7-8-24 McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning Hour 2: Recruiting updates; Cole recaps Game of Thrones; Cooper Pategna talks SEC recruiting
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If you want to join the show, Buyer's Right Hotline Open, 800-239-9569, 800-239-WJOX. You can text into the show, 205-834-9450. But Damien usually handles the text line. I offered you a way out of this conversation. I told you you can –

You can take a pass here. So they're going to be spoilers. Are we going? We're talking about the end of the show. Heavy spoilers. I don't feel like there's a way you can sit in on this and not find out some certain things. I'm in season four, though. Well, that's fine. I'm in season four. Enjoy the red wedding. I was thrown for a loop. Red wedding? We all were. You enjoyed it. Okay. It threw me for a loop. You enjoyed it. Wow. I don't know.

I think joy is the right word, but okay. No, I was completely sidetracked. I was like, oh, didn't see that coming. I think you enjoyed the purple wedding. I think more people enjoyed that one, yeah. Oh, it's a different – yeah.

I hadn't seen the red wedding then, so I saw the purple. No, you saw the red one. I did, too. So that was when Joffrey? No, that's the purple wedding. Okay. See, this is why. You know what? Go see what Tariq's doing. Go catch up on your politics. That's fine. Well, yeah, I almost threw some meat on the grill when Joffrey died. I was like, yep, you know what? Enjoyed that part. But that's the extent of my down-and-throws. So y'all had a business. All right, so it took me a while to get through it. I started this at the end of last college football season.

And as I stated before earlier in the show and as I tweeted out, I just don't know how in certain episodes a lot of you people sat around for a week and waited, to which a lot of people got even more angry that, hey, there were multiple years between seasons sometimes that we had to wait. Oh, we had writer strikes. Yeah, the whole thing took eight years to get in, whatever. And then people started bringing in the books to it. I was like, guys, I've never –

I don't even know there were books. I'm sorry. It's not a part of how I've consumed this. Do we look like Oprah? We don't read. I didn't say that. I just said that Game of Thrones books were not something that's going to be a part of my routine. Not important. The first question that I had – first off, it was exceptional. And I fought it early on. I watched a couple episodes early, and I kind of gave up on it. And I had a few people tell me that, and I was like, hey, I was in the same spot.

But once I actually dove into it and began to give it a watch, it's one of the best shows I've watched. I don't know if it immediately goes to the top, but it's up there. It's absolutely up there. And as we have stated when we've had a little bit of this discussion before, and you guys couldn't really ruin a lot of it for me, was that –

It was just beyond impressive for me how many main characters were taken off the show, removed from the show, wiped out of the show, and able to still go on and be as entertaining as it was. Still good. As interesting as it was. Still great. And it's just that's hard to do a lot of times. Yeah. But the main question I have for you guys, because I didn't live it when it happened, and a lot of people wanted to know immediately what was your opinion on the ending. What did you think of the ending? I wasn't mad at it.

Are there parts of it? I would always write things a different way. My brain is usually different. I didn't hate it. We can confirm that. Yes. And honestly, before – because you guys know the two episodes leading up to the finale, there are a lot of stuff that happened. Yeah. Yeah. And so I – before I started the final episode, was just kind of running scenarios of like, all right, what are the directions that we can go here? All right, either –

They take over together. She removes him. She takes over. Honestly, didn't see how he would remove her and then be in control. I thought that would have to have been done by some other people. Correct. But thought it was possible. And maybe there was a chance that they could have fallen and not even gotten in control. It's possible. Could have happened. So there were some other surprises that things happened, took place. They had some backup roll in at certain times when they needed it that you weren't sure was going to help. But yeah.

What did people want, I guess, is the question. How did people want this to end? I think they wanted a winner that was in the fight because I think that's probably everyone's biggest gripe is that with – sorry, spoilers, whatever. But with Bran – Listen, there are going to be spoilers here. I'm sorry. If you haven't seen it, it's however many years old. Apologies. Yeah, this is what it is. It's on you. With Bran Tech, quote-unquote, winning –

Did he win, though? He was anointed. He's on the throne. But he didn't really win. No, but it's a game of thrones, so someone has to win the game. So it just felt odd. He disappeared for a season and a half. Correct. Of everyone that was in the battle, the fight,

He ends up getting it like, wait, what? It just felt weird and odd. I'm not saying it was right or wrong. It just felt odd. Greg, where did people, where did you want it to go? Here's my problem. Here's my problem with the last season. You spent four seasons developing these storylines. You spent so much time. I mean, almost to the point in which you wanted to like pull your hair out to develop these characters, to develop these storylines. Um,

And the last season, I believe it was six or seven episodes, everything felt rushed. It felt so rushed. And that was the problem. Like when they when I can't remember the Khaleesi, when Khaleesi arrives at King's Landing, that would have been like a whole season. Yeah. Yeah. The final episode should have been a whole season.

