Building the Beast: Trinidad Chambliss is climbing the boards
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
56 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 23, 2026
Published
Wed, September 23, 2026
2
Player insights
2
Players mentioned
Topics
Brock PurdyBryce Young
Player analysis
Player insights
Brock Purdy
PositiveValue18:33
Brock Purdy is cited as a phenomenal comparison for Trinidad Chambliss regarding size and the ability to succeed in the NFL despite being an unconventional prospect. His success proves that teams should look beyond traditional 'cookie-cutter' quarterback profiles.
Insight pageBryce Young
NegativeProjection10:06
Bryce Young serves as a size and playstyle comparison for Trinidad Chambliss. While Young has an edge in processing, Chambliss possesses a stronger arm. Young's success in the NFL provides a baseline for how smaller quarterbacks can adapt.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Welcome to a new episode of Building the Beast brought to you by the U.S.
0:05Bank Smartly Visa's signature card. I am Dave Hellman and today, Dane Brugler and I had a lot to chew on coming
0:12out of Ole Miss LSU stuff phenomenal performance by Trinidad Chambliss.
0:16We went deep on him as a prospect lot to talk about there talked about Lenora sellers weekend and looked forward to
0:23a huge week for in college football. A lot of big games on deck.
0:28Let's get right to it. All right, Dane. He said with a very heavy sigh.
0:33Let's get into it. LSU must have lost. There was a college football game of some significance played in Oxford, Mississippi on
0:40Saturday night and the University of Mississippi employed the best player on the field and one of the very best players in college football.
0:48LSU, I'm still processing what exactly we saw from Trinidad Chambliss in that 32-24 win against LSU.
0:54Just an incredible performance, a performance that leaves you with so many questions about what his NFL future might look like.
1:01Because like if you watch that game and we'll get into everything that he did.
1:06But if you watch that game, his performances in the clutch on the money downs at the end of the game, it's a great deal.
1:14When things broke down around him. It's very hard not to get excited about what a playmaker he is.
1:20But as we have discussed many times, he is a very unique prospect from an NFL perspective.
1:26And so as much as it pains me to relive a very, very tough loss for my Tigers.
1:32I am really excited to talk to you in detail about Trinidad Chambliss and his first really big moment from 2026.
1:39Trinidad Chambliss, Jr.: I'm so impressed by athletes who can, in an environment that is filled with so much emotion and so
1:46much just, it's so much more than just the game with what was going on with LSU and Ole Miss and Elaine Kiffin of it all.
1:55I'm just so impressed by athletes that can go into an environment like that and still play at their peak.
2:01You know, they're not going to let the pressure overwhelm them.
2:05So they're pressing. They're not going to, you know, let one mistake cause a couple more mistakes and crumble.
2:11And Trinidad Chambliss was up for the task. He wasn't perfect, you know, by any means.
2:16Trinidad Chambliss, Jr.: Especially, you know, there are a few moments in the second half where Ole Miss really could have put a dent in that score.
2:25But, you know, credit to LSU's offense. Sam Levitt made some plays.
2:29And, but at the end of the day, Chambliss made just more than LSU.
2:34And there's so much to like about his game.
2:37Love his release. He's so compact and twitchy. The ball just shoots off his hand.
2:42And, you know, it's funny. Part of my process is talking to a lot of background people, right?
2:48Coaches, parents, friends, whatever. Anyone who will chat with me and, you know, tell me information and add context to who a player is.
2:56And I was talking to a former coach of his from high school who told me without blinking an eye, 100%, Trinidad
3:03Chambliss could have started in college playing shortstop if he stuck with baseball, point guard, if he pursued basketball.
3:09Because that's, and you see that when he plays quarterback.
3:13That factors into the way he plays, his style, just the way he moves.
3:17And, you know, the basketball background is interesting because that was his go-to sport most of his life.
3:23And even there was a time when he was riding the bench at Ferris State where he thought about what are my transfer options?
3:31I can go play D2 basketball, D3 basketball and just finish my degree.
3:36But at least I'll be doing something. So, yeah, there's so many ways to talk about Trinidad Chambliss.
3:42But I, the whole NFL part of this is just really fascinating.
3:46Well, let's go through some of the moments from the game before we have the prospect, like, evaluation conversation.
3:52Because I think you're right. So much of what I like about him is hard to articulate.
3:57Because so much of what I like about him is that resiliency and that clutch factor that you talked about.
4:04Where no matter what happened before and no matter how things have been going, it just seems like he delivers.
4:11He was 8 of 8 and threw two of his touchdowns on third down in this game.
4:16And as you mentioned, one of his biggest miscues was the interception in the, I think it was the third quarter.
4:23It was definitely the second half. I would argue he did get hit on that play.
4:29So not even like a terrible mistake, just a really nice play by Ty Benefield, who we can talk about in a second.
4:36But even after that, after the third quarter kind of goes sideways and Ole Miss, or excuse me, LSU clawed back into this game.
4:44It was 7 of 9 for 62 yards on the go-ahead drive that put Ole Miss up by 8 points.
4:51And he, not a great night rushing the ball.
4:54This is a very athletic LSU defense. But he outran an NFL defender in Ty Benefield on that touchdown from 14 yards out to put them ahead.
5:03Just a fantastic degree of athleticism. And like I said, just there's a clutch factor that you can't let go of.
5:10And if you watch him play and you say, oh, is he going to be that escapable in the NFL?
5:16Can you throw that ball drifting back in the pocket off your back foot the way he did in this game in the NFL?
5:24I think that's all very fair, but the arm is more than good enough.
5:29And the athleticism is solid. And the way that stuff just shows up in those moments, I just, I don't think I
5:36can discount it, even if it is a hard thing to quantify.
5:40He's so decisive as a passer. And that's what I really appreciate about his game.
5:45And whether it's from the pocket or he's on the move and buying time and maybe a little bit outside of structure, but it doesn't matter.
5:54When he sees it or anticipates it, he can rip it.
5:57And he has the arm where it gets there before the defender can react.
6:02And I think that's, you know, we talk about Bryce Young.
6:06I think that's a, if we're going to make comparisons, that's one that comes up that you see.
6:12He's got a much stronger arm than Bryce does.
