A

Welcome in to day two of SCC Media Days 2026 from Tampa, Florida. And this SEC Media Days coverage is brought to you by Paragon Financial Advisors. Helping clients nationwide focus on long game through independent fiduciary financial advice. Visit paragon-adv.com He's Ola Buchanan.

B

He's David.

A

Thank you very much. The show, this is the NASCAR part is called Tech Sags Live. We won't do the whole NASCAR part. We'll break it up.

B

Okay.

A

We are presented by David Gardner Jewelers in the Mobile Rollo Insurance studio. The Go Hour presented by the warehouse at CC Creations. Olin today on the podium, we've got Auburn, we've got Georgia, we've got South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

B

Yeah, only one team that A and M is going to play. But all four teams are pretty interesting.

A

Yeah.

B

You know, Georgia, for obvious reasons, they're Georgia, Georgia champions and expect to be maybe the best team again. Vanderbilt has thrived under Clark Lee, but they got to move forward without Diego Papia. How are they going to do that? South Carolina, you know, they're trying to bounce back from what I think they were 4 and 8 last year.

A

Yeah, they were.

B

And their coach is on the record saying hey, we're going to be in the playoff or at least contending. So you know, that's something to talk about. And then of course the new coach Olis at Auburn. Anytime there's a new coach, especially at a high profile place like Auburn, you know, it's really interesting. So yeah, pretty interesting day.

A

So I have not read the column and I should not do it based on what was written. But I'm going to read you a little little blurb from Pat 40.

B

Okay.

A

I used to work with Pat. You did too at Yahoo. Pat and I did a show together column. When you're no longer winning titles, shift the subject to attendance. The SEC is coping with a recent downturn rooted in unsuccessful and expensive coaching hires. And so so quarterbacking will this season reverse the trend that. Was attendance a topic yesterday?

B

I don't remember that being the tennis

A

a problem in the sec. Maybe I'm not understanding what he means.

B

Maybe he's saying because the sec is it winning the national championship. They're, they're trumpeting hey yet look, this is the, the place where there's the most interest and we have the these big stadiums. Oh, sold out.

A

Yeah, I see what you're. Yeah.

B

So just saying like if you can't win the championship, you know, tell everybody how, how great other things are about your conference Well, I think we all

A

cope in our own way. We try to find reasons. The bottom line, and I'm not going to make this a debate. Big Ten versus sec. Bottom line, the Big Tens won the last three championships. SEC hasn't. That's where we are.

B

That's where we are. And they get to. The Big Ten gets to pound its chest and. As they should, and say they're the greatest or the best. Because the SEC certainly did when they won seven in a row or eight in a row or how many, however many it was. I think they've won something like. They want something like 13 out of 17 or something like that.

A

Yeah.

B

So. And. And they let everybody know that.

A

Yeah.

B

So if you don't like it, go. Which obviously the SEC doesn't. Somebody has to go out and win the national championship. As long as it's not Texas.

A

Obi, am I crazy for thinking I don't know if this is the SEC's year and look, we'll see how the season plays out. That'll tell. Give us the actual data points other than all these rosters that are different. But I don't feel like there's a dominant force being spoken about in the sec. I know that they have two teams that most people look at, the top

B

two, Georgia and Texas.

A

But I don't know if Texas has got some question marks. All teams have question marks, but Texas has got some. Some real question marks that I think could affect them. I talked to Anwar Richardson yesterday. We're going to run that interview at some point. He said their big question mark is the offensive line. Right. And if you have a poor offensive line, if your quarterback is not going

B

to do as well as the LSU Tigers, so.

A

But Georgia, they could be. I mean, they always have a good defense. Gunner Stockton is a guy that I think people don't talk about enough. He had a really good year last year. At the end of the day, I don't know, but who from the Big Ten would scare you today? Ohio State.

B

I think Ohio State's always going to

A

be good, but they have a ridiculous schedule for Ohio State for Big Ten standards.

B

Yeah, but it's kind of like when someone said, well, you know, all these A and M has to play all these teams. I said, yeah, they have to play A and M2. Ohio State's not gonna be intimidated by anybody. But, yeah, they're gonna have to show up and play. If I was gonna guess today, I would say Ohio State will be the Big Ten champion.

A

Yeah.

B

Thought they would last year, too. And Indiana won it all. So what do I know?

A

So I just found out programming update at 8:12. I have to do the math because my computer is for some reason set

B

on

A

eastern but my phone is set to central.

B

It's crazy.

A

I gotta, I got a system right set an hour. But Brooks Austin here in about seven minutes or so he's going to join you and me right here on this show.

B

I like to watch the film guy. Yeah, very knowledgeable.

A

Yeah, he is very knowledgeable. So we'll, we'll be chit chatting with him. So we'll hit an early break but we're not going to hit it just yet. I want to read you something from coach Elko. Last night at the Houston A M Club.

B

Yeah.

A

Dinner. He, he says no leadership in the. In college football or just in the ncaa. It's a multi billion dollar industry with no centralized leadership. There's no other company in the history of the world with those types of revenue streams with no leadership. We need that now more than ever.

