Welcome in to a Wednesday Drive, where there was an ACC football bombshell earlier today.
We'll get to that in a few minutes. But Coach K is at it again, Robert, speaking about what needs to happen to get a college basketball season in. Unlike football, basketball has the luxury of time right now. Remember when we said that about football? Yeah, time isn't the only thing college football has lacked.
Though, as of right now, they haven't had a leader like Mike Krzyzewski. Somebody who cares enough about the sport to sound the alarm months ahead of time, consequences be damned. He was on with Mark Packer about a month ago. That's the point he said, I get all the attention that's going towards football. I'm going to shift my energy into talking about the college basketball season and figuring out ways we can get that done, if not on time, at some point, and to do so in a very safe way. According to John Calipari, there have been weekly calls that they've been on. A lot of the top coaches on Thursdays, they would have weekly calls figuring out what needs to happen in order to get this through. Coach K, he's facilitated a lot of it. But think about football just a few months ago. Who was the coach that stood up and said, I'm concerned we're going to have a season.
I'm concerned things are going to be unnormal. Things are going to get pushed back to the spring. I don't remember Big Ten coaches saying that. I don't remember seeing any of that in the Pac-12. No, I remember Dabo Sweeney saying, because of my faith, I think we're going to have full stands in the fall.
I have no doubt we're going to have full stands and every game is going to be sold out just like normal. Nick Saban, he's encouraging people to wear a mask, but I didn't see him putting together plans and presenting ideas for how to get something in. Let me be clear. This is not a knock on Dabo or on Saban because quite frankly, they are football coaches. We tend to forget that sometimes during the social movement in the summer. Everybody wanted Dabo to say things that I don't think Dabo was equipped in saying. It's okay that he's not an activist. He's a football coach. His players love him.
And they've made that clear. Same thing with Saban. He does a great job relating to his guys. He's an awesome recruiter, but he's not an administrator. Coach K, this is more of a compliment to him. He has foresight.
He knows he has power. He's a true ambassador for college hoops and more so he's not the guy who's just identifying problems. He's identifying solutions and ideas that maybe the NCAA or the ACC and other conferences can adapt. So that way we all enjoy the sport that we love so much around here. Anybody can point out the flaws.
I remember when the NBA bubble was first presented. Oh, that's stupid. That would never work. Think about all the flaws.
It's immoral to have guys going that way. I think it was the head of the NBA PA who compared the bubble concept to the prison system. It's very easy in the moment to po-poo and shoot down ideas.
It's a lot more difficult to come up with solutions. That's what Coach K is doing. So this is from ESPN radio yesterday. Coach K talking about Dan Gavit, first and foremost, the NCAA senior vice president who he'd like to push into being a college basketball commissioner and changing the leadership structure of college hoops. Dan has been put in a good position.
He needs to be put in a higher level position and his own task force to not just handle this situation, but to move forward. And I think this is a time for our sport just to move forward and have a different structure. That's big news when it comes from Coach K. Here's more from Coach on trying to get a college basketball season in.
I think what's happened with football has not been good and that we have a united front and being a military person, I believe in, you know, no man left behind. In other words, uh, if the Ivies are doing something a little bit different than the Pac-12, Big Ten, you know, let's make sure we take care of our brothers and come up with a solution where all these kids have an opportunity to play. And it might mean adjusting the season, the timetable of the season. Let's break down what he just said there. I don't want to put words in Coach K's mouth, but that entire answer suggests he's advocating for a January start to the college basketball season.
Think about what we just heard. You're looking at what the Ivies are doing. The Ivy League was the first league to push, not just football to the spring. They decided there's not going to be any non-conference basketball games, or at least there's not going to be any non-conference games until January the first.
So the Ivies, they're not playing in November or in December. For him to say, we want to be unified, and he identified specifically the Ivy League, also the Pac-12 saying they're not going to play basketball games until January at the earliest, I think that's key. At the very end of that, he said, even if it means restructuring the schedule a little bit, he's noted he doesn't have an issue if the tournament doesn't happen in March. So how would you feel today?
I'll pose this to the audience right now. On Twitter at sportsubtrian, 336-777-1600. How would you feel about a January through May college basketball season? No overlap with football. Let's assume, fingers crossed, prayers answered, we get a college football season in. College basketball starting in January rather than November, non-conference games included, and then you would have the NCAA tournament in May. How would you feel about that? Because while I'm not a big fan of change in a lot of ways, I'm not a big fan of changing up tradition, 2020 has been a weird year. 2021, at least at the start of it, is probably going to be just as weird.
