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USF Football: Captains named & FIU vs USF Preview · 4th AND BULL

0:00
Speaker 1: Finally, a podcast for USF Bulls fans who love USF football.
0:06
Speaker 1: My name is Nick Wise. Welcome to 4th and Bull.
0:09
Speaker 1: It was a name that we came up with yesterday.
0:12
Speaker 1: What's funny is I thought of the name 4th and Bull.
0:14
Speaker 1: I was driving to the Rays game yesterday. After I'd
0:17
Speaker 1: already promoted the name, I think we went with the
0:20
Speaker 1: Bulls horn. And then I come up with 4th and Bull,
0:23
Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh my God, 4th and Bull. Like,
0:25
Speaker 1: that is so good. I know I just promoted it
0:28
Speaker 1: as 4th. the horns, uh, the bulls horns or bulls horn.
0:34
Speaker 1: But my fourth and bull is so good. So fourth
0:37
Speaker 1: and bull, that is the name we settled on. That
0:40
Speaker 1: is the name of this podcast going forward. Uh, thank
0:42
Speaker 1: you so much for checking it out. If you're a
0:44
Speaker 1: USF fan, I think you're going to love what I
0:46
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to bring you on the show each
0:48
Speaker 1: and every week. And hopefully as we get for like,
0:51
Speaker 1: go forward with the show, uh, hopefully we'll get on
0:53
Speaker 1: some players, uh, to talk about the season as the
0:57
Speaker 1: season goes along. Now on today's show, there's a couple
1:00
Speaker 1: things I want to go over. I want to talk
1:01
Speaker 1: about the game this weekend, Saturday night against FIU. It's
1:03
Speaker 1: going to be a pretty tough game. Panthers got some talent,
1:07
Speaker 1: especially at the quarterback position. We'll talk about that, the
1:09
Speaker 1: game plan, what I think Brian Hartline will try to do,
1:12
Speaker 1: plus my prediction for the game as well. And I
1:14
Speaker 1: got this article, 24-7 Sports, says some pretty good things
1:19
Speaker 1: about the roster. All right, so we'll talk about that.
1:23
Speaker 1: And the reason I'm doing this podcast is, I've got
1:26
Speaker 1: a radio show on 95.7 WDA in AM 620. It's
1:29
Speaker 1: called the Nick Wise Show. If you listen on the radio,
1:31
Speaker 1: appreciate that. Became the program director of the radio station.
1:34
Speaker 1: I heard a lot of feedback from USF fans saying
1:36
Speaker 1: there's not enough USF coverage in Tampa Bay. So we
1:41
Speaker 1: are going to give you more radio coverage. Brian Hartline
1:43
Speaker 1: going to join us every week. We'll have some players
1:45
Speaker 1: on my show every single week, which I think I'm
1:48
Speaker 1: going to try to do video interviews with the players.
1:49
Speaker 1: We'll air the audio on the radio and then also
1:52
Speaker 1: the video live on this podcast. That's the goal here
1:54
Speaker 1: on fourth and bowl. So I heard you guys talk about,
1:58
Speaker 1: there's not enough coverage. So in addition to the radio coverage,
2:02
Speaker 1: I also wanted to do a podcast dedicated to just
2:06
Speaker 1: USF football. I was watching, I was flipping through social media,
2:09
Speaker 1: Bobby bones. It's got a music, a country music show,
2:13
Speaker 1: a radio show. He said, we're going to start a
2:15
Speaker 1: podcast in 2026, do a podcast. That's very niche. that
2:20
Speaker 1: nobody else is doing. And I used to do a
2:22
Speaker 1: college football podcast, and it got some downloads, but the
2:24
Speaker 1: problem is there's a thousand college football podcasts. Why would
2:28
Speaker 1: someone choose mine? With USF, I did some research. Not
2:32
Speaker 1: a ton of USF podcasts. So you guys are right.
2:36
Speaker 1: You need more coverage, and I want to be the
2:38
Speaker 1: one that brings it to you on the radio and
2:40
Speaker 1: on the podcast as well. So I appreciate you joining me.
2:43
Speaker 1: And how I found how passionate this fan base is,
2:48
Speaker 1: the way I found out was, We started off on
2:50
Speaker 1: a rocky road. I had posted something on social media,
2:53
Speaker 1: on Twitter. This is when I first met the Bulls fans.
2:57
Speaker 1: I posted something about the big three in the state
2:59
Speaker 1: of Florida that included Florida, Florida State, and Miami. USF
3:02
Speaker 1: fans did not like that. Talked about how they deserve
3:05
Speaker 1: to be in the top three. And I think those
3:07
Speaker 1: three programs that I mentioned nationally probably are bigger programs.
3:11
Speaker 1: But what I never took into consideration where I was
3:13
Speaker 1: wrong is that USF is more powerful than some of
3:18
Speaker 1: those brands here in Tampa Bay. You guys are right.
3:20
Speaker 1: You deserve more coverage, and that's what this podcast is
3:22
Speaker 1: going to be. And I think we have an opportunity
3:25
Speaker 1: here to really grow this thing together. It's going to
3:27
Speaker 1: take your guys' participation by liking it, subscribing, sharing it
3:30
Speaker 1: with your friends. And I'll do my part, too, to
3:33
Speaker 1: make this awesome so we can have more USF Bulls coverage.
3:36
Speaker 1: I do want to start with the email that I
3:37
Speaker 1: got right before I got on the show today from USF,
3:43
Speaker 1: the press release. And then I do want to let
3:45
Speaker 1: you know on my Twitter, I am Nick Wise. which
3:49
Speaker 1: you see down there in the corner. I did solicit
3:51
Speaker 1: for mailbag questions, so we'll go over a couple of
3:53
Speaker 1: those during the show as well, some listener feedback on
3:56
Speaker 1: things that they want to know about the Bulls going
3:59
Speaker 1: into the season. But I want to start with that email.
