not.

Don't power forward to left tackle transition. Yeah, love it. Looking at the schedule, and I know you don't want to get past Easter Kentucky in week one. I understand that. But everyone seems to talk about, like, how much harder it's going to be for everybody. And I look at a team like Mississippi State, and it's like, it's been freaking hard. Yeah. For as long as I can remember. The SEC West wasn't exactly this dang cakewalk. I mean, goodness gracious alive. So...

Looking at the expectations for your program in particular, do you embrace those? Are you excited about some of the new blood? I know you're new, but...

maybe not being in the division versus being in the division, like all the changes that have gone down as far as scheduling is concerned, is it a net positive for the league? I think it is a positive. I do. I think it's a positive for our guys and their experiences as we go through college football. You know, we're able to save some great rivalries and we're able to kick up maybe some new ones. And so I think it's great for our players. It's great for our fan base and

And that's part of this league. You want to do it with the best and against the best if that's what you're about. And that's what we're going to have a chance to go do. Your tight end room I know you're excited about. And it's a position that you've placed an emphasis on. And a lot of people wouldn't know that because they see the spread formations and pushing the ball down the field. Where is that position right now hitting in the fall camp? Yeah, with Sadu and Justin, both of those guys had good springs. Both those guys have had good summers.

And I'm excited about them. I think they're going to give us some real flexibility from a personnel standpoint to find ways to get our best 11 on the field and then to be a little different situationally when we need to, whether it be a short yardage goal line situation or getting into some four-minute stuff. So for us, that's been huge. Had not been this huge point of emphasis, obviously, as we got on campus, but love where we're at.

Looking at, you just referenced the four-minute stuff, and it's kind of had our wheels spinning a little bit the last couple days. It feels like there are more teams that are going to kind of embrace a little more ground and pound, perhaps. Look at the defensive lines across the league, still excellent, but maybe not what they were when you were in the league last time. Yeah.

Do you sense that the league is transitioning to maybe a little bit more line of scrimmage than it had been the last five or six years? Because it was so wide open and so quarterback and weapon dependent, it feels like it might be coming back to what it was 10, 15 years ago. Yeah, as I've looked at it, it's got a little bit of that feel. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out throughout the season. I think we'll get a great idea of what it looks like as we get halfway through and people and create an identity and where –

where people are going to be on that side of that line. But I do, I feel good about where we're going to be, you know, and have an incredible balance. And it's starting with the run game and play action pass and that being who we are with a ton of tempo. How many, are you going to play like five different backs? Because I feel like that was such a –

Woody Marks, we know he's going to get his touches. He's now gone. Bring in a couple guys. How do you feel about your running back group, Devin? You know, it's a group that doesn't have this enormous amount of production or experience. Kevon Lee is a guy that is a fifth-year player that was a transfer from Penn State.

I love where he ended up in the spring. He's had a nice summer. We got a transfer from Utah State, Navon Booth, who's got some playmaking ability and is a guy that was over eight yards a carry for Utah State last year and had real production. Johnny Daniels is one that's a junior college player.

So it's going to be by committee. It really is. I think Kevon's going to be a guy that's going to be constant and consistent, but we're going to need help at that position. I'm going to let you run on this one, but you have an interesting perspective on this, something I did yesterday. Made a lot of folks mad. We ranked rivalries in the league.

Don't make him do that I don't think you have to go far as to what I had number one But I had the Egg Bowl 2 Ahead of a new rivalry heading into this league Would you be okay with that? I'm okay with that Would you have said that last year?

Absolutely. Jeff, we're excited for you, man, excited for this season. We always love talking football with you. Thanks for stopping by. Awesome, man. Appreciate you, buddy. All right, back with more from Radio Road, McElroy and Kubrick in the morning. The capital of the sports talk nation. This is Jocks 94.5 and jocksfm.com.

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Serving over 350 of Alabama's cities. For all your foundation repair and waterproofing needs, they guarantee you to keep your foundation healthy and strong. How strong? OxStrong. 205-236-9500 or visit OxStrong.com. All right, Marty Smith is with us now. Did y'all see Libby's suit? Yes. Did you see the paint? So you guys are across the table from the person with whom you're speaking. Yes.

The calf region of Lebby's tailored suit was so tight. Big calf guy? Like massive calf guy. People don't understand. He's a big dude. I didn't have that on the card, boys. I didn't have the accentuated calf suit. High calf? Because that's athletic. No, it was a real athletic calf. You needed a high calf, yeah. Bigger around my thigh, which isn't saying much, but nonetheless. Well, you're a twig. Well, Marty, you're joining us.