I have no issue with having May Madness, so to speak. Dan Gabbitt, who Coach K was pushing to be an NCAA college basketball commissioner, he's been talking about the issue of a college basketball commissioner for almost 10 years now, as far as I've been tracking it, but this is the first time I've heard him attach a name to that, he said they're going to wait until mid-September to make an important decision on the college basketball season. But January through May, how would we feel about that? Because unlike football, Robert, I don't think anybody would be questioning the safety of players having a January through May season and then starting things back in November, would they? For basketball?
No, not at all. It's completely different from football. Right. Football, you're going to bring up those safety concerns. You're going to be concerned about opt-outs in football. Basketball, I don't think you worry about any of those two things.
That's not a knock on basketball at all. So if the options were trying to get a non-conference in, but not having everybody aligned, say the Pac-12 starting late, maybe even the Big Ten starting late, the Ivy's not starting into January or having everybody start at the same point January through May, I'd prefer that 10 times out of 10, even though it would be different not having March Madness and instead it being May Madness, you wouldn't have the health concerns of quickly restarting things. In fact, it would be a lot shorter of an off season where the buildup to the next season would be shorter. I'd be more excited about that actually. I'm just excited.
It just needs to be the same alliteration. It needs to be an M month. That's all that matters to me. As long as you've got the M Madness, I think we'll be just fine. The M Madness.
Yes. That's what we're about here. The M Madness. Let's get to the ACC football bombshell of the day. Saeed Sarat, one of the best players in the ACC, projected first round draft pick for the Demon Deacons. He has opted out of the college football season. I've gotten this question a lot from Wake Forest fans today.
I put this news out there on social media a few hours ago. Sage is the second scholarship player to opt out. Dave Clausen said last week there was one scholarship player to opt out and two walk-ons. He is the second scholarship player.
So the number, as far as we know, is up to four right now. Wake Forest players to opt out. His decision, it could have a ripple effect in the ACC.
His brother is one of the 50 best players in the country, according to a poll put out by 24-7 Sports yesterday. Chaz and Sage Sarat, they're both tight. Whenever one's playing and the other isn't playing the same day, they're at each other's games.
It was really cool to see that bond. If they both were going to opt out, this is just my thought and it's sheer speculation. It's not reporting by any means. I would have saw both of them opting out together if they both were going to opt out. Chaz's situation is different than Sage's. Sage is projected to be a first round pick. Chaz, pretty darn good player, but he's only been playing linebacker for one year. And I see that Mac Brown's working him a bit at defensive end as well for this season, so he has a little bit more to prove.
It's not just Chaz Sarat who might be affected by this though. Boogie Basham is the Deacon's top draft prospect. Another first round projection from Todd McShea.
He has the same decision to make. It's tough luck for Wake that you have these two guys. Wake Forest has never had two first round players in the same draft. And you're not going to get to see them play on the field together this year. But one of the bigger questions I have, have there been conversations between Boogie and Dave Claussen about playing this year? Fortunately, we have Dave Claussen on today's show to ask him. But let me be clear again.
I can't fault Sage for his decision. He's one of the five best college football wide receivers. I vote for the Blitnikov.
Robert, did you know that? You vote for what? The Blitnikov award best wide receiver. And you place who you think it is? That's right. You have a say in that. I do. A say in who wins the Blitnikov award.
That's right. It's pretty cool. I had no idea. One of the best wide receiver classes set to come out next year. You got Jamar Chase who won the Blitnikov. He's the best wide receiver in college football out of LSU. After that, it's probably Jalen Waddle from Alabama.
Then it's a toss up based on what a team like. Is it Sage Surratt or is it Chris Olave? Is it another Alabama guy in Devante Smith?
It's a really strong wide receiver class. And this is a professional decision that Sage Surratt is making. And based on all the conversations I've had with Sage, he's a very thoughtful guy. He's going to make the best decision that's best for him. He also loves Wake Forest. So this had to be a really difficult call for him. I respect his decision. Coming up, an ACC basketball star who's reportedly picked up 21 pounds during the offseason.
Keep it locked here on the drive. Josh Graham loves to talk sports. He also loves the way his new jeans highlight his man curves. Ooh, hot.
