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Shriner's Children East-West Bowl w/ Eric Galko · Scouting the League

• Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Hey everyone and welcome to Scouting the League. Really excited to jump into our conversation with Director of Football Ops and player personnel for the Shriners Children's East West Bowl, Eric Galco. Yes, a new name. We will talk about that. We will talk about schedule changes, pro guys going back to college, positions of no, and so much more a really fun one, as it always is with Eric. So Make sure you stick around for this one. Joined today, as always, by Neil Stratton. He is at InsideTheLeague, inside the league.com as well. I am Roderick David. For all I do, check out rsafootball.com or hit me up on Twitter over at Right Step ADV. If you are a scout in the NFL, in the college ranks, or you want to be in one of those two spots, make sure you head over to thescoutingcommunity.com. This will give you some resources, answer some questions, give you some tools, answers that you need to make sure you are at the top of your game in any of those capacities, better than any class, any course you can get out there again, well worth your money, your time. Let's get together and talk. Thescoutingcommunity.com is a spot for that. And if you're an agent, if you're a player, if you're a school, if you are anybody out there in the football world that would like a scouting report done, go to right stepscouting.com. That is my new website that will have one-liners, full evals, video reports, no matter what it is in the evaluation game. Get that report done over at writstepscouting.com. Really cool spot where all your reports will be able to be housed and you'll get really professional, nice, nicely done things there. Wright Stepscouting.com is the spot for that. And make sure you go check out our partners over at blueMaka.com as well. Use code Scouting20 while you're there to get a little discount on that order as well as let them know we sent you the insules that will upgrade every pair of shoes you have, whether you're on the field, on the sidelines, walking up and down, or you just need to maybe walk the golf course in a little bit more comfortable shoes. Bluemaka.com has the answer for you. You again use that code Scouting20 at checkout to let them know we sent you. Eric Galko, today's guest is at Eric Galko. Also follow Shrinersbowl.com on Twitter to make sure you keep up with everything, whether it's that top 1000 we talk about, any of their upcoming announcements you will want to follow both Eric and Shriner's Bowl. as we get into the season, we are going to keep bringing you what you need to know and perhaps what you haven't thought about from across the NFL and college football landscape. Some of that here today with Eric. So let's go ahead and jump in. Well excited to get back in here as we continue our March for towards the 2027 NFL draft and the final all-star game in the cycle come 2027. It is going to be the no longer the East West Shrine Bowl. We're gonna talk about that, the Shriners Children's East West Bowl with Director of Football Ops and Player Personnel, Eric Galco. Eric, welcome back to Scouting the League. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Appreciate guys having me on. Let's do it. We're where the season starts. Week zero's coming up. This is it. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Week zero, another one of those things in college football that could be eliminated. It's week one. It's the first week of the year. Why we still call it weeks again. We've got Eric Galko @EricGalko: Reaching to the choir. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: we could have like four or five soap boxes before we even started the actual content we talked about, but that's probably episodes and people don't want to hear about it. It's week one, it's week zero, whatever. We got real games starting, and that's what I say. Real football. Again, I think Eric, you're probably in the same boat. Neil, certainly me. I'm ready for some fresh film. Agents, scouts, everybody's ready for some fresh film. Obviously, scouts have been out of practice. Eric, you've probably been to some camps, seen some guys. We're all excited. We're ready for that. How is everything for what is now the Shriners Children's East West Bowl? How is everything going right now? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, we're excited. And I you kind of forget almost every year of like what new film r is, right? 'Cause it's been like eight months of like just watching the other guys and then you just talk about these guys and at least for our staff, we talk about them ad nauseum and this guy's gonna do this, and then the second week zero week one happens, you're like, You don't wanna ever forget the old stuff 'cause we have a good process that doing well, but you can't help yourself. You're like, Thank effing god we have TCU North Carolina's weekend. I can't wait to watch Stanford Hawaii for the second straight year at ten o'clock at night too I I think like It kind of hit me actually like the past weekend being like next week's the week and we're talking to our staff about kind of preseason process. And I think it's, you know, important scouting wise to not forget the past and just be so in the moment. But for us, like it it kind of reminds you how important the the live film and being there as well too. We've had our staff go across the country. We lost one of our staff members to a a school. it's a good problem to have too. So we've had a lot of our staff out there in the world this summer and we're excited for the season to start. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, no question. Well, again, it's gonna be another year for you. How many years is this running running East West? Fifth year. So again, every Eric Galko @EricGalko: I think it's my fifth. I think it's the fifth year. Crazy. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: year brings new changes, new challenges. One of them that really doesn't change anything, but maybe the appearance and you know becomes a new language to say, no longer the East West Shrine Bowl, but now the Shriner's Children's East West Bowl. It can all be found at Shriner's Bowl on Twitter. Talk about that name change. Does Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: it change anything? are are you guys operating at just business as usual? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, number one, I gotta change my if you're on video here, my helmet and my jersey in the background here. but but largely, you know, what we found, and I think it's really important to always remember that us in the football industry think of it as the Shrine Bowl or the East West or whatever else. But this event, the real purpose of it is for Shriner's Children's. And our team has kind of learned and realized that people didn't always connect that connection, make that connection every time when looking at the event as well, too. When Shriner's Children's does a lot of other events and other sports, golf, women's basketball, college basketball. golf, right? And the Shriner's Children's name is always very front and center and people recognize it right away and kind of have that connective tissue so people can appreciate what Shriner Children's does in the sports industry and all over the industry. And and really we've learned that hey, the the Shrine aspect wasn't really resonating as well too and was it kind of time. We've been over we're a hundred and two years this year, which is so crazy. Only the Rose Bowl is older than the than the Shriner's Children's East West Bowl. It was probably overdue for a name upgrade as well too. So Again, you wanna call it the Shrine Bowl, the East West, you're not gonna hurt my feelings, but moving forward, we want to make sure people really associate Shriner's children's and the great work they do nationally and internationally with the with the event. