Latest / Talkin' Tech / Off-Season Episode #8 - Special Teams + Optimisms/Pessimisms Going Into the 2021 Football Season

Transcript

Off-Season Episode #8 - Special Teams + Optimisms/Pessimisms Going Into the 2021 Football Season · Talkin' Tech

0:39
SPEAKER_05: Welcome in, everybody, to the Talk and Tech Podcast powered by Guns Up Nation, part of the Guns of Nation Podcast Network.
0:46
SPEAKER_05: I am your host, Steven Rodriguez, my co-host, Tristan McGonagall.
0:49
SPEAKER_05: Tristan, how are you doing today, man?
0:51
SPEAKER_04: I'm waiting until the end of the week to announce how I'm feeling.
0:54
SPEAKER_04: That's so, you know, to uh to to postpone the feelings.
0:58
SPEAKER_04: I know there's lots of people ask me how I'm feeling, but I'm gonna wait until the end of the week to let you know.
1:04
SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah?
1:04
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm meeting the package.
1:07
SPEAKER_04: We're waiting out, you know, seeing how we feel.
1:10
SPEAKER_04: Gonna, and then we're gonna go from there in a couple weeks, in a couple days, I should say.
1:14
SPEAKER_05: George Kleevkov will either make me very happy or very sad by the end of this week.
1:19
SPEAKER_05: Uh, if you don't understand what we're referencing, the Pac-12 is announcing whether or not it is going to expand by quote unquote the end of this week.
1:28
SPEAKER_05: So you may even know it by the time this episode is out.
1:31
SPEAKER_05: Um, it's just just wild times over here.
1:33
SPEAKER_05: I guess it's it's good that we're getting some clarity, uh, but also kind of scary.
1:38
SPEAKER_04: This this is the foremost Pac-12 podcast.
1:42
SPEAKER_04: So I've been I've been messaging George every single day, asking for the deets, asking for the leak, because if he wants to get the people excited and reach the widest audience, he has to give it to the talking tech squad.
1:55
SPEAKER_04: You know what I'm saying?
1:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, us and George are really tight.
1:58
SPEAKER_05: I I think we might get into the Pac-12 just because you know he knows us so well and he wants to hook us up.
2:04
SPEAKER_05: But uh no, but seriously, this is a uh this is a crazy time, uh, as we've said since OU and Texas left.
2:12
SPEAKER_05: Um, and and for the Pac-12 to kind of just go out and say, hey, you know, we're gonna let you know whether we're expanding or not, I feel like is significant in this.
2:21
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and you were bringing this up earlier when we talked prepod, but um, just the fact that they're actually announcing whether or not they're gonna expand kind of makes you think they're going to expand.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: I agree.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: I think I I think at the very least they're gonna set up a committee kind of like what the Big 12 did a four or five years ago when they ever announced that they're an explore uh expansion.
2:44
SPEAKER_04: I bet it's we're gonna at least get something like that.
2:46
SPEAKER_04: Um, the only thing with this is their options are a little better than what tech uh the Big 12 was looking at a few years ago.
2:53
SPEAKER_04: So uh I I don't I don't see any reason to even make an announcement if it's not yes.
2:59
SPEAKER_04: Um, but if it's a no, this is unfortunately no longer a Pac-12 podcast.
3:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and we'd we'd hate to do that because we've always been a Pac-12 podcast, and for us to not be a Pac-12 podcast anymore would be detrimental to talk and tech.
3:15
SPEAKER_04: It's a part of our identity, and it's it would take some adjustment, but I guess then we'd have to become a Big 12 podcast once again.
3:23
SPEAKER_04: Once again, oh man.
3:25
SPEAKER_04: Um, but uh like like you said, I do think it's gonna be uh an announcement that gives us some hope, but at the same time, I don't know if they need to move that quick.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: It's not like the Big 12 teams are probably really going anywhere, as we are locked in until UT and OEU are in it at least, so they have some time.
3:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but I do hope that Kirby Ho Cut is on the phone with Georgie George and all the presidents that he knows over there saying that Texas Tech is the greatest university in the history of the world.
3:52
SPEAKER_04: Why the hell are you not in the Pac 12?
3:54
SPEAKER_04: You know, so that's that's probably what's going on.
3:56
SPEAKER_05: I truly don't know what is going to happen.
3:58
SPEAKER_05: I truly have no idea whether Texas Tech will be invited to one of these conferences or not.
4:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh, they did just recently announce uh the Big Ten Pac 12 ACC quote unquote alliance, uh, uh I think yesterday.
4:16
SPEAKER_05: And uh basically the alliance is a whole lot of nothing.
4:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, this doesn't feel significant to me.
4:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh, all it feels like is those conferences getting their time in the sun, and kind of it almost feels like they're putting their nose down at the Big 12 as well.
4:31
SPEAKER_04: Like, yeah, they're trying to get some spotlight away from the AC SEC, but at the same time, they purposely left the Big 12 out of it, and I kind of feel like they're posturing themselves, kind of chest beating, saying, Hey, see, we're better than that power five conference, pay attention to us.
4:44
SPEAKER_04: You know, they're eliminating the competition as well by cutting the Big 12 out of it.
4:47
SPEAKER_04: I know there's some arguments saying that, well, they don't know if the Big 12 will exist anymore, but their language is saying, like, we hope the Big 12 succeeds and stays together, and because we need them in the power five.
4:58
SPEAKER_04: Well, if you thought felt that way, then you would have included Bob Bowlesby in this conversation and he didn't.
5:03
SPEAKER_04: So I'm a little salty about it.
5:04
SPEAKER_05: I don't know about you.
5:06
SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
5:07
SPEAKER_05: I think there's some underlying things here.
5:09
SPEAKER_05: I think they left the Big 12 out because potentially they're adding a few Big 12 schools to their conference, and it's not really gonna matter because if Texas Tech and Oklahoma State leave the Big 12, the Big 12 is not gonna be a thing anymore.
5:24
SPEAKER_05: If they lose some more schools, the Big 12 is not going to exist anymore, in my opinion.
5:29
SPEAKER_05: And so I can understand them leaving the Big 12 out if they are bringing a couple schools in to their conferences, or I can also understand not wanting to have the Big 12 in this alliance because it is unknown, it's extremely unknown what is going to happen to the Big 12 if they're even gonna survive past 2025.
5:49
SPEAKER_04: That's a positive way of looking at it, is perhaps, or a negative way of looking at it, depending on what fan of a team you are in the Big 12 and the outcome of it, is perhaps they're doing that because they're already planning on carving up the Big 12 as the Pac-12 is just announcing whether or not they're gonna look at expansion or not.
6:06
SPEAKER_04: So that is an interesting way to look at it.
6:09
SPEAKER_04: Um, but at the end of the day, there's absolutely nothing legally binding about this.
6:15
SPEAKER_04: All it was was getting some time in front of the camera because not a single thing, no contract was signed, and all it was was a verbal promise.
6:24
SPEAKER_04: And God knows in this business that doesn't mean Jack Hubbabaloo crap, you know.
6:29
SPEAKER_04: So that's just that it that means zilch.
6:33
SPEAKER_05: Teams agendas change by the day.
6:37
SPEAKER_05: I mean, these guys could have this is clearly a response to the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma, no matter what any of these conferences have said, uh, denying that part of it.
6:48
SPEAKER_05: It's exactly what it is.
6:50
SPEAKER_05: It's it's a response trying to say, hey, the SEC doesn't run all of college football, even though they kind of do at this point.
6:56
SPEAKER_05: But you know, it's just these other three conferences trying to say, hey, we're at their same level, like pay look at us now, don't look at them.
7:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh so uh this whole thing is bullshit.
7:06
SPEAKER_05: I mean, the the the alliance, it's nothing.
7:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they can't even schedule games with each other until like what 2037 or something like that.
7:15
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's just like this whole thing is stupid.
7:18
SPEAKER_05: I it's just clearly a uh just a response to what the SEC has just done.
7:24
SPEAKER_04: It's just posturing.
7:25
SPEAKER_04: It's just it's just hey, we still exist, we're still here, even though the the SEC is monopolizing the sport, they're just doing their best to make sure they stay get as much spotlight time as they can.
7:34
SPEAKER_04: Um, an interesting thing with this is the talk of perhaps stopping the playoff expansion because of this.
7:41
SPEAKER_04: I think that's a very stupid move.
7:43
SPEAKER_04: Because if you if you don't expand, you're guaranteeing the SEC two out of four spots every single year in the playoff.
7:49
SPEAKER_04: That's very dumb.
7:50
SPEAKER_04: I'll just do stick with the original plan of expanding it with the bids uh for the conference champions and the at larges because yeah, it'll still be mostly SEC teams, but it'll be you'll also add in uh teams from all the other conferences as well.
8:02
SPEAKER_04: So you got to keep everybody engaged for this for the good of the sport.
8:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt.
8:06
SPEAKER_05: I don't I don't know if that's what they're choosing to do, but they also said during this alliance that they're not like this isn't like a we're all gonna vote the same on different issues type of thing.
8:17
SPEAKER_05: Like the Pac-12, the Big Ten, and the ACC aren't all agreeing to vote the same way in terms of things like conference or like playoff expansion or big things like that for the sport, like they're still gonna do their own thing through this.
8:30
SPEAKER_05: So, really, this alliance it doesn't make any sense.
8:33
SPEAKER_05: It just it's just nothing, it really is.
8:36
SPEAKER_04: It's just a big old bag of nothing, which is at least a silver lining for a Big 12 fan, right?
8:41
SPEAKER_04: Like, at least it means absolutely nothing up there.
8:44
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's it is sad to see what's happening to the sport.
8:47
SPEAKER_04: The SEC is absolutely ruining the sport as we know it.
8:50
SPEAKER_04: Um, but it's just we're just gonna have to go with the curve as a school and hopefully find our soft landing spot.
8:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know, so we'll see.
8:58
SPEAKER_05: Um, hopefully by next week we'll have a little more uh a little more idea as to what is going to happen uh with the Pac-12 announcing if they're gonna expand or not.
9:08
SPEAKER_05: Hopefully, Texas Tech is involved and they are expanding, and we will be welcomed with open arms over and joining uh the ducks and the Trojans and the Utes of the world.
9:19
SPEAKER_04: This is a Pac-12 podcast.
9:20
SPEAKER_04: So we always has been.
9:22
SPEAKER_04: We gotta get the team we cover in there with the conference we cover.
9:26
SPEAKER_04: So um uh speaking, let's let's say on the expansion thing, real quick.
9:30
SPEAKER_04: Um, so the athletics says with their sources within the Big 12 that they have over 15 programs reaching out to the Big 12 and Irving, uh, about uh uh being added to the conference.
9:44
SPEAKER_04: We're talking uh mostly teams from the American Mountain West, as you would expect.
9:47
SPEAKER_04: Uh, that's the only teams I hope we'd really consider at all to add um uh amongst the Big 12.
9:53
SPEAKER_04: So interesting to see that even though the narrative that a lot of people want to push is that the Big 12 is going to have to dissolve and go down to um uh the G5 level, worst case scenario, all these G5 teams still want to be part of the Big 12.
10:10
SPEAKER_04: And I really I really think that shows the brand power the remaining eight have because I am sick and tired of all the big wigs and the journalism uh saying that you know these teams have really no more value than any uh any old G5 team when that's absolutely not the case.
10:23
SPEAKER_04: So these teams are 100 P5 teams.
10:26
SPEAKER_04: So obviously the G5 teams that are still in the true G5 want to get in that club because the respect does immediately elevate.
10:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I mean I've said this from the start.
10:36
SPEAKER_05: I I it's the best second option if we're not added into another one of the power five conferences, is to keep the Big 12 together and just add the great teams of the G5 into your conference, we'll still be looked upon as the by far the worst of the power conferences, quote unquote.
10:56
SPEAKER_05: But you know, it's better than just going down a level, going and making ourselves a G5 and joining one of those conferences.
11:03
SPEAKER_05: I mean, well honestly, so uh that was good to see.
11:06
SPEAKER_05: It's good to see that uh these teams do have interest in joining the Big 12 and joining teams like Oklahoma State and tech and uh TCU and all that.
11:14
SPEAKER_05: So uh that is good news uh on that front.
11:17
SPEAKER_04: It shines a light on why the American was going to be trying to be so aggressive initially when all this news was coming out, because I think you know they're obviously not stupid people that run these conferences, so they saw that we need to be the aggressors rather rather than the prey.
11:30
SPEAKER_04: Because if the Big 12 finds out that their only options to expand, they're the ones that are in trouble, not the Big 12.
11:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, and like you said, yeah, I I think it's gonna be initially viewed as the worst power five conference, if the power five is even a vocabulary that's still in people's lexicon, um, as it's really gonna be the SEC and everybody else.
11:51
SPEAKER_04: Um, but if the the teams that are the sources are discussing at the highest level are added to the Big 12, I think you have a very competitive conference in all sports, even though it would inevitably perhaps be could not get as much credit as it deserves.
12:10
SPEAKER_04: Because the top sources are saying that the top teams that are being considered already, like in the in the spitballing brainstorming room, are BYU, Freaking Duh, Cincinnati, Boise State, and UCF.
12:24
SPEAKER_04: You had those four teams to make a real big 12.
12:27
SPEAKER_04: That's a solid conference in every sport.
12:30
SPEAKER_05: It's a solid conference.
12:32
SPEAKER_05: It's a step, it's a clear, clear step below even the Pac-12, in my opinion.
12:37
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh, when you're having yeah, when you're having teams, yeah.
12:40
SPEAKER_05: This is how conferences are viewed these days.
12:42
SPEAKER_05: You need a top dog, you need a big, big brand in your conference.
12:49
SPEAKER_05: I mean, look at the ACC.
12:50
SPEAKER_05: We just talked about this free pod.
12:52
SPEAKER_05: The ACC is looked upon so highly because they have Clemson.
12:56
SPEAKER_05: Other than Clemson, they don't have another team that is just utterly fantastic every single year.
13:03
SPEAKER_05: I mean, the Pac-12 even has Oregon and USC, those brands that have that recognition with this new Big 12, even adding those four schools that you added.
