It is the JR Sportbrief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Happy Friday to you. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. I hope you're amazing. If you're not, I'll try to make you amazing. I'll try to make you feel amazing.
I'll try to make you feel good. And it's free. You don't gotta pay anything. I'll just be sitting here for the next three hours talking about sports.
That's what the hell I do. This show gets started every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I am in Atlanta, Georgia.
Super producer and host Ryan Hickey is in New York City. Whether you happen to be in the South, the Northeast, the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, the West, the Far West. I don't care where you at. Canada. What's up Canada?
Alaska and Hawaii. Thank you for being here. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app. Your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. You got Sirius XM? You paying that money? Yeah, go to Channel 158.
We're right there. If you got a smart speaker, ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, if you got access to YouTube, you can watch the show. Yeah, you can watch me and Hickey.
Just go to the Infinity Sports Network YouTube channel and the live stream will pop right on up. We got a busy three hours ahead of us. We've already had a busy first hour. We talked about the college football playoff last night, the semifinal matchup between Notre Dame and Penn State. Notre Dame is advancing to the championship. A matter of fact, in 20 minutes from now, we're going to be joined by Notre Dame radio analyst Ryan Harris. He's going to come through and have a chat with us about the game last night. You know, we'll talk more about the game that's getting ready to happen in about 40 minutes from now. We talked about some of the NFL action that we have over the weekend. Playoffs get started tomorrow. We got the Chargers in Houston and we got Jalen Hurts who's been cleared to play following his concussion. We have a lot to get into. We're going to take a look at all of the wildcard weekend matchups as we continue on with the show. But Ryan Harris will be here in 20 minutes to talk some college football, especially from Notre Dame's perspective. We'll talk about Carson Beck.
Zion Williamson suspended not because he's fat, but because he's late. And so we got a lot to do. 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. I'm all over the internet. I'm easy to find. I am at JR Sport Brief.
That's at JR Sport Brief all over the place. We talked about the Chargers in Houston. Just reiterated, Jalen Hurts is going to be ready to go against the Green Bay Packers.
And then I told you, there is a quarterback in the NFL. He has not been ready to go. He will not be ready to go.
Quite frankly, I hate to say it, and we've seen miraculous comebacks. I mean, Alex Smith basically had his leg blown up. Deshaun Watson is done.
He's cooked. A couple of days ago, it was reported that Deshaun Watson has suffered a setback when it comes to the Achilles that he tore after only playing seven games. Well, we got more word, more confirmed word, that he didn't just suffer a setback in the recovery of his torn Achilles. He re-tore his Achilles.
Ouch. None of my business. I don't know how.
Was he bringing paper towels paper towels upstairs? Was he did he re-tear his Achilles in rehab? I don't know.
It's not my Achilles. I'll tell you this much. Hickey, you heard you heard we got snow here in Atlanta. You hear about that?
I did. The polar vortex gave you a little visit, huh? Oh, my God. Hickey, there is not a plow or shovel. It's just like the snow fell and you just got to deal with it until it melts. If it freezes, it freezes.
If you crash a car, you crash a car. It's treacherous outside. I walked to the studio today.
You know what I was thinking about the whole way, Hickey? Not to bust my ass. I did not want to tear my Achilles or blow up my ACL. There's no snow removal of any sort? That's wild. Why invest in it if it snows once every, I don't know, five, six years?
Why bother? It's that rare? It's not like once a year, twice a year?
Further north you get some, but it's like, hey, if I throw some salt down, God will take care of the rest. That's it. Yeah, you're not kidding. That's yeah.
You duck walk, drag your feet, whatever you got to do to not bust, bust your butt. I was saying, man, I haven't, Hickey, I'll tell you. You know how you can just put tally marks on a wall or, you know, at work, not at our job, because I think most of us are pretty, we're lazy you know what's, you know, you go to certain jobs and it's just like no accidents and, you know, 1,500 days or something like that.
Right. Hickey, I can't, I can't tell you the last time I fell. I can't. Oh, I should put that out in the universe there. You think I'm going to fall tonight? I mean, you wishing that on me? No, no, not wishing, not wishing at all, but you kind of saying that now after you walk home when it's dark and icy.