B

Yeah, he said that at in desen too. And it's true. And that's what every. I mean everybody who follows college football has been frustrated by that. And it is a billion dollar interest industry. And who's running it? Not the, I can't even think the guy's name. Baker. Yeah, Charlie Baker, the NCAA president. I don't, I don't feel like he's running the show.

A

He's running a building like his group. But they don't again, no real power. And that's their own fault. And also, you know, state laws have kind of stripped down their power

C

again.

B

That goes back to the NCAA of saying hey, let the, let the, let

A

it play itself out.

B

Well, let's look for guidance from government and all this. But my calculus is absolutely right. The question then is how are they going to change it or do they even really want to change it?

A

Do they want to change it? Right.

B

And I understand when you're the SEC and the College Sports Protection act comes out and you're reading it says, wait a minute. They're essentially want to take some of our money and give it to lesser conferences to play, even playing field. No, we don't want to give up our revenue and subsidize someone else. I mean, I get that. So how do you fix all that?

A

Hey, this is Texas live. I already told you that part. But I didn't tell you how you can be a part of the conversation.

B

Yeah, you know, you can call us on the bupes catering and bartending hotline do you know that number?

A

Actually, I do. I've memorized it. It's been the same number since I was in college. 979, 6, 9, 3, 1150. You can text that number. We clap our hands and it changes.

B

Yeah, it changes. To the catalyst. Pure performance energy. Ppe.

A

Text line, next line. We're not going to go around the entire room. We're just going to go right to my right. Nick Savage, director of the year, having a good, good performance so far here at SEC Media Days, we grade him on this. Yeah. He and the teamwork of Cali and then the rest of the crew. If we don't get guests, it's on them. It's not on me at all. Except when Billy finds out. Anyway. Nick, what's up? Is it true that it's been the same number since you were in college or do you just make that up? Same number. The only difference that I remember that number. Yeah, I mean, Louie may text me in a little bit, tell me I'm wrong, but I remember 6, 9, 3, 1150. When I was in college, before we did, believe it or not, before your lifetime. Do you remember this? We didn't do the 9, 7, 9. We just did 6, 9, 3, 1150. Yeah.

B

Yeah.

A

You knew that.

B

I do. I knew that.

A

How did you know I was in your life? I know, but I just know of things. I know things that weren't in my life before.

B

Yeah.

A

Be. What is it Be in Before Nick. Before Nick. Yeah. What was your big takeaway from yesterday? It could be about the show. It could be about.

B

Yes.

A

It could be about the people at the podium. We did. So, like our job is a little hard. We have to go back and watch. I was listening last night and this morning, my, my big takeaway. And this might be a cop out, but it really kind of seemed uneventful.

C

Right.

A

Like for Sankey, nothing really came of his. A lot of politicking. Richard's described him as very matter of fact me. We were talking about it after work, but yeah, hopefully maybe some interesting storylines today. Going to be tougher with only one team that we're facing. But looking forward to tomorrow for sure. Yeah, I am. I'm looking forward to it as well. The thing about today,

B

what do you.

A

What is the big storyline today? I know when LSU goes with the big storyline is when Ole Miss goes. We obviously know what A and M means to us. What is the big storyline today?

B

OB well, you know, again, I think that depends on perspective.

A

Yeah, I mean, but I mean, nationally, like who do you. What do you think? People are clicking. It's about Georgia, right?

B

Yeah. Nationally, probably. Yeah. Just they haven't. Oh, my gosh. They haven't won the national championship.

A

Yeah.

B

Three years. And when you talk about. About the Big Ten being, you know, braggadocious about it, that's the right way to say that.

A

Yeah. Braggadocious or bragadocious. Braggadocious.

B

Whichever.

A

Super califagic.

B

If anybody's gonna going to end that streak, it's a good chance that it's going to be Georgia. So I'm sure he'll be asked about that and he's proud sec, coach, player. I'm sure he'll have some thoughts about

A

that whole issue from the perceived upper half of the sec. Okay. Who would you put your money on to make the college football playoffs?

B

Yeah, I think Georgia. I think I'd have to. Texas. Beyond those two.

A

That's it. Right.

B

Again, I've said about A and M. I've said it before. I got to see the offensive line play. You look at Oklahoma and you're hearing a lot about them.

A

Wouldn't you say that about Texas's offensive line too, though?

B

Yeah, but I think Texas looks. Appears to have. Yeah, there's questions about the offensive line there. But you know, I'm looking at Texas and defensively I think they have more, especially up front, they have more experience. They did. I don't know that they're trying to replace the same caliber of offensive linemen that A and M's trying to replace. Again, all four of them were drafted. Yeah, a couple of them were drafted really high. I don't know that that was necessarily the case in Texas. Right. So. Oklahoma has that schedule that. That scares me off a little bit. You know, everybody's talking about how good Oklahoma is going to be in their defense.

A

Their first month is ridiculous too, right?

B

Yeah, it's just.

