Dattitude (263): LSU closing in on opener vs. USC; Saints news

Introduction [Music] [Music] what is up on this blisteringly ridiculous hot morning well we're counting Dan to the season in three days and we're taking our first at what's going on in LSU football camp we bring in Wilson Alexander in for the lad and in Wednesdays with Gabe we each have no idea who will be on our LSU football rush Mount Rushmore one a no-brainer the other three well it should be fun all that and an extra point that will dare you to charge our mind you better not come at me bro rather just sit back listen and enjoy attitude podcast coming up next if you're looking for The Latest Scoop and in-depth interviews on the Saints the NFL the Pelicans LSU along with the Best Bets of the week then looky you along with high-powered in the no guests who cover our teams Jem Derry brings plenty of attitude and he'll always tell you the way it is or at least the way he thinks it is where you at New Orleans and hello to my friends elsewhere everywhere out there who have been hanging out with their best friend the heat meiser some of you young peeps don't even know who the hell that is most of y'all though y know who I'm talking about if you don't know I was asking Gabe this morning if he knew who the heat meiser was remember this cat I'm Mr heat meiser I'm Mr son Mr 101 Mr 101 I'm almost going to wish for 101 today even a heat meiser he's taking a short break to listen to dat itude episode number 263 presented by Evangel insecurities for a Wednesday August the 7th 2004 it's supposed to be hot I get it Jesus cist amundo my feet hurt so hot I am your host Jim the cool what is it I forget the what is the cold m is it the Cold Miser I forgot the other one what is is it the cold meiser well he's my friend I don't like the Heatmiser whether you're watching on one of our nola.com social media channels or listening to the podcast on demand as always I thank you for being a part of the dude family three days from the preseason opener we got a lot of comments going on y'all talking mostly to each other but aown says let's go Jerry what's up we hanging out with the heat meiser Rocky is too what's up oh man we got already Jerry's ask me Justin Simmons to the Saints oh man they can't too many other needs stop I mean I get it defensive back safety is a little thin but come on man if you can sign somebody sign a damn offensive lineman I know we've been talking Justin s's name has been coming up not so much on this podcast been coming up for months there's one podcast in particular they're gonna have like some kind of like party they're gonna be like throwing confetti in the air doing all kinds of whack stuff if uh Justin Simmons gets on I promise you uh if you don't already know you can be a part of the show by uh wiping off your sweaty fingers and typing in your comment on YouTube or Facebook and we asked it if you haven't already done so to subscribe to our YouTube our dude YouTube page we love the fact that you subscribe to the Saints Insider and the LSU Insider we're gonna have Wilson Alexander in a minute we love the fact that you subscribe to those pages but give us a little love trying to grow our YouTube page we thank you for watching on Facebook or wherever you're watching we get a lot of views every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 11:00 am and later on demand on Facebook but we politely ask you to uh come over our YouTube page that's where get not just our shows but all of our short takes that Gabe and I have been doing telling you all kinds of stuff on there we've got at least one short every day sometimes two maybe even three every now and then as we get closer to football season of course our our show schedule is going to change when the season starts instead of just Monday Wednesday and Friday at 1100 am we also gonna have Monday Wednesday Thursday and Friday Thursday will be a pick them show Gabe will give us a pick Thomas Cale our sports betting director is going to come on give us picks Uncle big Nick's going to be back it'll be fun on Thursday so it'll be shorter shows but I'm going tell you how to win a couple bucks have fun with it all right what are we gonna do this morning uh let's Kyle Sherman you back Opening thoughts with us Simmons to the Saints did I miss something Gabe did it happen is there a lot of noise on X and I agree with with you wholeheartedly why they I mean look uh there's gayes he looks away for a couple seconds a billion comments yeah I mean Kyle's happy about it I mean y'all must are y'all breaking news to me this morning because I have not seen this now granted I've been getting ready for the show since 8 am so I have not looked at x uh I was a little behind I didn't get every everything done so maybe y'all maybe y'all are breaking news to me I have not seen this again I know there's one podcast in particular that will like just have a July A Late July 4th party if it happens um so is that oh he's not no signing yet he's just visiting uh there is there are injuries in the defensive back field but I don't care who's injured you got way bigger needs and it's G to cost probably $6 million to sign him maybe maybe seven got other needs I mean it's great that I mean whatever sign whoever you want I mean it it's great yeah he's a great player that's not what you need sorry just don't agree with that at all what's gab got saying here before I go to evangelin uh offensive lineman Mark Evans got signed tight end Mason Fairchild was waved in the no news Department absolutely Kyle Bak tiari well you see that's why I got my listeners my readers you're listening after the fact you and if Simmons gets signed before you listen to this podcast you might say what the hell this guy's a dummy I mean I'm a dummy but come on man before we get to we're gonna have a lot of stuff going on this morning I uh had to record our interview with Wilson Alexander Great Stuff on LSU football I plan to go about 30 minutes ended up going 30 eight minutes with Wilson um we kind of break down go position by position and talk a little bit about each one the offense obviously a little bit ahead of the defense but it it might not be as far as you think so a great conversation with Wilson and talking about LSU football I asked him like I asked Ross Jackson last week what percentage would he put on LSU's chances of making the playoff is it below 50% is it right around 50% or does he think it's above 50% I personally think it's like right at 50% uh they're ranked 12th which is right on the cutoff line that doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things but I think my personal opinion and I kind of get into it a little bit I let Wilson do most of the talking as I usually do whoever the guest is they're in here for a reason but I personally think that this defense will be good enough and will certainly be better I think the new defensive coordinator baker has is going to give them new schemes they're talking about some of the things they're working on I think Carol Perkins is going to take a huge step back towards where he was uh I'm looking forward to that I think the secondary look they can't be any worse than they were last year I mean I guess you're you're not supposed to ever say nothing can be worse but it can be worse I guess but I I don't know it was really bad but they've made improvements in there I expect Sage Ryan to be better I expect major Burns to be better Texas A&M uh trans ER I think this defensive back field is going to be better I like I don't love but I like the defensive line although they've been getting kind of beat early in came so we spend time talking about all these things about LSU football the early part of the schedule how the schedule is set up for this team to be successful I've said this before as far as SEC schedules go by SEC schedule standards this is probably about the easiest schedule you're going to get I we tell you why coming up in a minute um yeah Ross will go boners over him signing there's there's more than Ross are teams waiting to break Camp before signing bakari no I think I think bakari's probably picking and choosing and if he doesn't get signed I don't think he cares I'm not who was it that I'm not sure who we had on that was saying and I agree it might have been Ross I I don't think it was Ross I don't remember who it was that said this maybe a couple weeks ago that I think it was Zach I think Zach said this and he's and he's right that Bak tiari is at the point of his career where he wants to go to a winner and I'm not trying this not the de der Downer in me I'm just stating what would you think if you were um a 31y old veteran with a bad knee who might only have one season left in him would you want to spend that with the Saints team that is Project to be seven- 10 8- Nish and that is one bad start away from a dumpster fire I'm not saying that's gonna happen I'm saying that's where they are and if you're on the outside and you're looking in or would you wait and hope that and see if somebody gets injured in Camp like J uh Rocky was talking about there and one of the contenders loses a tackle and you can go there even if you're a backup that has money I don't know the answer to that so maybe the Saints have reached out to them and we don't know that that happened it's it's a possibility I don't I don't think they have though Jerry hopefully we hear something today I know you're excited about it Jerry I know you want um Simmons to come here but again I just I if it happens great I mean sure whatever but but again why would you spend that kind of money again six million 7 million somewhere in that range when you're still trying to do a Camara contract and you have much greater needs I don't get it maybe I don't have to get it all right we also have coming up again we told you we teased to at the our LSU who's on your LSU football Mount Rushmore you get four if you in case you don't know that mount Rush Rushmore is four even I know that in my limited you know I got a D in history class in high school although then I went to college and took like specific I actually monitored in history and took like I did great in college and did terrible in history in high school maybe because I was just young and was bored with it and then realized it's important and then when I got to college I took a ton of history and did much better in it I don't know who knows but uh Mount Rushmore or your four it doesn't have to be players could be a coach it could be it could be the greatest fan who's the greatest fan of whatever whoever you think belongs in the lishu Mount Rushmore we're gonna tell you Gabe and I are gonna tell you in just a minute before we get to that and Wilson Alexander let me tell you more about our friends at Evangel and securities this is for anyone even pondering whether now is the time to sell your family run or privately held business that includes those who might be close to someone who's in this situation because let's start with the number one question you might have or they might have