HOOVER, Ala. — Gator Country brings you a new podcast as we preview the Florida Gators portion of SEC Media Days on Monday in Hoover, Alabama.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre break down what they’re looking forward to as coach Jim McElwain, linebacker Jarrad Davis, safety Marcus Maye and offensive lineman David Sharpe will represent the Gators.
Andrew and Nick also break down some hot topics surrounding the Florida Gators recruiting efforts heading into the stretch run of the summer months that includes Friday Night Lights.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with my man, Nicholas de la Torre. Live from Hoover. Nicholas, Media Days is here. This means football season’s here, so let’s go. Are you ready? I know this is a great time for you as well as me.
Nick: I love SEC Media Days it is one of my favorite events, especially the off season. It’s like we said before, it kind of, to me, signals the start of football season. Selfishly, it’s kind of a cool trip for us. We know a lot of the writers, and they live in Atlanta, or they live in Lexington or Nashville, and it’s a cool event where everybody, national, B writers, everyone is together. It’s a good time, and there’s some good stories that are told at the bar after a couple drinks.
Andrew: Don’t be telling our secrets. We’re not going to get this paid for anymore if you give away all our secrets. I mean, like you said, it’s a good event. It’s good for several different reasons, and the main reason, like I said before, it signals football season. You look that you hit on now. Next week is Friday Night Lights. You follow that up with the start of fall camp, and after fall camp starts it’s hell breaks loose until after that bowl game, and I guess really until after Signing Day in February. All hell breaks loose as of tomorrow at noon when Commissioner Sankey comes out and talks, and then Coach Mac follows.
Nick: No, Mac will be in the afternoon, but, yeah. Sankey gives his, what do you like to call it? The state of the SEC, and that’ll really kick things off, and then it’s full steam ahead. So it’ll be fun. It’ll be interesting to see what Jim McElwain and what Florida’s message is. Sankey will, of course, be talking about satellite camps. That’s a hot button issue, so after the month of craziness that you had to deal with, thank God that wasn’t me having to deal with it, after that crazy month, it’s kind of a learning period. So they’ll figure that out, and I’m sure we’ll hear about that tomorrow, and then, of course, Jim McElwain will take the stand. I’m interested to see what his approach is in Year 2, because he did a very good job. Everyone’s saying he won the interview and stuff like that. Interested to see what he’s like Year 2 with this crop of guys that he’s bringing.
Andrew: I think we can both agree it’s not going to be too much different. Maybe this year people won’t laugh at his 15 opportunities, because you and I both know, I think you already have the story written, Coach Mac says 15 opportunities to win the game, and there ain’t no damn participation ribbons this year.
Nick: The story I’m writing is where is Jalen Tabor? Where is Jalen Tabor? I’m going to be tuned in on Periscope, maybe even show Mac Jalen’s Periscope. I am bummed. Jalen Tabor should be here. Jalen Tabor would have stolen the show at Media Days. That would have been what everybody talked about on Monday.
Andrew: Right now Jalen Tabor’s out at the Opening getting a lot of sweet ass Nike gear, and recruiting for the Gators. Maybe Coach Mac had some kind of plan up here. Send him out recruit, better than making a fool of himself, because that’s exactly what he would have done had he come to Birmingham. Coach Mac wouldn’t have liked that transcript he got from Jalen Tabor.
Nick: He wouldn’t have made a fool of himself though. Jalen Tabor has been awesome with the media. He might say some outlandish things, but it’s nothing that is bad. I like, not saying that I agree or disagree with his stance with all of the shootings and what’s going on in New Orleans and across the country, but it’s nice to see a player who has some kind of influence. Athletes have influence, social influence. Nice to see someone take advantage of that and to take a stand. Jalen Tabor’s got opinions. He’s going to let you know what his opinions are. Jalen Tabor would have crushed Media Days. I’m a little disappointed. There’s not, Jarrad Davis is a great quote, great talker. Marcus Maye’s kind of quiet, and David Sharpe’s kind of quiet. So I don’t know what kind of buzz the players are going to create, but Jarrad Davis is awesome.
