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Making Monsters Draft Series: Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr., D'Angelo Ponds & Mikail Kamara · 2nd City Gridiron

0:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Alright, welcome back to another Making Monsters.
0:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm Taylor Doll.
0:11
[SPEAKER_01]: We're continuing on this draft series.
0:13
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of prospects we've talked about so far.
0:16
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to continue on.
0:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of those, and the ones we're going to talk about today, just want a national championship.
0:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So a lot of a lot of lime light on them.
0:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Now joining me today is Jacob Cohen.
0:25
[SPEAKER_01]: He's the host of Lockdown Hoosiers.
0:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So Jacob, thanks for helping on and chatting some Hoosier prospects with me.
0:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I happen to do so always a pleasure to talk about the national champions and the guys that made that possible.
0:36
[SPEAKER_00]: There's so many of them and I'm excited to see these guys get to the next level and if they end up in Chicago, we'll see where it goes.
0:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I mean, pretty close to home if they're, you know, they've been playing at Indiana when you talk about guys that are used to playing and the cold weather and stuff like that.
0:51
[SPEAKER_01]: This is a group of guys that can do that.
0:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's start a little bit just base overall.
0:56
[SPEAKER_01]: A sign that he did it a little different.
0:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Really hit the portal heavy.
0:59
[SPEAKER_01]: The age was a little higher when it comes to that roster, but it worked.
1:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what we're in this era of college football Jacob where people are trying to figure out.
1:08
[SPEAKER_01]: how to balance that portal, recruiting, everything all at one time.
1:13
[SPEAKER_01]: And Sigdetti very quickly was able to turn the Hoosiers into a national champion.
1:17
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was really fun for me to watch, I'm a Northwest Indiana product.
1:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So a little more north, but a lot of my family.
1:24
[SPEAKER_01]: a big at the end of fans.
1:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm a Notre Dame fan, but there are a lot of them are Andy and a fans.
1:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And so they were excited and I was excited for them to kind of see that happen.
1:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But let's chat about that, the process of signating coming there and kind of building this roster into what he did so quickly and then really what just made it work that quickly.
1:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'll focus more on the roster side of things, because Signetti stepped in and made a ton of demands to Indiana when he took over the job.
1:50
[SPEAKER_00]: The Hoosiers football program had more losses than any power conference team in America.
1:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So they were historically a bad football program.
1:59
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's just the simplest way to put it.
2:01
[SPEAKER_00]: And he made a bunch of demands to upgrade things.
2:04
[SPEAKER_00]: facilities and get investments and things like that.
2:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And Indiana decided to do it.
2:09
[SPEAKER_00]: And in terms of building the roster for Kurt Signetti, he yes hit the portal hard.
2:13
[SPEAKER_00]: He brought a bunch of his James Madison guys with him.
2:16
[SPEAKER_00]: But he also went and found pieces that he knew he needed in terms of.
2:19
[SPEAKER_00]: quarterbacks or running back.
2:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So that was for year one and for year two, the one coming off the national championship.
2:25
[SPEAKER_00]: And so for cursing netty and his staff, they decided we are not going to get the biggest of the big, the best of the best, the five star transfer portal, you know, quarterback or lineback or defense then, we're going to go get guys that fit our system.
2:41
[SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to go get guys who fit our program.
2:43
[SPEAKER_00]: And
2:44
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't care if you're a 5 star, we don't care if you're a 0 star, if we like who you are, we like your process, we like your build, we like your mindset.
2:51
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to bring you in and you're going to have a spot on this team and they did that in your one.
2:56
[SPEAKER_00]: You made it to the college football playoff, losing to Notre Dame.
3:00
[SPEAKER_00]: And then you built on that and brought a ton of guys back.
3:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Some of the ones we're going to talk about here today, you brought them back for your two and this team was just a well-oiled machine and it was
3:12
[SPEAKER_00]: how you got to just kind of place guys where they needed to go, you ran such an aggressive system defensively, not a conservative offensive system, but one that kind of picks it's picks it's time to attack if you will, and it was so fun to watch in the end undefeated, national champions, and so many talented players on this team.
3:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's just a lot of cool storylines that we don't, we're not going to go into Fernando Mendoza on this podcast because luckily the bears don't need a quarterback for the first time in a while.
3:41
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's a cool story because you go back and you talk about, you know, calving the only school to offer him in that sense and then signet he going and taking a chance on him and signet he by the way hit all in back to back portal quarterback.