And look, you don't want to drag on too long, but everything was just way too fast. I mean, you had the... The drag on did go on for a while there in that last episode. Once you finally got the drag on, yeah. Yeah, it's true. He took it to him. That's accurate. And I think the people's probably frustration with it was the creators, the writers, whatever, said that at the end of season, before the last two, they were like, hey, we only need like 13 episodes to do this. And I'm like...

okay, cool. Like you can have 10 per season. Like you have to like, no, no, we only need 13. Yeah. Cause it was a couple episodes short, the final season. Right. So you could have carried it out. Correct. Right. And that's what like, wait a minute, you get, you, it basically, it felt like you gave us two and a half years worth of stuff in 13. When you gave us five, six, seven years worth of stuff in 60. It's like, wait, hold on. Yeah. That's the problem. Like it just, everything could have been slowed down. Uh, I don't have any problem with brand winning it, but the way he won it was corny. Like,

Like, tell the man with the greatest story. It's like, oh, God. The dialogue in the final episode was just cornball. It was. And Tyrion's my favorite character.

Maybe my favorite character. He was maybe my favorite character from start to finish in any show ever. I loved him. And there were times I hated him. Early on, I hated him. And then I loved him. And then I hated him again. He is just a phenomenal character. That's what makes him exceptional. Yeah, he's just an amazing character from start to finish. He just became so weak at the end. It had become so powerful and so strong and so strong.

He was the smartest person from start to finish in the entire episode or the entire season. So those were kind of my problems with it. I didn't think it was as bad as everybody else wants to think. Now, the last episode, while overrated, dude, how good was the episode of, you know, when they fight the White Walkers a couple episodes earlier? That battle was epic. It was epic. Incredible. Here's the other problem that people have with it.

Sansa had nothing, or not Sansa, what was the other one's name? Arya. Arya. Arya. That was not Arya's battle to win when she took out the Night King. I'm glad she did. It was a great moment in the series. It really was. It was a great moment in the series, but let's be real. That was Jon Snow's bad guy. Jon Snow had gone head-to-head how many times with the Night King?

I mean, how many times have they been face to face or either stared each other down, whether it's when they elevate the dragon, when they when they already have the fight going on elsewhere, when they're rolling off on the boats and the Night King lifts up hard home? Yes. Everybody else. That was Jon Snow's guy to kill. So however you want to write it to where he kills the Night King, that's the way it should have gone.

So Arya was, I think, undeserving of being able to have that. It was amazing, though, because after I think season two, I was talking to Jon in here about it. And I said he's like, what do you think is going to happen? And I was like, I think Arya Stark's coming back and it's going to rule all of it. She's going to take it all. That's just kind of what I what I thought. But I do think that it.

I think her character was one that essentially was a little bit lost and never really – because of when she was essentially cast off by herself –

She didn't have a home. She didn't have a role per se. And that's why at the end they let her do what she did. She's like, I'm going west of Westeros because no one knows what's there. And she didn't have a place. Everybody else seemed to have a place. She had all this power, didn't quite know what to do with it, which is why I think they let her kill the Night King because she's probably the strongest person enough to do it. But then what? All right. Now you've got in essence got someone that's like Superman. And OK, so you've got someone that's powered like that.

Who's really there to battle with her. How was Bran going to win that? I don't know. He couldn't have. It had to be somebody else, right? Bran had superpowers too, though. You had to acknowledge that he could fly dragons and stuff like that.

Well, they all kind of had that for him. He was basically just a computer. He could just jump into – he's like an AI. He can just jump into this – any body he wants. Well, did most people have an issue that a lot of the, I guess, endings or where everybody finished up was somewhat positive? Is that why people were mad at it? No, I think a lot – Not so much for Khaleesi.

Well, I don't feel like – I mean – It didn't work out so well for her. I think maybe more so it was that – I don't think people were rooting for Cersei, so that wasn't – That wasn't really like a major – That was another issue. Everyone's like – I guess all the big people's either their death or whatever happened didn't happen at the hands of maybe someone like they wanted to. Cersei and Jaime just died because of Apollo Rocks. That was a dumb way for them to die.

Like, after all the horror that they had caused people, like, they just are in a dungeon and die? Well, I mean, it was caused by... Oh, correct, right. They're doing it. In an animal. And when all's said and done, like, the two of them found each other, even though Jamie would have been better saying, but... And him with, what's her face? The big one. I don't remember her name. Yeah, the big one, yeah. The knife. Brienne of Tarth? Yes. Yeah, Brienne. Like, that was stupid. Yeah.

Like that was a dumb part of it. Like, oh, so now you love Brianne. Like, what are we doing? That was a totally dumb mistake made by the writers. I felt like in an unnecessary storyline. Did they let Bron go too far? I mean, because he had a seat at that table at the end.

He was master of coin, and he was just kind of a degenerate, a hanger-on-er for a long time. Yeah, but he was a bit of an enforcer. I have small questions like that. Why would you let that character go that far? But he was an enforcer. I'm not mad at it. He was a survivor and an enforcer, so I don't think that one bothered me as much.