6:15And I think he, maybe Bryce has the edge a little bit on processing because that's what made Bryce the number one overall pick.
6:23But it's not, there's not a gap. Like, I think the way that Chambliss plays, he reads it pre-snap.
6:29And then once it becomes open or about to come open, he rips that thing.
6:34And it gets there in a hurry. So I think that there's, obviously there are some red flags to his evaluation.
6:41But when you really focus on, if you're going to make a list of what's important at the quarterback position, there's a lot more hits than misses.
6:50And the misses are not at the top of the priority list of what you look for in a quarterback.
6:56And so I think that's all important context when we start to spin this forward to his NFL evaluation.
7:03To your point, two of my favorite plays from this game were from the pocket.
7:08Because I think the scrambling touchdown pass where he just darted toward the line and jumped and just ripped it in on the seam ball for the touchdown.
7:17It's a fantastic play. But if you're dubious of it because of the, you know, creating something out of nothing nature of
7:24it and does that translate, I get it. Same thing with the hilariously fun pitch that he had on that scramble where
7:31like half the LSU defense was in pursuit. It was actually not fun in the moment.
7:37It was about as mad as I've ever been in my life when he pulled that off.
7:42That little sweet little teardrop pitch to the tight end.
7:46And after Lane's face when that happened is like, oh, that's that's Dave in the moment.
7:51That's how you know you're playing against a really great player.
7:55Like when stuff like that happens and you just feel helpless and you know it's going to happen again.
8:01But anyway, my two favorite throws early in the game, third and nine, the 13 yard out to trail and Ray right from the pocket far hat.
8:10He's from on the far hash and it's, I mean, it's just a simple 10 yard out, but it's a 13 yard
8:17pass that travels further in the air. And he identifies it immediately fits it between two defenders from the far hash.
8:24And that was the first drive. And I was like, that was, or maybe it was the second, it was the second
8:31drive, but I was like, that's an NFL throw.
8:34It's not like super crazy from a highlight perspective, but fantastic arm strength.
8:39And similarly, his first touchdown pass third and 12 from right outside the red zone, he sees his receiver cut on like
8:46a little post slant route, whatever you want to call it.
8:50And he's firing it while the guy's coming out of his break.
8:54He's not even looking for the ball yet. And he just beat the safety to the catch point and was decisive enough
9:01that the safety actually collided with the cornerback in coverage and picked him so that the guy had a run after catch opportunity for a touchdown.
9:09And I was like this anticipation and arm strength, this shit is real.
9:14Even if some of the playmaking stuff, maybe you want to see more of it, or maybe you don't know how it's going to translate.
9:22There's a lot of stuff here that definitely does, like you mentioned, just with the arm strength and the decisiveness with which he makes these throws.
9:31No, there's no doubt about it. I mean, I think that it's the highs that he's played with.
9:37When you go back to last year against Georgia in the playoff, what he did in the second half against Louisville in
9:44the opener, what he did against LSU. To be in that type of amped up environment, but still play within himself to
9:51go make these decisive throws, go make plays, use his legs when he needed to.
9:56He doesn't rely on his legs like other quarterbacks do, but he's not afraid to use them when he needs to.
10:03So, yeah, I've had so many conversations the last few days about, okay, what's this mean for his NFL evaluation and how do we put it into context?
10:12And I think if you only draft quarterbacks based on precedent, you're not going to like Chambliss, right?
10:18I think that the size, the age, that alone, it makes him an extreme outlier.
10:23And I think the fact that there's not like a true apples-to-apples comp modern day, I think that scares people.
10:30We haven't seen anybody like this before, so they can't possibly work, right?
10:34But I think you look around the best quarterbacks in the league, most of those guys weren't drafted based on precedent.
10:41You know, there were no good Texas Tech quarterbacks in the NFL until the Chiefs made Mahomes a top-10 pick.
10:48Josh Allen, he had 56% completions and 21 total touchdowns, passing and rushing, 21 total touchdowns in 11 games his final year at Wyoming.
10:56Guys like that, with those types of numbers, they don't become legit NFL quarterbacks until Allen.
11:01I mean, no one thought Dak Prescott could do what he's doing.
11:05Nobody, Fernando Mendoza coming out of college or coming out of high school.
11:09You son of a ****, you're trying to talk me into this.
11:13You're trying to convince me. Every NFL team passed on Brock Purdy five, six, seven times in that draft class.
11:20So I'm just saying, you look around the NFL.
11:23If you're looking for conventional, why? These guys aren't conventional.
11:26And so I think I've heard that, oh, if he was really that good all those years in Division II, he wouldn't
11:34have sat as much as he did. He wouldn't have been on the bench.
11:38And I mean, Josh Allen couldn't beg himself into a scholarship out of high school.
11:43Goes to one year of JUCO. Still couldn't beg himself into a scholarship until Wyoming finally decided to give him a shot.
11:50Only scholarship that he got. So I think guys get overlooked all the time.
11:55And so the point I'm trying to make is you can draft quarterbacks based on chasing the cookie cutter skill set of
12:02what you think an NFL quarterback should be. Or you can draft the playmakers.
12:07And guys that have NFL traits. I'm not saying draft guys that are deficient in what you want in an NFL quarterback.
12:14But guys that have NFL traits, both physical and mental.
12:18Maybe they are deficient in one or two areas, but they understand how to compensate for that.
12:23And then maybe their path took them on a winding journey and it doesn't really compare to anything else.
12:30That's what Chambliss is. But again, you look around the NFL and there's a lot of that.
12:35So this isn't me pounding the table for why he should be the number one overall pick.
12:41I think that he's not a perfect process, a perfect prospect.
12:44And we have plenty of time to figure out what exactly is the right value of where to draft him.
12:51But I think this is me on my soapbox for why people need to have more of an open mind about what works in the NFL at quarterback.
13:00There isn't much conventional about Chambliss. But again, history tells us that drafting conventional, that shouldn't be the goal either.
13:07I think you just you nailed the crux of this thing because actually I've been so focused on Bryce Young as the
13:14jumping off point for Chambliss just because of the size.
13:18And, you know, Chambliss is officially listed at six foot.
13:21We'll see how real that is. If I had to guess, it's not.
13:25I'm going to guess he comes in a little bit south of that.