Oh yeah, that's hot. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. Matt Fortuna from the athletic is now with us to talk some college football. But before we get to him, B Dot is in here a little bit early.
He's hanging out in Robert's control room and he doesn't know how to not be a distraction from Robert to the show. You could played at times that, Hey, you want to be a part of the NFL trading card war segment that we do on Tuesdays. So here you are taking one of our packs of cards here and opening it up. What do you got in your pack? Hey, I got some good names, but then I got a bunch of guys that I don't know at all. Like Cheyenne O'Grady he's trash, but I do got Aaron Jones. I got Cala Murray. I got a Josh Allen. I got a requan Smith.
What are you doing? I'm just figuring out which ones I will keep in my football. I used to collect these kinds of cards. I got Lamar Jackson.
Can you imagine having like a Lamar Jackson rookie card? As you guys discuss what cards you have in there, I want to talk to Matt Fortuna about important football things. He's with us.
He's on Twitter at Matt underscore Fortuna. And a week ago I wasn't feeling great about the state of college football. Right now I'm not feeling a lot better, but I don't feel worse.
How about you, Matt Fortuna? How much better do you feel today about the prospect of a season versus where you were say a week ago? In keeping with the theme of 2020 where everything is different and weird, and we're coming up with different kind of analogies, I'll say in the same way that the NBA playoffs is substituting for March Madness, I'll use the metaphor of surviving advance. We made it another week, right? Eight days now, I guess since last Tuesday when two power five conferences postponed college football. So we're still here, right? We were told a final final decisions coming and this and that and the other.
I don't know if there's such a thing as a final decision unless that means cancellation, but we're still here. So it's, uh, it's full steam ahead right now. Um, we'll see how long it stays that way. But with the ACC, the Big 12 and the FCC, uh, business as usual. So let's plug away.
Yeah. And we've got Dave Clausen on the show, so we'll see what exactly is going on. I've been told there was an ACC coaches, uh, conference call earlier today.
We'll figure out if anything newsworthy was discussed. You're pretty plugged in with the Big 10 though, Matt, our presidents over there regretting you think pulling the plug as early as they did. I don't think so, but that's a great question for them. And I say that to say, it'd be nice to hear from some of them.
Um, you haven't heard all this uproar from PAC 12 country, right? I mean, they were very firm, transparent and unified, uh, in their decision making process. They said there was a unanimous vote. They said they put out health experts, they put out Larry Scott for media coverage. They put out the, the protocols and the medical advice that, uh, they were given that told them that they do not feel the safe to play. The big 10 really hasn't done any of that.
Kevin Warren just went on a sports business daily, uh, virtual form right before I got on with you. And they said this, this interview was agreed to about a month ago. We don't want to rehash next week. So we're all still waiting for answers. I think had they been more transparent, um, had they held maybe a press conference or made a president or a medical expert available, people would still be upset, right? Everyone's upset right now. It's 2020 we want our football and we're going to have that taken away from us. Um, we're going to be owed an explanation.
Uh, people would still be upset, but there wouldn't be crazy parents threatening to March outside, uh, an empty office in Rosemont, Illinois this weekend. Let's assume for now that there is going to be, uh, an ACC football season that Clemson's going to try and defend their ACC title, their last five ACC titles, I should say. And they're going to do so against the likes of Notre Dame and North Carolina, who are both projected to be top 25 teams. I've been saying for the last few months now that with Clemson losing T Higgins and losing unexpectedly, Justin Ross, this wide receiving core isn't going to be as great as it's been in years past. Uh, Clemson's losing a little bit on the O line on defense. I think Isaiah Simmons, he masked a lot of the problems that, uh, come when you lose your entire starting defensive line to the draft like Clemson did in 2019. And on top of that, you'll lose a leader like Tanner Muse as well. I think you get to a point where you lose so many draft picks, you lose a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.
It has to come and show eventually. And I think North Carolina, what they did last year, wasn't much of a fluke. Notre Dame, we know what they're all about. Do you think this is the most vulnerable Clemson's been in, let's say the last five years?
I don't know if I would go that far. Um, I, I understand where you're coming from, but I mean, last five years, I mean, they had Kelly Bryant as their starting quarterback in an open competition where it wasn't even clear if he would win the job going in, uh, before 2017. And they still ended up being the number one team in the country, uh, entering the playoffs. So I don't think this is the most vulnerable they've been. I understand the concern as far as a lot of these guys, they are losing are irreplaceable, but they, they might actually have a chip on their shoulder and a real chip on their shoulder.
