Latest / The Craig Way Show / Collin Simmons wins Freshman of the Year Award

Transcript

Collin Simmons wins Freshman of the Year Award · The Craig Way Show

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: It's the Craig Way Show with the voice of the
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Texas Longhorns and Hall of Fame broadcaster Craig.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: A couple of things. If you if you're one of
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: those people who wonders about the entertainment value of some
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: of those third and some would even say fourth tier bowls,
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: I give you this this game above Sports Bowl as
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: an example to the contrary. It's truly above sports Well.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Put this way, it will not be lost forgotten for
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: entertainment purposes. I can tell you that Toledo had a
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: point lead over Pittsburgh. Turnovers helped pitt turn that back
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: around and go up ten at thirty to twenty. They're
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: midway through the fourth quarter now and Toledo's come back
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: with its second pick six return to the ball game,
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: so they were back within three. So it's back and forth.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh is leading Toledo thirty twenty seven, about seven and
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: a half minutes to go on, and it's just it's
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: it's been kind of a turnover fest, but they've been
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: really acrobatic plays and great returns and stuff like that.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: It's not just laying the ball on the ground. There's
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: been some of that, but not a lot of that
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: college basketball. Note Announced a little while ago, Jim Laernega
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: is stepping down as head coach in Miami. He'd been
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: there fourteen years, turned seventy five back in October. Led
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: the Hurricanes six ncaaight tournaments, four Sweet sixteen appearance. Of course,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: they beat Texas there barely in the Elite eight game,
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: going on two years ago there in Kansas City to
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: go to the final four. They went eleven and six
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: and nc A Tournament games. During his tenure, they won
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: two aces the regular season championships. They are only four
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: and eight this year, though they've been struggling. They entered
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: last season ranked number thirteen in the preseason ap Pole,
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: missed the postseason entirely, went fifteen and seventeen, lost the
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: last ten games of the season. Larenega had eight players,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: all of whom said they were happy at Miami entered
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: the portal. After they went to the final four. They
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: entered the portal, I mean, I mean, what more can
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: you You go to the final four and then somebody
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: else Wan was go on. He had all these guys
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: that they were happy there. They left. They're just four
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: and eight this year. They've lost eight of their last nines,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: including home losses to Charleston Southern and Mount Saint Mary's.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: So anyway, Larenega says he's exhausted. He said, I've tried
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: every which way to keep this going. Remember he had
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: been the coach of George Mason for fourteen years. He
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: got the Patriots to the Final four in two thousand
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: and six. Is an eleven seed on that it's one
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: of the greatest Final four runs ever made by Uh, certainly,
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I think it's the greatest Final four run ever made
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: by a double digit seed, and maybe one of the greatest,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: if not the greatest Final four run ever made by
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: a team regardless of seed. The teams they beat as
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: an element seed, they beat Michigan State, North Carolina and
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Yukon on the way to that in winning that, so
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: that was amazing. It was an amazing run. Fernlunquist with
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: the iconic called by George they've done it or something
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: when they when they beat Yukon to win in the
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Elite eight to go to the Final four. But anyway,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: Jim Lairnega has decided to step down. Also, uh, there
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: was a college but oh well, I know the college
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: football and I was going to mention, uh, congratulations to
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Colin Simmons, Texas freshman Uh named uh a winner, uh
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: and and a and and after the year that he had,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: it would have reasoned that he would kind of not
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: only the year that he had, but the fact that
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: he did it by winning the National Freshman of the
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Year award. He won the Shawn Alexander Freshman of the
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Year Award. So Colin Simmons, Yeah, congratulations to him. Shawn
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Alexander himself said, quote, We're excited to welcome Colin as
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: our seventh Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: This was the closest race in the award's history, and
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: we know that we have picked a great winner. Colin's
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: a perfect representative for the Shawn Alexander Freshman Player of
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: the Year Award. Great talent, great character, great ambassador of
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: the University of Texas, and we believe he is a legend,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: a future superstar in the NFL. Simmons quote, I love
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: this quote. I was very excited when I found out.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: I was so excited I couldn't even let mister Alexander
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: get his words out, and I had to hurry up
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: and show my mother who was calling. He said, it's
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: such an amazing honor. I appreciate it so much. I
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: want to thank my teammates and my coaches for helping
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: me get to the position that I'm in right now,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: allowing me to play to the best of my ability
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: to grow as a person on and off the field.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: This really goes to them too. I want to say
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: thank you to Sean Alexander for giving me the opportunity
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: to be a finalist for this award, knowing the other
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: finalists are great players from around the country. Most importantly,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I want to give thanks to my family and the God.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: I just pulled into my Auntie's house for Christmas Day
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: and he called me and said, quote, you know what
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: it means when I call you on Christmas Day. I
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: was wondering what he was talking about, and then he
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: told me I won. We talked before, because he talks
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: to all the finalists, and it means a lot that
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: he takes his time and gets to know us outside
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: of the uniform, and he cares so much and is
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: so involved. For him to relate to me and gain
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: a relationship through thirty minutes of his time was incredible.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: I appreciate it so much, and something like this just
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: motivates you that much more. Regardless of the fact that
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: I'm receiving this award, I still love things to work on,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: things to improve on, and still have to get better
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: each and every day. He was also named to the
