David Gardner

Hey, guys.

Billy Lucci

You can hear him?

Bronnie Gaither

Huh?

Kayla Gaither

You can hear him now.

David Gardner

Could you hear me on your mic?

Kayla Gaither

No.

David Gardner

I did say mother trucker.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah. Not the word that Richard used a couple months ago.

David Gardner

I try not. He said it on the air.

Kayla Gaither

No, not on this air.

David Gardner

Not on this air.

Kayla Gaither

No.

David Gardner

No. We are tech sacks. Life. Sometimes I'm wrong. We're presented by David Gardner's Jewelers. We're in the rollout. We're in the rollout Jewelers studio. Remember how my chair moved like that? And got a couple things to talk about. We're gonna check. We gonna. We are going to check in with Kayla Gaither in a moment, but I'm going gangster on us again.

Kayla Gaither

It's gangster.

David Gardner

You know what I think it is? You know what I think it is?

Kayla Gaither

What?

David Gardner

I think my coffee routine is out of whack. I go through these phases where I'm drinking very little coffee and. And then I build, and then I build. And then I realized, dude, I just had like three cups during the show. Like, I like to have two cups of half caf. Okay, nerd alert. Half caf before the show. Okay, So I wake up at 4:40, 4:30 today, two cups of half caf.

Kayla Gaither

Okay.

Bronnie Gaither

Okay.

Kayla Gaither

So does that make a full cup of full.

David Gardner

Yes. I like to have more coffee. But we don't do half caf here. Okay. Gotta complain to Josh. But so I do two cups of half caf, show prep, get the show ready if there's time. I do a run in the morning. Okay. Shower, come to work. Then I wait till 8:20 to have a cup of coffee. Happens when you're doing a talk show. I hate cold coffee.

Kayla Gaither

Oh, okay.

David Gardner

So I'll drink like two or three sips and then like, and I throw it away and I get another cup. But then I reset the total. So, like the milligrams, I'm trying to keep them at 350. I think I'm at 400.

Kayla Gaither

I think you're going over.

David Gardner

Yeah. Thanks. Anyway. We're going to talk a lot of college football. I told you, it's fall camp for us. If you're looking for real peace of mind when it comes to your money, check out Aggie owned Paragon Financial Advisors, an independent fiduciary serving clients all across Texas. No sales pitches, no commissions, just honest financial planning and investment management. And what sets them apart is the over nine CFPs, the CFA and the CPA on staff. They take their credentials seriously and they work tirelessly to help you build a future that you can feel good about. Go to paragon-adv.com or give them a call 979-693-3907 to schedule your free consultation today. It is Paragon Financial Advisors, Integrity, Expertise and Trust, Paragon Financial Advisors. And by the way, they are our presenting sponsor of our SEC media day coverage. So we appreciate Paragon doing that. Now, as Billy gets his mic on, I want you to reset the question you asked to me.

Kayla Gaither

Okay.

David Gardner

And then we will see if Billy has an answer. I mean, of course you'll have an answer. He'll probably have several. So here we go. We go back to the Angry Elephant News and Social center and the Kayla Gaither has the question.

Kayla Gaither

Okay. So the question I asked, David was who do you think we will be talking about next year out of these three names between Ricky Gibson, Tafik Bayard

David Gardner

and Ray Coney basically in a Cassius Howell kind of way, I think how you phrase it to me kind of

Kayla Gaither

way, how Cassius Howell came in with nothing, bar not any SEC experience, came in, was developed and had a standout year. Who do you think we'll be talking about in that light out of those three players?

Billy Lucci

Well, I think in the case of who is the middle one? It was Gibson and Ricky Coney, I think.

David Gardner

And if we need to add a different name to it.

Billy Lucci

Yeah, I would take Gibson out of it for a couple reasons. Number one, he, you know, he started at Tennessee in the sec, so I wouldn't include him with Cassius. The other thing I would put in is Cassius had a solid first year, but what a lot of people remember Cassius for, obviously is what he did this past year. So we're looking for a one year impact out of these. Is that like a Casey size in particular? So you're, you're kind of like, yeah, who would have more of a Casey or a Craver like year one. But then you're talking about guys that came from the ACC and the sec. So if you're just talking about a smaller, let's keep it to a smaller school player that's, you know, that you think could come in and have an impact year one? I think that's what they're probably asking, right? I really like Kony. It's a, it's not a deep, deep linebacking course. So he's going to be able to play. It's soon to be deep. It's not there yet. So, you know, you look at Sanford coming back and, and then you look at that, the rest of that position, you see Sanford, you see Noah McHale. There's not a lot of. Of proven depth. Lockharts played some. Those are kind of your top three in terms of experience, and two of them don't have much, so you could definitely see Kony, I think, playing the clearest path to playing the most out of that bunch. But I really like what I see from Tafeed Bayard. Yeah. And it's tough in that secondary. You look at Ratcliffe and Brooks, it's two of your captains back there starting at safety. And then you've got, you know, other experience. You've got Bryce Anderson, who's played a ton of football as safety. Nickel. So you got Jordan Shaw's nickel. So it's crowded in that. In that area back there. But I really think that, you know, Miles Davis is going into year three, but there's something about him, the way he tackles. Kind of what I see from him instinctively, it just kind of. That kind of jumps out at me when I'm watching him now.