And then I freeze to death outside because nobody could find me and I hurt myself. Okay. Just, just walking away. Okay. All right. I got you. All right. I'm rooting for you. To get home safely?
Yes, of course. I don't want to see you hurt. Not get laid out on the ice, an icy bank.
No one can hear or help me. I now freeze. I'm a part of the ice and then I'm gone. Not, not for that. Okay. Yeah.
I want to save in a week. I don't want to go down there and you're not here because yeah, you're frozen to death because you busted your ass and no one's there to save you. Well, that's what I, that's what I think about when I'm walking. I'm like, that keeps you safe. And that's the good way to think.
I'm like, I am not busting my ass out here. Cause I could think about my hip, right? Forget my ACL. I'm thinking about my hip. Think more about the humiliation. Who's got, there's nobody outside.
I guess that's true. I couldn't even get dinner to eat. Why is everything's closed? Everything is closed.
Oh, so everything comes to a standstill when there's snow in Atlanta, huh? Man. I tried to get food. I can't get food. I went to the hotel.
I already, I'm not stupid. I was like, Hey, what's the kitchen looking like? Like the kitchen's backed up because everybody's inside eating. Damn. Hey, you know, I had to eat before I got on air dinner, not, not dinner air air. I ate air that soon. We'll be able to put it in a can and sell to you for a nice cheap price of $3.99.
Yeah. We're going to sell all you listeners. We're going to sell air in a carton, a vanity air.
People are going to buy it. Look, if a guy can sell a banana on a canvas and call it art, we can sell air. You saw that guy selling the banana, right? I did not see that.
No. Hickey, a banana sold for like a banana that a guy got off of second Avenue, New York city. This banana sold for like $3 million. What?
Yeah. There was a whole big thing about it that the guy who sold the banana was like, Oh my God, are you kidding me? I make like 3 cents a day and this they're selling my bananas for $3 million. It's it's crazy.
There's a lot of stupid people with a lot of stupid money, huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me, Hickey.
My apologies. A banana duct taped to a wall sold for $6.2 million at Sotheby's auction in New York. The banana was part of the artwork comedian by Italian artist Mauricio Catalan. Now that you mentioned, I think I can pictures it like a white canvas, but like a banana duct tape. Yes.
I can't picture that. Forget my $3 million, a $6.2 million selling the banana. We can sell air. Oh, we can sell air to a lot of people. Yeah.
We need to sell air to Deshaun Watson. Maybe it's, you know, is this, I don't want to be that guy. This is probably not the right Hickey. This is a very wrong thing to say. So feel free to absolve yourself and act like you don't know nothing about me. Is this karma? Like I'm not saying it is. I don't know. I don't, I don't, I don't believe in a lot of stuff. I don't know.
I just wake up and do things. But when you think about all the issues that he's had and the amount of money that he makes, he's tearing Achilles, he's blowing out knees. He can't play.
They gave him $230 million guaranteed. And now it's just like, well, now you can't play at all. Like you had a dumb ass team give you all this money.
Now you can't play at all. This sounds like karma to me. Feels like it. I'm with you in the sense of I'm a big believer in what goes around, comes around and I can be in right, all different forms, not exactly an eye for an eye. And like, I mean, I just feel like saying karma, like it almost like sounds like you're not that you're taking joining, right.
But people usually when you say, oh, karma, like that's like, you're enjoying it. Right. I won't go that far, but it does kind of feel right.
When you look at everything going on, maybe this is the universe getting their pound of flesh. No criminal. No, no, no, you're right. Guilty. No guilty.
Nothing criminally. He had to settle all these suits. Well, he didn't have to. He did settle all these suits in a civil space. He's guilty of, I think he's guilty of being a pervert. I think that's what it is. I'm not wishing injury on anybody.
It's just, I don't even know if ironic is the word, but there's an irony there too. Hey, you were punished. He was suspended. And I mean, last night we talked about the championship. He won game winning touchdown shock in a world Clemson over Alabama. And here we are thinking that he was just going to ascend into being a hall of fame caliber player when he was with Houston. And he is just, he's suffering.
He's suffering by the top. He's not going to play later on this year. The Browns have the number two overall pick.