3:54
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's something too when it comes to evaluating talent there.
3:57
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's a cool story to watch for Nana Mendoza when you go back and you look at his even his numbers Forgot, you know, across his college career, but what he was able to do and in the end I was really fun And so I want to get into the offense now of course talking about Amari Amar Cooper Jr The wide receiver.
4:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think the bears go receiver that high But what we have seen has been Johnson is
4:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Barry, they less had to be in Johnson in this organization and we've seen that last year obviously taking Colson Levelin a little higher than a lot of people thought he was going to go they thought it was going to be Tyler Warren first and then he'd go and they backed back with Luther Burnin early in the second round so tied in wider silver right away.
4:35
[SPEAKER_01]: after using a high-pick on Roma doings it a year before and having DJ Moore and so it kind of we're like, oh Okay, there's serious about making this offense better So I don't think it's totally out of the room.
4:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I have seen some mocks Taking him at 25 and so we'll see you know DJ Moore with Buffalo now So he did lose one of your main wide receivers but talk a little bit about Omar Cooper Jr And how he fit into that offense because he did he did a lot of different things kind of a multi-roll receiver there
5:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's exactly right.
5:05
[SPEAKER_00]: He was somebody who was there for several years was actually there before Signetti got there and I'm an Indiana guy through and through six foot, 200 pounds.
5:15
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's not the biggest of guys, but he plays so much bigger than he is Taylor.
5:21
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really fascinating to watch him play because he's physical.
5:24
[SPEAKER_00]: He can jump out of the stadium and somebody that
5:27
[SPEAKER_00]: I have described to a lot of NFL people asking about him because he has shot up the draft boards and a fellow executives and scouts just love Omar Cooper.
5:37
[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't have to be wide receiver one.
5:39
[SPEAKER_00]: He absolutely can be and I think in the right system and the right place that could get desperate if they lose some body or if there's an unfortunate injury, I absolutely think Omar Cooper can be a wide receiver one.
5:51
[SPEAKER_00]: But he wasn't even wide receiver one at Bloomington.
5:53
[SPEAKER_00]: he led the team and touchdowns.
5:55
[SPEAKER_00]: He was a top three guy in the nation and touchdowns and had the biggest touchdown of the season on the road at Penn State to keep the undefeated streak alive and ultimately help in the end of win the nanny, but he doesn't have to be wide receiver.
6:08
[SPEAKER_00]: One, but he stays ready.
6:08
[SPEAKER_00]: He's always there.
6:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He's always lurking and when he throw it to him, he's going to catch.
6:12
[SPEAKER_00]: and he's got sticky hands.
6:15
[SPEAKER_00]: If you put it anywhere in that vicinity of Omar Cooper Jr.
6:18
[SPEAKER_00]: He will come down and make the grab.
6:20
[SPEAKER_00]: His route running is solid.
6:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to say he's the best of the best.
6:24
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think he's a Devontate Adam's type of route runner, but he can get open.
6:28
[SPEAKER_00]: He can be physical whether it's a slant, whether it's the go route, whether it's the come back in the end of love running a bunch of those with Omar Cooper Elijah Serrat, those types of things.
6:38
[SPEAKER_00]: I just like Omar Cooper's physicality.
6:41
[SPEAKER_00]: I like his readiness and somebody that you can trust as a quarterback in an offense to where, even if you haven't thrown it to him in two quarters, you put it in the air, he's gonna go make a play, and he's as close as it comes as Omar Cooper Jr.
6:54
[SPEAKER_00]: So I like where he's at, and if he were to go to Chicago, I think they would like him.
6:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I think they like his work ethic, and again, there's a reason he has shot up the draft board in the last several weeks and really the last couple of months.
7:06
[SPEAKER_01]: NFL people are salivating over Omar Cooper Jr. Yeah, it's interesting because a couple of those things you just said immediately lead to what the bears look for.
7:15
[SPEAKER_01]: In the sense of you are going that the ball's going to be spread a little bit more, not every wider receiver wants to be on a team where that is happening.
7:22
[SPEAKER_01]: There are some guys out there that obviously want to get the most catches and have the most receptions and targets and yards and all of those things.
7:28
[SPEAKER_01]: But when you're going to a team that has looked at Burton Room of Dunes at Colson,
7:35
[SPEAKER_01]: The chances of you having a thousand yards probably is a little rare and also you just talked about the hands that's going to be important thing.
