GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we talk about the return to campus for the Florida Gators’ football players next week.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre also breakdown the latest recruiting information as the Gators picked up two commits last week.
Andrew and Nick also talk about the quarterback position as the Gators now have two quarterback commits in the Class of 2021.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, football’s back. Gators added a QB commit. They added another athlete commit, and guys are starting to come back to campus. Let’s talk about it.
Nick: New quarterback commit. Second one for the class. You probably needed that just to figure out numbers after Jalon Jones. We’ll get into Mr. Kitna. Then we’ve already got football players back on campus getting Covid tested. Soon, June 8th, they’ll be lifting and doing football stuff.
Andrew: A lot has to go into it before they can actually get into football stuff. The coaches are really working hard on that. They kind of cut back on the virtual visits this week to do that, and now it looks like here in the next couple days to a week or so it looks like the NCAA will kind of announce the return to the football field. It looks like they’re going to give them six weeks before the first game. In my opinion, Nick, and I could be completely wrong here. Wouldn’t surprise me. Wouldn’t surprise anyone else. It does seem like there will be football on time. I think the biggest question mark that we have is will there be fans? If there are fans, how many fans? I don’t think you’re going to see 90,000 in the Swamp.
Nick: I don’t see any way.
Andrew: I don’t either. Then it comes down to, you and I have talked about this, if it’s only 50,000 or 40,000, whatever it may be, who gets those 40,000? There’s a lot of boosters. There’s a lot of students that go. I know there’s going to be some people who say, the students don’t show up anyway. Guess what? You got to have them.
Nick: I think you have to. You can’t not give students the opportunity to go to the game.
Andrew: Right. Then there’s going to be a lot of season ticket holders. There’s a lot of question marks there. Guess what, Nick? I’m going to be honest. I don’t care. Just give me football.
Nick: Yeah. I don’t know how many. I read a story, and they interviewed some Alabama fans, because they were saying what would it look like? How many does Bryant-Denny hold?
Andrew: Bryant-Denny is 101 maybe? 100. Something like that.
Nick: 101. Let’s say, we’ll make it an even 100,000, just for math. Let’s say you can get 30%, so you get 30,000 people in.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Who gets those 30,000 tickets?
Andrew: You have pissed off some people.
Nick: Let’s say we’re going to give a third of that, 10,000, to students. Then you’ve got six home games, so that means not every student can get to a game that year. Then there’s 70,000 people each game that won’t be going. Times that by six.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Then you probably have to start looking at packages. We have six homes games, so you can buy season tickets for these three games. Obviously, I think they get Georgia this year.
Andrew: And Auburn.
Nick: At Bryant-Denny. And Auburn at Bryant-Denny.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Those two games won’t be together. Then you’re going to get the North Southeastern Tech State that you have to package with Auburn, because you’re not going to put all of your non-conference opponents in one package. It’ll be interesting. You’re not going to get 100,000 people in Bryant-Denny. You’re not going to get 90,000 people in the Swamp. It’s going to be tricky to figure out. You’ve got people who’ve had the same seats in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for 30 years.
Andrew: Yeah. I mean, I know it’s the same with Florida. It’s the same with Alabama. You got people who pay thousands of dollars a year just to be …
Nick: Just for the opportunity to then pay. It’s like you make …
Andrew: Contributions.
Nick: With my bunny ears over here, generous donation, just to have the opportunity to then buy your thousand-dollar seat for the game.
Andrew: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Then does Alabama play USC? What’s the status of USC? All that goes around with that. There’s a lot of question marks there. I think the good thing is that guys are coming back, like you said. They’re getting tested before they even step foot on campus. I mean, even step foot in the weight room. I’m sure there’ll be weekly or biweekly testing and everything else that goes along with that to make sure. Again, like I said, the biggest thing for me is there’s football. Looks like there will be football. What that entails, what that means, I don’t know. I don’t think that there maybe is the answers out there right now. I think Mike Slive’s comments about the answer I don’t know is still okay, and I think that still is the case. I just don’t know that there’s an answer. I don’t know that there’s an answer to how many fans are going to be able to come int.
