Fresno State preview and breaking down the Netflix Connor Stalions documentary

[Music] hey there everybody welcome back to a game week episode of Hal yes that's right we're back a Detroit Free Press podcast about University of Michigan Athletics I'm Tony Garcia Michigan football and basketball rider for the free pump to join you today just more than 72 hours away from time of taping the season opener uh and by the time this comes out Thursday morning it will be just two days away hard to believe but excited that the time has arrived uh joining me now our big 10 Insider as always rer Sabin and rer this season even sooner for you technically right Friday night in East Lancing are you ready for another campaign yeah this is always an interesting week uh did a last year where you uh you basically have two games in a span of 4 hours uh in that case it was actually a night game and then followed by a early kickoff at at noon uh this time there's a little bit more time between so I'm thankful for that uh should be hopefully rested and ready for the uh for the game Saturday night our columnist Sean Windsor will hear absolutely none of your complaining about two games in one days he calls that he just calls that fall uh as as all of you know um our our esteemed colleague Sean Windsor our columnist uh who is either in an arbor or east laning just about every Saturday and wherever the lies are on Sunday he's there as well but no we appreciate Ryder for for doing his double dip as well uh and then uh someone else who is familiar with the double dip uh is our producer and editor see that's that's the two that's the two handles that he holds uh handle that wasn't the word I was looking for title that's the word we're looking for Andrew burkel what's up pump for football guys I mean it's coming up here fast and even Thursday we'll have a slate of game pretty unimpressive slate of games uh that Thursday but it it gets going on Saturday so I'm excited for it I haven't looked closely at Thursday best bestes Minnesota North Carolina Minnesota North Carolina is the best game um which I mean it's not appointment viewing but when it's this week when it's week one Everything feels appointment viewing to me at least oh Ro the B Sky you might go Gophers that's have you heard have you heard PJ Fleck say it and I mean rer has done it a million times at his uh it's one of my favorite uh Big 10 media day moments when he ends his introduction every time it's all one long word Row The Boat skyim go goers right and it's like all the catchphrases and he just says it all with no breath no no air no nothing so uh we will see if if they can row over North Carolina on Thursday all right without further Ado uh here here's how this show is going to break down we're going to start seg segment one part one Fresno State preview obviously game week uh we're going to go position by position rer and I will each give you just sort of an overarching thought about each position group as we have finally arrived at the season then quick break and on the back end you didn't think we forgot about the pcks did you may maybe our favorite time we we love it all but the picks they get spicy so we will pick five college football games what we deemed probably the five best uh with including Michigan of this opening weekend and then attached to that back end I'm not sure if you've heard there was a Netflix documentary that came out around Conor stallion kind of relevant in the in the Michigan football program but not everybody wants to hear about it off the bat so we've tried to find a compromise it is news we need to talk about it but we want to get into game week first so we're going to do that on the end and we encourage you to stick around for it all right position by position I wonder where we're gonna start Riner what can we expect from this Michigan quarterback position well what is your main thought going into it well I just think it's you know it would be nice if they provided some clarity as to the decision I mean they're not going to do that I mean I guess they they see some kind of competitive Advantage I don't I don't quite understand that although I've seen it before where uh at Alabama they did it or they didn't announce till right before uh the 2018 season open against Louisville they finally decide that Tu a Tong of VOA was going to start over jayen harz after he threw the second and 26 touchdown pass the and led them to that comeback victory in the championship game Over Georgia I mean it seemed pretty obvious that he was going to be the guy all along Sab had been setting that up for the whole time I feel like Michigan some ways has been setting it up for Alex orgy to be the guy um I think that's who they want to be the guy I think they think that his added Dimension with his Mobility can also open up things for the running game I'd be kind of surprised if he's not the person who's taking the first nap uh Saturday now I don't know again how much they want to maybe integrate Davis Warren in potentially just because um the idea of just maybe throwing some different packages or even giving him some run uh in that just to see what he looks like versus orgy uh if they have the opportunity but I would assume that uh they they would probably like to go with Orie for the for the opener yeah as head coach Ron Moore said on 97 won the ticket this morning Wednesday morning they have thought about like I mean a two quarterback system obviously has gone through his mind at some point but he said the goal was to quote hone in on on the starter so it looks like they do want to do it and as far as if you are working them both in right a at least a little bit Riner my thought would be that that would mean Davis Warren is the guy who gets the nod and or is the one who sort of comes in as we've seen him do last year and I would expect them to expand his packages right not just options not not just read options but rpos like a genuine read pass option uh play actions those sort those sorts of things but I am with you it does feel as though orgie is the guy they wanted he has the higher ceiling now I'm not going to change my tune I all offseason I was saying I mean I haven't we haven't got to see them right with with uh I mean in live action the scenes and all those things but my belief was that there's so much on this team you might want sort of a high floor guy I don't know that you need the high ceiling right now but um but orgy still it just it just feels the way the Vibes are around it it just feels like it's going to be his job however I mean as we' spoken to to different coaches right um today it was offensive line coach Grant nman I was asking him just just just I mean about about the competition and if if up to him like right like if if he would have sort of named one and just ju just try to poke around and and and see what what his thought thoughts are about this and and I was like and I asked the question sort of that you just said right with orgy as the assumed guy and he's like I wouldn't say that right was that I mean right well yeah I don't think they're GNA kiss and tell and they haven't they haven't uh done that the whole time that we've been talking in the preseason camp I mean again players have been seems like clearly instructed not to give away and he kind of H to who the person is uh they say everybody's doing well and the offense is no different with one player versus the other which you know you kind of stretches belief I mean in the sense that I mean obviously Alex ories provides much different dimension uh and dynamic than than uh Davis Warren does I mean I think the reason why it also I think you know you have to lean towards orig and I wrote about this earlier in the summer was the idea that again you're you're bringing in five new and the offensive line you know again he can help solve some press protection issues early on It's usually the thing that takes the longest development Run game you you know it's a lot easier to block you know for for Run game obviously moving forward instead of having to kind of you know press back and so I think again orgy gives you a little bit more of that and also I think he again he enhances the Run game uh because he can get out on the perimeter so they can't you know key in on the you know A and B gaps and and clog the thing which is you know sometimes what Donovan Edwards has had struggles with I mean running between the tackles I mean you can get out wide and everything but uh you know if if some holes open up because org is there then I think you know again Michigan's leaning towards that idea of you know having him out there because of the effect he can have on a defense just the way in here um we were kind of talking uh offline here about the quarterback dynamic in whether or not not they could in fact play two guys Tony you had some strong takes on this as far as you think that once they have one guy go in they have to stick with that guy why why do you think that well I mean it's just about sort of the signal that it sends to to the team just overall now had they said had they said we want to give both of these guys run now that could be a different story right if if you go in like Arms Wide Open like hey like like Michigan did two years ago with paade with JJ look we're going to give both these guys a chance we're going to see how it goes I'm not a huge fan of