4:02
Speaker 1: South Florida football team has selected six captains for the
4:04
Speaker 1: 2026 season. There are three on offense, three on defense.
4:10
Speaker 1: Linebacker Grayson Pub Howard was the leading vote-getter. Your quarterback,
4:14
Speaker 1: Michael Van Buren Jr., also going to be a captain
4:17
Speaker 1: this year, Caleb Cook. an offensive lineman, and then, let's see,
4:22
Speaker 1: Thomas Schrader, offensive lineman, and then Major Dillard at C.J.
4:26
Speaker 1: Hicks from the defense, going to be captain. So congratulations
4:30
Speaker 1: to all six of those guys. I had a chance
4:32
Speaker 1: to meet a bunch of them last week at Bulls Fest.
4:34
Speaker 1: That's where I did my radio show from, and I'll
4:36
Speaker 1: share some stories about some of the guys here on
4:38
Speaker 1: the roster that I learned about last week. I do
4:42
Speaker 1: want to get to this article, though, first. 24-7 sports.
4:46
Speaker 1: named USF the 52nd most talented team in all of
4:50
Speaker 1: college football, which is really good. That is number one
4:52
Speaker 1: out of all the group of six teams. To put
4:55
Speaker 1: this into an example, when Cincinnati made the playoff, that
5:00
Speaker 1: team was 54th. The author, Chris Hummer, noted that 24-7
5:05
Speaker 1: sports team talent composite dates back to 2015. Since that
5:10
Speaker 1: metric debut, all but one national champion, Indiana, last year,
5:14
Speaker 1: ranked within the team talent composites top 15. So they're
5:17
Speaker 1: not believing you can win a national championship, but they
5:19
Speaker 1: are believing you can get into the college football playoff
5:22
Speaker 1: out of the American Conference, which is going to be
5:24
Speaker 1: a good conference this year. We saw last night Memphis
5:26
Speaker 1: off to a great start. I love college football. Memphis, UNLV,
5:30
Speaker 1: phenomenal game yesterday. My wife fell asleep on the couch,
5:34
Speaker 1: and she wakes up, and she's all groggy-eyed. She's like,
5:37
Speaker 1: this is still on? And I'm like, yes, it is.
5:41
Speaker 1: And what made that game so great? My take going
5:44
Speaker 1: into week zero was that was going to be the
5:47
Speaker 1: best game of the weekend. And the reason why, August 29th,
5:49
Speaker 1: this is why college is great, August 29th, week zero,
5:52
Speaker 1: we essentially have a playoff game. Memphis and UNLV. The loser,
5:56
Speaker 1: I don't think, can get into the 12-team playoff. Memphis won.
5:59
Speaker 1: They can get in. Memphis looked good, by the way.
6:02
Speaker 1: Offense looks good. They moved the ball up and down. Now, UNLV,
6:04
Speaker 1: Jackson Arnold, Dan Mullen, they had a great game plan.
6:07
Speaker 1: They moved the ball up and down on Memphis, who
6:09
Speaker 1: gave up a lot of yards. In fact, UNLV had
6:12
Speaker 1: more total yards. But Memphis got control in the fourth quarter.
6:15
Speaker 1: They won the game. The Huff era is underway, taking
6:18
Speaker 1: over for Ryan Satterfield. Silverfield, he's going to be good.
6:22
Speaker 1: And that team's going to be good. Good quarterback. But again,
6:25
Speaker 1: defense gave up a lot of yards. But that was
6:27
Speaker 1: a big win for the American Conference. That was a
6:30
Speaker 1: big win and good for USF. You're rooting in, though
6:34
Speaker 1: you don't like Memphis. You're rooting for Memphis to get
6:37
Speaker 1: that win. That was a good win for the conference.
6:39
Speaker 1: But a great game last night, and it was a
6:40
Speaker 1: playoff game in Week 0. You don't get that in
6:42
Speaker 1: the NFL. Michael Van Buren named the starter. I know
6:47
Speaker 1: everyone's aware of that. Definitely more mobile. It always felt
6:49
Speaker 1: like he was going to be the starter. I wish
6:51
Speaker 1: Brian Hartline could have given us the heads up because
6:53
Speaker 1: when I talked to him last week, I asked him
6:56
Speaker 1: if he was going to roll with two starters. He
6:57
Speaker 1: said zero chance, which I like that. I don't like
6:59
Speaker 1: when teams roll out with multiple starters. So I said,
7:05
Speaker 1: there's some rumors floating around online of who the quarterback
7:08
Speaker 1: might be. Have you announced anything? Would you give us
7:11
Speaker 1: something here? Said no. And then like a day later,
7:15
Speaker 1: it came out. They're wishing to get Pete Dammel got it.
7:19
Speaker 1: The Pete Dammel gets everything. But you can tell players
7:22
Speaker 1: really love Brian Hartline. Just talking with all the guys,
7:27
Speaker 1: what do you feel about your coach? What do you
7:28
Speaker 1: think about your coach? He's a big reason a lot
7:30
Speaker 1: of these guys came. Of course, USF is part of it,
7:32
Speaker 1: but coaching is a big deal as well. And they
7:35
Speaker 1: just spoke very highly of Brian Hartline. And here's what
7:39
Speaker 1: tells you how much players do love him is that C.J.