13:29But again, 5'11 and 7'8 in the spring. So we'll see what it actually is.
13:34But 5'11 and 7'8 and 2'08, I believe, was his spring measurements.
13:38Which is still bigger than Bryce because like Bryce's combine weight was 2'05.
13:43But, you know, he was eating peanut butter sandwiches all week leading up to that.
13:48Bryce is, I think he was 5'10, 1 maybe.
13:51And his playing weight is probably like 195. So, yeah, I mean, Trinidad is just under two inches taller and probably a good 10, 15 pounds bigger.
14:00You know what's funny, though? I've been so focused on Bryce.
14:03I hadn't taken a ton of time to think about Purdy.
14:07And that is such a phenomenal comp when you're talking about a guy who kind of looks like Chambliss, who is doing
14:14this at a high level in the NFL. Brock was listed at 6'5 and 5'8.
14:19So just a little hint under 6'1 and 212 pounds.
14:22But the difference that I can hear people bringing up right now is one went one overall and one went last.
14:29And what do you do with that? Because, of course, Brock Purdy, if you had known now what you know then, or if, Jesus, sorry, 3, 2.
14:38If you'd known then what you know now, he's getting drafted way the hell higher than Mr.
14:44Irrelevant. But taking a guy with these size limitations, and he will be 25 at his rookie training camp, it's a little scary.
14:52And I don't blame people if they don't want to do something Bryce Young-ish four years after Bryce Young.
14:58Now, it's fair to say Bryce Young is off to a hell of a start in year four, but we'll see what his overall season looks like.
15:07So I'm stuck not knowing how to feel because my gut tells me Trinidad Chambliss is worth a first-round draft pick, I think.
15:14But where? And how does he stack up to some of these other guys that are going to be available?
15:21I mean, I think the guy we saw play Saturday night, he will be starting games in the NFL next year.
15:28Like, it's just a matter of, okay, how does he get there exactly?
15:32Is he going to be a top 15 pick?
15:35Is he going to be more of a top 40 pick?
15:39Like I said, we have time to figure that part out.
15:43But I do think it's worth addressing just some of the concerns because, again, there's so many examples around the league, not
15:50of exactly what Chambliss is, but examples of other quote-unquote outliers maybe that are doing some really good things in the NFL right now.
15:58Tyler Shuck, is it weird that he's closer in age to Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen than he is to Jackson Dart?
16:05Yeah, that's weird. Like, that shouldn't be, right? But if Shuck continues to play at this rate, do you think the Saints care?
16:13No, of course not. I mean, this is a—I will say, if you're an older prospect plus you're raw, yeah, that's a bad combo.
16:21You really traditionally want to stay away from those types of guys.
16:25But there are benefits of having an older quarterback, right?
16:28I think you have a guy that's more mature, somebody that's ready to go out of the box, very little assembly required.
16:35You know, off the field, you're probably more of a mature human.
16:39So, like, there are plenty of positives, too, about being a little bit older.
16:44And, I don't know, if you grade a player just on ability and talent as an NFL starter, I think it'd be
16:51pretty silly to pass on him because he's a little bit older and maybe he only has a 10-year career ahead of him instead of 14-year career.
17:00You know, like, I think that that's something that doesn't really make sense to me.
17:05Another thing I would bring up, I've heard people say a lot since Saturday, like, of course he looks this good, he's 24.
17:13And I would just like to point out, I mean, he was on our radar quickly last year, like, within a start or two.
17:21He was at Ferris State. He jumped from Division II to the SEC without a whole hell of a lot of difficulty.
17:28And, I mean, yeah, like, time on task definitely helps with that, and he was very successful at Ferris State.
17:35But those are vastly different levels of football that he navigated and made it look easy.
17:40So, he is an older prospect. There's no way around it.
17:44It's not great that he'll be 25 at his rookie training camp, but I'm a little less worried about that than some people, I think.
17:52But it's not like he was starting all those years at Ferris State either.
17:56He started one year at Division II. So, yeah, he is a little bit older, but it's not like he has the benefit of this is...
18:05Yeah, he didn't play 80 games in Division II before jumping to the SEC.
18:10He literally started 15 games and led his team to a national championship in 2024.
18:15And then he made the jump in 2025 to Ole Miss.
18:18And, you know, the rest is history, the way everything played out.
18:22But I do think that the offense that he's coming from, I think traditionally it's an offense, you know, last year with Lane and Charlie West Jr.
18:31This year, still a lot of the same concepts with what they're doing.
18:36It's an offense known for being maybe a little simplistic and making things easy on the quarterback.
18:41But that's why if you're Trinidad Chambliss and his people, you are crossing your fingers that Jackson Dart gets back healthy because
18:48the way that Jackson Dart has been playing gives...
18:51Will give teams confidence that, hey, look, Dart? That was a big knock on Dart was he's going from that offense to the NFL.
18:59Like, oh, it's going to take time. It's got who knows how he's going to adapt and just a bigger playbook, so many more options.
19:08Like, there's a lot of concerns there. The way that Dart was able to find success and be productive as a rookie
19:15and, you know, week one, same thing against the Cowboys.
19:18OK, that gives you confidence that Chambliss can do the same thing.
19:22I think how I feel about it in late September, and there's so much season left to go, so we don't have to get ahead of ourselves.
19:31But I think I'm going to wind up liking at least one other prospect more than Trinidad Chambliss as far as quarterbacks go.
19:39But I think he's going to get drafted very high, and I think he deserves to get drafted very high for all the reasons we just laid out.
19:48And I think at the end of the day, somebody is going to be willing to make peace with these red flags.
19:55And when I say very high, I think I'd be willing to say first round right now.
20:01I don't want to take it a whole lot higher than that.
20:05But at the end of the day, I think that absolutely feels likely to happen.
20:10Yeah, he started at 35 overall in my top 50.
20:13So if he continues to play at this level, like he did against LSU, that's just only going up for me.
20:20I mean, there's a reason that I don't do an updated top 50 until after Halloween.
20:25I want to, you know, September can lie to us, right?
20:29I mean, there's a lot that happens in these early games that we don't know for sure what's real, what's not.
20:36And so, you know, let's get a little bit more body of work about what we're working with here.
20:42And so, yeah, I don't, I would agree with you.