what is said business worth you know who can answer that for you evangelin Securities might be a decision you'all have been thinking about for quite some time now is the time to reach out to evangelin founding and managing Partners Nick Braden and Ron Heil they will schedule a complimentary valuation and maximize the value for your business by the way I've told you this before Nick and Ron loved this city they went to New York they went to Business Schools and then New York and they told me they came back to New Orleans because well I mean you know as well as I do if you go some there are people that listen to the show who are native New Orleans Indians lived here their entire lives and then moved away and think about this city every day they're G for the brief time that I was going and I never went too far but all I could think about was coming home that's what Nick and Ron did they came home to help people who need them they have offices on pu Street and in Lafayette more on this later in the show but in the meantime you can check them out at www says buddy the Evangel and securities.com all right we're gonna have some more comments as we go along later in the show and by the way um when we get to Wilson we had to record it yesterday he's got so much going on we had to find time time to do it we actually had to change some times yesterday to get it done so but we did get it done and I thought it was important to have him on so uh Wilson's coming on a little bit in a little bit but Wednesday with Gabe first it's Wednesday's Gabe time what's up hey what's going on uh you got anything Bes Bes what is I mean people are going nuts by the way we got a couple uh Mount Rushmore comments you got a minute or two to get yours in if you want to give me your LSU Mount Rushmore whether you've ever commented on the show or never commented or wherever you're watching do it now it's part of the reason I actually wanted to do this I wanted to get people's opinions we got a couple we got a couple of course and I'm I'm gonna show them in a minute but uh how did we how did you come up with this idea because I actually think it's a pretty good one well you know I mean the other day I was just brainstorming ideas for what we're going to talk about and I briefly mentioned to you um maybe we can disagree on some sporting goats you know if you ask me who who the greatest I think it's because you made a comment about Tom Brady and how people think he's the greatest football player and so I I thought it'd be a fun little exercise to just see how different our answers would be but then you mentioned we had Wilson on and we had the entire show dedicated to LSU so I figured why not let's let's dissect some some LSU Mount rushmor yeah just heads up for those out there and are only interested in the Saints I am going to get back into the Saints before we get to Wilson's comments when Gabe and I are done um the Saints did if you missed it they issued their depth chart uh yesterday or day before yesterday I can't I think it was uh I think it was Monday afternoon they released it so I'm gonna go through there's a couple interesting nuggets on that depth chart that I did want to talk about so that's coming up in a minute but let's go through our Mount Rushmore I'm Gonna Let You Go first we're going to go one by one and you so let's let's let's go in order let's do one at the same time I actually have an order and I mean if anyone doesn't have Joe Barrow on there Mount Rushmore they're probably a more on okay yeah so let me look the two we have uh both have borrow on it so uh well I'll show those our both do yeah I think they're interesting by the way the two that we have are very interesting um okay we'll get we'll get to those in a minute but uh go ahead and and give me yours so obviously yeah number one's Joe burrow that goes without saying uh number two I have Billy Cannon I think the Heisman winning National Championship winning combination uh automatically lands you on this list seeing as there's only two in LSU history um because Jaden Daniels didn't win a National Championship so um I think those those two automatically land on the Mount Rushmore and they should be in everyone's uh personally all right then I will give you my third choice next because my third pick on this Mount Rushmore is Billy Cannon and you have to have Billy Canon here and not just because I wanted someone from the old days quote unquote I just thought that he was the first Heisman Trophy winner in LSU history I think that his uh just his presence not only uh at LS while at LSU but his presence after his LSU days he was you know he was around the program for the rest of his life pretty much and I I thought that was as much important I actually got to meet him one day I don't even remember where I ran into him I think it was in a restaurant or something I noticed him and went and talked to him this is a a long time ago obviously I mean he's been going for a little while but uh I I think I ran into him in a restaurant probably like 20 years ago but nice as could be and and we actually had a a real conversation uh and it was it was pretty cool so every now and then you you get those and so Billy Canon is is my number three and I only mentioned that because you so now we have two of our four are the same who is your number three so I didn't put mine in any particular order so I I will go with um because I I have a little caveat for my fourth one so for my third one I'm going to go with one a little out of left field this might surprise some people I haven't seen him listed in the comments uh Glenn dorsy that's interesting why uh I I just thought his presence in college um you know from 04 to 07 he was one of the best defensive players in the country as evidenced by him being a top five pick in the NFL um his college career I believe was definitely better than his NFL career although he was still serviceable in the NFL I just think you know when you when you think those early 2000s championship teams you can't speak about them without Glen dorsy um obviously he he was on the 07 team he was as dominant a defensive line L that I've seen at LSU and I just think he's too important to our our program's history in in the 2000s and what he meant to that defense I also think that uh and I don't mean this in a slight at all I think this is a uh a product also of you being 30ish under 30 that you're you know and so with with that caveat will completely contradict my next pick by the way so okay yeah I mean he's he's um ju just one more thing on him he he's the first player that I really remember watching when I was younger fair enough um CU When when he started at LSU I was six and so you know I I watch him and I was just taken aback by the talent that he possessed he was as dominant as they come on defense I don't think that's ridiculous at all K say really good pick I I don't I don't think that's ridiculous uh he but he never crossed my mind my third pick pick is um look I want I there are only three Heisman Trophy winners in the history of this program and I actually think that Jaden Daniels is worth being on there um like you said I did go kind of go back and forth a little bit because he didn't win a National Championship but I I I hate that you we talk about when people talk about um greatest players of all time they bring up Tom Brady's rings and I I hate number of championships and so I know it's only one for pretty much everybody anyway but I I just I don't like that argument um I understand why people have that argument I just it's why I don't think Tom Brady I don't it's a part of the conversation yes but I just think what Jaden Daniels did it this program easily could have kind of taken a step back a little bit after 2019 which arguably is the greatest college football team of all time um and I thought that what Jaden Daniels did kind of helped keep LSU at that level and they're still there now in part because Jaden Daniels was a part of this program so that's why I have uh number three and it actually kind of leads in to my number four um which is why I picked the person I picked at number four before we get to our number four let me um and uh Kyle saying Jaden Daniels yeah I mean can I just comment on J absolutely sure so so one of the reasons so he he was probably my first name off this list uh aside from my caveat which I I'll get to so he was either the first or second name off the list part of the reason I left him off though and and this isn't the same with Joe burrow because Joe burrow didn't play at Ohio State Jaden Daniels played at Arizona State and he played there for years he was a starter as a freshman so you kind of associate him with two programs and that's really why I had a hard time putting him on a Mount Rushmore although I mean I think he's undoubtedly the second best quarterback no one will respect um but I think I think Jaden Daniels is the second best quarterback to ever play for LSU and I think he I'm not going to have a problem with anyone putting him on on a Mount Rushmore I'll tell you that all right I want to get to some of these because some of these are very interesting yes they are um very interesting all right I'm gonna start with Rocky Michael Clayton I'm assuming you mean Michael Clayton uh Joe Barrow Tyron Matthew and Peter interesting Rocky uh if I had you on the show would ask you I don't have any problem with the other three I they have a problem with anybody's it's your own opinion you can have whoever you want in there you can have major Burns on there if you really want to if you gave me a good reason but I find that one interesting he did play the two years ago before his injury uh Clayton did play in the NFL for quite a while so there's a case to be made uh Kyle Billy Canon Joe burrow Jamar Chase Leonard forette I don't I don't think so I love Leonard forette but one thing that I I always point out to people is in his last year at LSU I don't think it's secret that at all that Darius G was better than him and I just don't know how you can put a guy like forette in there when I don't know I that that's an interesting one but again that goes to I mean you got Billy Canon on there but that that recent bias is always tough to get over when you're trying to come up with these things it's the same as when you're talking about the greatest player who ever played in the NFL or the great your top five ever or whatever whatever list you're putting together whether you're old or young I think recency bias is GNA play especially if you're younger I think recenty bias is gonna play a role in there now this one Brian I don't know if you're just trying to get me if you're just trying to get some goats or if you're just trying to stir a PO or whatever or if you really believe this but I I find it interesting burrow Canon obj and the grass eating Les Miles that is interesting um look I liked Les Miles more than probably 85% of LSU fans did I think he got a bum wrap here he was Goofy I get it but I thought he was a way better Coach than people gave