Nick: That’s definitely been the frustrating part. I think I’ve understood it. The answer is that we don’t have an answer. I think Greg Sankey said it early. He was like, we’re not dictating the pandemic. The pandemic is dictating what we’re doing.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Not just sports, but everything was kind of forced into a reactionary kind of phase, where it’s what happening, and what do we now? Yes. You can do some planning and have contingencies, and I think we’re seeing some of those contingency plans, and the past three months of planning just getting guys back onto campus. We’re seeing that come into play. For the most part, it was kind of just like, wake up, what happened today? What do the numbers say today? What can we do today? I think the really positive sign is that, I saw a report that 21 states, Florida and Georgia included, I don’t think Alabama was included, but I know Florida and Georgia were, states that kind of opened up, like cases haven’t gotten worse.
I think it’s trending in the way that, you and I confidently two months ago couldn’t have said football’s going to start on time. We thought it’s too big to not have football, like the entire college sports globe would impact, implode on itself, without football, because football props it up all financially. I think now we’re looking, and we’re like, I think Florida could kickoff on time. Just who’s going to be in the stands? I know I’ll be there. I’m essential personnel in the press box.
Andrew: I was reading a story, and it was talking about Mike Slive and a couple of the other SEC personnel during 9-11. They said there was a lot of question marks as to how they were going to handle things going forward with security and that kind of stuff. The story I was reading about it was saying that there was just a lot that went into it, and that it changed week by week. I’m not comparing this pandemic to 9-11, by any means whatsoever, but in the way it’s …
Nick: A crisis.
Andrew: Right. A crisis. It’s a situation where you know that things are going to be different. There’s going to be more security measures. There’s going to be maybe not checking for guns as much as do you have a fever, but it’s going to change. Maybe what we see Week 1 is not what we see Week 5 or Week 10 or whatever it may be. Then there’s a lot of schools going around cancelling classes for November and into December. Do you have bowl games? I think right now the NCAA and the SEC is like, guess what, we don’t care what happens in December. Let’s just get started, and we’ll play December by ear. In my opinion. I don’t know if they’re saying that, but in my opinion, that’s what they’re saying.
Nick: Right. I posted a story with frequently asked questions and tried to answer all of them that have been popping up. I think the biggest thing is going to be coming in. Obviously, the players are already back on campus, and they’re being tested. Florida has not had any positive tests, fortunately, with any of their student athletes, but you’re going to get tested. I think they’ll have to be tested, like you said, weekly or biweekly. They’re going to be getting temperatures checked every time they come into the facility.
I think the hard part is you can educate a player, and you can do this, and you can do that, but what happens when they go off campus, and they go to a bar or they go to a restaurant? They’re walking around. You can’t control every aspect of an 18-22-year-old person’s life. I think it’s just that. Then what happens if one player tests positive? Who has he touched? Who has he been around? Now those. It’s definitely a slippery slope, I think.
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Nick: But I also think, and I’m not a doctor, but I also think, I look at the shape and the kind of athletes that these people are, and I don’t think this, I know two people who had Coronavirus, and they were both affected completely differently. One was in the ICU for over a week. One never had any symptoms. Didn’t affect him at all. I think them being young and in the shape that they are, they’re probably physically better equipped to handle it if they were to get sick.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Yeah. I think it’s going to be like you said. It’s kind of just watching, waiting, and then like I said, wake up every day and what’s happening today. Let’s deal with today.
Andrew: Right. Then I say this half jokingly. I don’t want to say jokingly, because then someone’s going to get upset that I’m joking about it. What if Florida goes in to play LSU, and LSU’s two star players get Covid-19 the day before the game? Instead of talking about an injury, are we going to be talking about who’s going to test positive or negative for the virus and be able to play in the game?
Nick: Right. If it’s two players, you’re talking about football. If an offensive lineman has it and is asymptomatic at the time …
Andrew: The entire defensive line.
Nick: You can probably bet the entire offensive line, and the entire defensive line. A linebacker. A quarterback’s got his hand right up under a center’s butt.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: What you’re saying is what if one or two players test positive the week before the game? I’m like, that entire team is probably then going to test positive, and then you’re talking about a two week quarantine. That’s two more.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: This is terrible. We’ve gone in a bad direction. I just want football back, like you.
Andrew: Yeah. So do I. I just want that and baseball back.