Bronnie Gaither

They didn't bring.

Billy Lucci

I'm trying to think if they brought. They brought in. Oh, here's the other one. I would say this is tough because we don't count. We don't talk enough about tight end where Richie Anderson's coming from Fresno and Houston Thomas from utsa. We don't consider Houston Thomas because he's from here. We've known who he is for, but, I mean, he's still coming up from UTSA to A and M. So the tight end position as a whole is one of those that I would keep a close eye on because I think those guys are going to be pretty impactful. They have to be, honestly. And if those two aren't, then you're just going to see less tight ends on the field. I'm not saying there's no other ones on campus, but, like, you brought them in for impact this year to help with that. You know, Kyotti Armstrong is only going into year two. He's a year removed from being a true freshman. So you're just trying to bridge that gap and they have to be impactful. So the other. The other guy, too. No one ever talks about. My two, honestly, would probably be to Feet and. And Ryan Henderson.

Kayla Gaither

Okay.

Billy Lucci

Yeah, I think. I think he is close. He's not Cassius in that. I'm not saying he's going to lead the SEC in sacks a year, but, like, he is a guy from a smaller level that I think they were excited about when they got him. And after seeing him in the spring, in the off season, coaches Players, teammates, everything. Even more excited about him after seeing what he's about and what he can do.

David Gardner

Two things to chew on. First off, I think Anto Shaka comes from the Big Ten, so we sometimes disregard. But he did play at Northwestern, but he played big boy football.

Billy Lucci

So yeah, it's who you're playing against, right? Yeah.

David Gardner

But he is somebody that, I mean, we're talking about Cassius levels. Hopefully he can kind of turn into that. The other thing is, I think for me, I want it to almost feel more like an armaged Reed Adams, Year one. Is there somebody on the offensive line that you're like, oh yeah, this guy. And I guess that's TBD because there's a lot of young players that come in.

Billy Lucci

There better be like three of them. Well, yeah, like, I mean, I don't think all four will start. I just think there's enough depth that one or two of these younger guys are really going to hit a, you know, hit an acceleration curve. And some of them showed signs of that in the spring. Think of a guy like Lamont Rogers in particular. But then, you know, Robbie Bourdon, Blake Ivey, now in year three, Ivy's going to compete to start at one of the guard spots. But you think about, you know, Tyler Thomas. So there are guys that are like, okay, they're close to being ready to really push and there's several of them, so. But I think, I mean, Form B, that shouldn't be a shock. They took him from Alabama where he started and I think the one people sleep on a little bit because he actually wasn't full time like Formby and Tyree is Trevon Ball. And I think he, you know, he really did a lot in the spring to where like I think if the season started today, he'd be one of your five and he'd be sitting there at left guard replacing a second round draft pick in Chase Passanta.

David Gardner

We haven't spoken since the SEC media day list came out, but I think Damian Sanford going probably didn't shock you. But I think it to me, you know, again, Elko could be playing chess while everybody's playing checkers. But to me it says exactly what you reported early on. He's a lot closer than people think.

Kayla Gaither

No.

Billy Lucci

Yeah. And that's, you know. You know, that kind of stuff frustrates me because I say it and it's like people don't want to believe because they want to believe, like, almost like the negative. And from day one, it wasn't this. You said that half a Season, it wasn't. Will he ever play again? Not from day. Yeah, from day one when they doctors and coaches and Sanford knew the injury. Elko's not the type that's going to put a date on it that far out because two things. He doesn't want to create false hope within the fan base, but more importantly, he doesn't want to put pressure on his player or the player's family or the trainers or anybody to say, okay, here's a date. We need him back by then we need him. You know, there's. That's part of a plan. But you don't announce a plan, and sometimes, you know, if it doesn't stick to that plan, it's okay. But in this case, yeah, I don't think there was ever like a ton of concern once they got him off the field and recognized what the injury was. And post surgery, I. It was like, he'll be back and he'll be back much sooner than everyone. And it was disappointing to see how much people race to report that. And we're in this time period here where it does feel like there is some. I've got to beat Texags or Billy to the. And it's like this tripping over each other. And the national people do the same thing because they're trying to cover 130 schools of spring training injuries. It's not. It's not their fault. But you're trying to do something where you're spread way too thin. Okay, I'm gonna rely on the agent. Okay, well, who's the agent? How honest are they? How knowledgeable are they? How full of gleep are they? What's their incentive and ulterior motive? You know, like, you have to sift through that in 130 schools of player injuries. No, like, go. Go to the source. Go to what's closest. And if you'd been listening, he'd know that this wasn't going to be some major, major long term thing. But I don't know exactly when he'll be back, but I think it'll be plenty soon. I mean, plenty soon.

David Gardner

I. I compared it to Jabri Barber a couple years. Yeah, two years ago where like, everybody thought he was out at least half the season. Then Elko was like a little bit closer timeline. And he wasn't ready week one, but he started playing. What was it, week two or week three.