If you wanted to go the survivor route, like, I mean, Peter Baelish was a survivor. Yeah, but he turned on Sansa. That was a great moment. The Hound was a survivor until the only way to take his brother out was to jump out of the castle with him, basically. There were other survivors, I felt like, but they let him ride to the end. Yeah. And he was kind of a... He was a...

His success came of happenstance almost it felt like, of association. And I think that was maybe everyone's kind of gripe on that. You finally got this moment with the hound and the mountain, and it was a very cool fight, and then they fell out the building.

You have – as opposed to Peter Baelish dying when, oh, like the whole season was kind of set up to make you think that Arya and Sansa were at each other's throats when, no, they actually – they're sisters and realize, oh, we're being played. And it culminated at the end with his death. I think that's probably everyone's gripe is that, like you said before, everything felt kind of quick. You can tell that this was written by –

Two people that kind of had an idea as opposed to two people that had a playbook laid out of yes, yes. Okay. And that part I understand. There was a lot. It did feel a little bit rushed. That was a problem. That was my issue. It didn't feel like it. That part was great. Favorite character? Outside of Tyrion? Yeah. You've already said yours, I guess. Outside of Tyrion, it was Littlefinger.

Or Joffrey, frankly. Wow. Dude, I mean, the characters that invoke the most emotion. Yes, and this show did that maybe better than any show. Those are the best characters. Everybody and their brother could not have been more fired up when Joffrey died. It was the greatest death ever.

It was amazing. I was so happy. I feel like the way it could have happened could have been better. It was pretty sweet. There's only so many ways a grandma can take you out, I guess. Yeah, a grandma took you out. And then she told Jamie about it after the fact when she was getting ready to die. She told Jamie about it and

They had – like was laughing almost. It was amazing. If you go back and watch, you can see her like because Marjorie whatever was wearing that necklace. You can see in the scene where she takes the thing off and puts it in the cup. Like they actually filmed it. Like you got to go back and watch because no one was looking for it, but it's actually in there. That's pretty cool. I need to go back and watch that again. But no, my favorite character, Cersei. I hated Cersei too. See, that's what makes her great. I know. That's what I mean. I really do feel like this show –

made you love and hate characters more than any show maybe I've ever watched. Who's yours? The Mountain? No. But you're going to love it. Tormund. I don't love that guy. I freaking love that guy. I honestly don't even remember who that was. It's a big redhead wildling. Yeah, of course it's his. Yeah, he was legit.

He's also on the Scots. He's 90s college football. Oh, absolutely. He's a good one. He should be in the program. He would call someone a poo-butt MF-er. Yes, absolutely. He was awesome. He was the man. There's no doubt. I'm trying to think of anyone else that would...

I mean, I know it's an easy selection, but Jon Snow's up there. Jon Snow, yeah. There were things about him that annoyed me, though. He survived so many times when he should have died. And that's the only thing that kind of irritates me about Jon Snow. It's like, how many different ways can you try to kill the guy and be unsuccessful? Well, he did die. Really?

That to me is really annoying. The guy who played Jamie Lannister, he was awesome. He was great. He had to go a lot of different directions. Until he went with Breon. He was also a guy that you hated, that you loved. He was all over the place for me.

You thought he was the one thing you realized, oh, okay, there's that. And that's why Cersei was my favorite because as much evil and everything that they did, there was – I don't want to say goodness behind it, but you understood it. But it was all in favor of helping their children and helping her family. I understand that aspect of it. It wasn't Joffrey just being a – Joffrey's the worst. He's the absolute worst, but that's what made him great. That guy crushed that role. That's what made him awesome. I mean, he was –

universally hated from the very beginning but like i'll tell you the other guy was uh you know battle of the bastards the other oh yeah you're talking about hating somebody oh my god i hated that guy too um i mean i've like that's the only i win only show ray own uh i'm probably butchering that's a kid that played ramsay bolton oh yeah and he was exceptional he was good

Because I don't know if I've hated a character in a show more than I did that guy. Dude, that's the best part about that, about the Game of Thrones, though. Like, there is...

You physically feel happiness when a character dies. You hate them that much. And you feel happiness for... And especially the way Ramsay Bolton died was amazing. By way of his own hounds. That was incredible. Sansa just walking away. Sansa was a killer at that point, too. I loved Littlefinger. Littlefinger was ruthless. Absolutely ruthless. These guys were amazing. When they died, it was just...

poetic justice. The Hound was great. He went in multiple directions. He got set up with the little camp of folks out there and like when he figured out what happened to them and he was on a totally different mission. The guy that played Mormont was great. And he, I mean, he went through a lot and, you know, kept coming back to Daenerys. They're all great. All the characters are awesome. I mean, it's a weird character, but like the Hodor guy was awesome. Yep. One little word. Yep. And that's it. Hodor. I mean, that's

That's about all you got from him. That was a good episode when he died. There used to be our doorstop in there, our little doorstop that said Hodor and had him holding up the door. The guy that played Samuel Tarly was fantastic. He ended up being a really important character. Like if he didn't get to the Citadel and find out some of those things, like that's – Sophie Turner crushed it as Sansa Stark. She went from extremely weak to very powerful, like knowing exactly what she wanted and how to get it.