A

I think it's their first month.

B

It's all through. I mean, I don't know when you get a. Even something that looks like a break for Oklahoma. So who else? I mean, we hear. Keep hearing about lsu, but. But that's really because of Lane Kiffin.

A

If I. I'll ask Brooks this on the other side. If I had to put my money down, it was my money, not yours. If it's yours, I'm putting it on A M and a couple others. But if it's my money, I. I don't know. Let's do this.

B

Let's hit a break. It's his money, my money.

A

Brooks is Almost ready to go. So let's hit a break here. We'll come back. But OB would you like a film breakdown at 1775 where Brooks is up there? He's eating, you know, the queso Mac and cheese, the succulent brisket.

B

Right.

A

He's eating all the foods. Okay. As he's doing the film breakdown and breaking down A and M's offensive line and breaking down Marcel's play. Would you. Would you sign up for something like that?

B

Oh, absolutely. But you know what? I could also sign up on Brooks Austin, breaking down the procedure of preparing that succulent. Oh, yeah. You know, saying, okay, here comes Brad, and he's going over to the pit. And here comes Brandon. He's coming over with the seasoning and all this. You know, all that blend is going to come in with the season sides.

A

Yeah, yeah.

B

And then showing how it's done. And then here. Here's the. How it comes out. You know, I could see that. And then I'm sure he would be, you know, checking it off as a, you know, big win and so on and so forth. Because you can't beat 1775 barbecues. You just can't beat them.

A

You can't and you shouldn't. It is 1775. The website 1775 txbq.com and you can call them up. 979-492-6241. It is 1775.

B

It's really good. Spend your summer with the zone. Summer, Summer, Summer.

A

Yeah.

B

This is only 11:50am and 93.7 FM where football has no off season.

A

Welcome back in Tex AGS live presented by David Gardner Schuler's Rollo insurance studio. This SEC media days coverage is brought to you by Paragon Financial Advisors. David Nuna, Ola Buchanan, and the film guy, Brooks Austin in the house.

C

What's up, boys?

A

What's up, son?

C

I'm doing all right. How are y'?

B

All?

A

Good. Great. We're great.

B

Excellent.

C

I don't know about y', all, but I. I come here, and I'm never prepared to talk as much as I do.

A

Yeah.

C

You know what I mean? It's a good problem to have, but I'm feeling a little tired this morning. Not gonna lie to you. Yeah, we're gonna suck it up.

A

Yeah. Clark Lee just walked by. He looks like he could still play.

B

Yeah, he's kind of jacked.

C

He's also doing a very veteran move. You notice he's not in his suit yet? Yeah, he's walking around in normal coaching

A

gear saying, hi to the people saying

C

hi to the people doing the smoothing. Probably gonna do a couple radio hits in the quarter zip, and then he's gonna go throw the suit on. That's. That's wise.

A

Brooks, I'm gonna ask you a question. I asked OB at the end of the last segment. If you had to put your money right, not Billy's money, your money on teams that you know will make the playoffs in the sec, who would you put your money that you. You feel pretty darn good about making the playoffs in the sec?

C

Honestly, I think there's seven contenders, but I think there's two that I would put money on.

A

Yeah.

C

Georgia, because of the schedule. It's about as manageable as a schedule as they can.

B

And.

C

And Texas, because I'm putting all weight and expectation of the world on Steve Sarkeesian shoulders. So I've been that all off season. Basically since the portal closed, I was like, good lord, what doesn't he have Now? I know they got a tough schedule, but, like, Texas should win 10 games if they don't. Everybody was hurt. Or we got serious questions about coaching.

B

What do you think about Oklahoma? Because I know they're a team that everybody's seemed like everybody is hyping up. It's not just a playoff team, but a real national championship contender. And maybe that is the case. But you talk about tough schedule, there's challenging as anybody.

C

Yeah. For like three years in a row. It's like out there for those guys. They've gotten a tough shake at it. I think that's a little confirmation bias maybe. I think yesterday Venables was like, adamant about getting better around Mater and the whole media body is like, yeah, that's what I've been saying too. Maybe he knows what we know. Maybe they are going to get better. And God, if they are. Like, the amount of tweets I've seen this morning where it's like, if Oklahoma can run the ball, they're. They might win a national title. And I'm like, well, they still got to be able to, like, not turn it over. Quarterback's got to be accurate. Are the wide receivers good enough? You lost four NFL football players on the defensive line. Like, there's a lot there other than just they gotta be better at running the ball. Now I do expect them to take leaps that they're expecting. Right. Like, they had a freshman left tackle, a redshirt freshman sophomore, or a redshirt freshman guard, a true freshman right guard. Like, those players should take leaps. You know what I mean? Like I, I adamantly believe that young players get better. I don't. I'm not here for like the fifth year senior who's been starting three years is suddenly going to take some massive leap. That's not how it works. But these young guys normally do take somewhat of a leap.

A

Brooks, when you see quarterbacks and their completions and their accuracy over the overtime, how often do you see these almost upper tier quarterbacks take that step where accuracy with Mattier, maybe with Marcel actually do go in that right direction, like from year one to year two?