20:46Like, yeah, first round is very possible for him.
20:49How high I'd be willing to take him, I don't know right now.
20:53But I think that, like I said, he's going to start NFL games next year.
20:58And he's somebody that is ready to go. I don't think there's going to be a huge, you know, gap for him
21:05in terms of adjusting to the NFL game. The irony is that early season Ty Simpson lied to us and we still
21:12wound up being right in the long run because you never know.
21:16That's true. You never know how these teams are going to feel.
21:20Okay. I knew we were going to go long on Trinidad.
21:24That's totally fine. Is there anything else you want to hit from this game?
21:29I think we need, we need to talk about the Ole Miss DT, I think.
21:34Yeah, I mean, the first words out of your mouth for this pod was, you know, one of the most, one of the best players in college football.
21:43And I would argue two of the best players in college football were on the field Saturday night.
21:49It's sad but true. The way Will Eccles played, it's just dominant.
21:53And look, I know you can tell me or you'll have more information than I do, but I don't think that left
22:00guard is going to be an NFL player. No, no, he's not.
22:04He's, hey, he's not, but he was on the field for LSU.
22:08So, I mean, what do you want me to say?
22:11That's it. I mean, even when Will Eccles went up against Seton, the left tackle, he found success.
22:17And so, Eccles. He didn't just find success. And I would say Jordan Seton, I think, had a pretty nice night overall.
22:25I think PFF charted him at two pressures allowed, but Will Eccles hit him with a swim move that is going to go viral during the draft process.
22:34Like, people are already sharing it, and it's going to dog him during this whole draft process.
22:40Like, well, Will Eccles made you look like a goofy, which he did.
22:44But it was one snap, but it was a very impressive snap.
22:48Yeah. His hands are just like sticks of dynamite, man.
22:51He can drive you from your spot. He can rip and swim past you.
22:56He just has a really good feel for what the offense is trying to do and what he needs to do to combat it.
23:04And so, I love that he's equally dominant versus running the pass.
23:08You know, he's somebody that shows up in the run game, and it's not just beating his man and winning in the backfield.
23:15It's, you know, taking care of his gap and, you know, being able to take on a double and, you know, free up somebody else.
23:24I mean, he does so many things that is really impressive.
23:27So, yeah, Will Eccles, he started the year 13th on my top 50.
23:32And, I mean, I think he absolutely lived up to it in this game.
23:36I already mentioned Ty Benefield, but I just think he's a player that people are going to love getting to know as they dive into the draft process.
23:46Safety for LSU, transferred over from Boise State. We've talked about him before.
23:50Two pressures in this game. They sent him on a blitz twice.
23:54He got home once on a big third down for a sack, and he got the QB hit that led to LSU's interception.
24:01Had a nice play in coverage, which led to an incompletion.
24:05And just, I mean, he's just, he is a fast, confident, explosive safety.
24:09He's very, very fun in the early going of the season.
24:13You mentioned Cam Franklin, the other Ole Miss D lineman as well.
24:17Yeah, Franklin, he had the tip that led to the interception that ended the game, basically.
24:22But he was involved all night. I mean, he was lining up inside, outside.
24:27You see the power in his hands. I think they finished, or he was credited with six pressures.
24:33So just a guy that keeps coming. Yeah, he will try to go through you, but he can also win in gaps.
24:40So yeah, Franklin, Echols, Perkins, the linebacker. You saw his pursuit speed.
24:44I'm not quite sure what to do with Perkins as a prospect, just because he looks like he's 215 pounds.
24:51But his best reps on film are when he's getting after the quarterback.
24:55So I'm not sure where- Sounds like you're talking about a Perkins that used to play for LSU.
25:01That's a good point, yeah. So, but I don't, yeah, I don't know what to do with him.
25:07Can you prove to me you're a true off-ball linebacker?
25:10I don't know. But yeah, that pursuit speed's awesome.
25:13So Perkins is one of those guys. Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned Benefield, because this is the type of game where
25:21you want to see, all right, show me that you're a first-round pick.
25:25And I don't know that he definitively did that, but he, I thought he had a good game.
25:31The biggest issue from Boise State tape over the summer, all the missed tackles.
25:35He did have a few missed tackles in this game.
25:39There was one at the goal line where Kwon Lacy just powered right through him.
25:44Okay, I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah, yeah, it's a missed tackle.
25:48But also, three other guys were in on that, and Kwon Lacy just told them all to eat shit.
25:55I mean, credit to 205-pound Kwon Lacy, because yeah, he wanted it for sure.
25:59Kwon Lacy, it sucks. I mean, it was, like, as an LSU fan, not that I wish injury on anybody, but when
26:07he went out, I was like, wow, they might actually have a chance, because this guy is insane.
26:13He, what, nine carries for 43 yards? He had one play on, like, an inside zone that he broke outside, and he
26:20got to the sideline for 22 yards. And his stride, like, when he had a chance to open up, I thought it
26:27was unbelievable, like, the ground that he can cover.
26:30And then, yeah, he straight up got put, like, he ran into three different guys at the goal line and just bowled over all of them.
26:39And Ty Benefield was one of them, but he was not alone.
26:43No, he wasn't. Well, speaking of injuries, trade us green.
26:46I mean, the game might have been, had a different outcome, if not for his injury, which is a bummer, because he
26:53was such a monster, especially in that second half.
26:56The size, the athleticism. I mean, guys were just throwing their bodies at him, and he just kept chugging.
27:03Looked like the guy from Happy Gilmore at the end.
27:06I mean, he just, rawr, doing whatever he wanted to do.
27:10I mean, it was great. But do we have any more details on his injury?
27:15Hopefully it's not long term. It sounds like he avoided surgery.
27:18Honestly, the hit that he took was vaguely reminiscent of what happened to Jackson Dart on Monday night.
27:24Like, he just kind of had two guys sandwich his knee.
27:28The early word is that he doesn't need surgery, but I would imagine he's going to miss at least a few weeks, if not more.
27:36And Lane Kiffin said after the fact, like, yeah, it sucks to lose, but I'm equally upset about losing trade as green
27:43as I am about losing the game. I mean, he's he is absolutely lived up to the billing.
