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Tony Barnhart Gives Thoughts on NCAA, Nick Saban, and SEC · The Jake Wimberly Podcast

• 0:00
  All right, Tony, A lot going on with the college football world.
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  When you look at the meetings that are going on with the College Football Playoff
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  Committee, everything that's going on with the NCAA versus the state of Tennessee,
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  now you know the state of Virginia as well. When you look at what's
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  going on with you know all of the lawsuits Greg Sanki and of course the
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  SEC now have now locked arms and arms with Tony Pittati at with the Big
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  Ten and now they have to form this advisory group. When you watch all
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  of this happen, what's going through your mind? What's what's going on here?
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  Well, I posted a column this morning on TMG College Sports. You
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  can just do a Google search on that TMG College Sports. Well, basically
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  I said, hey, something, you know, could this be a really
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  big deal? I'm talking about the alliance between the Big Ten and the SEC.
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  Could it be a big deal? Yet? Could? And only only
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  time will tell. But my my position was that we have gotten to the
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  point now where something's got to give, something's got to happen, somebody's got
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  to step up, or people have to stand up a show leadership, because
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  what what we have now is not sustainable and uh, and and everybody knows
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  that, and but they're trying to come up with some rules and legislations that
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  don't violate anti trust law, which is a very difficult thing to do.
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  But yeah, it's uh, it's going to be interesting to see what the
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  proposals come that eventually come from or the or the ideas that come from the
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  SEC and the Big and the Big ten sort of aligning together. But something's
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  got to change, I will say that, Tony. I don't think we've
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  had a chance to talk to you since Nick Saban retired from the University of
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  Alabama as a head football coach. With the National Signing Day part two tomorrow,
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  it's always kind of a you know, now of a lackluster day with
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  you know, the first signing day in December. But you look at the
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  effects that this has had on recruiting with Saban going out the door. Just
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  your thoughts on obviously, Nick Saban now being out of the game, what
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  this means for recruiting wise, and the holes it leaves at Alabama and then
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  not only there, just in college football, right well, it leaves the
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  big hole in college football because he was the he was the guy. He
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  was the ghat and in college football will be, it's gonna be it's gonna
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  be really strange when we play next season. He's not He's not there.
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  But I also think that he got to the point in his life and career
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  and he said, you know, it might be smart for me to leave
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  a year too early instead of a year too late. And I think that
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  I think that was a factor there. You know, you got to believe
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  that all the NIL and transfer portal and all of that had to play some
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  kind of factor in it because it changed the nature of the job that all
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  coaches do. And but it's he is going to be missed, and it's
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  going to be fascinating watching Alabama and Kaylin de Boor and how that's all going
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  to shake out. And oh, by the way, they played Georgia on
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  September twenty eighth in Tuscaloos, Tony and that's going to be a massive,
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  massive game. When you look at the two new guys on the street,
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  Texas and Oklahoma. We've talked a little bit about Texas and Oklahoma with you,
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  but you look at Texas the college football playoff run that they had Oklahoma,
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  Brent Vinables had a bounce back here, they lost a lot in the
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  transfer portal, they'll have new coordinators. Which team, at least in your
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  estimation, is ready to make an immediate impact in the SEC? And is
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  it as clear as it's going to be Texas? Oh, I think it's
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  I think it's Texas. I think Texas is the top four, top five
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  team right now with what they've got coming back and overall talent that they have.
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  So yeah, it's going to be uh, you know if if it's
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  not Texas and Georgia playing for the SEC championship, I'm going to be surprised,
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  Tony. When you look at Misissippi State. We haven't talked to you
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  about Jeff Levy, but when you look at what he has done in a
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  short amount of time released recruiting wise, having to replenish you know, some
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  offensive skill talent, really kind of get their collective, you know, people
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  to buy into what's going on Misisippi State, especially after a year that they
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  had, uh, at least off the field. Your thoughts of the higher
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  and what he has done in a short amount of time, Well, Jeff
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  lebby Tracan Balwoie back to when he went to work for Lane Kiffen the guy,
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  the guy knows offense, he knows what he's doing. I think I
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  think they're gonna do well. But Jeff, Jeff Olebby is one of these
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  bright young coaches you know, is going to be very successful in where he
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  goes. Tony is the same for Lane Kiffin. Are you buying you know,
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  all this hype on Ole Miss and what they have done? I mean
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  already in this state. I can tell you this emphatically that this is going
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  to be the biggest off season probably since Eli Manning was a senior at ole
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  Miss in this state for that university. Uh, and what they have done?
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  Are you Are you on that side of the fence with Lane Kiffin and
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  ole Miss as well? I believe I am. We look and look at
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  the talent, look at how they checked the boxes. Sure, first eleven
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  wins season ever last season. You know that's uh, that's that's pretty impressive.
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  But what you don't, no, because because we don't have divisions anymore,
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  Uh, it's gonna be interesting to see what you know, what you
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  know, what's going to happen at Old Miss, what's gonna happen in LSU,
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  what's gonna happen in Texas, A and M. I think it's gonna
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  be different for all those schools and over in the East it's it's Georgia,
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  and then it's you know, it's everybody else, but it's it's uh.
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  I do I do like old miss. I like the way that they're configured
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  and listen Lane Lane Kiffin is one of the best play callers of our generation.
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  Tony Barnhart on your radio. Make sure to find him on exit.
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  Mister CFB will tell you here just a bit how to get his book.
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  Tony. One more question sec football wise, and then we'll we'll talk about
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  where that distribution is for the nineteenth Green. When you look at Florida,
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  they've had a nice recruiting cycle under under billion ap here and everything that's going
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  on there, there's been a lot of attrition. Their schedule is unbelievably tough.
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  This year probably the hardest one in the conference. Can he survive in
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  Gainesville till next year? I think he can, But it's gonna be you
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  know, they need to show signs that things are moving in the right direction.
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  Sometimes it's not. It's not wins and losses, although wins and losses
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  are important, But it's how do you play? How do you look?
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  Do you look like a well coached team? And with that schedule, you
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  know they need they don't you know, I don't. I don't think he
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  needs to win nine or ten games to keep his job, but he needs
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  to look like things are moving in the right direction. And I, frankly
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  I think you will, Tony. Four, We get you out of here.
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  The nineteenth of Green. Where can people find it? Where can they
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  get their hands on it? The best way to get is Amazon. Just
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  go do a just a search on the nineteen of Green. It's published by
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  the University of Georgia Press, and and it is. We're happy with the
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  way the book turned out, and it told the story that we wanted to
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  tell Tony. I do appreciate your time. Look, we'll catch up and
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  do it again. Enjoy the super Bowl, and enjoy this week. We'll
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  talk soon, all right, Thanks Jack,