Andrew: I wasn’t saying make a fool of himself as far as his opinion on the social issues going out in America. I’m saying he would say something dumb. I would love it. We’re going to kick Tennessee’s ass. That’s probably one of the things he’d have said. He doesn’t like Tennessee. I’m saying Mac’s a conservative guy, no bulletin board kind of stuff. That’s Jalen Tabor. Now as far as would I have liked it? Absolutely, because I could have been able to write Butch Jones really sucks, says Jalen Tabor.
Nick: Jalen Tabor would have spit hot fire, and I can’t get over it. I can’t get over that Jalen Tabor is not here. I needed it in my life, and I’m not getting it.
Andrew: We had Money Manziel. We had Dominic Easley. We’ve had some good ones here. Who’s going to steal the show? OJ Howard is going to say something stupid. You can guarantee that, and we get to see that, the alien, Josh Dobbs.
Nick: That’s not nice, Andrew.
Andrew: Nice things don’t come from Knoxville. That’s how we go. No, let’s move on a little bit here. You just said it, Jarrad Davis, David Sharpe, Marcus Maye. I think you’ll get some very mature answers, for sure. I’m going to say I’m interested to see what David Sharpe says. You and I both are in agreement, David Sharpe’s headed to the NFL after this year, barring a catastrophic injury. Cross your fingers that doesn’t happen. Florida needs him big time, but he does need to get a little more comfortable in front of people. I think you and I both can agree he’s maybe not very comfortable in that. How does he do that, I mean, let’s be honest, he needs to be the captain of the offensive line. Does he take that approach this week? Then, I guess, Mac is probably the speaker for the offense as well, with Maye and Davis going there. Is Sharpe the guy you’re more interested to see how he does, or is it Maye or Davis?
Nick: You’re talking just about speaking tomorrow, or into the season?
Andrew: I’m talking about just tomorrow. Who are you interested, for me it’s David Sharpe. I know what I’m going to get from Marcus Maye. I know what I’m going to get from Jarrad Davis. I have no clue what David Sharpe’s going to be popping, except for being very shy.
Nick: You’re not going to get anything from David Sharpe. David Sharpe, when you’re around the guys people react differently. The first time C’yontai Lewis came, before last season, C’yontai, you and I know, C’yontai is loud. He’s funny. Ton of character, a ton of personality. He looked at us, and then looked at Coach McElwain, and he was like, do I have to do this? We never saw C’yontai again. He did one thing, hated it, didn’t like it. David Sharpe isn’t like that. He’s not going to be brought to tears, but he’s very quiet when there’s five of us around him after a practice. This is a circus. This is 60, 70, 80 cameras, people following you. You’re being asked the same questions over and over for three hours, and you’re going to different rooms. David Sharpe is not going to do well tomorrow.
Andrew: See, that’s my thing. I think that, A, I hope Florida’s done a good job of preparing him for what he’s about to walk into.
Nick: It’s like you said, though. David Sharpe isn’t going to say anything that’s going to make Florida have to be like, oh shit, like fix the mess. He’s not going to say anything that gets you into PR trouble, so from a Florida standpoint, yeah. From like a fan or a media standpoint, you’re not going to get anything entertaining from David Sharpe. It’s going to be very strict to the message. He might have like cue cards to read throughout the day.
Andrew: Cue cards, hell. Here we go. I’m going to steal those cue cards and flush them down the commode, and then David’s going to have to go from the hip.
Nick: This is why I need Jalen Tabor. I have to have him.
Andrew: You don’t have to have him. You don’t have to have him. I’ll supply the entertainment, just don’t worry about it. Just get someone to give me some shots at Tennessee, and the world will be okay.
Nick: I’m hurt. I’m hurt. I need Jalen Tabor here.
Andrew: We all need certain things in life. I wanted Luke Del Rio here, just because I wanted the quarterback to be here, but, you know, shit happens. I want to be at the All-Star game in San Diego, but shit happens. It is what it is, my good friend. Speaking of Jarrad Davis though, I think the story going into media days is kind of the story of his career at Florida. Jarrad Davis is one of the best football players in the country. Can we agree on that?