that but I can understand it when you when you're doing what Michigan's doing this year which by all accounts as a quarterback competition if someone has won it behind the scenes what would it say about your confidence and your decision should there be four five Bad series maybe one half of football we're talking about and then you just pull right I mean how confident were you in that decision what had he actually done to win the job and if he had I know I mean I know every game is important but are we really pulling him after four or five series after one half I mean I just I I just think that I think it's really Risky Business and I think you're on a very very slippery slope once that happens because his confidence is shot whoever he is right or one might one could make that leap then let's say guy number two doesn't doesn't pan out perfectly now we got nobody now both of our guys are their their confidence is low normally I 100% agree with that and there is certain circumstances especially in the NFL where it's like okay we have to start this guy because we can't take him out and go back to him however I think in this situation sometimes it's truly a KN it when you see it type deal like oh man like this is not happening almost like pulling the goalie in in hockey you know what I mean like you can kind of know when it has to happen um so I think that they'd want to leave their options open for that just in case you know God forbid for Michigan fans if you know all of a sudden you're looking you look at the uh score down 143 and and uh Alex orgy's gone you know three and out three straight times maybe it's try time to try to spark the other thing I'll add to that is I think if you do start with orgy and you put Warren in I think you could go back to orgy I but if it was the other way around it'd be a tougher cell where if you start with Warren then go to orgy then go back to Warren that doesn't really make as much sense does that check out to you I want to hear what Riner thinks about that yeah I mean I I I kind of agree with Tony but I mean again I've saw it again 2016 just uh Alabama opened against USC they started Blake Barnett and then they went to jayen Herz after like the first series he stunk in the F ver and it was clear that jayen Herz was the better option I mean and I don't know if they did that just because again Barnett had more experience he was like a red shirt freshman uh whereas you know Jil Herz was a true freshman uh and they they decided that way and I thought it was you know interesting that they made that call PA as quickly as they did but they saw something like it seemed like the lights were too too bright for him you know they were played at AT&T Stadium it was you know big deal and so like maybe you know maybe they do but that again that's that's Sabin you can you can do that because you're Nick Sabin you know and you're not going to get questioned that Chiron lur this is his first real game as a you know the real true head coach you know the head of the program so I mean like yeah it's a risky it's a risky move if you immediately Mo off your you know the guy that you assigned as a started quarterback the the premium position for the team so I think there's a there's a confidence factor in Chiron War that's also happening here and then quickly before we get back to Andrew rer if you remember and I know you do what what Kirt Campbell told us right ear earlier this fall Camp I mean it was it was your question uh that that you asked about him and and just about uh his Dynamic with the quarterback and what he did at Old Dominion and just that that give that give and take like when do you make that decision right and his implication was whoever we pick we're going to ride him for I mean it was more than four Series right it felt more like four weeks and then like maybe if someone like going into Big 10 play like if we're I mean I I don't think they're going to be one and two or something but like two in one right two in one they lost to Texas but it hasn't looked great maybe they reass but I just I don't expect them I don't I have no expectation for them to be flip-flopping quarterbacks now the caveat I I will give to that is should Warren be the guy I could see packages for orgy like I said like we've said as they did last year um and and you could see something like that um just because he's that Dynamic but the I definitely don't see I I really couldn't see the opposite like it would just feel so obvious like Davis Warren's coming in pass you know I just I I just couldn't see them going two quarterbacks that way yeah I mean I I unless again it's a pre-ordained where again orgie plays the first two series regardless of what the results are and then you know Davis Warr goes in on third series I mean like you know Allah Jonathan Smith at Oregon State yeah exactly with Aiden Charles yeah and so but again like you said that would probably be the opposite scenario where you'd have Warren probably find the first two series and org going in but um you know it'll be interesting obviously that's going to be the biggest storyline um at the outset of the game you know depending on what happens in the game it you know could be could be the only big story line really it's like who who's the uh who's the starter Tony Y you're a you're a Gambling Man from time to time uh betting Alex orgy walks onto the field as a starting quarterback first drive of the game minus 350 anything under that I feel like would be minus four I could hear minus 450 for yeah yeah yeah I mean that feels about right 80% 80 80 90% favorite I would be agreed yeah maybe minus 450 I would say Warren's probably plus 300ish I mean it's it's it's lofty it's lofty um I think that was good I think that was good quarterback discussion I guess we're allowed to say that about ourselves um so we'll move on we'll move on to to the other positions because it's I mean ho hum they're also kind of replacing you know like an All-American running back like the guy who has the most touchdowns in the history of the in the program in one season uh thousand and thousands of yards I mean he could have been the Heisman winner two years ago who's to we don't know how that would have shook out without the meniscus um Blake hormes gone now the running back room uh per I found this interesting also on on on the radio this morning uh Jim Jim Coston John Jameson 971 were talking with shiron Moore and he mentioned the four running backs it was Donovan it was canel neither of those are surprising he was Ben Hall at number three I think that was also the expectation the fourth running back out of his mouth not tavier Dunlap it was not Cole Cabana it was why do I there we go Jordan Marshall I always want to say Zach Marshall that's the tight end it was Jordan Marshall uh fourstar incomer true freshman they've been hyping him up rer is do you think he can get some run do you think he's real RB before and and and and not just Jordan thoughts about the running back position I mean yeah I mean obviously you know Donovan Edwards I mean the key to you know him is going to be whether he can make the consistent uh or have consistent production down to down uh and you know not help Michigan fall behind the chains uh and early downs and I think that was an issue early on last year uh he finally found his Groove towards the end of the season probably related to you know the the knee injury a little bit um you know that he was recovering from uh may have had some Factor you know had some some of a impact on why he uh was struggling early on but I mean again I think the the big thing with him is you know whether he can run between the tackles consistently and then uh you know it'll be interesting to see how Kirt Campbell also uses him as a you know receiver in option you know maybe uses him differently than obviously Blake korm because again they have different skill sets and different strengths uh so I don't think it's going to be exactly the same I mean again CL is probably more closer to Blake corm than Donovan Edwards is Edwards is kind of his own own kind of guy and so it'll be uh kind of a wait and see as far as what what Donovan Edwards looks like uh in this particular offense again I think he could stand the benefit from having Alex orgy as um as a quarterback just because again I think orgy can extend plays to the perimeter which will allow uh to open up up up the middle for for for Donovan Edwards the number one player in my estimation who would benefit from an from Alex orgy being on the field I think you're right is is Donovan he needs the space I mean I mean you you you just hammered it you just nailed it perfectly he is not a between the tackles Runner unless there is unless Moses has planted that staff and the Red Seas have parted right I mean short of that there's got to be I mean there's got to be a pretty big hole which he he's sort of just kind of proven that I mean just looking back at the numbers last year in the regular season six rushes of 10 more yards six on the season he had 13 first downs in 12 games right on the on the ground I mean this is terribly inefficient and we've talked about it all offseason he's come back he's humbled himself he found his fire again and and with and a new role right all the combination of those things is that enough to get back to the Donovan of old time time will tell uh but they