13:13
SPEAKER_05: We still don't have that school that is thought of as highly as an Oregon, a U a USC, a Clemson, or anything like that.
13:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's it's missing the absolute kingpin, which is why it the the real loss is not really UT besides a revenue standpoint, it's OU.
13:30
SPEAKER_04: Because OU was that Clemson, OU was that Ohio State for us, which just obviously will be gone.
13:37
SPEAKER_04: But if you add these four teams, I I don't think you know, yeah, yes, you lose Oklahoma, but that's immediately a good conference because all four of those teams can immediately compete, right?
13:48
SPEAKER_04: All they can immediately get in there and put together solid seasons, especially a team like BYU or UCF or Cincinnati.
13:54
SPEAKER_04: Cincinnati is awesome right now, so it it's they fill the UT gap real quick.
14:00
SPEAKER_04: The modern UT is filled immediately, uh competitive-wise.
14:04
SPEAKER_04: Um, but obviously you're right, you lose the OU.
14:06
SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, from a fan standpoint, inside the Big 12, your team immediately has a better chance to win a trophy in the Big 12 because OU's gone.
14:16
SPEAKER_04: And oh, just like a lot of conferences right now, one team has a stranglehold on everybody else, and no one can even think of a championship right now.
14:25
SPEAKER_04: So it'll be nice that that's gonna be the nice fix-up, and not to mention just just football.
14:29
SPEAKER_04: We're not just talking about football, that's a good basketball conference, too.
14:32
SPEAKER_04: And that's like because you'll still have Kansas, you're adding Cincinnati.
14:35
SPEAKER_04: BYU has a solid program as well in basketball, and in baseball, it'll be good too.
14:40
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's not just football, but at the same time, I think top to bottom, that's not a bad option, and I'm glad that those are the four teams that are immediately thought of.
14:50
SPEAKER_05: It is.
14:51
SPEAKER_05: I mean, in terms of this, it's like two different arguments right here, because it's like uh you're looking at these four schools and how it would look on the field and on the court, it would look, it would be fine.
15:01
SPEAKER_05: All these teams are competitive, they're put together really solid programs over the years.
15:06
SPEAKER_05: The problem is brand recognition and money.
15:09
SPEAKER_05: It is that's I mean, that's what college sports have become.
15:13
SPEAKER_05: It's a money game, and that's why you're seeing teams like Texas and OU move to the SEC to get more money.
15:19
SPEAKER_05: All these, I mean, and so when you're adding brands like that, which are pretty good-sized brands, but they're not the brands of college sports, so immediately you're gonna be looked at as worse uh in every aspect.
15:33
SPEAKER_05: You're not gonna get that TV contract that you want, uh, you know, compared to the other Power Five level conferences.
15:39
SPEAKER_05: ESPN's gonna pay more money to get the other four conferences versus this new Big 12.
15:44
SPEAKER_05: Fox is gonna pay more money to get these other conferences versus the Big 12.
15:48
SPEAKER_05: It's just the name of the game, and then the the name of the game is is money and TV money.
15:54
SPEAKER_04: You're but you're you're just literally not gonna find that team anymore.
15:56
SPEAKER_05: That though it's oh I know the the thing is unless you poach another comp for another power level conference, you're not gonna find that team.
16:03
SPEAKER_05: I know.
16:04
SPEAKER_04: Um, but uh well what you brought up before when we're talking about expansion, it's it's the idea of potential, like you're bringing in very solid brands that already make a good amount of money, especially a team like BYU, and you're bringing them into a potentially lucrative relationship there where they can compete on a bigger stage, where they can sell their brand on a national, more national level.
16:27
SPEAKER_04: Um, and that opens the gate to at least rise the ships in the ocean together, you know, because you obviously you're not gonna be able to bring in just one cash cow like you can with a UT and an OU.
16:40
SPEAKER_04: You're gonna you're just gonna have to find some fighters, some some young entrepreneurs that are here to present a new product that perhaps will take gain some ocean.
16:48
SPEAKER_04: The thing about blue bloods is it's evergreen, you cannot become a blue blood and you cannot lose blue blood status.
16:55
SPEAKER_04: So it's which is the unfortunate fact about college sports, it's it's a game of the old boys.
17:00
SPEAKER_04: Um, but the thing is with the new Big 12 is you have to look at it as a game of the new guys, the new money.
17:06
SPEAKER_04: So you have to just do your best to evolve, get these teams that pour money into their resources that are committed to their athletic departments and are committed to competing at the top level.
17:16
SPEAKER_04: You get them, you put them in an established league like the Big 12 that already has more respect than any of the G5, no matter how you cut it, and you try to make something new.
17:26
SPEAKER_04: And the good thing about this new league is you're probably not looking at any teams that are looking out for me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me like you T know you.
17:34
SPEAKER_04: It's it's more so of I just want to stay above the water, and I know all you do too.
17:39
SPEAKER_04: So we're in this together rather than just one person bossing everybody around.
17:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and this is why I think this is the best second option that we can have.
17:49
SPEAKER_05: But uh, I think it's clearly the second option below just joining a pack or a Big Ten that probably won't happen, but joining like a Pac 12.
17:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I've even heard the rumors of the SEC, you know, like that kind of thing.
18:01
SPEAKER_05: Maybe they're even looking to poach some more teams to get over there, but these are all just rumors.
18:06
SPEAKER_05: We we won't know anything uh until at least the end of this week with the Pac-12.
18:10
SPEAKER_05: But we thought it was interesting, thought we should bring it up here because it does involve Texas Tech for sure.
18:16
SPEAKER_04: And the thing is that the Big 12 might be the first domino falling here in this situation because people are already people are as soon as the Big 12 has fallen, as as we've seen, you know, figuratively, people are already talking about like, okay, is Clemson and uh Florida State gonna go to the SEC now, or okay, is Southern California and the big brands of the pack gonna go somewhere else now?
18:36
SPEAKER_04: So it's just are we just the beginning?
18:39
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's gonna be interesting to watch because I don't think it's necessarily just a Big 12 problem that's happening right now.
18:46
SPEAKER_04: I think it's a college football problem.
18:48
SPEAKER_04: It is people people are trying to make it the NFL.
18:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's the entire sport that's that's having an issue right now, and uh it's unfortunate, it's it's really unfortunate, man.
18:58
SPEAKER_04: It's the thing that'd be kind of interested with this athletic article, though, when I'm talking about the favorites uh to join the Big 12, is the one that's kind of not really liked right now, is it's U of H.
19:11
SPEAKER_04: It appears that there might be some bad blood amongst the Big 12 teams with U of H with the way they went about the expansion process last time.
19:19
SPEAKER_04: Um, people need to stop taking that so personally.
19:22
SPEAKER_04: It's it's just it's it's the name of the game.
19:24
SPEAKER_04: But apparently, like Bertada really um uh apparently left a sour taste in people's mouth.
19:30
SPEAKER_04: And I do think that TCU Baylor and Texas Tech are not thrilled with the idea, and Oklahoma State are not thrilled, really.
19:37
SPEAKER_04: Anybody are thrilled with the idea of more competition in the city of Houston and that area um by adding the U of the state of Texas, you know.
19:44
SPEAKER_05: You ask anybody outside of Texas schools, do you want to add another Texas team?
19:48
SPEAKER_05: And they're like, hell no, why would we want that?
19:51
SPEAKER_05: Um, but yeah, like you said, Tillman Fertita, uh known uh Houston guy.
19:57
SPEAKER_05: I mean, he's he's the owner of the Rockets, he's a U of H alum.
20:01
SPEAKER_05: He has ruined so many sports in the state of or in the state, in the city of Houston, Houston, the state of Houston.
20:07
SPEAKER_05: No, the this man is awful for the city of Houston, and he has so much power in that city, and it's just awful.
20:15
SPEAKER_05: Every everybody that is a Houston sports fan has to despise Tillman for Titta.
20:21
SPEAKER_05: I mean, he's got boatloads of cash and funds these programs, but he also drags them down.
20:27
SPEAKER_05: And as you said, as you mentioned in this article, they singled him out as a guy that the other Big 12 schools did not like, and would probably be the reason that U of H is not added in this expansion.
20:39
SPEAKER_05: He's like the anti-Boon Pickens, you know.
20:42
SPEAKER_04: Everyone respected Boon Pickens for Obama State as the super booster in a league, but um, nobody respects old Tillman.
20:50
SPEAKER_04: That it's it's just that that's just crazy.
20:52
SPEAKER_04: And then I obviously, as a U of H fan, you're probably livid about seeing that.
20:57
SPEAKER_04: Um, but it it's an interesting uh idea that it goes beyond him as well.
21:01
SPEAKER_04: And it does while as a fan, maybe it is kind of fun to have a a venue that's close by, you have a little bit of history with, you know, in our inner kind of the interstate instant rivalry going on immediately.
21:13
SPEAKER_04: But it's people keep viewing the Big 12 as a Texas-centered league, and with the UT leaving, obviously that's going to fade a little bit more.
21:20
SPEAKER_04: Um, but I don't think fans of other teams would be thrilled with going right back to making this very Texas-centered.
21:26
SPEAKER_04: We do, we will still have a huge chunk of the Texas market locked down.
21:30
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, the two biggest brands are in the SEC, but it's not like Texas Tech TC and Payor are nobody's.
21:35
SPEAKER_04: So there'll still be a big slice cut for the other teams to run on.
21:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, clearly number three through five right there, but but still, yeah, we'll still have the state of Texas to recruit in with these schools.
21:47
SPEAKER_05: But yeah, your best bet is to get these other top options outside of the state of Texas, get your BYUs, your Cinsies, your UCFs, all that sort of stuff.
21:56
SPEAKER_05: Even a team like San Diego State, who we talked about earlier, would be a I I mean, if we're going all the way to BYU, we may as well go expand into California and potentially even Boise State as well over there.
22:06
SPEAKER_05: So uh this is just freaking free-for-all right now, man.
22:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we're it geography does not matter at this point in time.
22:14
SPEAKER_04: Not at all.
22:15
SPEAKER_04: But uh, like I said, as a as a fan, I'm really not that upset with the with that outcome.
22:20
SPEAKER_04: If if the Pac 12 decides it doesn't want to change, I do think that this Big 12 does have the potential to be highly competitive with the Pac 12s and the ACCs in the world on the field and on the court.
22:31
SPEAKER_04: I really do.
22:32
SPEAKER_04: Um, it just because the journalists may be like, oh well, it's it's the orphans of the Big 12.
22:38
SPEAKER_04: I think that's kind of a badge you own and go with it.
22:40
SPEAKER_04: And I do think that's a pretty fun league.
22:43
SPEAKER_05: I dude, it's a it's an optimistic take.
22:45
SPEAKER_05: It's it's something that you just you know, you make the best out of the situation, and you do.
22:50
SPEAKER_05: And and this would still be a fun league, like we keep saying.
22:53
SPEAKER_05: Playing these teams would still be fun every year.
22:55
SPEAKER_05: Texas Tech would definitely be more competitive without an OU in the league and everything like that.
23:00
SPEAKER_05: But uh, yeah, man, let's move on.
23:02
SPEAKER_05: This has been this has been good.
23:04
SPEAKER_05: Uh some every episode we gotta go through.
23:07
SPEAKER_05: We gotta we gotta talk about expansion rant.
23:08
SPEAKER_05: This I never thought we would be talking about expansion this much uh in 2021, but unfortunately, here we are.
23:14
SPEAKER_04: So I I always thought it was gonna be the inverse.
23:17
SPEAKER_04: I always thought it was like, wow, the Big 12 expanding, man.
23:19
SPEAKER_04: I never thought I'd see this, but uh yeah, well, unfortunately, if old bob was a little more proactive, we may not be in this situation.
23:26
SPEAKER_04: So hey, hey, it looks like the Big 12 office is making some calls, though.
23:30
SPEAKER_04: They did call a former West Virginia AD and former XS XFL commissioner as someone to relay advice to.
23:39
SPEAKER_04: So I wonder if that means that we're looking for his replacement that way or uh just straight up advice.
23:44
SPEAKER_04: But I mean that apparently is highly respected amongst the sporting community, and it is good to know have somebody that has experience on the college and the professional level.
23:52
SPEAKER_05: Texas Tech to the XFL confirm it is rename it the XFL.
23:57
SPEAKER_05: Get out of the NCAA entirely and just have Texas Tech join the new XFL with Dwayne the Rock Johnson as the owner.
24:05
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we're just we're just excited, we're really excited for this opportunity.
24:09
SPEAKER_04: That's a good sell, but I mean it's gonna be just freaking wild that like if if the Pac-12 does end up not adding anybody, that we're still in the Big 12.
24:17
SPEAKER_04: Like it's just like, how does this thing still alive?
24:21
SPEAKER_05: Keeps on kicking.
24:22
SPEAKER_05: I don't know how.
24:24
SPEAKER_04: But uh uh hopefully we can at least truly say we're the Big 12 at that point, but we've spent way too much time on this.
24:29
SPEAKER_04: Let's keep moving.
24:30
SPEAKER_04: What else do we have to talk about?
24:32
SPEAKER_05: Let's move on.
24:32
SPEAKER_05: We have Texas Tech Soccer has started the first uh sport of the new calendar athletic year of 2021-2022.
24:43
SPEAKER_05: Texas Tech Women's Soccer.
24:45
SPEAKER_05: We do not have a men's team.
24:46
SPEAKER_05: Um, they started off pretty solid, uh, started off with a 1-0 and one record over the last few days.
24:54
SPEAKER_05: Uh, we ended up beating UTEP in the season opener uh in Lubbock one to nothing, and then we tied with UC San Diego one to one.
25:03
SPEAKER_05: So the ladies starting out with a pretty good year after a disappointing 2020 campaign.
25:07
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna kind of blame that on COVID.
25:09
SPEAKER_05: A lot of crap went on during last season.
25:11
SPEAKER_05: So uh the girls are looking to bounce back and have a pretty good year.
25:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's a good way to be uh to be opening up the season like this.
25:17
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, get the dub at home against fierce in-state rival UTEP, minor minor nation stand-up, former border conference foe.
25:27
SPEAKER_04: Um, but uh it obviously you want to get a dub whenever you travel to a school like uh UC San Diego.