him credit for but I don't think there's any scenario where I can put less miles on the LSU Mount Rushmore Kyle uh I think you're talking oh you're talking about for9 here okay he created Buzz for the program probably got on many national telecasts because he was electric to watch hey I can't deny that's a good reason again I'm not I'm not dissing your pick at all I'm kind of dissing Les Miles a little bit ran but uh I don't that's a good reason it's a good reason I I think knowing what we know now about Les Miles that's even more of a reason to keep him off the list I will say he he the reason that he he isn't thought about more highly with LSU fans is because uh he he didn't win two national titles he won one Brian Brian he only won one he won one and a lot of people will say it's with Savin recruits I don't necessarily buy that but I don't the reason the reason I think he he gets a a bad reputation around here is because he stuck with his guys a lot longer than he should have yeah um I mean the reason he got fired is because he was stubborn with his coordinators people were fed up with Cam Cameron and I I can't blame him I was one of them I was in the vocal majority there there's no doubt and and he great a lot of fun to watch gave he was definitely fun to watch gave me and a lot of other people some great memories at Tiger Stadium again I'm Brian I'm not messing with by the way I'm I'm not messing with you at all so anyway I said that's right my pad's scratching okay um aown it's got burrow Cannon Kevin Faulk that's an interesting pick Josh Reed another interesting pick Josh Reed is uh is often forgot about just like Eric Martin is kind of again you you don't probably even know who Eric Martin is Gabe But Eric Martin played uh for LSU when I was going to LSU back in the mid 80s and then went on to a long career with the Saints and is one of the there's zero question that Eric Martin is one of the top 10 Saints receivers of all time maybe top five he caught the first he scored the first playoff touchdown in Saints history Eric Martin so anyway a lot of people uh try and forget what happened to LSU football in the 80s yeah okay well we thank you for your responses Gabe Henderson who is your the last guy that we have not who is the last guy in your watch tell us your first three again and then tell us number four so my first three Joe Billy Cannon Glen dorsy and then the fourth one is is a caveat depending personally it's Tyron Matthew for me okay um Tyron Matthew is the most electric college player I've ever watched he's my favorite college player of all time I still go back and watch his highlights all the time he's as dominant a defensive player as I have ever seen at the college level the reason the reason that there's a caveat here okay is because I don't know if people feel comfortable putting him on a r on a Mount Rushmore considering he was dismissed from the program I don't that's the only thing so so if people have a problem with in and I know this is my list but I did think this guy deserve to mention as well if people have a problem with Tyron Matthew Patrick Peterson would be that guy for me I will say this um I don't think I knew what a meme was because I'm an old fart until Tyron Matthew came along and you had to see the honey bads are over and over and over and over and over again so I think uh Tyron Matthew introduced me to the world of memes and I have no problem with that pick whatsoever uh he's not on mine but uh and he was on someone else's here uh I I think that's a good pick actually I like it my last pick is gonna be semic versial and I don't even like this dude okay I really don't I don't like this dude but what he did for this program and if people remember what happened before he was here when I say this name they might understand why I'm picking him my fourth my fourth pick for the LSU football Mount Rushmore is Nick Sabin um look what was LSU football for the Decades of years before Nick Sabin came here they weren't Jack crap they were wallowing in mediocrity for decades you know it'd be great if they went to the Sugar Bowl every now and then Nick Sabin changed that and it hasn't been the same since it has been on a championship a bust level since he's been here now of course a lot of people hate him because he was a coach at Alabama and I understand that and I don't I didn't like him when he was at LSU personally I've said this before and somebody actually emailed me and got pissed off that I said this they they said how ridiculous it was and no it wasn't an email it was actually a comment on one of the past streams after the fact they thought was a [ __ ] for saying I just don't think he's a great human being okay it's a whole I need a whole show to talk about that but if you're talking about people who belong on Mount rushmore's of LSU football and change this program Nick Sabin did that changed it that's my maybe that's an oversight on my part I didn't even consider coaches but I think you know as far as coaches go sav's got to be your number one because of all the all the reasons you discussed You could argue that he is number one I mean you know what I will say this as well to all the people who don't like him because he coached at Alabama um I I never wished him success at Alabama yeah because why would you wish success on Alabama but the the one thing that I respect with Nick Sabin is he never disrespected the LSU program he didn't this he still doesn't was I respect the hell out of that as Kyle says at the ESP is the only team he mentioned was the LSU his LSU national championship game you know what I tell you what if you if you gave him some truth serum and made him talk I would be willing to bet that's his favorite one might not be his most important one but it's probably his favorite one because look he thought he had team in Michigan state that could get the here you know Kyle says we oh mgeta yeah absolutely I think you again without Nick Sabin I don't know that bless miles is national champ not because Les Miles didn't earn his National Championship because it's Les miles's National Championship but I don't know that Les Miles has a national championship you know I don't know that Ed Ojon has a national championship or that that Ed oon is ever a coach of LSU I don't know that Joe burrow comes to LSU decade later after Nick samon left or longer than that a decade and a half actually I don't know that Joe burrow comes to alisu because I don't think this program is the same program without Nick Sav so I don't think so either and you know I I do wonder if he ever does think about that obviously we'll never get the truth I I wonder if he would have stuck with LSU because he obviously loved the program um I think that much he never went to the end if he never went to the NFL I wonder if he would have stuck absolutely I think he would have I I really do uh and I think his ego is so big that he thought he could go win Super Bowls in in the NFL and realize that it's not the same player pool and you can't I mean people people don't REM people don't talk about this enough but part of what makes him arguably the greatest college coach ever that's another show for another debate I don't know if he is or not I don't think he was better than be Bryant but that's again a different story what made him as great as he was was not only the fact that he was able to bring in the top assistant coaching Talent anywhere anyhow and then he helped turn these assistants if they weren't great already he made them great I mean in my opinion but that wasn't even his number one quality no one has ever and I mean ever recruited like Nick Sabin and he did that at LSU and he obviously did that at Alabama and so that was different when you go to the NFL you're not e as easily getting those assistance and you're certainly not recruiting I mean you know he had one chance to recruit a player and he picked Dante c pepper over Drew Brees so and the Saints are maybe he belongs in the Saints Dante c pepper was a good quarterback he's no Drew Brees but he was a good quarter or as buddy D the late buddy D used to say Dante stall pepper that's a whole different story thanks Gabe we'll do it again we'll be back Monday we'll find something else to talk about yep sounds good all right we are running long and Saints Depth Chart again I got a 38 minute interview coming up with um with Wilson about LSU football and and an extra point so real quickly I'm going to talk about this saint step chart and there are a couple things I'm G put my glasses on here because this type is kind of small so indulge me for a minute and you guys are free to to comment about it as you as much as you want one thing I found interesting and it doesn't really mean anything in the grand these depth charts on August 5th when it was released or 6th I don't remember it was Monday or yesterday um it's so it says on here as of 8524 um don't mean Jack okay the preseason is going to have everything to do with with changing these things up but I thought it was interesting that Kendra Miller was still listed as the number let's see where is it where's the other running back He's listed right behind Jamaal Williams is the number three running back Jordan Mims is fourth James Robinson is fifth uh I find that very interesting Jakob kabot is six uh there are a couple other podcasts that are talking about Jacob kabot is not making he might probably make the practice squad not gonna make this te um but I find that interesting is Kendra Miller coming back soon and we don't know again here we go with the whole we're not GNA tell you where he really is kind of nobody ask ask about kendre Miller when he's ask these questions people I'm not in Irvine I can't ask him for you ask these questions when is he coming back what's his update they tell you there's no update ask again piss them off why why are we scared of pissing people off I mean it's kind of a big deal actually I think it is I mean your second your third round pick from last year who was supposed to take the big leap this year and nobody's asking questions about him and now he's listed ahead of Jordan Mims and we don't know if he's coming back tomorrow two weeks from now or gonna be put on ir and can't come back until October Nobody Knows the answer to that even if they don't tell you the answer you should ask it and I've been watching a lot I don't watch everyone from start to finish but I watch most of them and I haven't heard that question asked at least not recently anyway I find that interesting uh and I put rb2 I meant to type in rb3 he's really the third we all know I mean there's zero doubt Alvin kamaro is number one and Jamaal Williams is number two uh I also found it interesting that Mason Tipton has not moved up this depth chart again these are wide depth charts don't really matter at this point right I mean everybody knows that naon Tipton is not the ninth or 10th receiver he's not behind Kevin Austin he's not behind Bob means right now Bob means there's two receiver positions listed and at the top