Nick: I’d say he’s up there. You need to see a little more well-rounded linebacker play from him, when it comes to just everything. Against the run he can bring the pain, hard hitter. Need to see a little bit more in pass coverage, for me, but I don’t know if there’s somebody out on the West Coast that I haven’t looked at yet. Certainly I think he’s one of the best in the conference.
Andrew: Yeah. You go into this, and you look, and you’re like, man, people weren’t even talking about Jarrad Davis being here. I think that is where your point about Jalen Tabor comes into play a little bit. Is Florida creating buzz and hype heading into Media Days with their three guys? I say no, but they should with Jarrad Davis. You get your boy, Jalen Tabor, you sure as hell get it. I guess, Tennessee can really say the same thing. They didn’t bring their best player possibly in Jalen Hurd here as well. Do you think maybe the SEC should start stepping in and saying, okay, this is who we want you to bring, or do you think it should continue to be in the coaching staff, because that’s who ultimately decides who they send?
Nick: I know that in years past the Sports Information Directors, people at Florida, have asked the media, who are you interested in bringing? Now that’s not like a give us a list, and we’re going to bring these people. I think if you asked the media, the local people that are covering the team, we have a very good grasp on, I understand you’re not going to bring a quarterback, because you haven’t named a starter, and if you bring one you’re essentially naming a starter, and that’s your storyline throughout Media Days. You brought him, that’s who you’re going with. We have a very good grasp of he doesn’t do well when there’s 10 of us after practice; he’s not going to do well in this setting. We know the guys, how they can handle it. So I think there should be more done between the schools and the journalists that are covering them, guys like me, guys like you, that are covering the team, to say the guys you’re bringing you’re not creating any kind of buzz with these guys.
If you look at it, there’s only three quarterbacks. There’s going to be buzz around Trevor Knight with Texas A&M, because that’s your big transfer quarterback. There’s going to be buzz, listen, I won’t get to that yet. There’s going to be buzz about Chad Kelly. Chad Kelly’s a Heisman contender. When you look up and down the list there’s really only three guys there. Leonard Fournette’s going to cause a buzz on Thursday. He was dressed to impress last year with those red pants and bow tie. Best running back in the country. I mean, Bert Bielema’s going to say something crazy. Nick Saban’s going to be here. That will be wild.
Andrew: The escalator will be full of fans.
Nick: And Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Reeves-Maybin has a good story. I know you don’t like anything from Tennessee, but good story coming back from injury. And Cam Sutton, Cam Sutton might have some choice words about Florida and Jalen Tabor maybe getting a little bit more hype than him. The Tennessee hype train is going to be in full force this week. Tennessee goes at 2:00PM on Tuesday. I’m not buying it, but I also don’t buy that they’re hyped every year. I know you disagree on that. There’s headlines that the guys Florida brought aren’t living up. They could have had a chance to really steal Media Day, for whatever that’s worth.
Andrew: Okay.
Nick: I apologize to everyone listening for what’s about to happen.
Andrew: Tennessee is always hyped, always hyped. They’re favored to beat Alabama. What in the hell do they smoke in Vegas to make them pick that?
Nick: I can put money right now that, I can put money on Alabama getting points against Tennessee?
Andrew: No. Tennessee is favored by double digits over Alabama out in, is it Beavington, the hotel. Whatever the hotel is that does the Vegas picks has Tennessee double digit favorites over Florida and Alabama, as of yesterday.
Nick: How do you turn like Bovada into Beavington?
Andrew: I didn’t know what it was, so I was like trying to picture it in my head. B, and there was a V, so Beavington, whatever. Anyway, how are you telling me that? Okay, yes. I’m going to ask Cam Sutton about his thing. Gator fans, if you want a story on the Florida/Tennessee rivalry, I’ll go into enemy territory and talk to the Vols. Tuesday, right?
Nick: Tuesday at 2:00.