7:42
[SPEAKER_01]: The bears, I think, have the second most yards lost to drops this last year.
7:47
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like over 400 yards they lost to drops.
7:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And some of that was like, uncharacteristic of Roma Dunze for some reason.
7:54
[SPEAKER_01]: There were some drop issues and that's not something that you had seen previous to him.
7:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So those are things that Ben Johnson has really talked about focusing on this offseason with the guys that are in the building.
8:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So getting a guy that comes in and has sure hands is
8:06
[SPEAKER_01]: helps a little bit in that sense, so it would probably be nice to have immediately.
8:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Where do you think he fits best?
8:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Is there a place?
8:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you want to see him on the outside?
8:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you want to see him move around?
8:16
[SPEAKER_01]: What do you think at the next level?
8:18
[SPEAKER_00]: yeah i think he he has the opportunity to move around a little bit i think because people again they see six foot and they're like i don't know can we trust him to be our go ball fifty fifty guy in the in the red zone you can you absolutely can but i mean with the talent in the size of of corners in the NFL maybe not i think he can be a slot guy
8:37
[SPEAKER_00]: I trust him on the outside, I just don't know if NFL teams are going to give him that shot, but maybe when he gets into a camp somewhere, maybe they will move him around and you have that flexibility, you can play him on either side.
8:48
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't really matter.
8:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Indiana actually would bring him in motion every now and then two and have him be a decoy.
8:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't remember them actually pitching it and making him an actual running back or anything, but he has the ability to do all of those things.
9:01
[SPEAKER_00]: So my guess is he'll be inside, but I hope somebody gives him a chance outside too.
9:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Well Ben Johnson does some funky things offensively so you can.
9:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure he could use him.
9:10
[SPEAKER_01]: It's almost probably a fun little toy for Ben Johnson to have having a wider receiver that can do so many different things.
9:16
[SPEAKER_01]: It's similar to a Lutheran like Lutheran can kind of play all over and we saw that in this last year that used him in flee flickers in the first game and that was his first touch down and then you see him go deep, you see him kind of all over.
9:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's fun in that sense, but I want to go over to the defensive side of the ball, Indiana have a second best scoring, second best total scoring defense and college football last year, so there are a lot of good pieces that made this defense work.
9:39
[SPEAKER_01]: So start there, what really when you go back and you watch now this Indiana defense, how was it so good so fast when pulling all these pieces from different places together?
9:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I think Brian Taines, the defensive coordinator in Bloomington, proved this season that he is the best defensive coordinator in college football.
9:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a huge part of Indiana success here.
9:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Taylor is the fact that Kurt Signetti has kept both of his coordinators in his short time in Bloomington.
10:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Even right now, coming off the national championship, heading into year three, Shanahan on offense and Brian Taines on defense are staying
10:12
[SPEAKER_00]: in Bloomington, which is so rare, you know, this, it's so rare in college football, football, any level at this point, losing assistance is a tradition unlike any other right now.
10:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And so Brian Taines on the defensive side of the football is just so talented.
10:26
[SPEAKER_00]: He gets the most out of his guys.
10:29
[SPEAKER_00]: His exes and Oz are incredible and what makes Indiana so special with guys that we're going to talk about here in a moment.
10:35
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all three levels of the defense.
10:37
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the guys up front who are aggressive and they're fast, they're physical, they're disciplined as well.
10:42
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the linebackers in that second level, which is my favorite position on the football field because they're the quarterbacks of an Aiden Fisher and those types of guys who just control everything.
10:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And Brian Haynes gives him a lot of control too.
10:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the guys in the second area, Murray Farrell, who's still on the team right now for Indiana, DeAngelo, Ponds, as well, who is just Uber talented in one of the best corners in the country.
11:03
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all three levels of discipline, IQ, and physicality.
11:08
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what Indiana prides itself on, they get it from Bryant Tames, they get that from Kurt Signetti, and they're just played on a string, they don't give up big plays, they don't make mistakes, they keep everything in front of them.
11:19
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not even a bend, don't break defense, it's just don't bend.
11:22
[SPEAKER_00]: we're just not going to give it up and they forced turnovers office was obviously able to capitalize on those, but Indiana was just so darn good defensively and just always in the right spot there was just never a busted coverage there was never a broken play there was never a linebacker that got caught ball watching or quarterback watching it was just everybody was always there everybody always did their job even if they weren't the
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: 8 plays later, they would be in that position to do so.
