In the Locker Room with Wolf & Starks (Pittsburgh Steelers)This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI, and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig Wolfley and Max Stark's.
Well, good morning everyone, a big good morning. It's a rainy day here in the burg. That was this kind of depressing, although this morning I got to watch a clip of Young Frankenstein's just Gene Hackman, you know, the blind guy?
Max? Do you ever get into Young Frankenstein.
No, I mean I I watched the movie like once, maybe twice.
I love that. No, I mean, don't trust me.
Listen, I love uh, you know not Gene Hackman Gen Wilder.
Right, well, Gene Hackman played the blind guy. Gene Wilder was the other guy. There was two jeans in there.
Yeah, okay, there's two jeans.
Yeah, yeah, if you go when Frankenstein sat the Frankenstein Monster sat down to eat with Gene Wilder, He's He's like this this guy out in the middle of the forest that you know, he's got very you know, Meager belongings around him, but he is you know. He pours him a glass of wine and then they toast and he smashes it. But Geen Wilder is blind, okay in this movie. And then he gets the Frankstein monster half a cigar and then all heck breaks loose, you know, the fire and stuff.
It just you need something. Oh you gotta watch that.
Yeah, i'ma have to go and definitely re embark upon that journey because you know, I always love a good little little laugh, little chuckle here and there.
Well, I know you got the same similar sense of humor that I and touch both at you know, I mean, it's just kind of that crazy stuff and he once it gets you laughing, man, it just kind of keeps with you throughout the rest of the morning.
So forgive me.
If I just chuckle now and then thinking one of those scenes that comes up, it really does kind of I don't know, it just paints a brighter picture for the morning, my friend, don't you think so?
Yeah?
No, absolutely, I mean that's what it is, right, you know, it's those fun little moments.
That make you just laugh. And you know, there is the beauty the locker room.
We get to share because it's no longer do you have to keep it bottled up right, chained up, you know, locked away like the the locker room aspect is freeing, accepting of all right, and whatever your poison is of laughter, you bring it to the locker room.
That was, you know, one of my favorite not yeah, I mean think about it. Before the meetings, that was one of our favorite times sit around, kind of shoot the breeze, you know, talk about things, ask how the family's doing, you know, I mean that sort of thing, that that compadre uh kind of thing, you know, where everybody's just buddies and it's it's a great I don't know, it's a great atmosphere. I have people that never got to spend time in the locker room, and to me, you're missing out on something big.
No, I mean, it's a part of history or I mean when you think about it, I mean, heck, I mean, you know, just there's very few places that hold like a significant I guess you would say football place in our hearts, right, and you tell the history of this game. There's certain places you just you can't not involve in that process. But at the end of the day, overall, you know, knowing coming from that perspective, the biggest thing is is that is that I mean, the locker room is probably the number one place where you know, guys miss that used to play, yeah, because you know, it was a sounding board. It was your support group, right, it is your partners in crime.
Right. You know, it was a place where you could truly beat.
Yourself and nobody judged you.
You came in free, freely and willingly.
And you know, obviously, you know, you know, as you get to the tail end of that and you get to the.
Real world, you know, you have other people that are.
There that that that that come along.
But the locker room is that silo. It's that safe space.
It's that protection, and it allows you to grow, it allows you to heal, you know. I mean, there's just so many utilities, and that's why you know, support is always a huge thing. And that's why we you know, we make this emphasis, you know, to talk about mental health now at this point in our.
Lives, because.
The locker room provides that that mental health sanity and clarity as well. You know what I'm saying, It's weird how that says that it's not like, you know, one person in there like man, we moved the psychologist into our locker room and has been great.
No, no, he said, no one ever, but crane in the locker room wouldn't be a good thing, you know.
Nod you see Phraser Crane lifting a weight. No, no, not exactly. He would be negotiating with the weight to leave him alone so that he can then justify later that that he broke the weight.
There you go. Well the beauty of today. We got a great show for you folks.
We got the Queen of the sidelines coming on at believe ten forty, Missy Matthews, Is that right?
Okay? Wesley gave me the nod. We got that.
Then eleven o'clock at the top of the arm we had the executive director of Light of Life Rescue Mission, Jarrell Gilliam, coming on talking about a conversations on a bench. He's spent around twenty four hours or so outside during that unbelievable cold vortex that dropped in, and it's very interesting.
You know.
The thing I love about Durell. He's got the title of the executive director, but man, he's a hands on, get his hands dirty type of guy, you know, And so I love the man. I love what he does, and he is the hands and feet of Jesus on that north side. So we got that coming up. But the first time I want to start off with. It's interesting because all of a sudden, now the Bengals are talking about, yeah, you know they want to resign T Higgins. But you know, negotiations last year really turned ugly. And of course T played on a franchise tag and Burrows is on record for want and tea back. But I got to tell you something. They sure make it apparent that Jamar Chase is their number one and they want to get Jamar Chase, they'd like to resign T.