Andrew: Tuesday at 2:00 I will go into enemy territory. I will drink a lot of caffeine and be ready to roll, and go get the Vols. Let me know if that’s it. Nick, let’s talk real quick about some Gator stuff before we head into some Opening talk. We want to talk a little bit of recruiting here. We’ll be back maybe Tuesday. We’ll be back Tuesday hopefully with another podcast recapping. Let’s talk. I want to talk real quick, because we also get to vote here for preseason team heading into it. Realistically, who can we expect for Florida to be on offense? Is David Sharpe there possibly? Antonio Callaway should find his way somewhere. Is that it maybe, in your opinion, Nick?
Nick: That’s absolutely it. That’s the other thing. We failed to mention it. I think we’re like 17 minutes in, failed to mention that. Will Jim McElwain actually address the Treon Harris and Antonio Callaway situation? No.
Andrew: No.
Nick: No.
Andrew: No way. You’ve went this long.
Nick: You have to. You have to.
Andrew: You have to do a lot of things, but he’s not. It’s the same thing as the quarterback situation. Nick, is there any man in America, a blind man who went out to practice could hear the ball pop a quarterback’s hand, and he would know which one is throwing it, and I’m not picking on that at all. It’s just simply an illustration that I’m saying. He’s went to hide his quarterback situation, who we all know. It’s not even as close as it was last year, and it wasn’t close last year, despite Treon getting that. He’s not addressing it, because guess what? That takes the story, not the 15 opportunities.
Nick: You have to address the status of those two guys. That will be, I would put more money on this than I would put on Alabama to beat Tennessee. That would be the first thing Jim McElwain is asked. What’s going on with these two guys? Not even really Treon Harris. What’s going on with the only guy on offense, or one of maybe two, that would be preseason all SEC?
Andrew: Okay. It will be asked, and it will probably be asked by Mark Long, the used car salesman. That’s who it’s going to be probably asked by, but I don’t think he addresses it. Back to my question, outside of Callaway and David Sharpe is that it, in your opinion? That’s the two going in. I think when you look at after the season goes, one of Goolsby, C’yontai could possibly find his way on. Tyler Jordan and Ivey have good seasons, they could find their way on a postseason team. Maybe one of your freshmen could find their way on there, but right now, preseason team offense, just Calloway and Sharpe?
Nick: Yeah, that’s it. I mean, Goolsby could be. OJ Howard, despite Lane Kiffin refusing to use him, killed the national championship game. On name alone, and on his potential alone, he’ll probably be the first guy. Jeb Blazevich will be on that list. There’s Evan Ingram for Ole Miss. There’s guys that I think will be ahead of Goolsby, so it’s really just those two.
Andrew: Yeah. I agree. Outside of those guys, Goolsby, C’yontai is probably your next best. I mean, shit. OJ Howard’s the best, might be one of the best tight ends in the country when he’s used. Look at the national championship. Now let’s turn it to the defense. I’m going to say this, and I’m going to get off topic just for two seconds. How in the hell do you leave Caleb Brantley off of the best defensive player, best defensive on tackles, and you’ve got some guys on there who haven’t even hardly played? Caleb Brantley’s a guy that I think could potentially end up having a monster year, just like a guy like Bullard did last year. Preseason defensive team, I’m going to say Brantley makes it. Tabor makes it. Jarrad Davis makes it, and possibly Marcus Maye makes it. Am I leaving anybody off, or are you pretty close with that?
Nick: You’re leaving somebody off, but they’re going to be left off, and they shouldn’t.
Andrew: Quincy Wilson.
Nick: Quincy Wilson will be left off this list, and, believe me, Quincy has taken notice of every list this entire off season that he’s been left off.
Andrew: I had someone tell me that Quincy Wilson practices and works out like a guy who’s been a walk on, because he’s so pissed off about that stuff. It’s not that he doesn’t like Jalen Tabor. They’re best of friends. They go to south Florida together all the time, but Quincy Wilson’s a guy that it wouldn’t shock me if he outperforms Jalen Tabor this year, because of his work ethic. Now, is Jalen Tabor maybe a little more God gifted, physically gifted? I think maybe so. He’s maybe a little more athletic, I think maybe, but Quincy Wilson’s got that dog in him that it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. I agree with you. Quincy Wilson should be on there. I’m going to vote for him, but I don’t think the rest of the media will.
