Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Scott Dochterman talks NFL Combine & College Basketball rivalries, Bill Bender from the Sporting News & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

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Scott Dochterman talks NFL Combine & College Basketball rivalries, Bill Bender from the Sporting News & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:02
And welcome back hour number two of our program, Bill Bender.
0:05
Sporting News coming up momentarily, Scott Dockerman
0:07
from The Athletic and a caller during the break trend wanted to
0:11
give some love to the 4A schools, pointed out Carlisle,
0:13
Norwalk, DCG. Well, that's three A3A3A for
0:17
boys basketball. I'm talking girls.
0:20
Girls basketball, yes. And that's 4A, right?
0:22
Correct. So Norwalk, Carlisle, North Pole
0:26
you said DCG and then the the favourites from the from Sioux
0:31
City I think right or one of the.
0:33
Was it healing? It'd be healing.
0:35
Yeah, it would have to, Yeah. Yeah, I would, I would guess.
0:37
Anyways, a little love to the girls.
0:39
Foray is there underway as well. Let's get Scott Dockerman in
0:42
here. He's back from Indianapolis,
0:44
where he spent. How long were you there, Doc?
0:46
You were on the road about a week, were you not?
0:48
Yeah, I left on Monday morning and I got back about 10:00
0:51
Saturday night. So it's a long week, you know,
0:54
in Indianapolis. So I I did get a kick out of
0:57
while you're driving home on Saturday night, I guess either
1:00
you passing the Penn State semi, who may or may not have been
1:05
headed to the Ames area to pick up Matt Campbell's furniture.
1:08
But just the fact that, you know, the one of the athletic
1:10
college football reporters is on the road and the Penn State semi
1:15
is is potentially headed to Ames to pick up the furnishings of
1:20
the Iowa State's former head coach, coincident or not.
1:25
I think it was very coincidental.
1:26
It was kind of funny when I saw it then I I just saw Penn State
1:29
and I'm like, I wonder what this all about.
1:31
And then all of a sudden on the side it said Penn State
1:33
football. I did not get a good picture of
1:35
that. And probably probably the best
1:38
reasons why I didn't want to slow down.
1:40
So, So yeah, I was, it was pretty coincidental.
1:44
But yeah, there's really no reason for a Penn State semi to
1:48
be in Iowa unless it was, you know, picking up, you know,
1:52
unless Kale Sanderson has property still mulling around in
1:55
the Ames area, which I I kind of doubt at this point.
1:58
Hard to believe. Well, good stuff.
1:59
Well, let's talk about the combine.
2:00
Do you want to get to your piece yesterday that that posted at
2:03
the athletic that 50 bets college football or college
2:06
basketball league of pardon rivalries.
2:09
Doc One of my takeaways from the from the combine and and I'm not
2:12
sure it was yours because you saw everything that was going on
2:15
there. Just the love Jennings Dunker's
2:17
hair got. I mean, the mullet took on a
2:19
life of its own. And I, I love the fact that, you
2:22
know, national media picked up on this guy if they didn't know
2:26
Jen. And he's a great, he's got some
2:27
ability as well. He's more than just hair.
2:29
Let me get that out of the way. But I thought that was one of
2:32
the great one of the great stories of the week in
2:34
Indianapolis was Jenning Dunker's haircut.
2:38
He's so charismatic and fun to be around and the guy's got a
2:41
story for everything. And, and you know, he's, he's
2:45
the kind of guy that you know, he's, you ask about, you know,
2:48
his teammates about Dunk and you know, they immediately laugh or
2:52
roll their eyes or bring something up.
2:55
And I mean, he's, he's had just stories after stories, things
2:58
he, he can do. And then and then it it goes on
3:01
to, you know, what he did in Indy and what he was like even
3:04
down in in mobile at the Senior Bowl and, you know, talking
3:08
about drinking espressos and four cups of coffee and all that
3:12
kind of stuff. And, you know, he so, yeah, he's
3:15
kind of captivated the NFL world.
3:17
And then I I think one of my favorite things I saw over the
3:21
weekend was, you know, during his forty that somebody spliced
3:25
in free bird from Leonard in the background.
3:28
I know that was the best. The prospects for him, Logan
3:32
Jones, let's talk about first the offensive line, both
3:34
Stevens, who you feel like he's just going to be a plug and play
3:37
guard and he's going to be boy, he's 810 years into the league.
3:40
He seems like one of those guys. Where do you anticipate the
3:43
range that those guys are going to do and and talk about their
3:46
upside as they move on to the next level?
3:49
I think, and I think and the, it's going to be hard to kind of
3:55
pinpoint an area, but I think anywhere from say mid second
4:00
round to mid to late fourth round for all three of those
4:04
guys. And, and I, I would say Dunker's
4:07
probably the first one off the board because he's got tackle
4:10
flexibilities, you know, bigger physically than the other two,
4:15
probably more in the second round range, mid, second round.
4:18
And, and he's a guard. That's, that's going to be his
4:20
position at the next level. And, and Logan Jones, I think he
4:24
is kind of a product of system. If he gets into, you know, a
4:30
system like he played it in Iowa, you know, Shanahan style,
4:33
you know, or McVeigh style. I think we got to give him his
4:36
props with, you know, in LA or, or in Green Bay or someplace
4:41
like that. I think he can go as early as
4:44
the mid second round, probably more in the third round range.
4:47
And then both Stevens, you know, I was asked which one I thought
4:51
at the, when I was at the combine, which one I thought
4:53
would be have the best career. And I'm like, I don't know.
4:55
I think they're all going to be really good players and probably
4:57
all starters. But I, I actually hedged a
5:00
little bit more on, on both Stevens because I thought he
5:03
was, he really ascended last year.
5:06
And they all have such different personalities.
5:09
You know, I would say, you know, Jennings Dunker's life of the
5:11
party, even he's a player. I haven't been around like that
5:14
since George Kittle was at Iowa. And both and both Stevens is all
5:18
business. I mean, just very methodical in
5:21
his approach and direct, whereas, you know, Logan Jones
5:25
is the kind of guy I think you'd love to have as your neighbor
5:28
because you know, it's like 630 a 6:45 in the morning.
