Josh Booty | Former LSU QB

Now joining us in studio friend to the show has a bitter for a while, but I did see him last night out and about in New York City after I was walking out of Madison Square Garden. We did link up for a bit going to go do dinner tonight.

That's the former LSU quarterback and also was drafted by the Marlins and that is our pal Josh booty Josh appreciate the time. How you been? Fun fun night last night and also glad to be back dude. It's awesome to be sitting here with you again.

Yeah in a year or so. Yeah, I know it's been awhile so let's do this. Let's start with LSU because now you're going into another year of Brian Kelly. They've had good quarterback play with saw Jayden Daniels win a Heisman Trophy.

Nussmeier was there last year. A lot of people are very optimistic on Nussmeier as a quarterback. What do you see being a former LSU Tiger? I like him now his experience. He's got a full year under his belt.

Of course he's a fifth year senior. Type of guys well which which helps he was a backup to Jayden Daniels. He learned a lot and now he's been in Brian Kelly system for three or four years, which is huge and I think just knowing what a what a head coach wants, you know out of you as a player is huge that relationships always big. I know when I played at LSU. I was trying to get as close as I could to Nick Saban. He was my head coach there and I knew if I could build that relationship up then it would mean more on Saturdays and we got to spend a lot of time together.

Brian Kelly now has been there several seasons and. And Nussmeier's got six or seven receivers this year that are capable NFL guys and you'll see a lot of them get drafted in the next few years. So I think that's going to be the highlight of the LSU season this year is some electricity in the air with him throwing the football at all these speedy receivers. I think they got seven guys run 44 better.

It's like a track team. It's going to be like a track me watching LSU now. I don't know how we're going to stop people if we're going to do that on the defensive side of the ball. Yes, but I think offensively will score points and if Nuss stays healthy, he's going to deliver good.

Fastballs to the right people. It'll be fun to watch and you look at the SEC right now. It's open Georgia.

I don't know if it's still going to be great, but I don't think they're dominant as OK. They're definitely going to win the SEC and definitely win the championship. There's some questions about Alabama Ole Miss. You got Lane Kiffin, so you're always going to be able to put up points, but you take a glance. You know South Carolina should be a fun team, but Texas.

That's where it really all starts because they got to the championship game last year in the SEC. And now it's OK. All the hype about Arch Manning. Finally, you get to unbox that and see what he looks like as a starting quarterback.

Yeah, you've got the marquee player at that position. We all know the Manning family and their history. What is he going to do through the air is a big question. Like Quinn Ewers could throw the football to the right guy. He could get it to guys downfield and he didn't have the strongest arm in the world.

But Manning hadn't had to do that yet. He was inserted into games to run the football and do a little wrinkle stuff, but can he do it down in, down out, throw the ball? We know his uncles could, but can he do it in the SEC this year as a first time starter or a full time starter?

I think that's the big question mark is if they get down, can he lead them throwing the football in big games? Like they're going to win the games that they should win. It's those Georgia games, the Bama games, the games against good teams. South Carolina is going to be good. A&M is going to have a real good team. I think they're an up and coming program. LSU, of course, is going to be nasty and Ole Miss has got the big lefty now at quarterback. That's really going to help Lane with Jackson Dart being here in New York now with the Giants. But I think it's a wide open. Like you said, Georgia, there's question marks there. Can they come back and do some amazing things and take back the conference?

They lost a little bit of that luster. And so it's going to be fun, man. I think it's a wide open deal. I think LSU is going to have a chance to have a great year. I think Florida is going to be really good with DJ Lagway.

I love him. I think he might be the best player in the conference and then the quarterback at South Carolina might be the second best player. So I think South Carolina and Florida are two teams that we should be thinking about a little bit. Yeah, you know, it's a great point because I think the most intriguing player in college football this year goes without being said, right? It's Arch Manning. But then you look at the quarterbacks. Like you've heard so much about Lagway. You saw him obviously a little bit last year. Lenora Sellers, man, that ceiling for him at South Carolina. They were rolling at the end of the year.