25:33
SPEAKER_04: But I mean it's it's your first road game, and they went into overtime, so it's good to see them fight it out to a tie, at least.
25:40
SPEAKER_04: You know, in soccer, it's you'd rather take the tie than the L.
25:43
SPEAKER_04: Um, so we're still heading into the season undefeated.
25:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and like you said, we have a lot to prove this season.
25:49
SPEAKER_05: So no doubt.
25:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, man, it should be a fun season.
25:53
SPEAKER_05: Looking forward to a better year than last season, but uh so keep an eye out for the ladies.
25:58
SPEAKER_05: Always support every team you can at Texas Tech.
26:01
SPEAKER_05: Uh, they showed all these games on ESPN Plus.
26:03
SPEAKER_05: So if you have a chance, if you're just sitting at home, not having anything on TV, go throw on the the uh soccer game, man.
26:09
SPEAKER_05: So uh let's move on.
26:11
SPEAKER_05: We have some football news.
26:13
SPEAKER_05: Uh, we finally have a starting quarterback named for the Houston game.
26:18
SPEAKER_05: It took far too long, but Matt Wells has officially announced that Tyler Shuck will be Texas Tech's starting quarterback, to all of our surprise.
26:29
SPEAKER_05: Uh, as soon as Tyler Shuck announced he was coming to Texas Tech, we were all on board and saying this man is gonna start.
26:35
SPEAKER_05: Uh so uh Matt Wells' love affair with Henry Columbi has subsided for the time being.
26:43
SPEAKER_05: Um, I I'm I'm happy he finally named a starter.
26:46
SPEAKER_05: I'm fine, I'm happy it's Tyler Shuck.
26:47
SPEAKER_04: Tyler transferred here knowing he was gonna be QB1.
26:50
SPEAKER_04: Matt Wells sold that to him um because it was obviously up in the air, you know, things were getting a little shaky out of Oregon.
26:56
SPEAKER_04: So it he obviously transferred here with the idea of getting to the NFL from a starting standpoint in a power five team, especially from a school like Texas Tech that is known for its quarterback play, even though it's been a little uh unsubstantial since the the great the greatest quarterback in the NFL.
27:12
SPEAKER_04: Um, but it's it's good to see him finally be announced with the leadership role so we can actually have some um uh uh uh some foundation moving into the season.
27:23
SPEAKER_04: Um, but you know, you're you're talking about Henry Columbi.
27:26
SPEAKER_04: It sounds like the guy fought hard for the position, and you gotta respect the hustle.
27:29
SPEAKER_04: So this guy has to be the clear QB2, and he's gonna be he's obviously gonna be on the sideline helping out with any other leadership role.
27:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, and I I do like me some columbi, but I I think his his passion and attitude just unfortunately is has exceeded his skill ceiling.
27:45
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, great locker room guy, very serviceable player.
27:50
SPEAKER_05: Has uh you have a ceiling uh when you have Henry Columbi as your starting quarterback.
27:55
SPEAKER_05: So uh Tyler Shuck is is much more talented, in my opinion.
27:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I think he can be a better leader, and I think he's just uh a uh clearly a better player.
28:04
SPEAKER_05: I mean, Henry Columbia, there's nothing against Henry Columbi.
28:07
SPEAKER_05: I think he's a solid dude, I think he can be uh he can even win you a game or two.
28:12
SPEAKER_05: But as we saw last season, uh, you know, he wasn't the best and he's limited in his skill set.
28:18
SPEAKER_05: So um to have a guy like Tyler Shuck come in, I'm excited for just even you know, just the prospect of our team being better with Tyler Shuck at the helm.
28:28
SPEAKER_04: Um, he Columbia's everything you want out of a QB2, but back to Tyler, it's the good news is with Tyler, is I do think he's gonna be our most popular player on the national media, I think, which is what you want to hear out of Texas Tech.
28:41
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, our wide receivers are a big deal too, but I do this guy's getting legitimate NFL favoritism right now.
28:47
SPEAKER_04: So I I do want to ride that, and I cannot wait to be an NRG with you in uh in next weekend and see it for real.
28:54
SPEAKER_04: I want to see the chemistry because the great news is Ezukama looks like he's at peak condition, so I am ready to see that connection be top level.
29:05
SPEAKER_04: I'm ready to see a Mahomes Shakeem Grant sort of connection.
29:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
29:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh, you can't think of a better wide receiver to have in the Big 12 than Eric Ezukama.
29:15
SPEAKER_05: In my opinion, he could be the very best.
29:16
SPEAKER_05: Eric Ezukama is the best wide receiver in the Big 12.
29:19
SPEAKER_05: We did not get him the ball nearly enough last season.
29:23
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, we just got to make it work, and I think Tyler Shuck's the guy to throw to him.
29:27
SPEAKER_05: So uh let's uh let's talk about some more news from you know the recent press conferences that Matt Wells has had.
29:33
SPEAKER_05: Uh Sir Roderick Thompson coming off that uh elbow injury will be a game time decision, he said.
29:39
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's gonna come right down to the wire, right?
29:41
SPEAKER_05: Probably to the tay or two before the Houston game to know if Sir Roderick Thompson is going to play in that Houston game.
29:48
SPEAKER_05: I would expect he does not play in this Houston game.
29:52
SPEAKER_05: Uh, it's it's just it's the fact that he hasn't had this x-ray, this second x-ray that they're they've been waiting on for a while, makes me think that it's not necessarily in the place uh where you want to be for to put him out there on the field.
30:06
SPEAKER_05: Um, so it doesn't, in my opinion, it doesn't look like Sir Rodrix's gonna play against Houston.
30:14
SPEAKER_04: Man, I that that really bites, but because this guy looks like the second coming of uh you know, um of DeAndre kind of guy.
30:21
SPEAKER_04: So it he's getting a lot of hype, like it was getting some love in the in the running back room for us, which is uncommon for a Texas Tech player.
30:28
SPEAKER_04: But I I do hope that his the room is strong enough to back him up because man, we really would want him in this big opener.
30:37
SPEAKER_04: And um Texas Tech keeps doing these big games, as says the uh the first one, but and U of H is it's it's absolutely a big game, and um we love to have him there, but obviously we want to get him healthy first.
30:49
SPEAKER_04: If I don't want him to be out there and make it worse and then be out for the season, I'd rather for the guy one, I care about his health, and two, um, I'd rather be him be there for the whole season at his peak form.
31:00
SPEAKER_04: So if he has to skip one game, it might as well be the first one, and hopefully he's there for a um by come UT at least.
31:09
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, I have some thoughts on the running back room that we'll save for a little later in this episode when we talk about.
31:14
SPEAKER_05: I failed to mention at the top of the pod that we all are also talking about uh three optimisms and three pessimisms going into this football season from our perspective.
31:24
SPEAKER_05: So we'll get into that here in just a bit.
31:26
SPEAKER_05: But kind of to end off some of what Matt Wells has said, um, he's uh uh what I was really excited that Matt Wells said was that they're looking to pressure four to six guys on the defensive line uh pretty much every single play, which is so nice.
31:39
SPEAKER_05: We had far too many possessions last season where we only had a three-man rush, and we gave the quarterback all the time, the opposing quarterback that is all the time in the world to go throw and get a playoff and make something happen.
31:53
SPEAKER_05: And uh, we just need to put more pressure on these quarterbacks.
31:56
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and we have the guys to do it, we have the personnel to do it.
31:59
SPEAKER_05: So that was nice to see from Coach Wells.
32:02
SPEAKER_04: Well, uh, we need to see Wells in survival mode.
32:04
SPEAKER_04: He's in survival mode, so he needs to be a little big with the way he plans out the games.
32:10
SPEAKER_04: So I'm excited to see him go a little riskier, go a little uh more pressure, more so than conserving on the on the back end.
32:17
SPEAKER_04: So I that's good to hear.
32:19
SPEAKER_04: I'm excited for it because the guy needs to fight for his life.
32:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh, if we we don't make a bowl game, God knows what happens.
32:25
SPEAKER_05: So yeah, and I just think last season we were really thin on the defensive line.
32:29
SPEAKER_05: We just didn't have a lot of guys that were they were either hurt, you know, they had COVID or they just uh they just weren't ready to play yet.
32:36
SPEAKER_05: And I think we have some some more depth at that position this year.
32:39
SPEAKER_05: So I'm excited for the defensive line.
32:41
SPEAKER_05: I think we can apply a little more pressure, uh, and you know, kind of kind of ease off the uh the load for our linebackers and our defensive backs in the backfield.
32:50
SPEAKER_05: Hopefully we'll get to these quarterbacks.
32:52
SPEAKER_05: Get some sacks, man.
32:53
SPEAKER_05: You know, just uh just get hype for it.
32:56
SPEAKER_05: So uh but that's all I had from Matt Wells.
32:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh kind of what he's picked up.
33:00
SPEAKER_05: I'm sure he's gonna have another press conference before the U of H game.
33:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh, just tremendous stuff from Matt Wells.
33:05
SPEAKER_05: He he really does say all the right things, and he kind of speaker, he knows how to speak to the media, he knows how to speak to the people.
33:12
SPEAKER_05: So uh he's reeled me back in.
33:15
SPEAKER_04: Matt Matt Wells' issue has never been his connection to the community.
33:19
SPEAKER_04: I've always admired that about him.
33:20
SPEAKER_04: He's very connected to the press, very connected to the community, always loves hearing from the fans, always being a loves being amongst the fans, just complete 180 from Cliff.
33:29
SPEAKER_04: But um, it it's just let's let's see some on-field production as well.
33:33
SPEAKER_04: And I do think that the season's gonna be a step forward, like we keep saying.
33:37
SPEAKER_05: No doubt, no doubt.
33:38
SPEAKER_05: So we are going to again, I failed to mention this is also the special teams episode, the final offseason episode of this offseason.
33:47
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we only have one more offseason episode, and it's right now, and then we're doing football preview, and then we have football to talk about.
33:55
SPEAKER_05: So uh, we're really excited to talk about some special teams, guys, coming into this year.
33:59
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna give our top five special teams players of all time in Texas Tech history, but we did want to talk about we did this last year.
34:06
SPEAKER_05: This was our, I think this was our very first episode of Talk and Tech when we were talking about the optimisms and pessimisms going into football season.
34:15
SPEAKER_05: So we're gonna redo that.
34:16
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna do this now for 2021 and talk about some what we're optimistic and what we're pessimistic about.
34:22
SPEAKER_04: Let's make this an annual thing.
34:24
SPEAKER_04: I do I do not want to go back and listen to that first episode.
34:26
SPEAKER_04: Um I feel like I'm just gonna cringe through my face with how like we sound on the mics and how we sound now, you know, it's just some way different.
34:33
SPEAKER_04: So um, and uh, we have y'all to think for that.
34:37
SPEAKER_04: We've been having so much fun with it.
34:38
SPEAKER_04: So thank y'all for being here for a year, and we're finally in the the end of the tunnel for some real football talk.
34:43
SPEAKER_04: So just sitting here listening to us pull crap out of our behinds.
34:48
SPEAKER_04: Uh, but yeah, let's let's get into it, man.
34:50
SPEAKER_04: So I I say we should start with pessimisms, right?
34:53
SPEAKER_05: Like let's we're we're gonna rotate, we're gonna do pessim one of pessimism from each of us, and then we'll do an optimism and then a pessimism and then an optimism.
35:01
SPEAKER_05: So uh, Tristan, you'll start us off.
35:03
SPEAKER_05: Why don't you give me your first pessimism going into this football season?
35:07
SPEAKER_04: You know me, everyone that knows me is I'm a very optimistic guy, I'm a very glass half full person.
35:13
SPEAKER_04: Pessimisms are very tough for me to uh break down.
35:16
SPEAKER_04: Three felt like a hundred to like to get through.
35:20
SPEAKER_04: So um please excuse number three.
35:22
SPEAKER_04: I the they make more sense as we go through, but um, but it just still makes some more sense.
35:27
SPEAKER_04: It's it's what we're always criticized for, at least with this team, is there's a lot of question marks with our big boys.
35:32
SPEAKER_04: I mean both the O-line and the D line.
35:34
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's it's what gets the most criticism from the from the the bigger heads and the media that know what they're talking about, and uh it's just the O-line, it's while it's very veteran, um, people still have some questions about it.
35:46
SPEAKER_04: And the thing is, is with our new quarterback with Tyler Shuck, every quarterback does better when they have time to react, when they have time to make a decision.
35:53
SPEAKER_04: Obviously, I'm worried that we're perhaps gonna have the classic Texas Tech the quarterbacks always running for their freaking life um situation.
36:01
SPEAKER_04: And I really I really pray that this gets better, but it's just it's the one position you can count on being it could definitely improve, you know what I mean.
36:10
SPEAKER_04: So that's that's that's where I'm saying, and same with last season was pretty rough to watch with the D-line.
36:15
SPEAKER_04: Um, so it's just kind of a a push forward from past experiences, past traumas with with the with the big boys.
36:22
SPEAKER_04: Uh it's just tech isn't great at recruiting that kind of player because tech is not known at all for that kind of player.
36:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that kind of ties into my first pessimism, which is the we're very thin at particularly the offensive line.
36:37
SPEAKER_05: I think the defensive line out of both of them is going to be the more improved.
36:41
SPEAKER_05: I think we're actually gonna be a lot better at the defensive line than we were uh than necessarily the offensive line, but I we have a strong starting five.
36:48
SPEAKER_05: I'm really happy with TJ Storman, with Weston Wright, with um uh Caleb Rogers, uh with Josh Berger, and with um, oh man, Dawson Deaton.
36:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh how can I forget?
36:59
SPEAKER_05: Uh I think we're really solid with those five guys, but after that, I don't know.
37:05
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we're gonna really struggle if a Dawson Deaton or a TJ Stormman gets hurt and is out for a significant amount of time.
37:12
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you could say that with every position, but this one in particular, I'm really trying to see who can possibly, you know, take that next step and and take over for a guy that misses a game or two, you know.
37:25
SPEAKER_05: But I think we're just really thin at that position, uh, and and we're really relying on these guys to stay healthy.
37:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, whenever you talk about these players, like you said, it it's it's thin.