7:41
Speaker 1: Hicks comes with him from Ohio State. And I asked
7:44
Speaker 1: CJ when we were sitting down talking to each other,
7:47
Speaker 1: I said, what was that process like with Brian Harline
7:51
Speaker 1: recruiting you to USF? He said he hit the portal.
7:53
Speaker 1: Harline was one of the first that called, and they
7:55
Speaker 1: had a great relationship at Ohio State. And what stood
7:58
Speaker 1: out to me about that is that Harline was the
8:01
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator but had a good relationship with some guys
8:04
Speaker 1: on defense. That's what you look for in a head coach.
8:09
Speaker 1: And so I thought that was really telling on, on
8:12
Speaker 1: what he means to players, how he treats his players.
8:15
Speaker 1: It's not every day where an offensive coordinator has a
8:18
Speaker 1: relationship with a guy on defense, but he did have
8:20
Speaker 1: a relationship with C.J. Hicks, and that leads C.J. Hicks
8:24
Speaker 1: to USF, where I think he's going to have a
8:26
Speaker 1: big year. And by the way, just voted a captain.
8:28
Speaker 1: Congratulations to him. He was a five-star recruit coming out
8:32
Speaker 1: of high school, committed to Ohio State, and I think
8:34
Speaker 1: for the first time in his life, he's going to
8:36
Speaker 1: be able to play free. You think you commit to
8:38
Speaker 1: Ohio State from Ohio as a sophomore, It's a lot
8:41
Speaker 1: of pressure your whole life. He comes here, he can
8:45
Speaker 1: be free, he can be loose, and I really expect
8:47
Speaker 1: a good year out of C.J. Hicks because the talent
8:50
Speaker 1: is here. And Aldridge, which is obviously a big part
8:53
Speaker 1: of these guys coming over as well, not one player,
8:57
Speaker 1: when you talk about at least a defensive player, what
8:59
Speaker 1: brought you to USF? Aldridge is always going to get
9:01
Speaker 1: brought up. But Hartline and Hicks, seeing them have a relationship,
9:06
Speaker 1: even though they were on opposite sides of the ball
9:07
Speaker 1: at Ohio State, I thought that was really cool. I
9:12
Speaker 1: did ask him where he keeps his national championship ring,
9:15
Speaker 1: talking about C.J. Hicks, because he's got one. 2004, Ohio State.
9:18
Speaker 1: He said he keeps it on display in his house.
9:20
Speaker 1: I said, I'd be wearing that thing all the time.
9:22
Speaker 1: I'd be wearing it right now. But he wasn't wearing
9:26
Speaker 1: it at Bulls Fest. Rightfully so. Another newcomer on this
9:31
Speaker 1: team that I really like, Major Dillard, also voted a
9:33
Speaker 1: team captain. 330-pounder, defensive lineman. Put him in the middle there,
9:38
Speaker 1: can clog up the gaps. Going to be a good
9:40
Speaker 1: run stopper. He had 70 tackles a year ago at
9:43
Speaker 1: Norfolk State. And he comes over to the Bulls. I
9:46
Speaker 1: think he's going to be a big part of this defense.
9:48
Speaker 1: I think you guys are going to fall in love
9:49
Speaker 1: with this guy. Just his personality. He was one of
9:51
Speaker 1: my favorite conversations. Because we talked a lot about we
9:54
Speaker 1: talked football, but I was like, what is what is
9:57
Speaker 1: Major Dillard like to do other than play football? And
10:02
Speaker 1: he said he likes cooking, said he likes making Thanksgiving
10:05
Speaker 1: dinner for the family, like smoking on the smoker. So
10:08
Speaker 1: we got into a barbecue conversation, said he hadn't found
10:11
Speaker 1: a favorite spot yet. I recommend it. And we posted
10:14
Speaker 1: this clip on social media and it got a lot
10:17
Speaker 1: of people voiced their opinion, I think. The brisket shop
10:20
Speaker 1: got a lot of votes, but I said Ozona Pig
10:23
Speaker 1: was my favorite barbecue spot, and that was the one
10:25
Speaker 1: I recommended to them. I'm in Clearwater, so it's just
10:29
Speaker 1: north of me. I think it's, what is that, considered
10:31
Speaker 1: Palm Harbor? It's like a little town in Palm Harbor, Ozona, whatever.
10:35
Speaker 1: Ozona Barbecue, great spot. This isn't an endorsement for Ozona,
10:38
Speaker 1: but phenomenal food. But that's what I want from an
10:43
Speaker 1: interior defensive lineman. I want a guy that loves barbecue.
10:45
Speaker 1: I want a guy that can cook a brisket, and
10:47
Speaker 1: Major Dillard, is that guy up front for the defensive
10:51
Speaker 1: line for the Bulls. When I was talking to Hartline,
10:53
Speaker 1: I said, do you have any good stories about Major Dillard?
10:56
Speaker 1: Great name, you know, 330 pounder, big dude. It was
10:59
Speaker 1: like he was born to play football, that name and
11:01
Speaker 1: that size. And here's what I think I love about
11:08
Speaker 1: Brian Hartline as a coach. He says, I don't have
11:11
Speaker 1: any stories. We don't have any stories. We don't have
11:13
Speaker 1: time for stories. All we've been doing is playing football.
11:18
Speaker 1: It's like, You don't have any stories. It's just football.
11:21
Speaker 1: And I think I like that from the head coach.
11:24
Speaker 1: He's kind of a psycho, but in a good way,
11:26
Speaker 1: like a football way. He's all ball all the time.