were but what I do know is they are very excited about the I mean they got big physical fast running backs right I mean these are like it is good I wonder you don't want a a back that you just know what they're going to do right like hell probably GNA hammer it Donovan probably gonna try to Scamper you want a little more versatility but there is something to be said for the diversity in in their running back room even all the way down to co caban I mean like a slasher someone who slot guy kind of more like Donovan Jordan Marshall is really seems to be and was in high school and is build as really the do it all back you just you got a lot of different looks for for Michigan in the in in that room in Tony Alfred wide receivers shall we uh because that's I mean I'm I'm gonna harp on it again replacing two top 20 wide outs all time let's see if I can ask an interesting question to rer Riner what would surprise you on Saturday from the wide receiver room right like what would have to happen in either direction in any direction for you to be like that's not what I was expecting yeah they catch a bunch of oh no they catch one they catch a lot of pass one one long you know deep nine route type of throw from from a quarterback I mean you know a fly you know you know deep post pattern or something like that I I would I would be surprised in some ways if they were able to hit some deep shots um I still have some questions about that um whether they can whether they can do or they I mean it was it was an issue even with JJ you know last last couple his two years when he was starting they weren't great in that area and so I think that'll be interesting to watch I'm curious to see if these guys can get off you know tight coverage I don't know again what the defensive scheme that for State's going to be you know employing but I mean if it's any kind of press for man I'll be curious to see if they can get off and and create some kind of separation and so so um and they don't really have that big receiver I mean am Moran Walker might be that guy but you know he's not the exactly the biggest you know frame in the sense that uh from a you know muscular standpoint I mean he's not like Nico Collins in that sense or you know even Donovan peoples Jones or something like that so he's a little bit more slight uh he's very fast uh and uh which is why he got that unicorn nickname you know a while back but um again there's a lot of questions as far as like who that ex receiver is for them yeah and you you touched on it about how even with JJ it took I'd say a full season and a half of McCarthy as a starter for him to start for him to start diving in that that deep ball and it felt like for for a time even last year they weren't doing it uh they certainly figured it out based on the numbers JJ on yards on passes of 20 yards or further this is per Pro Football Focus he was 24 of 44 for 10 touchdowns and one and one pick uh his NFL passer rating 129. s that's the highest it can be is 158.3 anything above 100 is very good and he was almost 130 so you're right I mean I mean l kind of my job to know about it but little did I know that they were quite that effective and and I mean even even 24 right 24 completions about two a game right there were 15 games so it's not quite two a game but that's enough and four and 44 attempts three game right that's that's enough shots downfield to to keep these defenses honest and uh and I and I think you're right I mean the 20 yard think that the numbers skewed a little I mean those are some of those things were not like it was like right up right around that for a lot of I mean and so it wasn't that these are just the best numbers we have the best num and so like they really weren't hitting too many of those like really you know those deep post or you know again you know straight nine routes I mean where where guys were just beating gu guys you know downfield and uh you know JJ was just hitting them in stride I'm trying to think of any the only one that I really really think of was from two years ago it was Cornelius Johnson's second touchdown yeah against Ohio State right on on the post pattern from the right not when when he just dusted everyone on the on the curl Roman wi there was a Roman Wilson in the TCU game you know that that was touch it was touchdown but I'm talking about like just just to I mean there there a couple here and there but I mean they stick out but what about last those were both two years ago do do any do you recall any I mean there was that deep to Donovan Edwards in the against Purdue uh that I recall um you know in the the corner oh in the regular yeah regular season yeah um uh trying to think any I I I don't recall any other one that was really I mean there was that throw downfield from JJ to Colston love Indi Indiana um but yeah I mean it wasn't it wasn't their strong suit last year either really no it wasn't uh speaking of coulston Loveland quite the segue the tight Ender room looks like I mean it starts with coulston Loveland would you be surprised if he does not win the macki award because that's right about where I'm at yeah I mean I I he's got a obviously a great shot at that also think he has a great shot of being the lead receiver for Michigan which you know again uh he's going to be featured very very much in Kirk Campbell's offense I mean Kirt Campbell's only time that he was offensive coordinator to the tight end was a was a big player in that offense uh one on I think he's in the NFL right now so um uh still in the NFL so like he he he's made it clear that he wants to feature the tight ends and uh he's going to spe Ty Ally probably uh throw to couston lovelin who uh they're going to be moving around all over the formation so um I would expect to see a lot of lot of targets for couston lelin so uh yeah and I think Mar Line's going to be also a big factor too I mean they they because they don't have that X receiver they're going to have to do some some stuff vertically uh you're going to see probably a lot of stuff up the seams uh and uh being able to try to take off on you know matchup advantages with the linebackers and safties and those guys could potentially do that so I I see I see a lot with uh the tight ends and and particularly in Kirk campell's offense didn't even mention Max bredes either right the the captain who is uh I mean they all call I mean the dude's dude someone who really I mean they he they talk about when he was a walk- on and came on as a freshman asking to play fullback just so he can find a way to help the team right and uh and and he he's he's done that all this way and so another room very versatile Andrew just to push back here slightly as far as uh Tony talking about winning the Macky award and some of the Lov one Buzz first of all there's always a lot of good tight ends especially in today's day and AG of college football and it seems like they almost always come out of nowhere um you know maybe they have a couple uh big games down the stretch and really kind of build up their resume over the year and I think that you just never know what the tight end position secondly maybe the case against Loveland would be that depth in the room right they're going to get mix in a gadget Play for bres here and there uh Klein appears from everything we hear from Camp to be making a really strong push to get some reps as well um so I think that Loveland certainly deserves a lot of that buzz unbelievable Talent uh it is g to be debatably maybe Michigan's most effective player on offense but still even if he is that there's a chance that that he couldn't win uh be winning with all these National Wars and stuff yeah I mean that that is it's the bias of you know covering that's specific team but yeah they're uh msu's got a guy I mean Jack Bing who has a really good shot too potentially I mean based on how they run the offense at at Michigan State alurn got a really good guy uh he was he you know the tight end I think led the LED Auburn and receiving and those partti you say no receivers but you know still I mean uh you he could yeah yeah they there was like there were four schools uh have BS I because I was doing a story about that but like based on what Leland leading being the potentially leading receiver for Michigan this year but there were four schools uh that had the tight end as the leading receiver uh alurn was one of them Kansas state was one um I think Georgia was one and uh I can't remember what the other one was so but there's uh yeah it doesn't happen very often but you know it could happen in any you know School we're not even necessarily think Utah I think may have been the other one so uh and Utah's got a another they've got a guy that again could yeah Brad Cy or whatever his name is uh that um could potentially win the macki award this year he's on a preseason list no it's not it's not a oneman show it's not a one it's not a oneman race I get that I just as Andrew mentioned earlier betting man and if I were allowed to on on team I covered I got a lot of faith in coulston Loveland and also just very quickly there floating out a lot of Marlon Klein I think I wonder if it's not a little little smoke screen little little confidence builder for him going on he and Coulson just play such a similar position I don't know how they're going to take him off off the field for that that was just an aside uh but we