37:35
SPEAKER_04: It's it's not like you're talking about our our wide receiver position where it's the next guy up, you know, or it where we're where we know we're gonna be solid no matter what.
37:43
SPEAKER_04: So that you and I obviously synergized on that one.
37:46
SPEAKER_04: So that I I can definitely see why us and I'm sure our listeners are quite nervous about that situation.
37:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
37:53
SPEAKER_05: So let's go a little bit more positive direction.
37:55
SPEAKER_05: What's your first optimism going into this year?
37:57
SPEAKER_04: My first optimism is so obvious.
38:01
SPEAKER_04: It's it's punting is the better defense.
38:06
SPEAKER_04: The most underrated thing in football is how good your punter is.
38:11
SPEAKER_04: It's it because it sets your defense up into how that drive will go, honestly.
38:17
SPEAKER_04: Because if the if they have to go up the entire field, it's gonna be really tough to score, especially if we have an improved defense, it's gonna be really hard on that offense.
38:25
SPEAKER_04: And with the way we have SmackDamera out there sending it to the moon, I feel really, really good about putting our defense in a good position every single drive that we if we have to punt, you know what I mean.
38:36
SPEAKER_04: So um, I really do feel like punting is the better defense this year because um I just think we're gonna be set up in every drive we punt in a really great position.
38:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I mean, uh having one of the best punters in the country, the entire country, then if not the best, yeah.
38:53
SPEAKER_05: I mean, seriously, Austin McMara, who is friend of Talk and TechPod, obviously.
38:57
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, I'm just yeah, it's really good to have him on the team.
39:01
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he's he can boot that thing out, he can get it inside the 20, he can put your defense in a better position, uh, to make sure you don't have so many points scored on him uh all the time.
39:11
SPEAKER_05: So uh obviously you don't want to be put in a punting position as you know at that often, but when you are put, but it does happen.
39:18
SPEAKER_05: It happens, it's a football game, man, and not everybody can score a billion points a game.
39:22
SPEAKER_05: So um, yeah, I'm I'm excited for for Austin McMara and the punting unit uh this coming year, too.
39:29
SPEAKER_04: It's not sexy, but man, it's it's fun to watch Austin, first of all, and two, it's it's an incredibly underrated stat.
39:37
SPEAKER_04: What do you got for me on your first optimism?
39:40
SPEAKER_05: My first optimism is the amount of impact transfers that we have on this team.
39:45
SPEAKER_05: I mean, Matt Wells has done an extremely good job getting talent to a Texas Tech team that has not proved it the last few years, and he has found a way to get so many power five transfers onto this roster and so many impact guys that are going to really really just impact the game immediately.
40:04
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we're getting starters.
40:05
SPEAKER_05: Look, I'm I'm just I made a quick list and it's like eight guys.
40:09
SPEAKER_05: I mean, Tyler Shuck, Muddy Waters, TJ Storman, Reggie Pearson, Ray Shad Williams, Malik Dunlap, Kalen Geiger.
40:16
SPEAKER_05: These guys are going to be immediately impactful on this Texas Tech team.
40:20
SPEAKER_05: So if anything, Matt Wells knows how to recruit.
40:23
SPEAKER_05: He knows how to get guys to Lubbock, uh, and guys that have been at big time programs.
40:28
SPEAKER_05: I mean, Reggie Pearson was fantastic when he was at Wisconsin.
40:31
SPEAKER_05: Tyler Shuck was one of the better quarterbacks last season in the Pac-12 from Oregon.
40:36
SPEAKER_05: Muddy Waters and on four-year starter at Duke.
40:39
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh, these type of guys don't come around very often.
40:43
SPEAKER_05: And Matt Wells has found a way to bring all of these guys in to Lubbock, Texas.
40:48
SPEAKER_04: Shoot, man, that sounds like a number one optimism with how hyped that may just made me.
40:53
SPEAKER_04: Um, he Matt Wells has been incredibly impressive with his mainly his transfer recruiting, but also his high school recruiting as well.
41:00
SPEAKER_04: Do you not?
41:01
SPEAKER_04: I think high school rankings are gonna be a relic now that the game is changing so much.
41:06
SPEAKER_04: You're not gonna be just looking at that anymore because you're gonna be looking at transfers as well.
41:10
SPEAKER_04: Even top-notch schools like Oklahoma, even Lincoln Riley has admitted that high school recruiting is not gonna be the same thing as it was because it's just you're you're gonna have an option to look at these guys trying to move to a different situation that have proven themselves at the top level rather than just going for the high school guys.
41:26
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's been great to see Matt Wells perform at the absolute top of it, like nationally top of it.
41:31
SPEAKER_04: He got some sweethearts of the transfer portal, and it's really impressive.
41:36
SPEAKER_04: And I love seeing this uh this stat that uh Texas Tech is one of the most successful schools at recruiting a player if you get them to the town, if you get them to Lubbock, Texas.
41:46
SPEAKER_04: And you and I, I'm sure pretty much every Red Raider has always said that is you don't get it until you've stepped on that campus and until you've embraced Lubbock, Texas, until you've seen West Texas, you don't get it.
41:59
SPEAKER_04: So I love the way he's selling that, and I love the way he's taking advantage of how Texas Tech does sell itself once you get them there.
42:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and to do that in a year where these guys couldn't visit campus.
42:10
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's it's honestly it's remarkable how after two straight four-win seasons, he's managed to find these type of guys and get them to Texas Tech.
42:18
SPEAKER_05: So uh Matt Wells can recruit, man.
42:20
SPEAKER_05: He really can.
42:21
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and and this is the way of the future, like you mentioned, the transfer portal is the way that college sports is leaning.
42:27
SPEAKER_05: It's already happened in basketball.
42:29
SPEAKER_05: You're pretty much just doing it's I mean, it's like 70-30 almost.
42:34
SPEAKER_05: You're looking at the transfer portal versus high school recruiting.
42:37
SPEAKER_05: So um, you know, this uh it's not so much that it's not that way in football yet, but it's it's moving in that direction.
42:43
SPEAKER_05: So credit to Matt Wells for getting a good group of guys to come to Lubbock.
42:47
SPEAKER_04: It kind of bites for high school kids, don't it?
42:49
SPEAKER_05: You know, it's just it's like their job got a little harder, but a they'll still find a way to get on teams, they'll still find a way, absolutely.
42:56
SPEAKER_05: But all right, man, let's uh bring it back down.
42:58
SPEAKER_05: Give me another pessimism.
43:00
SPEAKER_04: All right, so we're we're staying on Matt Wells.
43:03
SPEAKER_04: Uh he it's no secret that in the Big 12 he has the hottest seat.
43:08
SPEAKER_04: So I it it's he's probably gonna be coaching depending on how the season goes, or even just at the beginning, is is he gonna be coaching with desperation, you know, and does that desperation make him a better coach or a reckless coach?
43:20
SPEAKER_04: Um, and he can either look like leaver either look like a genius with balls he plays or like an absolute brick, yeah.
43:28
SPEAKER_04: You know, kind of like punt kicking a field goal on second down brick.
43:33
SPEAKER_05: Yikes.
43:33
SPEAKER_04: So I'm nervous to see it's not that I don't have faith in that wells, I'm just nervous to see how he reacts whenever his room is red hot, um, because it is.
43:44
SPEAKER_04: And Texas Tech fans, a lot of Texas Tech fans have already given up on him, and a lot of the the the sports world has given up on him, they think he's gone.
43:52
SPEAKER_04: Um, nobody expects anything out of this team.
43:54
SPEAKER_04: We're for Vegas projects us to not even go to a bowl game.
43:58
SPEAKER_04: So it I'm a little nervous.
44:00
SPEAKER_04: The sense that does that make him sharper or does that make him delirious is just where I'm at with it.
44:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
44:10
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh, you can talk about the coaching staff and be like, this is the weak point of this whole team.
44:15
SPEAKER_05: So uh, you know, I love Coach Patterson on the defensive side of the ball, I think he's a fantastic defensive coordinator.
44:21
SPEAKER_05: I like the idea of Sonny Cumby.
44:23
SPEAKER_05: We obviously haven't seen him uh in his in in the Texas Tech system yet.
44:27
SPEAKER_05: So uh more excited to see Sonny Cumby, but Matt Wells is definitely uh something he hasn't proved it, he hasn't proved as really anything to us.
44:35
SPEAKER_05: And there were games last season that were lost by Matt Wells.
44:39
SPEAKER_05: So, you know, the UT game going with pre-vent defense.
44:42
SPEAKER_05: That that was a Matt Wells decision, kicking the freaking field goal and second down.
44:46
SPEAKER_05: That's a Matt Wells decision.
44:47
SPEAKER_05: So, yeah, that's it's completely understandable to be pessimistic about Matt Wells coaching during the game.
44:53
SPEAKER_04: I like that you brought up his his assistants as well as coordinators, because they're also going to be uh uh coaching with that feeling as well.
45:01
SPEAKER_04: Because if Matt Wells gets fired, their staff is shattered, everyone's just blown out.
45:05
SPEAKER_04: Like, who knows?
45:06
SPEAKER_04: They're dusting the wind at that point, you know, wondering where they land at that point, too.
45:09
SPEAKER_04: They're looking for the security as well.
45:11
SPEAKER_04: And obviously, these are coaches at this level, they want to win so badly, they're all competitors, so they all want it so bad.
45:17
SPEAKER_04: So it's just does the pressure make them better or does it break them?
45:22
SPEAKER_04: Is where I'm at here.
45:24
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt.
45:25
SPEAKER_05: So that's yeah, that's definitely something to look out for, uh, something to be a little pessimistic about for sure.
45:30
SPEAKER_05: So I'll give you my second pessimism is kicking.
45:34
SPEAKER_05: It's not punting, it's kicking.
45:36
SPEAKER_05: Uh, these kickers, and we're gonna we're gonna actually talk about them here in a bit when we're talking about special teams, but um, I it's Garabay and Trey Wolf, man.
45:45
SPEAKER_05: I uh it's it's a battle between those two guys is our field goal kicker.
45:49
SPEAKER_05: And like you mentioned with punting earlier, kicking is such a vital part of the team.
45:53
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it comes down to it some games where the guy's got to kick the game winning field goal, and whether that's a 20-yarder or a 50-yarder, you know, uh the people are gonna hate you if you miss it.
46:03
SPEAKER_05: So uh it's it's a big time mental battle.
46:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and I'm not I'm not so optimistic about either of these options uh as field goal kickers.
46:13
SPEAKER_04: Hey, it turns out the team that wins that uh scores more points wins.
46:16
SPEAKER_04: So and it turns out wild thing, and and and kickers are such an integral part of that because a missed extra point or a missed field goal are felt way harder than the ones that are made.
46:30
SPEAKER_04: So it's you're either a hero or the zero.
46:32
SPEAKER_04: And it's funny that you said this for number two because it's my number one.
46:35
SPEAKER_04: Oh so we can already knock out my pessimism here with you.
46:38
SPEAKER_04: It's just it's an absolute question mark.
46:39
SPEAKER_04: It has been for a couple seasons now.
46:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, his kicking has been a little questionable, and it which is funny because our punting is absolutely god tier.
46:48
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's it's frustrating because it's one that you think you should just have down no matter what.
46:54
SPEAKER_04: Um, because you should be able to find a kicker that can put it in, you know.
46:58
SPEAKER_04: But it's it's a high pressure position, it's not easy.
47:01
SPEAKER_04: And it's like we said for the punter, it's underrated.
47:04
SPEAKER_04: And I can absolutely see how it's a pessimism because it hasn't really shown out at tech lately.
47:08
SPEAKER_05: No, absolutely.
47:09
SPEAKER_05: And I mean, it's still a battle.
47:10
SPEAKER_05: Matt Well still hasn't named uh who's gonna be the starting kicker uh for Texas Tech yet.
47:15
SPEAKER_05: It's still a battle between those two guys.
47:17
SPEAKER_05: Garabay had a good game against Baylor.
47:19
SPEAKER_05: We were at that game last year.
47:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I mean, he was he was great, he won the game for us.
47:24
SPEAKER_05: He hit the game winning field goal at the buzzer to win the game.
47:27
SPEAKER_05: I I think Jonathan Garabay is a good option.
47:29
SPEAKER_05: Trey Wolf was awesome two years ago.
47:32
SPEAKER_05: I mean, he was elite as a kicker.
47:35
SPEAKER_05: So uh but after a really, really poor last season, it's just hard to have a lot of optimism in either of these guys, either from lack of experience or just a really, really bad season last year.
47:46
SPEAKER_05: So uh we'll go ahead and knock out my last pessimism since I, you know, we both shared one.
47:51
SPEAKER_05: So I'll go with the youth of the wide receivers after our main couple guys.
47:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, we have like besides Eric Izukama, McLean Mannix, Caitlin Geiger, and Dalton Rigdon, all of our wide receivers are very, very young.
48:08
SPEAKER_05: We uh they don't have a lot of reps, a lot of experience.
48:11
SPEAKER_05: Guys like Miles Price uh had some playing time last year.
48:15
SPEAKER_05: Trey Cleveland caught a few passes last year, but other than that, I mean, besides these four guys, there's not a lot of experience with this group, and it's not that I don't believe in them, it's just that I'm a little pessimistic how they're going to, you know, just immediately get into the rotation and start getting reps like that, you know.
48:36
SPEAKER_05: Eric is a gama, great number one, but other than that, you know, it's a it's a little iffy.
48:42
SPEAKER_04: Hold on.
48:42
SPEAKER_04: I I gotta be checking my window to see if any pigs are flying outside because he's put Texas Tech wide receiver and I know, I know.
48:49
SPEAKER_04: That is bizarre, man.
48:51
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's and the funny thing is he listed off four guys, and then you're like, and then after that, no, it well, and it's it's mostly wideouts here.
49:00
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's like Eric isn't common as a whiteout, but uh I mean McLean Maddox and Dalton Regner are both inside guys, right?
49:05
SPEAKER_05: Caitlin Geiger apparently is gonna play outside.
49:08
SPEAKER_05: He's about five foot ten, so I'm a little skeptical about that.
49:12
SPEAKER_05: But I mean, Trey Cleveland, Loick Fungi, JJ Sparkman, Jeran Bradley, uh, Miles Price, all those guys were either true freshmen last year or are true freshmen this year.