Nick: We’re living in a crazy time. I read a story today that monkeys escaped a lab. They attacked a lab assistant and escaped with samples of the Coronavirus, and now the monkeys are just out. I have no idea. We’re just living in …
Andrew: The monkeys are like, what person pissed me off at the zoo? Who gets this virus?
Nick: Yeah. We’re living in a world. We’re living real life in a world that like Hollywood producers would say you’re crazy, get that script out of my face, this would never happen. We’re like, we’re living it. Every day we’re just living in it and just like every day is more ridiculous than the next.
Andrew: There’s going to be a knock on the door. Knock, knock. You’re going to look down, and it’s a freaking monkey with the thing, dosing it in your face, and he’s going to be like, got you.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh, Lord. Yeah. I don’t know. There’s so much unknown. Listen, I’m selfish. I’m not even going to sit here and lie to you. I want to play ball. I want baseball to go. I want football to go. Heck, I want the NBA to go. Unless you’re going to give me Tom Brady and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and Peyton Manning every day, give me something else. First of all, that was awesome. Second of all, I just need live sports.
Nick: Got UFC on Saturday.
Andrew: Yeah. I like UFC, but UFC does not replace the Atlanta Braves. Sorry. Just doesn’t. We’ll see. Like you said, it’ll be interesting to see. Again, the answers aren’t out there. I know people are frustrated and saying they want to book a hotel room for Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville or Florida-LSU. I hate to say this, but I just don’t know that you’re going to know the answers for a while. I know that sucks, and I know that that’s an inconvenience, but I think if you’re a fan of the game, if you’re a fan of college sports in general, just be happy there’s going to be sports. Like you said, the justifications of not having it are bad, are very, very bad. I mean, you’re seeing programs all across the country being cut, and it would be that times 100 if there’s not football.
Nick: Yeah. I want it back. It is encouraging to see that we’re at least taking steps towards it.
Andrew: Right. Exactly. Yeah. Let’s talk some recruiting. Florida picked up athlete commit Charles Montgomery on Sunday. Athlete out of Armwood. Will play that running back/receiver role for Florida, play a lot of slot, that kind of stuff. You pick up a commit from Armwood, and never bad to continue that pipeline from Armwood to Gainesville, so a big pickup for Florida. It’s a step in the right direction as far as momentum goes, because Florida had been taking a hit. So, again, a big pickup there. You never can have enough speed guys that can play that slot running back position. Dan Mullen figures out a way to use them, and he has another one.
Nick: The Percy Harvin position.
Andrew: Kadarius Toney position now. Percy Harvin position. Whatever you want to call it. Yeah.
Nick: Young Joker. Young Joker spitting flames.
Andrew: Does Charles Montgomery rap, I wonder.
Nick: I think, we’ve talked, not bashed, but we’ve been critical, I think, at times, when necessary, but something you just said, you have to keep those pipelines open.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: But not just taking anybody. You know what I mean?
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Not just taking Joe Schmo, just because that’s a high school we need to be in.
Andrew: Right. Yeah. You can’t just take them to take them. You definitely do. Florida wants a defensive lineman from Armwood this year, Desmond Watson, so never a bad thing to have that. If you get a guy like Charles Montgomery, who is a good player, and you can get him from Armwood, like you said, continue on that train and get him. There’s several schools in the state. I say the three main ones are Lakeland, St. Thomas, and Armwood. Those are the three schools that Florida needs to continue to hit on and hit well on, because those are three schools that usually, year in and year out, have a guy or two that you either want in this class or the coming classes.
Nick: Yeah. Who are the main guys recruiting him?
Andrew: Brewster was on him, but mainly Billy. Billy and Brewster and Mullen were kind of the three guys there. Knox was also playing a little part in it. I give the credit there mainly to Billy. Billy was the guy that was really recruiting Charles. That was a big connection to have, because Charles does play that running back and receiver position. So, it was big for Billy to explain to him what that role was. Mullen did a good job of getting in there and doing all that as well, kind of got sold. The virtual visit was good for his parents as well. He picked Florida over Maryland.
Nick: I don’t understand Tim Brewster’s Twitter.
Andrew: No. No.