I thought the cast was unbelievable. I really did. Tywin Lannister. You talk about Hayden's mom. He was terrible. Nobody wanted him when he showed up. There weren't many people that you wanted to see get punched in the face more than that guy. I mean, Joffrey was probably the most satisfying death. The second most was Tywin. Especially how it happened. Tyrion, I don't know how y'all... This isn't even a discussion best character. Tyrion by a mile. It's not like we can entertain all the other ones. He was fantastic. He was the best character. The reason he won an Emmy. He deserved it.

I will say that. And he's like he's American. Correct. The greatest accent ever for it had more dialogue just about anybody. I mean, he was all over it. He's been great. Are you starting House of Dragons now? I was going to ask if I should because there are multiple people on social media that said I need to. Yeah, it's good. I'm honestly because I've seen some of the pre. You can't watch that show and not see the preview. Correct. Right. She has two dragons in the previews. Well, they are the Targaryens.

We're also 200 years before Game of Thrones started, so dragons are around. Yeah. So these are her parents? Like great-grandparents. Like maybe three or four levels of great. Because when I first started seeing the previews, I thought it was her. They didn't live that long back then. And I'm like, well, how does she have two now that one's in the ocean? Oh, yeah, no. Nothing. No, no, no.

Uh, yeah, no, it's also like, there are a lot of things we could probably call out on this, but seemingly from one episode to the next, they built like 45, uh, crossbows, the size of the stay puff marshmallow, man. Come on. You didn't just put those together real quick. Like that's stop. Wait, who knew?

The Scorpions or whatever? Yeah, all of a sudden they just have like 52 of those across the castle and one on each ship. They find one automatically and they're like, oh, okay, we got them now. It was one thing when they had one down there and they're like, look what we built. Okay, like, oh, now we're just going to mass produce 57 more? Yeah, no. Supply chain was not an issue back then. Doesn't sound like it. Inflation hadn't gotten them yet. Not when you have land instrument. Okay. All right, so just kind of needed to – there's one other character that I want to ask you guys about because –

She ended up being a fairly big part, but I still wonder why she was a part. We'll discuss that and then get away from this topic next on Mac and Cube in the morning. 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 Gap or wherever you get your podcasts. Cooper Patagna going to join us in about seven minutes.

We'll talk recruiting from the last week, really. A couple schools had big weeks in recruiting. Get his thoughts on Alabama, Auburn, Oregon, maybe a couple other SEC schools that had big weeks in recruiting. Listen online, joxfm.com, Monday, July 8th, 824 a.m. right here on JOX 94.5. Tell you about my friends quickly at Royal Automotive. Don't do like I did and list your truck on Facebook.

Thankfully, I got a message from my friends at Royal quickly after I said, bring that thing down here. We'll give you a check for it. It was more than I was asking for. You don't want to deal with the hassle, the scammers, the no-show, the hackers. It could even be dangerous.

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Game of Thrones, if you missed the conversation, I kind of just missed it. I just finished it. And we were kind of having a conversation of sort of where people wanted to go and what people wanted the show to be. I think we can also get back to the point that people are just going to be mad no matter what. That's fair. You can't end that show. How many shows ever are people satisfied with the ending? None, maybe. The Office? No.

But that might be it. Melisandre, the lady with the red hair. Red hair, red dragon lady. You can have her. She just kind of felt out of place to me. Now, I know she likes the whole thing. She likes the pit on fire form, and that was a massive – Oh, yeah. That was kind of a must-have moment. Kind of brought Jon Snow back to life. That was a fourth and one where they had to have that. Oh, yeah. That also pretty big, too. I feel like that was another short yardage conversion that they had to have. But what was – I just –

Am I the only one that feels that way? That she was only there for a couple of those big moments and then that was sort of it? That's what it felt like. I mean, maybe you had someone to kind of explain what the whole Lord of Light and all that. We don't know how all this is going to happen, but she's the one that can make it happen. She birthed the smoke monster that killed the rival. Yeah? That was a moment. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. There's...

There were a lot of aspects of her character. And then she looked like, who knew she looked like Montgomery Burns when all was said and done. Come on. You didn't have to do that. That's not right. Yeah, I don't know. That's true. I didn't get a whole lot out of her existence, if I'm going to be honest with you.

She just felt like a character that, hey, we're going to need a couple of things at certain times. We don't know how we're going to get there. Yeah. But just have her in there so she can come back. She had a villain arc. Yeah. Let's not forget that. No, there's no doubt. Also got to throw in Alfie Allen. Yeah. Who played Theon Greyjoy. Yeah.

