Latest / The Jake Wimberly Podcast / Drew DeArman Interview

Transcript

Drew DeArman Interview · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Turning to sports. With Jake Wimberly on the afternoon drive.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: One of the last pure pleasures I have left in
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: my life.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe you ought to get a life first, okay?
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: On ESPN 105.9 The Zone and online at TheZone1059. com.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Taking you through your Wednesday. Brought to you by friends
• 0:36
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• 0:39
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• 0:41
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• 0:49
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• 0:58
  Speaker 2: chance to win tickets. to the college football playoff and
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the national championship. And go to X and give our
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: good friend Drew DeArmond a follow at DrewD977ESPN, part of 97.7
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: ESPN in Huntsville, Alabama. He has the morning drive 7
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: to 10 a.m. And, of course, a part of TiderInsider.com.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Alabama heads to Starville this weekend. Drew, welcome in, brother.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: How are you doing?
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I'm doing well, Jake. How are you?
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Man, we're doing good.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Um, you know, Mississippi state and Alabama have played a
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: number of years and most of those times it's been,
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: you know, in favor of the tide. And now obviously
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: with the, uh, you know, the changing of the guard,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: the way the sec, no divisions didn't play one, uh,
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: last year, but now Alabama will make that short trick, uh,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: back across, uh, highway 82, which selfishly, I think everybody
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: hopes the rain would, would stay out, but it looks
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: like it's going to be a wet Saturday coming up
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: this weekend.
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it does. It's a little bit unfortunate. Uh, it
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: really makes things interesting because you know, we haven't seen
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: either young quarterback Camario Taylor or, you know, Keelan Russell
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: deal with a wet football. And I was on another
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: podcast earlier today and we were talking about that. I
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: still think John Elway is one of the greatest quarterbacks,
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: maybe top five ever. He always talks about how he
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: couldn't throw a wet football. And, We've never seen either
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: one of these, I think, generational talents, both of them
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: have to go through a weather like that. So it's
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: going to be really, really interesting to see if the
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: weather turns out to be a factor like we think,
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: which team kind of, you know, deals with that precipitation
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: the best.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. And, you know, hopefully, you know, the rain
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: will come in spurts and we'll get to see both
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: of these teams, you know, do what they do on
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: what we've seen the first four weeks. Speaking of Keelan Russell,
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: in this state and nationally, it's been all about Kamario Taylor,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: but Keelan Russell, man, what a start he's had. He's
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: second on the team in rushing, three touchdowns. He's a
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: true dual-threat quarterback. He can get away from you pretty quickly.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Eight touchdowns, two interceptions, 1,129 yards, and complete right at
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: 71% of his passes. This is a guy, talk a
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: little more about what he means to Alabama, and I
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: think he's tailor-fit for what Kalen DeBoer wants to do offensively.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think when Caelan DeBoer came to Alabama,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: when they recruited and flipped Keelan Russell from SMU, I
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: think they had this kind of, you know, vision for
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: the program in the future. I mean, I have heard
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: that he told people privately that Keelan was as good
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: a high school quarterback as he'd ever evaluated, and certainly
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: he seems to be a perfect fit. Certainly you saw
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: what Michael Penix did in this offense for Washington last
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: But he didn't bring the level of twitchiness and athleticism
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: that Keelan Russell has brought to the table. I mean,
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: we've seen some great quarterbacks at Alabama. Alabama was blessed
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: with Nick Saban for 17 years. I mean, all his
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: starters ended up getting a look in the NFL except
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: for Jake Coker and Blake Sims. And both of them,
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: you know, Jake Coker guided the team to a national championship,
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: had a really good year. And then Blake Sims was
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: SEC Offensive Player of the Year. and did just, you know,
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: amazing things for a guy that was a one-year starter.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: But all the others were NFL guys, starting with A.J. McCarron.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: You know, he played a long time in the league
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: before going into coaching. And then the superstars started to arrive,
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: the ones with the great individual talent, you know, the
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: two Otunga Valoas, even Jalen Hurts. He developed more as
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: a backup at Alabama than at Oklahoma, but he got
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: his start at Alabama. Tua Tungvaloa, as mentioned, and then,
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: you know, Mack Jones and Bryce Young. It was just
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: quite a procession of QBs. And Ty Simpson had a
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: good year last year, but none of them– and the
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: way I rate quarterbacks, I think Tua is the best
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: pure passer in national talent I've ever seen. But the
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: best quarterback I've seen in Alabama during my time all
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: around is Bryce Young. But, you know, if Keelan Russell
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: stays healthy and hungry– and works at it, he can
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: be the best of them all because he has the size,
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: an unbelievable arm, unbelievable twitchiness and speed, and by twitchy
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: I mean can move laterally, and then has great pocket
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: presence and can also throw with touch, short and intermediate.