And that's the made up one that the Dabo is going to spout at a Tuesday press conference, a real one cause they're coming off their first loss in two years. Trevor Lawrence has one blemish on his resume and I mean, he's coming back for a reason. I mean, he does not have to come back.
Travis Ethiopian does not have to come back. These guys are first round NFL draft picks, uh, who had the right top out in an Ethiopian's case, had the right to declare for the draft after last year. And they decided to come back and I don't think they're doing it, uh, to just go through the motions and have a nice season. Again, it reminds me a little bit of two years ago when, uh, they had lost to Alabama at the end of 2017 and Christian Wilkins, Cleveland, Farrell, a number of guys on that roster who were projected to be first or second round pick surprise. Everyone came back and, uh, it just set such a great tone for the rest of that roster and for that program throughout the course of the season. So while I don't disregard or discount the personnel voids that you mentioned, I have to think when you're in a league where you're that much more talented than everyone else, the way Clemson is, when you've recruited at the level Clemson has, which is crazy good as it's been over the last five or 10 years, the last two years have been above and beyond what even they were doing in the years prior to that, they have enough talent and they have the veteran leadership presence that, uh, can help set the tone. Can, uh, you know, police the locker room themselves.
They don't need to be babysat Trevor Lawrence. This isn't his first rodeo. He's been through it all in two years and we've seen him really find his voice in off the field matters, uh, throughout 2020 so far. So, uh, I still think the runway favorite, the idea of them playing a road game at maybe another top 10 team in Notre Dame in November is very intriguing, especially since, uh, with the way things are projected, there's a good chance they could play them twice within, Oh, I don't know, a 40 day span or so, but the game in South Bend and the ACC title game in Charlotte, it's very, very intriguing. And the fact that there are no divisions this year, uh, just adds a whole new layer of uncertainty, right?
With the ACC race, but there's still so much more talent and better coach and everyone else that, um, I just think the gap still way too significantly wide prefer anyone to really catch up them this year. He's on Twitter at Matt underscore Fortuna shoot him a follow there. Read his stuff at the athletic. It's good to hear from you, man. Stay safe. You too, brother. Thanks for having me. Got it.
That's Matt Fortuna from the athletic. All right. What cards are you taking with you?
B dot I'm looking at. You have a full pack of cards open right now. And, uh, I got Derek Brown when he was still in his Auburn uniform for the Panthers. That's pretty cool. See, they usually have a couple of college players in there. Yeah, I have, I had some college for some guys from Arkansas and I got, um, who do you have from Arkansas? Um, that was the Cheyenne O'Grady guy. And then I got Donovan people's Jones.
Okay. They screwed me. They gave me two Cheyenne O'Grady's from Arkansas. Who got two Cheyenne O'Grady's? Who cares about him?
Robbie trash. But I am going to keep my, uh, I'm going to keep my, uh, Mike Evans. This is cool.
This one's Mike Evans in the zone. What do you, what is your approach when you come in on this show? Um, like you, you walk in, you walk into the studio. Yeah. And before I get here, there's a lot of pre-production. Yeah. A lot of pre-planning on the way here. Tell you that.
Windows down buddy. That's pre-production. He smells great every time he comes in here.
He does compliment me every time. Loud. Yeah. Yeah.
That's, that's the best way I put it. You know, so I prep and then I come in, I just have a good time. I kick my feet off. I don't have any pressure. You got all the pressure. You got to make sure the ship is going straight. Robbie has a lot of pressure. He's got to make sure that he has the right button so he doesn't get on your bad side.
Me, I just get to kick my feet up and shoot the ish. And I'm fine with that. That's how things sound. I mean, that's how you get things sounding the way you want them to sound. Right.
That's, that's intentional, but what's not intentional. I love it. And by I love it, I don't love it. When you walk into the control room, you distract Robert and then you grab the trading cards that we intend to use. You're just such a control freak.
No matter what room you're in, you want to be in full control of it. What you didn't like was me coming in and flipping you the bird. And then you're not being able to really respond because I didn't have on headsets.
Yes. You were just screaming over there and I couldn't hear you. So I flipped you off again.
You don't like me being my own boss. You're going to buy me dinner by the end of this playoff series between Houston and OKC. We established this on IG live that if Houston wins, you buy me dinner. If, if it's the other way around, I'll buy you dinner.