I think everybody knows they got to eat the money how and when they eat the money is TBD. Deshaun Watson is going to be a backup. I don't even think he's going to get a chance.
I can't even believe this. When he's actually eligible to play again, Hickey, he's going to be like, he'll be like 30 years old, man. Is that. Do you think he's played his last snap as a Brown?
Oh, absolutely. He ain't playing again. You think about the investment that they're going to have to make into a cam ward or shadow or whoever the hell they decide to bring in. It's, it's curtains for him. Who wants to see him play? What Browns fan is going to, I mean, who's buying his Jersey? I don't think they may not even be selling his Jersey anymore.
Experiment over investment done money lost. Deshaun Watson is cooked as a Cleveland Brown. Deshaun Watson might be cooked.
He probably is cooked as a starting quarterback in the NFL. And if Deshaun Watson is able to come back and have any sort of, of, of success, 17 games starts a playoff, I would find that I'm not going to put him in Alex Smith category, comeback player of the year. That would actually be like, okay, I got to give him credit for that. Could you now think about that? Could you imagine Deshaun Watson comeback player of the year? They'd be handing that award over to him begrudgingly because well, at one point in time he was pervert as well. Anyway, let's go ahead and listen to Ian Rappaport as he described all the terrible things that are happening to this guy.
He said this on YouTube. A significant situation for the Cleveland Browns, one that could have dramatic, dramatic effects going forward. Here's the nuts of it. Deshaun Watson has retorn his Achilles. Retorn his Achilles. Three months after the initial Achilles tear, Deshaun Watson now is potentially, potentially out for the 2025 season.
So here's what that means. The Cleveland Browns, well, first of all, we'll get to Watson. So Watson underwent surgery on Thursday, Dr. Robert Anderson, one of the nation's experts in feeding ankle.
He performed the surgery. It is the second time he's torn. So that means it should be a longer road to recovery, which is why his 2025 season is likely in jeopardy. Not likely.
It is in jeopardy. May not play at all. Certainly a dramatic outcome, frustrating outcome for Watson. For the Cleveland Browns, they have the number two overall pick. I would have said before it was likely they would take a quarterback. Now even more likely. Now even more likely they bring in another quarterback to compete or maybe even be the starter for next season.
It is something nobody wanted. Obviously, Watson's contract is still fully guaranteed so he gets all of it anyway. The Browns were not planning to move on, but the fact that Watson's not going to play potentially next year certainly makes it a more challenging situation. Look, I'm not a doctor.
I've never cut anybody open intentionally or unintentionally. Deshaun Watson ain't playing this year. He's not. He and Rappaport is, he has to say he's the news guy.
I'm the news guy. I have to say things this way. Look, it's January. The NFL season for next year for 2025 is going to end in less than a year.
Let's just call it 12 months from now. I'm supposed to believe that Deshaun Watson, after tearing his damn Achilles twice, is just going to wake up and all of a sudden be ready to go for the Browns? What, as a backup in the final game? Okay, fine.
Okay. I give him that if he shows up in garbage time. Ain't nobody trying to see this man play.
And if I'm him and I'm collecting my $46 million over the next two seasons, per, I ain't playing either. I'm going on vacation. Him and his girlfriend or whatever she is, they were already posting photos. They're hanging out. They're all good.
They're happy. He doesn't need to throw a football. I know the last time we saw him on a football field, he was wheeled and carted off of the field in tears. Hurts.
Sucks not to be able to do what you love to do. But this guy rehabbing for 46? I'd rehab for two years at $46 million per. I guess he needs that money for more settlements.
Hopefully there are no more on the way. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. That made me think there's another guy who tore his Achilles and we don't know his status.
That's Aaron Rodgers. We'll get to him later on in the show. He might be done too. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to talk about a team that's not done. They're going to the college football championship.
We're talking about Notre Dame. Their radio analyst, Ryan Harris is going to join us on the other side of the break to talk about the Fighting Irish. It's the JR Sport Brief Show Coast to Coast, the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.