Billy Lucci

And, and I think the. The goal when it first happened, what I had heard from sources, just random. Was it. I think it was like the Arkansas game was kind of the target date. And he came back like two weeks before that.

David Gardner

Yep. And by the Arkansas game, he was playing closer to the level we expected because it was a little bit of a ramp.

Billy Lucci

I mean when we saw him. What against who did he get hurt against? Was in camp.

David Gardner

It was in camp or.

Billy Lucci

No, it was in the off season. He we saw him against. I mean hell, he scored a touchdown against Florida. Yeah. And that was game three. Yeah, it was game three. He scored a touchdown in that one. So I think he was playing like you said in game two against McNeese. Maybe.

David Gardner

So anyway, moving on. You saw the Ross Dellinger tweets in the report this morning or. No?

Billy Lucci

No.

David Gardner

Okay. Well, he is reporting that the Protect College Sports act is now rethinking some of their things. Cantwell and Cruz. And now they are open to allowing group of six teams to move into the power four conferences. That was a big sticking point for the sec. More changes are expected to get both the SEC and Big Ten involved. But the other thing that he reported was that the SEC has got a plan B self governing model that with the league enforcing its own rules. So the SEC is like, look, we don't have to play this game. We can do our own game.

Billy Lucci

Yeah.

David Gardner

I personally don't believe they really mean it. I think it's just the SEC showing we can do this if we need to. Yeah.

Billy Lucci

Which also we don't want can do it. Which screws up everything for this plan.

David Gardner

Your thoughts on. I mean Gordy was on the show for a few minutes earlier and he thinks now with this there's actually a 50, 50 chance that the Protect College Sports act does pass. And I still don't believe it will. But what do you think?

Billy Lucci

I don't think. I don't maybe, but not anywhere what it looks like today. I mean so yeah, if it passes, but it's not even the same act as it is today. Are we saying it passed? Are we just saying I don't think

David Gardner

it will because they have to do. There's going to be that month recess in August. So they have to get it done in the next two to three weeks and then there's that month recess and then when they come back they have bigger things to worry about than college football. So I personally don't think it'll get done this year.

Billy Lucci

I don't think. I never have thought it will get done. And if it does ever get done, it's literally going to be because it looks nothing like the original one, like the sec. I mean SEC in the Big Ten are just not going to accept so much of that bill. Which is why you see team after team, A and M did it with Texas a few weeks ago now, which we broke that story too. But time after time after time, now you're seeing team after team after team come out similarly against it. And it's just. There's too much against it. It's good in some areas. In some areas, it just makes no sense for the major college. But it's very like, almost like not to go political, but it's like socialism, really. I mean, it truly is. It's just like there's just so many. It's so much giving from the haves and. And from the haves to the haves nots just to keep them afloat. When in these TV contracts where they're bringing like, quite literally nothing to the table between, you know, it just the whole thing doesn't. Doesn't work. And that's why you're seeing the major conferences say, no. Why that's not fair to us. That's not fair. It inhibits and limits us.

David Gardner

And why it almost feels like they sped through, like they. All right, here's a plan.

Bronnie Gaither

Boom.

David Gardner

And they didn't consider all the parties. They just considered, hey, let's help the little, little guys in this.

Billy Lucci

Well, I think the people they were listening to and getting it done were too slanted towards the little guy.

David Gardner

Well, and one of those little guys is actually a big guy, but in a little guy pond. And that would be Texas Tech, who really pushed for this for sure.

Billy Lucci

And they also pushed for support from Ken Paxton.

David Gardner

Yeah. Yeah. And then the next day, Ken Paxton came out and said what he said.

Billy Lucci

Yeah.

David Gardner

All right, we'll hit a break. We'll come back. I want to ask you a question on the other side. What reveals A and M is during the season? Right. Reveals. Is this a reset or a reload? All right, we'll talk about that on the other side. Right now, a moment for Caldwell country Chevrolet, Highway 21 in Caldwell. Online at Caldwell country chevrolet.com your trade ins got value. And at Caldwell Country Chevrolet, they're ready to put that equity to work for you. They have a pre inventory that moves super fast. So that means that they're looking to find quality vehicles to add to their lot, which means they're ready to deal for you, bring in what you got and let their experienced sales team show you what it's worth. They have a combined experience of decades. Right. They want to structure a deal for you that Makes sense for you and your family. No games, no gimmicks, just honest deals from people who treat you like family. That's the Caldwell country Chevrolet. Remember, 15 minute drive, the edge of Bryant to the beginnings of Caldwell. Short conversation away. But you'll see the difference when you step on the lot and do business with the good people at Caldwell country Chevrolet. Highway 21 in Caldwell. Online, Caldwell Country Chevrolet.com.

Billy Lucci

give it to me.

David Gardner

Give it to me. The Louis Polina show. It's awesome.

Kayla Gaither

Stop, listen and look both ways.