11:52
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's why Indiana won a national championship.
11:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was really fun to watch them, especially in the national championship against Miami.
11:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I remember going into that game and being like, are they going to be able to play the same style football against Miami team that is very physical up front and can run the ball very physically and kind of match the physicality.
12:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think Ohio State was the only
12:15
[SPEAKER_01]: had that physicalness that they had.
12:17
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was fun.
12:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I was like this is what you want to see a team be able to match up someone like Miami when that's all we were talking about going in as the trenches and how physical both sides are and I loved watching Indiana be able to match up to that.
12:30
[SPEAKER_01]: But talking about the back end, we'll start with quarterback, uh, Dianjolo Ponds.
12:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, same thing.
12:34
[SPEAKER_01]: He was one of the guys that followed Coach Siggs from J.M.
12:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Mu, right?
12:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so guy one of the guys there are several of the guys that kind of follow him over there.
12:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So number one, that's coach Signetti They want to play for him and I think that's a testament to kind of him, but talk about his role in that in that defense Especially back there on that on that back in that was really important and a lot of moments during that college football playoff run
12:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, well, again, mentioning the fact that big place just don't happen DeAngelo Ponds.
13:03
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a big reason for that.
13:03
[SPEAKER_00]: He prides himself on what on one man to man.
13:07
[SPEAKER_00]: It's either going to be tight.
13:08
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll drop back and play.
13:09
[SPEAKER_00]: But there's not a whole lot of safety help here for DeAngelo Ponds.
13:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he is somebody you just, you put him out there and you never had to worry about him.
13:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the time, funny enough, you forgot he was there.
13:20
[SPEAKER_00]: because he was so good and locked down whichever receiver he was playing that you just never heard his name a hold on that's why his stats in terms of his past deflections and interceptions and things like that they're just not all that crazy because teams were like nah we're not that good.
13:35
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll throw to the other side of the field, right?
13:38
[SPEAKER_00]: But in back to back years, he does have a pick six, does the Angelo Ponds, and again, he's physical up front at the, at the line, he'll put some hands on you and his size is, is fine, again, he's five, nine, 170 pounds, but his experience and his IQ man, that's, again, that's what put him on Indiana's defense, and that's what made him.
13:57
[SPEAKER_00]: So good.
13:58
[SPEAKER_00]: And you really can't just leave him on an island and let him go.
14:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I really do think he was one of the best corners in college football.
14:05
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm hoping he finds a good home in the NFL.
14:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He will have to defend some guys who are more physical and much bigger than he is.
14:14
[SPEAKER_00]: But until I see him struggle with that, I'm not going to worry about it.
14:19
[SPEAKER_00]: And I don't think he will.
14:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just, you know, they're obviously the possibility I guess, but no, I love the Angelo ponds.
14:25
[SPEAKER_00]: He
14:25
[SPEAKER_00]: All American at corner all big 10 at corner a guy that stayed an extra year came back to work on his game to work with the Hoosiers win the nanny and now he I believe he could be a starting corner right now in the NFL.
14:38
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he could have done that halfway through last season to be honest with you.
14:42
[SPEAKER_01]: us a tricky part about corners is if you sometimes those numbers you look at box scores and you're like oh well they don't have picks and they don't have this and it's like well because teams don't want to throw at them and situation we have with Jalen Johnson on the bears honestly people don't people avoid Jalen Johnson and it really pick on the opposite corners and so for him everyone's like well he kind of set this game and like that we just did it people don't want to throw at him and that's a positive thing if you have a corner that teams want to avoid then you're doing something right and that
15:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Statistically they can't get those numbers racked up and you mentioned the size that five nine Size and know some people are gonna look out and be like, okay, it's he gonna be able to come to the NFC North and battle at Justin Jefferson You know twice a year and some of those guys, but I go back and I always think of Denzel bond Denzel bond six four and He handled him just fine and that game and so that's kind of where I go to where I'm like Yeah, he's smaller, but he's so physical and he's so competitive that I think that kind of overshadows the size at times
15:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, he saw some of the best receivers in the country, but going through the big 10 right play in teams like Oregon and Ohio State of the big 10 championship game and seeing or going to again in the college football playoff and seeing my Amy's receivers guys like Malachi Tony.
15:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, you see and he wasn't on all the best all the time, but he saw them and he was there and made a huge impact.