49:23
SPEAKER_05: So I I I mean, it's very young, it's a very young group.
49:27
SPEAKER_05: I it's not that I don't believe in them necessarily, it's just that they're very young and they don't have the reps yet.
49:32
SPEAKER_04: No, I I I absolutely got where you're coming from there.
49:35
SPEAKER_04: Um, but it's it's just it's a position I just cannot be negative about because if I'm negative about uh Texas Tech wide receiving core, what the heck am I excited about?
49:44
SPEAKER_04: Because exactly, yeah, dang, is that the the position we are always A plus at, always in the A minus A plus zone.
49:53
SPEAKER_04: So um with me, it's just the next guy up because I do think all of them are ready to prove themselves because or else they would not be at Texas Tech.
50:00
SPEAKER_04: It's the one position where you can count on where it's not just you know, we settled for somebody, it's definitely top choice for sure, for sure.
50:08
SPEAKER_05: No, and I mean you could be very optimistic about these guys.
50:11
SPEAKER_05: I I can I'm I can honestly say I think Trey Cleveland, Loick Fungi, those type of guys are gonna be good eventually.
50:18
SPEAKER_05: I just don't know if it's gonna be this year.
50:20
SPEAKER_04: What a good segue then.
50:21
SPEAKER_04: So let's get to my second optimism, then, huh?
50:23
SPEAKER_04: Do it, do it.
50:24
SPEAKER_04: My second optimism is I think we're gonna see the return of the Texas Tech quarterback to wide receiver connection.
50:31
SPEAKER_04: I do, I hope this is not a hot take a few games in.
50:35
SPEAKER_04: Um, I'm looking for the Shuck easy connection this season.
50:40
SPEAKER_04: I'm looking for the Graham Harrell to Crabtree connection.
50:42
SPEAKER_04: I'm looking for the Mahomes to Grant connection because we need it badly again.
50:49
SPEAKER_04: It's a part of our identity on offense, and I do feel optimistic about having a quarterback that's proven and a receiver that could compete on literally any team in this country for the starting position.
51:00
SPEAKER_04: So I feel really good about the QB to wide receiver connection this season.
51:05
SPEAKER_04: Um, I do hope they all sell it, stay healthy going off of your pessimism there, but I do feel like this is gonna be a breakthrough year for it to come back.
51:14
SPEAKER_04: Um, because I think we'll be seeing some familiar offense again that we're know that we're used to, that we expect, and the only thing we can have to win.
51:23
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
51:23
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh honestly, I said it earlier.
51:26
SPEAKER_05: I think Eric Ezukama is the best wide receiver in the Big 12.
51:29
SPEAKER_05: Uh, you know, some people say Xavier Hunchardson for Iowa State, some people say Marvin Mims for OU.
51:34
SPEAKER_05: But I think intangibles, he's six foot three, jumps out of the building, catches everything, throwing a ball up, a 50-50 ball up to Ezukama is like throwing an 80-20 ball.
51:45
SPEAKER_05: I mean, he really does, he's so talented, and he's going to be on an NFL roster one day.
51:50
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I'm I'm excited for that.
51:52
SPEAKER_05: I am excited, Tyler Shuck.
51:54
SPEAKER_05: I think that connection will be crucial this year.
51:56
SPEAKER_05: It wasn't uh, we did not get the ball enough too easy last year, and we saw after last season Ezukama was frustrated, and some people were talking about maybe he's looking to transfer out.
52:06
SPEAKER_05: We need to get him the ball, and I think Shuck is a great option to get him the ball.
52:11
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
52:12
SPEAKER_04: And that's exactly what I'm saying right now.
52:14
SPEAKER_04: Um, because it we need to see those offensive numbers again, we need to see that explosiveness again, and because it's the only time Texas Tech has a shot at winning.
52:22
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's just it's just in our nature this century.
52:26
SPEAKER_04: It's just the quarterback and the wide receiver are the two most important players on the field and on a Texas Tech team.
52:31
SPEAKER_04: So we need that back because otherwise we could be in for what we've seen these past few seasons since Mahomes is just a lack of real chemistry.
52:41
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, no doubt.
52:43
SPEAKER_05: So all right, I'll give you my second optimism.
52:46
SPEAKER_05: It is, I said I was gonna mention it again.
52:48
SPEAKER_05: The depth at running back, we are so deep at this position, the deepest we have been at running back in years, probably maybe I'm not gonna say all time, but uh for since a long time.
53:01
SPEAKER_04: Uh we even fans, probably invested fans, I should say.
53:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh yeah, for sure.
53:07
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh you can talk about DeAndre Washington being what he was, but uh just having four to five guys that could potentially be really, really solid running backs for your team this year.
53:19
SPEAKER_05: I don't know if there's a lot of deeper running back rooms in the entire Big 12 or the nation.
53:24
SPEAKER_05: I think uh, you know, Sir Rodrick, when he is healthy, is elite, is fantastic.
53:30
SPEAKER_05: He has all the talent in the world.
53:32
SPEAKER_05: But then after him, you've got guys like Xavier White, the Lubbock local, who had big time plays last season, broke off for a few big gains.
53:40
SPEAKER_05: Taj Brooks, I think, can be a three-down back in this league.
53:44
SPEAKER_05: I think he will be eventually.
53:46
SPEAKER_05: And I think uh guys like Chedarius Townsend, who's a freak athlete.
53:50
SPEAKER_05: I mean, a guy who's the fastest dude on the team, wins all the challenges in the offseason, just blows you away with some of the numbers that he he runs and jumps and all that sort of stuff.
54:00
SPEAKER_05: And then even a true freshman like Cameron Valdez, who we brought on, can be really good immediately, like Taj Brooks was last season.
54:07
SPEAKER_05: So having all of these guys in one running back room is really, really good and really I I it's something to be optimistic about.
54:15
SPEAKER_04: You know, whenever you said that, I was like, I was just thinking, like, okay, Sir Roderick and who else?
54:19
SPEAKER_04: And he went down the names of like, oh, he's good.
54:21
SPEAKER_04: Oh, he's good too.
54:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, oh, he's also good.
54:24
SPEAKER_04: Oh, he's good.
54:25
SPEAKER_04: So you got me hyped there, man.
54:26
SPEAKER_04: That's that's a great thing because you know, the running back position is not exactly our workhorse at Texas Tech University.
54:34
SPEAKER_04: So, no, it's good because you need you having a reliable running back is huge because it just gives you a nice safety net to throw back on rather than just slinging it the entire game.
54:46
SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm I'm really happy to hear that.
54:48
SPEAKER_04: Um, I'm happy to hear that you're excited about that.
54:50
SPEAKER_04: But I think we're all hyped about Sir Roger Thompson.
54:52
SPEAKER_04: I think he's gonna be one of the most popular players on the team because of the his his potential and what he brings.
54:57
SPEAKER_04: He's probably gonna be the best running back we've seen since uh DeAndre.
55:00
SPEAKER_04: And we need that, man.
55:01
SPEAKER_04: It's just because it's funny, I just went from uh Mahomes to Grant.
55:05
SPEAKER_04: Now you're talking about comparing guys to DeAndre.
55:07
SPEAKER_04: Is though the the Cliff Kingsbury offense was never the issue.
55:11
SPEAKER_04: We would we're like, let's put this offense with literally any other defense, and we got a spectacular team.
55:17
SPEAKER_04: So if we can even come close to replicating that with this new defense that actually has some power behind it, I think we could be excited.
55:24
SPEAKER_04: We're naming some names that have some real talent behind them with some real potential.
55:28
SPEAKER_04: So I'm really excited about this conversation.
55:31
SPEAKER_04: That's they're called optimisms for a reason.
55:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and I mean, uh Kingsbury and Wells run very different offensive schemes, but Wells clearly, and the good news about having a good running back room is Wells clearly does not want to throw the ball as much as Cliff decided to throw the ball.
55:46
SPEAKER_05: So having a reliable uh running back room is vital for how good this offense is going to be.
55:52
SPEAKER_05: So that's something to be really excited about.
55:54
SPEAKER_05: But all right, man, give me your last optimism.
55:58
SPEAKER_04: The excuse Cliff, real quick, is whenever you have Patrick Mahomes, you you better be throwing it.
56:02
SPEAKER_04: It's true.
56:02
SPEAKER_04: It's true.
56:03
SPEAKER_04: All right, all right.
56:04
SPEAKER_04: For number one, let's stay on the offense topic, man.
56:07
SPEAKER_04: I think I speak for pretty much all of us when I say what I'm most excited about this season is an offensive overhaul.
56:14
SPEAKER_04: The Yost experiments experiment was an absolute failure, it was an utter disappointment.
56:19
SPEAKER_04: Everyone was saying, yeah, this is one of the brightest minds in offense today.
56:23
SPEAKER_04: And he came in and absolutely laid a goose egg.
56:26
SPEAKER_04: The most boring offense, most ineffective offense I've seen at Texas Tech since being an invested fan.
56:32
SPEAKER_04: Um, and I'm really excited for the Sunny Cumby experiment.
56:35
SPEAKER_04: It's cumby time, baby.
56:36
SPEAKER_04: Uh, the uh the the homecoming king is coming home, man.
56:40
SPEAKER_04: That's that's just what it feels like.
56:42
SPEAKER_04: He feels like bringing a talented mind, a talented former player home to really put his alma mater to the next level.
56:49
SPEAKER_04: I'm really excited to see what he does.
56:51
SPEAKER_04: I'm sure he's very he's a very bright guy, obviously, since being a uh a coordinator under uh under Gary Patterson, you've got to be.
56:59
SPEAKER_04: So I'm excited to see what he can do at tech.
57:01
SPEAKER_04: And I'm hoping that Matt Wells has kind of taken the reins off of him a bit and let him go wild because I think he has potential to be a really, really bright mind in his alma mater in Lubbock, Texas, and I think he's gonna take advantage of that.
57:14
SPEAKER_04: So I'm really excited to see it, especially with a talent like Shuck and Easy and Sir Roderick.
57:19
SPEAKER_04: I think he's got some good plays worked up, and I'm really excited about the overhaul.
57:22
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I'm I'm definitely excited not to have David Yost as our offensive coordinator going into this season.
57:29
SPEAKER_05: So I am excited for Sonny Cumby.
57:31
SPEAKER_05: I know TCU fans, you'll you'll find that they're not super high on the guy anymore.
57:35
SPEAKER_05: But um, you know, Gary Patterson runs a really tight chip up there.
57:39
SPEAKER_05: If you're not doing what Gary wants, uh you're you're probably and and Sonny Cumby just he was on a leash over there.
57:46
SPEAKER_05: You know, he had he was, you know, Gary was kind of holding him back from probably what he wanted to do uh at TCU.
57:53
SPEAKER_05: And uh, you know, I'm I'm excited too.
57:55
SPEAKER_05: I'm excited for Sonny Cumby.
57:56
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I'm just I'm just excited, like you said, for for a just a different look at a different offense from what we've seen the last two years.
58:04
SPEAKER_04: I want some more faith in the quarterback, you know, please rather than checking out to the side every single play.
58:10
SPEAKER_04: So it doesn't work.
58:11
SPEAKER_05: We're not moving outfield, run a screen, please throw it forward.
58:17
SPEAKER_05: Please, no, no, no, no.
58:18
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna run another screen third, third and 18.
58:23
SPEAKER_05: Run a screen.
58:24
SPEAKER_04: That's a good so that I think I think it's an obvious optimism that we we at least see something different because what was happening before wasn't working, and I don't think that Yosis was gonna change that.
58:35
SPEAKER_04: I do think that was a hard call for Matt Wells.
58:37
SPEAKER_04: I think that was probably one of the toughest decisions in his career to let him go because he was with him for so long.
58:42
SPEAKER_04: But I'm glad to see that we got a a guy with power five experience on the team, too.
58:48
SPEAKER_04: So it's gonna be fun.
58:49
SPEAKER_04: And uh, what do you got, man?
58:51
SPEAKER_05: My last optimism it's it's easy, it's the linebackers.
58:56
SPEAKER_05: That's the easiest thing to be optimistic about on this team.
58:58
SPEAKER_05: We have the deepest unit at linebacker that we probably had since I've been a fan.
59:04
SPEAKER_05: I mean, Schooler, Jeffers, Merriweather, and then guys like Boyer Randall, Morgan Stern, uh Tyreek Matthews.
59:11
SPEAKER_05: I mean, uh Kosai Eldridge, I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
59:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh, just dudes that are uh just elite.
59:17
SPEAKER_05: I mean, so many guys that uh you can, in case of injury, can take over and be immediately impactful for this defensive unit and be a leader on this team.
59:28
SPEAKER_05: I think this, and Matt Wells has said it too during this offseason that he's so excited about not only the play of their linebackers, but the leadership that they've shown in the locker room.
59:38
SPEAKER_05: Uh uh having fifth-year seniors now because having their COVID year, using it, Rico Jeffers coming back for that year, Colin Schooler coming back for that year.
59:48
SPEAKER_05: It's just so crucial for this entire defense.
59:51
SPEAKER_05: And I'm so excited about this unit.
59:53
SPEAKER_05: Um this is the highest unit I'm on in the entire on the entire team.
59:57
SPEAKER_04: I'm glad you brought them up, and I'm glad that you brought up a defensive unit that we're excited about because we've been on offense for a while.
1:00:03
SPEAKER_04: And um the linebacking unit has been such an ace in the hole for Texas Tech lately.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_04: It's it's insane how the talent that is right there on that on that defensive uh unit.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_04: So and but you you you brought up before that you know, finally we're gonna have some defensive line help as well.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_04: So we're hopefully gonna be able to make them shine a bit more by taking a bit of the weight off of them and putting them in better positions to make better plays for the team.
1:00:29
SPEAKER_04: So I'm really excited to see this happen, and those names are guys to be very excited about.
1:00:35
SPEAKER_04: So they they they really got us out of some pinches last season.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_04: Um, it hasn't been a whole linebacking core, that's for sure.
1:00:41
SPEAKER_04: And um, I'm really excited to see how they come together in their final year.
1:00:45
SPEAKER_04: No doubt, or for some of them at least.