11:30
Speaker 1: And kind of going back to the 247 Sports article
11:35
Speaker 1: about the talent on the team, I did my 12-team
11:38
Speaker 1: college football playoff prediction last week. I didn't have USF
11:42
Speaker 1: in there. Now, I wouldn't be shocked if they got
11:45
Speaker 1: in there, but the one reason I didn't have them
11:48
Speaker 1: in there is because of the coaching staff. Not that
11:51
Speaker 1: they're not a good coaching staff. They are. Let me explain.
11:55
Speaker 1: So the talent on paper appears to be there, like
11:57
Speaker 1: what Brian Hartline did in the portal. But the biggest
11:59
Speaker 1: question mark to me is, how is he as a
12:01
Speaker 1: head coach? We know he's a big name. When he
12:02
Speaker 1: got the job, everybody was thrilled. We were pumped. We
12:05
Speaker 1: got a massive name. Everybody felt like it was an
12:08
Speaker 1: upgrade from Alex Golish. And it might be. Only time
12:11
Speaker 1: will tell. But Alex Golish, despite him leaving, he was
12:14
Speaker 1: a good coach. And there's a reason he got the
12:16
Speaker 1: Auburn job, a big SEC program. So Brian Harlan comes in,
12:21
Speaker 1: and immediately the vibe is, oh, we upgraded. And again,
12:24
Speaker 1: we may have, but we won't know for a while.
12:27
Speaker 1: Only time will tell. But for me, I go back
12:30
Speaker 1: to the Penn State hire. When James Franklin left, they
12:33
Speaker 1: had a hard time filling that job. They went to
12:38
Speaker 1: Kalani Satake from BYU. He turned it down. Basically, everybody
12:42
Speaker 1: was getting a pay raise to not go to Penn State.
12:45
Speaker 1: And I thought, man, Brian Harline would be perfect for
12:47
Speaker 1: that job. Ohio State always beats them. You could take
12:50
Speaker 1: their offensive coordinator. He's a great recruiter. Big 10 ties.
12:54
Speaker 1: Just seems like a perfect fit. But Penn State never
12:56
Speaker 1: made that call. And I think the reason being is
12:59
Speaker 1: they've never seen him as a coach. They don't know
13:01
Speaker 1: what they got there. It's a little bit of a mystery.
13:03
Speaker 1: And so they go with Matt Campbell, who's been doing
13:05
Speaker 1: it for a while. And so that's why I'm careful
13:08
Speaker 1: with putting too much. Look, there's going to be pressure
13:10
Speaker 1: when you come to USF to win. This is a
13:12
Speaker 1: program on the rise right now. But I think just
13:15
Speaker 1: because you got a big name doesn't automatically mean success.
13:20
Speaker 1: I think USF has hired big names before, and it
13:22
Speaker 1: hasn't always led to success. So I just tempered the
13:25
Speaker 1: expectation a little bit. My expectation is Brian Hartline and
13:28
Speaker 1: his tenure of this job is to win an American
13:30
Speaker 1: conference and make a playoff appearance. Will it be this year?
13:33
Speaker 1: I don't know. Again, I don't know what I have
13:35
Speaker 1: at the head coach position. On paper, everything looks good
13:36
Speaker 1: on the roster. What do we have in a head coach?
13:39
Speaker 1: And we won't know until the games are played. We're
13:41
Speaker 1: going to find out real soon. And that's something I'll
13:43
Speaker 1: be paying attention to. Again, if they make the 12-team playoff,
13:46
Speaker 1: I'm not shocked. They got the talent, and I think
13:49
Speaker 1: they got the schedule that's favorable for them this year.
13:52
Speaker 1: I had Phil Steele on my show. I keep this
13:55
Speaker 1: magazine on my desk. Phil Steele's college football preview. I
13:58
Speaker 1: call it the college football bible. Dude knows everything. Had
14:00
Speaker 1: him on my radio show. I did ask, because a
14:02
Speaker 1: lot of people asked me that question, too. Can USF
14:04
Speaker 1: still go to the playoff with their schedule this year?
14:07
Speaker 1: And his answer was, yeah. They got to go undefeated, though.
14:11
Speaker 1: Every game's a playoff game for USF this year because
14:13
Speaker 1: in years past, they played Alabama, they played the Miamis,
14:16
Speaker 1: the Floridas, gave Alabama a run for their money, beat Florida. Miami,
14:21
Speaker 1: not a great game. Lightning, delay. A lot of things
14:22
Speaker 1: played a factor into that game. Just not their best day.
14:26
Speaker 1: But they've had that game on their schedule to make
14:30
Speaker 1: a statement. And even though Florida wasn't good last year,
14:32
Speaker 1: that was still a statement win. They don't have that
14:35
Speaker 1: game this year, but they still can make the college
14:37
Speaker 1: football playoff. But I do think they probably got to
14:40
Speaker 1: go undefeated or one loss and win the American conference.
14:44
Speaker 1: I think could still get them in as well, but
14:46
Speaker 1: that's something that I think is going to be fun
14:47
Speaker 1: about a USF this year is it's going to be
14:51
Speaker 1: a playoff atmosphere. Pretty much every week, every game, you're
14:53
Speaker 1: going to be on the edge of your seat. Like
14:55
Speaker 1: this is a must win. And again, it goes back
14:57
Speaker 1: to why we love college football. Grace and pop Howard
15:02
Speaker 1: got the most votes, became the captain, talked about that
15:04
Speaker 1: in the beginning of the show. He played with the
15:06
Speaker 1: Gators last year. Just he's overcoming a lot of injuries.