got to keep this moving uh the offensive line here's my official prediction uh rer tell me if you disagree with any of these spots left tackle miles Hinton left guard Josh pre Center Greg krippen Right Guard go hottie right tackle Andrew Gentry backing up Andrew Gentry will be Evan link uh backing and backing up krippin at Center will be Dom GIS that's what it sounds like yeah so sounds sounds pretty pretty good there and I mean it's uh it'll be interesting to see particularly how krippin performs and uh I'm also you know a little bit leery about Hinton just based on his performance last year and so uh I know they're they're saying that he's really you know tur the corner but like you know that's it it's uh he remains a bit of a question mark I think you know again he has the talent and the the build but I don't know it it just hasn't necessarily always translate to Performance so I'm curious about that I think they're really solid at the two two guard positions uh those are I think they're going to be the strength uh they arguably were the strength last year for that offensive line so uh with ziner and Keegan it was one of my it was one of my bold predictions last week I think on this podcast just between Gio and and Josh PRI I I mean they might be I'm withing they might be every bit as good as as intering Keegan uh let's flip to the other side of the ball uh and we'll start in the front and work our way back the defensive line I was gonna I was going to Tee It Up I was going to say something I don't even I don't even want to say anything I just want to see rer when I when I say the defensive line and this game in this season where dides your mind go yeah I think it's a really really good unit uh I think I mean especially at the top top of the depth chart I mean you got you know arguably I mean it's I don't think it's very much arguable I mean they have the best defensive tackle combination in the country with with Graham and Graham and Grant and then you know they've got really really some talented Edge rushers that are were emerging last year at the end of the season with Derek Moore jiah Stewart so I think they're really solid and in the core of that unit uh the depth is my concern and also how many steps are they going to play uh early on and whether they can uh sustain their level of performance over the course of a pretty grueling schedule and they didn't have to again contend with that we've talked about this um the fact that you know they really didn't the Stars didn't play very much um you know especially in the early part of the Season at least you know as it pertained to playing late in the game so they were able to keep their stap counts down I don't think they're going to have that luxury this year and so will they be able to sustain it over the course of the season they said that they've done really well with the conditioning and getting these guys kind of you know fit to handle a higher snap count but again we'll see we'll see what happens because it doesn't matter how how much you prepare I mean it's still you're going You're basically having 50 car crashes a game sometimes and that's what one defensive tackle Jason Hatcher one time told me when I was covering the cowboy so that's what it was like basically having 50 car crashes a game so it's like that creates wear and tear I don't care you know who you are and how strong you are it's just it just has an effect on the human body that's why those backup pieces an anetta uh Trey Pierce cam brand and and TJ guy is probably the one I should have said first their their development and the role they ended up playing is gonna is going to be huge for this team but I think I mean we we've said it we've said it all off season it feels like there's no question this is the strength of this team this is the Deep I mean top heaviest and also maybe the deepest unit on the team I I could argue four of the top 10 players on this on this team are are starting right along that line I mean Mason and kg are both in the top four and then I I would put drick Moore and Josiah Stewart somewhere I mean eight to 12 they are they are really key pieces yeah just I was talking to somebody who's got you know clued into like you know some of the stuff that or heard with the rumble they feel like this could be at least just as good from a talent standpoint like at the top level as last year's defense uh like they think they could be just as good at that point it's the depth that's the concern and I I I agree I think the defensive line that's I mean the depth is good uh but it's not the same level as they had last year I mean they don't have the experience that that they had last year I mean whether they're rotating a guy like Bren raor into the game or you know uh uh somebody uh uh like um like Chris Kenneth Grant Kenneth Grant was backing up like you know Chris Jenkins I mean like you had you had they got they got raap they got Ron Benny backing up they got TJ got I mean it's not it's not the same but and I and then and then you could argue the front end is better than last year's front end and the depth is not as good yes that's I I mean I think the front end could be better than potentially was last year yeah I think it is and here is and that's a good segue into the linebacking room where I found something that great Newsome said today fascinating uh we've been talking I mean again another with so much turnover it feels like we focused on every position at some point or another uh throughout the offseason but again linebacker was one of those units one of those rooms for me where I said there could be like there could be some sneaky fall off uh it's very underrated what Junior Coulson and Michael Barrett did the last couple of seasons and then you got uh Grant Newsome coming out today saying that Maryland transfer Jon Barham is the best linebacker that has been on the team since new's been here which includes Devin bus who was a top 10 top 12 pick in the NFL uh and Junior Coulson who was a second rounder last year he's like no disrespect but the guy is just different um everybody has just raved about I mean about the hits about the speed about the sound I mean I think we we always get we always get a a guy in in every Camp who who Who's Who who who's just like the next level the next coming couple years ago we we've gotten pton air sprinkled in before we've gotten am Marian Walker sprinkled in before this is the camp of Jon baram yeah I mean it's interesting that I mean again they've hyped him up as much as they have I mean it it's been uh not just uh brand newon but wik marale and Chiron Moore I mean they've kind of talked about the impact he's made um you know and if that's the case I mean uh you know you kind of have to bank on a little bit of what wink Marell is saying just based on the fact that he's had some really good linebackers he knows what a good linebacker looks like with Ray Lewis and so um uh so I I mean you know you have to you have to take that into account however I mean it's just like it's hard to uh you know go in with and just say this in Camp versus just you know again Michigan's offense and and and what have you and uh not having any kind of outside perspective again it's the same reason why you know you have to be kind of careful not to you know or just think that cson L is the automatic Mackie Award winner just because again that's who that's who you're closest to that's who you're seeing um but you know again I mean if this guy really is as a good is advertised I mean then maybe Michigan's defense may may be able to not only U perform at the level it did last year but maybe exceed it if no he could he could unlock that just for the record I'm not picking Colston Loveland to win the Mackie just because I cover Michigan I I think he's the best tight end I know but no but there there is there is a a recency bias I I mean it's it's inherent I mean what I was fing out pre season it's approx why people again you know in Michigan thought you know Donovan Ed W is you know again this the best running back or whatever because I don't it's the fact that he or Donovan peoples Jones was gonna be really really I play played a Cast Tech every every team every school does it everybody does it for them guys but it's like you know but it's a proximity bias too uh and the other linebackers to mention in that room obviously Ernest hman the two and then Jimmy rer got uh was talked up by shiron Moore earlier this week uh as as the number three and seemed seemed like a genuine confidence not sometimes you're trying to talk yourself into itel felt like you meant it that one uh last but not least the defensive backs um I don't think I'll get any Flack for this one the best defensive back in America will Johnson is the uh is the anchor of the secondary and then you got I mean you got a fifth year senior mcari pagee sounds like sixth year senior Quinton Johnson will start next to him and then uh it's going to be the nickel and CB2 some younger guys High upside guys Zeke Barry I think nickel even though he's been split in time at safety 50/50 he said and then CB2 jier Hill the sophomore sophomore out of kakei Illinois yeah I mean again it's a it's probably the second strongest unit on um arguably the team uh maybe you know you can make make the case the tight ends are but uh a lot of people think the DBS are pretty pretty strong