one it's olve Perry then means then Austin then Marcus Callaway in the bottom one it's Shahed Wilson equinom a brown Stanley Morgan then Mason Tipton and Samson n is up to him no one thinks Bob Means is ahead of those guys I would be again I'm not a Irvine but I follow it as closely as I possibly can follow it so I can tell you give you opinions that are worth something everything I listen to Everything I read everything I see tells me that Bub means is gonna probably start the season on the practice squad unless he balls out in the preseason he's gonna play plenty probably I don't know other interesting notes on the depth chart that I see uh here Lucas Patrick is ahead of Nick very that's no surprise um even without the injury Lucas Patrick is was probably one the starting left guard spot like I don't know a week ago maybe uh no surprise there Trevor Penning is the right tackle no surprise there you're gonna see a lot of him in the preseason Udo is right behind him wouldn't surprise me one iota I've been saying this I think that it's going to be somewhat Landon young is actually uh on the depth chart behind fanga and I know that they were trying young at right tackle too I'm telling you right now I think oi Udo is gonna be your starting right tackle on opening day that's my guess it's my opinion I don't know that he hasn't taken a lot of number one reps I just think that's what's going to happen they are trying to force the Trevor Penning issue and I don't know that you can force it is my opinion uh breaking news from Gabe Falcons wide receiver rondale Moore card off the field in an air cast um he was there number four receiver I think I'm not sure um so there have some news this number three Gabe says okay uh they're topheavy the Falcons that's gonna be an interesting situation as they go along but anyway some other quick things here as we go through again I got to get to uh the interview here with Wilson um anything else that sticks out uh some people were making a big deal about Adam prentis being over Xander Horvath at fullback and I don't see the big deal there uh again these not that they mean all that much your safeties right now Jordan Howen is distorting safety over Jonathan Abram uh JT gray who's also obviously a special teamer who's gonna make this team uh elsewhere you got Saints don't often do this so I find this interesting did this they've got at right defensive end they've got Carl Granderson or chase young I find that super interesting because you're not you can't you absolutely whether he's gonna start whether he's gonna play in a different spot or find a different role for him or play more to the inside you cannot absolutely cannot leave Cam Jordan off your starting depth chart at any point at any time anywhere so you could see Granderson and Chase young and kind of Cam Jordan kind of like slipping in to the right of Chase young watch that but he's also not going to take uh all all the snaps that he's been taking his snaps number is going to go way down um and then no other Real Surprises you do have they have they list 12 starters on defense I think one two three four five six seven eight nine 10 no 11 they've got three linebackers they got Warner Davis and Willie gay in there Anthony has been the talk of of camp on the defensive side I think he's found his way onto this roster and that puts Jaylen Ford who probably wasn't gonna make it anyway Jaylen Ford's gonna in a practice squad um breaking news from ESPN NCAA announces four-year show cause order from former Michigan coach uh Jim Harbaugh oh well who who who thinks Jim Harbaugh was on the up and up at Michigan whole different story okay all right we're going to talk more about the step chart I think on Friday uh because I gotta move on with the show but I do find these things maybe we'll talk more about it next week after the first preseason game because there's zero question that this depth chart is going to change and it's going to change quite a bit um yeah Kyle will never be back in college no kidding and if he fails in Los Angeles with the charges which I don't get the whole love for Harbaugh thing I've never thought he was that great of a coach Maybe I'm Wrong maybe I'm just maybe I just don't I think it's Brothers outstanding uh maybe I just I don't know I never loved him in when he played quarterback in the NFL either so I don't know maybe I'm letting some kind of personal bias get in I have no idea but I thought I thought he was an okay Coach but I never thought he was that great I mean yeah he did he won the national champ ship last year and I don't take anything of that away from him and he probably didn't do anything that other coaches didn't do as far as you know what I mean but that being said I mean he was behind Ohio State for how long finally broke through and got you one it was the year to do it because again I take nothing away from it but last year there was really no dominant team that he had to climbed the hump over there was no Georgia the years before that or the Alabama before that good for you Jim harb overrated there I said it I don't care said it all right we are Wilson Alexander interview super this is gonna be a super long show this might be the longest show that we've had since like the first season but I thought it was important to go through and go L have a show that involved a lot of LSU in this you know Wilson breaks it down and I'm telling you if you care at all about LSU you want to listen to the next oh what do we have 3738 minutes here and then we'll be back to wrap it up with the extra point welcome here to the dude podcast on this Wednesday morning presented to you by Evangel and securities is our own Wilson Alexander The Advocate elsu beat writer and and all transparency we're recording this on Tuesday afternoon so just in case anything happens between now uh and tomorrow morning that's why Wilson what's going on this morning oh fall Camp trying to keep my trying to keep treading you know and water keep my head above water I hear you time of year yeah it it is definitely a crazy time of year look before we start um I just want to say and I never talked to you about this ahead of time so I hope you're okay with me saying this but I know that uh your family's been going through through some things your wife Alice's um has was diagnosed with with a form of cancer answer a couple months ago and I just want you to know that here at attitude and all of us and the whole obviously Advocate times SP no.com family we're thinking about you and uh and Alice and and hope uh everything goes well there thank you so much Jim um really really do appreciate the support that we've gotten from so many different people uh have reached out to us with just a kind word or a little bit of encouragement and that's helped us get through it's it's tough uh and I just feel for anybody who's been affected by cancer in any way um because I have such a deeper understanding of it now um it's it's not pleasant but we're making it through and my wife is incredibly strong and I'm couldn't be more proud of her for the way that she's continuing to battling through this so thank you again almost every American family I think at some point is is touched by just this awful uh thing and uh so definitely our prayers and hearts grout and uh we know everything's going to be all right all right let's get to LSU uh football and you know before we start about talking about the intricacies of what's going on in there just just tell me your overall assessment and what is the feel of going into camp this year because obvious it's def obviously it's a little different whenever you lose a Heisman Trophy winner things are going to be a little bit different sometimes they they you know you could stay on that status quo and maybe get a little bit better and sometimes they take a step back but what is your overall sense of the feel for what this team is going into here as we uh get into the almost second week of August well will cam you know LSU's left tackle for the past two seasons said yesterday what I think everybody around LSU feels which is basically I'm going to PA phrase here 10 wins isn't good enough anymore he said you know 10 wins around here gets you fired or can get you fired um and that is certainly the way that it can be around LSU and you know this is I think everyone's getting a little bit tired of LSU the last two years uh going nine and three in the regular season and then uh ending up with 10 wins uh because of the bow game you know that's been a great you know sort of turnaround from where LC was was the last the two years before that at the end of the Ed oron era going 11 and 12 over two seasons um but this is a team now that really wants to be in college football playoff contention and have one of those 12 spots in the expanded playoff at the end of the year um there's a lot of still you know things to kind of figure out about this group and whether or not they are capable of actually being in one of those spots and playing meaningful games in November that to get into the playoff you know offensively like you said you're losing the heis winner you're losing two really good wide receivers who are both bitof sem my finalist and you know there's there but there's also things you know and uh with a quarterback who's been in the program for a while some talented receiver I'm almost burying the lead here a really good offensive line in a defense that maybe is actually going to be getting better you know it's I think it's one of those things we'll have to see to believe in the season opener but we're seeing some positive signs on that side of the ball here very early in Camp I read that quote and that's absolutely true and especially with fans because sometimes fans uh have overe expectations especially with LSU football and they think if you're not you know if you're not uh in the national championship game then you failed and sometimes that's true but sometimes expectations is a little bit um a little bit crazy here in in Southeast Louisiana but you know one thing about this team is it's it's now not that it wasn't before but there's no question now that this is Brian Kelly's team the most of these guys here are Brian Kelly's guys and uh obviously they're buying in but you know it it just feels like it's it's Brian Kelly's group now right oh it does you know there this is you know look back two years ago coming into I guess really is his first spring practice I was going to say camp but I think I'll go back to really spring practice there was so much emphasis and discussion about just getting players to buy into what he was selling you know and understanding what it is that he wants from them especially with all the things that he's asked for off the field with uh you know he talks a lot about accountability this year here going into year three Brian Kelly talking about a team that's the most accountable that he's had at LSU that's really player Le and player uh driven which is a great thing for any football team you don't want that coming