1:00:47
SPEAKER_05: Please let's let's just uh you know, but but it was fun making this list because I am more optimistic than I am pessimistic about a lot of things, and I can't say that right uh that I was the same way last year.
1:00:58
SPEAKER_05: I mean, last year I was very pessimistic going into the season, so now it's kind of flipped uh flipped the the the knob a little bit for me, and uh that's different because you know me the last couple of years, I've been very pessimistic about Texas Tech football.
1:01:11
SPEAKER_05: I have not allowed myself to get excited about this team very much, but this season's different.
1:01:17
SPEAKER_05: This offseason, everything that I've looked into, I really think that we are going to be good and and surprise a lot of people.
1:01:24
SPEAKER_04: That's it's true.
1:01:25
SPEAKER_04: You you you've been pretty low on it, and it's understandable.
1:01:27
SPEAKER_04: Like the team has been disappointing these past countless years.
1:01:31
SPEAKER_04: I think the last time you were ever excited was like before our tailgates when Mahomes was still our quarterback.
1:01:36
SPEAKER_04: It was always just at least Patrick Mahomes is our quarterback.
1:01:39
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we always have a chance because we have Patrick Mahomes, and the defense is pitiful, we all know it, but we always have a chance to at least make it exciting.
1:01:49
SPEAKER_05: So, yeah, this is the first complete, like most complete team that I've seen in a while for Texas Tex since we've probably been a fan.
1:01:57
SPEAKER_05: So uh I'm excited for this team, man.
1:01:59
SPEAKER_05: It's really excited.
1:02:00
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm excited to get to Houston.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_05: Me too.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_05: Excited to uh join the Ramblin' Raiders at their tailgate and have a good old time this football season, guys.
1:02:09
SPEAKER_04: We're we're we're definitely on the optimism side.
1:02:11
SPEAKER_04: Um and it's it's a better way to be as a fan in general, in my opinion.
1:02:15
SPEAKER_04: But like you said, I do think this is the more complete team.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_04: We'll dig more into it next week, but uh uh before we preview this the general season in the U of H game.
1:02:24
SPEAKER_04: But um, I do feel really good about it, and I can't wait to see these coaches.
1:02:27
SPEAKER_04: As I put it, even though I put it for as a pessimism, I'm ready to see this this team.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_04: These coaches play with their back against the wall.
1:02:33
SPEAKER_04: Um, and because now there's so much pressure on them regarding the alignment and uh general opinion.
1:02:39
SPEAKER_04: So it's it's time to make something happen, it's time to win for sure.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_05: All right, man.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_05: This is the last off-season episode.
1:02:46
SPEAKER_05: Uh, we need to talk about some special teams.
1:02:48
SPEAKER_05: We've talked about every single position on the football team except for special teams.
1:02:53
SPEAKER_05: We are gonna break down uh how the Texas Tech special teams unit ranks against the rest of the Big 12.
1:03:00
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna give the talking tech tiers of the Big 12, how they're gonna do uh this coming season, in our opinions.
1:03:06
SPEAKER_05: So let's just get it started.
1:03:08
SPEAKER_05: Let's get it started.
1:03:09
SPEAKER_05: Tier one uh is OU Texas and TCU for me.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I'm I'm keeping Texas Tech out of tier one, basically just because of the kicker.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_05: It's a little unknown right now.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_05: Uh, nothing against uh goat punter Austin McNamara.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_05: He's gonna be awesome, but uh but these I mean these groups just have really complete special teams in terms of I'm breaking it down by three different slots.
1:03:31
SPEAKER_05: It's the kicker, it's the punter, and it's the returners that they have on this team.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_05: So oh you, I mean, kicker.
1:03:37
SPEAKER_05: Oh man, this is gonna be hard to pronounce.
1:03:39
SPEAKER_05: Gabe, uh, there's no vowel.
1:03:41
SPEAKER_05: Uh uh Burkick, Burkick, there is an I there is a vowel, but it's weird.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_05: Kickers always have the weirdest names.
1:03:49
SPEAKER_05: Have you noticed that?
1:03:50
SPEAKER_05: They always you haven't noticed that no kickers have look at look at these kickers, and they have weird, weird names.
1:03:58
SPEAKER_05: But um, he was a first team all Big 12 last season.
1:04:01
SPEAKER_05: Punter Reeves Mundeshau.
1:04:04
SPEAKER_05: See, look what am I trying?
1:04:05
SPEAKER_05: These special teams guys, weird names.
1:04:08
SPEAKER_05: Um, for for Oklahoma, he uh their punter's solid by all accounts, and then they have Marvin Mims uh kicking and returning uh for or just returning kicks and punts for them.
1:04:17
SPEAKER_05: It's he's doing both, yeah.
1:04:20
SPEAKER_05: He's kicking and returning.
1:04:21
SPEAKER_05: He's not kicking, he is returning kicks and punts.
1:04:25
SPEAKER_05: That's a fast kid.
1:04:27
SPEAKER_05: I know, fast kid.
1:04:30
SPEAKER_05: No, Oklahoma's gonna be awesome at special teams, they always are.
1:04:34
SPEAKER_05: Um, you know, there's not much more to say.
1:04:36
SPEAKER_04: They're they're gonna be really good.
1:04:40
SPEAKER_04: Well, I mean, wow, oh you tier one shock.
1:04:43
SPEAKER_04: What more can you say?
1:04:44
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, um, and this is the highest I've had Texas.
1:04:47
SPEAKER_05: Maybe besides no, even running back, I didn't have them tier one because I put Brees Hall alone, uh, even though I think Bijan's gonna have a good season.
1:04:54
SPEAKER_05: But uh Texas is in tier one right here.
1:04:57
SPEAKER_05: Cameron Dicker, who everybody won't shut up about.
1:05:00
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he's he's a great kicker, he's a two-time all Big 12 guy.
1:05:03
SPEAKER_05: And then they have a great punter in Brian Buchevsky.
1:05:06
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he's experienced, he's coming off an ACL tear, but he is a he is a good punter.
1:05:10
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then Deshaun Jameson's a fantastic returner for him.
1:05:13
SPEAKER_05: So had to put UT in tier one.
1:05:15
SPEAKER_05: I've tried to keep them off for the most part, but uh they get it for special teams.
1:05:20
SPEAKER_04: Just talent alone, whatever.
1:05:22
SPEAKER_04: They're gonna they're gonna blow it anyway.
1:05:25
SPEAKER_05: They're gonna blow it anyway.
1:05:28
SPEAKER_05: All right, so TCU, I also have in tier one.
1:05:31
SPEAKER_05: Uh Griffin Kell is their kicker.
1:05:33
SPEAKER_05: He finished off the season very strong going into his third season at TCU.
1:05:38
SPEAKER_05: Punter Jordi, Jordi Sandy.
1:05:40
SPEAKER_05: I'm telling you, with these names, man.
1:05:42
SPEAKER_05: We're now gonna notice it.
1:05:44
SPEAKER_04: Now I'm gonna every every time I see it, I'm gonna notice it.
1:05:46
SPEAKER_05: Every kicker in punter has at least a little off of a name.
1:05:50
SPEAKER_05: Um, but yeah, Jordi Sandy, their punter, uh, down 49 punts inside the 20 over the last two seasons.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_05: He's elite.
1:05:57
SPEAKER_05: Uh Darius Davis was fifth in the Nation in punt return yards, he is going to be back for the Hornfrogs.
1:06:04
SPEAKER_05: So that's why they are in tier one.
1:06:06
SPEAKER_04: Well, that that that that one a little more surprised by.
1:06:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's it's you remember I think of a Gary Patterson team.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_04: I'm not really thinking of the special teams, but it's it's not super surprising either if he has it all locked down there.
1:06:18
SPEAKER_05: For sure.
1:06:18
SPEAKER_05: So let's go into tier two.
1:06:20
SPEAKER_05: I got three more teams.
1:06:21
SPEAKER_05: I got Baylor, I got your Texas Tech Red Raiders, and I got Oklahoma State here in tier two.
1:06:27
SPEAKER_05: Let's start with Baylor.
1:06:28
SPEAKER_05: But us with those scrubs.
1:06:30
SPEAKER_05: I know, I know.
1:06:30
SPEAKER_05: I had to do it.
1:06:31
SPEAKER_05: Uh especially Baylor.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, let's start with Baylor.
1:06:34
SPEAKER_05: This is one of the higher tiers I put them uh during this offseason of positional groups, but they have a great kicker in John Mayers, not Mayer, Mayers.
1:06:45
SPEAKER_05: Not the uh great guitarist John Mayer.
1:06:48
SPEAKER_05: He is a good kicker.
1:06:50
SPEAKER_05: Um, and he's been pretty good, connecting about 76% of his field goals over the last two seasons.
1:06:55
SPEAKER_05: They have a great punter in Isaac Power, averaged 40.3 yards per kick with only four touchbacks last season.
1:07:02
SPEAKER_05: And then Tristan Ebner, who is their starting, I uh I think projected to be their starting running back, is uh he was the Big 12 special teams player of the year last year.
1:07:10
SPEAKER_05: Great returner for them.
1:07:12
SPEAKER_04: So I had to put Baylor pretty high up on this list.
1:07:14
SPEAKER_04: That's gotta be as high as Baylor's ever made it on your tiers.
1:07:17
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they might have been up for some uh some other position, but definitely not the lines.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I well, maybe not, maybe they weren't up there in another position.
1:07:25
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm kind of low on Baylor this year.
1:07:27
SPEAKER_04: Everyone's low on Baylor, yeah.
1:07:29
SPEAKER_05: But didn't Vegas pick them above us?
1:07:32
SPEAKER_05: Probably.
1:07:33
SPEAKER_04: That's insane.
1:07:34
SPEAKER_05: Everybody's picking them above us, and a lot of people and everything, but I know we're picked ninth and everything, so yeah, Baylor's gonna be above us.
1:07:40
SPEAKER_05: But uh, let's talk about Texas Tech.
1:07:43
SPEAKER_05: We've already touched on most of it.
1:07:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh, the kicker is a battle between Jonathan Garabay and Trey Wolf.
1:07:48
SPEAKER_05: If Trey Wolf can get back to what he was two years ago, we're gonna have an elite kicker at that position.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_05: And even Jonathan Garabay showed some signs last year that he would be pretty consistent and pretty good at that spot.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_05: Um, but what puts us here at tier two is Austin McNamara, all-star punter, all-American, one of the best punters in the entire nation.
1:08:09
SPEAKER_05: Probably gonna find his way on an NFL roster.
1:08:11
SPEAKER_05: I mean, he's elite, he's so good and such a good guy to have in that uh back there punting for you.
1:08:17
SPEAKER_04: He's he's gonna be the uh whenever he's done with us, he's probably gonna be the best punter we've ever had.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_04: So he this guy is special.
1:08:23
SPEAKER_04: I do think he's actually the very best entire country.
1:08:26
SPEAKER_04: So it's that guy alone could probably put us in tier one if you wanted it to be that way.
1:08:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt.
1:08:31
SPEAKER_05: And then even our returners are solid.
1:08:33
SPEAKER_05: You got you're probably looking at guys like Tedarius Towns and Miles Price or Chuck Smobuku uh to kind of be your return guys for you.
1:08:41
SPEAKER_05: Uh elite speed from all those guys.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it's it, you know, I I just really think we have a really solid uh special teams unit uh for Texas Tech this year.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_05: I'm excited.
1:08:52
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
1:08:53
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's it's it's one that you know we're we're a little uh yes and no on.
1:08:57
SPEAKER_04: So hopefully it all comes together.
1:09:00
SPEAKER_05: For sure.
1:09:00
SPEAKER_05: And also in this tier, I have Oklahoma State.
1:09:03
SPEAKER_05: Alex Hale is their kicker.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_05: He's coming off an ACL tear, but was having a terrific 2020 campaign before that.
1:09:09
SPEAKER_05: Uh punter Tom Hutton uh put on a strong season in 2020, and then they're gonna have Brandon Presley.
1:09:15
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he's explosive, he's gonna be returning kicks for them.
1:09:18
SPEAKER_05: Uh, so I had to put them up pretty high because they're pretty they're pretty solid at every single spot here.
1:09:23
SPEAKER_04: Like Paylower, that's probably one of the highest you put OSU as well.
1:09:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
1:09:28
SPEAKER_05: So uh tier three.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_05: I have uh pretty much the rest of them.
1:09:33
SPEAKER_05: I don't have a tier five.
1:09:34
SPEAKER_05: Kansas is still in tier Kansas, spoiler alert, but uh tier three is gonna be basically everybody else but Kansas here.
1:09:41
SPEAKER_05: Uh West Virginia, Iowa State, which is this is the lowest I put Iowa State in these positional tiers.
1:09:50
SPEAKER_05: And of course, it's freaking special teams.
1:09:52
SPEAKER_05: I mean, even they will complain about their special teams the last couple years, uh, even if if they had you know these fantastic years.
1:09:59
SPEAKER_05: So uh West Virginia, Iowa State, and Kansas State are going to be in this tier three for me.
1:10:05
SPEAKER_05: Let's start with West Virginia kicker unknown.
1:10:09
SPEAKER_05: It's a battle right now between Evan Staley and Tyler Sumter, apparently.
1:10:14
SPEAKER_05: Both uh kicked for them last year.
1:10:16
SPEAKER_05: Uh the punter will probably be Tyler Sumter.
1:10:19
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then Winston Wright gonna be returning kicks for him.
1:10:22
SPEAKER_05: He returned a good amount last season, but just the unknown factor of who's gonna be the kicker, who's gonna be the punter right now, puts West Virginia in tier three.
1:10:30
SPEAKER_04: And they've been getting some love above us.
1:10:32
SPEAKER_04: Um, obviously, I like hearing any kind of unit we have above them, and I'm not surprised that special units is one of them.
1:10:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt.
1:10:40
SPEAKER_05: So, Iowa State.
1:10:41
SPEAKER_05: Let's talk about the lowest tier that I put Iowa State in.
1:10:45
SPEAKER_05: Uh, kicker Connor Assily is back, which is uh, you know, he was solid for them last year.
1:10:51
SPEAKER_05: He had some moments, uh, but he's gonna have a guy named Andrew Mevis challenging him.