Yeah, they're trying to get their hands on their first national championship since 1988. It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Well, it's time to talk about those Fighting Irish of South Bend as they await their opponent or figure that out who it's going to be in a few hours as Ohio State and Texas are getting underway in about 20 minutes from now. Joining us right now is someone who's a part of the broadcast that you just heard. He's a radio analyst for Notre Dame clubs, all things football. It is Ryan Harris. Ryan, how are you?
JR, my friend. Always an honor to join you. I'm doing great and I'm such a big fan of yours. So I love seeing you and hearing you win between when we talk. Well, thank you so much. I certainly appreciate that.
I'm surprised, Ryan, that you still have a voice, man. How you feeling? You good?
I'm great. And here's the thing. I expected to be here just like every member of the Notre Dame football team and staff. Look, they lost the game. So did everybody else, right? I mean, so I just I understood because of knowing how Marcus Freeman has consistently shown up for the players both on and off the field, having conversations with players one on one every week.
And some players tell me half the time they don't even talk about football, bringing his kids around the facility, getting Al Golden, getting the offensive coordinator to come in who, oh, by the way, gave me my first start in Mike Dembrock. The stars aligned and then they got Riley Leonard. So it was a matter of time, not a matter of if. Matter of time, matter of if. If we think about what took place earlier this year and it is I don't want to call it a sore spot. It took place. It was that loss to northern Illinois. A lot of teams could look at that moment and break as the season continues on, especially given how early it was.
How did they turn things around and go on this 12 game winning streak? By being honest and assessing and accepting the reality and acknowledging it. I mean, one of the one of the things that bad leaders do all the time is they fail to acknowledge the mistakes. They fail to acknowledge the moment. And what that sounds like in football is, hey, guys, I don't know what happened yesterday. We're going to burn that film.
We're not going to watch it. We're onto the next week because I know you're better than that. And that's the easy thing to say. What did Marcus say?
He said, first of all, starts with me. I didn't get you ready as a head coach and my staff didn't get you ready as players to get there. We thought we had a great week of practice and we are going to reevaluate our preparation and our opportunity. And you as individuals need to do that individually as well. And for those of you who need fear, I'm going to remind you of this every week for the rest of the season. Those of you who need direction, we're going to give you that direction as coaches. And when Marcus Freeman or any leader speaks like that, JR, it's over, right? Because now you understand because here's the truth. We all know you are going to fail on the way to your success. Not like have a bad day.
You're going to fail on your way to success. What happens after that is the difference. And that has been the difference these last 12 all winning games. Notre Dame radio analyst, former offensive tackle for the Fighting Irish. Ryan Harris is here with us on the JR Sport Brief Show. As a former player, you yourself and then also thinking about Marcus Freeman, who I think is his birthday today. It is.
He has the biggest light on him at this moment. Being a former player, how is it different from someone who's been in the locker room versus someone who's just yelled at you from, you know, the entire career leading the way as coach? Well, it's different because JR, as a Notre Dame man in the NFL locker room for 10 years, I was always different. I wasn't different at Notre Dame because yes, I could have went to Miami like everybody else on my team. Yes, I could have went to USC or Michigan. I wanted more. I chose more. I wanted to go to school. I wanted to beat kids in the classroom and on the field.
And that's a different type of person. And for those of us who, I mean, look, I've had SEC teammates all throughout my career and still I'm doing a podcast right now with Shelby Harris and Chris Harris Jr. And those guys couldn't wait to tell me how Penn State was going to beat Notre Dame. So for those of us who have been a Notre Dame alumni who are different, trying to be a force for good everywhere we go, it is the greatest feeling.
I'm not going to lie to you because other things have won out, right? You've had a coach who got fired because guys were getting free tattoos. You've had guys who won national championships who you don't want to talk about at the dinner table, right?
Ed Ojurand says hello. So, I mean, there's all kinds of things that have happened since Notre Dame won their last national championship. But at this time in a 12 team playoff with this media culture that we live in, this internet culture that we live in, this is the absolute best feeling that Notre Dame alumni and former players have had in a long, long time. Well, Ryan, one of the guys that we actually heard from last night, Riley Leonard, he said he left Duke. He's come to Notre Dame to chase championships. Last night, we know he got knocked out before halftime. It didn't look all that good until maybe later on in the game, but still kind of shaky.