C

Yeah. I mean, so it's a different conversation for all of them.

B

Right.

C

Like Marcel, I think it's just comfort within the pocket, getting more and more reps at it and maybe like if I was off his coordinator, we would veer away from that. We would RPO everybody to death. That's what we would do. I wouldn't even ask him to be a pure progression reader. I don't think that's his skill set. I don't think that's what he is best at. He can do it. Does he do it at an elite A plus level? No. But I think he could be the best RPO quarterback maybe in college football with how elusive he is, how electric he is, how quick the mechanics are, how quick he gets the ball in and out. Whereas like with Mattier there is like so many mechanical issues that show up on tape with the lower half and upper body, we're so disconnected. Looks frantic often at times. Now, how much of that was scar tissue from the problems around him? Right. Couldn't protect him, had no run game and nobody else was making plays. That's a bad spot to be in as a quarterback. I can't protect you. I have no complimentary run game and you're the only one that's going to make an explosive if we have it like that creates a lot of pressing at the position and pressing is not a good spot to be in. So there's a wide range of things that we can do to increase this raw statistics of accuracy and then. But it all of course starts with mechanical buildup. Like we have to make sure our mechanics are really clean and consistent. However we actually throw the football, that's one thing. But making sure we're doing that over and over and over again and not veering off course, it's no different than a golf swing. We cannot have a different cut every time we get up there and approach the golf ball. Same thing with throwing the football. It's all ground force.

B

Right.

C

Like the only Two things tied to what's creating the force is the feet in the ground. And if our feet in the ground aren't consistent and stable, we're have bad habits.

B

You touched on your thoughts about Marcel, but I'd like to go a little bit further. Look, the opinions of Marcel are all over the place. Some guys say he's a, he can be a Heisman contender. So he's way overrated. He says he can do this, he can't do that. In all of your film work, you know, what are the opinions you've come to about Marcel?

C

Yeah, I think he had a tough job last year because now look, Mario Kramer, Casey Concepcion, great. The tight end that went way too high, really, really good, right? Like, but all of his weaponry and all of the threats that defenses were posed with were right in between the numbers. You know what I mean? Like, there's nothing outside to help him. Last year I felt like Bethel Roman, really young football player last year. And now what we do, we bring in Isaiah Horton, okay? And having an ex wide receiver, a true X that can tilt field or dictate coverage, that makes the job of a quarterback so much easier. Whereas like all of, all of my threats are like almost in the box. It can get real convoluted in there. Spaces get really tight, windows get really small. We'll have to, you know, be really, really quick with decisions and, and it could lead to bad mistakes really, really quickly. Maybe I didn't see a guy, maybe he's following my eyes. He leaks. So he doesn't have a lot of space to, to cover as a defender, right? Whereas if I have an ex receiver that's outside the numbers and we dominate so much on a one on one skills or facet that now all of a sudden the safety has to pull over, that opens up so much more and it almost, it's almost like doing math. Whereas I walk to the line of scrimmage and I look over there, okay, I got one on one done. The play is die. I'm going here. You know what I mean? So that, that alleviates a lot of pressure. I remember listening to Todd Monken talk about that when he first got to Georgia. He was like, nothing will make offense easier than having an X. Nothing makes it easier for the quarterback than having a true outside the numbers. Number one wide receiver that dictates coverage

B

is going to make a big difference.

C

I think, I think Isaiah Horton, I don't think people realize how good he is because last year he got used more as a Z body type. Jeremy Bernard was their ex because he's coming over from Washington. He knew the offense. He's great football player, too. You guys saw how he was going to be used in the spring game because. Shout out to Mike Elko. Mike Elko and Kirby Smart are the only ones in the conference that apparently, A, want to play a spring game and actually make people tackle and B, have the. You know, what's to put it on television? So we actually got to see that.

B

Right.

C

And. And, you know, Isaiah is doing it in a spring game against elite corner play at A and M, which I think you guys have the deepest and best cornerback room in maybe college football.

A

Really?

C

Yeah. Like, Notre Dame's good, but you guys have, I think, four dudes that can flat out roll.

A

Coach Elko actually said that yesterday at the Houston A M. Club.

C

Like, I know ball or something.

A

Yeah, he.

B

He says that.

A

Well, he's. He didn't say in the country. He says the best he's had at A M. Yeah. And I. I assume that includes when he was the defensive coordinator, right?

C

Yeah. I mean, it's. It's deep. I mean, even Julian Humphrey's gotten. I know he goes by Julio now, but even Julian Humphrey, like, I saw him in the spring game, his damn quads are huge. Now, that's a former track guy from Houston that was, like, just really, really speedy. And now all of a sudden, we're thick. I'm like, des Ricks comes back and Arrington. And I'm missing another name, too. I love the. The Colorado safety that they brought. The first play of the spring game, he runs down like he's playing in a goddamn Super Bowl. Comes down, sticks that running back. I'm like, oh, you know, so, yeah, I love the way Elko, y'.