I mean, I'm not completely, um, giving into the fact that I'm going to have to give you buy, buy you dinner, but it's really, really close. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know where you're going to take him yet? Did y'all decide that? You could just take him through the drive-through. Yeah. It's his choice.
If I, if OKC loses, he gets to choose where I'll take him and that sucks. Also, we gave you a homework assignment. Just like my homework assignment was to hang out and no stress fast. Your homework assignment this week was to watch the notebook for the first time.
I have not started on it. My friend, I told my cohost Drankins on, um, three live and he told me to loin up. He told me to not go and watch that ridiculous movie. He said I was, instead of loining up, I was overing up is what he made up.
I just want to let you know, thank you for the way you have my audience looking at me this week. It's just, you know, it's, it's, it's a, it's an important movie to the culture. Yeah. That's right. That's right.
Uh, speaking of that OKC Houston series, uh, Chris Paul plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The shoes were fresh too. Yeah.
I want to talk about that because I had quite a shoe faux pas that we need to get to. Did you see that, Robby? I don't know. This is, this is, just stop. This is all being used as a teasing device as a vehicle to tease here with CP three in the playoffs. I'll tell you the five best NBA players to never win a title and be dots going to make fun of my fans. This is a Wednesday drive.
You're on the drive with Josh sports hub triad. It's time for V dots grammar school, a segment that somehow isn't canceled yet. I wonder if we just explain the concept on social media.
Like if people who don't listen to the show would try to cancel it immediately. No, you don't think so? Probably. All right. If you don't know about the concept, it's, it's, uh, essentially me not knowing a lot of the urban vernacular, uh, B dot tries to clue me in on a lot of these things.
And the reason why I don't say like African American vernacular or black vernacular is because Robert and many other people who call into this show are very much abreast with these terms. I'm just out of the loop. Yup. So I need to get a lot better. I think this, this segment's had a positive impact on my life by and large. I do too.
Yeah. I think I've become a better person as a result. Let's see how I'll do here. As B dot takes me to grammar school. Josh Graham has his own way of speaking in high school.
He didn't play sports, but he did wear a helmet. And just when you think it can't get any worse, teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high. Thanks a lot. Next semester. I'll be 35. Josh is going to attempt to learn B dots vernacular. I'm on the old school.
I got a little street knowledge. You know what I mean? You know what I'm saying?
It's time for B dots. The Carolina hurricanes just scored. They're up one to nothing. Hayden flurry with a rocket right past Yaro. It's one to nothing.
Yeah. A snap risk. Upper 90 far side.
One to nothing. Carolina let's go. B dot take it away. Don't you ever bring hockey news into the urban segment of the show.
I thought you were going to say into the classroom. I'm going to look at this replay. Don't look at the replay. Josh, you have five words here and if you want to get a passing grade today, you had better get three out of these five.
Correct. And I didn't like the way that Robbie was talking to me last week. Well, not last week. Was it last week?
Last week I was on vacation the week before that. I think Robbie felt like I let you off the hook a little too easy. So today I've come with some more difficulty. Are you ready?
I'm ready. First as a replay. An old word. What is a stick? S T I C K. A stick's a gun. A stick is a gun. That is correct.
That is correct. Got it. I'm on a roll. I'm feeling confident. The canes just scored.
I'm in such a good mood right now. If you're in the streets and somebody says, Hey yo, Josh, let me get an elbow. How much does an elbow weigh? I thought you were to say how much does an elbow cost?
About the same thing. It could have been either question but see different people have different prices for their elbows, which is why I just asked you how much does an elbow weigh? Is it a gram? It is not a gram. An elbow is a pound.
Hence an L bow, the B L B pound. So you got your street talk on right there. You understand? Oh, three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one 600.
If you want to help me out, by the way, review word with a twist. What is big cap? Big cap. I think I know this big cap. Like a big lie, man. That's big cap. That is 100% correct, Josh.
That is correct. Two out of three so far. Two to go here. Josh, what is mother Teresa sex? This is a thing too. Mother Teresa sex.
This is a real thing. I had no clue. Three, three, six, seven, seven, one 600. What is mother Teresa sex? We're running into difficulty right now.