Talk about extremes. That was something. You can have him too. You talk about all over the place. Yeah. I mean, all over the map, that guy in that show. All right. We will move on from Game of Thrones. Talk recruiting. Before we get to recruiting, if you're looking to move in and out of your home, Greg, who do you need to call? We need to call Crocker Movie Services. They're a local company owned by an Iraq war veteran, Eric Crocker. Crocker believes in hiring movie stars to complete full background checks and run drug tests on every single employee. These are good guys.

and you can trust them in your home. Whether you need your whole home packed up and moved, your company headquarters, which is in Scottsdale, or you just want them to cover your original living room, these guys got you covered. They also do deliveries for furniture that you purchase and need to get to your home. So call or visit them online today for a free quote. The website is crockermovieservices.com. It's crockermovieservices.com. Support your veterans by choosing Crocker Movie Services for your next move. All right, before we completely move on, I will say this. I'm opening up for suggestions also. I might can get one more show in before football season. Ooh, okay. I may try that. Um...

House of Dragons? Possibly. See, the problem is it's airing now, and they just aired episode four. They still have to get to the first season, right? True, right, yeah. You can do it. Another one that we're enjoying right now is, and it's interesting, is For All Mankind. It's a good one. Meredith and I do not watch a lot of shows. Is that the space show on Apple TV? Yes. Yeah, yeah. It's actually very good. It's an alternative reality. It's basically if... Basically if...

The Soviets had landed on the moon first, not us, even though we didn't land on the moon. Well, hold on a second. If you want to believe that, we got to the moon with the computer power of our iPhone, and that's on you. iPhones can do a lot now. Yeah, they can. So I've been told. But basically in an alternative reality where we got to the moon, but they actually got there first. It's actually very good.

Is there not another new show on Apple TV Plus that's coming out, or is that a movie with Gyllenhaal? That's a movie, Fly Me to the Moon with Scarlett Johansson. And that's Jake Gyllenhaal. It's Channing Tatum.

Yeah. But there's like a movie or show with him. What about this? That's called Presumed Innocent. Is that a movie? Is that good? I think that's a show. And it's supposed to be legit. Okay. What about this bear show? Everybody's telling me. I've heard it's great, but also I've heard everyone say it's great, so it makes me a little reticent. Yeah. Everyone says it's great. I don't know. I can't speak to it. But that's three seasons. I like how John says that. Everybody likes it. He's a chef. My level of intelligence is so far above theirs, there's no way it can be good. Well, he's a chef.

And they keep telling me how intense it is. I'm like, what is intense? That's what I need to know. Maybe that's why it's good. I've seen Hell's Kitchen. So is it a different British person?

A different person is yelling at us? I don't know. To me, the only intense cooking shows are the ones involving Gordon Ramsay. I just don't know if the bear is going to be able to provide that, but I might definitely try. Speaking of the bear, no, it's not that my intelligence is out of there. It's more so we gamble or we look at lines and if the

public is all on one side that makes you think, huh, correct. Right. Okay. Bear. Yes or no. You can just answer that. And if it's a no, I'll find something. I'd like to watch bear at some point. I'd say go for it. You can report to us. Okay. Yeah. We must do three seasons though. And they're all, they're all out. How many episodes do you think? 10 ish per hour each. I think so. Yeah. I ain't getting through that. Plus it's a comedy. So I don't need a comedy. Well, it's like, I assume it's a comedy, like 80% comedy. And then they'll make you cry at some point.

I might go back to that one on Apple TV Plus then. I think I would recommend for all mankind. It's actually quite good. And when Meredith likes it and I like it, both have a hard time believing that the moon landing actually happened. It's highly entertaining. Okay. We will talk recruiting, something that did happen over the past week. Cooper Patagna will be with us next to discuss it right here on JOX 94.5.

The capital of the sports talk nation. This is jocks 94.5 and jocksfm.com. Hurry hand. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning, Monday, July 8th, 833 a.m. on jocks 94.5. Bill Smith Buick GMC is the GMC dealer of the year. It's really amazing. When you look at some of the deals that they have on the lot, you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about, and you'll find deals that

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with recruiting all over college football, not just in the Southeastern Conference. Cooper Pategna is going to join us now to discuss the recruiting that took place over the week. Let's start with Alabama, Cooper. And four-star outside linebacker Justin Hill commits, considered by many to be just a big-time edge defender. How good of a player is Alabama getting there? And just...

The momentum that Kalen DeBoer and his staff have, how real is that compared to what we've seen from Alabama, say, the last, I don't know, decade plus?