5:31
You look out and there's 6 inches of snow and he's already,
5:34
you know, got out the snow blower and, and your, your
5:37
sidewalk and driveway is already clear.
5:38
So. That's kind of the way I'd I'd
5:41
rate those 3. Let's I want to get to Dominic
5:44
Orange at some point here, but I want to get to Caden Wegen who
5:49
apparently during the what what where was he in January?
5:52
What? What All Star game, Senior Bowl,
5:54
wherever he was. OK, yeah.
5:57
And, and got a lot of backlades there.
6:00
How much did his 40 dock hurt him in Indianapolis?
6:04
And what was kind of the buzz on Wegen?
6:08
Not too much. I mean, I think it's always what
6:12
the combine does. We always overreact to it and
6:16
it's understandably so. But but I think in his case, you
6:20
know, I mean, running a 47447. Excuse me, I think it was, it
6:25
was fine for him. I mean, you know, he's not a,
6:28
he's not a burner, he's not real big.
6:29
I mean, he's only 59. So so you don't really get the
6:32
strides that you do if you're, you know, 6 foot or something
6:36
like that. I, I think he he did just fine
6:39
when it came to his 40. Everybody's got everybody sees
6:43
it on film and tape and how he's so instinctive in in returning
6:48
kicks that I mean, I think his where he's going to end up is,
6:53
is going to be determined largely on on film and what he
6:57
showed at the East West Shrine Bowl and the fact that, hey, he
7:00
still ran a sub 4-5. And and so you know, he's got a
7:04
lot of work and a lot of room to grow as the receiver.
7:09
He's probably a lot like I, I compared him to Dante Hall as a
7:12
returner who I covered with the Chiefs 20 plus years ago.
7:16
Now I'm getting old, but he's, you know, not anywhere near.
7:21
I mean, Dante moved from running back to receiver and I think
7:26
he's kind of in that same ballpark as being very unrefined
7:30
as a receiver. So I guess he's probably still
7:32
going to be like fifth. Sixth round is my guest.
7:36
Did you gain any insight why Aaron Graves was not invited to
7:40
the combine while you were out there just the Gronowski 1?
7:43
I think you could maybe understand a little bit more.
7:45
Graves is just such a head scratcher.
7:48
And I don't know, the people of the NFL don't really talk about
7:52
that kind of stuff. So it's hard to, to, to do that.
7:55
But I, I, if, if I was just a guess, I mean, they really, they
7:59
capped the positions and I believe there was 34 defensive
8:06
line, defensive lineman. Yeah, 33.
8:09
I'm sorry. So they don't really go too
8:12
deep. I that's not to say that he
8:14
won't get drafted. I mean, last year, Mason
8:16
Richmond didn't make it. And you have to have 18 teams
8:20
ask for you. Last year Mason had 16.
8:23
So it was just he was right off and he, he got drafted.
8:26
I, I would expect Aaron Graves to to still be, you know, to do
8:30
well. It is, it is pro day And and
8:32
anyway, he was at an All Star game too.
8:34
And, and I think it it, I don't think it's his dire, let's put
8:38
it that way, as it may sound. So, but Mark Granowski is
8:41
getting a lot of buzz too, just kind of on the side.
8:43
I, I think in this quarterback class, which has really one
8:47
prospect and the rest are projects, you know, I think
8:51
there's a lot of people interested in.
8:54
Xavier Wampka, what did What did you hear from about the former
8:57
Sep Southeast Polk player? He's, you know, I think he, he
9:04
did really well when it came to his running ability and
9:07
everything. He had a lot of informal and
9:09
formal meetings both there and then and then the Hula Bowl.
9:14
So he, he has met with teams. I think teams are really excited
9:17
about him. I talked to him about positional
9:21
flexibility and you know, we tend to put somebody as one
9:25
position, but in the NFL it's a sub package league.
9:29
So he may be playing, you know, on a first down, he may be
9:31
playing safety, on 2nd down, he could be playing a linebacker
9:35
position. And he said that's kind of what
9:37
he's been, you know, he's discussed with NFL teams that
9:40
kind of moving around. I I think he's, you know,
9:43
because of his hitting ability, what he was able to accomplish
9:46
there. His ascendancy is a five star
9:49
kid out of high school and that still matters for athletic
9:52
ability and his athletic ability was proven on his and
9:55
everything. I I think he's definitely going
9:57
to be a draft pick and it's just kind of finding him the right
10:01
home. He's probably a special teamer,
10:03
first year flight sub package and then see what they can do to
10:08
turn him into a full time type player in year 2 or 3.
10:11
I know we've talked a lot about Dom Orange and what he's going
10:14
to be from Iowa State at the next level.
10:16
Nobody else invited to the combine.
10:18
Anybody that's I got even a shot late to be selected there.
10:22
Not a big group of seniors. We know that that was not a very
10:25
big senior class for Iowa State. Any other name that intrigues
10:28
you from the Cyclone roster? Well, most of them that I would
10:32
say we're are in Happy Valley now.
10:34
I mean, I mean, I don't know how deep I want to go here with
10:38
them, but but I'll say this, the Dominic Orange, you know,
10:43
Jenny's ducker may have stole the spotlight nationally, but
10:46
for me, Dominic Orange was the most interesting and
10:48
entertaining player. They were talking about
10:51
everything from what he, you know, he wants marketing people
10:55
to get with some orange juice and citrus companies and so he
11:00
can, you know, get some marketing deals there to he was
11:04
really emphatic what he had to say about Matt Campbell and he
11:08
was asked by multiple people about, you know, what happened
11:11
and what Matt Campbell and he's like, I don't know this may, you
11:14
know, irritate some people, but I'm and I think he's the best
11:18
coach in the country. That's what he's the reason why
11:20
I went to Iowa State. Love the guy.
11:22
I think he'll do well then. But then he kind of also, you
11:25
know, kind of floated around and said, look, he's yeah, he now,
11:29
now he doesn't. Now he's got to win it.
11:31
Now he's got to win the national championship.