16:00
[SPEAKER_00]: And one thing I like about the Angelo Ponds, too, is he,
16:05
[SPEAKER_00]: is so good at making open field tackles, which you see that with corners, and that's such a question mark in such a wild card.
16:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like because they're not asked to do it often, but in the moments they are, it's typically like, okay, it's you and the ball carrier, and if you don't make this play, we're in trouble.
16:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And the angel opons is again, his IQ and his technique is so incredible.
16:27
[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't remember him just blatantly missing a tackle when he was asked to do so.
16:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And so keep an eye on that, too, for the angel opons who is just Uber talented.
16:36
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to miss him in Bloomington, but wherever he ends up and somebody's getting to go to the angel opons.
16:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and you talk about all those things and a lot of the positive too.
16:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And you go through some of his draft profiles.
16:46
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of people talk about the mental side of things.
16:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, like some of the pre-snaps stuff that he can kind of pick out is that something that you notice grow throughout that time too.
16:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I think that just went through the entire defense between the Angelo Ponds, Aiden Fisher, again, was our linebacker who wore the green dot on the back of his helmet for the communication side, just everybody playing on a string in the Angelo is a leader.
17:09
[SPEAKER_00]: He is.
17:10
[SPEAKER_00]: He was somebody who you turned to.
17:12
[SPEAKER_00]: He was somebody who communicated.
17:14
[SPEAKER_00]: He was somebody off the field on the sidelines too.
17:16
[SPEAKER_00]: You could see
17:17
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, screaming holler and in a good way getting his guys fired up and keeping them fired up and things like that.
17:22
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, his IQ and leadership is something Kurt Signetti talked about a whole lot.
17:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Ryan Taines talked a lot about it and I feel like it will be well received on whatever team he ends up on.
17:34
[SPEAKER_01]: The third one I specifically want to talk about.
17:36
[SPEAKER_01]: They have them lifted listed as an edge.
17:38
[SPEAKER_01]: McHale Kamara.
17:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's more versatile.
17:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I believe Indiana moved him around quite a bit,
17:45
[SPEAKER_01]: You probably get him a little bit later.
17:46
[SPEAKER_01]: I see him on the big draft board around 120 when it comes to just the full prospect list for several of them and the bear is a bit it's a need it's a need for the bears fence of line and general is so let's start with that how did Indiana use him I know he was one of the guys that transferred so he was there for two seasons I believe so in those two seasons how did they use him.
18:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, his numbers took a pretty big dip from his first year in Bloomington to a second year in Bloomington, which Abianas was disappointing.
18:15
[SPEAKER_00]: We had really big expectations for my Kelke Mara.
18:18
[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't get worse as a football player.
18:20
[SPEAKER_00]: He just, there were other guys to help make plays and his role did kind of move around a little bit.
18:25
[SPEAKER_00]: at six one, a little over 200 pounds.
18:28
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's somebody who is very quick off the snap.
18:31
[SPEAKER_00]: He can have, he has a lot of hand moves and swim moves to get around a big offensive lineman and he can cut inside, he can peel outside, he can run somebody down, if need be, he's got a lot of that in him too.
18:43
[SPEAKER_00]: But somebody who did take a big step back this past season
18:48
[SPEAKER_00]: He had some lingering issue things with injuries and stuff like that, but I just think he got kind of lost in the in the shuffle with this Indiana team that had a bunch of names.
18:59
[SPEAKER_00]: A front that could go and make some make some haste, even daily and guys like that.
19:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Who you you you had.
19:06
[SPEAKER_00]: 10 to 12 guys that you could rotate it in an hour rather than the year before where my Kilcomara was one of three guys that you were like, okay, this guy has to make the play.
19:15
[SPEAKER_00]: But physical inside the box, he can get to the quarterback again, run down the football if he needs to.
19:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's physicality is something that seems to be a trend here for Indiana defensively, and that's what they provided themselves on.
19:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And so,
19:29
[SPEAKER_00]: uh... yeah my calcumara could he slide inside yes i just think with his speed i would rather him be outside because he does have the ability again to count a swim around some dudes and so i hope that NFL teams look at his film from two years ago and not this past season and especially his numbers two where you can see when he's one of the guys that you rely on he will deliver when you need him on that defensive front
19:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, to your point, that's when you're 24, season 10, Sachs, 15 tackles for loss and then that dropped to two and seven this year.
20:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that if you watch the film, most people will probably say maybe because of that rotation when you're moving that many guys, the numbers are hard to reach, but then also, if you could look at it out as a positive in the sense of if you need him to be that main guy, which some teams drafting him, may need him to be in come in and get nine, 10, Sachs, but if you need him to be a rotational piece,
20:20
[SPEAKER_01]: he can get you three or four sacks and be a rotational guy.
20:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I don't know, the bears are interesting when it comes to the Ed Russian group because they have obviously monetized sweat all one side.
20:30
[SPEAKER_01]: The other side has been lacking now.
20:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Austin Booker, though, is somebody that drafted a couple of seasons ago and he's battled injuries, but when he's healthy, he's been really good.
20:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's like,
20:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you draft a edge high because Booker keeps getting hurt or do you let Booker continue to develop and you know see what you have out of him So it's oh be interesting to see where they go with that if they lean more on interior defense of line and have those guys help the outside guys We'll see what they do there But your thoughts just open this up to you with some of these others guys are several more I know you've mentioned they didn't fish or several times So I want to start with that one linebacker probably not a high need for the bears at this point, but
21:05
[SPEAKER_01]: You never know where these teams are kind of looking.
21:07
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have a guy that falls to you at a certain place like Nathan Fisher, you almost don't want to miss a miss on that opportunity.
21:13
[SPEAKER_01]: But I've heard you mention his name several times.
21:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So start there and then maybe another guy or two that you really feel like people should be talking about.
21:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Aiden Fisher is one of my favorite players that I've ever seen and covered and watched in college football.
21:24
[SPEAKER_00]: That dude is just so fun to watch.
21:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Talk about being in the right place right time.
21:29
[SPEAKER_00]: He's always a step ahead somehow.
21:31
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't understand how he does it, but he just knows the game of football in and out.
21:36
[SPEAKER_00]: And I mentioned he was in the end of starting with a live-backer, he had the green dot right.
21:40
[SPEAKER_00]: He was the quarterback of the defense where he could see changes and make changes and just make adjustments on the fly.
21:47
[SPEAKER_00]: speed is remarkable and I can remember Taylor several instances in several plays over the past two years of him chasing down somebody down the sideline or who had broken away over the middle of the field.
22:00
[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't happen often, but I can remember several plays of a big physical linebacker like himself.
22:07
[SPEAKER_00]: booking it down the field and saving touchdowns because he just doesn't give up on the play.
22:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And so I haven't seen the latest projections on him, but the way you said it is perfect.
22:18
[SPEAKER_00]: If you were an NFL team and you find yourself in a position to take Aiden Fisher do it.
22:23
[SPEAKER_00]: I promise you you will not be disappointed.
22:27
[SPEAKER_00]: And what I'm excited for on a broader
22:30
[SPEAKER_00]: perspective here for Indiana is up until two years ago, Indiana guys didn't get drafted because they weren't all that great.
22:38
[SPEAKER_00]: They weren't not there were some, obviously, but there were other programs in Indiana was not a place that NFL GMs and scouts.
22:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, let's go check out Bloomington and see what's going on there.
22:47
[SPEAKER_00]: See if they're hiding any, any gyms because
22:49
[SPEAKER_00]: they weren't.
22:50
[SPEAKER_00]: But now Indiana is a destination location for recruiting and for the transfer portal and I talk about that on my show all the time.
22:58
[SPEAKER_00]: But now what I'm excited for is for Indiana to become an NFL.
23:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Juggernaut by putting guys in the league.
23:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And how could you not watch Indiana the last two years?
23:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And then again, coming off of a national championship with Kurt Signetti and these coordinators, how can you watch this team and say, ah, this don't think I want to have any of those guys.
23:20
[SPEAKER_00]: You want those guys on your football team, even if they're not going to start or make the two deeper, whatever, you want to draft these guys.
23:27
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm hoping a lot of players like the ones we've
23:33
[SPEAKER_00]: some guys like like an Elijah Serrat or a Pat Cougan right who was on the the Offensive Line your center.
23:40
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to see these guys get to the league making impacts to the Indiana status and the reputation continues to climb as well in the eyes of the NFL because Indiana's just been an afterthought for going to get talent for the National Football League.
23:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think it's kind of a fun cycle.
23:55
[SPEAKER_01]: We talk about this a lot on my show.
23:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I do daily on helmets and heels, but just like
24:00
[SPEAKER_01]: The college football playoff expanding and the portal doing what it is.