It's now how could DJ Lagway and Lenora Sellers put it together? And can you find a little bit of that middle ground? Like you look at Jalen Milro, for example. He had a really good He had high moments, but then he had a lot of low moments and there was no, okay, just have an average game and keep your team and manage the game in some of those moments.

So Lagway and Sellers, man, those are two exciting players. I think the consistency is key, right? Through the pass game, understanding what you're wanting to do as an offensive player at that position, getting the ball to the right guys. You don't have to necessarily take over the game through the air because they run the ball so well, too. They're like Cam Newton-ish.

You know, in that regard. So I think the balance of those offenses are going to be key. The play callers for both those teams. It's going to be key for those guys to have big seasons. I think both of those guys could be Heisman contenders at the end of the season. My son's at Clemson. They played South Carolina last year. He said Sellers is the best player they saw all year. And that was a consistent theme in the locker room, too, with all the players is that guy is one heck of a beast. I think when you can do that much on the ground with your legs like Cam Newton did at Auburn back in the day, in the SEC, you've got to stay healthy, too. It's going to be fun to watch those guys try to take on the conference. So your son obviously is at Clemson, and then they play LSU week one, your school. Have you thought about that? That's got to be a little difficult.

What's the interest? Yeah, I usually don't wear LSU colors anyways when I go to games. Our colors are crazy. The Mardi Gras colors. You've got the Nike. You've got the Nike Laker colors on today, the purple and gold.

I do got my Mardi Gras shoes on. I'll be rooting for him. I can promise you that. I hope Clemson can get it done, but I love LSU. They play at LSU next year, so it's a home-in-home deal. Clemson, LSU, who's the real Death Valley? That's what they're talking about. Where's the real Death Valley? Is it Clemson or Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge? So that's going to be a fun part of the storyline.

Who has the real Death Valley? And we were just talking, Josh Brody's in the studio with us for a few more minutes before we get an out of here on a Thursday. We were talking about this yesterday. You look at Clemson. Joe Klack came out with his list of the best quarterbacks in college football entering this season, and there's a lot of guys that are untapped potential.

And he goes, all right, Cade Klubnick's number one. He had 36 touchdowns a year ago. I'm curious that we're talking about Clemson at the end of the year because we talk about how open college football is right now, and it's one of those things where Clemson, right, for a while, they were Alabama's biggest threat, and they had the two national championship game victories.

And the last few years, they've still been able to win the ACC, but now it's can you get back into being that true, bona fide national championship. Yeah, I think Dabo's brought in several key pieces, especially at receiver, to help Klubnick kind of get to the next level and to let their offense get back to the level that they were at when Deshaun Watson was there, when Lawrence was there playing at a super high level offensively. I know Dabo, he's a receiver guy.

He played receiver himself. So he's taken a real liking to try to get that back to where they were dominant. And I think the conference, of course, is not as strong as the SEC. So Klubnick's numbers are probably going to be a little bit better than most SEC quarterback numbers because he plays in a conference where their defenses aren't quite as good a week out. But Klubnick's got a lot of experience now. He won two big state titles in Texas as a high school player at Westlake. He's as experienced as any kid could be in that position, and he had a great game against Texas that they lost last year on the road in the playoffs. So they should be pretty darn good with all the talent they got. I'll tell you, the kid that I'm curious about, and we already talked about Arch and Lenora Sellers and DJ Lagway, it's the Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt.

I like that. Because he had the safety blanket last year of Cam. Now Cam's longer there.

You still get your receiver back, though, in Jordan Tyson. But Leavitt, that kid's got confidence. He's got an aura to him. I like him.

I do, too. He's got Baker Mayfield kind of written all over him, and that's my kind of comparison off the top of the cuff here. But I think he just, you know, he runs. He throws well on the run. Last year he got into some trouble, you know, into some pressure situations, and he completed some balls downfield on the run, kind of like Burrow did for us in 2019 when he had such an amazing run and we won the national championship at LSU. Leavitt's able to make those plays outside the pocket, and that's when the play breaks down and the play's not there, what are you going to do with the football?