1:10:56
SPEAKER_05: Punter Corey Dunn is a senior, and that was basically the only thing that I can find about him.
1:11:01
SPEAKER_05: So I don't know how good he is.
1:11:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then they have to replace a guy.
1:11:06
SPEAKER_05: Oh man, uh uh Keen Nwgungwu, I think is how you say it.
1:11:12
SPEAKER_05: Uh forgive me if I'm mispronouncing that, but uh he that they have to replace him as a returner, they don't really know who that is yet.
1:11:19
SPEAKER_05: So uh I had to put Iowa State down here.
1:11:22
SPEAKER_04: They have a chink in the armor, huh?
1:11:24
SPEAKER_05: Finally, finally, man.
1:11:26
SPEAKER_05: If it's it sucks looking at this how good Iowa State is at everything.
1:11:30
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, okay, finally I get to put them in a tier three.
1:11:34
SPEAKER_04: Hey, we host them this year, so if they can like ultra blow it on special teams and special teams blowing it blows it.
1:11:40
SPEAKER_04: So that's uh if they could do that in the Jones, I'm on board.
1:11:45
SPEAKER_05: That's why they lost uh a game last season.
1:11:47
SPEAKER_05: One of the few games they lost last season was because of special teams.
1:11:51
SPEAKER_05: I think they allowed two uh either kick returns or punt returns for a touchdown in the same game.
1:11:56
SPEAKER_05: So I'll take one of those.
1:11:57
SPEAKER_05: I'll take one of the Jones.
1:11:59
SPEAKER_05: I'll take multiple, would be welcomed, but I will take one.
1:12:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then Kansas State finishing off here, tier three.
1:12:06
SPEAKER_05: Kicker will probably be Ty Zettner, but they have to replace Blake Lynch, who was their kicker last season.
1:12:13
SPEAKER_05: And then it's kind of a battle at punter right now with Jake Blummer and Owen Lawson.
1:12:18
SPEAKER_05: Either of those guys could be the punter.
1:12:20
SPEAKER_05: Uh, again, just really unknown right now with the Wildcats.
1:12:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then Phillip Brooks is going to be back as a returner.
1:12:26
SPEAKER_05: He's returned three punts for touchdowns in his college career, so that's something to be excited for.
1:12:31
SPEAKER_05: But right now with the kicker and punter, again, unknown.
1:12:33
SPEAKER_05: That's why I'm putting them this low.
1:12:36
SPEAKER_04: Understandable.
1:12:37
SPEAKER_05: And then the return.
1:12:39
SPEAKER_05: Well, it's not really the return.
1:12:40
SPEAKER_05: We've been doing it pretty much every single episode of the offseason.
1:12:44
SPEAKER_05: Tier Kansas is uh alone in uh, of course.
1:12:48
SPEAKER_05: The Jayhawks are the only one here in Tier Kansas.
1:12:52
SPEAKER_05: Uh, there's it's just so sad with them.
1:12:54
SPEAKER_05: It's so sad being a Jayhawk football fan these days.
1:12:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh, kickers kick kicker Jacob Borsilla should be the starter.
1:13:04
SPEAKER_05: Uh, all I could find was that there is an open competition at Punter.
1:13:09
SPEAKER_05: There were no names that were named.
1:13:11
SPEAKER_05: There's just an open competition right now.
1:13:14
SPEAKER_05: Anyone can do it.
1:13:15
SPEAKER_05: Walk-ons, walk-ons, come on down.
1:13:18
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and then I guess they're gonna have safety.
1:13:20
SPEAKER_05: Kenny Logan will probably be the main returner for them.
1:13:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh, but Kansas is gonna flip through these guys like no other, so they have to be alone down here.
1:13:29
SPEAKER_04: I'm A-OK with them blowing that as well.
1:13:31
SPEAKER_04: Please, I will take any of the easy dubs.
1:13:34
SPEAKER_04: Let's do it because we're going back to Lawrence this season.
1:13:37
SPEAKER_04: So please.
1:13:39
SPEAKER_04: Last time wasn't awesome.
1:13:40
SPEAKER_04: I will say that.
1:13:41
SPEAKER_04: I blocked that out of my mind.
1:13:43
SPEAKER_05: Let's not talk about it.
1:13:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, hold on.
1:13:44
SPEAKER_04: I oh, I'm all out of beer.
1:13:46
SPEAKER_04: I can't, I can't uh blow, I can't uh shade this out of my head right now.
1:13:51
SPEAKER_05: Oh god, yeah, it's awful.
1:13:53
SPEAKER_05: Awful stuff.
1:13:54
SPEAKER_05: We're not gonna talk about that.
1:13:56
SPEAKER_05: We instead, that's the tiers right there.
1:13:59
SPEAKER_05: So Texas Tech makes a tier two of the special teams unit.
1:14:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and this was fun.
1:14:04
SPEAKER_05: This this entire offseason was fun talking about breaking down these positional groups.
1:14:08
SPEAKER_05: I can honestly say this is the most research I've done uh about the other Big 12 teams.
1:14:14
SPEAKER_05: So I hope y'all enjoyed it.
1:14:17
SPEAKER_05: Uh, you know, I I I'm not a genius here, but I I I gave you my best effort at looking at these units.
1:14:24
SPEAKER_04: This is most research you did ever in college, either.
1:14:26
SPEAKER_05: I know, I know, surprisingly.
1:14:28
SPEAKER_05: This I if I did this, if I put this much time and effort into my college career, uh, I probably would be in a much better position than what I am now.
1:14:36
SPEAKER_05: Not that I'm in a bad position, but you know, could be better.
1:14:40
SPEAKER_05: Definitely.
1:14:40
SPEAKER_05: But uh man, I this has just been fun.
1:14:43
SPEAKER_05: It's been fun.
1:14:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh, I'm excited to see if anything I say comes true and I kind of get some of the stuff right in these tiers.
1:14:51
SPEAKER_04: Well, I'm ready to see the rubber meet the road.
1:14:53
SPEAKER_04: So I'm I'm I'm ready to get to actually seeing how it all plays out, see if your tiers are correct or not.
1:14:59
SPEAKER_04: Because if not, yeah.
1:15:00
SPEAKER_04: Unfortunately, if you're wrong, you're you're booted, you're off the podcast.
1:15:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm off.
1:15:04
SPEAKER_05: I'm kicked off.
1:15:04
SPEAKER_04: You're off the Pac-12 podcasts.
1:15:06
SPEAKER_05: It's completely understandable.
1:15:08
SPEAKER_05: You can't get rid of me.
1:15:10
SPEAKER_05: I'm here.
1:15:11
SPEAKER_05: Um, all right, man.
1:15:13
SPEAKER_05: Let's go into our top fives uh all time for Texas Tech kickers and punters.
1:15:19
SPEAKER_05: This is what we did.
1:15:19
SPEAKER_05: So we didn't do special teams players of all time, we did specifically kickers and punters because it's so hard to kind of put your returners in there and judge them based, and you know, make a top five out of all these.
1:15:31
SPEAKER_05: So we both did top five kickers and punters of all time in Texas Tech history.
1:15:36
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean, it's it would have been a lot of research to dig through to find who was what.
1:15:42
SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, besides Bart Raker, who's clearly number one A on returner, clearly, clearly.
1:15:49
SPEAKER_04: Um, from the I'm sure he's cheering us on from his prison cell today.
1:15:53
SPEAKER_04: Um, um, saying how he should be put in, but no, no, uh no, I I absolutely this I'm glad I am glad this is the last one we're doing because I'm ready to get into it.
1:16:03
SPEAKER_04: But you ready for number five?
1:16:04
SPEAKER_05: Let's do it.
1:16:05
SPEAKER_05: What's your number five?
1:16:06
SPEAKER_04: Number five is Ryan Erxildon.
1:16:10
SPEAKER_04: I like how you've said the kickers and the punters have weird names because this guy does.
1:16:14
SPEAKER_04: I hope you're gonna notice it.
1:16:16
SPEAKER_04: You're going to notice it.
1:16:17
SPEAKER_04: That's what I'm saying.
1:16:18
SPEAKER_04: You've ruined my life.
1:16:19
SPEAKER_04: Um watching football.
1:16:21
SPEAKER_04: So uh this the reason why this guy's at number five is the guy holds easily the school record.
1:16:26
SPEAKER_04: He's at over 8,000 career yards in punting.
1:16:30
SPEAKER_04: He's a four-year player, 192 punts, and he had an average of four 42 yards per punt.
1:16:36
SPEAKER_04: Pretty dang solid.
1:16:38
SPEAKER_04: So the guy deserves a spot on there.
1:16:40
SPEAKER_04: Um, he's not be the last punter.
1:16:41
SPEAKER_04: So, uh, what about you got for number five?
1:16:43
SPEAKER_05: I have a kicker for my number five.
1:16:45
SPEAKER_05: I have another Ryan as well.
1:16:47
SPEAKER_05: Ryan Buston is my number five uh on this list.
1:16:51
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he was there from 2012 to 2014.
1:16:54
SPEAKER_05: Uh, the most made field goals in Texas Tech history.
1:16:58
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he made 23 field goals alone in the 2013 season, which is a school record.
1:17:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and he's third in field goal percentage in Texas Tech history after making nearly 77 of all of his field goals.
1:17:10
SPEAKER_05: He's my number five.
1:17:11
SPEAKER_04: He's my number four, man.
1:17:14
SPEAKER_04: And uh he he's fourth, and did you say fourth in single season already?
1:17:17
SPEAKER_04: I didn't.
1:17:18
SPEAKER_04: Oh, he was fourth in single sing uh single season percentage as well, with 85.
1:17:23
SPEAKER_04: So the man was incredible.
1:17:25
SPEAKER_04: He was uh a great uh time in the new deck in this past decade.
1:17:29
SPEAKER_04: He was the beginning of this this last decade, an underrated time for Texas Tech before we took a nosedive.
1:17:34
SPEAKER_04: Um, so he definitely deserves a spot.
1:17:36
SPEAKER_05: Yes, very good for Texas Tech.
1:17:38
SPEAKER_05: My number that was your number four, so I'm gonna give you my number four, uh, which is the GOAT.
1:17:43
SPEAKER_05: Austin McNamara is my number four on my list.
1:17:47
SPEAKER_05: Uh, the only punter I have on this list, by the way.
1:17:50
SPEAKER_05: Um, I know you probably did a little more extensive research than I did on the punting units at Texas Tech, but uh, as for what I've seen, I to be honest, it's hard for me to find another punter that I've seen on a football field that is as good as Austin McNamara.
1:18:05
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I really think this guy has a career in the NFL, and I think it's not just because he's a friend of the pod.
1:18:10
SPEAKER_05: I think he is one of the most talented kickers and punters I've ever seen in my life.
1:18:15
SPEAKER_05: So I'm really excited.
1:18:16
SPEAKER_05: Of course, he came here as a true freshman in 2019, has been here since uh man, 87-yard punt against West Virginia last year.
1:18:24
SPEAKER_05: That is unbelievable.
1:18:27
SPEAKER_05: How does somebody kick at 87 yards?
1:18:29
SPEAKER_05: It's stupid.
1:18:30
SPEAKER_04: Austin McNamara is my number two, bro.
1:18:33
SPEAKER_04: Wow, because this guy is something special, like that.
1:18:36
SPEAKER_04: The kid could be the best player on the team.
1:18:39
SPEAKER_04: He really, really could be, and it's no knock on anyone else on the team whatsoever.
1:18:45
SPEAKER_04: This guy could be the best puncher in the country, and obviously, I gotta give some love to a guy that came on the podcast, the first player we've ever had on the podcast, and the guy could not be more of a gentleman.
1:18:55
SPEAKER_04: Um, it was so much fun talking to him, and I'm his biggest fan, and I really do think, and I'm not just playing him at number two just because I do think he's one of the he's gonna be the greatest punter to ever go through Texas Tech once he's done.
1:19:06
SPEAKER_05: No doubt, man.
1:19:06
SPEAKER_05: I'm I'm super excited to see him this year.
1:19:09
SPEAKER_05: He is he's now getting the recognition.
1:19:11
SPEAKER_05: I mean, talk about uh the positional group that we're looked upon as as highly as we are, is the punting unit and Austin McNamara.
1:19:18
SPEAKER_05: So, dude's got a great future.
1:19:20
SPEAKER_05: I'm really excited for him.
1:19:21
SPEAKER_05: Who is your number three?
1:19:23
SPEAKER_04: My number three is our class, Bernie Native.
1:19:27
SPEAKER_04: So, right next door from our little bull birdie, he is Clayton Hatfield.
1:19:34
SPEAKER_04: The guy is career first in and kicking percentage.
1:19:38
SPEAKER_04: He is he has the the record for first and third in average season percentage.
1:19:43
SPEAKER_04: The guy was incredibly underrated.
1:19:46
SPEAKER_04: The guy did not get the love he deserved.
1:19:48
SPEAKER_04: And he the guy is fourth in total career uh field goals as well.
1:19:51
SPEAKER_04: Um, he was just the the definition of efficient, and the guy, the guy, the guy got through the beams, and I do think he deserves a spot on this list because one, I like putting our our time guys on there, but two, uh, he's incredibly underrated, doesn't get enough love.
1:20:07
SPEAKER_05: And it's insane to think about because we watched Clayton Hatfield pretty much the entire time we were there at tech, and that dude I had a poor last season, but it was because he was so hurt, and that was his senior year.
1:20:19
SPEAKER_05: He he just got hurt, and to think that these completion percentages would be even higher if he weren't hurt is insane to think about because in just in just 2016, he hit 93 percent of his field goals.
1:20:34
SPEAKER_05: I mean, that's ridiculous, and then in 2015, he hit 87 and a half percent of his field goals.
1:20:39
SPEAKER_05: So, uh, if it wasn't for that injury-riddled senior season, it would be even higher, which is insane to think about.
1:20:46
SPEAKER_05: He's my number two, actually.
1:20:49
SPEAKER_04: Oh, well, let's see.
1:20:50
SPEAKER_04: It looks like we're lining up a little better than we thought, then, huh?
1:20:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
1:20:53
SPEAKER_05: So you included a few more punters, I included a few more kickers, right?
