The Drive with Josh Graham - Wake Forest Football

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It's brilliant. The voice of the Deke Stan Cotton is in with us. We were both out at the Deke's first ball scrimmage last night. And after watching the quarterbacks for a second time this camp, I'd be surprised if Jamie Newman doesn't start Game 1 against Utah State. Jamie simply had a better scrimmage last night than I thought Sam did. That isn't to say Sam played poorly, but when you look at Newman's numbers, they passed for the same amount of yardage, 146 yards. It just took seven fewer attempts for Jamie, two touchdowns, and five scores on seven drives. Meanwhile for Sam Hartman, one touchdown and interception, he did have two field goals on six possessions as well, or make it seven. Nine of 18 passing for Sam, eight of 12 for Jamie Newman, but I think what it comes down to for me, last year Jamie Newman was more available, and we always hear that.

Your best ability is availability. He makes great decisions, doesn't put himself into positions where he could get injured, and the games that he won, quite frankly, were just more meaningful. On the road, at NC State, at Duke, games the Deke's had to had to be bowl eligible, then you win the bowl game coming from behind a dramatic fashion. Now, those opponents, with all due respect to them, they went to bowl games, they were good teams, they aren't Notre Dame, they aren't Clemson, Sam Hartman had to face them. But it's regardless of how you look at it, it's not a bad problem to have to know you have two good quarterbacks. I'd just be surprised at this point if it's not Jamie Newman, considering how he finished the year last year, and what we saw yesterday, Stan. All good points, a long way to go, a couple of weeks left, another scrimmage, I think they're going to have one more scrimmage, but two more weeks of fall camp to see, but you're right, Jamie finished the year awfully well, heroically well, some people might say, but I think it is a good problem to have. You've got a couple of quarterbacks in Jamie Newman and Sam Hartman who have proven they can win, who have proven they understand what Dave Claussen wants them to do, who have proven to their teammates that they can lead. So I think they're both better than they were a year ago. I think Dave Claussen even said that today, earlier and after the game or after the scrimmage last night. They're better than they were a year ago, so we'll see how it shakes out, but if it continues to go as it has gone, I would probably agree with you that Jamie Newman would start against Utah State, but we'll have to wait and see.

Many of those points you made, Dave Claussen drove home last night. This is following the scrimmage at BB&T Field. Today, Jamie was crisp and he ran with the ones with the first group, but Sam threw a great touchdown at the end to Isaiah Isaac. They're both playing better than they were a year ago. We have two quarterbacks right now that are better than any quarterback we had a year ago, and that's a compliment to both of them. If either of them had played this way in preseason camp last year, it would have been an easy decision. Your thoughts are welcome. Who do you think the deep starter should be if you're a Wake Forest football fan?

336-777-1600 is the phone number. Do you think it should be Jamie Newman or Sam Hartman now that we have some numbers to actually attach to this position battle that's attracted a lot of attention here in the area, regionally and across the ACC as well. In addition to football scrimmages being a part of the discussion, we have the Bills and the Carolina Panthers practicing against each other in Spartanburg. We thought it would be contentious. There were no fights today.

Ron Rivera directly said, if anybody fights, that's quote BS. Just to be professional, you're trying to get better, act like pros, don't get into any fights. Today has been kind of the same story the last few weeks when it comes to Curtis Samuel and Cam Newton. Today validated Curtis Samuel's camp and Cam's progress. Curtis Samuel continued to be dominant at camp.

You never really know when you're having regular practice. Me and Stan were discussing this just last night that somebody has a big play when you're playing against your own team and you can look at it both ways. OK, that guy, awesome, burning people, making those catches. Curtis Samuel looks awesome. But what does that say about the secondary? The secondary, maybe. It kind of cuts both ways, doesn't it? Well, it does. And Dave Clawson said that about his team last night.

The very same thing, maybe in different words, but exactly. Great running, but there's poor tackling. Well, yeah, you leave and you're like, was the offense really that good or was the defense a step slow? Oh, you just so you have to go back and you have to look at film. You have to really digest yourself into the process. And it takes more than one. You've got to have another scrimmage.

You've got to have, you know, all these other drills to to to make that kind of a decision. That's why I love when teams practice against each other. The Bills and the Panthers, you get to see Curtis Samuel not just burning Panthers, but now burning Bills. And did you see the throw that Cam unfurled today? A 50 plus yard bomb to Samuel. Scott Fowler, what he told us yesterday, it assured me he saw about 20 or so of those throws that he had the opening night, 40 yards down the field. He threw a 50 yard bomb the day Curtis Samuel getting behind the defense.

But you knew this was coming, right? Captain Munnerlin walks out onto the practice field. He was known when he was a panther to chirp with Cam Newton.

Now he's a Buffalo Bill. So they're practicing against each other. Cam comes out to the practice field and the first person he sees is captain. As soon as this horn sound, you know, it's on sight. Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. If they see me on the blitz, you better hurry up and throw the ball because I might hit you. Boy, a'ight.

A'ight. Were you much of a trash talker when you played Stan? No. Not even a little bit.

No. When I was a soccer player, you won't believe this. But when I was a soccer player, I talked a ton of smack.

I got yellow cards. Shocking. Shocking. Hey, what's up, Steve Smith?

Desmond Johnson taking your calls, producer of this show, and you got intern Nick in the house with the control room, too. That's that's shocking. I don't look that imposing. I'm stunned that you would trash talk.

It's always the ones that do not look imposing that are the ones that talk the most trash. You would have hated playing against me. I was a flopper. You strike me as a flopper. I'd flop. It was such an achievement when you would fall down to the field and make it look so badly that the other guy will get like a yellow card or a red card. There's no better feeling. You might say that's poor sportsmanship.

I'd say it's fun. It's all fair. Yeah. I learned a lot about Stan last night. See, he is the consummate pro on radio. Voice of the Deeps for twenty three, twenty four years. No, this is an addition. There isn't a but. OK. You also are the perfect radio character as somebody who can make a bunch of sounds with your mouth.

Like you could be a sound effect artist. I learned this. So I'm taking a ton of notes. Stan sitting there with Dave Gore in our foot.

Our good friend is also with the Wake Forest Network. You look at this yellow notepad I have and I have multiple pages of notes. I'm scribbling them all down. Stan is sitting next to me just watching, observing, but also just making sound effects the entire time. What was that? What was that? That startled me.