11:33
There are, you know, resources are not an issue anymore.
11:36
And but he said he also goes, well, I'm a Cyclone for life,
11:39
but I got a little Nittany lying to me now.
11:41
Interesting. Yeah.
11:42
If Dolphins can draft him, maybe the Buccaneers.
11:45
If the Jags get to the state of Florida, the orange juice
11:47
capital, I'm guessing those those opportunities will come to
11:50
Big Citrus's way. No doubt about it.
11:54
Quarterbacks. I know Mendoza didn't do much.
11:57
Ty Simpson, Did you see much of him at all, Doc?
12:00
Yeah, I didn't see a lot. I did kind of follow it.
12:03
And he, I don't know if it's just kind of the natural echo
12:09
chamber that kind of bounces people around up and down.
12:12
And then there's some that are saying that, oh, I actually like
12:15
him more than Mendoza. And I'm like, well, did you
12:17
watch college football last year?
12:20
You know, that's kind of my first thought, you know, that
12:22
people are like, well, you know, he's he's this, this, this and
12:25
this and and I think he's fine, you know, but I also think he's
12:29
a lot more like Jake Locker than he is, you know, take your pick
12:33
out of the next level. But we'll see.
12:35
You know, so quarterbacks are very it's a very questionable
12:40
draft. And I mean, I think Mendoza's a
12:42
sure thing myself. I think the rest of them are
12:45
let's see what they can do. You know, Garrett Nussmeyer was
12:48
hurt early at LSUI. Think he's got, you know, pretty
12:51
good, you know, arm strength and abilities, and I think he's got
12:54
a chance if you can get there. You know, I drew Aller, he's got
12:59
some abilities. But then again, I also saw him
13:02
falter in some really significant moments.
13:05
Clay, Kate Klubnik, kind of the same thing.
13:08
The North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton got a
13:10
lot of interest from people. But, you know, he's a big kid,
13:14
but he wants to prove he can play quarterback.
13:16
I'm sure he'll get that opportunity.
13:17
And then I sat in for Diego Pavia, and that was intriguing.
13:23
You can see the charisma. You also wonder if you know he
13:27
and Johnny Manziel have formed a close relationship and that.
13:30
Can't help. Yeah, I don't think that's
13:33
probably going to get you drafted there, bud.
13:36
But but you know, somebody will take him.
13:39
He's talked to teams and yeah, but I I asked him point blank
13:44
about if anybody had asked him about some of the tweets for the
13:47
Instagram or Snapchats that he sent out after the Heisman.
13:51
He said no. And I'm like, either he's lying
13:53
or they, the other people don't want to hear about it.
13:56
So it it, it's a wild group, that's for sure.
14:00
We've seen running back has dissipated, dissipated
14:03
throughout the years and it's not the same position it once
14:05
was at the NFL level. But Jeremiah Love, he turned
14:08
some heads. I see a lot of people talking
14:10
about maybe as high as the Saints at 8, the Chiefs at 9:00.
14:14
That definitely could use a running back like that running
14:17
back. Your thoughts overall just on
14:19
the position and what you saw out of Love moving up the draft
14:22
boards? If if he's there at 9 for Kansas
14:26
City, taken immediately, I think he's, he's a winner.
14:31
I mean, he, I talked to 1 running backs coach who's like
14:34
he said, you know it, he's at the top.
14:36
There's nobody that's even close and don't even don't even think
14:40
twice. He's a difference maker.
14:42
He's everything. You, you know, he could be a
14:44
superstar in the league. So if you have him and Patrick
14:48
Mahomes when healthy side by side, I think you've got it.
14:52
You know, the Chiefs can bounce back very quickly in a big way.
14:56
You know, the the other ones. I think, you know, the The thing
14:58
is running backs are somewhat devalued as far as paying them
15:03
and drafting them high, but they're still important in the
15:05
league. And, and there are a lot of, I
15:07
think solid running backs early, especially, you know, Jadarian
15:12
Price, who's also in Notre Dame. I think he's a kind of guy
15:15
that's, that's got a chance. You know, Emma Johnson from
15:19
Nebraska was pretty good. But you know, the, the one that
15:22
probably stands out for me and he didn't, he didn't run or
15:25
anything, but I really liked him was, was Jonah Coleman at
15:28
Washington. He's compact, he's big, he's
15:31
physical. If he's 58220, you know, so I, I
15:35
think he's got a real chance. And the other one is he and he
15:38
didn't do anything either. Katron Allen from from Penn
15:41
State and you know, knowing like what say the Detroit Lions did
15:45
in trading David Montgomery the other day.
15:47
I'm like, wow, you get Katron Allen there in like the third
15:50
round in Detroit to go with Jameer Gibbs.
15:53
That could be one heck of a combination.
15:55
I want to finish our conversation with you this week,
15:58
Doc, talking about the piece that was posted as you went back
16:01
to your college basketball roots, coming up with the top 50
16:04
rivalries in college basketball. I'm guessing it was well
16:07
received by all that. No one, no one had any pushback.
16:11
But what was the most difficult one for you, Doc?
16:13
I've read the piece, but I'll let you I'll let you opine which
16:17
a couple of the a couple of the rivalries that gave you Fitz
16:20
where to place them or to leave them out.
16:24
Good question. Because it I think college
16:27
basketball is much more nebulous when it comes to defining
16:30
rivalries because I think there's a lot of cyclical
16:33
factors that there's, there's like 7 or 8 that I thought these
16:38
are automatic and I put them in the top 8 and it was not a
16:40
problem. It's just some of these others.
16:43
They were great once and they're not as good now or there's real
16:47
line which really meant a lot of this or it's it's over different
16:51
periods of time. I mean like Wisconsin, Michigan
16:53
State is a good one. Tom Izzo versus Beau Ryan,
16:57
fantastic competition for a long time.
17:00
But are they really rivals? Well, they were when they played
17:03
and you know that, but not as much today.