David Gardner

Listen in weekdays, limited to two in the zone. And we're back. Tech tags live. Got a short segment here because Billy's got to get going. We'll try to get him on the phone as he heads out. Billy, I want to talk to you about what reveals whether A and M this year is a reset or a reset. Because, like, for a lot of teams, you know, like Georgia, Alabama, back in the day.

Billy Lucci

Yeah.

David Gardner

They don't, you know, they don't have to reset. They don't have to rebuild. They reload. Right.

Billy Lucci

Yeah.

David Gardner

And in today's world of college football, where half the roster is turning over for just about everybody. Right. That, I mean, significant changes in roster, you know, is there something that you'll see early on midway through that'll reveal to you this is a reload or a reset early in the season? Early. And then maybe as we go on,

Billy Lucci

too, I mean, I'll just tell you right now, as simple as I can put it. You watch the line of scrimmage. That's it.

David Gardner

Yeah.

Billy Lucci

I mean, both sides, how many draft picks you lose? I'm gonna guess seven. Yeah. 4o lineman Regis on Yetam Howell, you lost seven draft picks at the line of scrimmage. If there's no better way to decide if this is a rebuild or a reload than how well the offensive and defensive lines are playing. So I think you'll know by the end of September how this whole season's going to. You don't know the exact record, but like, if you said, man, they've reloaded or they've re. Or they're rebuilding and they're going to take a step back versus they reloaded. Their playoff contender. Watch them. Versus this team at the end of September and the week before against Kentucky, who's not going to be world beaters, but they got a new coach and they did a lot of portal damage. They've got a quarterback who can play in Minchi, who almost won that Notre Dame job. And then look at how they play against Arizona State, who's a good program under Dillingham. And again, I'm not saying, like ASU would struggle in the SEC this year. They would be towards the bottom end. But they also added some nice portal pieces.

David Gardner

They did really well.

Billy Lucci

They lost a lot of.

Bronnie Gaither

They did.

Billy Lucci

They did a lot in the portal. They're going to be a bit of an unknown early in the season.

David Gardner

Let me add this about Arizona State. People forget in that first year with Kenny Dillingham, they were expected to finish last in the Big 12. They won the Big 12. They went and they took Texas to the wide. It was a good game against Texas.

Billy Lucci

And again they had Scatterboo and they had Levitt and they had a first round left tackle and they had Jordan Tyson, they had a lot of dudes. Now Tyson play against Texas, I don't think he did. But anyway, point being, this team I don't think will be as good as that Arizona State team, but they're still going to be, I think, an upper Echelon Big 12 team. So my point is saying all that is, how do you play against asu, Kentucky and Texas? I mean, lsu, Freudian slip there, that's an even bigger one. But if you, Those three, how do you play in those, in those games in September and if you look really good at the line of scrimmage and you're stopping the run and you're getting after the quarterback and you've got a run game and you're protecting Marcel, you're going, man, this is month one weeks, you know, two, three and four or two, four and two, three and five, whatever it is, this is month one and we're doing this. And after lsu, we've got, you know what, Arkansas coming in and then Missouri.

David Gardner

Missouri on the road.

Kayla Gaither

Yep.

Billy Lucci

It's like, man, you still have some time to get better. So if that's what you look like in September and you know, it's a re. It's a reloading year. If you're struggling, win or lose, and you're kind of sneaking by against Arizona State and Kentucky and you go down to Baton Rouge and you're like, damn, you know, you might. Maybe you lose that game because you can't block or because you can't run or because they run the ball all over you, Levitt has all day, whatever those things are, you're like, man, this line of scrimmage could be an issue. They lost too much in one year. Like, damn, we love what they've got in the lower classes and what they're Recruiting and. But, but I don't see that. I just think with guys like we talked about, Saka, Henderson, Mims, you've added a couple other D tackles that you feel really good about. Hicks, Rink, Sanders, you know, I'm a veteran who came in here looking like he's ready to play a couple weeks ago. 6, 5, 2, 60. And TJ Serci, who's played a lot of SEC football. I mean there's a lot, you know, there's, there's a there Marco Jones, I maybe as exciting as any of them. So that's just defense. We talked about the, we talked a line earlier Portal, bring back all of your depth that should be pushed into play. I don't think it's going to be the rebuilding side of that. I think they took the necessary steps. They signed three Portal D tackles. They signed, correct me if I'm wrong here, two Portal DNS and they signed four Portal alignment, that's nine Portal linemen to keep this from happening. Exactly why they did what they did. So this conversation of do you want to reload or do you want to rebuild? And they said we're going to reload because in 2026 in the SEC, college football nil, and all the money you're asking from donors and all the money the coaches are making and the players are making, quite frankly, you know, rebuilding is not an option for these power programs. And so it happens. It happens. But you're going to do everything you can to keep that from happening.

David Gardner

Well, to borrow the topic from earlier in the show, also, do you believe in the guys that are evaluating the talent that we bring in here? So far in two seasons, Derek Miller, Elko and the rest of that staff has done. Have done an excellent job identifying transfer portal guys. Some we didn't know much about.

Billy Lucci

Can we say I'm going to be wrong on this with some, but let's just say they had six Portal guys drafted.

David Gardner

That's right.