You had you on the edge of your seat. What are your thoughts on what needs to change with him and the offense to try to have more success against Ohio State of Texas? You might need to put Steve Angelion in the second quarter. I mean, let's be clear. If anytime we're not doing our job and somebody else is, and they go six for seven, right? And the one in completion was a brilliant decision because no one was open, get the ball out of bounds, stop the clock. I mean, yeah, the pressure was felt, right? So Riley Leonard came back and clearly there was a fantastic halftime speech by Marcus Freeman and he was firing and he was throwing downfield.
He was hitting guys. And the big thing about the quarterback position in college and in the NFL, you cannot hesitate if you think it, do it, especially in big games. And in the second half, Riley Leonard just fired that football when he saw what he saw making a huge throw to Jayden Greathouse for the longest touchdown, longest passing touchdown of the season.
And also making key throws to Mitch Evans and others while also rushing the ball, particularly getting a huge first down in the fourth quarter. And when I talked to him, JR, a few weeks ago, I said, what's the biggest difference being here? He goes, Ryan, it was a bigger jump from high. It was a bigger jump from Duke to Notre Dame than it was from high school to college football. He said, I just couldn't understand the attention, the intensity, the way that other teams play us, the way that, that I did even when I was going from high school to college. And I think that says everything about what it means to be in a top two program.
Ryan Harris is here with us, the JR sport reshow coast to coast. When you think about what's going to take place in Atlanta, it's going to be a few hours before we know who the opponent is going to be. What are your thoughts on, on Notre Dame and how they might match up with one of these teams versus the other? Well, let's start with Ohio State. Notre Dame versus Ohio State would be the third matchup in the last three years. And in both matchups, Notre Dame lost by one possession, particularly the last game, Ohio State at Notre Dame, virtually on the last play where they, where Notre Dame had 10 players on the field. They can't wait to play Ohio State.
They don't care about what anybody says or who anybody picks. If you're a player, which most of that roster is 70% of that roster for Notre Dame played in that game. They can't wait for Ohio State. And then if it is Texas, well, I'm cheering for Texas.
My son was born in Houston when I was with the Texans. If it is Texas, you just beat Georgia who beat Texas in the SEC championship game. But the best thing I heard talking to coaches this week, I asked, I asked the last week at the Sugar Bowl, I said, what's the big thing with this team?
What's the message? And one of my longtime friends and coaches said, it's not about who we play. We're not worried about who we play. It's about what we do.
And Phil Jackson writes about it in his book, which I highly recommend the soul of success. And I experienced it on a Super Bowl 50 team. When you, it's not a good team, it's us versus them, but great teams.
It's just us. And that's where Notre Dame has played for the last 15 weeks. Ryan Harris is here with us, a Super Bowl champ with those Broncos, Notre Dame alum. I can't have you here and not talk about some of the NFL playoffs as well. What are you looking forward to here over Wild Card Weekend and beyond? We know the two top teams are getting a little bit of a rest. I'm looking for the physicality and the execution.
JR, there's no way to explain. When you play in the playoffs, it is the most physical experience known to man. I mean, for hockey fans, it's like playoff hockey.
It's a totally different game. And I'm calling the game tomorrow on Westwood for the Chargers at Texans. I'm cheering for Texas.
I'm a man of principle. My son was born there, but I think that the Chargers are going to win. And then you got some more games this weekend that are just going to be phenomenal. I think Minnesota wins. I'm actually picking Denver for the upset. They won last year with Russell Wilson, JR in Buffalo.
So look out. And by the way, they just in their last game, it doesn't matter whether or not Patrick Mahomes is playing. The Broncos went four for four on scoring drives to start the game. So Bo Nix has figured it out after that 68-yard touchdown pass three weeks ago against the Bengals.
But it's going to be a fantastic matchup. I think it's just one of the best parts of the year as a sports fan are the now college football playoffs and the NFL playoffs. Oh man, you talk about Bo Nix. We saw him in the playoffs last year in college. And here he is now in the playoffs with Sean Payton. They have so many quarterbacks. We know the quarterback is the most important position in football, period.
He's the one out there making the decisions. What is different now about this transition from college to the pros where we see a Bo Nix, we see a Jayden Daniels. People are expecting miracles out of a Cam Ward wherever he ends up. How has that changed over the past five to 10 years when now guys aren't sitting and learning in the learning tree?