Southwest Airlines announced a multi-year deal to be the sponsor of the SEC, named the official airline of the SEC. To celebrate the sponsorship loss, Southwest is hosting the Flex Your Fandom Sweepstakes. Tell us a little bit more about it. Yeah, opportunity to go to the SEC Championship, brother. It's cool. You go to southwestsecsweepstakes.com. You have your opportunity to go to the SEC Championship, which this year is just going to be – it is every year, but it's just going to be unbelievable. Massive.

They've really immersed in the culture of the conference already. They've added flights to various markets to big games so that more fans have a more seamless way to get to those games, starting in Week 1 with the USC-LSU game in Vegas. Week 3, Bama-Wisconsin, on and on. Can we get that direct Birmingham-Nekomo? I mean, look, you can talk to my friends right here and we can make that happen. Now, getting to Como is a difficult task. I think it's the toughest in the league.

right now. But they've actually expanded the Como Airport. Did you go to Como before they expanded the airport when it was like a brick? It was this old school brick building and they had two gates and you stepped out of the plane onto the tarmac into the airport and like the baggage claim thing was spinning right there in front of you. It was unbelievable. I've never been to the Como Airport. It's not bad at all.

Tomahawk Airport's not bad. It's small. Very, very tiny. What aspect of this league in particular are you most interested to see sort of how it plays out this year? Several things. Of course, the Kalen DeBoer, I don't want to call it an experiment. The man wins everywhere he goes so far. But the league's different. It's just different. And it's relentless. And you look at their schedule, and it's relentless. And he is inheriting a cupboard with a lot of talent in it.

and a lot of experienced talent in it. So that's beneficial. The culture shift in Tuscaloosa is striking. If you talk about the energy in the building, Nick Saban, you can ask this gentleman sitting right beside you, of course, had a very direct, dictatorial way of doing it.

And DeBoer is very different. The energy in the building is relaxed, and he's really changed that. And so I'll be fascinated to see how that unfolds. I think Vegas has him at 8.5.

Do you guys know? Nine and a half. Oh, it's nine and a half. That's Craig's area. Yeah, nine and a half. So I think that would be a really successful year, honestly. I think any – I mean, nine wins in this league is going to be really good. I think they're going to be pretty good. They've got to stay healthy, but that's everybody. When you think about just the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, obviously Texas will be here today. Yeah.

I know what it means to me. I mean, I grew up in Dallas, and Oklahoma, Texas is a big part of why I love the sport. What does it mean to you? Huge. Huge. When I was a kid growing up, we had three channels. Three. We didn't have cable out in Appalachia. In Virginia? Yeah.

And we always got to see Texas and OU. And Appalachia. The Jamel Holloway, Wishbone, Brian Bosworth, Barry Switzer. I mean, they were mythical. How old are you? 48, bro. Good Lord. Yeah, I'm a lot older than you are. You're talking about like players in the 80s. I have grayer hair than G-Mac, but I have a lot more of it. That's accurate. Can confirm. He gives me a hard time for my 90s football obsession. Yeah, no, football started in 98. Yeah.

That's when college football started. But in all honesty, there are not two better brands to add to this thing than those two brands. They are national brands. They are competitive not just in football, but across their entire athletic departments. If you look at what Patty Gasso has done with the women's softball team at OU, they've won four straight national titles.

It's awesome to welcome them in, and I love the hype around it. I think Texas is going to be very good this year. They're going to contend for a league championship. Georgia is still the standard by which everything is measured in my mind, but I think Texas will be right there because they have so much talent, to your point, they've got to stay healthy. But I love that they're in this league. Love it. You've had a little bit of a different seat for multiple reasons for Nick Saban's

Well, I don't want to say debut as a member of the media because he did the draft, but debut as a member of sort of the SEC media. Take us, peel the curtain back just a little bit on Coach Saban, now a member of the media. He's going to be one of the best that there is because of the way that he studies and his personal demand to be that way. It was fun to – it's been fun to talk to him through sort of the –

and nuance of how we do what we do. I was sharing with you guys before we came on, Ryan McGee and I interviewed Commissioner Sankey and Coach Saban together yesterday about the state of the sport and the state of NCAA athletics in general. And it was a fascinating conversation because I don't believe there are two more knowledgeable individuals to have that debate or conversation than those two.

And he asked me this morning, that interview was yesterday, he goes, how many interviews you got today? I said, I don't know, 10, 10 or 11 or something. And he was fascinated by it. He's like, how do you...