Every time St. Sarat caught a ball, I would just hear this. Just messing with the man here last night. I mean, he sat down right beside me and I didn't really have anything to do other than just watch the game.

I'm not taking notes or anything or watch the scrimmage. So I started making these goofy sounds and we got to talking about when I was a kid. Honestly, I mean, way back in the day when there were three channels, you know, and would watch cartoons, I would. Try to do all these cartoon voices and in really, that's for me, that was my first introduction into being interested in media, if you can call cartoons media. But and even as a as a youngster thought about, you know, that would be really, really cool to do voices on cartoons. And so I would work on sound effects and voices and then puberty struck and the dream died.

Your sound effects are still very good, though, like we were just picking phone. We're trying to figure out things. I made fun our good friend West Durham, who does the Atlanta Falcons. He has nicknames for some of the players. So Ido Smith would carry the ball up the middle for the Falcons and he'd say the judge gets four.

The judge judge, you know, right. So we don't have many nicknames for some of these players, but you started doing a sound effect that sounded like a rat. Had me saying, how about Sage Surratt? Every time he gets the gets a catch on the Wake Forest radio network, you hear. I don't know how you feel about that.

I don't know how I feel about it either. I don't want to wash over my my 24th year would be my last if I started doing rat sound effect deep down the field. It is caught by Sage Surratt. I would be delighted back. Shorter catch by the rat.

Sage Surratt. I'm not doing it anymore. All right. He's not going to do it. I'm done.

I was doing a test drive right now to see how that would sound. So that way, I.M.G., you didn't have to take any chances. You knew it wasn't a bad you knew it was a bad idea right off the jump.

It was a bad idea. So Stan Cotton's in with us. A lot of stuff for us to get to today.

Your thoughts again. Welcome on Twitter at Sports Hub Triad three three six seven seven seven one six hundred being the phone number. The drive is broadcast live in the law offices of Timothy D. Wellborn Studios.

You can learn more about the ways Tim Wellborn can help you online at Tim Wellborn dot com. You'll know when you need us. Also, a big shout out to pie guys, pizza and more. Hooking us up for lunch today.

They came in. You had a chance to finally try the Graham Slam pizza. You took one bite of it. Did not take another bite.

Well, I'm sure it's good. You just don't like hot stuff. I don't. I don't.

And it's not too hot. But I had three hours to go on the radio and I didn't, you know, he didn't take any chances. No, but they hooked us up with a couple Graham Slams, hooked us up with some other pizzas. The Moravian sugar cane pies, I think, were the biggest hit of the bunch. We had some wings to intern Nick. Did you finish diving into the food over there?

I'm not sure. You know, my life, you know, my wife likes there. And we've we've become big fans.

Not just saying that we have because it's not too far from where we live. She's on the keto diet. And they brought out for her just to try the first time we went. We've been several times since the cauliflower crust pizza.

Yes. Says it's the best out there. So for all you ketoers, you might want to try that at Pie Guys.

How about that? Pie Guys pizza and more. Off of Lewisville, Clemens Road.

Can amend village commons or online at pie guys dot com. Coming up, why Dak Prescott was right and turning down 30 million dollars. This is the drive. The champ is here.

This is the sports hub at AM 600, AM 920. Now back to the drive with Josh Graham. When it comes to Dak Prescott, here's what's true and here's what isn't. It's true that he denied a deal, an extension that would pay him 30 million dollars per year. What isn't true is that apparently he asked for 40 million dollars, which would be five more million than the highest paid quarterback annually in the NFL, that being Russell Wilson. I don't think he deserves 40 million dollars, but I do think he deserves more than 30, which has been a point of contention here in these studios, as we're being joined by a Dallas Cowboy fan who also doubles as the voice of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Stan Cotton.

Now, here's why I believe what I believe. He's the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. That's one of the most prominent positions in sports. He's been the quarterback for three years.

This is going to be his fourth to playoff appearances in three years. He's also one of the most underpaid quarterbacks in the NFL. If he was going to make 30 million dollars, he'd be tied for the fifth highest paid quarterback in the league presently. But with the cap going up and inflation, that fifth highest paid quarterback will quickly turn into probably 10th or 11th in the next two years.

That's just how the thing works right now. When you look at quarterbacks that are higher paid than Dak Prescott right above him, you will find Garrett Gilbert of the Cleveland Browns. You'll find Clayton Thorson, whatever the heck that is from the Philadelphia Eagles. Cody Kessler, Josh Dobbs, Jarrett Stidham, Taylor Heinecke, higher paid than Dak Prescott is when you look at the list of quarterbacks annual pay. And that's because Dak Prescott was a fourth round draft pick. That's how it works. He's still on his rookie contract.

So part of me thinks, OK, you're the Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Usually when these deals come up, if you are somebody who is deemed valuable enough to get that second deal, you're probably going to be the highest paid player in the sport. Now, if you're not the highest paid player, that's fine. But 30 million dollars. OK, I see Carson Wentz is making 32. He hasn't done as much as Dak Prescott. Carson Wentz, he didn't win that Super Bowl. Nick Foles did.

And he's been the two playoffs in the last three years. And also Carson Wentz was banged up before he signed his extension. So I think if I'm Dak Prescott, I look at this and I say, I need at least three million more dollars here just because we're signing long term here. And you've been underpaying me for the last three years I've started for you.

What do you think? Well, when you and I were having our conversation about the Cowboys out in the outside of the studio, I didn't have all those other numbers. And look, I'm all and I'm a cowboy fan and I'm a Dak Prescott fan.

And I'm also a fan of. Regardless, if you think all pro athletes are overpaid, forget that argument. I'm all for Dak Prescott getting what he deserves based on his position as a quarterback for whomever. And so if it's if it's thirty five million pay him, I've got no problem with that. I just come at it from I just wish. Once. You're making 30 million, you know, they've offered you 30 million and it doesn't have to be Dak Prescott.

It could be someone else. And like you and I were talking earlier, look, I want to go to a Super Bowl. So even though the market might say that I'm worth thirty five. Maybe thirty one and get Ezekiel Elliott signed up, get get the other guys signed up. Let's let's go make a run at a Super Bowl.