What's happened? Well, you're right that it is two players in the last 10 years who have done this and that's Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels, right? I mean, so let's not be, this isn't the rule. This is the exception.
And with both players, the one thing that everyone needs to take away from their story is how to handle failure. Bo Nix went to Auburn, started his career in Auburn, ran double digits and passed for over a hundred yards in like eight of his games each year at Auburn. Oh, by the way, his dad went there. I mean, could you imagine they are, if our dad will after a game, they're like, Hey, come on over to this place where I used to go back in 1978.
Like, no dad, I'm going to go to the, you know, XYZ. So he leaves there and goes to Oregon. And as you said, you've seen him in the playoffs before. And so he's saying to you, Bo Nix saying to you, you're surprised.
This is what he does. He completed more passes at a higher rate than any quarterback in college football history with the most starts 61 in college football history. And in his first game, he threw two picks and they asked them, they said, what was it like to walk us through the first, that first intersection and go step back through the other team.
And when you have a process for failure like that, where you understand what happened and, and, and also declare that it's not going to stop you. That's what's made that's what's made Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels so exceptional this season in the NFL. Yeah. Analyst Ryan Harris is here with us as we start to wrap things up. I do want to ask you about a quarterback who I don't, I have no idea that let me just, are we going to see Watson? Is Deshaun Watson done?
I mean, two Achilles, ACL, what's the deal with him? He's done. And the, for the, the deal is like all of us, when do we, when do we admit we don't have it anymore? I'm talking to a lot of parents out there now, Jr. I'm talking to you too, brother.
You said, nah, not me right away in your mind, but was that the truth? Because that's what Deshaun Watson, uh, you know, is, has experienced. And for every person who leaves an identity career, whether it's sports, whether it's accounting, whether it's business, you try at the end, some, many people try at the end to elongate that as long as possible. And that's what Deshaun Watson did because he said, as long as I show up, I'm getting $45 million.
I'm not sitting on my couch. Right. And so there's going to be a push come to shove, but, uh, there's, there's, I don't know that there's, um, any remorse in this situation and the way there is with many players, like even Kirk cousins, you know, although he has not been successful in the playoffs, like everybody respects his career, it's just unusual. And, and the exception that nobody really has those feelings for Deshaun Watson with what has happened. And that's just the honest truth of it. And he has not been the same player since.
And as a player from just a particularly player perspective, I don't know how you could be that player again, how you could ignore everything that happened. And for fans, it's in the bill of rights. You get to have an opinion and you get to believe that opinion. And that's what's happened.
And that's why I believe Deshaun Watson is done. Okay. Hey Ryan, where can we follow you as you analyze college and Notre Dame and the pros, you're a busy guy, fill us in. Check me out, Instagram and Twitter.
Same thing. Ryan Harris underscore 68. I could check out my website, Ryan Harris, uh, 68 dot com or go on Amazon, get my book. It's a great gift for anybody. And it's a great read for you. Mindset for mastery. I'm going to teach you how to be great. Hey, Ryan, I appreciate the time. We'll catch you on down the line and a good luck to them fighting Irish.
Okay. Go Irish, JR. Go Irish. My man, Ryan Harris, alum, current analyst for the radio with Notre Dame. He's calling NFL games. He's writing books. Hickey, does Ryan have a twin? Is there like three of him? He does so many amazing things at the same time. How does he have time? He's a mate.
He's mastery. You're, we got to get the book and learn something. You're not, you're not wrong. You're not, definitely could learn a thing or two.
I can learn a thing or two. Now he said in my brain, no, I, Hickey, I'm washed. I'm washed all over the place. Just washed up, washed up, readily admitted. I'm washed up.
I could do this pretty good, but everything else washed up. It's the JR sport reshow here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network. We're going to take a break when we come back. Yeah, we are minutes away, minutes away, Ohio state in Texas.
We'll talk about that game. And then this guy, he's not washed up. He's trying to get a little bit closer to the beach. And he is, I'm going to tell you a quarterback. He ain't done. He's going to the beach to hang out with his girlfriend.