17:07
And you know, another one. I think that was that way for
17:10
me, and this is kind of dating myself a little bit that the old
17:13
Big 8, the Kansas and Oklahoma was a fantastic series back
17:17
with, you know, you know, Billy Tubbs and Roy Williams and those
17:21
guys. But I, I would say that the one
17:23
that I struggled with the most was Duke Maryland, because when
17:27
they were playing every year in the ACC, that's at least the top
17:30
15 rivalry, if not close to top 10.
17:33
But they haven't played since Maryland left.
17:35
And I, you know, of course the programs are polar opposites
17:38
right now, but I just, it was really tough to place that.
17:42
And then the other one, and this is again, I keep trying to mix
17:45
history with the present. You have recency bias versus
17:48
legacy bias. UCLA, Notre Dame was such an
17:52
important annual rivalry for, you know, 25 years.
17:58
I'm sure, Ken, you probably recall it, you know, in the 70s,
18:00
eighties and early 90s. But it is just faded, you know,
18:04
in the last 30 years. And it's just like the more I
18:06
looked into it, I'm like, I just, I can't justify putting it
18:09
in the top 50 because of that. But, but locally, I, I was, you
18:14
know, when I really was kind of crunching the ones between Iowa,
18:17
Illinois, Kansas, Iowa State and Iowa, Iowa State, you know, it
18:23
was the historical Iowa Illinois series.
18:25
I called it the Hatfields and Mccoys of the big of the Big 10.
18:28
And it is. And there's just so much going
18:30
on there. Kansas, Iowa State is, is shot
18:32
like a, a stuff, you know, a shooting star in the Big 12.
18:36
I think it's the best, even though I had it behind BYU,
18:39
Utah, I think it has the potential to be the best
18:42
basketball rivalry in the Big 12 And and then of course Iowa,
18:46
Iowa State as we know is is always exciting when they play
18:50
in December. Away from the local scene,
18:53
sadly, Gonzaga Saint Mary's is going away.
18:56
Another one of realignment. We got to see it Saturday night.
18:59
I just, I love that little Jim and Maraga and and what you get
19:01
to see with that match up, how good Randy Bennett's been with
19:04
that program. That's one though.
19:06
We say this a lot with realignment.
19:08
You hope they find a way. At minimum that needs to be a
19:11
non conference game every single year.
19:12
We need that game as college basketball.
19:14
Fans, oh, I'd love to see it and I think it was my highest ranked
19:19
non power conference rivalry which I had some guy just
19:23
consistently come at me about it and how.
19:26
You haven't watched college basketball?
19:27
In 20 years and throughout Illinois, Iowa and Michigan,
19:30
Ohio State and I'm like Illinois and Iowa played A3 versus 5 game
19:35
five years ago. Michigan, Ohio State played
19:37
2/10, 10 games five years ago. Saint Mary's has never been
19:42
ranked higher than 11th ever. So OK, you know, you know, go,
19:47
go sit on the sideline, boy. But but I mean, no, this is this
19:51
is really the the best of the small school rivalries and you
19:55
would love to see it. And, and the fact that it's on
19:57
the West Coast, you, you, you know, and even even though you
20:01
know California and. And Spokane, WA aren't exactly
20:04
next door, but you know, it is one that you would like to see
20:07
continue in some facet because it has been so important to now
20:12
that you know, and if you're the pack 8/10/12, whatever 15
20:17
whatever comes up, I, I would, I would love to see them add Saint
20:21
Mary's as a basketball member. I think it would be it really,
20:24
you know, again, add a little bit of flavor to the to the West
20:28
Coast. What?
20:29
What have you got you're working on this week for the Athletic
20:31
Dock? I, I did a story on the more on
20:36
the combine, kind of talking to all these big 10 players about
20:41
their who either who's going to replace them or players on our
20:44
team or opposite teams that comes out tomorrow and pretty
20:48
much hit every single position group.
20:50
I probably talked to 30 different players.
20:52
So that comes out tomorrow. I've got a story or column, I
20:56
guess, on the Big 10s basketball rivalries because we're kind of
21:00
going into rivalry week. My story kind of kicked it off.
21:04
And so it's just kind of about how the the the nebulous nature
21:08
of the Big 10s basketball rivalries are hard to define,
21:12
but also makes college basketball great.
21:14
So I've got that and I think I'm going to head over to Michigan
21:17
and to Michigan, Iowa, because I'm going to go to the Big 10
21:20
tournament next week. Good stuff.
21:22
Scott Dockerman, did you get to say Nelmo's final question in
21:26
India? I did first night did you there
21:28
and. Got the shrimp cocktail?
21:31
Oh yeah, as always. So yeah, luckily my bosses were
21:35
in town then, so I didn't have to put it on my credit card
21:38
either. So I.
21:39
Win, win, win, win, win. Good stuff, Doc.
21:42
Thanks for doing this off your schedule allows.
21:44
We'll run you down next week. Thank you, Scott Duckerman,
21:46
appreciate you coming on. Thank you, appreciate.
21:49
It thank you. Good to talk to you, Scott.
21:50
Dr. You've been to Saint Elmo's yet?
21:52
I don't like shrimp. Cocktails.
21:53
Oh, it's the steak house. Though it is.
21:55
No, I have not. So I've been to Indianapolis a
21:58
couple times for Big 10 championship games.
22:00
Didn't draw a sober breath or very few I'm guessing.
22:02
You nailed it, so you know, do you really want to?
22:05
Go to eat No. Right.
22:07
No, you don't. Want to ruin a good buzz?
22:08
Of course not. No, no, get there.
22:10
You know, both times on Friday, coming back home quickly, quick
22:13
turn around. That's not at the top of the
22:15
list for me. No, no, it is so good though.
22:17
All right, take your time out. Come back.
22:19
Bill Bender will join us. Little college football, little
22:22
college basketball with Bill Bender.
22:24
He writes for THE Sporting News. He's next.
22:27
Miller and Condon with you on the Iowa Sports Radio Network.
22:31
Welcome back, 1:30 on a Tuesday. We take you until 2:00.
22:35
Still to come this hour, Trans plays of the day, circus sports
22:38
sponsor those those coming up here in about 20 minutes or
22:42
thereabouts, we will get his plays of the day much a deeper
22:46
schedule in college basketball tonight, of course.