I think you'll probably be able to survive on thirty one. You get my point. I get your point.

And it does it does happen. And you usually see it from Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Tim Duncan. These players at the end of their career who say I've made enough.

I want to set it back. But in Dak Prescott's case, he hasn't. Dak Prescott, I don't know what he's worth right now, but I think he's barely a millionaire. I think Dak Prescott hasn't been paid any more than probably a million dollars by the Dallas Cowboys in the last four years. Part of it is recouping what you think you've already earned.

And I get that part of it. But still, you have been offered 30 million for one year. That's that's Stan Cotton money. That is that is a whole lot of money. And again, I I don't. Any athlete, I'm for them getting paid whatever the market will bear and what is fair. I've got I've got no problem with that. I just it's just getting so crazy with with. And I'm not sure I would ever turn down 30 million.

He is scheduled to make two million dollars this year after he's made six hundred thirty thousand five hundred forty thousand and four hundred thousand. The Cowboys haven't done anything. Well, they made the playoffs two of the last three years. But they're basically the Dallas Cowboys. That's it. You're the Dallas Cowboys. They expect more than a playoff appearance. I just I get that. But you haven't.

You've been a 500 team. Yes. Yeah. Echoing Stan, I would imagine that Dak opened up at 40 because he knows he's not going to get for. Well, no, he didn't.

That's rumor. He did not open up to 40. He didn't he denied that he offered. They put out a figure. He denied 30 million dollars. They did not counter with 40. That's that's on factual.

OK, so I mean, I've seen it both ways that it has been out there and that it hasn't been out there. But let's let's just say for the sake of the conversation, he did start at 40. No, because he denied that. He said that he didn't put out 40 million dollars. He wants that rumor to go away. He believes that Dallas put out that to make him look bad. Well, that doesn't make any sense from that point of view. But OK, let's let's just pretend that he started out high.

How about that? He started out high. Now, if you know your worth, you're going to start out high because you know, you're not going to get that amount. But if you start out at 30 million, then why is Jerry Jones going to pay you 30 million?

He's going to pay 25 million. You know, so I understand that logic. But to Stan's point, he's one and two in the playoffs and he's four and four without Zeke on the field. So who's the more important cog here? Dak Prescott or Zeke Elliott? It's Dak Prescott, without a question. Zeke Elliott I would not pay. Why?

Not right now. Zeke Elliott has two years left on his deal. If we learned anything from the Los Angeles Rams last year, they paid Todd Gurley on average 14, 15 million dollars a year. And running back, I'm not sure if you know this, they average their average lifespan is two point five seven years in the NFL.

Todd Gurley, he got banged up down the stretch. He was a non factor in the Super Bowl. And there are NFL experts that believe he won't be 80 percent the player he's ever been.

So you just gave that guy a massive contract. Don't give Zeke Elliott the deal until you have to next year. I feel pretty confident in saying that if the Cowboys don't have Zeke Elliott, they're not going to the Super Bowl. No, they're not going to the playoffs. They are not going to the Super Bowl. I agree with that. This is like their year.

They're so they're young. But the precedent is what I'm talking about. If he had one year left, pay him. Pay that man his money.

Do it today. But you don't pay a running back two years ahead. You have contracts for reasons. OK, you don't get paid enough because of the rookie pay scale.

That's fine. You shouldn't be complaining to the Dallas Cowboys. You should be complaining to your players union and getting that set. That's not Dallas's problem. There's two years left on the deal. If I'm Dallas, I say, listen, you've got two years left. We're not going to pay you because we have bigger fish to fry, a la a quarterback that has one year left on his contract. Plus two people are comparing the situation with Zeke to the Emmett Smith holdout back in 91.

And there's a couple of stark differences here. I mean, I think Emmett had one year left on his deal when this was going on. He was he was the Russian champion. No rookie pay scale.

There was no rookie pay scale. And they just won a Super Bowl. Like, I mean, they were coming off of a Super Bowl win that he was a key cog to. Meanwhile, Zeke and Dak, they've they've got one playoff win between them in the past three years. It's a different game now than, you know, NFL football in 2019. Different animal, especially with regard to the running back than it was. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

When when you it just is it's a completely different game. Dak Prescott would be my priority among the three players that are looking for contracts. Dak, Zeke and Amari Cooper. They're all looking for contracts. I'm going quarterback first because when we've seen it running back players who are seen to be all pros. They're out of the lineup.

You replace them. And while it might not be the same production, there's little drop off. Case in point. Case James Conner last year steps in for Le'Veon Bell. There's no equivalent to that, really, for quarterback. At quarterback, you there are maybe 15, 16, 17 guys who can lead you to the playoffs. If you have one of those guys, you keep them and whatever the price tag is, you pay it.

That's how it works. You do that because, again, there's a premium when it comes to quarterbacks in a way there isn't for wide receivers and running backs. But the question again comes down to is Dak that quarterback? Because we don't really always led him to the playoffs three times with Zeke when he didn't have Zeke.

He's a five hundred quarterback. Two times they've been to the playoffs. Right. One years. Yes.

But I mean, yeah. So that's really the question is, is Dak Prescott that guy, that Aaron Rodgers, what Russell Wilson kind of guy that deserves thirty plus million dollars because he can put your team on his back? I don't think you should be asking is Dak Prescott Aaron Rodgers?

I think the question is, is Dak Prescott better than whatever the alternative is? Is he Matt Stafford? Remember Matt Stafford got the biggest deal in NFL history? He's still highest paid, I believe.

No, he's not. Matt Stafford is like ninth. And that's what I'm talking about with inflation. Derek Carr and Matt Stafford were both the highest paid players when they signed their contract.

Those guys are both at the bottom of the top ten now. That's how it works. Every deal you get paid high. And then this Dak Prescott contract, it looks like a lot right now. Two years from now, it's going to be him being the eighth or ninth highest paid quarterback in the NFL. And if you're the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, that's just the price. If you throw money out, just throw all the money out and you look at players and getting to the Super Bowl.

That's what Jerry Jones wants to do is go to the Super Bowl. Zeke Elliott, Zach Prescott, Amari Cooper in that order are. That's my importance of player to get to the Super Bowl for this year, for this year.