from the coaches you hear that from coaches all over the place that they want it to them to have player left teams you're hearing that out of LSU at the moment you know with guys like Garrett nus me a lot of people comp you know his teammates and Kelly have complemented his leadership and it is certainly a team that you know has now been crafted you know by Brian Kelly and by his staff there's guys who were here before he got here still but it seems like they've sort of all bought into you know at least you you hesitate to say that they've all bought into everything because you know that that's impossible with a team of 100 and plus people um but that they've at least sort of like under have a very deep understanding and are trying to get to what it is that he expects of them and I think you're getting that from the top down with these players and um that this is a team that should reflect uh should be kind of telling really you know three years in what kind of evaluation can we make of LSU at the end of the year is going to be rather fascinating because that's always sort of a Time year three year four when you can sort of start to look up and during your coaching tenure and really have a better understanding of um you know what that coach is doing we can never know what in this in the head of an 18 to 22 year old as a you know as a dad I'm just saying it's hard enough to find out what what my 26 year old is thinking much less uh you know 120 something year old so there you go um look you you brought up Garrett nus and I want to start with him when you're talk about players are at least units and um it seems like he's been in this program forever um and he's finally getting his chance to to shine it's hard to believe it was even a semi quarterback controversy two years ago and maybe even a little bit last year but you know the what he showed in the bowl game last year and that could bring momentum into this year and I think look if you're looking for somebody to replace a Heisman Trophy winner you know I just want to get your feel of where he is in Camp right now but I don't think in college football you really could do much better than Garrett NM so far in Camp Garrett looks like he's in control of things you know he's thrown some interceptions and before everybody freaks out because of Garrett's sort of Checker decision-making earlier in his career that's tends to happen in Camp like that's not I think gonna be indicative of what happens during the season um you know is he gonna probably throw a few more interceptions Dan Daniels who through four last year and one of his best qualities was way to protect the football yeah he might throw a few more but you know he only had the one in his first start and and I think that some of them here so far in Camp for him kind of testing things out taking some chances because that's how you find out what you can do and what you can get out of your receivers so I think he just looked really has looked really in control of the offense there's been some glimpses where you're seeing his arm Talent downfield you know airing some throws out to Chris Hilton in one-on ones and you know Finding guys uh you know deep down field he's also taking checkdowns when they're sort of necessary and seven on seven and it's really early they only get the fullon pads tomorrow but I I like what I've seen so far to gmer like I'm not worried about it based on this part of Camp um he's been in the program like you mentioned after for a while he should have a good understanding of this offense and I think he's going to be just fine this season if LSU is not winning games I'll be surprised if he's like the reason why they're not you know and one thing about this offense and you know I've been saying it for the last month maybe two months however long that this offensive unit certainly could be overall a top five offense maybe even better than that I think they have the potential to be the best offense in college football but I certainly think that you know that a realistic ceiling is top five in college football do you think that they have that potential let's see you know I think there's gonna there's going to be natural regression from last year when LSU had the number two offense in school history but it was also the know the number one offense in the country before I get confuse anybody number one offense in the country the second best offense in school history between behind the 2019 team yeah that's that be beat exactly I feel like there's going to be some natural aggression be just because it's hard not to when you lose the guys that they've lost on the skill positions and with Jaden Daniels a quarterback I mean this is a guy who won the Heisman Trophy it's going to be hard to just come in and then replace everything that he was able to do last year and LSU's stylistically is going to be very different anyway but I feel like the ceiling for me is probably top 10 top five offense you got to be really clicking on all cylinders and be incredibly efficient and they're you know this is a group that is going to be they don't have last year there was so much remember about like going into year two with so many guys coming back um in year two in an offense you got some new additions here like Chris Hilton we need to see him really take a step up and actually be a like a number two in the SEC CJ Daniels a receiver transferring over from Liberty he needs to be able to slide into the SEC and continue to produce at a high level Karen Lacy has to be able to really assert himself as the number one I think he's going to have a good year but that's still something that has to show in the midst of a season and during actual games LC's got a lot of things to like on offense in terms of especially you know starting with the offensive line I think a group of running backs that's got some real talent in there especially Caleb Jackson can kind of break out but again listen to all these ifs and all these things that have to happen um that I feel like there's quite a few of those and um you got a first-time play caller with Joe Sloan and so that for me it's the top 10 is kind of the ceiling um but I also feel like the floor is like top 25 like I don't think they're G to drop back in plummet one thing that I think uh the reason why I'm so high on them is not just all the players that you just mentioned but look I I don't think there's any doubt that this offensive line is one of the best in in the country for sure and you know you got four guys returning from that number two offense well the number one offense in the country that you talked about last year uh four of them return uh you just have a uh a center excuse me a a red shared Freshman Center that's coming in but this offensive line can be absolutely dominating and when you're talking about a quarterback that's coming in to to play his you know first real snaps for an extended period of time that is crucial it absolutely is and you know LSU is doing a couple different things offensively not only and and one of them is changing the Run game and that all really kind of starts with the offensive line so not only is it that LSU has this offensive line to keep Garrett nus upright and comfortable in the pocket which is as you said is going to be incredibly vital for him as you know going on the road and being a starter in you know like uh in the in the SEC for the first time um but also as they kind of Chang this run game last year was so predicated on everything around what Jaden Daniels could do with his legs LSU was inside Zone Zone read uh now you're going to see a lot more variety in the Run game they'll still have those inside handoffs of course but there're also going to be you know some outside tosses we saw them line up in the pistol formation yesterday that's not something that was in The Playbook the last couple years or if it was it wasn't used and now you're seeing you know this these offensive linemen that are so talented like Will Campbell and Emer Jones pulling and getting out on the edge um to seal you know a rush Lane for Caleb Jackson and for the rest of these running backs Josh Williams and and such and so this offensive line everything starts in with this offensive line for LSU um whereas last year there was so much you know kind of uh the strength was all in this I think really in the skill positions not the offensive line was bad as Joe Mo award finalist you know I think your your high your stars in some ways actually on the offensive line even though it's a position that often gets overlooked at the end of the year we could be talking about this as maybe the best offensive line that LSU has ever had because you got two guys that book in tackles that might go in the first round of the draft yeah we're here with Wilson Alexander this morning this Wednesday morning dude podcast presented by evangelin Securities talk about you talk about your two tackles your bookends bookends that could be first round picks and if there is any bad news you know those four guys that we talk about returning they all could be in towards the top of the NFL draft next year because they're all eligible to go so uh there'll be some turnover there but you know man these guys have a chance to really show why they do belong among the some of the elite uh offensive linemen in the country I you know you don't go into a season that hyped up about an offensive line but I really do with these guys and Will Campbell you talked about with the quote of of him saying 10 wins isn't acceptable here in LSU you gotta love left tackles coming out and just talking smack uh in in early August absolutely and I mean especially a guy like will like this is one of your team leaders he's wearing number seven for a reason yeah I mean think about that like how the I think that's gonna look weird by the Way's just the seven up on the shoulder the back um it's It looks interesting though at practice though when you've got this big giant number seven pulling out into the edge and you know crushing a a cornerback uh on a run play um that that is always kind of fun to watch him do that in that in that seven jersey but um you know you're getting that from a team leader you're getting that from your best player on the team uh arguably is Will Campbell and um you know he sort that sort of sets the tone and he's I think he's gonna have a really really good season talk about the receivers a little bit and you talked about kyen Lacy and Chris hton and obviously those two guys are important but you know to me Mason Taylor is right to me seems to be ready to take a big step up as well and could be one of the better tight ends in in the nation because he's been a three-year starter or will be a three-year starter Mason Taylor could end his LSU career as the most productive tight end in LSU history uh you know there he didn't do a whole lot last year so it's sort of like kind of hard for me to believe when I first realized that he only needs 17 catches and 191 yards to have the alltime career records for receptions