Billy Lucci

They've had Angie, Brie, Barber, who you picked out of the Portal. He left because there was so much depth. But you picked him and you found a draft pick out of Louisiana Tech. But who was it? It was. And that doesn't even count Scooby, who if he'd been healthy, he proved to be a player. So Scooby was a Will Lee, Reed Adams, Cassius. Who else out of the. Out of the Portal got drafted? Drafted.

David Gardner

You just said Todd on yet and

Billy Lucci

you said him one year named Orchestra. Orchestra. Second round.

David Gardner

Cassius Howell named him Will Lee. We said him. Yeah.

Billy Lucci

And Casey Kissy. So there were six of them right now. And Jabri, who you identified and said that, guys, so they're really seven now this year. Like I think Des Ricks gets drafted. I think, you know, Ricky Gibson is projected as a draft pick. I think C.J. mims gets there. And I'm just saying, guys, there's a couple that could play longer and get there. That's probably too early to tell on the tight end, Anto Saka, Isaiah Horton, Wilkin Formby. If I cut it off there, I'm leaving out. Oh, I'm leaving out like fired and Coney and three other offensive linemen. And I know people are telling me they think balk and go, but I'm already up to like there's going to be at least a dozen I think drafted that A and M went through the portal to get in two years. So yeah, they definitely have shown you that they can do it and you should have faith in it.

David Gardner

Alright, let's hit a break here. We'll call Billy on the other side, talk to him for a few minutes before he has to get leaving right now. When you're craving authentic Italian food, there's one place to go that brings the tradition, the flavor and all the family goodies together. They are, they're coming in. All right. Fratella Italian Cafe. They're a family owned favorite. They serve fresh homemade dishes every day. They use recipes passed down through generations like their signature frittella, which is delish fried, golden perfection stuff with marinara, mozzarella and your choice of fillings. They've got lasagna. I love lasagna, Beef cannoli, fettuccine Alfredo crispy pizza from their Fratella Copper Dome Pizza Oven. Stop in for daily lunch specials or let Fratella cater your next event. It is Fratella Italian Cafe I on South Texas Avenue in Bryan. More than a meal, it's a tradition. It's Fratello. Visit the Pon center at zonileven50.com and find every hour of every day of your favorite shows. Download or subscribe straight to the Bupy Skatering and Bartending Hotline. Billy Lucci joining us for a couple minutes. Billy, here's something I forgot to ask you earlier. Look, I like to read into things sometimes, so if you want to get mad at me, I understand. But when we when we played a clip from Marcel earlier in the week when he interviewed with the D1 guys at the place he's training at in Nashville, he was talking about all his Weapons. And he also threw in Aaron Gregory. And I just think that speaks volumes for how this young freshman has stood out so far.

Bronnie Gaither

Oh, no question. I think you're right. Like when the, when the quarterback saying it, right. But yeah, no, Aaron Gregory has been. I was talking about this with somebody yesterday, just a buddy of mine who's, you know, he's attended a couple practices and he's just like, golly man, number three. I'm like, yeah, Aaron Gregory, he's like. It just, he said the day I went out they was talking about spring and, and just said he caught about 12 passes. It felt like it just was everywhere. And like the short one turning a lot. And here's the thing, he's a highlight reel waiting to happen. But he moves so incredibly well for a guy with his height and length. Like the quickness, the route running, the coming out of his brakes and in the hands and like the catch radius and I don't know, like spatial awareness just kind of where he's at in regards to the defender and how to go up and get it, put his body in the best position. He's got a lot of traits of a lot of like really good A M. Receivers. Like, you can see some Mike Evans in him. You see some, I mean, to me, what I see a lot of. But I think he's going to be like, you see a lot of Josh Reynolds, but I think what you, you see a lot of Josh Reynolds, but you see a lot of like at the, like Josh Reynolds when he was getting ready to go to the NFL. So I don't know what that means for a ceiling. Like who, who you go compare him to, you know, from there. Because if he's playing, you know, I'm not saying from this season he's going to play like Josh Reynolds. He is going to make some Josh Reynolds type catches and some Mike Evans type catches. But if he's, if he's that polished and that capable as a true freshman, you remember Josh went the JC route and really developed. He's one of the all time great developmental stories from high school through his pro career. Like, you know, as far as Aggies go, I'd put him up there with a Michael Bennett, you know, Terence Murphy. But that was. Murphy was different though, because he was just. The only reason Murphy wasn't there is because he just played quarterback, you know, and you moved him to receiver. So there was a learning curve, but Josh just kept getting better and better. But I think Aaron Gregory, you know, if Aaron Gregory just keeps getting better and better. What. What does that mean? You know, like, what does that mean?