And that's what Bruce Arians used to tell us all the time when I was in Cleveland with him playing for the Browns and backing up Tim Couch there for several years was, what do we do with the football when the play's not there? But Leavitt is good at doing some things outside of kind of the realm of, you know, the normal offensive stuff that should happen. He breaks out.

Guy runs free. He hits him, dude, and I like his competitive nature. He'll run with the football, too, and that gives him a one-two punch at that position, you know, and then that probably took a lot of pressure off of Scatterboot last year, just the threat of Leavitt doing a lot of stuff outside the pocket. Let's get to the quarterbacks that were just drafted.

Josh Booty here with us for a few more moments. Jackson Dart, you know, in the first round. I watched Jackson Dart in college. I just thought he was the product of Lane Kiffin. You know, what do you make of his projection as an NFL quarterback? You know, he was super highly regarded coming out of high school, Elite 11 type guy, MVP type guy. Like, he was the top guy, so let's not forget that, you know, he's been kind of groomed for this position. You know, this is a large stage position now in New York, and I think him having the experience he did playing under Lane Kiffin, who was an NFL coach, you know, the things that Kiff was able to teach him, the things he learned even at SC and, you know, before he transferred over to Ole Miss to play for Lane.

I think, you know, those are going to be valuable things, a lot of throws. He made a lot of throws in college, and that experience is going to hold key, and I think he's a tough competitor. You know, sometimes he should have probably gotten down. He got banged up, you know, and he got hurt and was able, was knocked out of some games. He's aggressive.

He's aggressive, but I like that nature. Josh Allen has that. He's been able to sustain it. If Jackson Dart starts doing that in the NFL, can he sustain it?

I don't know. That's just history will have to tell, but maybe he's got to be smart with the football. Yeah, Gruden was like, you got to go down, like, two or three yards.

He told him, I saw that. It's good QB camp there by Gruden now with Barstool Sports. How about the whole Chidor situation?

Oh, goodness. Because, like, I want to see Chidor play this year. That would be a lot of fun if we get to see him play in Cleveland. Yeah, I like Chidor.

You know, I love Prime. His dad, of course, he was a guy I played against and respected and thought the world of forever, and I talk to Deion every now and then on text. And, you know, Chidor, the only thing about Chidor is he's played for his dad his whole life. So, he's never had to go outside the box to play for anybody else.

So, I think that's something that we got to keep an eye on. I think, also, Dylan Gabriel is a capable player that was drafted ahead of him. And, of course, my nephew was at Oklahoma the last few seasons, General Booty, and was backing up Dylan Gabriel. He absolutely loves Dylan. He said he worked so hard, even in the offseason, just to prep for games.

I mean, he understands what he's going to do. He's the leading passer, I think, in college football history. So, Chidor jumping over Dylan is not going to be the easiest thing in the world. Those guys are going to go head to head, and that side should be.

It's pro football, right? And I think both of them are capable. But Chidor probably has better athleticism overall because he's bigger and stronger, but Dylan is so dang crafty. He's kind of like a Steve Young guy. So, we'll see.

I think that's a fun deal to watch over the course of the next few seasons is those two kind of guys going at it. I know you played at Bethpage Black the other day, as you were telling me last night, but you're also telling me, what, you're making your own golf course now? Well, I'm a part of Madison Capital Group out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and we're building the premier new golf course in Florida called High Grove. I'm wearing the logo today on my shirt, but Ryan Hanks, the founder of Madison, that was his vision to create an unbelievable golf course. He's like a hoopy match play club. Apogee, which he's a member at. Calusa Pines in Florida.

This is going to be right up there with all the big boys. A stay and play type place where members only, private club. I'm going to need some access. I'm going to need some tee time.

A nice discounted right there, Josh. I'll take you. Come on. You play with me. We'll order a lot of transfusions and you'll see a lot of shank shots, so that's pretty much what you're going to get out of me. I love it. But anyway, I appreciate you coming on in. Thanks for doing this. Thank you, man, for having me. It's always fun, brother.