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: SEC All Freshman Team this year as well.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: So.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Congratulations to Colin Simmons. I am not about to sit
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: here and say I told you so about that, because
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: it wouldn't be correct. But what I would have told you,
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: having called his last two state championship games and seeing
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: the kind of young man and the character is and
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: the way he could the way he could rip your
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: head off to the way you play, the way he
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: could hunt down quarterbacks, that he would be as deserving
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: and as logical a candidate for that award. So I'm
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: happy for him. Good dude, Colin Simmons. Glad glad that
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: he won the Shawn Alexander National Freshman of the Year Award. Okay,
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: on the text line, and this is a valid, legitimate
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: question here, and somebody said, Craig, do you think that
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: once the SEC contract with Mercedes Benz Stadium is concluded
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: that the SEC will look at other locations wait for it.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: So all mascots are welcome to the SEC Championship game. Clearly,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: this is about the Big Fellow about Bevo not not
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: only not being in the SEC Championship, you have to
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: remember also to the texture that that applies. It's not
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: it wasn't an SEC. We all said it was an
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: SEC thing. Clearly it's not just an SEC thing because
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: this is the college football playoff now in the Peach Bowl.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: And if you look at it from an upper shot,
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: you can see the narrow angle of it that that
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: that stadium full stadium, by the way, but it is
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: you can see where it was going to be crowded.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: When the guy who was running the news conference the
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: other day and we we carried the media zoom or
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: we replayed it for you, and somebody asked, I think
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: it was Matt Harvey, I'm trying to remember from the
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: from the Peach Bowl about it, and said it was
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Kirk Bowles who asked him, is Bevo going to be
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: able to be there or something like that, and at
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: first he said, we're still working through that, but then
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: he ended up in his answer saying no, he's not
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: going to be able to and then later in the
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: day they said they don't have room for him. It's
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: not that they don't have room for the Beast himself,
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: but we know he's big. It's it's not that they
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: don't have room for him, it's the enclosure. They don't
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: have room for his corral with everything else they've got.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: So that's what it is now. I think it's safe
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: to say that if Texas went ends and advances to
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: the Cotton Bowl in the Summi finals, then you'll see
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: him there because he was there for the Bevig twelve
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: championship game there last year. There's more room at Jerry World.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: It's more expansive in its boundaries and its sidelines. So
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: is super dumb clearly, as he has been there for that,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: But I think you know, Bevo not going to be
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: there for that. He wouldn't be there for the national Championship.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: I do think this. I do think it is only
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: fair that if you're going to say we don't have
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: room for Bevo, then I think it is fair for
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: them to say, even though ug is a little dude
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: and has a little enclosure, to say Georgia can't bring
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: him either. If they were, say playing Georgia not because
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: there isn't room for him. There would be for the bulldog.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: But it's just kind of like if the headsets go
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: out on one sideline, then neither side can use them
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: until they get them repaired. You're not allowed to. So
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: it's got to be equitable for both sides. Even if
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: your mascot is two thousand pounds and the other one
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: is twenty, you know, what's got to be fair for
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: one has got to be fair for the other. Now
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: to your question about them looking at no, I don't know.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: I'm never going to say never, But I feel as
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: probably as confident in saying this as I am saying
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: about the UIL State Championships in Arlington. I think they're
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: there to stay in Atlanta. I doubt the UIL State
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: Championships move out of Arlington because it pretty much has
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: everything they need and teams love playing there in the
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: spectacle of it. And even though attendance was down this year,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: it was still ahead of where it was when it
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: was in Houston at NRG in fifteen, when it was
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: down by more than one hundred thousand by comparison with
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: AT and T, so that the folks from the Panhandle
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: just don't travel down there unless there are fans of
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: one specific team playing in it Panhandle in West Texas,
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: whereas they'll go to Arlington. And with this deal, I
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: think it's a thing also where they love having the
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: SEC Championship there in Atlanta because it's for most for
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: most of the teams, not all, for most of the teams,
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: it's pretty centrally located to where teams can get there.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: Atlanta has a major airport, as we know. In fact,
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: it's been called the busiest airport in the United States.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: They have that, they have all of those other things
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: it is. It's a wonderful facility. Clearly it's going to
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: be the side of the National Championship. But I understand
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: your sentiment. I think it would make sense if they
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: played it in Arlington one year, where if they played
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: it in New Orleans one year, they're gonna want climate control.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: And I don't think they would want to play it
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: in Miami because that's the home stadium of an ACC team,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: So I don't think they would do that. So I
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: think it's probably I think their deal runs through twenty thirty. Anyway,
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: I believe it's through twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty seven.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: That's what I saw through Google. This mean it's correct,
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: But what I saw was through twenty twenty seven. Maybe
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: there was an option to go. I'm not sure, but
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: I don't know.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Unless they can get a deal dumb with Jerry World,
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: that might be the only way I could see them
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: doing it. But of course the Big twelve has its
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: agreement with Jerry World, so it might not It might
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: not matter anyway. All Right, we have more coming up.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: Steve with us here on sports Radio AM thirteen under
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: the zone of the iHeartRadio app.