Not a bad idea. I guess you're listening to the JR sport brief. Thank you so much to Ryan Harris for joining us.
Former Notre Dame player, alum, super bowl champion with the Broncos. Thank you, Ryan. If you missed the conversation, as we talked about the fighting Irish, the college football playoff, the NFL playoffs, go ahead and hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. This portion of the show was brought to you by ethos life, the easy way to get life insurance in 10 minutes, up to $2 million in coverage with no medical exam, just a few health questions.
You can get your free quote at check ethos.com not available in all the States. And one of the points as we get ready for this semi-final matchup between Ohio state and Texas, one of the points that, that we discussed happened to be quarterbacks. Quarterbacks transitioning from college to the pros, whether or not you be Bo Nix or Jayden Daniels, or even a professional quarterback like Deshaun Watson, making all this guaranteed money. And quite frankly, I mean, tearing his Achilles a second time, all the other injuries and off the field issues, just a sad story in the NFL.
It's self-inflicted. Mind you, I think if he would have actually played and been healthy and have the issue, that's just, anyway, there's some other quarterbacks that we need to pay attention to primarily in college. How about the man getting ready to play right now for Texas, Quinn Ewers, a little bit of news, I think broken a few minutes in a taped interview during college game day. Quinn Ewers sat down and he pretty much had an answer about his future, regardless of what happens in this game. He was asked if we will see him back at Texas next year, whether they win or lose or win the national championship.
Listen to this. I knew I wouldn't have been back in Texas, but I think that was the moment that I really knew that this was going to be a great fit for me. Do you expect to play college football next year?
No, I don't. What have you thought of some of the noise about you sticking around college and going somewhere else? I hadn't even paid attention to it. I'm not really sure what's going on. I mean, he was asked about it a couple of days ago and he's just like, I'm not focusing in on it because I'm thinking about this game. It's disrespectful to my teammates. Well, now we got a different answer.
I guess when you have a one-on-one conversation with someone, you can get a few different answers. Now, I have said this all season long. Goodbye.
Bye. Go to the NFL. Go be a backup somewhere. I want to see Arch Manning.
I ain't thinking about Quinn Ewers. This is Arch Manning time. I wouldn't be mad and I don't want an injury to take place. I'm not wishing an injury upon the guy. Man, I wish he would come on in. Hickie, is it too early to come on in relief? Too early, right? Can't do that.
I mean, if you're Sarkin, Quinn struggles in the first half, why not? Oh, you have to, yeah. Right? Like at this point, I like pull the plug, burn the boats. Yeah, we need a Manning to save the day.
Let me get to brass tacks here. Ohio State's defense is so awesome. And then you have to think about their offense as well, especially at the wide receiver wide receiver position.
You got Jeremiah Smith who went out there and had 187 receiving yards as they wiped out Oregon. I think Ohio State is going to win this game. I think most people got Ohio State beating Texas. It would actually be, I'm not going to call it a major upset. I'm not going to go that far, but it'd be an upset if Texas beat Ohio State. I'm going for Ohio State to win this game. I don't have no rooting interest. I do not care outside of, I want to see Arch Manning, but I got to but I got Ohio State winning this one.
Hickey, what are your thoughts? I'm with you and I don't know how it's close, honestly. I just, with how well Ohio State's playing and with Quinn Ure is his lulls that he has where he plays well a little bit then really stinks it up for most of the game. I think it's like a 34-17 game.
So what is that like, you know, 17 points? That's what it kind of feels like to me. We're getting another ass-swooping. Last time we saw Ohio State, they got their get back against Oregon. So we're going to get another butt-kicking.
Well, we'll see if it happens. Someone who knows a butt-kicking is possible is Sark. Steve Sarkisian, the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. He said what we all know, Ohio State, they damn good. We've got a great opponent.
That doesn't need to be said probably much more. I mean, Coach Day's done a great job. He's got a tremendous staff, great talent on their team. They've navigated the season tremendously. Coach Day, this guy looks like he needs a cigarette and a smoke.
I don't care what they've done over the past couple of weeks. Everybody brings up Michigan, the poor guy. You think he has, he has nightmares about this, right? He sees, he sees like M's in his sleep when he's trying to roll over and he has to, right?