across the board they added obviously a bunch of depth with uh their transfer Acquisitions following the spring uh the big loss though is Rod Moore I mean again you're having a position lless defense this guy's supposedly the you know kind of the brains of the operation especially on the field uh having his perspective not there on the field in the in the heat of battle uh you know where the quote unquote bullets are flying and you know things are going on and he has to make adjustments on the Fly that's going to be interesting to watch I mean I think yeah um you know they they've got some guys that are obviously very knowledgeable about the defense with Will Johnson and quinnon Johnson in particular but uh you know Ron Moore is uh you know there was a reason why wake barale kind of thought he was going to be the Eric wed all you know type the kind of person who's kind of organized things and I I I think that could actually end up being uh a little bit of a a worry sign to me if if they're playing to run as much as they sound like they're going to run uh right off the bat yeah Rod Moore felt like unlock for the Green Dot and uh I I I don't know that there I mean sh of Mason Graham or will Johnson I don't know that anyone on this team one injury would would feel as as as significant as Rod Moore and you don't normally say that about a safety either um but but again I think the thing about this room and it's funny you're like if you were ranking the the positions maybe tight end I went back earlier this summer one of the things I did was rank the position groups I did put defensive back second in tight end third so we're we're right on it uh at least in agreement with each other but the reason that this room and this unit is so deep is or is so good is because of the depth there we go got a little ahead of myself there but I mean if you look at what could be like their full second line right so you could have Amir Hall who was an FCS All-American at albony last year uh Jaden mcburrows at nickel he could be one corner then Jaden MCB could be at nickel um I mean it's safety you could have Jaden mango from Michigan State there's Wesley Walker from Tennessee and then uh Ricky Johnson from from UNLV at the uh at the other Corner Spot um that's not to mention uh kesan Harris and this is all off off top of my head right I mean if I if I was looking at the roster I'm I'm sure I'm missing one or two guys but that's 11 dudes uh who have played have played or they are very confident like are every bit at this level the only one who's not exceeded excelled at this level is is a Mir hle and he just needs to prove that he can do it at this level but yeah no I mean if the simulated pressures can continue to cause and the the Havoc that that they have even though it'll be a little bit different I mean what they what have they said they've said same scheme different style I think that's kind of the the idea of this if it can be 80% as effective uh then they get they got all the pieces in the in the in the secondary um in in my estimation and think we need to go over the Special Teams too much other than Dominic Zada we'll see his former team Arkansas State in week three he has won the job over Adam Samaha uh here on River Rat he's from Ann Arbor and punter it will still be he's from Tommy Dolen there's his name I I was like why can't I think of his name uh any thoughts about special teams Riner I I I think it could be I mean they they've been very good in this unit for some time now and it's been it's been under underrated yeah no it'll be interesting to see the effect of you know Jay Harbaugh's departure there I mean I think Jay Harbaugh uh was really uh you know key to that special teams you being very good uh they always seemed pretty well organized and um you know strong in all facets pretty much and so um you know it'll be uh you know something to watch I mean JB Brown I guess is is the guy that's handling that now and so um you know he's got a he's got big big shoes to fill so uh you know that's an always an area that you know you don't really care about until uh it ends up negatively affecting you and uh Michigan State fans could talk about that all day with raw sales they they have they have struggled in that unit in in recent years no doubt um but you know and you know again it could also be in the difference between winning and losing as you know Jake Moody showed in 2020 uh2 leading into the Ohio State game Illinois against Illinois stole it from on senior day all right perfect uh that's where we're going to put a bow on that we're going to take a quick break on the other side you will hear who we think will win the game and why we'll get into the pcks a little bit of Conor stallion's talk don't go anywhere hell yes [Music] welcome back time for the picks we're going to keep it shorter succinct we know what we want to say and we're going to say it Andrew uh take us home it is pick Seasons fellas let's go I'm fired up uh Michigan Fresno State you guys know the drill let's start with them uh 21 and a half point spread do the Wolverines cover in game one uh no I don't have them covering um you know I think uh froo State uh coming off a night in Four Season they were rank briefly uh they've got a quarterback uh is pretty dangerous returning uh granted they had the the coaching changed uh Midsummer so uh that's a little bit of a worry sign for you know going into a game like this against Michigan however I just think you know there's some question marks about how well Michigan's offense is going to function you know and I think first State's quality enough to be able to kind of um keep it within three touchdowns yeah I'm tot I'm totally with uh rer and the one reason I have Fresno State covering is I don't think that the coaching change will be quite as drastic as as something like this could be because Skipper the guy who who who is taken over for Jeff Tedford uh he's done this before he's been he's been the interim at Fresno State before he did it I think it was back in 19 then he had to do the bowl game last year so this is not new he's I mean he he play he played for the program he's he's intimately familiar with with Fresno State and all that they do and then the other reason uh I mean Riner started with it Mikey Keane this is a legit quarterback this guy can play the B some ball I mean he could throw it he can run he can extend the play threw it for almost 3,000 yards last year in a tough Mountain West 24 touchdowns 10 picks uh I mean he's he's the he's the best quarterback in this game I haven't seen Michigan's quarterback and for my money he is the he is going to be the best quarterback on this field and then if you look at who also returns with him Jaylen Moss Magdalena Josiah Freeman three of their leading receivers uh from a season ago who I mean they they combined for like over, 1500 yards in like 10 touchdowns or so uh and then I mean they added a couple of thousand yard receivers from the FCS level in shadon James and uh railen sharp for who was allamerican in Missouri State uh that I mean I mean the the the running back uh whose name is currently escaping me ran for almost a thousand yards sherad Malik sherad I is his name uh he ran ke Brien for almost thousand I mean this is a good football team this is a legitimate football team they they've beaten Purdue recently they've be UCLA recently Washington State recently uh Minnesota uh I don't I'm not calling for that but three touchdowns and a hook depending on the book you get it on I I got I got to see what Michigan's offense looks like before I think they're just going to beat a very legitimate team by three scores you know they also added that Cory Foreman kit for USC was one time five star recruit yeah I mean uh The Edge player so yeah yeah it'll be it'll be interesting yeah I mean again that guy could end up being a factor especially given you know the new offensive line that Michigan has and uh you know the the quarterbacks uh uncertainty with with Michigan too so uh that's a player to watch for a Cory foran one of my gambling rules of thumb is if if it seems too good to be true it probably is and 21 and a half points is like well wait what 21 and a half for Fresno State a decent team night game at big house first game of the year you know decent quarterback um so first of all that gives me a little bit of a scare secondly I think with that night game the new crowd or the crowd and the whole new era under shmore I think Michigan gets out to a bit of an early lead maybe even 7-0 14-0 and then that D line gets to go to work so uh you know that's a whole different bottle of uh of wi as my mom would say so once that happens you got to you it's a all bets are off so I think Fresno State you know could give him a little bit of a scare early but uh I think Michigan ends up covering so I'm GNA go different than you guys there so all right game of the weekend probably you know possibly could be upstage later on but this one's at new right right start the day off Georgia vers Clemson um it's in Atlant it's in Atlanta so uh basically at Georgia I don't know how Georgia always gets to host these neutral site games in Atlanta so um fellas 13 and a half points rer we'll start with you yeah I mean it's uh that's a that's a pretty big uh spread and I think uh you know you don't want to count Dabo out I mean a lot of people have because