How do you do that? How do you know how to transition from one topic of conversation to the next and engage both people? And that's who he is. He is now going to take that relentless approach to football and put it in television. And I will tell you this, too. He doesn't want to sit around. No. The thing that I wondered the most, guys, was how is he going to handle –

what television really is, which is 4,000 miles an hour to stop, to 4,000 miles an hour to stop. And he doesn't want to stop. He actually asked for more on-air time so he doesn't have to sit around and grab ass.

It's amazing. All right, Marty Smith, ESPN, you're with us because of Southwest Airlines, now the official airline of the Southeastern Conference, and fans have a chance to get to the SEC Championship game this year. Yes, sir. Go to southwestsecsweepstakes.com. You'll have the opportunity to go to the SEC Championship. Who do you all think is going to be there when we get there? I know everybody's happy right now. I haven't picked. Greg made his picks. I will say that Georgia will be there. I think so, too.

And right now I'm going to go Alabama. Okay. As I stated on SportsCenter this morning, when Georgia plays Kentucky on September the 18th, I believe, it will have been 1,407 days since a team not named Alabama from the SEC beat Georgia. History is not on the side of these other teams. So...

And they play week five. Yep. They play week five. It's a brutal schedule. It's a miserable. I mean, it's just if you look down these teams' schedules, it's just merciless. I mean, I kind of think it's going to be Georgia-Texas. And I know they face one another in the regular season as well. But who knows? I didn't expect Missouri. I'll change my mind every day between now and when the season ends. I didn't expect Missouri to win 11 games last year. I can promise you that. And so who knows who might come out of this thing and surprise us.

But will it be Tennessee? You know, does Tennessee have that kind of juice with Iyamaleava? I love Ole Miss. I want to pick Ole Miss, but there's a portion of it mentally in the back of my brain that just says, show me, don't tell me. There you go. Show me, don't tell me. Marty, thanks, man. I love you both. I admire you both. I appreciate you both. And I'm going to take my 48-year-old mid-80s.

Atta boy. Bahunkus to talk to somebody. Go talk about Bo Jackson versus Herschel somewhere else. Go put a neck roll on it and put some giant thigh pads in. Neck rolls don't get due credit. We need to bring them back. Yeah. And Newman, I'm a big Newman. You're too young. Oh, God. You had these fancy. Marty, you couldn't find them. You couldn't find them. We saw the college football players had them, and you'd go to every sporting goods store within a 100-mile radius, and they're like, what are you talking about?

Remember what it smelled like? Because they were a pop clothes. They were a pearl snap clothes box. And you popped that thing and the smell wafted towards you. And it was beautiful, man. Hey, what kicks was Lebby wearing? Did you see? Yeah, they were Adidas. But they were like, because they're an Adidas school. I couldn't tell what they were. But they were like, they were a different. You don't just go out here to the Foot Locker and buy what he had on. No.

And you don't go out to the JCPenney and buy those calf-hugging suit pants either. I can promise you this. Jeff Levy ain't buying a suit at a store. That ain't happening. Off the rack. Marty, thanks, man. Be good, boys. Love you. Good to see you, bud. Marty Smith with us. Always fun. Always entertaining. We'll take a quick break. Hoping to have Blake Chapin in the other side. Quickly, I'll tell you about game day men's health. If you lack energy, getting poor sleep, if you feel on edge...

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comfortable people that are going to be around you that just want to help you out. Go check them out today. They've helped me. They can help you at Game Day Men's Health. Holistic approach to health and wellness. Go to GameDayMensHealth.com. That's GameDayMensHealth.com. Hoping to have Mississippi State quarterback Blake Chapin next right here on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than...

player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Tap or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in. McIlroy and Kubelik in the morning going ad lib here again as Mississippi State quarterback Blake Chapin joins the show.

Blake, when I did the spring game for you guys, the one thing that I kind of knew was there but I didn't know to the extent, and then when your head coach began talking about it, was your mobility. How much do you plan on putting that on display? And how much do you think that that might exceed some people's expectations as being a part of your game in this offense? Yeah, I think for me, through the offense, it doesn't require you to run the football a ton. But being able to take off when I need to, being able to use my legs,

whenever I need to is a big thing for me. So, you know, within the offense, though, there's not a ton of ass to run, but whenever I need to, I will. Looking at just how this offense is kind of coming together, a bunch of transfers, a lot of new guys, how do you establish a leadership role when there are so many new faces and you yourself are also new? Yeah, I think also going into my last year, that's been a big emphasis on, you know, being able to lead this team in the right way.