15:09
Speaker 1: The guy can overcome injuries. They have the potential to
15:12
Speaker 1: be a really good football player because they've been through
15:14
Speaker 1: a lot and they overcome those things. And it shows
15:16
Speaker 1: you that he's a fighter. And so didn't play a
15:19
Speaker 1: lot at Florida because of those injuries. He did play
15:22
Speaker 1: in the game last year against USF. I talked to
15:24
Speaker 1: him about that and said, you know, did that play
15:26
Speaker 1: a factor at all into you coming here? And he said, no,
15:30
Speaker 1: it didn't. He did record a tackle in that game,
15:32
Speaker 1: but no, it didn't play a factor. And he's become
15:35
Speaker 1: really good friends with Wyatt Sullivan, the tight end who
15:37
Speaker 1: you're familiar with. He was here last year. those guys
15:40
Speaker 1: have a great relationship. I was talking to, so when
15:43
Speaker 1: we sat down and do the interviews, they wanted to
15:45
Speaker 1: actually do their interview together, but there wasn't enough room
15:47
Speaker 1: for all of us on camera. So we did it separately.
15:49
Speaker 1: So I found out they're boys and you know, they,
15:52
Speaker 1: you got a linebacker and a, in a tight end,
15:53
Speaker 1: they go up against each other one-on-one every day in practice.
15:55
Speaker 1: I said, who, who gets the best of who at practice?
15:59
Speaker 1: And Grayson Pop Howard said, why it will say he does,
16:04
Speaker 1: but the tape don't lie. And, I was like, wow,
16:09
Speaker 1: all right, that's a good line. Wyatt Sullivan's the next interview.
16:12
Speaker 1: And I said, hey, talk to Pop Howard. I said,
16:16
Speaker 1: who wins the one-on-one battles between you guys and camp?
16:18
Speaker 1: He said, you would say you do, but he said
16:21
Speaker 1: the tape doesn't lie. And he said, he said that.
16:24
Speaker 1: And I said, yes. He said, did he tell you
16:26
Speaker 1: about the tape they showed at the team meeting in
16:29
Speaker 1: front of everybody? And I said, no. And I said,
16:31
Speaker 1: what happened? He said, the video was of him he
16:35
Speaker 1: got the best of a pup Howard that day of practice.
16:38
Speaker 1: It was kind of like when Allen Iverson crossed over
16:40
Speaker 1: Michael Jordan, he said the whole meeting was like, ah,
16:43
Speaker 1: you know, it was one of those, one of those
16:44
Speaker 1: team bonding moments. And, uh, it was, it was just
16:47
Speaker 1: a good laugh. You can tell those guys are really
16:48
Speaker 1: cool with each other. And, uh, you can just tell
16:51
Speaker 1: this team is really cool with each other and moments
16:53
Speaker 1: like that. And I think that's going to play a
16:55
Speaker 1: big part in their success is how close they are, uh,
16:59
Speaker 1: off the field. I think can, can be a big
17:01
Speaker 1: part of what they do, uh, on the field with
17:03
Speaker 1: each other. But, Back to Wyatt Sullivan. He did an interview,
17:08
Speaker 1: and this question gets asked a lot. We were at
17:10
Speaker 1: SEC Media Days, and I feel like every Florida Gator
17:13
Speaker 1: player was asked the question, what's the difference between Billy
17:15
Speaker 1: Napier and John Sumrall? And that happens here at USF, too.
17:18
Speaker 1: What's the difference between Brian Hartline and Alex Golish? And
17:22
Speaker 1: Wyatt Sullivan was asked that question, and he said, quote,
17:25
Speaker 1: the workouts seem more intense than I've ever done, and
17:29
Speaker 1: the particular details are more precise than anything I've been
17:32
Speaker 1: a part of. That was Wyatt Sullivan. I like hearing that.
17:35
Speaker 1: And knowing Brian Hartline and just talking to him a
17:37
Speaker 1: few times, interviewing him once, then talking to him off
17:39
Speaker 1: air multiple times, I'm not surprised that his practices are,
17:45
Speaker 1: you can just tell he runs a tight ship. And
17:47
Speaker 1: so I'm not surprised to hear they're intense at all
17:49
Speaker 1: because I feel like he's kind of an intense, intimidating dude.
17:54
Speaker 1: So I'm not shocked by that one bit. The offensive line,
17:58
Speaker 1: I think Brian Hartline knows he has a strength here. Now,
18:01
Speaker 1: they've got eight transfers. Going to be a lot of
18:04
Speaker 1: different guys up front. They haven't played together. Thomas Schrader
18:06
Speaker 1: is going to be a guy you're familiar with who
18:08
Speaker 1: could be an NFL prospect. Also got his master's this year.
18:13
Speaker 1: Just an overall really, really good kid. We'll talk about him.
18:16
Speaker 1: I got a good story about him. We talked about
18:19
Speaker 1: his time at Florida State that I think you'll be
18:21
Speaker 1: interested in. But they've got eight transfers, so a lot
18:25
Speaker 1: of experience, just not experience together. They're a very experienced
18:28
Speaker 1: group of kids who've played a lot of college football
18:32
Speaker 1: and just not together. So how long will it take
18:34
Speaker 1: for that to gel? I don't think Harline's worried about
18:37
Speaker 1: that at all. I think he's pretty confident in his
18:39
Speaker 1: offensive line that they're going to be a strength of
18:42
Speaker 1: this football team. And when you've got a good offensive line,
18:44
Speaker 1: you're good in the trenches. You have the opportunity to
18:48
Speaker 1: do a lot of things. So Thomas Schrader, when I
18:53
Speaker 1: talked to him about Florida State, I said he was
18:57
Speaker 1: on that team in 2023 that went undefeated. I said,
19:00
Speaker 1: when you guys were that day when it was announced
19:03
Speaker 1: that Alabama was going to the college football playoff and
19:05
Speaker 1: you weren't, what was that day like? What was it
19:07
Speaker 1: like in that room? He said before the announcement, he
19:10
Speaker 1: knew that Florida state was going to go to the
19:12
Speaker 1: college football playoff because the reporter that they sent to
19:17
Speaker 1: Florida state campus, he said, was a no name reporter
19:19
Speaker 1: from ESPN. He never heard of. And he said, Marty
19:21
Speaker 1: Smith was the reporter in Tuscaloosa. He's like, so I knew.