of the his stance on the transfer portal and everything else and you know the the little bit of drop off that they've had uh from where they were you know five years ago I guess with the with the championship uh runs that they were making at that point and so yeah I mean a lot I would say I mean I wouldn't say a huge huge drop off I mean I think it's been enough that they're not they were like they're not the same they were like Georgia they were right there as Alabama I mean now now they're you know basically kind of you know 10 state is essentially what they are now but I still think that they've got some good pieces and like you know again the issue with I think Clemson has been you know in addition to the players uh maybe not being across the board as strong but I mean the staff I mean that has been poached dbo not using the portal from Dao yeah yeah but I still think you know again uh you know when you do count him out sometimes he seems to he seems to pull rabbit out of his head or or be able to or he's play coaches at his strongest so um that's why and and I mean I again I think um you know Georgia is maybe not as strong across the board as they they've been I mean I think they're I think they're uh you know again one of the number one team in the country and that's right now but I mean again I don't think that they're at the elite level maybe they were two or three years ago so that's kind of my my thinking on on this game uh that it's going to be a little bit closer than maybe people think I I think we'll we'll disagree eventually but I'm kind of with rer I mean k kumnick is I mean if in week one if you have a quarterback who's returned right decent proven right I just like that I just like that formula early uh it's it's just that certainty Phil mafa has a decent running back um and then I just I mean they got like the tyer brown who's one of the one of the better receivers in the ACC there there's there's pieces they still recruit well uh it's Clemson and like you're telling me it could be 3113 with four minutes left Georgia starters are out of the game and Clemson gets some useless late touchdown to cover 3120 31 I mean I'll take it I'll take it 13 and a half it's just a lot of points so give me the quarterback I know give me the points that hook feels like a big deal I'll say that that's why I kind of lean Georgia you know if that was 14 I would not feel nearly as confid because I feels like maybe a 3117 or a 3817 with maybe a late Georgia touchdown or something along those lines so go for two yeah so I I I I just try not to go against Alabama Georgia you know Ohio State in these early season games because as exciting as it is a lot of times to see especially with these SEC dominant teams you get all excited oh Alabama's playing USC you guys remember that game I'm sure rer and or Alabama's playing Michigan or Al you know Georgia's playing Notre Dame and then a huge majority of the time they end up being massive blowouts so oh I thought I'm gonna take Georgia and then if it's close I'm happy you know we got a good a good football game to start the day off let's move on to a big 10 game here uh Penn State at West Virginia uh West Virginia eight-point favorites uh Penn State on the road uh Tony who do you got here well Penn State would to score eight points in order to cover this so I like West Virginia I I mean I haven't seen Penn State score eight points in some time that's not true I mean I think pennate didn't they am I remembering right they just hammered West Virginia recently it was like a 4113 game like a couple couple years back I haven't looked this up honest um but I just feel like I remember something like that or maybe it was the other way I don't know um but I mean West Virginia 38 3815 3815 last year at Penn State so and West virgin who won Penn State won 3815 at Penn State okay so little yeah little little Revenge I was gonna say no one went and they didn't go into Happy Valley and beat him by three touchdowns obviously so I I did know that but I mean now they're now they're uh back in Morgantown right Morgantown uh they I mean I'm not going to get act like I know West Virginia's depth chart eight points is a decent amount of points Penn State still has Drew Aller under under Center and I don't trust him as far as I can throw him and he can't throw anything so Mountaineers I'm gonna jump in in front of you here rner because Drew Aller I'm no Drew Aller Super Fan last year against West Virginia I have the benefit of having just looked up the score of this game four tou all those passes were six yards four touchs 29 21 for 29 325 yards and three touchdowns if we get that again even up close to that uh I'm rolling with pen State I just don't think I don't think West Virginia is that good um and I think Penn State takes care of business eight a lot of lot of points on the road but uh Penn State if they wanna if they want to you know first of all James Franklin needs to get in the playoff probably this year um so and if they can't be West Virginia that's a bad start I'm I'm rolling with uh Penn State yeah I I'm I'm Gonna Roll with Penn State to uh here I mean I just think that um again with some of the players that are returning especially on offense and then you combine it with you know Tom Allen's the defensive coordinator and you know now Manny D's you know moves on you know he's gonna come want to come out uh you know and prove himself really quickly I mean the the thing is West Virginia is GNA you know a starting quarterback that's returning starting running back is returning so I I do think West Virginia is going to be able to give them uh you know or or push them for for you know pretty much the entire game but I think at the end you know Penn State kind of ends up pulling it you know or pulling away from them at the end and so I I'm going to I'm going to go with pen State here um this a program I'm more familiar with anyway so I usually lean towards that this is the sixth year that Neil Brown has been the head coach at West Virginia doesn't it feel like data hog Center was there like two years ago that's crazy um nine and four last year West virgia did finish though so uh all right let's move on not to at Texas A&M this is going to be a fun one I was just reading that Notre Dame had the volume cranked up to quote the loudest that they've ever heard practicing for uh the Texas A&M game it should be a heck of environment down there so uh Texas A&M year one of a new Administration three-point favorites against Notre Dame Tony I I mean normally I would pick against both these teams in these spot in this spot because I don't know how many times I've watched Notre Dame and A&M just get come in the season top 10 all the hype get blown out finish eight and4 and just be irrelevant nationally uh and I don't know that that's not going to be the case again this year and Riner I'm going to go with your theory I'm more familiar with Notre Dame in general that's literally the extent of of my and I think Marcus Freeman is a is a decent coach he's I think he's made like some learn some learning mistakes on the job in game uh the past couple years and and uh and I and I don't wonder if they can I mean Texas A&M they probably spent all their oil money reloading in the portal and everything I I don't know I couldn't tell you much about Texas A&M other than they are consistently overrated uh and so I'm going to take Notre Dame because you're giving me some points right they can lose on a field goal As Time expires and uh and and we're all walking away kissing our sister so three points I think the uh I I I think the most interesting aspect of this is the fact that donor Dam's quarterback is Riley Leonard who played for bye Elco and uh um is going against Mike ELO in his first game at OD Dame so uh but I like I like Texas a&n because of Mike ELO I think Mike Elco did a great job at Duke I think he brings a different mindset to you know College Station they're going to be raring to go uh I think college game day is there this week um so this the blaz is going to be uh cranked up I mean cyfield is always loud it's a real tough place to play I I don't know if Notre dve is going to be able to just come out uh in that environment and be able to kind of take control I think uh there's a lot of things working in& faer uh just from the atmosphere and circumstances uh standpoint so Notre Dame it feels like they've been disappointing the last few years but maybe not quite as bad as I I had remembered it being uh 10 and three last year nine and4 in the first year under Marcus Freeman 11-2 10-2 11-2 12-1 10 and3 so I mean they've consistently found a way to win a game like this a season I'd say because they're not they're not consistently uh running the table but they're finding a way to get a solid win the other reason I'm running with Notre Dame here um is because if you look at their schedule they kind of like need to win this game to have any real chance at having any wiggle room the rest of the way after Texas A&M they got Northern Illinois Purdue Miami Ohio Louisville Stanford Georgia Tech Navy Florida State not as good as we thought they were probably Virginia Army and USC where is the quality WIS on there so basically if they they they have to go perfect the rest of the way if they don't win this game I think Texas A&M new uh new Administration this is a tough game