But getting there early on, it was tough just because you didn't know anyone. Being able to build relationships with these guys off the field so they know who you are as a person was a big thing for me so they can trust you on the field and trust you in the locker room and the way that you handle things. We've talked about, because we know Jeff, that there's a misconception that he's this sort of soft guy

like hybrid air raid guy and he's just not. I mean, he's gritty. He's a football guy. Like he wants to be physical, punish people. What's the biggest misconception of this offense that fans need to know?

I think running the football gets overlooked. In this offense, we've got to be able to run the football to be able to be successful, and I think that's in every offense. But I think everybody sees the deep balls, the big plays, the explosive plays, and they forget about the fact that the running back can rush for also over 200 yards too. So I feel like that's a big deal for us is being able to run the football going into this year. I'm sure when you entered the portal, and you've had some really bright moments in your time at Baylor, when you entered the portal, I'm sure a bunch of folks called. Why was it Mississippi State for you?

So for me, I wanted to play in the SEC. You know, I grew up watching SEC football. From Shreveport, right? Shreveport, Louisiana. Yeah. I grew up watching SEC ball.

Coach Levy called me, and I knew because he had just got the Mississippi State job. I knew that if he were to call me, that was somebody that I would want to play for. I got to watch OU whenever I was at Baylor and see that person. So it was fun to watch, and I knew if he called, like, it was a no-brainer for me. Before you were born, I saw Vanilla Ice perform twice in Shreveport, Louisiana, and won both visits. Oh, wow.

The Independence Bowl is something special. I'm just going to let you know. In my heart, it's always going to hold a special place there. I got you. I'm not sure that that's something that I should be bragging about, but it actually did happen. Oh, yeah. I got you. I'm interested, too. One thing I wanted to see from you in the spring game, and sometimes this is like I can talk to Greg about it. He'll know exactly what I mean. But some other folks, they don't kind of get it. They want to see you complete 20 deep passes, this, that. I said, I want to see them operate the offense.

And getting the ball out on time, rhythm timing on the RPO throws, the mesh, keeping the ball, handing the ball off, all that looked really comfortable for you.

Where were you most uncomfortable at the beginning of spring that you feel like you're very comfortable with now in this offense? I think for sure the RPO stuff. Coach Levy teaches it in a very specific way and how he wants it done. And being able to get those reads down, I didn't do a lot of RPO stuff at Baylor, so that was the biggest uncomfortable thing for me that I had to learn very quickly. And then quick game footwork. He does quick game footwork a lot different. And he wants the ball out as soon as your feet hit. So it's a big timing deal.

And so just being able to get the timing right on all those things is big. Take us, kind of peel back the curtain. What's the most difficult part with that RPO? Is it visual? Is it something physical, like physical?

Getting turned, getting the ball out. What was the most difficult part of sort of getting acclimated to that? I think it was the footwork. So our footwork's a lot different. The way our hands are, the way we pop and throw to our RPOs, it's a lot different than a regular RPO team. And y'all have seen it with Dylan Gabriel and Matt Corral back in whatever year that was, 2020, 2021. Just being able to, like, pop and throw and being on time with those things. So that's the biggest difference. When you –

Tee it up. I know it's Easter Kentucky, you know, the first time. Like, what are you most interested in? Because I remember, I literally to this day still remember my first SEC snap. It was against Arkansas, and you can just tell it's faster. I don't know why, but it just is. You've played in the Big 12. You've seen big boy football.

What do you anticipate that first snap looking like from the shotgun spot there against an SEC team? I'm just excited to get to the game. We've been playing against each other for a while, so I'm excited to see another opponent.

I'm excited to play in Davis-Wade. I've heard it's pretty electric. So I'm excited to see the crowd, the cowbells, and hear all that. Soak it all in. Well, Blake, we appreciate you hopping on with us today. Wish you the best. Excited to see you in this offense this fall. Yes, sir. Thank you all for having me on. There you go. Mississippi State quarterback Blake Chapin joining us right here on Radio Row Live, JOX 94.5, as we continue going on day three from Radio Row.

Kalen DeBoer will be at the podium on the other side. Yes, we had him on the show a little bit earlier, but as Greg talked about, a lot of people are interested to see what he has to say, how he has to say it. And I'm with Greg. The one thing that I want is for Kalen DeBoer to just be himself. People to get to know him, see his personality, see what he's about because it's likable, it's approachable. And I think when people get to see that, Greg, they're going to like what they see. I'm really excited to just hear...

Maybe a story or two about an interaction with the player also. I think that would be really valuable and how he's kind of endeared himself to the locker room and has really won the trust of a lot of those guys. All right, so we'll keep rolling. Kalen DeBoer from the podium in the big room next, live from SEC Media Days Day 3, Radio Row, JOX 94.5. This is McElroy and Cubelik in the morning.

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