B

All.

C

The way y' all practice is obvious. It's apparent.

A

Yeah.

C

The way that physicality is paramount. That's my kind of spot, you know, that's my kind of coach. It's my kind of place. I'm just a football meathead, man. Like, I love physicality. I love line of scrimmage football players. I love line of scrimmage football coaches, and he reeks of it, man.

A

Brooks, what is something about Coach Elko you've learned that you didn't maybe know? And not the defensive mind, but just the way he goes about his business over the last couple years, something about him you just like, oh, okay.

C

The cruden. That dude's recruiting his butt off right now. And it's not to say that I didn't you know, assume that he was going to be able to. And I know the era of college football that we live in, it's a product of resources, too. And A and M's got a lot of resources. Fans, like the Texas folks watching right now are very, very passionate about the Aggies. So that type of stuff leads to good football players coming in. But you still got to sell the mission, still got to sell the culture. You still got to sell the place. And he's obviously doing a great job of that, so I think that's the thing that sticks out to me most. And by the way, he's recruiting nationally, too.

A

Yeah.

C

I don't think he's just like, yeah, you could. We could try to border up the state and. Because Texas got great high school football. But, dude, he comes into my backyard and steals football players all the time. Like the Kamari Dorsey kid. Y' all finna find out. And I know y' all know, but that kid, oh, my God, he's like 6'3,210 already and moves like a deer. And. And I mean, if he needed to, he could play corner at that size in the right scheme. Like, that kid is so good. And Aaron Gregory from last year, y'.

B

All.

C

Y' all are doing things that are not necessarily par for the course for people to come into the state of Georgia and take players that Kirby Smart wants. You think it's not normal.

A

Sorry. Do you think Aaron Gregory is going to be a name with that loaded wide receiver room that we hear a little bit about this year?

C

Yeah. I mean, it's tough. It's gonna be. I. I don't want Isaiah Horton coming off the field.

A

Yeah.

C

And Aaron's going to play that body type, that role. He's going to be outside the numbers to be an ex for all the good reasons. Right. It's not a negative when you hear that. So, yeah, it's just getting. Hopefully Isaiah stays healthy the whole year and you don't have to play.

A

Yeah.

C

And then the next two years are the Aaron Gregory show. I think that would be the most ideal set for. For you guys. But, you know, maybe get him. I mean, he can run routes, too. So, like, you can play him as Z. It's not like he's just a high point kid. So. That's the thing I noticed about Aaron coming out of high school. I was like, I got kind of slapped down by SEC coaches because I'd be like, it's going to sound crazy, but I think this kid might be AJ Green, because, like, you watch him and the way he runs routes and the way he can bend and the way he can stop. And he's six' three. He's probably going to get to six, four, 200 plus pounds. And every coach I talked to is like, ah, he don't run fast enough. I'm like, okay. Because every 4, 3, 8 guy that's ever ran at the combine is just an elite all pro, right? That's how this world works. Like, no, this is a sport about. This is a position about refinement. Like, it's a skill set. Like, you have to have raw traits. Don't get me wrong. But getting open is far more about selling what you think I'm about to run to the db, right? And what I'm actually running being two totally different things. Like, I. I don't know if he will be that. What's called it. 85 to 95%. 85 to 90% of A.J. green. That's. That's what I look at and see.

A

Brooks, let me close out with this OB. Something you want to ask? Well, go ahead.

B

In. In all your film work, when you watch A M, you know, defensively, anyone, a good defense. But they had that tendency to give up the big long run.

C

Yeah.

B

And we saw it really, like in the Miami game, you know, that came back to haunt them. Is there anything that you saw that. That you say, this is why this keeps happening?

C

Normally when we give up big explosive runs, we're stacking gaps, okay. It's never good to put two guys in one hole on defense, when we talk about stopping the run, depending on how many guys are in the formation, there's a certain amount of gaps that we have to plug, right? A gap, B gap, c gap, D gap on both sides. So that's eight gaps, right? And we got to fit those properly. And if we put two guys in, one gap opens up a gap. Yeah, well, we have a mass, not just a gap. We have a massive hole, all right? Because offensive linemen will start to seal and crease things off. And now all of a sudden, we have a massive void in the defense. And. And we have great backs in the sport nowadays, man. Like, everybody's got somebody with a little bit of go go juice, and when you allow that to happen, you get smacked in the face with an explosive. And the best way to alleviate that is to be a magician like Brian Haynes and Indiana. I don't know what the hell that guy's doing. I study him all the time, and I'm like, they're rapping they're twisting, they're stunting, they're doing all kinds of crazy stuff, and they never give up explosive runs. So it's just coaching it up, getting everybody on the same page, making sure, like, hey, this is the call. This is your job, and you have to do your job. I know this sounds so cliche, but defensive play is that we have to stack gaps properly.

A

Brooks, last thing for you, if A and M makes the playoff or doesn't, what's the area that you say? This is the why. If you could look into the future, this is why they made it. This is why they didn't make it.