Yeah, we'll start with Justin Hill. I mean, he's legit top 10 edge in the country, top 64 player for us, and a guy that Alabama, Kalen DeBoer, they go up all the way to the state of Ohio out of the Midwest, and they pull him out. Guy had double-digit sacks last season. It kind of fits what we've seen in the past in terms of that Jack linebacker. I know they got a new name for it now under Kalen DeBoer and Cain Womack, but

You know, this guy is twitched up, 6'3", 225 pounds. He runs well. He can play off ball, on ball, and just super productive. I mean, there's not a ton of flash, speed to power. That's what you get off the edge, and he's going to join a really, really talented room there and a guy that I think physically is more ready to play

sooner rather than later. And then in terms of momentum, I mean, it's real. You know, what we've seen out of Alabama, I think, you know, even me just kind of watching these guys over the last couple months since Kalen DeBoer and his staff have arrived, I've just kind of waited for the other shoe to drop, but they've been able to keep pace and now have one of the top-ranked classes in the country sitting at number two, charging for the number one class. So it's been real. I think the biggest thing is can they keep it up?

Not really so much in the 2025 cycle, but year over year over year. That's going to continuously kind of be the question. But so far, so good for Alabama. You've got to be really, really pleased if you're a Crimson Tide fan. Yeah, what do you attribute this success on the, I guess, trail to be? I mean, it's not like these guys have had the opportunity to develop tons of relationships. It's obvious that Alabama's got a really nice –

We've got access to really good NIL, no doubt about that. But how is it that they're able to make these inroads so quickly when it hasn't really proven to be the case dating back to his time at Washington?

Yeah, I think, you know, a concerted effort. I think when the staff came in, I think they were very aware of kind of where they stood and how they were perceived nationally when they were viewed in terms of, okay, what is their recruiting prowess? And that was the biggest question. We kind of saw this with Brian Kelly, too, when he arrived from Notre Dame to Baton Rouge. A lot of people had these questions, and then he responded with a top-ten class response.

recruited the state of Louisiana really well. And that's what we've seen with Kalen DeBoer. I think that was one thing that they've just really attacked since his first day on campus. And they hired Courtney Morgan. They bring him over from Washington. And a guy just talking with him recently, you know, it's been all hands on deck, a lot of urgency, a lot of relationships. I think they've been aligned from an NIL standpoint. I think all that helped.

But, you know, I think the other thing that helps is you look at Washington. They have ten players drafted. So Michael Penix helps with Keelan Russell. Keelan Russell, a guy that's surging in the rankings, one of the best quarterbacks in the country. They've got momentum right now, and they've been able to kind of build off of it. So it's been one of those things.

You know, to have Uncle Mo in your corner, yes, but you've got to give a lot of credit to Kalen Boer and his staff. I mean, this is one area that I think a lot of people felt really comfortable with him on the field, what type of coach he is, but what are we going to get from the recruiting standpoint? They've been answering all those questions. I think they know they're under a microscope, and I think you've seen them respond to that. Cooper Pategna joining us on the Buyers' Right Hotline. Quickly stay with Alabama's class.

You mentioned Keon Russell, quarterback. He's going to get a lot of the noise regardless. But I know Dijon Lee, cornerback, highly rated. Caleb Edwards, highly rated tight end. Micah DuBose, a big-time offensive lineman. Who is maybe, I guess, the flying under the radar jewel of this class so far for Caleb DuBose and his staff?

Yeah, I really like the Jackson Wood kid out of Carmel, California. You know, a three-sport athlete guy that almost averaged a double-double last year on the hardwood. Big kid, man, 6'7", 290 pounds, probably well over 300 now. Left tackle, more of a power scheme guy, but quick twitch, explosive, can climb up to the second level. I think they've done a really, really nice job on the offensive line. And then I wouldn't call it under the radar, but this Dawson Merritt kid from Kansas, he's

I love, got the NFL pedigree, another guy that we're really, really high on to play on-ball, off-ball. A lot of versatility. So when you think about that position flex and how they can move these guys around, that kind of gets me really excited about how they can attack opposing offenses. I know everybody wants to talk about offense with Kalen DeBoer, and for good reason, but what they've done defensively,

especially on the back end and the second level. There's a lot to be excited about. That's going to raise the floor of this team because obviously the ceiling is going to be set on the offensive side of the ball, but they're doing some really, really nice things on defense as well. How would you assess kind of the pitch? I'm sure you've talked to certain prospects. What is the pitch defensively? Because a lot of us, I mean, they can tell us defensively,

We can watch what Kane Womack's done in the past. We can look at the scheme, but we hadn't seen it in Crimson and White. What has been the pitch defensively with the scheme that they're going to run out there and how it's going to put guys in position to make plays?

Yeah, I think more so opportunity. You know, I think a lot of people look at Kalen DeBoer, you know, coming from the Pacific Northwest and from Washington and a two-year stint down in Alabama, and they see Alabama, and they still hold Alabama in this really high regard, as they should, but they see an opportunity to play for a new coach with a new identity and a really blank slate and a blank canvas there that they can be a part of. And, I mean, you know, I...

I can't tell you what they're pitching or what that looks like, but in terms of this is still one of the most talented rosters in college football. That being said, they've got a lot of inexperience at a lot of places where they haven't had that in years past over the last 17 years. So there's an opportunity for these young guys to come in and play early. I mean, look at the defensive backfield, what they did last year.