Nick: Yeah. I’m going to go Caleb Brantley, Jarrad Davis, Jalen Tabor, and Marcus Maye. To me, Marcus Maye has to be there. Marcus Maye was one of the best safeties in the country last year. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the best safety in the entire country last year. He’s going to be on my list.
Andrew: I’m with you. To me, I kind of wonder if he’ll be on there, simply because a lot of people still remember that Miami debacle, and it was a debacle. It is what it is. He had a bad game. I think he had a really good off season, or last season. I’m going to throw a wrench at you, Nicholas. All-SEC Freshman Safety, postseason, Chauncey Gardner.
Nick: I like the sound of that, and I think the listeners will like the sound of that even more.
Andrew: Of course the listeners do. It came from me.
Nick: Unbelievable.
Andrew: Always hating, Nicholas. Quick though, if there’s anybody that has any questions they want for the three guys or Coach Mac, or really anybody that’s here, let us know. Nick and I will try our best to get the questions. Of course, we’re not asking Coach McElwain about recruits, because that’s illegal, and we’re not asking him stupid questions, because Nick and I kind of like that he likes us. We’re not going to try to get on his bad side, and we’re not asking Will Muschamp why he still sucks.
Nick: That’s going to be such a disaster, such a disaster.
Andrew: How does Will Muschamp get on that stand, realistically, and look at people in the eye and say he’s a better football team?
Nick: I don’t know. They’re not going to make a bowl game this year. They’re probably not going to make a bowl game next year. He’s not going to be the head coach of South Carolina very long.
Andrew: Maybe Auburn hires him back.
Nick: Yeah. It’ll be back to a coordinator job shortly. I’m excited to see, wrap up Media Days real quick, I’m excited to see, obviously, Bert, Bret Bielema. I’ve never talked to OJ Howard, so I’m interested to see OJ, and I’m interested to see Swag Kelly. Interested to see Trevor Knight, talk to him about moving on from, it was Oklahoma, correct?
Andrew: Yeah, correct. Is Jen coming, because I would like to see Jen with Bert? Who’s going to bring the, what was it? The swaggy shoes. What was the shoes last year that Mullen brought? Who’s going to bring out the classy tennis shoes?
Nick: That was Bret. He had the EZs on last year, the EZ Boost.
Andrew: Whatever, swaggy, EZ, whatever it may be. Who’s going to bring that out? I’m like you, Chad Kelly, he’s one of those guys that would it be surprising if he got up there and said something stupid? No, because he might show up high.
Nick: That’s an unfounded remark. Swag Kelly, my dude, great rap career.
Andrew: Whatever it is. Let’s talk a little bit about the Opening real quick, Nick. It’s going on out in Beaverton, Oregon right now. As we’re taping this on Sunday it’s going on. A couple of guys that were big on Florida are out there. Florida’s quarterback did not make it, Jake Allen. We won’t get into that. Jake said politics there. One of Florida’s top targets, safety Devon Hunter from out in Virginia, finished fourth out in the Spark Challenge. That was good to see from him.
Florida’s big targets, Shawn Wade’s out there, the DB committed to Ohio State. Marco Wilson, as we’re talking about Quincy, Marco, you and I have both been told by his father, Chad, Marco’s better than Quincy. He’s out there. AJ Turrell’s another DB out there. Florida’s top receiver targets, Jared Judy, Donovan Peoples-Jones, James Robinson’s out there. There’s Alex Leatherwood’s out there, an offensive line that’s committed to Bama. So a lot of big name targets are out there, and the good thing for Florida is, as much as they’ve taken heat maybe on the recruiting trail, lost some momentum with some guys. Call a spade a spade. They’re in a bad situation from a perception standpoint of losing some guys. The dead period ends on Monday. That means prospects are back on campus visiting, that kind of stuff. Friday Night Lights, it always creates momentum. We’ll see where things go. Things have to get better from a perception standpoint for Florida here.
To go back to Media Days real quick, I do think McElwain addresses facilities on Monday, Nicholas, because Florida’s getting absolutely destroyed with facility talk right now.