C

That's tough because I think. I think you guys like some schools, like lsu, I know they're going to be great on offense. Are they going to be good enough on defense? Georgia, I know they're going to be really good at the line of scrimmage, but are they going to be explosive enough on offense? Like, when I look at A and M, I just think you guys are an A minus across the board at everything.

A

You know what I mean?

C

Like, I don't know if there's a one hole that I look at or one area that I look at. You're not good enough. Like, I think you're really good at back. I think you're. Oh, the four new offensive linemen might be.

A

That's what I think.

C

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My bad. Four brand new office alignment. That'd be it.

A

Neither jail or they don't.

C

I know you guys love me at Texas and I appreciate the support. I'm not the biggest Forsby guy.

A

Okay.

B

Okay.

C

You know, I didn't. I didn't love the tape at Alabama.

A

A lot of folks at Alabama tell us the same thing.

C

I didn't love the. The spring game tape, but Anto Saka was beating his butt and Oto Saka is going to get a lot of people this year. So maybe it was just a product of the competition in front of him. But, hey, news flash, there's some good edge rushers in this league.

A

Well, Brooks, I'll. I'll just close it with this. I believe in Coach Elko's ability to buy the right groceries. He's done that so far. When it comes to transfer portal guys, he's hit more often than not. So if he thinks he's going to be good for right now, I'm going to go along with it.

C

I'm with you, too. And ain't like they've ever been bad at the line of scrimmage with him. So he got something figured out. And I think it's the practice habits, honestly.

A

Brooks. Thank you, brother.

C

No doubt. Boys.

A

Looking forward to talking to you during the fall.

C

Absolutely.

A

Brooks. Awesome. The film guy. Check out his YouTube channel. Did he get to 100 yet? You're about to be there. Almost everybody subscribe. Go, go join and watch his stuff on YouTube. All right, let's talk Rallo Insurance. They take an educational approach. They build lasting relationships through that education. They want to help you understand what you're buying and the why behind it. With expertise in everything from home to auto to business specialty coverage, their independent agents provide you tailored options specific to your needs. They take time to explain it to you so you understand exactly what you're paying for doing the shopping for you. And many clients discover much better protective and competitive rates simply because they finally understand their options. Experience the difference at one of their 60 plus offices. But you know the headquarters right there in College station. Call them up. 8844 Rollo. That's triple 844 Rollo. Go to rollinsurance.com tech sags rollinsurance.com/tech sacs.

B

The money machine.

C

You are so money fantasy.

A

But you don't even know it.

B

Opens July 27th. Another chance to win 5K from the zone.

A

But you do.

B

And the Louis Bellina show. And we're back.

A

It is Tech Sacks live. We are presented by David Gardner's jewelers Rollo Insurance Studio. This SEC media days coverage brought to you by Paragon Financial Advisor. Shout out to our QB1, Stephen McGee and the team there. OB. You and I had a similar kind of response to that Brooks Austin. I felt. Not that his opinion means anything. Oh, I mean, it means something, but it doesn't mean it's going to play out on the field. But he said, I think they're pretty much an A minus everywhere. Then he stopped and said, if I had a question, it'd be the O line, which we've been talking about. His. Hey, Nick, his mic's not on or something. Check, check. Try again.

B

Oh, you're back.

A

All right.

B

First of all, I mean, that was just good football talk. Yeah, that was good and that was great. But yeah, he says, look, A and M is an A minus across the board, but except the offensive line where you get a big incomplete. If. If you turn in the work and it's a pass, passable grade, then A and M can be a playoff team.

A

So you think a C offensive line is a playoff team?

B

Could be. You know, if everything else is an A minus.

A

Because, well, I mean, the secondary that he talked about, maybe the best in the country.

B

Yeah. And he's talking about the. How I'm. He's obviously impressed and thinks good things are gonna come from Anto Saka.

A

Yeah.

B

So good pass, good secondary, good pass rush. Maybe you'll get more than three interceptions. Maybe you get three interceptions in a game.

C

Oh, wow.

B

How crazy would that be? So, yeah, there's reasons to feel optimistic about A and M this year.

A

Yeah.

B

But you also, you have to hedge your bets with that offensive line until what? Till we see it with our own eyes?

A

Yeah, with our own eyes. I. I'm very excited about the secondary.

B

Uhhuh.

A

I'm very excited about DJ Hicks. I'm going to read you a little quote from Mike Elko from just yesterday.

B

Did you see this quote? No, I didn't, but I love dj.

A

All right, dj. This is what he says on DJ Hicks. It's DJ Hicks's time. He's a kid who's been working extremely hard over the last few years. He will be a fundamental master on the defensive line. He will for sure lead that line.

B

Oh, yeah, without a doubt.

A

You know, I'm a fundamental master.

B

I've often thought that this guy could be the next Justin Mattaby. Kate. It's just. It just hasn't happened yet. And this could be that breakout year where he's a dominant interior. You know, he gets. He gets a pretty good pass rush from the, you know, gives you a pretty good pass rush from the interior.