24:04
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the portal has gotten a little out of hand when it comes to how many times some of these guys transfer.
24:08
[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think we were on the opposite side for too long when it comes to the coaches had it their way.
24:14
[SPEAKER_01]: If you transferred, you had to sit and you had to go through a whole process and it was all of this.
24:19
[SPEAKER_01]: It shouldn't be that, but it shouldn't be you can transfer four times either in my opinion.
24:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think that it's help schools like Indiana because now you have these ways where
24:26
[SPEAKER_01]: To me, you just expanded the playoff and you opened the portal so that he was able to do what he did.
24:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Now you built this product that goes in when the National Championship, what does that do?
24:35
[SPEAKER_01]: It helps recruits.
24:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Recruits want to come to Indiana now because they're like, Oh, I could go start in Indiana or I could sit on the bench at Alabama and I have equal opportunity to be able to make a national championship.
24:45
[SPEAKER_01]: And that just opens, to me, it makes the college football more competitive, and that's just kind of what I've wanted.
24:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I know SEC people want all SEC all the time, but I think it's fun to be a little more parity, and that's what we're saying right now, and it's been fun.
24:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I'll say this too, for Indiana, when it comes to recruiting in the portal, they won that national championship.
25:04
[SPEAKER_00]: We know how many five star talent was on that team, zero five stars on that team.
25:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that is something that Indiana is able to sell.
25:14
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, goes back to the development aspect that Kursignetti, Shanahan, Brian Taines, all the position coaches, they get the most out of their guys and guys get better when they come to Indiana.
25:25
[SPEAKER_00]: They were good players at James Madison or wherever they came from coming in this past season, but they got better.
25:31
[SPEAKER_00]: at Indiana.
25:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And that should, that should scream aloud.
25:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, noise and sound to the NFL to be like, wow, they got better.
25:39
[SPEAKER_00]: They're super talented.
25:40
[SPEAKER_00]: You're telling me that was a three-star guy.
25:42
[SPEAKER_00]: He, and he wasn't even recruited from a P5 school in high school, like, and now he's first second round mock drafts.
25:48
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's a big deal for Indiana.
25:51
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a big deal for the NFL too.
25:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm hoping I don't know if Indiana will become an Ohio state or an Alabama level of
25:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we put 30 guys in last year.
25:59
[SPEAKER_00]: We've got 180 dudes that made NFL rosters this season, but I think Indiana is quickly growing and building its reputation for the guys, because of the guys we've talked about today.
26:10
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I just hope they get in there, make a roster, make that two-deep, make an impact, and then that'll make it good for us, right?
26:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Because that will help recruiting as well.
26:18
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, it's all connected, of course.
26:21
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, it's,
26:23
[SPEAKER_00]: It's so cool.
26:23
[SPEAKER_00]: And I can't wait to cheer these guys on too.
26:25
[SPEAKER_01]: We haven't had that in forever.
26:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.
26:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Just say, you know, oh, yeah, there he is on Sunday and there he is on Sunday night football.
26:32
[SPEAKER_00]: It's Monday night football.
26:33
[SPEAKER_00]: There's Fernando Mendoza.
26:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Whoever the case may be.
26:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's fun.
26:36
[SPEAKER_01]: And then that's one of my favorite things when I do these series of the guys that are like, you know, last year, especially smaller schools.
26:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I just did one with Toledo for obviously a manual and make it more and no, but no Mitchell got drafted.
26:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And so they're like, it's kind of cool to start to see these guys get into the NFL and then be successful at the NFL level and you get it a little something extra to cheer for.
26:54
[SPEAKER_01]: But Jacob, I appreciate your time.
26:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Go, who's yours.
26:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I was really excited that Indiana ended up winning that does.
27:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Signed any hit on another quarterback is third in a row.
27:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I think so.
27:04
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm we're excited for Josh Hoover.
27:05
[SPEAKER_00]: He came in from TCU.
27:07
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a gunslinger now.
27:08
[SPEAKER_00]: He fits the system that Indiana runs.
27:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So I think Josh Hoover's just as good.
27:12
[SPEAKER_00]: If not better than what we saw last year.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, we appreciate it.
27:15
[SPEAKER_01]: If we do end up drafting any of the Indiana prospects, maybe I'll have you back on or chat a little bit more in depth about these guys, but I appreciate your time.
27:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I would love to do and appreciate it.
27:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you.