1:20:57
SPEAKER_05: So your number three was Clayton Hatfield.
1:20:59
SPEAKER_05: I'll give you my number three, which is another kicker, which is Lynn Elliott.
1:21:04
SPEAKER_05: He was there from 1988 to 1991.
1:21:07
SPEAKER_05: He is seventh in Texas Tech history in field goals.
1:21:10
SPEAKER_05: He only missed one extra point in his entire Texas Tech career, which is extremely impressive.
1:21:15
SPEAKER_05: Um, and then he left when he left T uh Texas Tech, he was the all-time leading scorer in Texas Tech history, put up the most points.
1:21:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh, he I had to put him on the list.
1:21:25
SPEAKER_04: He's he's up there number three, and he also nabbed the Super Bowl ring in 1993 with the Dallas Cowboys.
1:21:31
SPEAKER_04: So that does not stink for a Texas Tech Red Raider to gather grab that as well.
1:21:36
SPEAKER_04: Um, all right, man.
1:21:37
SPEAKER_04: So here we are at number one, huh?
1:21:39
SPEAKER_05: Well, yeah.
1:21:40
SPEAKER_05: Well, what was your number two?
1:21:41
SPEAKER_05: Your number two is Austin McNamara.
1:21:43
SPEAKER_05: Your number two is McNamara.
1:21:44
SPEAKER_05: Mine was Clayton Hatfield.
1:21:45
SPEAKER_05: So let's go.
1:21:46
SPEAKER_05: What is your number one?
1:21:47
SPEAKER_04: My number one is the guy that I hope Austin McNamara surpasses.
1:21:51
SPEAKER_04: And the reason why this guy is number one, he's a punter in this mark abounds.
1:21:56
SPEAKER_04: This man was an all-American as a punter, the only one in school history, and he led the nation in 1991 in average per punt.
1:22:08
SPEAKER_04: The guy was an absolute stud.
1:22:10
SPEAKER_04: He transferred in from West Texas AM, where he was an all-American there as well.
1:22:15
SPEAKER_04: Only one of two players in history to do it at both levels, both the AFCA and uh FPS Division I.
1:22:23
SPEAKER_04: So that just an absolute stud.
1:22:26
SPEAKER_04: I mean, the guy, if you're an all-American and you have a the punting as a punter, that's you gotta be number one for Texas Tech since he's the only one.
1:22:33
SPEAKER_04: What is this man's name?
1:22:35
SPEAKER_04: Mark Bounds.
1:22:36
SPEAKER_04: I said it.
1:22:36
SPEAKER_05: Okay, did you say it?
1:22:37
SPEAKER_05: I don't think you said it.
1:22:38
SPEAKER_04: Okay, I said Mark Bounds.
1:22:40
SPEAKER_05: I maybe just didn't hear it.
1:22:41
SPEAKER_05: Okay, Mark Bounds.
1:22:42
SPEAKER_05: Like I said, I didn't do my punting research very high.
1:22:45
SPEAKER_04: All American.
1:22:46
SPEAKER_05: I knew I was gonna put Austin McNamara on this list.
1:22:48
SPEAKER_05: I I probably should have put this guy on the list too, but I'm glad you said it.
1:22:52
SPEAKER_05: Um that's that's elite, that's fantastic.
1:22:55
SPEAKER_05: All American punter, gotta love it for sure.
1:22:58
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's only one, so it's true.
1:23:01
SPEAKER_05: Austin McNamara.
1:23:02
SPEAKER_05: Uh I thought he was an all-American last year.
1:23:04
SPEAKER_04: He was a freshman All-American.
1:23:06
SPEAKER_05: Okay, okay, that's a little different, but um, he'll be on it at least this year.
1:23:11
SPEAKER_05: If absolutely he will, he'll be number two, but that's a good number one.
1:23:15
SPEAKER_05: I'm surprised you forgot this guy for my number one uh kicker, Alex Trelica.
1:23:21
SPEAKER_05: Uh, unbelievable player there from 2004 to 2007, second in Texas Tech history uh of made field goals with 48.
1:23:29
SPEAKER_05: Uh, hit the game-winning field goal to beat Minnesota in the crazy comeback 2006 inside bowl.
1:23:36
SPEAKER_05: And and I, you know, just besides, yeah, Bore.
1:23:40
SPEAKER_05: I mean, 31-point comeback.
1:23:42
SPEAKER_05: It's tied now with TCU coming back against Oregon a couple years ago.
1:23:46
SPEAKER_05: But um, this was the most impressive thing.
1:23:48
SPEAKER_05: This guy made 234 consecutive extra points.
1:23:53
SPEAKER_05: Talk about consistency.
1:23:56
SPEAKER_05: We talked about Clayton Hatfield and how consistent this guy.
1:23:59
SPEAKER_05: This guy, Alex Trelica, was unbelievable, automatic from just extra points and just a super reliable guy.
1:24:07
SPEAKER_04: I guess just SmackDamera had me on the punting uh zone.
1:24:10
SPEAKER_04: So I can't believe I overlooked this man because holy cow, I will take all of that right now on this questionable kicking team right now.
1:24:20
SPEAKER_05: Me too, me too.
1:24:21
SPEAKER_05: But uh, yeah, so that that's our top fives.
1:24:23
SPEAKER_05: That's our final top fives for this offseason.
1:24:27
SPEAKER_05: Uh, dude, this has been really, really fun breaking down the top fives as well.
1:24:32
SPEAKER_05: Seeing these old Texas Tech players that we've never heard of in our lives, uh, trying to put them in top fives that so many people are gonna get pissed off about because we didn't include a certain guy, or we put some guy above another guy.
1:24:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh, so we just had fun with this no matter what.
1:24:46
SPEAKER_05: These top fives have been really fun and interesting.
1:24:49
SPEAKER_04: You nailed it.
1:24:49
SPEAKER_04: It was like a little history lesson, but I do hope that the guys we're watching right now hop onto these top fives.
1:24:55
SPEAKER_04: So, this has been a long episode.
1:24:57
SPEAKER_04: So, we should probably go ahead and bring it on home.
1:25:00
SPEAKER_04: What do you think?
1:25:00
SPEAKER_05: Let's bring it on home with our song of the week, like we always end off the episode on.
1:25:04
SPEAKER_05: Give y'all a little something to listen to for the weekend.
1:25:08
SPEAKER_05: This week's song of the week is going to be an acoustic song of the week, something just to kind of mellow out with a popular song that uh everybody knows the studio version, but potentially they made an acoustic version that you just like to listen to.
1:25:22
SPEAKER_05: So, Tristan, give me your acoustic song of the week.
1:25:25
SPEAKER_04: So, like you said, it's an acoustic cover of a of a of your one of your favorite songs with me.
1:25:30
SPEAKER_04: It's a very Texas Tech, very West Texas oriented song.
1:25:35
SPEAKER_04: I'm sorry, I have to repeat here.
1:25:37
SPEAKER_04: It's a Wade Bowen song, y'all, a former Red Raider.
1:25:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, and what it is, it's it's it's a song about his time at Texas Tech, about beginning his musical career.
1:25:46
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's a song that every young man can relate to.
1:25:50
SPEAKER_04: It is West Texas Rain, off of their watch this album with Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen, their duet.
1:25:57
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's an acoustic live version of the song.
1:25:59
SPEAKER_04: Um, and he it's it's great because he opens up talking about how the song was made at his time at Texas Tech.
1:26:04
SPEAKER_04: And I just think that it's obviously hits home with the with the new sports here on the horizon with our new students on campus.
1:26:10
SPEAKER_04: Um, and I really do think that anybody listening to this can really find some real relation inside of it.
1:26:33
SPEAKER_05: Hey, very nice.
1:26:34
SPEAKER_05: I love West Texas Rain.
1:26:36
SPEAKER_05: That's one of the one of the best uh Texas country songs that I've heard in my life.
1:26:40
SPEAKER_05: Uh, and it just I mean, coming, you know, being spending time at Texas Tech, it it hits home and it's a really good song.
1:26:46
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
1:26:47
SPEAKER_04: That's why I'm throwing it out there for y'all.
1:26:49
SPEAKER_05: Very nice.
1:26:50
SPEAKER_05: Mine is a little different.
1:26:52
SPEAKER_05: Uh, it's not a country song, surprisingly.
1:26:55
SPEAKER_05: Uh, you think acoustic, you think it's got to be kind of soft rock or country.
1:26:59
SPEAKER_05: This is uh, I have it's titled Mashup uh by Kurt Hugo Schneider, featuring T-Pain.
1:27:07
SPEAKER_05: Um, I if you know me, you know I love T-Pain.
1:27:11
SPEAKER_05: He is singing every and and the guy I know he's known for his auto-tune, everything like that.
1:27:17
SPEAKER_05: He's singing all of his songs without auto-tune in this, and it's a mashup of all the different T-Pain songs, and it's produced and coordinated by Kurt Hugo Schneider.
1:27:27
SPEAKER_05: Uh so give it a listen because uh T-Pain really does have a great voice, he just never utilized it because he it was in that kind of weird 2000s trend of being, you know, just auto-tune and everything like that.
1:27:41
SPEAKER_05: But uh, it's just such an interesting mashup of his songs that I never thought I would hear.
1:27:47
SPEAKER_05: So this is it's very it's very good.
1:27:49
SPEAKER_05: I really like it.
1:27:50
SPEAKER_01: Baby girl, what's your name?
1:27:53
SPEAKER_01: Let me talk to you, let me buy you a train.
1:27:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm T Pain, you'd know me.
1:28:07
SPEAKER_04: It's it's funny.
1:28:07
SPEAKER_04: T-Pain actually kind of started that trend.
1:28:09
SPEAKER_04: He was he he did the auto-tune thing because it was different, no one was doing it.
1:28:13
SPEAKER_04: It's I recommend the Netflix documentary, I think it's called Pop or Pop Music, and the first episode or one of the first episodes about him and how he kind of made pop music into auto-tune.
1:28:23
SPEAKER_04: It's it's great.
1:28:23
SPEAKER_04: He he does show off his real voice too because he was offended that people thought he wasn't a real musician because of the auto-tune.
1:28:29
SPEAKER_04: So that's a great pick, man.
1:28:30
SPEAKER_04: I do recommend that documentary as well about him.
1:28:32
SPEAKER_04: So uh there we go, man.
1:28:34
SPEAKER_04: Kind of a fun mashup there between two genres.
1:28:36
SPEAKER_05: No doubt, no doubt.
1:28:38
SPEAKER_05: Get you something to listen to, something to slow down on the weekend.
1:28:41
SPEAKER_05: The last weekend before Texas Tech Football, by the way.
1:28:43
SPEAKER_04: On before the storm.
1:28:45
SPEAKER_05: Oh man, I'm excited.
1:28:46
SPEAKER_05: We are going to give y'all a full-on football preview next week.
1:28:50
SPEAKER_05: We're also gonna talk about just the schedule, kind of how we see the season unfolding, just a lot of fun stuff, and then by that time, we're also gonna know if we're in the pack 12 or not, apparently.
1:28:59
SPEAKER_05: So, uh, man, big episode coming up before the U of H game.
1:29:03
SPEAKER_05: We're also gonna talk some U of H and how we're gonna match up or match up in that game.
1:29:08
SPEAKER_05: So uh just really excited, man.
1:29:10
SPEAKER_05: It's it's counting down the days at this point.
1:29:12
SPEAKER_04: Zero to 60, real quick right now.
1:29:14
SPEAKER_04: So it's it things are about to get pick up a lot of steam, a lot has happened.
1:29:17
SPEAKER_04: So, but I'm really I'm ready to watch some sports to distract us.
1:29:21
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no doubt.
1:29:22
SPEAKER_05: So, all right, man.
1:29:23
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna end it off like we always do with some plugs.
1:29:26
SPEAKER_05: You can follow me and Tristan on Twitter.
1:29:27
SPEAKER_05: Tristan is at Tristy Mick.
1:29:29
SPEAKER_05: I am at L underscore S underscore Rodriguez.
1:29:31
SPEAKER_05: Follow the pod on Twitter at talking tech pod.
1:29:33
SPEAKER_05: We are gonna give you the best content that we can during football season, and we're gonna, you know, throw in some memes too.
1:29:39
SPEAKER_05: We've been pretty we've been pretty on point with our meme game lately.
1:29:41
SPEAKER_05: Uh great Tristan's account to the pod's account.
1:29:44
SPEAKER_05: It's been pretty, pretty elite to say the least.
1:29:47
SPEAKER_05: And you know, I don't tremendous, I don't tune my own horn often, but Matt Wells would call it tremendous.
1:29:53
SPEAKER_05: So you can uh you can also follow our songs of the week playlist, including these two acoustic songs of the week.
1:29:59
SPEAKER_05: They're gonna be on that.
1:30:01
SPEAKER_05: Uh, you can find it on Apple Music and Spotify.
1:30:03
SPEAKER_05: We always tweet out a link to it.
1:30:05
SPEAKER_05: Um, so but man, that's it.
1:30:07
SPEAKER_05: We're gonna end it off like we always do.
1:30:10
SPEAKER_05: Always Wreck'em Tech.
1:30:12
SPEAKER_04: Wreck'em Tech.
1:30:14
SPEAKER_03: Uh wow.
1:30:15
SPEAKER_03: First of all, uh got a lot of respect for Steven and Tristan.
1:30:20
SPEAKER_03: Uh their program, tough guys, just uh a lot of fun.
1:30:24
SPEAKER_00: I love the game of basketball, but I also love West Texas, and I love Stephen and Tristan.
1:30:29
SPEAKER_00: So I'm extremely proud.
1:30:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't know where we go from here.
1:30:32
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm thinking I'm just gonna sit back down.
1:30:34
SPEAKER_00: It's just not getting better than this.
1:30:36
SPEAKER_02: I just want to tell Stephen and Tristan, thanks for coming out.
1:30:40
SPEAKER_03: The energy uh was really, really good in there today.
1:30:43
SPEAKER_03: Uh we fed off of it.
1:30:44
SPEAKER_03: I think it goes back and forth tremendous.
1:30:47
SPEAKER_03: Uh great job, and um, you know, just just proud of our guys for the way they responded to the