22:49
Thank goodness. Really.
22:51
You're off to an O and one. O and what?
22:53
Yes. See, when you only put one game
22:55
in there, it doesn't sound nearly as bad.
22:57
Right. It wasn't as bad, but you didn't
22:59
feel good about about the side you're on for very long, did
23:03
you? I still felt OK until that
23:05
stretch right at the end of the. Half three run to close it out.
23:08
Yeah, that didn't go well, putting it mildly.
23:10
Well, we'll see where it goes for the.
23:11
Last 25 minutes painted a much different picture than the first
23:14
15. Felt like OK ugly it up hang
23:17
around never to be. What?
23:20
What do you anticipate? Thursday night with Michigan and
23:23
I will collide. What?
23:24
What do you think? Oh, ugliness.
23:26
What will the number be, by the way?
23:27
Will it will it go with? It won't be double digits, would
23:30
it? Let's see.
23:31
Ken Palm has them favored by 9, so probably, probably, yeah,
23:38
probably 1010 1/2. And who does Michigan finish
23:41
their regular season with? Sparty at home with the title
23:45
already locked up. So where I was going here?
23:48
Look ahead. Yes, yes.
23:50
Is there a chance I would catch as a sleepy Wolverines outfit?
23:53
Well, go back to the game against Wisconsin.
23:58
Their loss outside of the Duke game.
24:00
Now they scored 91. Does I would score 91 against
24:04
anybody? No.
24:05
No. OK, so take that off the board.
24:07
In that game, Wisconsin hit 15. Three pointers.
24:12
Can Iowa get to? No.
24:14
Not 15, but with the slower pace can they get to a dozen?
24:19
Is Koch have a game like he did this past weekend?
24:22
Let's say he gets 3. Still asking a lot, Sturz gets.
24:27
4 Howard or Sage knocks down one.
24:30
Here's the guy. The way that you've been able to
24:34
beat Michigan, you go back to when they're still winning but
24:36
not covering that 7-8 game stretch.
24:38
Whatever it was, it was the pick and pop three guy.
24:41
There's a guy on the team that can do that.
24:44
They need good Alvaro to show up.
24:46
This needs to be. Not inconsistent, Alvaro.
24:49
We need the good one, fool Garrison, I thought he.
24:52
Turned the corner Trent and then I like a lot of guys on
24:55
Saturday, did not play his best game of basketball.
24:57
He was not alone. No, there was, you know, he
25:00
wasn't the only one. We'll see.
25:02
Hey, did you see this piece that came up from CBS News?
25:04
It it was an early edition. I think our buddy Troy was the
25:08
one that sent it along to us, ranking the Big 10 quarterbacks
25:12
for this upcoming season. I did, yes.
25:14
Did you open it? I did, yes.
25:15
Absolutely. I got it right here in front of
25:17
me. Were you?
25:17
Surprised at the the the the lowest on the totem pole right
25:22
down there at #18 is Jeremy Aklinski.
25:26
I'm not. And I don't know what it means
25:29
at this point, right? Well, look at the guys that are
25:32
just in front of them. They're all guys that at least
25:34
we've heard about. Yeah, I don't remember the kid
25:37
from Rutgers. Where was he before?
25:39
Good question. I just remember at least seeing
25:41
the name. That's a step up I'm sure for
25:44
most everybody else in the Big 10 with Jeremy Hecklinski, he
25:47
never played at Wake Forest. He was a red shirt his one
25:50
season there. He was the number three
25:52
quarterback coming into the year and then became the number 2.
25:56
No, you shouldn't be surprised and it's an Iowa quarterback.
25:58
There's still not a reason that you should give Iowa
26:01
quarterbacks the benefit. Of the doubt, No, I don't
26:02
disagree with what you're saying.
26:03
You know what? Destruct me going down the list
26:07
when we got the number six. Number six, all right.
26:10
And it just, it just, you know, kind of reverberates.
26:13
Right. As you're going down the list of
26:15
spig 10 schools and they're and they're number six is Rocco back
26:18
to Penn State. So here's the list and stop me
26:21
when you think that this guy stinks.
26:23
Dante Moore one say into it. Ohio State my favorite USC good
26:27
player Josh Hoover comes over from TCU.
26:29
You loved him at TCU. He's going to fit it in Indiana.
26:32
Is it AI mean Mendoza's going to be the number one overall pick
26:37
right. So when it when it comes to the
26:39
Hoosiers, how big of a red flag is the quarterback position to
26:42
you when you take a look at this year's national championship
26:45
contender to a Joshua versus a nice player in the Big 12?
26:49
But it's got some huge shoes to fill, obviously.
26:52
We both like Mendoza. Coming into the year, we had
26:54
that right. Yep, that we didn't think it was
26:56
going to be. Not a Heisman Trophy.
26:57
But we said how many times during the summer we thought
27:00
they were upgrading at the quarterback position.
27:02
Yep, we got every once in a while.
27:04
You see, what are you guys talking about?
27:05
Because we knew men. We saw Cal play.
27:07
Yes, absolutely. And he's, he was a good player.
27:10
Nobody could have envisioned. No, no, nobody.
27:13
Josh Hoover. Hoover has a better resume, at
27:16
least statistically to this point in his career than what we
27:19
saw to him. There has to be some kind of
27:22
step back, you would think, but significant.
27:25
Get rid of those rough edges. That was also a knock against
27:27
Mendoza. He tried to do too much.
27:29
That was the knock at him at Cal because he had to.
27:33
Well, TCU, maybe that was the same kind of things.
27:35
And now with this coaching staff, I don't think there's
27:37
going to be a big step back with Hoover.
27:39
We shall see. Alright, we'll get more of that,
27:41
but I was kind of surprised. Well, maybe not Kolinsky right
27:43
down there. The very last one on the list,
27:46
Calandria, the Nebraska quarterback, comes over from
27:49
UNLV, got him way down at 11. Who else is on the list of Bryce
27:53
Underwood, the now sophomore quarterback in Michigan?