They're losing a lot of parts, sure, but they signed guys like Zabian Brown, Zay Mincy, and Jalen Mbakwe, three five-stars. Now you add in Dejon Lee, a guy that's knocking on that conversation. I think for a lot of these guys, just an opportunity to come in, establish themselves, and be part of something new and something different for a place that hasn't had a lot of change already.

over the last 17 years or so. Cooper Patagna, recruiting expert, joining us on the Buyer's Right Hotline, talking a big week of recruiting. All right, let's move off of Alabama. Oregon gets who many say the number one wide receiver in the country, 2025 five-star Dakarian Moore.

But 5'11", 185, I think when I think number one receiver in the country, I wouldn't immediately go to a kid that size. But obviously he's got big-time speed, state champion in the 4x200 relay, very productive career. What is Oregon getting and how much separation is there between he and maybe some of the other wide receivers in the country?

Yeah, great question. I mean, I think the biggest thing when you look at DeCorey and Moore and you kind of bring up the height weight, I mean, it puts them a little bit in a corner, but you've got to be a box checker of every degree, especially if you're going to be number one receiver in the country, number five player overall. And you talked about it. I mean, he's playing for a Duncanville team that's won state championships at the highest level in Texas over the last two years, you know, ran 10-4 defensively.

and the hundred meter, there's no questions in terms about the verified speed. Um, and then the, the, uh, game speed as well. And then his run after catchability. I mean, if there is a comp there and this might make LSU fans a little bit upset because he was once committed to the Tigers. I mean, it's Malik neighbors. I mean, you talk about a guy instant spark plug can win inside, outside, uh, run after catchability is one of the most dynamic, uh, players in the country. And then just in terms of, uh, uh,

you know, the gap between him and, and whoever's next in this case would be a guy like Kali clock at, at number 11. I,

Like me personally, I'm so firm on DeCorey Moore and what he brings to the table. Sure, there might be a range on him. Maybe you see him from 5 to 15, but just in terms of where you could potentially miss on this guy, there's such a slim margin of error. I just feel so confident and convicted that this guy is going to have an immediate impact at the next level where some of the other guys you get into the conversation,

Khali Glockett, even though he's got the production, he's more kind of a spec, developmental upside guy. You go down the board, same with Caleb Cunningham, big guy, basketball background. Some guys that are going to need a little bit of polish, a little bit of seasoning, maybe have higher upsides at the end of the day, but you know what you're getting with De'Corey Moore, which is why you saw Oregon and

Dan Lanning and Phil Knight and, you know, their operation put their best foot forward there and team him up potentially, you know, with a really, really good receiving core under Junior Adams. Who right now has the best recruiting class? Because it's kind of all over the board depending on which publication you look at. A lot of people have different opinions. Some have huge classes, some have small classes, but there's better quality in small classes than

Just curious, by your opinion, who has the best right now? Yeah, I think it's a blend of both when you're looking at quantity and you're looking at quality. I mean, I think there are a couple teams with some meat left on the bone. I would look at Ohio State to see what they've done. Tady and St. Clair, number two player in the country, and right now, honestly, coming off Elite 11, and we'll wait until the senior season more than likely, but...

He could easily be the number one player in the country. Just a prototype fits exactly what they want to do in that Chip Kelly offense. And then you think about the two corners that they had, Devin Sanchez, Naeem Offord, they got a chance at the number one tackle in the country, and David Sanders here next month. So for Ohio State to potentially have four of the top ten players in the country, that says a lot about them. They've done a great job top to bottom. That's no different than what they do every year. I think Alabama has certainly –

surprise some people in a very good way. Georgia right now, out of the top three teams, you've got Ohio State with 23 commits, Alabama with 20, Georgia sitting at 18. They're just one of those programs at any point. They feel like they can get whatever they want

when they want it. And they just kind of get stronger and stronger and stronger as they get closer to that finish line. So Georgia and, you know, coincidentally enough, Oregon sitting there with 15 commits. You know, Dan Lanning, Kirby Smart, they kind of have that same mentality, right? And Oregon, you know, a lot of people were kind of questioning earlier in the offseason. I would kind of put Lanning in that same boat as Kirby Smart. Like, these are dudes that eat, breathe, sleep well.

and they're just absolutely maniacal. But on top of that, they're incredibly calculated as well. So those three, and obviously Alabama doing a great job, but Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon right now, those would be the three teams that I'm keeping an eye on, kind of battling it out for number one. Cooper, I just want to get a quick thought on Auburn and what Hugh Freeze is doing. They get Jacoby Ward, a big-time offensive lineman out of Savannah, Georgia. It's a position of need here.

A couple of decommits a week or two ago, but all in all, the class still looks very strong. Just give us kind of the 1,000-foot view of Auburn recruiting right now. I like it a lot. You know, Josh Pate asked a question last night. Who's that? Yeah, exactly. Late kick Josh. Top ten programs over the next three years. I was thinking to myself, I'm like, man, what a kick.