27:49I hope he gets back quickly because that was that was definitely a damper on what was already a bummer of a night.
27:57But in case you can't tell, just a a very, very fun game.
28:01So many great performances. I thought weeks flashed in this game, which he's been doing through the season as well.
28:08So this this will be a game we go back to often in the spring when we're evaluating prospects, because there were
28:15about 10 of them on the field. A very fun one.
28:19We went long on it on purpose, but we got plenty more to get to on today's show.
28:25We'll do that right after this break. All right, Dane, we decided before the season started, we wanted to have a segment
28:32we could pull out at times this year called.
28:35I want more. And that is the takeaway that we had coming out of another really entertaining SEC game.
28:41Big weekend in the SEC. Just a lot of good on good, ranked on ranked prospect on prospect matchups.
28:48One of those was a shootout. South Carolina falls to Mississippi State after taking a pretty substantial lead.
28:54I'm sure not not a lot of happy people in Columbia about the way this thing played out.
28:59And that's why we wanted to talk about it, because there's two candidates for I need more on today's show.
29:06And for very different reasons, who do you want to start with for the South Carolina Gamecock?
29:12Dylan Stewart or Lenora Sellers? Where do you want to go first?
29:16Let's knock out Dylan Stewart first, just because I think, you know, this.
29:20I literally need more of Dylan Stewart. He only played 15 snaps in this game.
29:25Right. It's more of a quicker. Yeah. Like he teased us basically with getting on the field, making an impact when he when he could.
29:33But we just he was on a pitch count.
29:36So we only saw so much coming back from that back injury from the offseason.
29:41Missed the first two games and they used his first time he got on the field was on that first third down.
29:49And he immediately got his hands on Camario Taylor, the quarterback, forcing incompletion.
29:53The next drive made a few plays. So hopefully he's just, you know, ramping up and he's going to be healthy the rest of the year.
30:01South Carolina needs him bad. But it's just great to see him back out there because, man, he can be a game wrecker when he's right.
30:10Just very much the flashes live up to the the high billing of him being a potential top five pick.
30:17He had a TFL where he blew up the pulling guard and shoved him off and got the tackle on the running back all in one play.
30:26And in 15 snaps, I think he had a he had a he had one pressure as well.
30:32He forced to throw away. And so to do that in 15 snaps, I was like, all right, check in the box that you're OK.
30:40Now let's just up those snaps and see what that looks like.
30:44Which when I went back and watched this, I was left wanting more.
30:48So I think it's very fitting. Now, the flip side.
30:51Yeah, let's get to the other part of that.
30:54I need more. Yeah. I like Lenora Sellers, a quarterback, a guy that you don't have to you don't have to sell me on the talent.
31:03Right. Like that's self-evident. The size, the speed, the arm power is just ridiculous.
31:08But for a guy with all world traits, he just doesn't play with consistent confidence or timing to really unlock all of
31:15those tools, at least on a consistent basis. And against Mississippi State, he had five turnover worthy plays.
31:21Too much of what he was doing was late and indecisive, especially working from the pocket.
31:26He gets tunnel vision where you see him. Did you see his interceptions on Saturday?
31:31Oh, I sure did. They were tailor-made for the defense.
31:34The decisions that he was making is just he's bird-dogging the reads.
31:38He's not manipulating defenders with his eyes or his body.
31:42Instead, he's just making these inexplicable decisions where it just doesn't feel like he's looking at the defense at all.
31:48He's just looking at his routes and deciding when to throw it.
31:52And it's just, I don't know, when he doesn't play on time, it feels like he presses.
31:58And he tries to force something that's not there.
32:01And that was on full display against Mississippi State.
32:04I think he had another pick that I think got waved off by a flag where he, like, he's there in the red zone.
32:12He's looking for the slant. And not only was the slant well covered by the DB, but there were two linebackers just dropped in front of it.
32:21And he threw it right to one of the linebackers, like straight up.
32:25If one doesn't get it, the other one probably does.
32:28Yeah. It didn't count, but it's just egregious, egregious decision making.
32:32And then one of the ones that did count, I think Shane Beamer said after the game, one of his picks was
32:39tipped or else it might have been a better throw.
32:43So that's fine. But one of his other picks, it's like an out to the sticks, like a curl situation.
32:49And there's like, there's a flat defender and a guy over the top.
32:54A, there's no conflict whatsoever. Like the flat defender could see what was coming and could get depth to make a play on the ball.
33:02And if that wasn't bad enough, he was late as hell getting to it where I was like, all right, if you
33:09throw this on time or with anticipation, you might be able to just fire it in there because this is college football.
33:17But you're, you're late throwing a pass. You shouldn't be throwing anyway.
33:20And it's just disastrous. And I'm really disappointed that a guy with this much time on task is making decisions like that.
33:28Yeah, it's what we saw too much last year and not a great start for him.
33:33And look, it's the most difficult time to talk about quarterbacks and their evaluation is September.
33:38In August, it's easy because you're just going based off of what you saw in the summer.
33:44December, it's a lot easier because you've had the full season to really dive into the tape, have the full body of work and digest what you've seen.
33:53But September, you're battling with, like I said before, what's real, what's not.
33:58And I think that, and that works both ways.
34:01You know, a guy that is off to that hot start and then fizzles and then you've got the guy that starts slow and finishes strong.
34:09With Sellers, it's been a rough start. He has started really slow.
34:13Can he pick it up as we get going?
34:16You know, it's, you keep an open mind, but I think it's fair to be doubtful at this point.
34:22But the tools are undeniable, like you said. I mean, he had 52 rushing yards in this game.
34:28Like the athleticism and the arm strength will get him drafted, and deservedly so at some point.
34:34And, you know, he showed off his arm strength with like a really beautiful deep ball.
34:39Not like a particularly impressive throw, just like a strong throw.
34:43But his accuracy was all over the place in what I was able to see, dude.
34:48Like just throwing behind guys, dirting balls when he didn't have pressure in his face.
34:53I just, it was not pretty. And I hate to do this.
34:57We don't need to talk a lot about Kamario Taylor.
35:01We already mentioned him last week. I wrote in my notes, don't talk about Kamario Taylor.
35:06Don't talk about Kamario Taylor. Like, I just, because it's just, it's too easy to do because he's just, it's so much fun to watch, right?