Nick: He tweeted today, as we’re taping this, they said heavy lean, Gators said not so fast. No idea what he’s talking about.
Andrew: Listen, I love Brewster. I think Brewster’s a really good coach. I think he’s a really good recruiter. I also think he loves to stir the pot on Twitter.
Nick: He does. I remember it, because woo-boy, Gator Twitter would get on him when he was at Florida State.
Andrew: I got on him last year at North Carolina.
Nick: You did?
Andrew: Oh yeah. Whenever, heck, what’s the kid’s name now? I done forgot the kid’s name. Was at Armwood last year, defensive lineman. Oh my God. Why is the name slipping my mind? Anyway, whatever it was, Florida offered him late in the cycle, like early December. He’s been committed to North Carolina for like eight months. Brewster tweeted, we recognize elite players before anyone else. Don’t go to a program who recognizes you late, or something along those lines.
Nick: I remember that. Yeah.
Andrew: I remember tweeting at Brewster, hush, you’re comparing North Carolina football to Florida football.
Nick: We talked about it on the podcast too.
Andrew: Yeah. Come on. Man, I cannot think of that kid’s name now. Jeez. It sucks to get old, Nick.
Nick: Getting old ain’t for sissies, that’s for sure.
Andrew: That’s right. Man. I mean, he does it. He keeps the fans into it. A lot of times half the junk he tweets is just to tweet. He tweets all the time about big one coming, and it doesn’t happen and everything else. Guess what? Fans eat it alive. Listen, I’m all for it. Have fun.
Nick: Yeah. Gets people talking. Gets people going.
Andrew: Yeah. Makes me run down more and more junk though. Sometimes I just want to tell him, hush.
Nick: Let’s get into the quarterback.
Andrew: Yeah. Jalen Kitna, son of Jon Kitna, committed to Florida on Tuesday. Sorry, the week threw me off with the holiday. Tuesday. Some people have said he’s just going to be an elite #2 quarterback, or he’s just going to be a #2 quarterback. That may be true. I think Kitna has some solid game to himself. I think when you watch his film, he shows a good arm, and you know he’s going to be smart, because he’s the son of a quarterback. He talked to Dak Prescott a lot about Dan Mullen. Again, if he is a solid #2, okay, cool. There’s a lot worse kids that you could want than a son of a quarterback and a coach to be that guy.
I think his game complements Carlos Del Rio’s game, because they’re not the same guys, by any means. They kind of complement each other. Del Rio is more of a dual threat. Kitna’s more of a true pro-style drop back passer. Again, I think they’re both very well suited for Florida, and they’re not the same guy. I think it’s a situation where I don’t think either of them are going to be upset about the other person in the class.
Nick: Yeah. I think Del Rio came out already and said, cool. To me, you have to look at Florida’s numbers. Kyle Trask could potentially come back for his 13th year in 2021. He could apply for a medical redshirt. You’ve still got Anthony Richardson, Emory Jones, and Trask. Let’s say Trask leaves. Then you get into Emory Jones. I’m starting to look at, and our boy, David Wunderlich, wrote a good story, and I wanted to segue into it after this. I think it’s fine.
The way that Mullen seems to be recruiting reminded me a lot of that stretch with Pete Carroll at USC. I think it was Carson Palmer took over as a redshirt sophomore, and then he started as a redshirt sophomore, redshirt junior, redshirt senior. You just had USC kept getting these guys, and they kept staying. Then you had Matt Liner, who literally sat on the bench behind Carson Palmer, started as a redshirt sophomore, redshirt junior, redshirt senior. Then you had the 30-year-old John David Booty come back after playing some pro ball. Then it was like him and Mark Sanchez. John David Booty didn’t play until he was a redshirt junior. Mark Sanchez didn’t play as a redshirt sophomore.
Obviously, it’s changed now. Quarterbacks are transferring and getting waivers, depending on how the coin flips, but I think that’s how Mullen is recruiting. It’s like we’re going to recruit you as a quarterback, and you’re going to come in, and you’re going to develop.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: I don’t think he’s being deceitful. I think he’s being open and honest with those guys. I don’t think Carlos Del Rio thinks, I’m going to get there and start as a freshman. It’s like, no, man, Emory Jones will be there, and then you’ve got Anthony Richardson, who will probably be a redshirt freshman when you get on campus.