Yeah, we are. If I look at Robbie's face, he's not going to help you at all. I got a guess, but I don't think it's right. Mother Teresa sex. Something that I didn't know I could say on the radio or I didn't expect to say on the radio. Kind of like I didn't expect Dan Patrick to ask Nick Saban, and I quote this morning, what are your thoughts on these nuts?
Really? That's an actual quest that Dan Patrick asked Nick Saban. I will not provide the context because I don't want to provide the context. No, keep it where it is.
That is true. Verbatim, that is a question. Dan Patrick asked Nick Saban today. Well, the question I'm asking you today, what is mother Teresa sex? Josh Graham. I, I have a guess too.
Okay. It's just missionary, isn't it? That would be a great guess. That is incorrect, but that would be a great guess.
It's when you give and give and you never received Josh. That is mother Teresa. Yeah.
Mother Teresa. Didn't know if you knew that. I thought it was if somebody hadn't gotten in a little while. So a girl like gives him some pity sex, like some mother.
She's like, I'm going to give to the needy. That's fair. That would have been where Josh, that should be called Josh Graham in college. All right, Josh, you got two review words. You got big cap and you knew what a stick was. You didn't know how much an elbow weighed and you had no clue what mother Teresa sex was.
If you get this right, you pass today. If not, you get in the context of like intimacy, you're talking about giving and giving and receiving or can it be outside of that context? Well, it's sex. So, okay, got it.
Final word for you. What does it mean? It's a tweet. What? Yeah.
Yeah. Tweets. D w e e t. What does it mean to tweet?
First reaction was dumb tweet and it might be what John Fokie did earlier this week, but I don't know if that's what it is. Three, three, six, seven, seven, one 600. I need to get this one right. I wonder what John Fokie dweeting. I got two wrong.
Uh, this is what it all comes down to here. Three, three, six, seven, seven, one 600. Help me out if you know what dweeting is. My boy needs some assistance. He started out strong. The hurricanes had a goal.
He was screaming and all excited. Peter Mrazek just made a great save on posture. Knock who's back in plan. I don't even know these names. He's saying that's what we should do.
We should do hockey trivia. Do you want to spell posture? Not p o s t e r k n o c h p a s t r n a k. Did you even say any vows? Were there any vows?
I don't think there are any vows. What does it mean to dweet? Josh Graham?
W w e. Tell me what your best guess is. Well, I hung around a couple of Jamaicans in college and they said dweet a lot and I think it means like to do it like dweet is do this, but I could be wrong to do this. I'm going to trust that's, that's genuine from Robert dweeting means to do it. Now here's the thing, Rob, there are two different definitions for dweeting. I saw the definition that you were talking about and I had never heard that, so I didn't even know if that was a real thing. And then you say it and I'm sitting here like, wow, that really is one.
The dweeting I saw was when you're drunk tweeting, you're dweeting. So I will leave it up to you, Josh. That sounds like a push. Are we going to give, because if you go to urban dictionary, they will pull up dweet Jamaican term for do it verbatim. I don't know, man. I think if he went with my thing and it means both things, I'm going to give it to him.
I think we kind of have to. He did really good on the review words. He knew what he was doing. He tried on elbow.
Josh Graham, hopefully your winning can go over to the canes. I tried on elbow. Well, you did. Is it a gram? And it's not. How much is an elbow? How much does an elbow weigh?
It's a pound. There we go. Congratulations. You passed today's class, Josh Graham.
Thank you. This is crazy. There is an ACC basketball star that has picked up 21 elbows this off season. That's true.
Listen, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're only talking about elbows when you're talking drugs. So if he's picked up 21 elbows, he's not playing that season.
He may or may not have picked up 21 elbows this off season. There you go. In addition to that, gosh, this is so ridiculous. There is a basketball coach I guaranteed that is not getting Mother Teresa sex. Yikes.
If you're just listening, if this is your first time listening, all of the words in the grammar school he now has to use in a tease for his next segment. I'm pretty sure he owns a stick, but if I'm telling the truth, that's big cap. What?
If you're telling the truth, it's big cap? Why are you making me tweet? It's crazy. Thanks for being here. Thanks for having me.
That tease gave you absolutely nothing, but I guarantee you what's coming up is really good. This is the drive. This is the drive with Josh Graham on sports hub triad. Cam Newton haters probably hate this radio show because yesterday, even though he's not the quarterback of the Panthers anymore, we started asking, should Cam's number one be retired?