35:14Well, not only that, but it's also, in this game in particular, it's hard.
35:19And I, it must suck so bad if you're a South Carolina fan to be watching that game.
35:25And the guy in his first month as a starter in the SEC looks like what you were praying Lenora Sellers would look like.
35:33Like this season or really even last season, like Kamario Taylor was the, like easily the better quarterback.
35:39Not to say he was perfect either, but you just, you see why people are so excited about him when you're watching these teams trade possessions.
35:48Yeah, that's it. Like Kamario Taylor played last year.
35:51I think he had two starts maybe. So like coming into this year, it was like, okay, yeah, there was some buzz from the Manning camp.
35:59And he looks like a talented kid, but he's just been way more impressive in terms of exceeding expectations.
36:05Whereas with Sellers, unfortunately he's fallen short and they go to Tuscaloosa, South Carolina goes to Tuscaloosa this Saturday.
36:12So it's not going to get much easier on the road.
36:15You know, we'll see if maybe he can get back on track, but it's a long season.
36:21This was not a good game for him, but we'll see if he can get right.
36:26We need to see more. I will say this.
36:29I'm already nervous that people like us and like in good faith, don't get me wrong, but like the excitement about Kamario
36:37Taylor, I worry is going to turn into backlash next year.
36:40Like when he's, when he's eligible for the draft, people are going to be like, this is the chosen one, huh?
36:47This is what Dane and Dave wouldn't shut the hell up about.
36:51My comparison is always that the non-draft eligible quarterbacks are like the trailer before a good movie.
36:57Like, you know, because before the movie you see a good trailer, you're bumping elbows.
37:02Hey, did you see that? That was pretty good.
37:05And then you finally, next year when we actually evaluate him and watch the full movie, it doesn't always live up to the trailer.
37:13Now, hopefully Kamario Taylor does, but I'm sure it won't stop us from picking him apart.
37:18That's just kind of what happens when you go through the draft process.
37:22But I'm just hopeful, you know, he's able to stay.
37:26They're able to surround him with talent. And then, because that's been kind of the issue at South Carolina, right?
37:32Is can they surround him with the offensive line?
37:35Can they surround him with enough weapons? And that was all we talked about last year.
37:40This year they did, they invested in bringing the top left tackle, Jacarius Peek, who we should mention this was his season debut as well.
37:49I'm glad you brought that up. This was his first game.
37:52It seemed like he played well. So maybe that is something that can help Lenora Sellers get back on track.
37:59Hopefully, because, you know, there's reasons and excuses when we talk about quarterbacks and what they're dealing with.
38:05And, you know, you don't want to – there are absolutely some reasons for why he struggled last year.
38:11But this game felt more like, okay, if I'm going to talk my way out of this, it's more excuses than reasons.
38:19It's still early. There's still time to turn this ship around.
38:22But, yeah, it was striking to see the sophomore being the definitively better quarterback in this game.
38:28All right. We will put an embargo on Kamario Taylor now that we've talked about him two shows in a row.
38:35I apologize for that. That's who we needed to see more from coming out of week three.
38:40We got a lot to see more from in week four.
38:44Last weekend, I think LSU Ole Miss was worth the price of admission.
38:48A little bit of a lackluster weekend across the sport as a whole.
38:53That is not the case in week four. So we wanted to make sure we left a good chunk of time to look forward to this weekend.
39:02And, guys, we're hoping to see more from in week four.
39:05We'll do that after one more quick break. Dane, we could take our pick from where to go for this week four slate.
39:13But I do. I think there's one place for our purposes worth starting.
39:17A, because it's the quarterback that already had a bad game a couple weeks ago that we circled this game on the calendar.
39:25And then a guy we really haven't talked about at all since the season started.
39:30I'm referring to the USC Oregon game. Dante Moore with a get right opportunity down in L.A.
39:35against Jaden Maiava and USC who are undefeated. Haven't played anybody yet, but looking very impressive.
39:41So a very nice rubber meets the road game for USC with Oregon coming to town.
39:46Yeah, and I think Moore, he kind of had his get right palate cleanser type of game last week with Portland State.
39:53Right. I mean, Portland State. Come on. But it's a good way to get what happened in Stillwater.
39:59You know, just cleanse that, move on. It's just a good way to go into the USC game with a little bit of confidence.
40:07Right. Not a lot, but just a little bit.
40:10They scored 84 points. Yeah, that's poor Portland State.
40:13And USC, like, they've got some young promising parts of that defense, but they're still not a good defense.
40:19Their defense is allowing 5.8 yards per play this season.
40:23That's 105th in the country, so not great. And Moore has to be able to take advantage of that.
40:29Like, how many points did Rutgers score against USC last week?
40:33Was it 35? I mean, it was a lot of points.
40:36Yeah, like, Oregon. You better be scoring at least, if not close, into the 40s.
40:41Like, you have to take advantage of whatever Rutgers did last week.
40:45So, yeah. For Dante Moore, can you get back on track?
40:49Can you—I know the offensive line is still figuring things out.
40:53I know the play caller needs to figure some things out.
40:56But can you just look like a cohesive unit, stay on time, move the offense?
41:01That's what you need to do and show Moore the guy that we saw last year.
41:06And then with Jade Maiava, yeah, this will be his first real test.
41:11I think, you know, he's been good so far this year.
41:14He leads the FBS in completions of 20-plus yards.
41:17This could be a statement gave for him. If you can outplay Dante Moore in this type of game, that's something that
41:25is going to help him throughout the process, throughout the season and then throughout the process.
41:30Competent quarterbacks, they always get pushed up. And for Maiava, just show you're a competent quarterback in a game like this.
41:37Make plays. Don't turn it over. You know, we'll see if he can pick apart the defense like Mestemaker did two weeks ago.
41:45But I think that USC is set up to win and at least compete in this type of game.
41:51So, Jade Maiava, let's see you do it. I've seen plenty of Jade Maiava going back to last year.
41:57I mean, my God, I watched so much Makai Lemon tape in the spring.
42:02I feel like I was watching Jade Maiava on a regular basis.
42:06But I don't feel like I have a good handle on his thumbnail.
42:10Like, what do you think is Maiava's best trait right now?