Right. But if you're projecting most important on a 10 year scale, you go quarterback first just because of the life span, a lifespan of running back. If it's that type of quarterback. Well, I mean, my life spans are always longer than running back.

That's true. But again, you said the running back span is what, two years, three years. So it's not going to be very hard for a quarterback to last.

Well, I mean, that's what I'm saying. So, of course, the quarterback's more important. Teddy Bridgewater has been in the league, what, five years. Yes. I mean, but Teddy Bridgewater started three years. Dak Prescott's played just as many playoff games. It's different.

Different standards. The drives brought to you apart by your friends at Twin Peaks restaurant, Haynesball Boulevard in Winston-Salem. You can find them. It's your local sports lodge available. You can find the 29 degree, 22 ounce band size mugs that they have there. Again, Haynesball Boulevard in Winston-Salem. Twin Peaks. Eat drinks.

Scenic views. Up next, the standout demon deacon at camp who may play a big role this season as a freshman. Keep it here on the drive. You got to hear this. Go ahead. I think I want to hear this. You're on the drive with Josh Graham, the sports hub at AM 600, AM 920. Hard knocks.

Episode two is tonight. Antonio Brown is back in Raiders camp talking a big game. I don't know what kind of case he had with the NFL trying to appeal.

Have a grievance to wear his old helmet, threatening he wouldn't play in the league if he had to wear a new helmet. It got denied. He put on Instagram that he was going to return to practice and Adam Schefter reported today that that has in fact happened.

So I cannot wait for episode two tonight. We've been talking about this faux Jon Gruden account the last couple of days. Apparently Antonio Brown just blocked faux underscore Gruden.

You got the image of AB 84 blocked you and he said. This hurts, man. So here's what I expect later on tonight. Episode two of hard knocks.

The three things I'm looking out for. Number one. You got to think there's going to be the shot. Upward angle camera in the corner of the office looking down on Jon Gruden or Mike Mayock when they learn about either AB's feet or learn about AB threatening not to play the year. And, you know, I don't know which one it's going to be either Mayock or Gruden, who's going to be upset, annoyed, unreasonably annoyed by Antonio Brown. Yes, I hope for optics sake that it's Mayock because if it's Gruden, I don't know, man, I don't know about this Antonio Brown. This is the player that we really traded a lot of players for. And I'm trying to win the Super Bowl, man.

Oh, dang it. I don't like this Antonio Brown guy at all. I'll tell you what, why can't we get the sheriff, get the sheriff playing quarterback for us, man.

This guy, I'll tell you what, he throws it like a missile, like a missile going into space, man. But we got Antonio Brown and this player doesn't know what he's doing in the cryogenic chamber, man. I don't know, who's our backup wide receiver? We got Dwayne Harris. Who? Where did Dwayne Harris go to school?

East Carolina? Oh, hey. Dwayne Harris, that guy's a pirate. Last I checked, a pirate is a raider. And we do it the raider way, man. That is correct. That's factual. So, annoyed, Gruden, or Mayock?

I mean- It's gonna sound just like that. Oh, I'll tell you what. But Gruden just came out defending Antonio Brown, was it yesterday? Publicly. Yeah, so to- This might be privately. Yeah, so to go back a week before he was in public and see him angry at him, that would be crazy. This is independently done. The raiders don't approve of what they're putting out there.

They're giving unprecedented access and then they put out the product. Oh, I know, I know. If his- I'm saying he said all the right things on Saturday. That doesn't mean he believed it at first. He learns the information.

He's sitting at his desk. He might just say, dammit, Antonio Brown, I don't know what to do with you, man. I dealt with Keyshawn Johnson, Warren Sapp, man. I'd be worried that- Warren Sapp, that crazy mother bleeper. I'll tell you what, if I could deal with Keyshawn Johnson, Derek Brooks, and Mike Allstadt, that guy.

I liked Mike Allstadt. Then I can handle an Antonio Brown. I'm gonna watch, man. I didn't think I was gonna watch this season at all, because I was like, Oakland Raiders? Ugh. But this has been- What do you mean? I mean, before it actually began, I was like, what do I have to watch for this? We knew that was the option. We talked about this on the air. As soon as the Giants traded away Odell, it had to be the Raiders, because he had Gruden. That guy's been on TV for eight years. Yeah, but I didn't have any interest in watching Hard Knocks, is what I'm saying, but from watching the first episode last week, I'm eagerly anticipating it tonight.

Nah, man. We all got very excited about watching a team that didn't win a game at 2017 last year. We got excited about the Browns.

The Raiders have John Gruden coaching them. Of course we're gonna be watching all ears attentive, ready for what's gonna happen. Second thing I'm predicting we're gonna see tonight.

Antonio Brown, off the reservation at Napa Valley. He's gonna be hanging out at some location, maybe even back home in Miami, I don't know. Venting with the film crew. Film crew is gonna be with Antonio Brown, and AB is going to be giving his case for why he's being treated unfairly by the media. TMZ Sports putting out the cryogenic chamber report, and then him being unable to wear the helmet that he wants. That's all gonna be documented. AB is just gonna be hanging out, talking to a film crew. He's probably gonna be surrounded by a bunch of AB's yes men.

People that will agree with everything that he says. Yeah, man. It's messed up you can't wear your own helmet. Yeah, man. That's messed up that they're just reporting about the fact that you have your shoes off at the cryogenic chamber, man.

It's messed up. You're gonna see some of that. But, this might be worthy of a hot take. Antonio Brown is not going to be the one that steals the show tonight. Antonio Brown's not gonna be the highlight.

I saw video in the middle of last week. Nothing that crazy in it, but enough for me to think this man is gonna be the one that steals the show, Hard Knocks episode 2. Marshawn Lynch was at Raiders practice. That man is gonna steal the show.

I'm not sure if you watched any of the television stuff Marshawn Lynch has done already. He's fantastic. Like him on Conan O'Brien. Him doing TV commercials. He has a great comedic timing. He has a great comedic voice. I don't know. I saw him at camp. I feel like there's going to be a five or six minute stretch with Marshawn that's absolutely a riot tonight.