Nick: Yeah. It’s something that we’re still waiting on that Master Plan to come out and see what that involves. They’re going through the process right now. Just really figuring out space wise what can we do? Here’s what Option A costs, Option B costs, Option C costs, Option D. If we go with Option B, and that cost, then when we go over here to this other building that’s going to take away Option A for either financial reasons or space reasons. The Master Plan hopefully coming back sometime August maybe. Maybe, if not earlier. Yeah, you’ve got to fix facilities. It’s crazy how the perception can change so quickly, because the perception was bad, and then you get two commits, and it flips, and everyone’s happy. Then you go a little bit longer, and it flips again, but you already have probably close to half the class right now. So are you going to wrap up the whole class before the season starts?
Andrew: No, I don’t think so. Here’s the thing. When you say this it comes off as making excuses. I’m going to try to describe this the best way I possibly can without it coming off as that. The two guys that Florida’s probably going to lose, we’re taping this before Trey McKinney commits. If he commits to Florida, I’m saying it on the podcast, I’m shocked. I think he’s going to Oregon. When you’re listening to this, you’re probably going to say, of course he went to Oregon. Anyway, let’s just hypothetical they go. He goes to Oregon.
Kai-Leon Herbert last Monday went to Michigan. Herbert as a need for Florida because of one reason, he was an in state guy that should have been a slam dunk for Florida. Was he a great player? No. He’s a project. He’s a four star project. That’s what he is. He’s not Alex Leatherwood. He’s not Calvin Ashley. Because he should have been a slam dunk to Florida, because he was at American Heritage, because he was best friends with Jake Allen, he should have went to Florida. So that’s where it hurt Florida. Did it hurt Florida from the standpoint of they lost a great player? No. It’s that way.
Same with Trey McKinney. Trey McKinney, in my opinion, is pretty identical to Kemore Gamble, but Gamble’s a little bit better in the passing game. I’ll say it here, and, Nick, I told you this on the phone when we were talking, McKinney fits Will Muschamp. He’s a defensive end that’s been converted to tight end. I think Zack Byrd’s better. That is out of Alabama. I think he’s a better player than Trey McKinney, but, once again, Trey McKinney favored Florida for a while. He’s from IMG. He’s an in state guy. Florida should have got him for that. That perception is what makes it negative for Florida. That hurts.
Just like Daniel Wright a couple weeks ago going to Florida State. Florida didn’t recruit him as hard as some of the other guys, but since they did recruit him, he was a legacy, perception hurts. That’s where it is, and I think you’ve got two sides of the story depending on which way you look at it. I understand the fan side of things. Then again, I understand why maybe the coaches aren’t sitting here panicking on Monday, Sunday, whatever today is, July 10th. I can understand why they’re not panicking.
Nick: That’s, I don’t get that. It’s just like, I don’t get getting upset when kids don’t choose your school, and then you’re saying to me like, oh, he’s not an instant impact. He’s someone who’s maybe three years, when he’s a redshirt junior, someone that can crack the starting lineup. To me that doesn’t change my perception of recruiting. You can’t just take recruiting and say, he’s in state, and he’s a four star, he must be awesome; he’ll probably start as a freshman and be the best player ever. He should be on the team. There’s so much that goes into it, and you have to look at the bigger picture. To me, I think that’s what gets lost.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s the thing. When you go and you look at February, Florida shouldn’t be worried about the guy they lost in July. When things are going well, or let me rephrase this. Is Alabama sweating over some damn guy they lost in July? No. We know that. Florida’s got to get to that point. Are they still a little bit away from it? Yes. It is a building thing. When you look at the things that are going around, and you see it, message boards are going to fry at 10:00 tonight when Trey McKinney picks someone besides Florida. It just is what it is. What I’m saying is perception wise, yes, it is. Did you lose an in state kid? Yes, you did. Did you lose a great five star player that is unbelievable? No.