27:58
He checks in at #7 Let's get to Bill Bender.
28:00
He covers the sports at The Sporting News all, whether it be
28:03
men's basketball, football, NFL and the college game.
28:07
Bill joins us. Bill Trenton.
28:08
Ken, thanks for giving us a few minutes.
28:10
Good to talk to you, Bill Bender.
28:12
You know what, as we take a look at the bracket and take a look
28:15
at what we think is how it's going to unfold in the three
28:17
weeks, I know it's a A1 in your one and done man.
28:21
Bill. I just have trouble getting past
28:23
Duke and Michigan and I like Arizona, but I even think
28:27
there's a gap between Duke, Michigan and Arizona and Florida
28:30
and Yukon. If you want to put them in, in
28:33
your mind, Duke, Michigan, would you be shocked if it's not one
28:36
of those two schools cutting down the Nets?
28:39
Yeah, I mean, the last time they played it felt like the national
28:41
champion. I mean, and and maybe we see it
28:45
again and who knows where Michigan goes without it.
28:48
Didn't have a bad loss with it's it's weird to say that, you
28:52
know, backup point guard losing LJ case on is going to hurt them
28:55
that much. But he really brought a lot to
28:57
that team. They do have enough depth to do
28:59
that. Dukes really good, Arizona's
29:01
really good. And then no, I can't.
29:04
I got to put Florida in there. They're playing really good.
29:08
Florida and UConn. I mean, you have 5 teams that I
29:11
think could be #1 seeds, and all five of those teams are amazing.
29:15
We know the chalk feels heavy this year, maybe heavier than
29:19
some past seasons. After that, though, that next
29:22
tier team, those teams, I don't know like 15 to 20 in the
29:25
rankings, something like or 5 to 20 in the rankings.
29:28
Bill, there any teams that have caught your eye?
29:30
Anybody that you say, regardless how the bracket is, that's a
29:33
team I definitely have circled. I mean, Alabama's playing well
29:37
right now. And now that the post, the
29:40
Betiaco thing, you know, they they've put up some really good
29:44
numbers since and they're scoring a ton of points.
29:46
And they're going to be a factor in there just because their
29:49
style where like anytime A-Team can score 90 points on you, it's
29:54
got to make you uncomfortable of that Big 10 bunch of teams, that
29:58
clump of teams. I mean, I never write out
30:00
Michigan State just because I know better.
30:03
And, you know, they can get into March and make a run.
30:05
And interested to see what Nebraska will do with this team
30:09
that just continues to find ways to win basketball games.
30:11
Yeah. They'd like to win a game in the
30:13
tournament. I think that they'll check that
30:15
box this year. Where do you go with Kansas
30:18
knowing that Peterson, I mean, it's it's March Madness, right?
30:21
It's the NCAA tournament. You would hope that that
30:24
motivates him to play. I still don't understand what's
30:26
going on there. I think there's more to it.
30:28
I really do. I'm not sure he loves the game.
30:31
He's obviously incredibly talented when he's on the floor,
30:34
but it's the cohesiveness that hasn't been there.
30:36
They don't have a season of working with him night in and
30:39
night out, game in and game out. Where are you on Kansas, Bill?
30:42
Because when I watched this team, I've seen a team, the boy,
30:45
oh boy, this is a team that don't sell them short.
30:49
That's Kansas. There's other nights to think,
30:51
man, oh man, there's no way now this team's going to get out of
30:54
the first weekend of the tournament.
30:56
Where are you? Yeah, I mean, some of it I can't
31:01
understand the Peterson situation just because, you
31:05
know, that same generation here, Ken, that like I'm just was born
31:09
and then still in my kids compete all the time.
31:12
If you're healthy enough to go out there, go compete, you know
31:15
what I mean? And it's funny because Kansas
31:18
was good enough to beat Arizona without him, but they've been a
31:21
little inconsistent, as they usually are in March.
31:24
So I think he is one of those X Factor players that if if he's
31:28
on the floor and playing well, yeah, they could probably win
31:30
the national title too. But they're also the type of
31:33
team that could catch an off night and lose in the second
31:36
round. It makes it really hard to pick
31:37
them. Want to take a look at what you
31:39
do over at the Sporting News? You are the bracketologist over
31:42
there putting things together and when you go through the
31:45
bracketology before last night's game in your last update, yet
31:49
Iowa State is a three. Now a lost Arizona is not going
31:51
to discredit you by any means, but do you see any potential
31:56
where Iowa State say they lose against Arizona State or even
31:59
lose in their first game of the Big 12 tournament so they fall
32:02
below a three line or are they locked in?
32:04
You do this a couple of times a week.
32:06
You definitely know these teams and their resumes very well.
32:09
Is 3 seed the floor for Iowa State?
32:13
I think so. And I know they've had a little
32:15
dip here since the bracket preview was released and you
32:19
know, they were number, they were one seed and they dropped
32:22
to that number 3. But I think in the pecking
32:24
order, the big, Big 12, I mean, unless Kansas were to win the
32:28
Big 12 tournament and leapfrog them, you know, they're they're
32:31
probably behind Houston right now.
32:33
They're definitely behind Arizona.
32:35
And but that three line seems about right.
32:38
And that's about where I have, again, that team, this clump of
32:41
like Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, that's got to sort
32:44
itself out in the Big 10 tournament and in which one of
32:47
those teams is going to be the best among those.
32:49
And you know, I helped Iowa State as Gonzaga lost because we
32:53
always penalize teams like that and then probably drop them to
32:56
the number 4, just like their unbelievable record.
32:59
Yeah, interesting point, Bill. I want to pick your college
33:02
football brain. Obviously you covered very
33:03
closely. You were last year's president
33:06
of Football Writers Association of America.
33:08
That's a one year deal, right? Don't.
33:10
Isn't that one year deal? Yeah, that's what I thought.
33:12
OK, Yeah. I'm a has been now I'm like a
33:15
former president, but I don't get to golf all the time like
33:18
former presidents do. Nice, Well, let's let's you get
33:20
to watch college football, which is a pretty good perk in its own
33:23
right. Who did you see this weekend?