19:25
Speaker 1: And I was like, what? I never even thought about that. So,
19:31
Speaker 1: Next time it comes down to two teams like last year,
19:33
Speaker 1: Notre Dame or Miami, pay attention to who has the
19:35
Speaker 1: bigger named reporter. That's probably the team that's going to
19:38
Speaker 1: end up in the college football playoff. But overall, just
19:41
Speaker 1: a really good kid. Again, NFL potential. He's your one
19:44
Speaker 1: lone starter from last year. But I think Hartline's really
19:48
Speaker 1: confident in this group. Let me see, 14 of them.
19:51
Speaker 1: 14 out of the 18 linemen. Over 300 pounds. And
19:56
Speaker 1: same thing goes for the defense. 300 pounders everywhere. And then,
20:00
Speaker 1: of course, you got the five-star C.J. Hicks on the
20:02
Speaker 1: outside I was just telling you about earlier. So let's
20:05
Speaker 1: talk about FIU this weekend. Game number one, Hartline era.
20:09
Speaker 1: Raymond James Stadium, final year there. USF 13.5 point favorite
20:15
Speaker 1: going into the game. FIU projected to finish somewhere in
20:19
Speaker 1: the middle of Conference USA, so they're not at the top,
20:22
Speaker 1: they're not at the bottom, they're somewhere in the middle.
20:24
Speaker 1: They're 1-9 in their road opener since 2016, so good
20:29
Speaker 1: sign indicated towards USF. I do think this will be
20:33
Speaker 1: a closer matchup, and history says it will be. This
20:36
Speaker 1: is their first matchup in 18 years, but back in 2006,
20:38
Speaker 1: USF did win that game 21-20, but they were a
20:43
Speaker 1: 20-point favorite that day. Matt Grothy was a freshman. He
20:46
Speaker 1: threw for 174 yards, a touchdown, two picks, 32.1 QBR rating.
20:52
Speaker 1: So not his best day. He did lead the team
20:53
Speaker 1: with 82 rushing yards that day, but again, just a freshman.
20:59
Speaker 1: So even though they're 13.5-point favorites, don't take them lightly.
21:04
Speaker 1: FIU's got a really good quarterback. His name is J.J. Cole.
21:07
Speaker 1: He's a junior. Big dude. Big, big, big dude. And
21:11
Speaker 1: he was committed to Iowa State. I'm not really sure
21:14
Speaker 1: the story of what happened there. I don't know if
21:16
Speaker 1: when Matt Campbell went to Penn State, he just didn't
21:18
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to go with them. But he had
21:20
Speaker 1: a lot of big offers. He was recruited by Auburn,
21:22
Speaker 1: Florida State, had offers from Michigan. He ends up at
21:26
Speaker 1: FIU of all places in 6'7, 245 pounds. Big dude,
21:28
Speaker 1: good arm. And they've got some talent at wide receiver, too. Look,
21:33
Speaker 1: FIU's got some talent. Doing my homework on these guys,
21:37
Speaker 1: they're better than I originally thought they would be. And
21:40
Speaker 1: they've had some success. So, along with the quarterback position,
21:44
Speaker 1: I think of strength is their secondary. I think they're
21:47
Speaker 1: going to be good in the secondary. They've got this
21:48
Speaker 1: guy that you're going to notice, Lawrence Johnson, played at
21:50
Speaker 1: FAU last year. He made the freak list. And I
21:55
Speaker 1: think any time you can make the freak list, that
21:58
Speaker 1: means you're a good football player. You like to have
22:00
Speaker 1: freaks on the field And they got one in the secondary.
22:04
Speaker 1: And also Shamir Sterling, the safety, is an NFL prospect
22:08
Speaker 1: as well. So they got some guys in the secondary.
22:10
Speaker 1: I think the game plan for Brian Harline, I think
22:13
Speaker 1: he's going to lean on the run early and often
22:15
Speaker 1: and try to establish that run game. I think if
22:17
Speaker 1: it doesn't work, obviously he'll get away from it. But
22:19
Speaker 1: if he can establish the run early and often, they're
22:22
Speaker 1: going to stick with it. And I think that's going
22:24
Speaker 1: to be a big part of the game plan. And
22:25
Speaker 1: I think it has to be when the strength of
22:27
Speaker 1: the defense is the secondary for FIU. they're talented on
22:31
Speaker 1: the defensive front, a little bit younger there, but overall,
22:34
Speaker 1: I think that's going to be the game plan for
22:37
Speaker 1: Brian Hartline. And I know when we think Brian Hartline,
22:39
Speaker 1: we think passing game wide receivers, because he was a
22:42
Speaker 1: wide receiver. He recruited some of the best wide receivers
22:44
Speaker 1: in the world to Ohio state. And we think offense
22:47
Speaker 1: and airing it out. But at the end of the day,
22:49
Speaker 1: he's still a big 10 guy. You know what those
22:50
Speaker 1: guys in the Midwest like to do in the big 10,
22:52
Speaker 1: they like to run the football. And I really think
22:55
Speaker 1: that's going to be a big part of a Brian
22:57
Speaker 1: Hartline's game plan early in this football game. And, Hopefully
23:01
Speaker 1: it works. Crowder, he comes over from Dartmouth, had over 1,000
23:05
Speaker 1: yards last year. And then Alvin Isaac, who you guys
23:08
Speaker 1: are probably familiar with, was on the team last year.