David Gardner

Billy, I, I want to ask you about Clayton Freshcorn before you have to get going. I know Bronnie had the exclusive sit down with him earlier in the week. We knew this was a possibility. Then it seemed like it may not happen. Now it's happening. What that means for that rotation next year,

Bronnie Gaither

man, that changes everything. Obviously. I mean, you're trying to, you know, you're trying to develop a weekend rotation. And here's a guy who, what he showed you against usc and remember he has starting experience prior, you know, and what he showed you against USC and then, and then to get, go in the draft, get drafted and decide to come back. Like there's one of your weekend starters and you've got Aiden Sims and people that are worried about that, that was not Tommy John or anything, that was just a season ending injury. They had to go clean up. Like he's going to be, he's going to be Aiden Sims and hopefully better Aiden Sim with better, better pitching coach or, you know, and better development there. So when you can look today at your rotation and go, okay, we got Fresh Corn and Sims and start, you, you already feel so much better. And that dude, the other thing about Fresh Corn, he's so competitive, he's so tough mentally and just such. I feel like he's just such a core piece of that locker room at clubhouse and that team that is big in more ways than one. But man, what it does for your, your, your pitching staff is unreal.

David Gardner

Billy, I know you got to get going. Thanks, man. We'll talk to you Monday at SEC media days in Tampa.

Bronnie Gaither

All right, buddy.

David Gardner

See you, man. Mele Lucci there on the bumpy skatering and bartending hotline. Appreciate his time. All right, we got a couple minutes in this segment, then we'll close out the show. I wanted to get into. And you guys can pipe in on this dabo Sweeney. You know how I told you earlier, you guys too, I told her, but it was for everybody. I'm late to jump off like the train on somebody sometimes. Like I was late on Connor, wasn't so late on Jimbo, but, you know, I knew it didn't make financial sense to get rid of him after 22, even though I thought maybe, right, like, but it's not my money, right? It ain't my money, but I have jumped off the dabo train. Yeah, but I want to jump back on the train. I'm not jumping back on. Like, I'm not Making that.

Kayla Gaither

But you're on the way to the train.

David Gardner

No, I'm not even on the way to the train. I'm not going to the train. I wish the train were an option.

Kayla Gaither

Okay.

David Gardner

It's more that I wish a lot. There's two, maybe there's three schools of thought. I think there's two schools of thought. A lot of people find him to be phony. I don't. A lot of people don't like Dabo. I like him. Okay. I think he's like. He seems like the kind of college football coach I'd want my kids to play for. Yeah, same with Mike Elko. Right? Like the kind of like, he's just. I like that part of him. It does feel like he won 20 years ago and it really wasn't that long ago. Yeah, okay, but in Today's college football, five years is. I mean, think about the 2020 season. How long ago was that?

Bronnie Gaither

Right.

Kayla Gaither

Like ages ago.

David Gardner

But he's got opinions on the state of color. Hey, Dabo might not be a bad guy to talk to for your fake commissioner of college football, but he talked a lot about tampering and transfer portal yesterday and he talked about two different. And here's what he says on tampering to this point, it's rampant because there hasn't been consequences. I don't know that there's been much fear of consequences. We've got to get some in order. The only way that happens is if these guys, the five families in the mafia, get together and like, hey, this is. This is what we're going to do moving forward. But they're not going to. He's also pointed out to others having financial penalties and suspensions, firings and contracts. He says there needs to be some consequences or you'll say, the heck with it, don't worry about it, and call it what it is, the wild, Wild West. He's right. And remember, Clemson is involved in this tampering issue, which I think they're still waiting on. Ole Miss recruitment of the linebacker Luke Forelli, who I think was on campus getting text messages. If I remember the story correctly from Lane Kiffin, he says on Portal recruiting, you meet a guy at 9:30 on a Monday night and he gets married at 11:00am the next day. It's like Elvis. You're in the wedding chapel and you hope it's going to last forever. He also described the portal as a resource, not the primary source of Clemson's roster. Remember, they added 11 people, which is not the way they like to do I mean, that's a lot for Clemson. Yeah, right. They've lost people, but they don't like to bring in 11. How many portal additions does A and M have? How many portal additions does. If you can do a quick Google search of SEC team portal editions in 2026, I mean, I think A and M is what, at 40, 30? I don't know, maybe it's not that much. New additions is, I think, what I'm looking at. But that being said, only 11 transfer portals. 17. 17. Thank you. Okay, so, I mean, not a huge difference, but six players on that roster. So he is saying the biggest questions are tampering, the speed of decisions, the lack of contracts. There are contracts, but what do they really mean, lack of consequences? Well, yes, just like your children, just like your employee. You know, like when Gaither's always late by 20 minutes, you know, I've got to crack the whip and I'll say, you got to go and, you know, watch paint dry. So how much do you think fear of consequences stops teams? And then I'll follow that up with this. There were consequences for years if you paid players.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

SMU got the biggest consequence of all time. And other teams we know have been hit before, but that seemed to be less and less. I mean, it was still happening way, way under the table. When they caught USC or USC caught themselves, it was after the fact. Did it really matter?

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

So I don't know if there's ever, ever too strong of a word. I don't know how much consequences matter, but I think when there were some consequences, there was at least a fear across the line.