and yards by a tight end um and you know he literally there hasn't been like a singular season that moss in 2019 Richard Dixon was had some too um that was like truly Transcendent as a tight end in LSU history and I I feel like Mason could maybe push around for that with some of these like single season tight end records LSU has uh I think that they're going to go to him a lot more than they did last year I think that you'll see him even in some you know deeper routes over the middle more in the short and intermediate passing game um LSC was such a vertical downfield pass team last year and I think in some ways it still will be but I expect to see maybe a little bit more balance from short all the way through the Deep routes but Mason was barely targeted over 10 yards down field last year I think that's going to change and I expect him to be a big part of this offense one of the things we've seen in Camp is him getting the ball quite often and so I feel like Garrett trusts him is comfortable with him as a checkdown but I think he's also going to be more than a checkdown option for this offense and could end up as you know one of the team's you know top players at the end of the year and really end up having a season that you look at l tight ends over the course of you know team history here really ends up being one of the better ones that they've had yeah there's there's no doubt about it I think that he he will take that big step up and uh I think those numbers uh those with 17 catches or whatever less than 200 yards that'll be done in in the first few weeks of the Season most likely talk a little bit before we move on talk a little bit about the uh the running backs and obviously there Josh Williams who really stepped up last year but you talked about Caleb Jackson a little bit John ery who was going to leave and then he came back but he's still coming off of a major injury as well I'm a little bit worried about running back depth yeah I understand why you would be worried about it LSU's only got the four scholarship running backs right now with Trey Holly you know out still because of his legal issues but I I understand the worry but I wouldn't be too concerned because I feel like LSU's got four solid options here um you know Josh Williams is just a steady reliable player I think Caleb Jack especially let me phras that statement a little bit I don't think you need to be worried as long as Caleb Jackson can really take a step from his freshman year and turn the flashes that we saw him have as a freshman into like really consistent you know games like game over game performances where he's doing those sorts of things on like an almost an every down basis because if he's able to live up to the sort of physical potential that he has then he's going to be an absolute star and so you've got him and you got Josh Williams kind of right at the top emry they're working him in a lot here so far in Camp I think trying to get him really comfortable and confident on the ACL because he he looks physically fine like he's doing everything he's uninhibited he's wearing a brace on his right knee but like he hasn't had to be you know Limited at all during uh preseason camp so far and he's getting a lot of touches Ryan Kelly said that's kind of intentional that they want to make sure that he has that confidence on the knee and he's doing a lot he looks like you know looks really good for someone who is about nine months or so coming off of an ACL injury and so you know you kind of got those top three and then kadum Durham is kind of getting in the mix at this point sort of getting his legs underneath him but we've seen in the past you know running back be a position where across not just delsu but across college football it's a little bit easier sometimes to play as a freshman because there isn't necessarily as much uh demanded of you SK like in sort of like you know within the Playbook you know just be able to take the ball and run sometimes and I think that K Kaden Durham can help with that when you got pass protection coming from Josh Williams in particular and Caleb Jackson can improve in that area then I feel like LSU is going to have quite a few options we'll see if anyone ends up being like a clearcut rb1 or they just kind of rotate but either way I feel like they're going to be okay at that position get get what they need out of it seems like I was covering John Emery at dustan high like 10 years ago and he's still around so we'll see you know I I have an interesting feeling we were talking about this on another show a couple weeks ago I could see him having just like you know a good season Good Enough season to give him a chance in the NFL and then actually making it I think he's actually got the the frame and the that he could end end up being an NFL running back but uh guess I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself let's talk a little bit about the defense um obviously the offense last year was way ahead of the defense do you feel like that that Gap maybe has closed a little bit this defense first of all change in coaching staff second of all um I just don't know that they that secondary especially could do much worse than they did last year I do I IES itate to say anything definitive five days in the preseason camp about a position and especially an entire defense that was so bad last year because you know you kind of want to see it happen against USC like to really confirm what your eyes are seeing here in practices but it does feel like the defense has gotten better um is it so much incrementally better that it's like a top five defense in the SEC where it really kind of needs to be for LSU uh long term no it might not be there but you know there's some concerns I think in the Run game still up front where we saw like yesterday LC's offensive line opening up some big holes in the Run game and I feel like they're going to have to continue to get better in that respect but here's the things that we are seeing that kind of gives me at least a little bit of confidence compared to what I saw out of this defense watching preseason practice last year they're more competitive with the ball in the air um are they still getting beat at times yes they are but they're also actually making some plays we barely saw them make plays at all during preseason practice last year especially in the secondary we're actually seeing like Ashton stamps has two intercept during like some team period seven on seven stuff so far almost had another one at practice on Tuesday he's got some pass breakups PJ Woodland has some pass breakup Sage Ryan had a pass breakup today you know I think that's coming from for two reasons my theory is one is that they're actually playing you know more man coverage uh that's something that they want to be able to do with this defense something that Cory Raymond has been coaching them on since preseason practice exuse me since spring practice you know they're actually you know just sort of putting themselves in positions to make plays more but they've also I think just gotten somewhat a little bit better you know part of it is guys young guys like Ashton stamps coming up through the program after a year of development getting coaching from someone like Cory Raymond um they're they're able to actually be in position and then actually sometimes even make a play and you know I I I don't know until games start going exactly how good this defense is going to be how much I didn't even I even say good and give anybody false hope but how much more improved this defense is going to be but I do think they're going to be a little bit more competitive with the ball in the air and I think they're going to be much more aggressive we've already seen you know Blake Baker SP sending blitzes here through the first you know few weeks of Camp that's a Hallmark of his defense and that's something that LSU kind of needs to be which is aggressive I was reading Reed Darcy's story a little while ago as well they were talking about how uh also instituting a new dime package as well and just trying to change things up a little bit from last year and so just the new scheme uh Wilson can can do a whole lot for this team in my my opinion I heard Blake Baker say at one point in Spring practice that the number one goal for this defense is Havoc last year you saw an LSU defense that was Bend but don't break as much as it could be playing on its heels just very conservative that is not the philosophy with this defense it is aggression we were talking to Jacobi and gillery and Greg pin yesterday and one of the things that Blake Baker says in their meeting rooms when they're watching film is no poodles he doesn't want any poodles on the defense um and if the players even get like a a sheet uh their statistics and practice every day and there's a column dedicated to poodles and if they the coaches thought that you were soft which is what that means at what point in practice there's a little one in the column for you if if they thought that there was a play where maybe you shot away from contact or something like that and that's just one of the ways they're trying to make this defense a little bit more aggressive uh Phil you know with that mindset I think schematically he just does things that are more uh aggressive to create havoc and disruption that's what they want to do that's the name of the game for them and so I think you know we're going to see a different style defense um just because that's what Blake Blaker is bringing uh to this to this team well luckily there's no one named Jack Russell on this defense otherwise you might might have a problem I mean we need some we need some pit bulls we need some Dobermans back there so whatever coal Carolina coach from a few years back say he need some dogs need some dogs yeah it's been a long time since I heard that um well you know who could wreck havoc is Harold Perkins so at least you know that uh this defense has some Stars on and Harold Perkins to me one of the problems I had not one of the problems the major problem I had with last year's defense was Harold Perkins I don't think he ever got to feel comfortable last year because kind of got moved around a little bit he never seemed to be in the same spot and I'm not saying he's gonna be in the same spot nor should he be every single snap or whatever but I think this this defense has a chance to to get him back to where he was two years ago and if that is the case this guy could be one of the top defensive players in college football well he he could be we know that the potential is there the the talent is there as a rusher uh the thing is with Harold you know he's going to be playing more inside linebacker um that's going to be back that's the position that they put him in uh against for state last year it was kind of a disaster and they ended up moving him to outside backer and like you said he wasn't used the ton as like a rush Edge player like he was as a freshman and Harold was still just probably L's most disruptive defensive player