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Yeah, Eric, for old guys like me, I'm still getting used to Shrine Bowl over Shrine Game. So forgive me if I say Shrine Game sometime today. But it's not the only big change for the game. There's also schedule change. And again, for old timers like myself, you're used to going to Dallas and then going to Mobile. It's going to be a flip this year. How does that change Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: things? Is it an advantage to have the last game? Eric Galko @EricGalko: I would say for one, the change is an important word. For us, there's no change, right? Other the I think the the the Reese's or with C Panini Senior Bowl has moved week earlier for their schedule in Eason as well too. So we're not we didn't change anything at all. I've had a lot of questions like, why are you guys here? Like we didn't move. We're always gonna be the Thursday before of of Pro Bowl week. That's what our schedule has always kind of been the last five, six years now. So we haven't really changed. I will say like I I hope there isn't. I really have been passionate about from from the Tronor Children's East West Bowl, get my name right, about really having a great player experience and taking care of them and and being something that like I think if you ask any player from the last five years that went to our event, I feel confident they would tell you like we they were taken care of, health-wise, sleep-wise, recovery-wise, facility-wise. And you should pick an event for NFL team to see you for that reason, not because of necessarily history or because someone told me I should do it or I was getting pressure to do it or whatever else. Pick it for the right reasons. And if that's the hula bull, if that's the American bowl who do a great job, great. Go there instead. That's your choice. I can really respect that. So the time of the calendar shouldn't really matter at all. but maybe it does for some people. And if some people like that, I'm not gonna say no, you're wrong, right? But I think in general, I hope players and agents that maybe listen to this are saying, hey, you should do whatever best for you in your one draft process and that calendar year. And I hope you're picking that for the right reasons, which is someone you can trust to take care of your players, someone that you're gonna as a player gonna be taking care of while you're there. And really be the best to perform in front of NFL teams on and off the field. So the date shouldn't matter. Hopefully the event and what we do at Shrouder Children's does. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, no question. Again, no no Mardi Gras to deal with in Texas. maybe, maybe over on the coast. I don't know. Maybe Neil throws a Mardi Gras party down in Houston. I don't know. I don't ask those questions of Neil, but again, from the scheduling standpoint, an extra week could make a difference. When you're talking about some of these guys that are playing again, we'll talk about another soapbox in a college football playoff that is way too late. an extra week could be big. Again, you talked about again, players doing what's right. Again, that's it's been one of Drew's messages. That's always been one of your messages. I think any all star game, any good agent, any good NFL team that wants information on these guys, like it comes down to making good decisions about your future. W i and health is such a huge part of that. Could it do you think that health question with one extra week could be, you know, tipping the scales for guys this year? Is that something you guys are talking about? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, the answer is probably yes, right? They'll have some impact as well. Again, I I stand by that maybe it it necessarily shouldn't from a general event standpoint. I would tell you guys, hey, I don't I don't think guys playing the national championship game with the date that it is should play in an all-star game. If they wanna come to the Tronter Show and East Westpowl and interview, we'd love to have I think the interviews are really, really important. I've always stood by that. I Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah. Eric Galko @EricGalko: believe that's the case in a big, big way. It's a huge passion of mine if I can't say that enough times. But I I'd be as blunt to say that. Now we had a we had players in the national championship game two years ago, Mitchell Evans and Jordan Clark. practice for a day or two. They were happy they did it. They got through it. They were certainly banged up. They definitely left early when no one was was mad at that. You know, that was their decision. And if a player wants to really make that decision, they can if they really believe in it. But again, if I'm going to be a player health and wellness advocate, I also want to speak to like what I think is best for them as well too. I think for games before the Shriner Children's East Westpole, those guys playing in the quarterfinals or the semifinals, that's going to be a quick turnaround. And that's a big reason why, again, if I'm going to say the Our event should be health and wellness player focused. I never make a player practice or play in the game that they don't feel healthy to do it. When you're late in the playoffs, that's gonna be more and more likely to. So I hope agents take advantage of the draft process in every way they should. All star games on and off the field, the combine. The guy should just skip out on those things because of the playoff, but I think you have to be really smart about it. And it's what is the event gonna offer? And also when is that event happening? Do I have enough time to recover? So to be blunt, I I don't think that guys playing the national championship game should in practice at an all star game, but certainly other guys kind of play it by ear a little bit. It's a delicate process. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah. Eric, we you you talked about it again at the beginning. The Shriners Shriners game, Shrine Shriners Children's. Again, it's really about those kids and again getting the players in, but for NFL teams, again, getting their scouts down there to see interviews, to see some of these guys. Again, you talk about cross-checkers, seeing player in person. That had become one of the challenges with East West and Senior Bowl. almost crossing over time is like, hey, we've got to decide where to send guys, you know, split time, only, you know, short time at either one. Have you gotten any feedback from NFL teams, hey, we're excited, hey, we can send full staffs to both spots this year and not have to worry and pick and choose and, you know, divide guys up. Eric Galko @EricGalko: You know, I think teams had have mostly figured out the best way to do it. And really the the the change was in the past, you know, what a d a decade ago, right? When they were a week, you know, Saturday to Saturday, it was have your scouts go here, then go home for a few days, and then go back down the road and then come home for a few days. Now you can kind of have a long six day week and get both of them done as well too. Same's gonna happen this year as well, right? Guys can go to go to Mobile, fly into there to what they do there as well too, and then fly to beautiful, sunny Dallas and and be there all week long. For the Shrine Bowl as well too. So like I think that's it's the same, it's different change in kind philosophies a little bit and how teams want to operate that. But by and large, we've never had a problem with attendance at our event the last five years. We've had GMs increase because of better talent, not because of change in schedule. And thankfully last year and this year we're gonna have every GM that goes to college all-star games will be at the the Shrine of Children's East West Bowl. We'll have probably a thousand NFL personnel, including League Office there. So it'll be well attended for I'm sure both events too. And I love it. I I again if we want to be competitive between different games. I want people to see both and experience both. And I I want to make sure scouts and NFL teams can do that. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Eric, you mentioned sunny Dallas and for those of in Texas, we're not we there's no quarrel with the amount of sun we're getting right now, okay? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: But you didn't quite get quite as much sun last year. How did Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: the winter storm that hit affect last year's game? How does it affect games going forward? Is it something that even matters? It was such a fluke, you know? Eric Galko @EricGalko: We had every practice in our game last year. so nothing what what do you mean? What's the problem? No. certainly was a challenge for people as well too. And I think more importantly, besides going to different all-star games, like NFL scouts, their time is too valuable in January, February, March to not be able to just be trapped somewhere without productive work going on. And I can appreciate that. As someone who travels, I work 18-hour days when I travel because I hate being away from home. If I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna work, being trapped somewhere would be terrible. So thankfully last year it was you know, once in a decade, once in a two decade, once in a lifetime. Ice Storm in in Dallas and we still got all of our practices. All the practice film was there too. by and large, I think outside of one team, every team got their full interview allotment done and our core interview time as well too. So I'm proud of the way that our team stepped up operationally. The city of Dallas and Frisco, the Dallas Cowboys like really helped us and stepped up to have a full week of practice well too. And knock on wood, that won't happen. One of the benefits again is that we're indoors, right? As an event. We're one of the few indo indoor facilities. This year we'll be at ATT Stadium. all week long indoors. So it's hard to kind of worry about the weather too much as long as we can get to the facility. And just like a year ago, this year we're gonna be we can walk to our facility. it's very close by to the AT Stadium where our hotel is this year. So we're not gonna miss any practice this year no matter what the storm is outside. And and being indoors is certainly a huge benefit for us. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, no question. Again, that was one of the fun things. is I was sitting at home last year trying to talk to a you know, a few people who were, you know, stuck somewhere or trying to trying to get there. That was the several people trying to, you know, get down there for all star game practices and you know, trying to trying to figure all that out. But again, going to be an outstanding game. We're gonna have beautiful weather this year, no question about it. And again, people can probably walk in shorts. They'll be complaining about the heat this year and you know, walk Eric Galko @EricGalko: There you go. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: over to the stadium and flip flop. So another again, as we start to keep talking about changes, there's this ruling that came down last week where we have guys that are currently in college preseason camps. Again, soapbox set it aside. They're heading back to school. We got guys you know entering from the Cleveland Browns to the transfer portal and wherever after that. Now there's going to be a group of players, probably a one-off with this court ruling, but we could have a decent. Collection of players that are going to potentially be on these lists for All-Star Games. Has has this been something you've thought about, talked about with the staff, thought about from a Shriners standpoint? Like, hey, if this guy's gone through the process already and been with an NFL camp, is this a player that's going to be down in Texas for us? Eric Galko @EricGalko: So a couple things. One, you know, th this is such a mess college and NFL teams. I think all-star game wise, so we're probably the low on the list of actually figuring what this means. I we're gonna watch these guys if they're in school again. these guys are eligible to play in all-star games. That's gonna be up to the NFL League office to determine those things if these guys are considered like reserve retired or reserve, you know, not on roster and these teams kind of keep their rights if they sign them or drafted them, or Are they going be in the draft process for 2027? I'll let the NFL League office and the great team there, Ken Fiori and his team, kind of sort through that. But we'll be watching them. And I think there'll be more than a couple, but not, you know, not more than 25, 30 that really make a huge, huge difference in the college football season this year as well, too. And we're gonna, of course, consider them and talk to them. I've talked to many of their agents. I've talked to some of these guys who are considering going back to camp and like, hey, what should we do? And again, I if I'm gonna be genuine be a player advocate and a player supporter. Hey, if this ruling comes down and a player can better himself by doing this, let's be a man of the system and not these players, right? Let's not give Daquan Wright negative feedback. He's taking advantage of an opportunity for him and his family and his legacy as a player, right? He should do that and blame the system, blame Mark Emirate, former NCAA president for not fixing this two decades ago, not Daquan Wright. So I think for those players, they should be treated with I think respect and and taking advantage of the opportunity. I can appreciate that. And I hope these guys have great years. It'd be a great story if this ruling comes down and a player who missed an all-star game a year ago, like Daquan Wright, who was hurt, couldn't do the whole draft process. This ruling is a saving grace when he goes to LSU and has a great season as being a draft pick. I think that'd be a great story and resolution of how this happens as opposed to, you know, why the NCAA maybe have messed this up either. So we'll be of course considering them. We'll follow the NFL League office's ruling on if they're eligible and what that process looks like. And we'll be watching them. They're they're back on our list. They weren't on the stride bowl one thousand a month ago for obvious reasons, but they're still on our watch list now. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. And again, that's the that I mean that's the that's the right way. Again, I you every All Star game it should be there. No again, what's best for the players in this process. And again, it's hard to hard to blame the players for again, information they didn't have that they didn't know that was out there. And again, the NCAA has it's easy to blame the NCAA, I guess. We'll we'll just leave it at that. Neil, Neil, what are your what are your thoughts on that? Have you heard anything again from agents, from anybody in in the industry that you're talking to? Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Right now I have to admit I haven't been following it. It's the the speed of change right now is such that every time you get to know think you know what's coming, suddenly everything gets ch you know, I didn't I didn't get to include in the rap last week, but I think the NCA got an injunction against the original group of sixteen players that and I haven't had a chance to follow up and see kind of where we stand with all that stuff. So no, I don't. And I don't even know that I have an opinion on it yet. I mean You wanna be pro player, but you also kinda wanna be pro sanity. And I think at some point we have to have guidelines and some kind of rules. If you don't, then you know, I mean we've got rules for the game. Why wouldn't we have rules for for what happens afterwards? Now Eric Eric Galko @EricGalko: I'll give you a spoiler alert, Neil. On that note, for everybody, like the change is not gonna come anytime too soon, I don't believe. From my talking with people at the NCA and people in the industry, I I think this is gonna be a mess for a little while longer. And I always believe like and I I try to have a lens of like a very clear theme and like players are not to blame here. I think maybe inside elite needs to hire a lawyer. Lawyers are running college ball right now too. So if you have any good ideas for lawyers, I'm sure Darren Heiner's a little busy, but outside of him, find somebody 'cause I think the law is gonna play a big role in college sports for a little while longer, unfortunately. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: You know, I don't wanna get I mean, Roger keeps saying let's set our soapboxes aside. It's really hard to do that. Right now we've got regulation by litigation, and that means everything is topsy turvy and nothing is in pen, everything is in pencil, and that's a really frustrating way to live. All right, so Eric, we t we've talked I guess the theme so far has been about changes. I'd like to talk more about what AT Stadium's gonna do for you. How was that initiated? What will be the benefit there? I mean, I don't think anyone and I'm not blowing smoke here. I don't think anyone has had any quarrel with the level of facilities that you had at Jerry World and thereabouts. You know, I mean, ATT Stadium is obviously you can't complain about that either, but how is it better? How is it different? How will it be different? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. I I mean I I think it's one A or one B best facility in the country for football, college or NFL in terms of like resources, field, setup, staff, which is so important for these kind of things. People don't really appreciate that, but like the flexibility of their staff. They've had FIFA games there, they've had great events there as well too. So it's gonna be a huge, huge benefit. Our hotel is is obviously moving right next door to ATT Stadium as well too. So NFL personnel who are there, there's hotels in the area, which NFL teams are already starting to book. Everyone can walk over to practice indoors. And again, being at an NFL facility, I've always told, you know, when I when I first talked to the Shriner Children's Board about joining five years ago, one of my really requirements was was NFL facilities. If we're gonna tell people that we're gonna have a best in class experience and help these players, I don't think players should be practicing at mediocre fields or outdoors for these events if they're gonna show NFL teams who they are. I I just never believed that. I don't wanna have that, and we haven't had that in my five years. Being at ATT stadium is is a the best field you could possibly ask for. B, it's gonna be really beneficial for our players to, you know, be taken care of from a soup to nuts at an NFL facility. And I think one of the really cool things, and I've always viewed the college all-star games as being that doorway to the NFL, right? You're still wearing your college helmet. You're still but you're not a college player anymore. You're not an NFL player yet, but you're talking NFL teams. That's clearly where you're going to some degree, whether you're drafted first overall, whether you're a first round pick, or whether you're a PFA. And it's that cool doorway, and think. The the all-star games, not just being a job interview, but also an experience has always been important to me too. And like watching these guys walk in with the with NFL teams there and the nerves and they walk and they just see Jerry World and they see ATC. Like I could play here one day. And Malachi Lawrence did, right? It's a really cool moment that I think as as great as the Frisco location for the Cowboys factory was incredible. I think that the real ATT experience is special for these guys. So we've seen it on game day. We saw it when we were in Vegas at their facility. And stadium as well too. There's a different level of, I think, appreciation these players really have and the experience. And that's why I think it's and for NFL teams, hey, full access on the sidelines, boxes to utilize, stands, like it's gonna be obviously a great experience. They are all indoors, all in ideal conditions, no matter what the weather is outside, not practicing outdoors is super important to me. I think it's gonna be a great experience for NFL teams, for agents, for media covering the event, and then of course for our players. There's not a single all-star game in history that's had a better facility than ATT Stadium, and I can stand by that pretty confident. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. Well again, you mentioned those players. The the Shriners thousand players have been out for a little bit now and it's it's a nice list. And one of the things is we've seen the shift, the change is again, if you're at a G five school, if you're at an FCS school, you're may not be staying there a long time. But again, with this thousand list, you've got a lot of smaller schools. So again, a lot of G five, a lot of FCS, again, schools that may not be on top three hundreds or may ultimately not end up in this all star game bats, but talk about your top thousand, talk about getting there, your great scouting team that you have out there again, kinda putting this list together and then and then we'll jump in on a few of these positions. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, people always ask a thousand. why a thousand? First off, it's a nice round number. I think it sounds good as part of it, right? Branding, as you guys well know. But also because, you know, you guys are well aware of of NFS and Blesto and their list end up being b as a grade, about a thousand guys, right? Each of them. And I really wanted this to be and thankfully it's been super humbling the last three, four years to have NFL teams tell me like one of the first things their scout assistants do in the summer before campus put the thousand list in their database. That that shows NFL teams really trust what we do, and I think it's probably most teams at this point, which I appreciate. And that's kind of the goal for people, agents, media, as well as NFL teams. Hey, you know, you shouldn't have the NFS and Blesto list. I'll put that aside. That shouldn't be public information for the NFL teams to only have. But you can use us as a starting point to say, hey, when you're watching University of Maryland, these are the guys you should really be looking at, et cetera, too. That's what I hope it really serves as. It does for our team. we kind of go back to that list all the time to remind ourselves we're missing. When a guy impresses that's not on that list, we kind of ask why. You know, do we just miss him in the summer? Has he drastically changed? What does that mean? So it means a lot to us. Obviously, we have the full grades, not just a list too, but really important for our staff to kind of have that foundation to appreciate the work you do in the preseason, right? Not show up week one and forget that all and write a whole new report. Really important for us to have. And you mentioned our staff. I mean, hey guys, I'm probably a little bit behind on film. I feel that every single year going into the year, right? I could have watched more and more guys when you've got two former NFL GMs on our team. Tom Gamble and Rand Carthon, who can lean on for experience, over a hundred years of collective NFL experience, a great mix of former NFL people, great young scouts that we'll probably lose pretty quickly. We lost Alex Brown, who I've known for a long time. He was with us for just this offseason, get lit by the Falcons, and then boom, Kentucky picks him up as their assistant GM, hopefully a testament to how damn talented our staff is. Having that much staff around you, in my position, you still gotta do the work. You still feel anxious that you never watch enough film. But no doubt I can be a little bit rest easy at night, knowing like, hey, I can I can keep doing it as little as I want to and really defer to our staff as well too. So they're they are a huge reason why we've had an upgreas draft picks every single year for the last five years. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Three guys in the top 51, Eric. That's really impressive, as well as a first rounder. How so you you mentioned that having that staff is a big assist to you, and I can't argue with that. But how specifically? How do you break things up? I I think you've got 18 guys now, at least on the what y'all published the other day. I used to, you know, when when I ran All-Star Games, I felt like that was reinventing the wheel. Obviously, y'all are getting results from it. How are you how are you using those eighteen people to I mean, do you does it I mean, I guess how the layers worked, how the areas work, as much Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yep. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: detail as you can get into there. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. the biggest thing I care about is is perspective. and making sure that we can have layers of perspective on our staff and and having, you know, our scouts covered by conference. so we've got a layer of conference scouts, right? It's easy because that way you can say, hey, it's hard sometimes to know if that big ten receiver is better than the SEC guy, but you can stack within your conference and your area really well. I think keeping that kind of area philosophy for us conference, because we're not doing as much traveling as area scouts are, is easier for us to track. It saves time on watching film as well, too. We've got a layer of of conference scouts that do that constantly and they also have FCS responsibilities on our staff. we I ask our staff to do a lot. we don't just watch guys just for shrine bowl or not. It's hey watch everybody in your conference because you don't know who's going to merge. And we've got six, seven thousand players written up in the country right now with full reports, background, you know, grades, all that kind of stuff. And that's important for our staff to have organized because I believe in that perspective. You can't just kind of moonlight in and watch a guy like the best scouts in the NFL can do that, right? I can name some scouts to like, Can walk into a room and watch some film and tell you who the best guys are. That's a skill that very few people have. Our scouts need to watch the whole country and allow myself and my director, Riley Bymaster, to help distill what they're collecting and watch the right guys all too. We've got a layer of cross-check scouts. Shane Coughlin, who's been with me for a long time, worked for the Dolphins before, does a great job of of kind of collecting all what the scouts are saying and watching the right guys, letting me know who to cross-check. We have cross-checks meetings every week with our cross-check staff. and I think the I'll end on saying you know, our big philosophy that I've kind of really put forward the last couple years is what I call no ego scouting, which is hey, if you're wrong, just get the grade right. Right. Don't matriculate. You g mean you guys probably know, right? You g you have a guy here as a late round pick and then he's playing well and it's a mid round pick. You kind of go up slowly every year or two. Hey, if you made a mistake or the guy's different now, change it drastically. Hey, if you were wrong on a player, admit it and move forward as well. And that's really treated us well to not, you know, labor on guys and maybe we were wrong on the preseason or maybe have a good reason why guys should be bumped up quite a bit too. And that kind of real honest feedback and honest feedback loop that we have with our area scouts and our cross check scouts, again, a lot of people want to have to manage, but it really allows us to find the right guys that are really good early, myself to reach out to the school, maybe the player individually or the agent saying, hey, we like your player a lot too. And that allows me to be more efficient and spreading the good word about why Toronto Children's East West Bowl is a great event. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, no question. Again, being taking that ego out of it. Again, there's been plenty of really good Eric Galko @EricGalko: It's hard. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: players that have made big jumps. And that's what again, what you want every one of these players to do. And again, in today's landscape with again the portal, finding a better situation, moving up, getting different pieces around you, that's all a big part of it. And again, biting the bullet and saying, Hey, this is why I was wrong and this is what he is now. Again, we've seen that certainly. I I remember being in the draft room, a young man named Joe Burrow. went from like a fifth or sixth to, hey, this guy's gonna be number one overall. Like, can we again, can we justify that? What what's the reasons? How did it happen, right? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. No, I mean it's it's hard. I mean, it's it's easy to say that now. I'm not trying to act like we're all low ego. We all have an ego, right? I'm not saying I don't have an ego either, but it's really impressive when I'd have our scouts to say, Hey, we were low on Malachi Lawrence. Like we had him in October as a guy that could be a first, second round pick. And I told the scout, You're nuts. What are you talking about? We had you're wrong. And the next week the scout did a great job, you how that goes, right? Hey, you gotta keep saying it over and over again sometimes to have stubborn people like me kind of hear the difference and kept saying it over and over again. And we invited him early, and me and Malachi had a relationship and You know, he was at the shrine the shrine bowl all year last year. And I think it's really important for our staff to to know when to push buttons and to be really powerful and and also say, hey, I was wrong before. Let me hear you out as too. And it's it's a hard thing to say. It's easy to say, it's really hard to do. And I'm really proud of the fact that all of our scouts kind of take that under their wing. They can be confident, but also no ego. And it's treated us pretty well in terms of getting guys right early and and being successful. And again, it's huge reason why those late day three picks that we nail every year, the PFAs that'll make rosters. we feel great about because we're doing the work and and being no ego early on that we can be like, Hey, we've thought this all through. We're not putting biases, we're putting bias aside and picking the right players early as possible. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Eric, y'all have always had a good relationship with Canada and historically have invited a couple players from there. But the game is becoming increasingly more in international. Is there Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: a time when we're gonna see players maybe from Africa, from other countries on the Shrine Bowl roster I'm sorry, East West Bowl rosters and and participating alongside American players? Eric Galko @EricGalko: I love it. you know, to be candid, I I've been a huge fan of the International Pathway Program for the NFL since my days at the XFL, almost almost ten years ago now. Crazy. 'cause I think it's really important. I think there's plenty of talent there. And I think, you know, football's hard to learn and develop. We've seen that, but not impossible. And I think all star games are a great opportunity for at the very least to have these guys observe, practice, and see how this really goes and and move forward. But also give these guys a chance to say, Hey, I know he's gonna probably struggle in some reps, but one or two good reps is really impressive. You know, who are Bernard? got drafted this year, right? Like NFL teams are if they just saw a day of all-star game practice, see how he fits, it could have made a huge difference in how early he gets picked, right? Because you're like, all right, he doesn't look that much like a fish out of water. So I've advocated for it. I've I've I've asked for it. I've asked for, you know, our event to be either exclusive or a part of that. And I hope the NFL League Office will continue to kind of hear that because I think that international is coming. It's you know we've got a thousand players on our watch list. We've got more guys, we had 7,000 guys written up. We can't go be watching you know, international games either, or or my buddy Mark Delgary, who I think you've talked to in the past at the Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: yeah. Eric Galko @EricGalko: International Pathway Program used to work for me. Like he's watching, you know, track and field on dirt field for these guys as well, too. So we can't be watching that. But I'd love to have a couple guys sprinkled in similar to the Canada approach too, to see how these guys fit. And and maybe for as as crazy as UR Bernard's story was, maybe we underrated him. You know, maybe a different process he goes in the third, fourth round because he's so talented. And I think it's a great program and I hope we can be a part of it. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah, Mark, a true grinder. We got him on the schedule early September as as again Eric Galko @EricGalko: Good. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: he's he's doing the work. He's you know talking talking to these international guys. He has a great, great pulse on it and again is doing great work out there. And again, we we talk about guys that move up in the process. Well, Eric, last year's we sat here, the twenty twenty-six quarterback class was gonna be the greatest quarterback class ever. Didn't quite work out. You've got over 50 quarterbacks on this top thousand. again, looking like a really good quarterback class again, but again, a lot of football yet to be played. Talk about this quarterback group. Again, tempering expectations, a lot of talent, a lot of really exciting names. a lot of football left to be played. Talk about quarterbacks. Eric Galko @EricGalko: I would probably wager of those fifty quarterbacks, forty of them can go back to school for a fifth year. Right. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Eric Galko @EricGalko: And I think that's what happened this past year and it and it might happen again. because I think for players, and we've seen the dollar amounts, right? Like Ty Simpson would be the based on his Rams salary, he'd be the tenth highest paid college quarterback this year. So even for first round picks, it's not necessarily financially worth it. I think it's a good thing as well for players that's saying, Hey, you don't have to rush out there, right? all expectations be Darien Mensaw from Miami will have a great year, go to the NFL. But if he's not Necessarily feel in that kind of way. He can go back to school for the year as well, too. I think that's a great problem for quarter for players and a challenge for All-Star games to figure out who that might be in NFL teams, too. I think it's a very I think one of the benefits of these quarterbacks staying longer, transferring, and going to better situations is we should have a much clearer idea of who these guys are. Scouting's hard, especially a quarterback, no doubt. But the more these guys play and the longer they play, you feel much more comfortable about who these guys are. And the guys that may be s will struggle, reveal themselves much earlier, right? Ty Simpson's a huge exception to that story, but most of the quarterbacks we're looking at on the Shrine Bowl list right now are are guys that have played two, three seasons. I can tell you right now, looking at our big board, you know, at least twelve guys that could be eligible for the Shrine or Twenty's West Bowl, we would take in a heartbeat. And we can't take twelve quarterbacks, right? So it's it's that good of a year of like there are a lot of guys coming in the year that are really good, that are really impressive. you know, four or five of those guys might be top three overall picks and and decline. Hopefully they don't. but hopefully they'll they'll be there as well. But I think it's gonna be a lot of the the who the best quarterbacks in the draft versus the all-star games will be different. You know, last year the our event had the top quarterback from an all-star game, Kate Klubnik. He was the first quarterback that went to any All Star game that was drafted two years ago that almost was Shadur Sanders, if not for kind of a funky draft night. And this year we expect to have the best quarterbacks at at our event this year too, from an all-star game too. But it's it's a loaded quarterback class. you know, outside of two or three guys, most of them can go back to school and we'll kind of figure out as we go along here too. But it's I think it's justifiable strong quarterback class overall. And guys like the two the two guys that can be confident are coming out are are Brendan Sorsby and Trinidad Chambliss. And both those guys were invited a year ago, if they came out, both those guys are, you know, in my experience talking them good people, good quarterbacks that teams have a lot of questions about to answer for the future. And I expect both those guys to be, you know, invited to the East West Rhine Bowl, Trinit Children's East West Bowl this year as in Dallas. And hopefully we have them down there. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well again, t you you all these forty some quarterbacks, and again, the big names that get talked about all the time Arch Manning, Lenora Sellers. again, you get CJ Carr, you get the Mesta Maker kid at at Oklahoma State. Is there maybe one of you you've got some smaller school, you've got a North is a South Dakota State quarterback, Chase Mason, you've got Steve Angelli Syracuse. Is there one of these maybe under the radar? Again, we'll hearken back to a Brock. Purdy type name in this quarterback group that is under the radar now but has all the makings to be, hey, in four or five years, this is gonna be a solid starting NFL quarterback. Eric Galko @EricGalko: You know, I I think I'm I'm always curious to watch early in the season the the quarterbacks that are transferring with, you know, maybe they have an interview after this, but kind of like they're hey, they're transferring for their final year, right? Some guys that jump out, Bynam Brown from South Florida to Auburn, same offense with Alex Goolish, uber talented player. He's working with a good friend of mine, Jordan Palmer, this offseason, who's raved about how he's developed as a passer as well, too. Like he looks like Cam Newton, out there running the ball if he can develop as a quarterback at Auburn to have a great year. I'm intrigued to watch him. Jaden Craig from FCS Harvard to TCU. Great person, really smart, obviously, fits the stereotype of a Harvard transfer. but TCU is relying on him to be a big quarterback this year and they really lead their offense in a fairly young skill group. Rocco Becht, speaking of Brock Purdy, right, transferred Iowa State to Penn State under Mack Campbell, has a lot of Brock Purdy isms, right? Started four seasons in college, not the biggest strong arm guy. has connections. His family had played in in, I think, baseball for Brock Purdy for Rocco. His dad played in the NFL. So some obvious parallels there as well, too. And then Ty Pennington from Northern Arizona, a really good FCS quarterback people are excited about. So I think those are the kind of guys that right now aren't being talked about in the quarterback class because there's so many good quarterbacks at the top that could go back to school. My money is that a heavy, heavy majority of the people we're talking about right now for the 2027 NFL draft at quarterback are going to go back to school. It's going to be another Hey, know the guys are gonna be there for sure, but don't be surprised if a really, really good quarterback who may be a first round pick says, you know what, I'll go make $10 million next year a quarterback to stay in school. That could very well be the as well too. So those names I just said, maybe guys to not sleep on right now because they may be down the list now for NFL teams, but come December, January, they'll be back at the top of the board. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well, make sure you check out that top thousand list, Shrinersbull.com. Again, you can find it on there. I'm sure you can find it on Eric's Twitter at Eric Galco. Edges. Again, you go from quarterbacks, you go to edges, O line, wide receivers, another big edge group. We're seeing those guys make a lot of money. Again, it's probably going to be a similar conversation. A bunch of these guys are going to have the opportunity to go back, make money at the arguably second premier position. Again, wide receivers are certainly moving up there. These edge is another really good group. Talk about again, kind of in that same vein, under Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: the radar, or again, these guys that have to come out fifth year, sixth year at this point, some of these guys that you like in this edge group. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, a couple guys from a year ago looking at our board, Clev Lubin at Louisville State another year. I think it's his fifth or sixth year, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Anto Saka, all these guys were in the mix for us a year ago. And think those guys that you have back to back years as an athletic edge rusher, it's really hard for NFL teams to pass on those guys. Cause as you guys know, even if you're a third edge rusher for a team, that's still worth a top two round draft pick. I mean, those guys are really hard to find. Heck, Malachi Lawrence, he's gonna be the third edge rusher for the the Cowboys, and they need him to be successful. And he was a first round pick for them as a rookie. So I think for a lot of those guys that stayed in school, hey, two really good years, Anthony Smith of Minnesota, Quincy Rhodes at Arkansas, all these kind of guys could really vault up again with another strong year. I'm always curious. I love my guys at Texas Tech, Joey McGuire, James Blanchard, their GM. They've got a great coach as well. They had Melo Height and and David Bailey a year ago. This year they've got Trey White and Adam Trick, as well as more D-tackles, AJ Holmes, Mateen Ambrosia from from Wake Forest, like another great foresome on the defensive line. And I'm always amazed at Schools like Texas Tech that because they can really get the best guys in the transfer portal, they're willing to change their defense every year and adjust to the talent, right? David Bailey, Mellowhyte, Lee Hunter are different than the four guys I mentioned they have this year as well, too. So seeing how these defensive fronts and the players that play them are able to change schematically because most NFL teams are between nickel and base could be three and four front differences, right? So seeing how these guys can adapt transfer-wise to new schemes. And of course, play within a new system in college is really, really valuable for us too. But you're right, Edge Rusher, one of the strongest issues groups this year outside of quarterback. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah, certainly. Let's let's flip it over to the other side of the trenches. Again, last year we saw a little bit of a shortage of really top end. Not that it was a bad O line group, but it was like, all right, well, again, a big mix. Maybe the most talented guy is playing guard for the Dolphins now, but again, just had a lot of questions it as a tackle. Again, this year, again, we're could be some really high end guys. Now, again, have to go out and prove it. We'll say that till we're blue in the face. But again, another O line group that could be really talented. Any of these guys you're really excited about? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, it's a really strong group. Thank goodness Trevor Goosby at Texas is healthy. He's gonna be a guy that could be, you know, who knows a top 10 pick when it's all said and done. But I think this year's class feels I think safer in the top half. You know, last year a couple tackle tackles emerged. Some teams had very different grades on certain guys. Certainly those guys get pushed up as a premium position and what was considered for some NFL teams like not the strongest draft class. And maybe some of those guys would have been second round picks in other years. But I think this year's draft class will have no shortage of tackles who are worth first round grades. you know, the guys like Carter Smith from Indiana, Trevor Locke from Iowa, I mentioned Gooseby already too, Nikki Prongos from Stanford, all really good players, and some guys that we're excited to see kind of emerge this year when healthy, whether it's Jacaris Peak when he's back to health, Ohio State's done a great job developing offensive linemen over the years. So I think it's a really, really strong offensive tackle class. That alongside quarterback is probably the the heaviest position at the top for us that, like, hey, if we had to invite players to the East West Bowl right now, it'd be too many offensive tackles that we feel already really good about, which is I w a good sign of a strong position group is that we have such a high floor level of players that position. So tackle along with edge rusher and quarterback will be the three strongest groups this year, at least coming into the season. We'll see how these guys play. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. And again, those are those are great ones to have edge rushers against tackles. If you want to elevate some stock, go and look really Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Come to Dallas. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: good against you know some of the other top rushers in the country. And again, the the final spot before we kind of flip it to defense wide receiver. Again, we may be the consensus number one player on most teams board right now, Jeremiah Smith. Again, he could go back to Ohio State. I don't think he will, but again, another really good group we're seeing wide receivers get taken higher. You've got to have three top end starters in the NFL. Another good group, again, Cam Coleman going to Texas. Of course, Jeremiah, Ohio State has a few. What about what this wide receiver does? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, I don't expect Jeremiah Smith to be down there in Dallas at ATT stand. If he wants to come, we'll more than happy to have him. He's got an invite waiting to go whenever it's time. But I think he's probably gonna be just fine for the draft process himself too. But I think receiver is a bit more, at least in our opinion, a bit more open. And we're really excited to see how some of these guys that have transferred, whether it's the Cooper Barkate and Darian Mensah in Miami, Isaiah Horton transferring, some guys coming back from either injury or a change in offense. Some guys like Deuce Robinson and Nick Harbour who kind of really want big ears and have a lot of talent. Let's see if they can really emerge this here. And the couple guys that I think based off of what we know from NFL teams that we disagree with right now, and that it's there's some really intriguing slot Z receivers that I think people are underappreciating right now as well across the country. So it's not as strong as it has been in years past in terms of the depth of those kind of second, third round NFL starter level grades, but there is a lot of talent around the country. A couple of guys who made really, I think, smart transfers. to be bigger focuses of their offense. And it's a position group that we've got the most, you know, on our big board of blue is like a let's let's watch early in the season see what's going on. I think we have a lot of guys in that tier as well that will be watching that position very closely early on. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, certainly. Eric, last week we talked about a couple of these guys on the defensive side of the ball that are not quite safeties, not quite linebackers. They're really good football players. And again, we're looking again, the state of college football and in in some ways a state of pro football, you've got to have some of these nickel type linebackers. Again, we're gonna have another crop of those where, hey, good footballs, where do we play them? Again, are there some guys, are we gonna have the the Harold Perkins conversations again this year where like, all right, hey, we want you to come down. We have some teams that want you here, this is where you're comfortable. Where do we stick you? Is that gonna be in the conversation again? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, I mean, for one, I I was always surprised by Harold Perkins. I know he didn't really hit the ceiling people thought he might hit as a freshman, but apparently talking to people in Atlanta, he's crushing in camp right now. He might be their starter week one. I mean, he's really, really impressed and kind of a unique player as well, too. And you know, there's there's always a thing about it, you want to protect players from themselves sometimes, and I want to do everything. And then a player looks mediocre at a lot of spots and teams don't know what are playing. That wasn't Harold, but sometimes that happens in the draft process. I think it's something we played by year. I actually think this off ball linebacker class by example is is pretty pretty straightforward this year. There's a lot of really good players who are that six one, two thirty, two forty as well. But, you know, NFL teams, we saw starting about four or five years ago with the drafting of nickel corners only in the second round. And we're seeing more sub package guys get taken earlier. I think NFL teams are more and more open to, hey, can you be truly versatile and play a lot of spots? Are you a as Isaiah is are you a a neither, a tweeter tweener or a both? Right? Neither is you can't play anywhere in the NFL. You're just not the right size for any position. a a A tweener is a guy between two spots. And if you're a both, like Carol Perkins was, where can possibly play Sam, Will, Mike, and strong safety and and nickel fronts, that's really valuable. And I think we'll see how these guys develop over time too. But I think this year's draft class, based on our opinion, feels top top of the list and top to bottom, much more reliable, much less confusing, I think, for NFL teams to start. I think there's way fewer guys who are kind of in between guys and more guys that are straightforward, good linebacker, good safety. But but certainly the draft process four guys that can show their versatility. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: Eric, Eric, you mentioned obviously the game is changing. It's always changing. People the way teams win and all those kinds of things. Do you find yourself changing the way y'all look for players to kind of adapt to the way to the changing league as well? Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. And I think the biggest takeaway we've had the last couple of years, partially from experience doing this and partially from how the NFL's changing. For one, is and I I it's already beat a dead horse, but I do a lot of work on character on the back end of the front end of these guys. I think character, it's just because they're these guys are so mature now coming out of college that like there's really no reason to take bad character kids anymore, right? These guys have agents and managers and have transferred and made big boy decisions early on. That like I really don't have a lot of sympathy for teams that draft high character risk guys because you just don't have to. and we do a lot of work on the character on the front end. I think NFL teams are doing the same thing and looking for creative ways to do that. I think the other piece is more and more NFL teams have just said either one of two things. We want to take guys that can make our roster and be reliable, right? We saw the Jacksonville Jaguars and my buddy James Gladstone take some heat for that, but I think they're gonna have almost every one of their draft picks that's healthy make the roster and contribute. Like there's something to be said for that. The other piece is I think teams in the NFL are way more willing to adapt their scheme based on their personnel than they were before. And I think from all our all our all-star game method, to some degree I w I think about it, but for the most part, I want to invite the best 125 players we can. If that means we have too many tackles versus centers, let's figure that out on game day, right? Too many edge rushes versus defensive ends, right? If we have to have both of our teams be, you know, four down teams, great. If we have more three down, four linebacker, great too. I NFL teams appreciate that, like, hey, you know what? We got to get forty-six really good players for week one in the NFL. And if that means we have too many D tackles, we'll play more four-man fronts. So I think for me, the character piece, finding guys that can fill specific roles at a high level, Caden Wetgen for us at Iowa, best returner that most people have seen since Devin Hester, clear role for NFL teams. And then, hey, if we take more D-tackles than previous years, great, so be it. It's a good class. If we take less, same idea too. So may maybe be more flexible to how NFL teams approach their roster builder. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. I think everybody'd be fine. If you have a goal good crop of three techs to get after it again, I think everybody's always gonna be happy finding a few of those guys. So Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: out outside those positions, Eric, is there a spot? Corner, safety, long snappers, beautiful. Bring the specialists into a kickers punters. Is Eric Galko @EricGalko: Long snapper. No. never. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: there is there a group that man, I'm really excited about this tight ends, trade as green is really fun to watch. is there a position and name some guys like hey, you'll buckle up for this guy? Eric Galko @EricGalko: I will I'll give shout out to Rank Carthon. Last year for CBS, we did our roster preview and he spent about 30 minutes going over our specialists because he did the work too. So much respect for the specialists. We spent a lot of time on those. People don't care, but we care about the specialists quite a bit. outside of those, I I'm really excited about this this tight end class. And excited from a scout standpoint, in that it's not as top-heavy as we've seen in the past. It's not gonna be a class I think our are slamming through the door, look at all these great players. But I I think we've seen pretty quickly. College teams and the and the best players for NFL teams, being the guys that can block, that can be those 11 personnel or 12 personnel tight ends. And I think NFL teams have aggressively, we saw again, we saw it last year with the Jaguars and who they took, but a lot of teams right after them took guys that can block. And I think we're changing really, really quickly on who can be the guys that can be really good blockers and 11 personnel, 12 personnel type players. You know, Ben Brommer at at Penn State, former Iowa State's a guy that jumps out. I may name some names, he's one of that jumps out as well, too. But even guys like down the list a little bit for NFL teams that may think the guy's a late round pick. But we saw how early Will Cak Merrick goes or or those blocker first kind of players and guys like Alex Honig for Northwestern, for example, again, maybe a guy that some people don't think is a slam dunk top four-round pick. It's a really good blocker. And that's a really big value for him as well, too. A lot of guys like that I'm really intrigued by. And I think tight ends the position the most that's changed just in the last two years and how teams are evaluating it. I think this tight end class is. a bit at an inflection point of of hey, if you're a really good pass catcher in space guy, are you being devalued pretty quickly? And then the other side of that, the really good blocker is being aggressively overvalued right now too. So from a scout nerd standpoint, that gets me really intrigued by how the draft may go nine months from Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Well again, it's always always good to have a good mix of scout and nerd, because again, you can marry Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: the data, the analytics, the film. Again, the right teams are doing it. Eric, you guys are doing it a lot down there. Again, big part of your process is that, hey, the more information we have, the puzzle has just added a few more pieces, adjusted. Has it has it changed as we've had more and more data? Eric Galko @EricGalko: absolutely. I mean, I you know, I think I think the more you talk about, in my opinion, in my experience with NFL teams, the more you talk about analytics part of the process, it kind of tells me that maybe it's not part of your process, right? Like Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Mm-hmm. Eric Galko @EricGalko: it's it's integral to what we're doing. We don't think about it, right? Like you talk to people in finance, they don't talk about using analytical models. They're just doing what their job is, right? And for us, you know, we've got not only have data, but we have the processes built in that our staff can do these things really efficiently. And and I we take a lot of pride in being Not necessarily forward thinking on it, but like not just being performative in what we're doing. We don't have time to, what's this guy's miles per hour? If that's not part of your process, then you're too late, right? Then you're kind of getting bias creating, like, hey, I already like this player. Now he has this and I'm impressed by it as well too. So we use a lot of it. We're really proud of the fact that we launched our analytics competition last year. we had sixteen teams compete in front of NFL teams for an analytics similar to the big data bowl, but using Shrine or Shoulder and C's West Bowl. Data we'll have that again this year, parting with underdog and and Sumer Sports. So we're really proud of the fact of how we use all the resources available to us film, relationships, data, and make that all into one process for sure. And we're excited to have the analytics competition be back this year because it was a huge success. The appreciation NFL teams got for hiring people from that competition was really valuable as well too. And we want to make sure that we can be as a as an event, more than just players in practice, players in interviews, but really have a reason for NFL people, media agents, and even fans and people competing have a chance to be be beneficial there. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah, no question. Again, the more the more information, again, that's all all of we call it data, we call it anal the more information you have, film, reps, Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah. Right. Yep. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: practice reps, all-star games rep. The more information you have, again, don't get paralyzed by it, but again, it's gonna help you make good decisions if you keep it all in perspective and keep that picture, that keep that puzzle in the right picture. But but Eric, you're at Eric Galco at Shriner's Bowl is always tweeting stuff out. again we're getting ready for real games. You, your scouts, getting out on the road, doing podcasts, anything people that are listening here today can be looking forward to with you and all things Shriners are doing. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Yeah, we'll be I'll be a a bit more active on on social in season, hibernation away from this than this the Twitter sphere is is over now with the season starting up as well too. Every looks like to me every Tuesday, myself and one of our scouts, Mike Renner, also at CBS Sports. We'll doing our weekly show where we kind of talk about guys from the previous week that the the Shrine Bowl is looking at. very specific, very pointed. Want people like agents and media to be able to listen in, hear some players, hopefully get some good insights there as well too. So that'll be on Twitter video. this year starting on Tuesday after week zero and all all season long as well too. and hopefully some more cool excitements coming and announcements coming soon. Where I'm always as you know, Neil, I'm trying always add shit every single year. I can't help myself. And we added the, you know, analog foundation a year ago. We have another big thing we're hoping to announce here in October as well too. But in the meantime, hopefully people get the chance to see what makes the the event so great. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, absolutely. Well again it is a good one. Neil Stratton @InsidetheLeague: You put the good work there. It's been you've done a great job with the game. I've been really, really pleased and I think I'm certainly not the only one who to see the advance. It's really evolved since you took on the game and and I congratulate you on that, man. It's it's really been fun to watch. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Well, thank you, man. It's been a great team effort and I I think we're the only all star game to have an increase in draft picks every year for the last five years. Everyone else has kind of stayed still. So if we're kind of keep moving forward's all we can really ask for our staff to do and appreciate you saying that 'cause it's been a a long labor for our staff and our people are Schwanners Children. So appreciate that. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, well we'll it's a labor of love because again, it's football at the end of the day. It's Shriners, children that you are again doing everything to give back to, which is is so important. Again, a huge part. Again, hearing the stories, again, even even a tough guy like myself can get choked up seeing seeing those sometimes. And again, you should definitely pay attention. Again. Even the draft focused people, the evaluation, again, keep that human element part of it that Shriner's Children is. So make sure you're following Eric at Eric Galco. Neil's, of course, at Inside the League. Fight follow Shriner's Bowl at Shriner's Bowl, paying attention to everything there. again, we are almost to real football. We are getting closer to to real games in 2026, and that means part of the 2027 process. But Eric, we appreciate you being on. Good luck. Enjoy safe fall. definitely look forward to having me back on. Eric Galko @EricGalko: Thank you guys, appreciate it.