42:14Understanding that there's a lot of football left to play this year.
42:18But like, if you're trying to get excited about Jade Maiava, why?
42:22I think he's a very smooth passer. You know, like everything from his setup to his delivery, it's just very smooth.
42:29It feels like it's on time. You know, he is somebody that wants to take care of the football.
42:35But at the same time, he takes calculated risks.
42:38And, you know, it's probably easier when you have, whether it's, you know, Makai Lemon or Jokowi Lane.
42:44It's easier when you have some of the guys they had last year.
42:48This year, breaking in some younger players, can he still have the confidence to do that?
42:53But hopefully he can. He's not someone that's ultra athletic, but he's not a statue either.
42:59He can move around a little bit, create some of those second chance plays.
43:03And, you know, he might need to in this game against an Oregon defensive line that hasn't played great this year.
43:10But we know they have the talent to. And so that is definitely something, you know, I want to see in this game.
43:18I think the game I'm most excited about Ole Miss's reward for the big LSU win is to go to the Swamp in Gainesville.
43:26Pete Golding said this week that Kewan Lacy is a game time decision.
43:30He did leave that LSU game. So I don't know if he's going to play.
43:35I really hope he does, because if he's available, this is an insane running back on running back matchup.
43:41And we already talked about Lacy at the top of the show.
43:45So let's talk about the other guy. I've been waiting to talk about Jaden Baugh because I wanted to see it against a team with a pulse.
43:54Because, you know, cool. You had an 80-yard touchdown against Long Island State.
43:59That's great. But what does it mean? Well, Florida went to Auburn over the weekend.
44:04Crazy game. Like 80 combined points between these two teams.
44:07Jaden Baugh, 26 carries for 162 and three touchdowns.
44:10And I was so blown away by this guy's fluidity.
44:13I've never, I don't want to say never. That's extreme.
44:17But it was striking how, you know, typically when you talk about how a running back never stops moving his legs, you're
44:24talking about like driving forward, trying to get through contact, trying to gain extra yards.
44:29I don't remember the last time I saw a guy who was cutting as consistently as this.
44:34Like his legs are always looking for the next cut and like the next guy that he can make miss.
44:41And he is so, so good at it. Like the extra yards that he gets with his elusiveness and foot speed is, it's crazy.
44:49And like I said, he's done it plenty of times this season.
44:53But to see him do it against an SEC roster was, it was, I had a blast rewatching this.
44:59I mean, yeah, going back to the summer when I really studied Baugh's game, that was really what stood out the most
45:07was the burst in fluidity for a guy that's 230 pounds.
45:10Yeah, it's just, it's really. He's 230? Yeah. I don't think I realized he was that heavy.
45:16Good. He's doing that at 230. That's insane. I mean, I think he's listed or I think he's 228 is what he was.
45:24The same ring. Same difference. Yeah. So like he's, he's a big boy.
45:28He'll be probably between 225 and 230 when I, when it's all said and done.
45:33But yeah, three games in and he leads the FBS in forced missed tackles.
45:37He, one of the reasons, like I had him like top 25 on my preseason top 50.
45:43So already in the first round conversation. Um, but a reason I didn't have him higher is the lack of home run
45:50plays on his, on his tape last year. He's got them now.
45:54Yeah. Last year he had one run over 25 yards, just one.
45:58And it was 26 yards. So zero games last year with over 30, with, uh, with a carry over 30 yards this
46:06year, he has at least one carry of 50 yards in each of the first three games.
46:11So, okay. Not only are you hitting the singles doubles, but you're going to hit triples and home runs too.
46:18Okay. For a 230 pound back, that cutting ability is awesome.
46:21Now, like watching the tape versus Auburn, um, there were so many times where he'll make one cut too many, or he's
46:29a little too urgent and he's hitting his own blockers.
46:32And just wants to get a little more patience.
46:35So like there's parts of his game you can nitpick, but you will gladly have the trade-off of a little bit of
46:42bad for a whole lot of good for just his knack for making guys miss.
46:47It's, it's really impressive to watch. So yeah, Jaden Baugh is a stud.
46:52He's, um, I think he has over 130 yards in every game so far this year.
46:57Can he keep it up against an Ole Miss defense that is good in parts, but as a whole, you can get Ole Miss.
47:05So yeah, this'll be, this'll be an interesting one.
47:08They, he had a play against Auburn where it was like, it was outside zone and the, the right guard just didn't
47:15get up to the linebacker in time. So the linebacker had a free run at him in the flat.
47:21Was this stiff arm? No, he, his, he just, he slipped through the linebacker, just made him look silly.
47:28And immediately after the linebacker, he's got the corner in the safety in his face.
47:33He bobs right, goes left to make the first guy look silly.
47:37And then before he's even done with that, he bobs left, goes right.
47:41And he just like zigzags through two men. It should have been a TFL and it was like a seven yard gain instead.
47:49And he, I mean, he probably did that four times in addition to, yeah, like stiff arming people.
47:55The one, the one really troubling thing was he, he dropped the pass that got bobbled and led to an interception.
48:01Yeah. Which, although I will say, so I saw that and I was like, oh no, can he not catch?
48:08But I looked it up and he caught 33 balls last year.
48:12So, you know, I'm, I'm willing to chalk that up as a fluky play.
48:17Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. I think that it is more just a brain fart more than anything else for him.
48:23Cause yeah, he's a good receiver. And they used them a lot last year as a pass catcher.
48:29I'm sure they'll use them more this year. Yeah.
48:32He's, he's dynamic. He is a playmaker. And for a guy that's that big, you expect him to be more of a power guy.
48:40When in reality, he's this make you miss a good luck trying to tackle me in space type of back, which is really unique.
48:48I'm just imagining a 1930s sports writer with like a fedora calling him crazy legs ball.
48:53Cause that's he, that's he, he's got crazy legs.
48:56Uh, one other, this is, this might only be interesting to me, but I was watching him play and I was like,
49:04holy shit, this guy's going to be a first round pick.
49:07Florida hasn't had a top 50 pick at running back since Fred Taylor.
49:12And that's, that seems crazy to me. Like they've had a ton of running backs get drafted.