but he was doing it over more snaps and it wasn't as clear as when you know as it was when he was a freshman and I I'm still kind of like curious to see as we go through Camp if we get any indication exactly like where they're going to have Herold how he's going to be used and all those sorts of different things what we've seen so far dating back to the spring is a lot of play at inside linebacker when El he's kind of in his base 425 defense the two inside backers are Harold and Greg Pinn but we've also seen some combinations uh particularly in practice on Tuesday where you had Greg pin and Whit weeks inside backer and then Harold Perkins kind of working on the Edge um and I think you're going to see that a lot in particular on third down when LSC gets in that situation where trying to G pressure on third down and get to the quarterback I feel like Harold perk is going to be coming off the edge most then but on first and second down again Blake Baker likes the S blitzes I feel like we'll see Harold used in some of those situations too so they're trying to get him ready at inside linebacker he's up to 225 pounds now um and be able to play that in traditional Inside the Box position but if everything goes according to plan and he's used properly you'll see him getting after the passer quite a bit too because Blake Baker is good at using his linebackers that way few more minutes here this morning with Wilson Alexander on the Wednesday attitude podcast brought to you by Evangel Securities being recorded on a Tuesday afternoon just because that's when Wilson can do it he is a very busy man he's working like 70 80 hours a week right now but that's you know we we we go into this business Wilson I say this all the time but we go to sleep in August and we wake up and it's January I mean that's that's the life of a sports Rider isn't it it is it is um especially going back and forth as you mentioned my wife cancer treatment is getting it's getting done in Houston so I'm going back and forth in Houston a ton to say how are you hand how are you handling all that I mean that's you know that's got to take its toll as well it does it does I I try to stay on a you know get enough sleep every night is really the thing and sort of try to take care of myself when I can um but you know it's it's nice to be in football season though and kind of just have that going on I mean gosh love college football so uh you know that's kind of something something enjoyable going on too well I tell you it's going on every day for the next uh five months that's for sure uh before I do want to ask you a real quick a question about the schedule but I want to end here with the Personnel part of it with this defense and you talked about the defensive line and maybe they struggled a little bit against some of look the one good thing for this defensive line who I think actually could be pretty decent is they're going up against this the this aforementioned offensive line that could be one of the best in the country if not the best in the country so when you're going against that every day in practice that certainly gets you ready for the rigers of the SEC well they say iron sharpens iron in this case it might be you know Iron sharpening some other kind of metal and making and getting this defense to a little bit more of an iron sharpens iron kind of situation um because I think that there is you know we got there's so many new players here on this defensive tackle uh position in particular with you you're looking at three guys like Dominic McKinley Gio Pas and jvr sugs who um are practicing with LSU for the first time three guys who are you know a lot of attention is around pasz has been a consistent starter alongside Jacobian gillery those two will certainly be in the rotation if they are not actually the starters on this defense at tackle um with Suggs and McKinley they're kind of rotating and I think LSU is sort of continuing to see who else can play um you know Shan washhington is somebody made some steps forward uh since the spring um but it needs to continue to do so Kimo moli the former offensive lineman is kind of in the mix you got McKinley in there as well um and then Jaylen Lee you know who's been out of practice because he's been catching up on a Spanish course has to complete his academic requirements there from the summer um you know he'll be someone who they are looking at it too so you know I don't I think they're okay on the edges they need to get more out of Savon Jones than they did last year um but bradden Swinson was a productive player last last year and so I feel like they're going to be probably okay on the edges it's just up the middle um can they really set the tone there up the middle like you need to at defensive tackle is going to be the big question yeah I I think they have potential there and you talk about rotating players in and out and I mean that kind of shows that this unit does have some depth so that's obviously a good thing we'll see how it goes going forward again new defensive coordinat a new scheme I think things can only get better for elsu on that side of the football we'll see how it goes especially early on as we move on and finish up here with the schedule part and you know you and I have have talked about this schedule a little bit before and one thing this team has to do um right now there it's a if you look at Las Vegas odds elu is basically even money or their abouts to make the 12 team playoff and they're ranked number 12 and so they're you know GNA go in with with that thinking they have basically a 50-50 shot to get in there but to be able to do that well there's no question in my mind that you have to win these first five games and the good news is five out of the next four out of the next five excuse me at home with just the one road game in South Carolina I think this CH this team has a real chance to start five and0 and make that Old Miss game with a by week before one of these National Big Time games potentially two top 10 teams playing each other if that is the case going in October 12 we're going to find out a lot about this LSU team over the first month of the season not necessarily because they're going up against big ranked opponents but because of sort of the situ who they're playing in sort of some of the situations in which they're playing them USC a team that was not good defensively last year very similar to LSU but again Marquee matchup in Las Vegas LSU is not won a season opener since 2019 can they finally go and win a season opener against a bigname program like USC one that's still got some really good pieces on the offensive side of the ball and is going to test that defense right away with guys like Zachariah branch um so you know they can win that one then I do think you're looking at a four game stretch um that is rather manageable um but again where you're getting a get a nice test playing at South Carolina even though that's a noon game local time uh so Williams Bryce Stadium doesn't have the chance to be quite as rockus as it can be at night that's a a pretty hostile atmosphere they get that St storm going with all their shakers um and those fans show up and especially if they're in a game they will be loud and that South Carolina team I don't think is very good this coming into this year um they lost their best player in Spencer Rattler um but they are still again going on the road in the SEC at a stadium that can really ratchet it up in terms of the noise level and and throw teams off on the road uh it's going to be a nice test for them and then you get UCLA coming here to Baton Rouge don't know what to make of UCLA first year coach all those things again seems manageable but another team with some you know Marquee sort of name to it that it feels like you know at least it in certain positions they should be able to be you know have powerful four players and so I feel like there's a good chance to go Five-0 going into that Old Miss game especially you can make it past USC but they'll get some good tests along the way and I think we'll have a pretty decent idea of whether or not this team is wor capable of competing for college football playoff spot by the time they're going into that Old Miss game because they have gotten some nice tests and if they beat Old Miss too then it really feels like okay this is a team that can can make some noise here that that would be crazy if they did that if they they start six and0 with a win against all Miss and you're talking about top five territory because whoever if those teams go and I don't have Old Miss schedule in front of me so I don't know what the chances of them going to that game are undefeated um but if they you know those teams are undefeated the winner of that one's probably gonna be in the top five I mean and in all honesty you would think so getting USC at the right time they Caleb Williams no longer there so they're gonna be playing their first game without Caleb Williams and talk about South Carolina not just losing smel Rattler but also a early second round wide pick and a wide receiver as well so that's right I mean you know so a lot of talent that this team's playing and another thing is you know you look at this schedule and you do go to Vegas it's a neutral neutral side game there'll be plenty of tigers fans there but there's only four Road games the rest of the year on the entire schedule and and I've said this before if you're talking about SEC schedules by regular SEC standards it's never easy right but I don't know that it gets much easier than this in the SEC because your two toughest games are unquestionably Old Miss and Alabama you play them both at home and then your other games Vandy and Florida let's face it they probably aren't going to be very good this year what are Arkansas and Texas A&M gonna be Texas A&M got to be better than they were last year and Oklahoma seems to be taking a step down as well as they enter the SEC so honestly if you could draw up a schedule with the teams that you pretty much have to play I don't know that it gets any better than that especially the draw that LSU got going into the first year of the expanded SEC with Texas and Oklahoma not having to go on the road to either of those places right you get Oklahoma at home all of your toughest games as you've mentioned are at home with ol Miss Alabama and Oklahoma and then you got a really interesting one at home with UCLA um just kind of makes it for a great home slate but the teams that are really your toughest ones again H and Tiger Stadium in the hundredth year of Tiger Stadium so it feels like maybe it could be even amped up a little bit more especially if the team's good and so um it is fa able I think for LSU to be able to manage those tests because like I mentioned South Carolina that's a nice road test but like you're not having to go week three at Texas you know like Georgia is having to go at Texas at Alabama Florida has just a really intimidating schedule unless you looked out without having that it's got some tough teams on