So those are the three things. Hard Knocks episode 2 later this evening. Annoy John Gruden or Mike Mayock. It's gonna be that office shot corner of the office that's just looking down. And they're gonna forget the cameras are there because they're gonna learn some news that isn't that favorable for their football team regarding Antonio Brown. Then AB is gonna be with some film crew. He's gonna take one HBO guy with him. They're gonna be sitting on a couch. AB is gonna be surrounded by some of his boys. And he's just gonna be railing against the NFL, railing against the media. And then Marshawn Lynch. He's gonna steal the episode. Oh, and who can forget about the Peter Man? Nate Peterman had his 50 yard run against the L.A. Rams.

So that's probably going to be documented a little bit too. You can reach out to the show on Twitter at sportsubtriad3367771600. Phone lines are open for the moment. If you miss any of today's show with Stan Cotton, with Kelsey Riggs, Will Brinson, CBS Sports. You can find the best of podcasts available on SoundCloud, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play. Wherever you get your podcasts, just search The Drive with Josh Graham or simply search Sports Hub Triad. The Drive brought to you in part by our friends again at Twin Peaks Restaurant. We've been telling you a lot about Twin Peaks, but for good reason. It's the place to visit in the Triad. Your local sports lodge, Haynes Mall Boulevard in Winston, Salem, Twin Peaks, eats, drinks, scenic views. Speaking of restaurants in the area too, if you're in and around Greensboro tomorrow, we're going to be broadcasting from the new Garden Road location, Kickback Jack.

So tomorrow, Kickback Jack's new Garden Road location. Be sure to be there. If you're in Greensboro, we'd love to see you. You are listening to WSGS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WPC in Burlington, WMFR High Point. Those signals making up the Triad Sports Hub. CBS NFL writer Will Brinson will join us to talk Panthers, Raiders, what's going on with Dak Prescott in about 45 minutes. Look forward to catching up with him. Now we're chatting with Kelsey Riggs from the ACC Network, who previously was in these parks for many years, covering the Panthers, the Hornets and everything in and around Charlotte. I understand you're fully moved to Bristol now, Kelsey.

Give me a sense ahead of the network's launch, which is next Thursday. What have the last three weeks been like for you? A whirlwind I think is probably the most cliché but most accurate way to describe it. I am just leaving the studios right now, heading back from Bristol to my house. We just had another day of rehearsal, so that's been going really well. It's been a whirlwind.

I moved out of my house in Charlotte on the 22nd, and I just moved up here last Sunday, so I had a little bit of a break, but I was kind of like just a gypsy living out of my car between Charlotte and seeing my family in Charleston, and then back to Charlotte for meetings. So I've been all over the place, but man, we're really excited for the launch of the network. It's crazy. Every time someone says how soon it is, I'm like, how is it already almost here? And how is football season already almost here?

But I'm really looking forward to it. Last week I think it was, Kelsey. We saw the studio. It was you and a couple other of your teammates who were just walking us through the set, essentially talking a little ball as well. But in a surprise at the end, we saw the head man of the ESPN, Jimmy Petaro.

Pretty cool, right? He was there. But what stood out to me was he made it clear that the ACC network, he said, was the priority for him since he took over the position. Since you've been in Bristol, give me a sense for what that looks like, just how much a priority this network has been for ESPN. Well, I mean, it's in Bristol, which a lot of people are surprised about. And the natural reaction is to say, wait, ACC network, why are you in Bristol? Well, it's because they want to pour so many resources into it, you know? Yes, when you think of the ACC, you don't necessarily think of Bristol, Connecticut, but that's where ESPN's main headquarters are. You know, they have 16 buildings.

I mean, I was blown away when I pulled in the first time. It's like a whole couple of blocks full of studios and buildings and all kinds of stuff. So they have so many resources there. So I think that just shows you a little bit of how serious they are taking the ACC network and how much they're looking to do with it, you know? If someone is in Bristol for another show and the ACC network is there, well, then maybe, you know, if they're a former ACC athlete, hopefully we could grab them for a quick interview or, you know, they've got so many other resources, whether it's just people there that are helping out with other shows, behind the scenes, you know, on camera, a little bit of everything. I just think that it's definitely a big priority. And as you heard Jimmy Petaro say in that video the other day that you were alluding to, you know, this is his first domestic launch since he took over at ESPN. So it's something that I think he's definitely excited about, which is obviously very cool for all of us who were already excited to be, you know, on the launch of, you know, such a big network. And, I mean, we're just looking forward to it. I really, when you said next Thursday, I'm like, oh, my gosh, that is a week and a half.

Every time I have my alerts going on Twitter for ACC, every time they're tweeting out the countdown every day, it's a little bit of a reality check that it's coming up so soon. But everything out there looks great. You said you saw that video the other day. I was blown away by the studio. So we're looking forward to it. Yeah.

You have all these different types of cameras, all these different sets that you can do things. And it's a lot of stuff there. Kelsey Riggs with us from the ACC Network.

Follow her on Twitter at Kelsey Riggs. But tell me about this story that was published by the USA Today this past weekend where it talks about, essentially, and I didn't even think about it while I was in Charlotte, that they have the entire full ACC Network presentation and the entire stage is filled with women who helped to get this thing done. And the network essentially has been built almost entirely by women. Did you recognize that when you were being considered for this? You know, I met with a lot of different people. So I met with some people who were ESPN, some people who were ACC Network. And it definitely was a little bit of a topic of discussion, I don't think. And as that article said, I don't think they even realized as they were assembling this team, like, oh, we're going to assemble a team of all women.

No, they just picked people that they thought were going to be great for the ACC Network and were going to be instrumental in launching it. And then you step back and you say, oh, my gosh, look at all the women we have sitting around this table. So I don't know how much I was definitely aware of it as I was going through the interview process just because I was meeting with so many people. But I met with, you know, Amy Rosenfeld, who was the woman that was on stage at ACC kickoff. And she is just fantastic.

She is so funny and just a great person to work for and to be around. And Ross is another person who's helping launch it. And in fact, I meet a few of the others with, you know, quite a few.

Stacy McCollum is another one. So, yeah, I think it's great. I think maybe it was Amy Rosenfeld in the article that said, you know, we don't want it to necessarily have to be a thing. That, wow, look that it's launched by all women. But it is. You know, this is the first time I think that they said they've had a network where all women are launching it at ESPN. And so it's a big deal. My boss, one of my bosses, Aaron Katzmann, is a male. And he just jokes all the time that he's outnumbered and he's surrounded by all these women. And it is.