49:17I mean, Mike Gillisley was my dude in that, in that year's draft class, but like they have not had a major
49:25prospect at running back since Fred Taylor. And in the nineties, they went like, they had Emmitt Smith to Fred Taylor.
49:32It's, it's just kind of crazy to me that a school with Florida's pedigree hasn't produced a running back like this in 30 years.
49:40So I found that very interesting and exciting. And I hope, like I said, I hope Lacey's available because these two guys go and getting after it.
49:48Uh, man, that's a, that's appointment viewing on Saturday afternoon.
49:52Yeah. That'd be, that'd be a lot of fun if we get it.
49:56Um, uh, at the same time, part of me is kind of hopeful.
50:00They, they sit Lacey just to rest that shoulder, you know, like they don't, but, um, the, the, there's a very good chance.
50:08These are the first two running backs drafted, uh, when we get to April.
50:13So yeah, it should, it'll be a fun matchup.
50:16So you had, you wanted to talk Iowa, Michigan, which I'm, I want to hear about.
50:21I want, let's talk about some big uglies. Cause that's what I'm, I'm imagining a 13, 10 game between Iowa and Michigan.
50:28It might be that. Yeah. I mean, in, in talk about big 10 trench play, that's what this will be.
50:35And I can't wait to see that Michigan defensive line against the Iowa offensive line.
50:40Um, Trevor Lockett left tackle, Kate Piper at right guard for, for the Hawkeyes.
50:44They've been as advertised so far, uh, through three games.
50:48I think, you know, when you think of that, Iowa zone blocking scheme, you know, it's almost, it's almost like a dance
50:55where you have to timing really matters. Everything has to be tempoed.
50:59And that really stands out with Piper, his ability to step, engage, and then just move his man.
51:05It's just, it's awesome to watch, um, for Lauk on the outside.
51:09Can you hold your ground versus John Henry Daly, uh, who from, you know, the Utah transfer comes over to Michigan.
51:16He's so good at using his violent hands. He can move blockers off their spot.
51:21He can change it up with a spin move.
51:24Um, Dom Nichols on the other side, same type of thing with him, uh, watching that Oklahoma tape.
51:30There were two or three spin moves that he had that led to, uh, production for him.
51:35So I want to see, uh, particularly those two guys on the edges, how they can hold up or how, uh, they
51:43can, what they can do that Iowa offensive line.
51:46But this game, I think will be one in the trenches that, that the winner of the Iowa offensive line versus Michigan
51:53defensive line, I think will tell the story of the final outcome.
51:57That's only the tip of the iceberg for this weekend, man.
52:01We got Arch going to Knoxville to play Tennessee.
52:04So another big test for Arch Manning. And he didn't play well against UTSA this past week.
52:09Uh, and that's, I, again, it's hard to talk about quarterbacks in September because we don't know what's real, but with Texas
52:17and everything coming on their schedule, um, starting this week with Tennessee, Neal is not a fun place to go play.
52:23So we'll see how Arch and that offense respond.
52:26Texas in general just gave off a vibe of being a little too happy about a week to win for my tastes.
52:34Uh, but, but they survived UTSA and maybe, maybe that helped them flush it out of their system.
52:40So we'll see, we'll see what that looks like.
52:43Um, I, there's a, there's some shine off of the Georgia Oklahoma game, but I did see, I saw news earlier this
52:50week that David stone, the star defensive tackle at Oklahoma sounds like he suffered a practice injury.
52:56So not something that you're going to watch for on Saturday, unfortunately, but they said the day that it's better than they thought it would be.
53:04So they're not, they're not completely ruling them out for Saturday, but regardless, it shouldn't be a long-term thing for David stone.
53:11Um, which, which is good because, uh, man, I had so many Oklahoma fans mad at me when they saw where he was ranked in my top 50.
53:21And I was like, guys, I think he was 32.
53:24Like guys, he's a top 32 player for me.
53:27What's going on? Oh no, he's a top 10 player.
53:30I, I see, I understand where they're coming from.
53:33Cause that he was a former five-star guy. The talent is there, but you watch at Oklahoma defensive line and David stone just disappears way too often.
53:42So I need him on the field because I want to see that talent.
53:47I want to see him be more consistent because if he can, David stone is going to be, he'll lock himself into the first round.
53:55It's just, he needs to do it more consistently.
53:58Georgia favored by two touchdowns. And in that game, it is in Athens, but still a, a large spread for an Oklahoma
54:05team that had some hype heading into the season.
54:08Uh, we already mentioned sellers is playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
54:12Hell of a challenge for him. LSU, Texas, a and M playing in the loser is in the mud before September's even over bowl.
54:20So that's, that's always a fun spot to be.
54:23And we put an embargo on the Mississippi state quarterback, but Austin Simmons playing against Mississippi state on the road, newly ranked Mississippi state.
54:31We wanted to see more from Austin Simmons Mizzou.
54:34I saw only beat Troy by 10 last weekend.
54:37So I'm definitely going to be checking in on that to see how he does against Mississippi state.
54:43That's a good one. Yeah. Um, I, I mean, there's always good matchups to see like whether it's Wisconsin at Penn state
54:50or, um, I, there was, there's one other one that I, I was interesting to me.
54:55Um, oh, I, I, I, I'm excited to watch more Lincoln Keenholz for Louisville.
55:00Um, he had some throws against SMU the other day, man.
55:03Yeah, he did, man. Like there's they obviously, he was a top recruit, like Ohio state recruited him for a reason.
55:10Uh, it's no, you know, it's not a big deal that he couldn't beat out Julian saying like, okay, goes to Louisville
55:18and like, he's a true dual threat, but he's getting more confident as a passer with each game.
55:24And so that's a lot of fun to watch.
55:27Louisville could really be, uh, you know, really make some noise this year.
55:31And I think the, the growth of the quarterback is definitely a big part of that.
55:36So I'm just, I'm interested. I don't think he's a 2027 quarterback necessarily, but he is draft eligible and somebody that I want to see more of.
55:45It's a loaded college football weekend from front to back.
55:48Cannot wait to see how it plays out. Cannot wait to talk with you about it again next week.
55:55Dane until then, that's all we got. We appreciate it.
55:58As always, we'll talk to y'all very soon. Thanks for tuning in.
56:02Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button.
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56:11We'll see you next time.