Andrew: Right. I was talking about this on the radio spot that I had this week. I said, perfect world, quarterbacks and perfect worlds do not go together, because it seems like every time you think you have it figured out, someone gets hurt or someone transfers, whatever it may be. Perfect world for Dan Mullen would be Kyle Trask has a really good year this year, goes to the pros. Emory Jones steps in, is the guy, and Richardson’s ready to go. Del Rio and Kitna can both redshirt as freshmen. Both of them are redshirt freshmen. Then it’s Anthony Richardson’s job, and that time he would be a redshirt sophomore. He has one or two years, and then, like you said, it continues on that trajectory.
People say, there’s going to be a battle, and somebody’s going to be mad between Kitna and Del Rio. Maybe so, maybe not. I don’t know that there will be. First of all, Mullen’s shown the ability to run two quarterbacks, but also if one of them does transfer, you can look at it and say, we’re okay, because you still have a succession line. There’s still going to be a quarterback recruited in 2022. Still going to be one recruited in 2023. You’re going to be okay if one of them leaves. Let’s just say Anthony Richardson gets mad and transfers. You’re okay, because you would have a guy like Del Rio and Kitna ready to go. You’re not going to be sitting there looking at a situation saying, who’s our quarterback?
Nick: Yeah. I mean, that’s just the nature of it. Listen, you want to have four.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: You’d like to have one in every class.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: You get Jalon Jones, and you’re on pace to have one in every class. Then, obviously, he gets kicked off for what he did off the field, and now you’re in a situation where we got to take two in a class, because we need four.
Andrew: Right. Yeah. Like I said, I don’t know that either of these guys are going to be scared by either one of them. It’s like I said, I think Dan Mullen has been honest with them about it. Listen, you’re not coming in to compete for the job Year 1. Just not. You’re not. First of all, Mullen hasn’t shown the willingness as a coach to play a young guy at quarterback. He just hasn’t.
Nick: Yeah. I think that’s, at least in my opinion, I think that’s the way I would do it, if I were a coach. To segue into Georgia, because they’re becoming like quarterback transfer U, whether it’s in or out. They’re getting all kinds of transfers, in and out. Kirby’s way, and I don’t know that this is wrong, because we talk about it all the time, if you can get the best available player, get him and figure it out later. Got Fromm and Fields, and that’s starting to look like a Cam Newton, John Brantley situation. Wrong kid transferred.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Now you got a kid in Carson Beck, one that Florida was after. He’s there. You just got two quarterbacks transfer in.
Andrew: You got a five-star #1 quarterback in the country in Brock Vandergriff committed for this class. There’s a lot of question marks there. My thing is, first of all, JT Daniels better not get a waiver, but it’s the NCAA. Who knows? He probably will, if you’re trying to predict the NCAA. Him and Newman are now battling. Newman’s going to be pissed off, because he’s for sure not better than JT Daniels, in my opinion. Yeah. It is that. Does a guy like Beck say, forget it, I’m out? Wherever that is.
Here’s the thing for me. Like you said, I don’t know if either of the plans or either of the ways is wrong, because if JT Daniels comes in this year and plays for Georgia, and they win a National Championship, it’s worth it. But for the longevity of a program, I think you’d prefer to develop your own, so that he’s used to them. I mean, Daniels and Newman are going to really get their first snaps with the team in fall camp. How used to these guys are they compared to a guy like Kyle Trask or Emory Jones, who’s been working out with the team now three years, four years? Like I said, I don’t know if either plan’s bad. I think they each have their pros and their cons. I like Dan Mullen’s plan a little better, but at the same time, next year, after Kyle Trask leaves, if Emory’s not ready, and you don’t think he’s ready to go, and some five-star decides he wants to transfer, are you going to tell him no because he’s a transfer? I don’t know.
Nick: Obviously, the problem with doing it the way Kirby is doing it is you’re taking the best kids, and the way that the nature of college football, or the climate of college football right now, is that people will just leave. Which way would you do it? I see good aspects in both. I like the way that Mullen is doing it, and you’re not coming in with the expectation to start. When you’re getting that five-star guy, he’s coming to campus expecting to start.