A

Yeah.

B

And you don't get that a lot. And, and he can get. He can get home. But yeah, just. He's played well. It's time for him to play great.

A

Another thing he says on the defensive line, because there are questions, hey, man, it's a brand new defensive line, bro. Like, how are we going to do it? And he says on the defensive line. We have replaced NFL defensive linemen pretty much every year since I've been a part of Texas A and M since 2018. We've had more linemen drafted since 2018 than any program in the country. Yeah.

B

And, you know, he brought in a couple of guys from the transfer portal for that interior line. We already got Marco Jones and Anto Sock and TJ Sergey, and they got a lot. Did you see Mimba? I mean, it's right. I don't know how much weight that was, but it looked like it's almost £300. And he was power cleaning. He power cleaned it. But I. I really like the young guys. Landon Rink And DJ Sanders. Love those guys. So. And then they brought, you know, C.J. mims in and the kid from. With three named kid from Colorado to bolster that interior line. So, yeah, I'm feeling. Feeling pretty optimistic about the defensive front. I've always had been.

A

So do you believe. Here's the question, by the way. We can't answer it today, for real. Like, we'll know at the end of the season, but I'll ask it for today. Has Texas. Did A and m arrive in 2025 or does arrival mean doing it again?

B

Yeah, I think it means doing it again or, you know, three times over four years, that kind of thing. We've talked about that because, look, a lot of teams can have a good year. And Mike, as we've talked about before, has been open about it. Hey, A and M having a good year is not new day and M, it's just sustaining it. And that's what Mike has always said his. His task is. His goal is not to just be good one year every now and then. It's be good all the time. When you do have the, quote, bad year, it's the eight and four year. That's the bad year.

A

Right? Yeah. To me, if they're in the conversation again in November on the last game of the season, go the SEC championship game, and that makes it three years in a row. And I know it hasn't gone to plan yet in that. In that respect, then, yeah, if they have. The only way it doesn't feel like they've arrived would be a massive step back. I wouldn't even say 8 and 4. 8 and 4. I still think you're in the conversation depending on what next year's roster looks like. Right. But making a playoff this year would nationally say, absolutely, they've arrived as a program.

B

Yeah, I think you can go from very, very respected to feared if you can start being in the playoffs consistently. Yeah, thank you. You're already very respected. You know, you'll hear people talk about another team. They'll say, yeah, they got that tough schedule and they got this guy now they got A and M. And you hear that. So, yeah, there's respect there. But you start doing what you did last year and even better on a consistent basis, then you become fear, yeah,

A

you got to win in November to do that. You got to win in November and you got to win in December, too. Now.

B

Yeah, hey, just win and just keep winning. And the thing is, I feel more confident. I'm typically confident in A and M. Why shouldn't you be for all the reasons we've said before, but it just seems like it's different with Oak H.

A

And I wanted to say that because in years past, and maybe it's Elko slash this transfer portal era, in years past when it would be a quote unquote reload, rebuild year, right. I'd be like, I don't know, man, like 10 guys went to the NFL. I don't know how we're going to redo that. That being said, because of the man in charge, I have faith it's more possible than I would have maybe in prior years.

B

Absolutely agree. And a big part of that is his track record of finding guys in the transfer portal who may not be the highly acclaimed transfer portal guys, but the guys he, he identifies brings in. And they play well.

A

And they play well. Which is why when Brooks said, hey, I don't love the film on Will conform me, I, I understand that. I, I've heard that from a lot of Alabama people, but they believe in them. Right. The players seem to. So let's see if maybe it was a development, if it's coaching, if it's the right environment. Because sometimes getting that dude, we've had guys leave here, leave A and M, go elsewhere and have success, you know, because it was just the right environment for that particular player. Wilco, for me, has all the tools in the world, the personality to match. He might just need this environment.

B

Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to. Because his Alabama tape didn't look great. I'm not going to say he's not a, he's not going to be able to handle this job here because he talked about the, the situation facing Marcel and how there's all kinds of different issues that he's not necessarily responsible for that affects the way he plays. And maybe that's the same kind of situation there. We'll see.

A

All right, let's hit a break. We'll come back with a final segment here on the Go hour on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. When it comes to your financial advice, independence matters. Paragon Financial Advisors is an Aggie owned and operated company, fee only fiduciary firm. That means that their recommendations aren't influenced by commissions, products or sales quotas. Whether you're managing family wealth or growing a successful business, their team helps clients make informed financial decisions and comprehensive planning and disciplined investment management. Now, for many business owners, that means developing strategies not only to grow business, but also preparing for one of the biggest financial events of their lives, their eventual sale or transition of the business. Visit paragon-adv.com to learn and more advice can help you prepare for what's next. It's Paragon Financial Advisors, Aggie owned independent serving clients nationwide.

C

Home, road or bowl.

B

You can hear Aggie football on the zone.

C

The zone.