It's different. Especially, you know, like you said, I'm from Charlotte. I've worked in Charlotte for three and a half years before coming here.

And whether it was, you know, covering the Panthers or the Hornets. You know, yes, there are some female sport casters in Charlotte, but you're always outnumbered, whether it's, you know, by the players and the coaches or the other media members. So it is interesting when we sit in some of these meetings and you look around and it's a bunch of women and maybe a couple of guys. So it's been it's been funny, but it is really cool to have so many women in that position that are doing such a good job.

What does it tell you, though? I mean, where I can speak to what you're just referring to as somebody who's been in the industry, I guess, for the last decade or so. I was in spots where I there wouldn't be any women at all in any of these press rooms. And in Charlotte with the Panthers, it was you and Jordan Rodriguez, who we love talking with and many others who do a good job now. But your experience is what compared to this story now, what does it tell you where you're where the industry is at?

Well, I just think that it leaps and bounds different than it used to be. You know, when I was growing up, oh, my gosh, Erin Andrews was such a big deal. And everybody, including myself, wanted to be Erin Andrews. And she was one of the first, not one of the first, there was others before her. But, you know, it was so prominent and well known. And so that was a big deal that she was doing sidelines. And there were, as I said, you know, other women who have done it before her and done a good job. But having women, whether it's in press boxes or covering sports, I think has just grown so much. And then you also look at, you know, a lot of these women that are launching the network are, you know, some of the top people at the ACC network, some of the top executives. And so it just shows you how far I think women have come in general. I think it shows you how much, you know, women are doing at ESPN and then in leadership roles as well. I think that's something that ACC network is really excited about. And obviously that was a great article from USA Today talking about, you know, the fact that, okay, they've put all these people in positions and they just, you know, look back and said, oh, wow, we have a lot of women and we didn't even mean to. They're just going to do a good job. So, you know, I think it just shows how much growth and change has happened, you know, over the last few decades when you talk about sports and even when you talk about leadership roles, that women are, you know, women are right there at the forefront as well.

It's Kelsey Riggs on Twitter at Kelsey Riggs. Is your role completely defined yet? When you have a new network, at first when you took the job, I thought it would just be studio stuff, but you're doing sidelines too? What else is there? Yeah. Yeah, that's a great question.

I keep telling everybody every time I find out something, I'm like, this is what the clean is now, but it's subject to change probably just because I think you have a nail in the head there. It's a brand new network. There are so many things that I think that they're going to try and that they're thinking about and seeing what works, and we're only talking about football season right now, and then basketball season is going to be here, and there's also going to be a huge emphasis on all of the other Olympic sports, not just football and basketball or baseball, you know. There are some really great soccer teams at the ACC and golf and all of these things, so we'll have a focus on much more than just football and basketball. For right now, I'm hosting a show, an hour-long show on Mondays and Tuesdays, and then Monday will be more of a recap show. Tuesday is going to be a little bit more fun and personality, and we're looking forward to that one as well. And then as you mentioned, on Saturday I'll have the opportunity to go sideline report as well. So I'm going to be all over the place. I am in the process of now I'm finally settled in to living up here in Connecticut, and thank God the weather is beautiful and it is not supposed to allegedly snow for a couple more months, so I have time to figure out what you do when it snows, because I've lived in the Carolinas my whole life, so this is going to be an adjustment for me. But as far as my role, I sound like I'll be a little bit of all over the place, and then we'll see what happens once basketball season starts and then how much we get into other sports as well, but I'm looking forward to it.

I think I'm not looking forward to the snow. Stan Cotton and Steve Shutt from Wake Forest were in the studio earlier today hosting the David Glenn show, and we were talking about the ACC Network a little bit, and I mentioned that you were going to be on with us this afternoon, and Steve said that you even made an effort to want to get in touch with folks at Wake Forest and other schools in the ACC to get to know them better. In what ways have you been doing so? Yeah, so when I was still in Charlotte, as we mentioned, obviously at NBC Charlotte, we were heavily involved in Panthers coverage and Hornets coverage and everything that we had going on in Charlotte, but Saturdays were college football Saturdays, and with a smaller sports department, we couldn't get to a lot of the games, but we obviously talked about and covered all the North Carolina schools and Clemson as well. But while I lived there, I wanted to take advantage of being there. To me, I think I was in Charlotte for three and a half years.

I've been around the beach for three and a half years, and I think I've learned just how important relationships are. And so while I was in North Carolina, I wanted to go say hello and introduce myself in person just so that I was not a face in an inbox or a voice on the other end of the phone. I reached out to the sports information directors at the schools in North Carolina, and they were nice enough to give me a little time and welcome me in and got to meet with some of the sports information directors and the athletic directors and coaches and just say hello and talk a little bit about the ACC network and what they were looking for and what they were hoping for and then obviously talked a little bit about the season and kind of expectations. It was a little bit last minute just because I said, hey, I'm going to be in town on this day. Is anybody there?

Can I talk to them? So I got to meet with Coach Cutcliffe when I was at Duke, and he was great. I just missed Matt Brown when I was at North Carolina. He had just had knee surgery the day before and was in the very next day to meet with a recruit.

So if that shows you anything about what Matt Brown is doing and trying to get all these recruits in, he is definitely working hard to make a good impression there. And then got to meet with a few others as well. I got to meet with Kevin Keats when I was at NC State. So it was a great experience. Like I said, I'm looking forward to it, and I just wanted to take advantage of while I was there saying hello. I just went to Boston College the other day and got to meet with a few of the coaches and players and see the facilities there because that's just about a two-hour drive from where I am in Connecticut. So it's been good.

It's a little surreal, like I said, that we're so close to the start of football season, but I cannot wait for it to finally be here. Most importantly, Kelsey Riggs, there is a headline today that apparently French's Mustard has unveiled a mustard ice cream. Do you have any interest? Oh, no. Why?

That is my initial reaction. I'm a big ice cream fan. I'm pretty traditional. You can give me cookies and cream, or I like cookie dough. I'll even use some vanilla ice cream. The one thing I don't think I would eat is mustard ice cream. Does it taste like mustard? I haven't tasted it, but apparently, yes. That sounds terrible. It's put out by French's. It's French's yellowed mustard ice cream.