33:25
Who do you who are you watching in college that you wanted to
33:28
see in Indianapolis? Because you think this guy's
33:31
going to be a good pro? Maybe not a, you know, top ten
33:33
pick, maybe an under the radar guy, maybe a late day pick.
33:37
Who, who caught your eye and who are you watching to see how
33:40
they, you know, make the move from college to the next level?
33:44
Well, I don't know who wasn't watching Justine the Dunker with
33:47
his hair and how he moved and his personality on the offensive
33:51
line day. I mean, I think he'll be.
33:53
I'd love to see him in a Packers uniform, honestly.
33:55
I see that a lot, but. You know, he fits.
33:58
He definitely fits that mold. You know, I think it's a high
34:05
level guy and this is probably a cheap answer, but I'm glad
34:07
Jeremiah Love performed because a lot of these guys sat out the
34:12
combine and he went out and was awesome.
34:14
The most the part of a top ten pick.
34:16
And So what is the the fear of not being able to look like that
34:20
couple quarterbacks, Drew Aller and Garrett Nussmeyer threw the
34:24
ball well. But I feel like I had
34:25
conversations with you about those two quarterbacks the last
34:28
two years and Trent about these guys are really good in spots,
34:32
but we know what the other end of that looks like sometimes.
34:36
Absolutely. This draft is going to be
34:38
interesting. You have Mendoza, that'll make
34:40
it I guess, boring with the number one pick.
34:42
But all the knocks that you have, the Ruben Bane one, that's
34:45
another one. Arms aren't long enough.
34:47
Those kind of things. Do we just fall too much into
34:51
the underwear Olympics and just watch football?
34:54
Watch football and you see good football players because you're
34:57
in the year out that seems to pop and it doesn't matter if
34:59
it's a back half for the first round, 2nd, 3rd, 4th rounders.
35:02
Well, if you watch college football, you knew these were
35:04
good football players. Yeah, you know, not counting
35:08
Fernando Mendoza, who obviously made the iconic play in the
35:11
national championship game. I thought the two best football
35:14
players on the field in the Miami IN game or D'Angelo Ponds
35:18
and Ruben Bayne and I still feel that way about them going into
35:21
the NFL. You can't watch somebody
35:23
dominate the way that Ruben Bayne did in the playoffs and
35:25
not think, well his if his arms were an inch longer.
35:28
I mean play football. DeAngelo Pawns isn't a huge
35:32
corner either, but he is a nasty competitor and a really good
35:35
corner. And I thought he had a good
35:37
combine. So and, and then closer to home,
35:39
obviously here in Pickerington, OH, I mean they live right down
35:42
the street. But the Styles family's got to
35:45
be pretty happy with Lorenzo, Lorenzo Junior and Sonny.
35:48
I've seen it first hand around here in Pickerington.
35:50
They're 2 great kids, great athletes.
35:53
You'd love to see it when you know you have that at least a
35:56
little bit of a connection there.
35:58
And I'm guessing that guys get off the sidewalk when dad comes
36:01
walking down. I mean, he has a lot he's a big
36:03
dude. I got I saw a picture of him and
36:05
his two boys. ANYWAYS, my last question for
36:08
you Bill is a selfish one because I'm a Broncos fan and
36:12
Denver desperate in my opinion, need a lot of things.
36:14
But tight end is one of them. And there's two of them that I
36:17
think 2 tight ends that have a first round potential.
36:20
The kid from Oregon, I struggle with his name.
36:22
Is it Sadiq? And then obviously stores at
36:25
Vandy, and I'm starting to come away with stores, might be the
36:28
best of the tight ends and, and might be the guy, the apple of
36:32
my eye from a Denver Broncos fan perspective.
36:34
What about the two tight ends, both first rounders, Bill?
36:38
Well, it depends on what you want, Ken.
36:40
Like do you want the guy that? I want Tyler Warren.
36:45
Then that's then that's stars. Yeah, UI stores who the way he
36:49
he's excellent possession receiver type and that's that
36:53
can be like a negative connotation, but he he can catch
36:57
the ball. Now if you want the guy that can
36:58
get down the seam and I think with the right quarterback could
37:01
have ridiculous numbers, then you want Sadiq.
37:04
I mean, both of these guys can play and I don't think you can
37:06
go. It's like one of those like last
37:08
year with Warren and Fannin and even Colston Loveland.
37:11
I don't think you can go wrong. It just it's a matter of what
37:14
you want for your offense. Both of those guys are going to
37:16
be awesome. You compared Sadiq to Vernon
37:19
Davis. Is that what I saw?
37:22
I mean, by the the freakish athletic, yeah, I like it.
37:25
I'm surprised he didn't get a lot of deep targets at Oregon,
37:29
but when he did, he made the most of them.
37:31
So just keep that in mind with him at the next level.
37:34
When I saw that comparison, I thought, you know what, he's
37:36
absolutely right. Hadn't even popped into my mind
37:38
what an athlete he was. No doubt.
37:40
Bill Bender from the Sporting News.
37:41
The former. I hate to do it to you, Bill.
37:45
Great stuff. Appreciate you coming on.
37:47
As always, we will talk to you down the road.
37:49
Thanks, Bill Bender. Appreciate it.
37:52
Yeah, I'll give you guys a holler.
37:53
Thanks so much. Take care.
37:54
Bye bye Bill Bender, former president of Football Writers
37:57
Association of America. So 145 trends plays the day are
38:02
coming up next. We will get those.
38:05
Do you have a handful? Do you like anything more?
38:07
Do you like a couple of games really caught your attention,
38:11
Jump off the page or you're struggling?
38:12
Well, there's a few that are popping off.
38:15
There'll be one that will get you excited because it's an
38:17
early game. 5:00 tip off. Well, you like those early.
38:20
Dudes, is it the greatest last night tonight?
38:23
I mean, is there a market? I was trying to go through it
38:25
because I've got plans tonight. Oh, you stop the presses.
38:30
Why not leave the house? Well, now you have even more.
38:34
Well, I, I don't think I'm going to see a lot of The Jets in the
38:37
next couple of weeks and they stink anywhere.