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  Speaker 3: He can throw off of platform. He can just do
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: it all, but you have to stay hungry and you
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: have to be blessed to stay healthy. But if he does,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: he can absolutely be the best of them all. And
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: the cool thing about this matchup is, and I don't
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: think you'd mind me saying this, but if Kamario Taylor
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: stays healthy, Dak Prescott certainly sets the standard. But Kamario
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Taylor can be the greatest Mississippi State quarterback of all time.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: And this is what these kind of games are made for,
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: these kind of matchups. And that's what makes it so
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: highly anticipated and so special.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: We're visiting with Drew DeArmond out of the state of Alabama.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: He covers Alabama football and the SEC for Tider Insider. And,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: of course, I got the morning drive in Huntsville, Alabama,
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Wednesday edition of the program. I totally agree with you
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: on Kamario Taylor and the trajectory that he is on
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: and if he can stay healthy, what he could achieve.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: One of the questions for Alabama coming into the season
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: was running the football. The tide right now averaging around 4.8
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: yards per carry. Talk a little bit about the run game,
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: which looks like it's been revived to a bit. Daniel Hill,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: who played at Meridian High School, a lot of people
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: here in this state remember him, leads the tide with
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: 225 yards and four touchdowns.
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, he does. I think Daniel Hill's done a nice job.
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: He's certainly reshaped his body. He's not the explosive back
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: of the rest of these guys. Even Kevin Rowley has
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: great speed. We've seen Treshawn Brown, and we've seen certainly
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: these guys, EJ Crowell, make a huge impact. But Daniel
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: Hill's the most consistent right now. He's done a really
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: nice job. We'll see A.K. Deer some more. He finally
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: got a carry last week. He'll probably have a role
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: for this game. But, yeah, there's much more explosiveness in
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: the room this year, and I think they're a lot
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: healthier as well. And, you know, I'm really looking forward
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: to seeing how they match up with Zach Arnett, who
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: I have so much respect for. And I just think
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: overall it's going to be– because that's another big key
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: to this game because– I mean, I think, honestly, Zach
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Arnett can make a big difference. Mississippi State was so
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: bad defensively under Coleman Hutch in the last two years.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: They're so much better now. They'll be even better in
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: the future as Zach gets his guys and reestablishes the culture.
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: But it's going to be much more difficult for Alabama.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: But they're going to have to be able to create
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: some semblance of balance because I'm just telling you, I
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: know Mississippi State's going to score. Alabama's going to have
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: to score. I think Alabama needs to get in the
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: high 30s to do this, and Keelan Russell certainly is
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: the key to this offense, and he's an outstanding player,
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: and he's going to have to play well like he
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: has the last two weeks, but they're going to need
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: something from the running game. It wasn't quite as good
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: last week as it was the two weeks before, but
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: Daniel Hill will be a key. They have to control
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: the ball. They have to, in my opinion, get off
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: to a good start, make Mississippi State chase them, Because
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: if you let this crowd get really involved and you
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: start slowly, it's not going to be easy to come
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: back because of the environment. And then, like I said,
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: you have to be balanced. And I think they need
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: at least 150 yards rushing out of these four guys.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: And they need to create some big plays, maybe an
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: explosive play or two. And if they do that, then
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: they can win the game if they take care of
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: the football. That, you know, whoever, you know, wins the
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: turnover battle and makes the most explosive plays to me
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: is going to win it. I don't think, you know,
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: and I think whichever defense can get four or five stops,
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: whether that's turnovers, turnovers on down or, you know, or
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: just a clean making a team point. I think you've
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: got to get four or five stops total in the
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: game if you want to win it. My pick is
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: 37-28 Alabama, and I certainly respect the heck out of
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: what Jeff Levy's done. And I think Zach Selman showing
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: the patience with him has really paid off. And then
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: their commitment to Kamario Taylor, this is going to be
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: a heck of a ballgame.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Make sure to get him on exit, DrewD977ESPN. And, of course,
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: you can get him at tighterinsider.com. You can stream their
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: station at 977ESPN.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Com.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Drew, appreciate you, brother. Be safe coming over to Starkville
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: on Saturday, and enjoy the ballgame.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: We'll talk soon.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Jake.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much. Drew DeArmond on your radio. Make sure
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: to get him on X, and if you want more
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: on the Alabama side of things, they can provide that
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: for you. Again, we're brought to you by Dr.
• 9:51
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• 9:52
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• 9:56
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• 10:00
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• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Register for an opportunity to win tickets to the national
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: championship and the college football playoff. We'll take a timeout.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: More coming up in a bit.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Do you stay up at night thinking about the lack
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: of push from your team's offensive line? Do you spill
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: your Dr. Pepper arguing with your TV because pundits are
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: torching your defense? You're not crazy. You're a fan. And
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: no college football fan can fander their fullest without the bold,
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: one-of-a-kind taste of Dr. Pepper. It won't fix any of
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: the problems we previously stated. but it's delicious and drinking
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: it at a tailgate will make you look like a
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: ball knower which is a great consolation prize for the
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: lack of push your offensive line gets college football it's
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: a pepper thing