As I saw a bunch of red number ones at Panthers practice marking injured players. I presented that to Darren Gant of profootballtalk.com and he went a step further than the sports talk radio host did. And it's important to note that Darren Gant went that far or went farther because Darren is a pro football hall of fame voter. And this is what the great writer from profootballtalk.com had to say yesterday. If Cam Newton never played another down of football, I think there's a reasonable case to be made for him being in the hall of fame someday. I mean, what he's done is so unique and at such a high level. And again, I think about so many players we've had in that room had those discussions about when you talk about the cast he's had around him.
I mean, I am the longer we move away from it, the more we're going to marvel at the cast of characters can drag to a Super Bowl in 2015. And I agree with him. I think if I had to guess, Cam Newton Hall of Famer or Cam Newton not Hall of Famer, I'd bank on him getting into the Hall of Fame today. I don't know if most people agree with that, though. In fact, if you have thoughts on it three three six seven seven seven one six hundred, we'll get you in here before we have Dave Clausen on who's going to join us in about 10 minutes. When I think about it, Cam is the best at something in the NFL. He is the best red zone threat we've ever seen in the sports history. I don't even think that's an opinion.
I think that's a fact. We've never seen a quarterback jump over piles and run quarterback power with. I guess Tim Tebow did it in college, but come on. Cam Newton, he had more rushing touchdowns in the last decade than any other player playing the same amount of years.
That's insane to me. He has far more rushing touchdowns than any quarterback in the history of the sport. So he's the best rushing quarterback. He's the best red zone threat. I think that's enough to warrant Hall of Fame status. If you disagree, justify kickers and punters getting in over Cam Newton.
You know, oh, they're the best at kicking a football through the uprights. OK. Cam is the best red zone threat and he's playing the most important position in the sport and won the bleeping MVP. I'm for Steve Tasker getting in. I'm for Adam Vinatieri.
I'm for Ray Guy and punters. I believe you're the best at something. You should be acknowledged.
There should be a place for you in Canton. Speaking of the MVP award, here's the list of quarterbacks that have won it. Or actually, let's not just limit it to quarterbacks. Here's the list of MVP winners the last 15 years.
Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes. We can agree, Robert, they're both a little too young to start talking about the MVP discussion. Yeah, I would agree with that.
Right. But they very well could be MVPs one day. Here are the MVPs of the previous 12 to 14 years. You got Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, LT. Every single one of them are a Hall of Fame candidate. Every single one of them is going to get in, slam dunk. Or I should say, every other one except Cam Newton.
I think Matt Ryan, he's going to break all the records that Drew Brees is setting right now. He's just on pace to do all that. And if he's way up there, he's going to get into the Hall of Fame.
That's simple. And he should, if you put up numbers like that. AP, sure thing, Hall of Famer. LT, Hall of Famer. Peyton Manning, Hall of Famer.
I mean, all these guys are Hall of Famers. So why not Cam Newton? If you're the MVP of the sport in a season, you should be looked on, preferably. If you play quarterback, you should be looked on, preferably. If you score more touchdowns than running backs, you should be looked on, preferably. I think he has more rushing touchdowns than Hall of Famers at running back.
Like, he is right there. Like if you go to the career touchdowns list, Robert, do me a favor and check this real quick for me. See the career touchdowns list and the history of the sport. Rushing touchdowns.
I believe Cam Newton's within one or two of Larry Zonka, Franco Harris. And back then, there was no such thing as a third down back. They carried the ball all three downs, three downs. It was an everyday, every down back.
You had to be that. So they carry the ball all the time. They weren't throwing the ball like they do today. Cam Newton has, he's in that department rushing touchdowns. He has more than Jamal Lewis. It's crazy what he's done running the football. Then you factor in the passing. 4,000 yards is a rookie, which was a record at that point coming into the league.
Just remarkable stuff. So I'm for Cam being considered as a Hall of Fame candidate. I think in all likelihood he's going to get it. Would he get in without playing another down? I don't know. Would it be a discussion?
Yes. And New England I think is a favorite in my mind to win the AFC East. If he wins and goes to the playoffs with another team, book it. Cam Newton, Hall of Famer. Let's go to Dave in Clemens. Dave, Cam Newton, Hall of Famer?
Yeah, I love this discussion. I got him as a Hall of Famer and I really think it's 50-50, Josh. But what puts it over the top for me in this situation, and I know it's college and it's different from the NFL, he was a Heisman Trophy winner, dominated at the collegiate level and also won an championship.