38:38
And there's, there's no local team that I have to watch
38:40
tonight. So I'm going to watch my Jets
38:42
and the Blackhawks. Oh, at 7.
38:43
Those are your plans. Those are my plans.
38:45
Oh, I thought you were actually. Doing so.
38:47
No, no, no. We just came back from vacation,
38:49
man. We are all over the country.
38:50
So how much, how much slack do you get there after after that,
38:54
I mean, don't have to leave the house for a month.
38:56
Two months, we don't leave the house until next vacation.
39:01
Really. But there's not a can't miss
39:05
basketball game tonight, is there?
39:07
No, I didn't think. There was either no, there's a
39:09
bunch of oh, that's a weird spot.
39:11
That's kind of an interesting 10.
39:13
Is there a look ahead factor, those kind of things?
39:15
Nebraska staying out West. That's the one, but you'll be
39:19
sleeping by. Halfway I will BYU.
39:21
Can they find a way? Cincinnati.
39:22
Cincinnati's not going to get in, are they?
39:24
No, I don't think they are either.
39:26
Unless there's a couple of wins this week and a couple of wins
39:29
in Kansas City. Kansas plays Arizona State, so
39:32
maybe take a little peek at them.
39:35
I don't think I've seen them play.
39:36
Arizona State, Arizona State, I watched one of their games.
39:38
I kidding. Oh, it was when they're playing
39:40
Arizona. It was on TNT on a Saturday
39:42
afternoon. I remember watching for a little
39:44
bit and Arizona stay hung around for a little bit.
39:47
But rivalry game at home? Right, right.
39:48
Right. Don't read into too much of that
39:50
of the I would combine 13 minutes of Arizona State
39:53
basketball I've watched this year. 13 more than me, Miller
39:56
and Condon back to wrap it up trends plays of the day or next
39:58
search sports sponsors it's the Iowa Sports Radio network.
40:01
Miller and Condon final couple of minutes of our Tuesday.
40:04
David Kaplan joins us tomorrow. Latest on Chicago sports with
40:08
Cappy Max Crosby, Willy, or won't he be a Chicago Bear?
40:13
Did you get duped during a commercial break?
40:17
What picture for a minute and then it don't.
40:20
I mean Max Crosbys not flying commercial through O'Hare
40:23
airport. And they probably have somebody
40:24
else outside of Caleb Williams that's going to pick them up.
40:27
I would think yeah, yeah, yeah, I would think.
40:30
Maybe a little bit of a stretch. But the betting markets are
40:35
convinced that Crosby is going to be a bearer.
40:37
He was 6 to 1 yesterday. He was 2:00 to 1:00 this
40:40
morning. Okay, and now he's you got to
40:43
lay money, but got to lay $1.45 at DraftKings.
40:45
This is happening. It sure seems like.
40:47
The betting market says it's happening.
40:49
The betting market does. Which is not always right.
40:51
No. But I'll tell you what, in those
40:53
garbage places now, the projection market, Yeah, boy,
40:57
you got insider information. You can make a killing on these
40:59
things. Oh my God.
41:00
You see this weekend some of the money that was made.
41:02
I did holy. Mackerel.
41:04
We don't know the right people. Well, here's the thing, though,
41:06
when you're talking about those things, yes, there's people that
41:08
are willing to, but there's got to be people willing to take
41:10
that side of your bet to be true, right?
41:13
I don't know where it's going to go.
41:15
I don't, but it's here for now. We'll see.
41:19
Anyways, your plays, they're on the up and up.
41:21
They're very good. That's true.
41:24
At least you haven't had the best of years basketball.
41:26
No, not at all. 18 and 23 here over the last week, 78 and 88
41:30
over the last. Month.
41:31
That's not awful, Not good, no. It's in the red.
41:34
I was trying to get cut you some slack.
41:36
That's awful. Here we go, all.
41:37
Right, let's get to them. 5:00 Tip off on the SEC Network.
41:41
Tennessee a little let down after let one slip away against
41:44
Bama. Look ahead factor South Carolina
41:46
though. They're not winning games,
41:47
they're covering games and that's what we care about.
41:50
They're getting 9 1/2 at home against Tennessee.
41:53
Sleepy spot for the balls. Give me the Cox with game #1
41:56
TCU. I'm grabbing the points against
41:59
Texas Tech. They shot so incredible in
42:01
Hilton. Talk about let down spot if TCU
42:04
can get this one. Talk about a resume builder for
42:06
a team firmly on the bubble. I think we'll get a good effort
42:09
tonight out of the Horn Frogs. We'll grab the 8 1/2 there.
42:13
Virginia bounce back after getting pummeled by Duke.
42:17
I think they bounce back in a big way.
42:18
Lay the big number against Lone Tree, IA native Steve Forbes in
42:22
the Wake Forest. Demon Deacons. 14 1/2 is the
42:24
number there. Let's get an end.
42:27
Maybe Miami, OH. Tonight.
42:29
Grabbing the 8:00 with the Toledo.
42:31
I've had this one circled for a long time with Toledo.
42:33
So it ends at game 30. Game 30 it comes to a crashing
42:37
halt. Two more in the Big 10.
42:39
They struggled Friday. Cap things off, I'm going to
42:41
grab Biddles back for Oregon. Going to grab the Ducks in the
42:44
18 1/2 let down spot after Illinois had, you know, just the
42:48
environment on Friday. Night.
42:50
It isn't champagne, but more of a sleepy one.
42:52
Biddle can cause some problems inside 18 1/2.
42:56
That's a lot of points. And finally fading your Huskers.
43:00
No UCLA minus the point and a half tonight in Pauly Pavilion,
43:05
do you? Think there's people out there
43:06
that really believe that? I'm a Husker.
43:09
Fan, You got him convinced. But working at him for a while.
43:13
Why is Ken a Husker fan? I'm a simple fan.
43:16
That's right. That's gonna do it for us.
43:18
Appreciate being with us. Trent and I talk sports with you
43:20
every Monday through Friday from noon until 2 here on the Iowa
43:24
Sports Radio Network.