That sounds terrible. One of the funny things that came out of ACC kickoff and that I was just talking about when I was at Boston College the other day was A.J. Dillon really loves applesauce, and he puts applesauce in mac and cheese, which I think is disgusting. So I would put this on the same level.

Bustard ice cream and applesauce with mac and cheese are two things that are not going to be on my bucket list of things that I need to try. Kelsey, congratulations on the new opportunity. We look forward to watching the network. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks for doing this. Yeah, Josh. Thanks so much for having me on. We've been talking about it for a little while, so I'm glad that we finally got to catch up. Likewise.

You got it. That's Kelsey Riggs on Twitter, at Kelsey Riggs. You can find her there and the ACC Network. You're on The Drive with Josh Graham.

All I do is win, win, win, no matter what. The Sports Hub at A.M. 600, A.M. 920. CBS NFL writer Will Brinson will join us. We'll talk Panthers, Raiders, what's going on with Dak Prescott in about 45 minutes. Look forward to catching up with him.

Now we're chatting with Kelsey Riggs from the ACC Network, who previously was in these parks for many years, covering the Panthers, the Hornets, and everything in and around Charlotte. I understand you're fully moved to Bristol now, Kelsey. Give me a sense, ahead of the network's launch, which is next Thursday, what have the last three weeks been like for you? A whirlwind, I think, is probably the most cliché, but most accurate way to describe it. I am just leaving the studios right now, heading back from Bristol to my house. We just had another day of rehearsal, so that's been going really well. It's been a whirlwind. I moved out of my house in Charlotte on the 22nd, and I just moved up here last Sunday, so I had a little bit of a break, but I was kind of just a gypsy living out of my car between Charlotte and seeing my family in Charleston, and then back to Charlotte for meetings. So I've been all over the place, but we're really excited for the launch of the network. It's crazy, every time someone says how soon it is, I'm like, how is it already almost here, and how is football season already almost here?

But I'm really looking forward to this. Last week, I think it was, Kelsey. We saw the studio, it was you and a couple other of your teammates who were just walking us through the set, essentially, talking a little ball as well, but in a surprise at the end, we saw the head man of the ESPN, Jimmy Pataro.

Pretty cool, right? He was there, but what stood out to me was he made it clear that the ACC network, he said, was the priority for him since he took over the position. Since you've been in Bristol, give me a sense for what that looks like, just how much a priority this network has been for ESPN. Well, I mean, it's in Bristol, which a lot of people are surprised about, and the natural reaction is to say, wait, ACC network, why are you in Bristol? Well, it's because they want to pour so many resources into it. Yes, when you think of the ACC, you don't necessarily think of Bristol, Connecticut, but that's where ESPN's main headquarters are. They have 16 buildings.

I mean, I was blown away when I pulled in the first time. It's like a whole couple of blocks full of studios and buildings and all kinds of stuff, so they have so many resources there, and so I think that just shows you a little bit of how serious they are taking the ACC network and how much they're looking to do with it. If someone is in Bristol for another show and the ACC network is there, well, then maybe if they're a former ACC athlete, hopefully we could grab them for a quick interview, or they've got so many other resources, whether it's just people there that are helping out with other shows, behind the scenes, on camera, a little bit of everything. I just think that it's definitely a big priority, and as you heard Jimmy Petaro say in that video the other day that you were alluding to, this is his first domestic launch since he took over at ESPN, so it's something that I think he's definitely excited about, which is obviously very cool for all of us who were already excited to be on the launch of such a big network and, I mean, we're just looking forward to it. I really, when you said next Thursday, I'm like, oh, my gosh, that is a week and a half. Every time I have my alerts on on Twitter for ACC network, every time they're tweeting out the countdown every day, it's a little bit of a reality check that it's coming up so soon, but everything out there looks great. You said you saw that video the other day. I was blown away by the studio, so we're looking forward to it.

Yeah, you have all these different types of cameras, all these different sets that you can do things, and it's a lot of stuff there. Kelsey Riggs with us from the ACC Network. Follow her on Twitter at Kelsey Riggs. But tell me about this story that was published by the USA Today this past weekend where it talks about essentially, and I didn't even think about it while I was in Charlotte, that they have the entire full ACC Network presentation and the entire stage is filled with women who helped to get this thing done, and the network essentially has been built almost entirely by women. Did you recognize that when you were being considered for this? You know, I met with a lot of different people, so I met with some people who were ESPN, some people who were ACC Network, and it definitely was a little bit of a topic of discussion. I don't think, and as that article said, I don't think they even realized as they were assembling this team, like, oh, we're going to assemble a team of all women. No, they just picked people that they thought were going to be great for the ACC Network and were going to be instrumental in launching it, and then you step back and you say, oh my gosh, look at all the women we have sitting around this table. So I don't know how much I was definitely aware of it as I was going through the interview process just because I was meeting with so many people, but I met with, you know, Amy Rosenfeld who was the woman that was on stage at ACC Kickoff, and she is just fantastic. She is so funny and just a great person to work for and to be around, and Roz is another person who's helping launch it, and in fact, a few of the others with Jeff Jeroulian and, you know, quite a few. Stacy McCollum is another one.

So yeah, I think it's great. I think maybe it was Amy Rosenfeld in the article that said, you know, we don't want it to necessarily have to be a thing, that, wow, look, that it's launched by all women, but it is. It is, you know, this is the first time I think that they said they've had a network where all women are launching it at ESPN, and so it's a big deal.

My boss, one of my bosses, Aaron Katzmann, is a male, and he just jokes all the time that he's outnumbered and he's surrounded by all these women, and it is. It's different, especially, you know, like you said, I'm from Charlotte. I've worked in Charlotte for three and a half years before coming here, and whether it was, you know, covering the Panthers or the Hornets, you know, yes, there are some female sportcasters in Charlotte, but you're always outnumbered, whether it's, you know, by the players and the coaches or the other media members. So it is interesting when we sit in some of these meetings and you look around, and it's a bunch of women and maybe a couple of guys. So it's been funny, but it is really cool to, you know, have so many women in that position that are doing such a good job.