Alex Leatherwood’s a guy that you can get pissed off about. Jared Judy’s a guy you get pissed off about. James Robinson’s a guy you get pissed off about. I’m talking about Shawn Wades, AJ Terrell’s, guys that you know are going to come in and likely going to make a big impact. If you lose Tyrie Cleveland last year, you get pissed off about it, because you know those guys are going to come in. Kai-Leon Herbert, Trey McKinney are guys that are going to come in and have to sit the bench for a year or two, and then in a couple years fans are going to be asking, Nick, why is Kai-Leon Herbert not playing? Nick’s response is going to be, he just really hasn’t grown into his body yet.
Nick: Yeah, those are my favorite. My favorite is when we know that a kid needs time to develop, and I get asked questions. It’s Week 8, where’s so-and-so? Told you he needed a redshirt. No, no, no; he was a four star from this school. He was supposed to be playing. Told you when he committed that he was going to redshirt. You didn’t want to believe it; you didn’t want to hear it. I love answering those questions. I love answering the where’s so-and-so, thought he was going to be an impact. People develop differently, but you and I are very honest right up front, always, as soon as we can, and say, good job, we got a commitment; that kid’s a project, going to take some time.
Andrew: Feleipe Franks. Adam Lane. Let’s see. I’m trying to think of another one that’s here. I mean, let’s just be honest here. Jordan Scarlet’s a guy that’s kind of in that boat. Nick, you were very high on him. I’ll be the first one to admit too, I was very high on him as well, but he just hasn’t transitioned to that level, and Jordan Cronkrite’s passing him up. Mark Thompson’s passing him up. You got a guy in Perine that’s on campus now. They’re going to battle. That’s something else that McElwain I’m sure will talk about is the incoming freshmen, going back to Media Days. The point being is be pissed off at the perception, it’s understandable. Remember, you have to take a look at some of these guys. Ranking Kai-Leon Herbert a four star is just a mess up. I guess that’s the best way to say it. He’s not a four star there.
To go back to the Opening real quick, we talked about it a second ago, Jalen Tabor’s out there. He’s one of the counselors or one of the players that’s out there helping. Sharrif Floyd’s also out there. A little bit of Gator out there helping out.
Nick: Yeah. That’s cool that they have those guys go out. I think I saw Jamal Adams was out there too, and Tabor and Adams I think were both out there the same year when they were both at the Opening. I was there that year as well. It’s a great event, and to see them. Frankly, these kids that are out there at the Opening already look up to a Jamal Adams, look up to a Jalen Tabor. Definitely look up to a Sharrif Floyd. That whole event is awesome to attend, and I think getting the Opening alumni to come back is pretty cool, pretty special for them as well, and it can’t hurt recruiting to have Sharrif Floyd and Jalen Tabor out there in some ears.
Andrew: That’s the reason you wanted Jalen Tabor here is the reason he’s great for recruiting. That’s that he has no problem at all voicing his opinion out there. Nick, I think that’s about it. We’re out here. We’ll be here all week. We’ll get back together. I’ll say we’ll try to get back together Tuesday, at the latest on Wednesday, we’ll get a new podcast up. If you’ve got any questions you want for Nick and I, or anything you want to see this week, hit us up. Nick, tell the people where they can find us.
Nick: I’m still hurt. Jalen Tabor could have been a flight from Portland into Birmingham. We should have made that happen. As always, www.GatorCountry.com. Facebook, Gator Country. Instagram, TheGatorCountry. All of those will be full, slammed, packed all week long, especially Monday. On Twitter, @GatorCountry, @NickdelaTorreGC, @AndrewSpiveyGC, and looking forward to a good week. Jalen Tabor, just pay your own way. Just show up.
Andrew: How bad ass would that be if, just in the front door Monday Jalen Tabor just comes up and goes, alright, bitches, we’re just going to have my own media day down here in the lobby in front of all the fans? Just takes over the thing. Coach Mac would be pissed. Nick wouldn’t be pissed. Yeah, it’s going to be a good week. We’ll have some recruiting updates as well. Like I said, the dead period’s over with. Prospects will be coming back on campus. We’ll have some Opening updates as well with Media Days. Anything you guys have, hit us up, and until next time, chomp, chomp. Go Braves.
Nick: You stay classy, Gator Country.