to start up with so uh I think they have a little more wiggle room there so I'm I'm going with Notre Dame to with with the here yeah yeah no I'm with it I mean tough games tough games early tough games late but yeah I mean you read the schedule it's it's pry it's pretty cupcake they got you're right they got they got to grab it and you talk about like they had Notre Dame hasn't been bad they've been Michigan they've been Michigan pre this three-year run somewhere between 9 and four 11- two you're going to be good going to be top 15 you're going to be in the games struggle to get over the humet that's what Michigan had been historically that's what Notre Dame has been historically most teams are I mean that's that's what a good teams are like you want to get to that level it's not a knock yeah and two other teams who have kind of been in that realm here USC and LSU so LSU had the national championship but ever since it's just been really weird um they are four-point favorites over USC um Lincoln Riley trying to reboot after a disastrous uh year with Caleb Williams last year so uh Riner USC fourpoint underdogs in Las Vegas it's a neutral sight game against LSU who you got I'm taking LSU I mean you know again uh Brian Kelly uh thir in his third year has typically had a breakout year um and uh I know there's some question marks again about you know how they're gonna um you know replace you know the Heisman Trophy winner and quarterback but you know the the fact is is that Brian Kelly's offenses just typically do really well and um I just think pound-for-pound across the board uh I I trust um LSU a little bit more than uh USC now I think USC I think is going to be steadily improving over the course of the season and especially with the Danton Lynn running defense there and I think you're going to see some significant strides being made on that side of the ball but I don't know if they're going to be as ponent offensively and uh you're going against a you know an SEC level defense right up right off the gate um right at the gate excuse me and so I think it's going to be you know that that's the kind of were I lean towards LSU in this this game if you recall last year at all and this podcast you would know that my shtick became just taking dumps all over USC that was like my favorite thing to do because they were Dreadful especially on defense uh losing uh losing Caleb Williams number one overall pick doesn't really help flip the coordinators getting rid of Alex Grinch sure does they've got Elite I mean he's only one guy but uh Zachariah branch is I mean he might be the most electric player of the Big 10 and uh he I mean he can keep up and Miller Moss highly rated quarterback uh coming out of high school as well and I mean you you talk about uh Brian Kelly getting things going in year three Lincoln Riley uh I mean when he was in Oklahoma it was I we just did the exercise a few weeks ago right I mean he was 12-2 12-2 12- two it was consistent winning he's not lived up to that yet at USC I expect that will change and uh you're going to give me more than a field goal and the neutral site is much closer to USC uh I'll take the charges so I first of all I think USC is gonna be better than people think this year there's kind of like a hangover of that weird season their defense was disastrous I mean Beyond disastrous I'm taking the Trojans because LSU is terrible in these first games of the Season 2020 they lost game one of the year to Mississippi state next year 2021 they lose to UCLA year after that 2022 they lose to Florida State by one point last year they lost to Florida State as well 2445 so that's 2020 21 22 23 four years in a row they've lost that game uh you know you kind of just have this image of LSU but they've actually been getting better as the Year's been going on for the last uh two years with Brian Kelly so uh I I'm rolling with uh with the Trojans here I think that uh they they knock off LSU straight up actually and get a a big big 10 over SEC expanded win here so that's that that wraps up for us as far as the picks go but uh honestly I thought it the games weren't as good as they are these should be fun games all weekend long yeah yeah that was good work by you on on that research on that dive it has felt like that I didn't realize that I mean LSU's always in the big game I didn't realize they've lost all of them I I feel better yeah with with that with that USC pick um were any of their losses because of Conor stallion's scouting like he didn't Scout any of their games I don't think uh possibly there is a network of developed spies that uh that we apparently did not know about that uh was referenced in this new documentary I think you're you're launching us into here yes that is that is where I'm taking us we're gonna W we're gonna keep it brief uh because we've already held on to you all long enough but if you're here this long stay with us uh Netflix is Untold the series continued uh and it was Stein stealer um the the documentary as was called I'm not sure if it lived up to that um but uh of Connor stallion a former recruiting staffer for Michigan by now you certainly know the story uh last year uh he uh I mean there was an investigation that found or that claimed that he uh was sort of The Mastermind of a science dealing operation where he would send uh tickets to accomplices they would then go to uh stadiums a future opponent sit on the sideline and use their binoculars use their camera use technology basically uh point it over at the at the opposite team sideline and just start deciphering signals writing them down or I guess logging the signals and then they would bring it back to stallions who would then decipher them and then and when they would be on when they would play an opponent he'd be right there on the sideline and he'd be he'd be kind of espousing signals and and signing things off and pointing to the sky and and what have you that's what we knew that's what had been reported now for the first time we got to hear from Connor stallions on what his thoughts are of the whole thing and he said he didn't break any rules he said he operated in the gray he said that he did out break rules he exposed uh the he found the loopholes exposed their weak points exploited them uh open for him here fellas we'll start with rer did did you learn anything from this did your opinion change positively negatively of Connor of the program and of uh and just of your thoughts about the layers to which people did or did not know uh yeah I mean I I again it was set up so that I mean again there was this plausible deniability that was trying to be kind of sold to everybody that you know um you know but it was hard to believe I mean the that like here's a guy that supposedly you know memorized all these signs I mean like sound like hundreds and hundreds you know you know signs but then he couldn't recall whether he was on the sideline for the central Michigan Michigan State game so I mean like he loses his credibility right there I think and I think that was the the issue that most objected people would come away with it's just that I mean is this guy really believable and uh uh I mean even the lawyer I don't think you know for Conor stallion was able to kind of uh sell that you know to the to the viewership that was uh watching so yeah I think you know most people are probably going to be swayed one way or the other but I mean I think if you're just a random person and you were just watching this I don't think you would necessarily Come Away with like that's that's believable and like you know the idea that you can make an argument like where you try to make the argument that you know the advanced scouting rule is outdated but you know again these are rules the NCA has rules and you know uh fair play is like essential to Sports in my opinion and it's like if you're not going to follow the rules I mean what's the point of playing sports I mean if they know it if if the two sides are not blame by the same rules then that's not a fair game and that's that's the issue here I mean people can rail against the NCA for all the other stuff of that you know their concept of Amber turism but when it comes to like actual competition on the field the rules have to be enforced and that's just my you know opinion on the matter and you know it'll always be my opinion on the matter I was like again I mean what what are we why are we watching this if it's not on the level Andrew yay or nay you feel that people who watched this it kind of you kind of just as I was saying to ryer earlier when we were leaving Chev Beckler hole you kind of just planted your flag a little further maybe like if you thought this was the worst thing in the world then you you feel like oh well see like look there Den not and if you felt there was no deal then you're like well look I mean I mean he's getting game balls for for his for his contribution to the team right I mean everybody thought that he was just like it is just a oneman rogue thing nobody knew all the all the layers and everything he was he was doing right I mean where do you fall uh yes and no so first of all I think this conversation has to start and end with that this was way too soon for something of this magnitude to come out like the research that needs to go into this to make this a journalistic Endeavor was not even close to done this was a