Kayla Gaither

I mean, if there weren't a fear of consequences, they wouldn't be doing it under the table. There would be more highlight. You would know about it more so. But since there was a fear of consequences, you don't know what's happening. It's under the table, it's secret, it's hidden. But nowadays, I think, you know, it's kind of harder to have a fear of a consequence because you can just change a rule at any point in

David Gardner

time to upset everybody. Again, here's another soccer thing. Like, first off, if you sign a contract, I think you should have to uphold that contract. Right? I do. But if you're not happy there, you're going to do whatever you're hold out or angry or whatever. In soccer, you have to buy out a contract.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

So what small clubs do is they get these superstar. Well, they develop these players who become superstar players and. And then when the Manchester United or the Real Madrid or the Barcelona, like, try to get these players, they buy them out and they give a financial reward to the smaller team to make it worth their while. Then they can reinvest in their development. I mean, I think there should be something like that, but I don't think he's off to. I think he's right in what the vision is.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

I don't know if he's right completely in that, you know, this protect college sports act and all the things that they're trying to do. I think it's trying to move in that direction. But, you know, Quien Saba, as we like to say. All right, let's do this. Set a break, come back. One final segment here on a Friday edition of Tech SAGS Live. And we will. I don't know, look at the wide receivers. Is that what you want to get into?

Kayla Gaither

Let's do wide receivers.

David Gardner

All right. And hopefully you signed up for your preseason kickoff because it's going to be great. On July 25th. You're listening to Tech Stacks Live, presented by David Garner's jewelers.

Billy Lucci

Aggie football sounds even better online.

David Gardner

Check it out@radioegieland.com reach out to Chance to play and get your family's story done. Your family deserves to have their story told in a documentary form. Everybody's family. Gaither, patriarch of your family is who?

Kayla Gaither

My what?

David Gardner

Like the leader? Like who's the leader?

Kayla Gaither

My dad.

David Gardner

Your dad?

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

He's got a cool story.

Kayla Gaither

He does have a cool stuff.

David Gardner

Cool career.

Kayla Gaither

He does have a cool career.

David Gardner

Right. He's done a lot of amazing things.

Kayla Gaither

He's done a lot of versatile, amazing, interesting things.

David Gardner

All right. And I'm sure you know those stories.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

But will you be able to pass those stories on to the future generations with the clarity that your pops has given to you in the future?

Kayla Gaither

I don't think I would be able to do that.

David Gardner

My suggestion to the family, the Gaither family, is to reach out to Chance McLean and all of you as well, because we all got a story. And have them tell that two hour story in a documentary form that'll feel like a Netflix special. Go to YourHeritageFilm.com yeah, it's a spot, guys. It is. But I truly believe in it. I truly believe in Chance. It's gonna make a difference for your family. Something that, you know, 20 years from now. Your kids can watch. Call them up. 7138-9383-4171-3893-8341 It's Heritage Films. Gaither, You've got a topic.

Kayla Gaither

I do have a topic.

David Gardner

So they went gangster earlier and I went schoolgirl later.

Kayla Gaither

This is. This is like fun girly talk.

David Gardner

Let's go talk about wide receivers.

Kayla Gaither

Let's talk about wide receivers. Why don't we? So Athlon Sports put out their top 25 receiving cores in college football for 2026. A&M obviously made the list, or I wouldn't be talking about it right now. But where do you think A and M's wide receiver corps was ranked for the 2026 Wide Receiver Core List?

David Gardner

In the SEC? No, in the college football.

Kayla Gaither

College football.

David Gardner

Okay, I have not seen this. All right, I'm gonna say you said CBS Sports.

Kayla Gaither

Athlon Sports.

David Gardner

Athlon Sports. Okay. They're family. Actually, they're not at all. They're not even. They don't even know each other. They've never talked. I'm gonna say six.

Kayla Gaither

You're very close. Fifth annum's at number seven.

David Gardner

Okay, I was close.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah, very close.

David Gardner

So let me know who's ahead and who I should be mad at.

Kayla Gaither

Okay, so number one, Ohio State. Yes, Ohio State. You're correct. With Jeremiah Smith and some other wide receivers like Carnell Tate. And then number two, Texas.

David Gardner

Yeah. Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo. I get it.

Kayla Gaither

Miami is at number three.

Billy Lucci

Okay.

David Gardner

There's a guy that there that we know quite well. His name is Malachi. Tony.

Kayla Gaither

We know him pretty well. Unfortunately, number four is Oregon.

David Gardner

They're so far away that I feel like they're not. By the way, I am higher on Oregon. I think Oregon might like. Oregon might be Indiana.

Kayla Gaither

Interesting. Okay.

David Gardner

I might be wrong. I don't know.

Kayla Gaither

We'll see.

David Gardner

I just. I think you got a returning quarterback that. That's good. That could have gone top 10 in the NFL draft. I think that makes a huge difference.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah, for sure. Number five. We were just talking about this team. Clemson.

David Gardner

Clemson.

Kayla Gaither

Clemson at number five.

David Gardner

Who's a quarterback?

Kayla Gaither

See, it doesn't say who their quarterback is, but it says the nation's top receiving duos with T.J. moore and Bryant Wesco Jr. Are back this fall. Wesco Jr. Was. Was limited to Justina.

David Gardner

I didn't know that.