23:10
Speaker 1: But I think it's going to be through the offensive
23:14
Speaker 1: line and through your running backs is where Heartland's going
23:17
Speaker 1: to want to win this game. I think the defensive
23:21
Speaker 1: line with, again, they got good weapons on the outside
23:24
Speaker 1: at FIU and a good quarterback. It's going to be
23:27
Speaker 1: up to the defensive line to win that battle in
23:29
Speaker 1: the trenches and when the Bulls defense is on the field.
23:32
Speaker 1: And hopefully, look, our guy Hicks can make a name
23:35
Speaker 1: for himself here and get off to a good start
23:37
Speaker 1: in the season. I am predicting a sack for him
23:40
Speaker 1: in game number one at Raymond James Stadium. So my
23:42
Speaker 1: prediction for the game, we'll get to that in just
23:44
Speaker 1: a minute. I want to get to your mailbag questions.
23:46
Speaker 1: But my predictions do include, I'll give you that one,
23:49
Speaker 1: it does include C.J. Hicks getting a sack. So the mailbag,
23:52
Speaker 1: your questions on my social media handle. Here we go.
23:55
Speaker 1: We got a couple. Is the show only on YouTube?
23:58
Speaker 1: Don't see it on Apple or Spotify. It will be
24:00
Speaker 1: up on podcast platforms. Give me time on that. This
24:02
Speaker 1: idea all kind of came together yesterday. We're getting it up.
24:05
Speaker 1: We're getting it going. iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts, it'll 100%
24:09
Speaker 1: be up there by midweek. YouTube just has it first.
24:14
Speaker 1: Let's see, let's see, let's see. South Florida Water Tower
24:18
Speaker 1: on Twitter. FIU seems to be on the up and up.
24:21
Speaker 1: What is generally going on over there with Willie Simmons
24:23
Speaker 1: and company? Academically, FIU is surging. What is their athletic
24:27
Speaker 1: department up to? I'll say this about the football team.
24:32
Speaker 1: Willie Simmons was a good fit, but they have utilized
24:35
Speaker 1: the transfer portal and they're just bringing in older guys experience.
24:39
Speaker 1: I think when I was looking at their roster, I
24:41
Speaker 1: think it was like nine out of 11 on their
24:43
Speaker 1: defense are juniors and seniors. And it's pretty close on
24:46
Speaker 1: offense as well. Like just a lot of grown men.
24:49
Speaker 1: They're not really messing with high school freshmen. They're, they're
24:54
Speaker 1: taking men and bringing them in through the transfer portal.
24:57
Speaker 1: And I think that's leading to some success. I think
24:58
Speaker 1: that's a recipe that works. I mean, Look, at a
25:01
Speaker 1: different level, you saw Indiana do it last year. They were, what,
25:04
Speaker 1: two years younger, average age than the Green Bay Packers
25:06
Speaker 1: and the oldest team in college football? Let's see. Does
25:10
Speaker 1: having Army the following week matter in their approach? I
25:13
Speaker 1: know some folks like to keep it vanilla before conference play,
25:15
Speaker 1: but Army is a different style of play, and FIU
25:17
Speaker 1: is not that bad. Here's all I know on that.
25:21
Speaker 1: I did ask Hartline a question that had to do
25:23
Speaker 1: with the Army matchup. How are you going to handle
25:25
Speaker 1: that week? It's the day after 9-11 anniversary. It's going
25:28
Speaker 1: to be 9-12. You're going to West Point. It's different.
25:32
Speaker 1: I've had a chance to go to Army-Navy before. It
25:34
Speaker 1: went last year. It's incredible. It's different. And he said
25:38
Speaker 1: they have prepared, and he has talked about that game
25:40
Speaker 1: with the team a little bit. So I don't think
25:41
Speaker 1: they're overlooking FIU, but I do think some practice and
25:44
Speaker 1: preparation is already happening for that game, and that's something
25:48
Speaker 1: to be careful for when you're watching the FIU game,
25:50
Speaker 1: and that's why, coming to my prediction... I have the
25:54
Speaker 1: score maybe a little bit closer than some might think
25:57
Speaker 1: because I do think Army waiting on the other side
25:59
Speaker 1: plays a little bit of a factor. First game of
26:01
Speaker 1: the season. USF on paper, yes, more talented, but I
26:04
Speaker 1: think it's going to be a really good game Saturday.
26:08
Speaker 1: Let's see. Will the field be painted this year more frequently,
26:11
Speaker 1: even if the Bucs play the following day? I don't
26:12
Speaker 1: imagine things change with the field, but I don't know.
26:14
Speaker 1: I don't work at Raymond James Stadium. Any insight on
26:17
Speaker 1: season ticket sales? This is from Bobby. He says, do
26:21
Speaker 1: we expect a fuller stadium for the last year at
26:23
Speaker 1: Ray J? Probably not. You know, it's not like Ray
26:26
Speaker 1: J is being torn down. Now, if the season tickets
26:30
Speaker 1: go up, I would say it's from the momentum of
26:32
Speaker 1: the program, not really because it's Ray J's last year.
26:35
Speaker 1: If Ray J was being torn down, then I think,
26:38
Speaker 1: you know, being the final year, Ray J might give
26:40
Speaker 1: you a boost in tickets, but because it's not going anywhere,
26:43
Speaker 1: I don't know how much of a factor that plays
26:45
Speaker 1: into it. If the season tickets go up, it's just
26:47
Speaker 1: because they believe in our line. They believe in this team.