A

Right now, it's time for the knockout performer of the week, brought to you by TKO Equipment. Rent, sell, lease or rent to buy TKO Equipment, which is your trusted source for used heavy equipment. Look, I'm going to just do some quick ones here because I don't know, because there's. I'm stuck in the SEC bubble as you are, too. Ob, I guess. Knockout performer of the week. First to Spain for winning the World Cup. See, it was a great game. So shout out to Spain for doing that. Let's see what else. I'm going to give Will Stein a performer of the week grade.

B

Okay.

A

I, I thought he, he held court yesterday. He did a really good job.

B

I like when somebody was going to say he's arrogant or whatever. I like when you're saying, hey. He's asked, why are, do you think that you're going to have more. Why Kentucky be more successful?

A

Yes.

B

He says, well, because of me.

A

Yeah.

B

And then he, he said, you know, if you, if, if I don't believe in myself and, and believe I could do the job, I wouldn't be here.

A

Well, and how about this? When you have a job interview, wouldn't that be what the employer wants to hear? Like what? Yeah, I'll be the difference. Right? Like, if you're like, and here's my strategy, here's my vision. If you just say I'm the difference. But he laid out his vision for, for Kentucky and that. And this is basically a job interview for the SEC media. That's what he's doing right there. He's selling the program what they can be.

B

Well, you know, Kentucky has won seven games or less. I think it's 35 of the last 40 seasons. So he does have a big job. And I think if I was a Kentucky fan, that's going to be easy to make fun of him. Like they did Charlie Weiss when he was at Notre Dame and he did a introductory press conference. And I said, why is it going to be better? We're going to have a decided schematic advantage. And so it can come back to haunt you.

A

It can.

B

But if I'm a Kentucky fan,

A

I want to hear it.

B

I want my coach. Yeah. I'm the guy that's, that's going to turn things around.

A

I'M going to give you another one. Ahmad Hardy. And my reason for it, he didn't speak or anything, but according to Eli Drinkowicz, he's about eight weeks away from being able to start training with the team. Okay, so that would be, what, a few weeks into fall camp. And if you remember the way the story went, the bullet went through the bone.

B

Yeah.

A

Okay. That means the bones got to grow back. Can it grow back stronger? Does it. You know, those are all question marks. But the fact that he's having that conversation in August as opposed to missing the entire year shout out to Ahmad Hardy and of course to all his doctors.

B

Yeah. I wish him the. All the luck in the world except for one game.

A

Yeah. And I hope that game. He.

B

He.

A

Oh, it really hurts today. Yeah, I'm gonna sit this one out.

B

It's a little bit cold. You know, you can tell that. You know.

A

You know what? Honestly? Nah, Because I believe in our guy, and I'm talking about Elko here. All right, fine. You're fully loaded. I think this defense is going to be different.

B

I believe in our guy, but I'm always looking for every edge I can get.

A

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm saying that in July. OB Right. The day of the game, I'm like, oh, he looks good in warm ups.

B

Ob. What are we going to do?

A

Okay.

B

Stopping. But yeah, they held into about 109 yards rushing last year. They actually, except for two carries, did a really good job on. They did the first and last.

A

And remember that we were like, up.

B

Here we go again. Everything in between was pretty solid against him.

A

It was. It was. I. Billy was making fun of me for being scared of South Carolina yesterday. And I don't know if scared is the right word. I mean, just big brother style, right? You know, like just ribbing. I don't know. Scared is the right word. I do have a lot of respect for them and I have a lot of respect for Missouri, even though A and M has owned them recently.

B

Well, you should on both of them, because if you don't show up ready to play and you don't play well, especially South Carolina's proven that they will beat you. Because the last two times A and M has played at South Carolina, quite frankly, they didn't show up look like they're ready to play.

A

Yeah. And South Carolina showed up ready to play, and so did their fans. And I think those fans do make a difference there.

B

And that's for every game, not just A and M. And they do have really good. I should Say loyal fans.

A

So from Carolina, from today's list. OB all right, we got about a minute left. Today's list. The only way A and M plays anybody outside of South Carolina would be in the SEC championship game or the playoff or the playoffs. I don't think it's Auburn's year, although, you know, they've always had the talent there. They've just had some brain farts in, in. In coaching the last few. Vanderbilt. I'm sorry. Clark Lee is going to take some time. Seth. Carolina. Georgia. Of course.

B

Yeah, Georgia, of course. Hey, I know a guy that tells me that that new Vanderbilt quarterback and I can't think of his name right now, but he was the.

A

Jared Vanderbilt.

B

He was the. No, no, no. He was the five star guy. Yeah.

A

What's his name? Jared Curtis. There you go.

B

They're telling me he's the real deal and that they're going to be better at quarterback.

A

I call him Jared Vanderbilt. Is that what I called him? Sorry.

B

That'd be the cool name. Yeah. The question is he's probably really good skill wise. Yeah, but how's he going to perform? I used to cover Texas and you would watch Chris Sims in the practice. He was great. In games. It wasn't.

A

Yep. We got to drop right there, obi. Thank you, sir. Yep. When we come back, SEC Mike on Tech Sachs Live. When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.