And if you look at the whole body of work, I think when it's 50-50, for me that gives him a little bit of a nudge. And he is the leading rusher for quarterback touchdowns ever in the NFL. It's insane. Any one he gets moving forward just moves him up the ladder even harder. Yeah.
Thanks for the call, Dave. I agree with you. I don't think the college stuff should really be factored in because it's the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but here's where I'll buy that. There's no question influence matters. Him being a Heisman Trophy winner and being the number one pick and playing quarterback, that is going to give him a leg up.
There's no question about it. So his notoriety, his influence, that matters in the conversation. Robert, what did you find on the career touchdowns list? Cam has 58 career touchdowns. He has six behind Larry Zonka, three behind O.J.
Simpson, but he has more touchdowns than Hall of Fame running backs like Ernest Biner. Wow. Ernest Biner's in the Hall of Fame? I thought he was. I was assuming so.
Maybe not. I don't think Ernest is in the Hall of Fame, but he did have a lot of really good years with the Browns. He does have, I think Steve Young finished with either 41 or 43 Russian touchdowns. That's second place in terms of career rushing touchdowns. I think Mike Vick had the record for most yards. Cam Newton's topped that as well, as Dave noted.
So I'm on board. Cam Newton, Hall of Fame train. Is he going to start this year for the Patriots though? Bill Belichick was asked earlier today. I don't even know why you ask questions to Belichick like this. I think if you ask legit football questions, he'll give you a legit football answer. But like asking if they're going to play platoons, something that defenses would love to know about, teams preparing for the Patriots would love to know about, especially considering there's no preseason, there's a 0% chance he's going to give you a legit answer.
But this is what Belichick had to say. When asked about the idea of playing multiple quarterbacks in a game. Could you ever envision a scenario in which it might benefit the team to use two quarterbacks in sort of a platoon style or would that maybe bring up too many complications for your offense? Just, you know, if you have two guys that maybe have different skill sets, could that potentially benefit the team? Yeah, it might.
Look, I would always say I'll do it. I think it's best for the team because it's the best chance to win. So whatever that is, I would, you know, I would certainly consider that it's run on balance line or double unbalanced line or, you know, 23 personnel or, you know, whatever it is, if that's, if it helps us win, then, you know, I would consider anything. And many people are taking that as, Oh, the Patriots are going to play multiple quarterbacks at once. It's going to be Brian Hoyer and Cam in the same game. They're going to use Cam like Taysom Hill.
I threw that idea out there in the off season. I don't think it's that crazy, but Cam's going to be the starting quarterback of this team. Brian Hoyer, he was talking about Cam. I think this was on Monday and he said on a radio show, I think Belicheck says every position is a competition no matter what, every year. I think for me, I'm going in, I'm going to compete, trying to be a starting quarterback.
I did that when Tom was here. I know that was never going to happen because of who he was, but that pushed me to be better. Adding another great quarterback like Cam to the room, it only makes us that much more competitive and is going to bring the best out of all of us. He brought up Cam's name, not Jarrett, Stidham. I know practice info doesn't mean that much, but he's been having a rough week with Kyle Duggar picking him off like three times in practice.
Yeah. Belicheck, he's been very complimentary of Cam though, complimenting his work ethic, which isn't something a lot of people do. Some people think because he wears the suits that he's a diva and doesn't work hard, but Cam is an incredibly hard worker and look, he's going to start for the Patriots. It's just going to happen. It gives them the best chance to win football games. You heard it there from Belicheck and this is actually what I buy from Bill from that answer. He's going to do exactly what's necessary to help the Patriots win games, do what's best for them.
Brian Hoyer being on the field, Jarrett Stidham being on the field at any point other than Cam Newton is not helping the Patriots win football games. So let's be real. Speaking of Carolina slash Boston ties, don't know the best way to plug this. Carolina is still up one to nothing on the Boston Bruins with 1026 left to go in the second period in Toronto. Carolina having to win three in a row in order to keep their season alive and to advance further.
They're down three games to one and their best of seven series. All right, there's a lot going on with the ACC. Apparently there was a coaches conference call earlier today for ACC coaches. Sage Surratt, he opted out of the season. Wake Forest football coach Dave Claussen is kind enough amidst this busy day to spend time with us. We'll chat with the Wake Forest head coach next on The Drive.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-05-16 23:44:14 / 2023-05-17 00:02:59 / 19