Michigan for him is the real life boogeyman, no doubt about it. Probably can't go under his bed. He's afraid it's living in there. This guy goes into the bathroom. He's staring into the mirror. He got M's over his shoulder. It's bad.
This guy can't escape it. And you know, of course, because coaches have to kiss the other coach's ass, Ryan Day was kissing they ass. He says, Texas, the Longhorns, they've gotten better every week, even though they only beat Clemson, sorry.
And then they had to go into a million overtimes to go out there and beat Arizona state, but he's kissing ass. I think coach Sark has done a great job and his staff and his team of growing throughout the season. You can see every week, every month as the season has grown, gone on, they've grown, they've changed, they've adapted, they've built, and they've stayed resilient throughout the season. And they're a very, very good opponent. Very, very talented.
Well coached. Yeah, we know all this for his sake. I hope they win because if he doesn't, he's, he's just going to be up. He already, he looks like he doesn't sleep already. He is going to be up for the next, I don't even know, seven months, eight months. Is he going to sleep at all?
No, probably not. Like, yeah, those are bags he has under his eyes. Probably the biggest bags I think I've ever seen anyone have. He looks like a droopy to dog. That's that is a clear, and he doesn't sleep.
He does not sleep. I wish him nothing but the best. I don't know. I don't, I don't, I don't have a rooting interest, but Ohio state, I expect them to win. I think, I think most people do. And so by the time we sit here on Monday and talk about all the other NFL playoff action, and I think we'll also know who's going to be in the national championship. That'll be Ohio state taking on Notre Dame.
Sign us up for it. Little bit of mid Midwest action. Why not picky? You know what? When I did my, uh, my, my media for the movement tour, they were both stops. I actually have an affinity for both schools. They were very kind and welcoming and warm.
I enjoyed my time at, on both campuses. So I wouldn't even know who to root for in this case. No idea. Would you borrow the Jersey that Brady Quinn's sister famously wore when Brady Quinn played AJ Hawk, her brother taken on, I guess her now husband. And she wrote the Jersey that was down the middle half Notre Dame, half Ohio. So you wouldn't wear that for the national title game, man. I ain't wearing nobody's Jersey. No, bro.
No, I do. Uh, I will say this. Notre Dame gave me, they gave me nice gifts and they have a very nice radio station nail. I broadcast the show. How did their radio station on campus? It was very nice.
I know how to say what gave you nothing. They showed me how much money they have. They gave me a tour of their football facilities and look at this and look at that. And it was nice. I enjoyed it. Oh, they were amazing. They were absolutely amazing.
I couldn't use their radio station though. Notre Dame put my face up on video boards and stuff, bro. Okay. It was nice.
Wow. I mean, it sounds like I know who I'd be rooting for as out if I was in your shoes, Notre Dame, but I like Columbus. Columbus is nice. It was, they took me to all the fancy churches at Notre Dame to Hickey. I'm like, man, am I loud here? They showed me everything.
I'm like, am I going to burst into flames? I saw the, I saw Ohio state stadium. I saw the band practicing. Wow.
I had a band in the land. I had a better, yeah, I had a better meal in Columbus, but then in Notre Dame, it was cold as hell, man, boy, Hickey, it was cold. Midwest winter does not mess around.
Bruh. It was a different type of, I've been cold, like negative. The coldest I've been anywhere on earth is in Toronto. It was like negative 30 outside. That's the coldest I've been, but being in South Bend on a Sunday night at like 9 PM, I thought I was going to get abducted. I thought the cold, I thought the cold was just going to, you know how you see the movies about, what is it? Jack Frost nipping at your nose? I thought like a snow monster was just going to like snatch me up into the atmosphere. It was rather eerie, but I'm here. I'm alive dealing with my own personal hell in winter in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thank you. Anyway, it's the JR sport brie show here with you coast to coast on the infinity sports network. We're going to talk more playoffs, NFL playoffs.
And I can't believe this. Ryan Harris talked about an upset. We're going to talk about another potential upset on the other side. We got Denver and Buffalo, Josh Allen. Is he going to lose again? McDermott losing again. We'll talk about it at the JR sport brie show. So don't you move.
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