Andrew: Yeah. Here’s my thing. Again, I don’t have a problem with either one. I’m more of at the quarterback position I want some guarantees. No player is a guarantee, but you’re taking a damn big risk of hoping a grad transfer comes on the market or a transfer that comes on the market is good enough to play. If you’re Dan Mullen, you have that ability in your hands to develop that guy, to recruit that guy and develop that guy. Kirby, everything’s out of your hands except for hoping and praying. So, I say Mullen’s plan is better at the quarterback position. Every position is different. I think you can go to the transfer market for an offensive tackle. I think you can go to the transfer market for a receiver and other positions, but a quarterback is just that leader of the team, leader of the locker room, where I want to develop my own guy. I want to be able to have in the palm of my hands that guy.
For instance, JT Daniels. Just for instance. I don’t know how good he’d work in Dan Mullen’s system. Does he understand anything Dan Mullen wants to do with a quarterback? I don’t know. I would say probably not, because Mullen’s a different guy in recruiting quarterbacks and coaching quarterbacks. Kirby’s a defensive guy, and, honestly, he could care less about quarterbacks and his offense. He just kind of does whatever. He changes by the wind. I think I’d rather develop my own guy.
Nick: His proof is in the pudding, right? The guys that he’s developed, his track record speaks for itself. Talking about Mullen, obviously.
Andrew: Yeah. Talking about Georgia, he may have let the Heisman Trophy winner go this year.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: Here’s the thing. Lincoln Riley. He’s went with that approach. It’s worked out.
Nick: It sure has.
Andrew: I mean, he hasn’t won a championship, but bro’s had two straight Heisman winners and another quarterback who was in the running for a while there. It’s like, again, I can make the arguments of why it sucks, but then again, it’s like get two Heisman winners and Jalen Hurts, who was up there for it and led his team for a while. I don’t know if I can say it’s a totally bad thing.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: Keep winning Heismans. They’re quarterback transfer U.
Nick: It’s interesting. You can get over a running back transferring, a linebacker. It’s just the way football is that position can set you up or set you back.
Andrew: Here’s the thing too. Let’s also put it in this context as well. Quarterback transferring in or out is also magnitude. It’s also watched more. It’s also scrutinized more. Everything is ten times worse at a quarterback position. If a quarterback gets injured, we talk about it hundreds of times a day, because there’s only one person playing. If a running back gets hurt, I don’t want to say you don’t talk about it, but you mention it, and you move on.
Nick: Yeah.
Andrew: I don’t know. Here’s the thing. I’ll compare it to this. This isn’t the best of comparisons, by any means, but look at the Patriots. Year in and year out, they were a great football team because of one thing. They knew who their quarterback was, and they could depend on their quarterback. If you look at teams around the NFL in general, teams that have longevity at quarterback are the teams that usually are up there. I hate the Saints, but the Saints are a good team year in and year out because of Drew Brees. I think the Falcons are one of the better offenses in the League year in and year out because of Matt Ryan. You look at Kansas City now with Pat Mahomes. They’re going to be up there year in and year out because of who it is. Hate or love the Giants, they were always a team talked about because of the longevity of Eli Manning.
Again, pros and cons to it all. I like Mullen’s approach, because it’s not as much of a gamble. Is it right? Again, I think you can make the argument either way.
Nick: I guess we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out. It’ll be interesting. I don’t think Carson Beck is necessarily ready to play right away, so might not affect him right now.
Andrew: Florida fans are laughing at him though.
Nick: They’re having fun. That was a whole big thing. You go ahead and you say, I used Florida to get my Georgia offer. Not going to make people in Gainesville happy.
Andrew: No. You kind of pissed off some people. You know what, if you’re going to piss people off, you better make sure to cover your own mess. Doesn’t look like that mess was covered very well there. Be interesting to see. I bet Kirby Smart has not told the truth to everybody about this whole situation. We’ll see.
Nick: Shots fired, Spivey. Shots fired.
Andrew: I’m not a Kirby guy. I think Kirby’s a loser, but that’s just me. He just hasn’t proved to me he can win on Saturdays. He can recruit. He can recruit great, but what makes Nick Saban great is he can recruit, and he can win.