there but it gets them in the favorable location yeah sorry Billy nap here I don't know that uh this is going to be the best uh year ever for for him he may be looking for for a job after this year is over and you know we we didn't even mention you know Mighty Vanderbilt I mean you know there there's that so that that's a good way to Thanksgiving week the week uh before Thanksgiving you get to play Vandy all right uh Wilson I'm gonna do the same thing with you that I did with Ross Jackson last week so Ross I asked give me a percent I didn't want to I don't want you to predict a record um I'm going to ask you for a percentage that you think LSU makes the 12 team playoff for the Saints he said just above 50% which I think is overly optimistic my percentage on it's it's a lot different in college football because only 12 teams out of you know 100 and whatever Mak it so I I'm gonna put LSU's percentage like right smack dab at 50% if I asked you below 50 at 50 or around there or above 50% would it what kind of odds are you thinking this LSU football team makes the playoff that's an interesting way to to put it I'm going below 50% okay to make the playoff because also keep in mind like a group of five team gets an automatic bid um into that as well so you can't just finish 12th you really go to finish 11th um and LSU is probably going to be around that but maybe I don't understand these uh the odds and the percentages as well as I should but I feel like it would be below 50% chance to make the playoff for me um if they you know my opinion might change around October 12th if they are six and0 after beating all Miss then I feel like they've got a good shot with really you can afford to L because then one of the three against Miss Alabama and Oklahoma or even better two of the three yeah then yeah I think that they're in the playoff it really comes down to those three games for me and um but I think that it's going to be hard for them to get through the schedule and go like 10 and two um which is where they really got to be um so I guess I'll say below 50% so you think you think there there is a decent chance that there's a slip up somewhere else you think it's in that first five do you think there'll be five and0 going into that Old Miss game I don't know today it's too early it's tough yeah I don't know I'm asking you on August 6 though but I know I need to see more from the defense throughout Camp um and just kind of like watch things continue to unfold um and get a better idea of what USC really is too as much as that I can from over here um to know I feel like that that's the one where when you're looking at those first five games if there's a loss it's probably you know against USC unless Vegas if they were to come out flat in that game um if they're able to control the line of scrimmage uh which is usually the thing that's kind of sunk USC against like Utah when it's lost to Utah last few years then LSU is probably G to be in in decent shape to win the game but um if they if they were to lose against USC then all of a sudden you're talking about like oh what if they lose you know two of those three to Old Miss Alabama Oklahoma that's maybe a nine and3 season maybe there's a slip up somewhere else and and then you're really not in contention so I think uh they really got to win the opener and if they can do that and set the tone for the season a little bit better and give themselves a little bit of wiggle room which you have now as a college football team in an expanded playoff then maybe those chances for me go above 50% but at the moment I'll say below 50% well the good news is that USC is not Florida State so that that that that is the good news I tell you what we will have you on at some point either maybe just before the open or right after the opener and we'll let you make uh an amended prediction on that that same how does that sound that sounds good yeah let's reevaluate in a few weeks all right well look it is hot out there you know that already I don't know how you deal with all that and I don't know how those players deal with it but maybe that's just because I'm an old man and I know I couldn't deal with it today but either way Wilson thank you for doing what you do and uh we'll keep reading you here the at The Advocate thank you Jim have a great rest of your day great segment I I I found it interesting that he's not a homer okay Post-interview he's not a homer he's covering it as straight down the line as he possibly can because a homer says over 50% right he says below 50% which is even lower than me and you know that I'm as far as reality goes I try to keep it as real as possible so I found that an interesting uh interesting prediction there um I can't say that he's wrong by the way we're talking about Old Miss schedule whether they'll start five and0 well they actually have six games before they play LSU and they do not have a by week like LSU has they got to go on the road before they play LSU so that'll be the second in a row second Road game in a row for them but their schedule's not hard they have an excellent chance to be six and0 so you're talking about potentially two undefeated teams and if you do again like I said you this is you're gonna be talking about two teams certainly in the top 10 when they meet if they both go undefeated and potentially top five if they both go there's no doubt in my mind if they if LSU and ol Miss are both undefeated going to that game the winner is in the top five without question after that game's over Old Miss schedule starts like this they open on August 31st the day before LSU plays they are home against Ferman a win they're home against the next week against Middle Tennessee State a win they go in the road why are they going on the road to Wake Forest they have no idea but that's a win they host Georgia Southern you know Georgia Southern is one of those teams they'll they'll win that game but that's one of those teams that always finds a way to make it make you a little nervous whether they will I or not I don't know but then they're home for Kentucky and then they travel to South Carolina so that looks like six and0 to me just saying so imagine if he got six and0 against 5-0 on I guess it'd be on ABC because ABC has the SEC now that's gonna be weird too by the way it's gonna be hard for me to get adjusted to CBS and Brad I like Brad nestler a lot and you know man that's that's gonna be really hard to get used to so all right well we're gonna move on but uh it's been a long show but I have a really cool one of my favorite extra points that we've had since the Rebrand in March um and I'll tell you why in a minute so stick around for the extra point don't don't leave me yet first you got to hear this we told you earlier we would let you know more about how Evangel insecurities can help you figure out what your family run or privately held business might be worth and whether it's time to sell we already guessed your biggest question of how much is my business worth Jim Derry well don't ask me I can't tell you neither can Uncle Joe or Ralph down the street they have no idea whatever they tell you it's bull bleep don't listen to him because evangelin will schedule a complimentary valuation of your company and they're the experts so what would be next if you decide to proceed native New Orleans Nick braen Ron heelton the folks at evangelin will begin an extensive auction process among established private Equity Funds from around the world and they will maximize the return process for the founder and his or her family evangelin doesn't need pre-season their starters are always on the field and they are the top producer on their platform there are very few companies like like them in this area none with their dedication and success they are fully licensed and ready to serve you so get in touch with Nick and Ron about what is really important the rest of your life you can find them at www. evangelin Extra Point securities.com all right extra point all right anybody my age or I don't know 40 something or older rememberers this butt whooping that's right for today is extra point we go back 31 years ago today I can't believe that was 31 years ago 31 years ago not today to this past Sunday on August 4th 1993 I would think I was younger on August 4th 1993 than Gabe Henderson is now I was definitely a bigger idiot that's a whole different story it was the greatest baseball fight ever why because a 46-year-old man made a statement indeed the greatest strikeout pitcher in the history of the game taught 26-year-old Robin Ventura a lesson the old school way here's one minute and 37 seconds of one of my favorite sports clips of all time here's Ventura RBI single in the first watch out look at this [Applause] wow now Rodriguez wants to start things back up right here and there's Lamont and here we go again I cannot see who is in the middle Bo is in there if somebody drags [Applause] out Doug mansolino Jeff Schwarz boy Micki Hatcher's got a pretty good cut over his right eye as you can see right there so as we mentioned Robin venturo drilled on the first pitch by Nolan Ryan took exception to it and decided he was just going to charge the [Applause] mound Robin Ventura got his ass whooped I ain't no way other way to say it you saw in that clip former White Sox manager genan Lamont L his mind and maybe the greatest athlete of all time Bo Jackson playing Peacemaker even Bo knows you don't mess with Nolan Ryan the best part of it all was simple don't mess with a grumpy old dog because he will bite you in the keester OR in this case with an uppercut to the nose again and again and again you could use that theory with this show yeah I like that remember the late great Toby Keith once saying I ain't as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was and we will be even better on Friday Final thoughts when we have to get to part four of our eight-part series and previewing the 2024 NFL season division by division with our friend Larry holder the athletic I might have an uppercut in there for you this week we wrap up the AFC with the AFC South will it be gabes Houston Texans about the Cults of jaguars maybe even nah we thank our own Wilson Alexander and of course Gabe Henderson even if maybe his LSU Mount Rushmore was a little shaky no I liked it I'm just kidding reminder to subscribe to our dude YouTube page click the little bell to receive notifications when we go on the air live you can also find us wherever you get your podcasts including Apple Spotify and many more you can also find a replay of the show on nola.com SL sports we will see you on Friday remember the AC is your best friend the heat meiser he's just a jackweed stay cool New Orleans take it easy my friends if you're looking for The Latest Scoop and in-depth interviews on the Saints the NFL the Pelicans LSU along with the Best Bets of the week then lucky you along with high-powered in the no guests who cover our teams Jim Derry brings plenty of dude and he'll always tell you the way it is or at least the way he thinks it is