26:50
Speaker 1: and the program is obviously ascending. Let's see. Let's see.
26:56
Speaker 1: Mike says, with a new coach and many new players
26:58
Speaker 1: other than QB play, what are a couple of the
27:00
Speaker 1: factors to watch in game one that will predict the season?
27:03
Speaker 1: The offensive line, which I've talked about. Are they gelling?
27:06
Speaker 1: Can they work together as one? We know individually they're
27:09
Speaker 1: all really good players. If they can gel as a unit,
27:13
Speaker 1: then that's going to be huge for the season, not
27:15
Speaker 1: just this week, but going forward. Let's see. Reptar, how
27:22
Speaker 1: much stock do you put into winning Willie's head coaching
27:25
Speaker 1: experience versus our raw talent on paper? The Jeff Scott
27:29
Speaker 1: era gave me PTSD and I'm a little shook after
27:30
Speaker 1: watching Memphis last night. Well, Memphis did it with a
27:32
Speaker 1: new coach and a lot of transfers just like you.
27:35
Speaker 1: But yeah, Memphis looks good. Good quarterback and Huff getting
27:37
Speaker 1: that win and I guess a good UNLV team in
27:41
Speaker 1: Memphis is definitely no joke this year. Look, I think
27:44
Speaker 1: overall on paper, you got the talent. I think you
27:45
Speaker 1: got a good enough coach. I know they're More experienced
27:49
Speaker 1: coaching staff on the other side, but because I think
27:51
Speaker 1: you got the dogs, I think you'll be okay. Let's see.
27:56
Speaker 1: That's pretty much all of them, I think. I'm not
28:02
Speaker 1: sure if it's posted somewhere, but I'd really like to
28:04
Speaker 1: know the starting receivers. The wide receiver room is just
28:06
Speaker 1: so stacked. I've been dying to know. I don't think
28:11
Speaker 1: they've put out the final... I don't think they've put
28:16
Speaker 1: out the final... Depth chart, but I can tell you
28:22
Speaker 1: who the projected starters are. Armand Branch, Jaquan Smith, and
28:30
Speaker 1: Bryson Rogers are expected to be the top three. I
28:34
Speaker 1: hope that answers your question. Again, the depth chart's tough.
28:38
Speaker 1: They announced a starting quarterback position, but I don't ever
28:41
Speaker 1: believe anything I see online when it comes to depth
28:43
Speaker 1: chart because they can change whatever they want. But I
28:47
Speaker 1: expect those guys to be your top three. Alright, I
28:50
Speaker 1: think that is all of the mailbag questions. Appreciate you
28:53
Speaker 1: guys participating on that. Now my prediction for the game,
28:56
Speaker 1: I told you I think Hicks ends up with a sack.
29:00
Speaker 1: I do think FIU is going to hit a couple
29:01
Speaker 1: big plays on you. They've got talent at the wide
29:03
Speaker 1: receiver position, the quarterback position, and like I talked about,
29:07
Speaker 1: I think it's up to the defensive line to be
29:09
Speaker 1: able to get home early and often to avoid those
29:13
Speaker 1: big plays, but I do think a couple are going
29:14
Speaker 1: to happen. It's week number one, and you've got a
29:16
Speaker 1: lot of new kids on defense playing together, but I
29:18
Speaker 1: think Van Buren's going to throw two touchdowns. And then
29:21
Speaker 1: I got Crowder and Isaac each having a rushing touchdown
29:24
Speaker 1: on the ground for a final score of 31-21. So
29:27
Speaker 1: I got the Bulls winning by 10. But I do
29:31
Speaker 1: think it's one of those games going into the fourth
29:32
Speaker 1: quarter where we're kind of like, what's going on? But
29:34
Speaker 1: don't panic. It's week number one. You're playing a good opponent.
29:38
Speaker 1: And Army's on the other side in week number two. two.
29:41
Speaker 1: So those things happen in college football. So I don't
29:45
Speaker 1: think USF covers, but I think they win the game.
29:48
Speaker 1: And I don't think that because they didn't cover, I
29:50
Speaker 1: don't think that means anything going forward. All right, appreciate
29:53
Speaker 1: you checking out Fourth and Bold. That's going to wrap
29:55
Speaker 1: up the first episode. Appreciate you checking it out. Make
29:57
Speaker 1: sure you like, subscribe. Share it with all your friends.
30:00
Speaker 1: I like doing this, right? I love talking college football.
30:03
Speaker 1: Can't do this alone. It's going to take the both
30:06
Speaker 1: of us. You've got to do your part, like, share, subscribe,
30:08
Speaker 1: and I'll continue to do my part to bring the content,
30:10
Speaker 1: do the homework, and hopefully you enjoy everything that you hear.
30:14
Speaker 1: So appreciate you checking this out. Also follow me on
30:16
Speaker 1: all my social media channels. But again, thanks for watching
30:19
Speaker 1: and thanks for listening to 4th and Bowl. We'll definitely
30:21
Speaker 1: have another podcast up this week. I'm hoping to have
30:23
Speaker 1: a player on before the game this weekend. Don't want
30:26
Speaker 1: to promise it. I feel good that it will happen.
30:29
Speaker 1: But going to effort that hopefully by Wednesday. We'll have
30:31
Speaker 1: that going. And once we get going, I'll get a
30:34
Speaker 1: set schedule for you as well on when we do
30:36
Speaker 1: the show. But appreciate you watching. Follow on all the channels.
30:40
Speaker 1: And we'll talk to you again soon. Go Bulls.