But Auburn right now, the way that they're recruiting, they've got to get the quarterback position figured out. And it's going to be a really interesting storyline to see what they do in 2025. They've got Walker White, and we'll see what shakes out this year. But I love what they're doing across the board. Malik Autry, Caleb Falk, Eric Winters, Jordan Crawford, all those guys are from the state of Alabama. And the good thing about maybe Alabama right now, what's interesting is

Kalen Boer's got six guys from California. He's got five in-state. I just feel like there's a little bit of opportunity there for Hugh Freeze in the state of Alabama, maybe a little bit more connected. But I like what they're doing, man. I feel like that's a program that's aligned from the start of early identification and the evaluation process all the way through in terms of what the money looks like, how that should be kind of shoved out, all that type of stuff.

Auburn's in a really good spot. They're sitting at number 11. I think they're probably in position for another top 10 finish, probably surge, maybe even get closer to that top five. So they seem like a program right now that's got it figured out, and they're recruiting with urgency. They've been recruiting with urgency since Hugh Freeze has gotten there. They're doing the exact opposite of what Brian Harsin was doing, and I think that's what Auburn fans want.

Cooper, great stuff, man. Thanks for joining us. I know we kept you long, but I appreciate the time. We'll have you back again soon. Thank you, Gus. There you go. Cooper Patagna with the 24-7 Sports Network at cpatagna.com.

247. That's P-E-T-A-G-N-A 247. One of the best when it comes to talking recruiting. And it was a massive weekend. We didn't even get through the four and five stars that committed to some of the other places. We'll talk about those on the other side 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...

A player, right? Like the myth of Bo Jackson. Like, rate, and download the show from the Jock Cup or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning, 8.53 a.m. right here on Jocks 94.5. B-Dry has been serving Alabama and homeowners here across Birmingham for more than 60 years.

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for 12 months. Get the job finished and have plenty of cash on hand for the rest of summer fun. So call B-Dry now to get the job done right with the strongest warranty and the best price. Call 942-1976 or visit B-DryAlabama.com. All right, so a couple other notes in recruiting from over the weekend.

Ohio State gets four-star outside linebacker Riley Pettijohn, 6'2", 200. A lot of folks say that that's a big get for the Buckeyes. We mentioned to carry on more, 5'11", 185. Duncanville, Texas, Greg, back-to-back 6A Division I state champs.

Don't know anything about Duncanville. They were not a factor when I was in school. I couldn't even tell you where they are, but I do know they've been pretty dang good these last couple years. Yeah, because Keon Russell, who's committed Alabama quarterback, is to carry on Moore's teammate there at Duncanville. 71 catches, 15-32, 18 touchdowns for Moore last year. State champion, the 4x200 relay.

So he'll head to Oregon. LSU gets four-star edge Damian Slankton, 6'5", 226, number one player in Indiana. He's going to be going to LSU. Penn State gets a familiar name. Another edge defender, 6'2", 200 from Covine, California, LeVar Arrington II.

65 tackles, 12 sacks in his high school career. Was his dad good? I think his dad was pretty good. Not bad. Same place. Miami gets five-star offensive lineman S.J. Olaphiatoulis.

A guard, 6'3", 285, but supposedly very highly thought of. A guy that a lot of people wanted. Five-star, one of the best interior offensive linemen. Originally from Iwa Beach, Hawaii, now at Bishop Gorman. So that's a big get for Mario Cristobal. Missouri gets four-star wide receiver Javon Boggs. Not confirmed if there is a...

relation to Wade there. 6'1", 200 out of Cocoa, Florida. He decommitted from Ohio State. They also get four-star offensive lineman Lamont Rogers to commit. Missouri is having a lot of success in recruiting right now. It's continuing to show. Cooper mentioned four-star quarterback Shamari Earls. He commits to Georgia, flipped from South Carolina, second commitment in the last month to flip from South Carolina to

Georgia. And also, Arkansas gets four-star outside linebacker Tavion Wallace. 6'1", 200, a 10-6-1 100-meter dash at 200 pounds. That's cooking. 132 tackles the last two years, so maybe Arkansas.

making some noise in the recruiting world. So a lot of folks, a lot of commitments over the last week, specifically the July 4th weekend. I think we've got another big offensive lineman that's going to be committing today. Alabama won in his final three. So we'll keep you posted on all the latest in recruiting. When we come back on the other side, some of your feedback on...

What shows we should watch and who is the best quarterback in the SEC going into this season. Next. This is McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. At your job, do you ever have to deal with a nose roller? How about a snub pulley?

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I'm not self-aware. I refuse to be self-aware. I don't even look in mirrors at all.

which you can probably tell from my appearance. I don't have a crazy high IQ or I really don't have that many skills. I would say my main skill is I believe my instincts. I don't hesitate to follow my instincts ever. The extent that I have, I've got in trouble. The Sean Ryan Show on YouTube or wherever you listen.