What does it tell you, though? I mean, where I can speak to what you're just referring to as somebody who's been in the industry, I guess, for the last decade or so, I was in spots where there wouldn't be any women at all in any of these press rooms. And in Charlotte with the Panthers, it was you and Jordan Rodriguez who we love talking with and many others who do a good job now. But your experience is what, compared to this story now, what does it tell you where the industry is at?

Well, the thing is that it leaps and bounds different than it used to be. You know, when I was growing up, oh my gosh, Erin Andrews was such a big deal, and everybody, including myself, wanted to be Erin Andrews, and she was one of the first, not one of the first, there was others before her, but it was so prominent and well-known. And so that was a big deal that she was doing sidelines. And there were, as I said, other women who have done it before her and done a good job, but having women, whether it's in press boxes or covering sports, I think has just grown so much. And then you also look at a lot of these women that are launching the network are some of the top people at the ACC Network, some of the top executives. And so it just shows you how far I think women have come in general. I think it shows you how much women are doing at ESPN and then in leadership roles as well. I think that's something that ACC Network is really excited about, and obviously that was a great article from USA Today talking about the fact that, okay, they put all these people in positions and they just looked back and said, oh, wow, we have a lot of women and we didn't even mean to. They're just going to do a good job. So I think it just shows how much growth and change has happened over the last few decades when you talk about sports and even when you talk about leadership roles and that women are right there at the forefront as well.

It's Kelsey Riggs on Twitter, at Kelsey Riggs. Is your role completely defined yet? When you have a new network, at first when you took the job, I thought it would just be studio stuff, but you're doing sidelines too? What else is there? Yeah, that's a great question.

I keep telling everybody every time I find out something, I'm like, this is what the clean is now, but it's subject to change probably just because I think you have a nail in the head there. It's a brand-new network. There are so many things that I think that they're going to try and that they're thinking about and seeing what works. And we're only talking about football season right now, and the basketball season is going to be here, so there's going to be a huge emphasis on all of the other Olympic sports, not just football and basketball or baseball.

There are some really great soccer teams at the ACC and golf and all of these things. So we'll have a focus on much more than just football and basketball. For right now, I'm hosting a show, an hour-long show on Mondays and Tuesdays, and then Monday will be more of a recap show. Tuesday is going to be a little bit more fun and personality, and we're looking forward to that one as well.

And then, as you mentioned, on Saturday I'll have the opportunity to go sideline report as well. So I'm going to be all over the place. I am in the process of now I'm finally settled in to living up here in Connecticut, and thank God the weather is beautiful and it is not supposed to allegedly snow for a couple more months, so I have time to figure out what you do when it snows, because I'm from this. I've lived in the Carolinas my whole life, so this is going to be an adjustment for me. But as far as my role, I sound like I'll be a little bit of all over the place, and then we'll see what happens once basketball season starts and then how much we get into other sports as well. But I'm looking forward to it.

The only thing I'm not looking forward to is snow. Stan Cotton and Steve Shutt from Wake Forest were in the studio earlier today hosting the David Glenn show, and we were talking about the ACC Network a little bit, and I mentioned that you were going to be on with us this afternoon, and Steve said that you even made an effort to want to get in touch with folks at Wake Forest and other schools in the ACC to get to know them better. In what ways have you been doing so? Yeah, so when I was still in Charlotte, as we mentioned, obviously at NBC Charlotte we were heavily involved in Panthers coverage and Hornets coverage and everything that we had going on in Charlotte, but Saturdays were college football Saturdays. And with a smaller sports department, we couldn't get to a lot of the games, but we obviously talked about and covered all the North Carolina schools and Clemson as well. But while I lived there, I wanted to take advantage of being there.

To me, I think if I was in Charlotte for three and a half years, I've been around the beach for three and a half years, and I think I've learned just how important relationships are. And so while I was in North Carolina, I wanted to go say hello and introduce myself in person just so that I was not a face in an inbox or a voice on the other end of the phone. So I reached out to the sports information directors at the schools in North Carolina. They were nice enough to give me a little time and welcome me in and got to meet with some of the sports information directors and the athletic directors and coaches and just say hello and talk a little bit about the ACC network and what they were looking for and what they were hoping for and then obviously talked a little bit about the season and kind of expectations. It was a little bit last minute just because I said, hey, I'm going to be in town on this day. Is anybody there?

Can I talk to them? And so I got to meet with Coach Cutcliffe when I was at Duke, and he was great. I just missed Matt Brown when I was at North Carolina. He had just had knee surgery the day before and was in the very next day to meet with a recruit.

So if that shows you anything about what Matt Brown is doing and trying to get all these recruits in, he is definitely working hard to make a good impression there. And then got to meet with a few others as well. I got to meet with Kevin Keats when I was at NC State. So it was a great experience. Like I said, I'm looking forward to it, and I just wanted to take advantage of while I was there saying hello. I just went to Boston College the other day and got to meet with a few of the coaches and players and see the facilities there because that's just about a two-hour drive from where I am in Connecticut. So it's been good.

It's a little surreal, like I said, that we're so close to the start of football season, but I cannot wait for it to finally be here. Most importantly, Kelsey Riggs, there is a headline today that apparently French's Mustard has unveiled a mustard ice cream. Do you have any interest?

No, why? That is my initial reaction. I'm a big ice cream fan. I'm pretty traditional. You can give me cookies and cream, or I like cookie dough. I'll even use some vanilla ice cream. The one thing I don't think I would eat is mustard ice cream. Does it taste like mustard? I haven't tasted it, but apparently, yes. That sounds terrible. It's put out by French's. It's French's yellowed mustard ice cream. That sounds terrible. One of the funny things that came out of ACC kickoff and that I was just talking about when I was at Boston College the other day was AJ Dillon really loves apple sauce, and he puts apple sauce and mac and cheese, which I think is disgusting. So I would put this on the same level.

Mustard ice cream and apple sauce with mac and cheese are two things that are not going to be on my bucket list of things that I need to try. Kelsey, congratulations on the new opportunity. We look forward to watching the network.

We'll talk to you soon. Thanks for doing this. Yeah, Josh, thanks so much for having me on. We've been talking about it for a little while, so I'm glad that we finally got to catch up. Likewise, you got it. That's Kelsey Riggs on Twitter, at Kelsey Riggs. You can find her there and the ACC Network.