Nick: That’s true.
Andrew: It’s been like 12,000 years since Georgia’s won a National Championship. Let me ask you this. What about old Jimmy Harbaugh saying Michigan has been close to winning a National Championship? There was this quote. Jim Harbaugh says Michigan has been about as close as you possibly can be to winning a National Championship.
Nick: To Michigan fans.
Andrew: Yeah. What is he smoking up there?
Nick: Yeah. I sent that. That guy from Freep, it’s a paper up there, the Detroit Free Press, that columnist roasted Harbaugh.
Andrew: Do you blame him?
Nick: Roasted Harbaugh. No. No, I don’t blame him at all. So, I guess he told someone from 247, he said, the exact quote Harbaugh said, “Michigan has been about as close as you can possibly be to winning a National Championship.” The next paragraph this guy wrote goes, “Never mind that his teams have never claimed a Big 10 title, finished at top of division, lost fewer than three games in a season, or beaten Ohio State. In the eyes of Harbaugh, they have been right there, an arm’s length away from grabbing the trophy bestowed on the sport’s best college team.”
You haven’t even had a season where you’ve lost less than three games. You haven’t beaten your biggest rival. You haven’t even won your division, let alone your conference. Haven’t won your division, and you’ve been as close as anybody to a National Championship? My God, you’re smoking your own supply. Getting high on your own supply there. Nobody believes that.
Andrew: He must be rolling up some khakis or something.
Nick: Nobody believes that. What are you talking about?
Andrew: I mean, Dan Mullen has a better argument than Jim Harbaugh.
Nick: That 2016 team was very good. That was the year I think they went, they had one loss going into Ohio State, and if they beat Ohio State, I think they were #3 in the country at the time. It was like 1 vs. 3. Was it JT Barrett or whoever, someone was down, and they didn’t rule him down. They gave him like a 1st down, and they ended up losing the game because of a questionable call.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: That’s literally it. Then you go out, and you lose the bowl game, and you lose three games that year.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s just like, what are you talking about again now? What now? What are you talking about? You were as close? No, man. No. Just chill, boss. Come on, Jimmy. Come on.
Nick: Yeah. To me that’s comical. I think you’re going to get to the point where it’s tough, because they love, he’s a Michigan man. He went here, and he played football here. He’s one of us. I get that, but the stuff he says, and when you’re not backing it up. Nick Saban can get away with saying a lot of stuff. Dabo Sweeney can get away with saying a lot of stuff.
Andrew: Right.
Nick: Jim Harbaugh talks like Dabo and talks like Nick Saban and wins like Will Muschamp.
Andrew: Yeah. I read that quote last night, and I was like, let me see. How many times have they won the Big 12? I get there, and I’m like, zero. What the hell is this guy talking about? What is this guy talking about? This guy hasn’t even been in arm’s reach of the Big 12 Championship. Come on.
Nick: Big 10.
Andrew: Big 10. Whatever. Come on, man. Whatever. Nick, any final thoughts before we get out of here?
Nick: Where is it? I had it pulled up to mention at the end. The MLB Draft is finalized, has a date. The Draft will be June 10. The first round starts at 7:00 P.M. It’ll be on MLB Network and ESPN. June 11 finishes it, rounds 2-5. We’ve been talking we didn’t know if there was going to be five rounds, seven rounds, ten rounds. Only five rounds. That means if you hear a guy from Florida’s roster, if you hear their name on June 10 or June 11, if you hear a recruit on June 10 or June 11, consider him gone.
Andrew: Pretty much. Yeah. I’m excited. I love the MLB Draft. We’ll see. Nick, tell everybody where they can find us. We’ll get out of here. We’ll see everyone next week.
Nick: www.GatorCountry.com for all your Florida Gator news. The podcast is there in audio and transcript form. You can find the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search Gator Country. Hit subscribe. Never miss an episode. Do your social media thing. @GatorCountry on Facebook and Twitter. @TheGatorCountry on Instagram. I’m @NickdelaTorreGC. He is @AndrewSpiveyGC.
Andrew: There you go. Guys, we appreciate it. We’ll see everyone next week. As always, chomp, chomp, and go Braves.
Nick: You stay classy, Gator Country.