Kayla Gaither

So Wesco Jr. Was a limited. Was limited to just seven games due to an injury, but still grabbed 31 receptions for 537 yards and six scores.

David Gardner

Hold on. What was his numbers again?

Kayla Gaither

So he missed games. He was in just seven due to an injury, but still had 31 receptions for 537 yards.

David Gardner

That's pretty darn good. Pretty darn good.

Kayla Gaither

Seven games. Yeah.

David Gardner

That's really good.

Kayla Gaither

Moving on, number six, Indiana. So just ahead of Texas A and M Indiana.

David Gardner

I'm okay with that.

Kayla Gaither

I see that. And then, of course, number seven.

David Gardner

This is what they don't know, and we don't know either. But what they don't know, they don't know Aaron Gregory.

Kayla Gaither

They don't.

David Gardner

I don't know what they say. I doubt they know that much about abr.

Kayla Gaither

I will give you the little blurb what they say.

David Gardner

Blurb it.

Kayla Gaither

You give me your reaction. So it says Casey Concepcion's playmaking ability will be missed. But the Aggies bring back Mario Craver with 59 catches for 917 yards and four scores. Ashton Beltha Roman, 21 yards per catch. And Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton arrives to give quarterback Marcel Reed a big target in the red zone. Terry Bussey and true freshman Aaron Gregory will also contribute at receiver. Transfers Richie Anderson from Fresno State and Houston Thomas from UTSA will man the tight end spot for coach Mike Elko.

David Gardner

Okay, well, you know what? Fine. They're good.

Kayla Gaither

Maybe they know.

David Gardner

They know. I would say there's a lot more unproven there than some of the other ones, but I don't think Mario Kraver's unproven, and I don't think Isaiah Horton's unproven. And I got no problem with them being seventh. I don't know seventh or fourth.

Kayla Gaither

I think the unproven ability from Aaron Gregory. Houston Thomas, Richie Anderson, Terry Bussey. Maybe not Terry Bussey as much, but there's still some development there that might be why Texas A and m is at 7. But this is still a really good Stephen Gore list here.

David Gardner

But I would ask you why or how or when. Quarterback. Okay. Number one was Ohio State. Okay. We understand their quarterback situation. Okay. Number two, we understand their quarterback situation in Texas. Number three was Clemson. Miami. Darian Mensah. The most thought out. Or the most. Whatever the word is. They were looking for him. All right, Darian Mensah, who's next?

Kayla Gaither

Number five was Clemson.

David Gardner

Clemson or.

Kayla Gaither

I'm sorry. Number four was Oregon. Number five was Clemson.

David Gardner

Quality quarterback. Definitely Clemson. Vezina. Okay.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

Basino in Spanish means neighbor. And if my neighbor was a quarterback of this team, it'd be terrible. I don't know enough about him to be able to gauge him. He's an unknown. Okay. Who else? Six again.

Kayla Gaither

Six was Indiana.

David Gardner

Okay, good quarterback. A and M, good quarterback. So I'm okay with that. List And I'm actually okay with Clemson being there based on the. The production returning.

Kayla Gaither

Yeah.

David Gardner

But I think they would be the biggest question mark. Who's right?

Kayla Gaither

After A and M, Florida is at number eight.

David Gardner

They could surprise a lot of people this year because every year, the last couple years under the prior administration with Billy Napier, this could be the year. They got talent. They got talent. They just didn't have the right person in charge.

Kayla Gaither

They also have a question mark at quarterback as well.

David Gardner

They do.

Kayla Gaither

So yeah, yeah.

David Gardner

Just finish up the top 10.

Kayla Gaither

All right. Number nine, Alabama. And number 10.

David Gardner

Question marks at quarterback again.

Kayla Gaither

Definitely a question mark. Number 10, Florida State.

David Gardner

I am other coach is going to make it.

Bronnie Gaither

I know, right?

Kayla Gaither

He's a big question mark. He's been on the hot seat in many lists that I've seen this offset.

David Gardner

But he's been on the hot seat most of the years I've worked at Tech sag and then he had that big year or two and they're like, oh wait, he's Mike. Don't sleep on Mike Norville. But now I kind of like Mike Norville.

Kayla Gaither

I like him. But he's back on the hot seat for me as well.

David Gardner

Yeah, yeah, he's on the hot.

Kayla Gaither

He's always on the.

David Gardner

It's very hot. Folks. The next time you see my face, if you watch, it'll be from SEC Media days in Tampa. Next time you hear my voice. It depends if you watch or listen to an old episode. That's awful. Part of it so. But the next live version of this program will be from Tampa, Florida for the SEC Media days. Thanks to Paragon Financial for that. Thank you to everybody watching and listening. I don't know who our guests are, but I guarantee you they'll be great. We'll see you then. Happy birthday, America. It's time to celebrate and play your favorite Las Vegas casino games by American owned. Spinquest.com what's better than fireworks and American pie? Hitting a blackjack in the palm of your hand and you won't lose your fingers. Over a thousand games including slots and live dealers and $30 coin packs are on sale for 10 spinquest.com buy American players. For American players, Spin Quest is a

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