pure entertainment product uh and that's okay that's what Netflix is no one said Netflix has to be journalistic they don't they're literally an entertainment Pro uh company so if you start with that I feel like everything kind of shakes out a bit more did I think it was necessarily Fair uh in a lot of ways I didn't really think it was fair um obviously Conor stallion wasn't talking to the media he wasn't doing interviews with us or ESPN or other other major properties how do you think they got them they probably gave them a lot of control over The Narrative of this of the documentary and and you know freedom to talk about whatever he really wanted to talk about um because Jim Harbaugh suspension was if it was mentioned I didn't hear it when I watched it one time of through I never heard it mentioned once uh there were two suspensions that were were mentioned um many of the elements of you know the the minutia and the detail and Michigan fighting the menion and then dropping it uh were left out um so uh yes and no Tony I think I think I would more so say that the the Casual viewer like our friend Michael Thomas who doesn't follow Sports at all saw it on his Netflix feed and started watching it and his takeaways were kind of like this guy's crazy and you know crazy for good or bad you know crazy can there's a lot of crazy successful coaches um and also like I you know what I don't really understand you know what's what's going on it's kind it's kind of like in the it's to us it was such a known thing but like I worry that that now this is going to be what people know of this story and it's really not the full story of what it is it's the entertainment the studio the the you know Hollywood version of kind of what happened it was Conor I mean it was Conor stallions recounting his version I think that it's it's it's important to keep that in mind right because just because it was given the title documentary there's not mean this was truly documenting what happened it was more like biogra y right like more like behind the SC behind the scenes in the life of Conor stallion how he came to be why he was what he was right right and it gave well he has given his side of the story I mean like you know or what she wanted you to believe uh based off of that you know again uh other were try to try to uh I guess kind of take you out of the ball or move you off you know your prec received Notions based off of what was reported I mean that was the goal of this and uh you know it was uh you know and something that again I mean I don't think again the Casual sports fan is necessarily going to be overly interested they're probably going to be wondering like why is this such a big thing but you know again you know for the people who you know have been up close with it I mean yeah it was it was interesting to kind of see uh the way he was going to spin it and I think uh I don't know if it again he was effective at being able to convince anybody who it was against you know Michigan during this whole process or you know really had deep skepticism over you know what happened uh whether they were able to he was able to kind of again eliminate that skepticism and final thoughts yeah it wasn't made for us you know what I mean it wasn't really made for people like us it was made for casual sports fans who oh man what was all that noise about the M Michigan last year I I know they they're cheating they were accused of cheating but like all I'll click on this that's kind of who it was made for and you know for better or worse I do think the one you know for uh for the die hards of the world who have been following it from the start to finish I think the good thing that came out of it was that we all got to know a little bit more about stallions and got to know kind of who he is better um you you got to see you know know know who he is cuz it was all just rumors and and and you know uh stories and and stuff of that nature but you didn't hear him talk you know you you'd never heard from him um so you get to kind of paints a better picture of of who this guy was and and the game ball thing was interesting him winning the game ball I thought was you know of note because he wasn't just this random guy in the background you know got Joe Schmo doesn't win the game ball you know what I mean so that was that was a takeaway that I was with stopped I stopped writing low-level staffer uh because I I can't claim that anymore he I think low-l staffers don't have the type of influence that he did so I just write former staffer yeah I mean there's a there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that suggest otherwise I mean even some of this footage that people have clipped where he's standing next to the coordinators and uh you know and he motioned something and everybody else motioned something I mean again that stuff wasn't really addressed as much I mean you know again it's like they they you know Michigan really wanted to create this Lone Wolf idea and it's just it's it you know again you have to kind of suspend belief on a lot of this I mean if you're gonna buy Conor stallion's line of thinking or what he was trying to sell you through that documentary one final thing I know we gotta go um but I was T kind of one of another thing that caught my attention was you know stallion I I think it's fair to say seems like he thinks that he's the smartest guy in the room a lot of times and and one of the way things he kind of like he was not he was not going to be in Michigan no matter what he was going to literally sink himself six feet under before he was going to say one bad thing about Michigan and you know that's that's who he is as a person you could see that coming through the screen but he did say you know when he was getting essentially relieved of his duties uh he kind of insinuated that he was like ah shoot yeah you know I can tell you everything that's going on let me tell you what's going on and he said that that whoever was in that meeting was kind of like nope that's not necessary like please don't implicate us you know you don't need to tell us what's going on like go home please um and that it was like yeah exactly uh he doesn't need say no more you know we and that kind of maybe was an in accident ask that was maybe an accidental Insight because you know if saliens was a low-level Insider and and it is it is plausible that maybe Jim Harbaugh and shron Moore didn't know how he was getting that uh information or other people in the program um but they knew he had it and they weren't asking the questions that's kind of was kind of a the last like takeaway that I had when he when he said that little Porche well I mean you know the hints that he was also kind I mean he was suddenly implying some of some of the stuff that people you know uh believed I mean the game ball thing being the you know the perfect example that he wasn't just some you know again person that nobody really knew about and just this you know was operating off in his own Silo uh you know that's that was you know always something that people were like skeptical about anyway he kind of you know threw water on that and then you know the idea that I mean again you know he was kind of introduced you know or you know brought in the program by Partridge and you know Chris Partridge was obviously one of the people who's let go Amed this whole situation coming out and it's just like you know there there there's there were little nuggets that he dropped that kind of subtly implied some some things uh if you wanted to go down the you know uh and kind of believe some of the the stuff that You' already kind of uh were able to sus out uh know before this or that you know already had some kind of uh theories on like he kind of you know would would have given you license to believe some of that stuff too I think and that that was interesting to me was that you know there were there were things that he kind of um hurt I guess Michigan's case I think in some ways I also think the timing of the documentary hurt Michigan I mean like that's the thing like this guy supposedly loves Michigan this thing was released Tuesday before their season opener like you know you talk about a distraction I mean like people are asking the players and the coaches about it so it's uh yeah I think it's interesting that this like really really devoted Michigan guy but you know uh you know is coming out with a you know documentary that doesn't necessarily paint Michigan and focuses on the cheating scandal and the uh you know at this point I mean you know he drags it out and and then when you talk about the the timing of it right I mean Michigan has 90 days to respond that would be the Monday of Ohio State week right and so it's it's just gonna I mean it can just keep keep get dragged out here but uh this episode was dragged out here but we made it through and that's what happens uh when it's football season baby we are back like to say better than ever uh so thank you for listening uh and thanks as always to the people who make this happen that is our editor and chief Nicole re Nichols and our audio engineer Robin Chan for Andrew for Riner I'm Tony Michigan Fresno State 7:34 p.m. kickoff Saturday August 31st under the lights in an arbor that's where we'll be and we will have tons of coverage on freep.com so check it out thanks for listening talk to you soon this is ha yes