Higgins. Makes it kind of interesting, my friend, Well, it does because.
We know that the way that contracts are now done up now, you can't do that.
You can't control to.
Skyscraper wide receivers, elite great producers, elite level, top ten guys at that position in one room, second contract and beyond. So you know, you almost want one to have struggle this year so you can get one for a decent deal and the other one you can go get in the free agency and be done with it.
But having just like sheer like numbers and everything else.
You're not going to get that, and some other team's going to benefit from from what you were resistant to changing before. And Man, I mean, yeah, you got to casch these guys on rookie contract.
This's the only way this works. Wolf, it seems like it. Yeah, I mean think about it.
First of all, to divvy up the targets between those two, it was a buck seventy five to just over one hundred, a little bit more maybe for t Higgins Jamar Chase of course being the guy with the buck seventy five. I mean, that's a lot of targets in two people. But you know, the thing coming out when you see from the Bengalaland is that they want tea but the numbers have to in air quotes.
Makes sense.
That kind of lets you know that they're expecting either a hometown discount or something similar to happen. That you know it's not going to be the same. They're not going to hit similar numbers.
No, yeah, no, I mean you think you think me seventeen touchdowns is pretty it's pretty easy to hit Wolf, Yeah, yeah, and Madden, yeah oneasy on air?
How many do you think you could get in one afternoon. Huh could you roll up?
Uh?
Let's see, uh uh maybe two looks? Maybe two two looks. I mean I'm just saying, like as far as like you know at t D right, I feel yeah, yeah, a couple of good looks. Obviously the attention will be there, yes, but no doubt about it. If it was me, m h.
And I had the the attention and accolades and everything else, eight I can go.
I go eight for myself, eight for yourself. Move. I'm just totally being facetious. And come on, now, Wolf, these.
Are professionals that they can't do that. You know what I'm saying, how I supposed to jump leap frog? But you know, I mean realistically one and a.
Half render all right.
Well, it's interesting because Duke toe wh who's the player personnel director for the Bengals.
You know, he's on record that signing Chase is.
A priority, you know, which is That's interesting enough, but it definitely lets you know that t is not the priority. I mean, he's there's no way, shape or form. But also where there's smoke, there's fire. I mean, think about this, Trey Hendrickson, you know, he's still unhappy. He was asked he has to be traded. Last year he was so unhappy with his contract and then he rolls out and nails seventeen and a half sacks. I just wonder, now, what's going to happen here, because it was just last season he said, hey, trade me, you know, so I wonder if he's still got the same sort of thought process or not.
I mean, I.
Think you have to feel that type of way, right, you know, and with the performance of the team, I mean this past season, and I would say even more specifically his side of the ball, right, well, hm, because it wasn't Joe Burrow, it wasn't the twin, the twin Masters of Disasters over there, right, uh, you know, wide receiver. And in fact, you saw Chase Brown come alive offensively as well, and they put you know, they put up multiple thirty point games and lost.
Yeah.
So yeah, I'm Troy Drewson. I'm like, man, do I really whittle away in futility with this? Because it's different. It's one thing if your your side of the ball is not the reason, right, and they do and it's willful you know, ignorance by ownership and personnel department. There's nobody walking over. You know, there's nobody running over that way, So I don't even throw the ball that way. You know, I don't nothing to see here. It's like, but we're giving it up everywhere else except for when I'm off the edge. I'm having to run twice as hard as I'm trying to double my stats to help us win.
That could that could be a little tiring.
Well yeah, I mean, but think of the quality of Hendrickson's play. I mean, the guy is really really good, you know, I mean he is. You take a look at some of the pass rushers in the AFC North. They got some good ones there, and he's one of the best. I mean, notching seventeen and a half sacks that you don't you don't fall into seventeen and a half sacks. You know, it's not an accident that you got that many sacks. That is just a player that is taking his game to another level. And I've always respected Trey Hendrickson because you've seen him over the years. This guy can play the run, this guy plays the pass. He's quality on both ends of it. And you look at that part in my mind's going, boy, I hope they trade they trade him or something. You know, it'd be nice if I'm if I'm playing tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yeah, that'd be nice if you got traded, I'm okay with that. Just send him on eye out.
Yeah, I mean there's Red Rover. Red Rover sent Trey Henderson on over. Yeah, well we'll take it. I mean, we'll take any any of those guys that high produce double digitus amounts of sacks, we'll take all of them. You know, send Dexter Lords over. I mean, you know, we'll take Quinn Williams as well. He'd be great addition. Oh yeah, you know whoever.
I mean, especially especially in division. It's like here, they already know.
I don't need to motivate these guys, right because they already know what this division is about. So I mean that would be that that Yeah, that would be pie in the s guy, but very apropos and pretty awesome. But yeah, I mean, yeah, you know, it's not over with. And like you said, we're still a month away from free agency as well.
Wolf remember that.
Yeah, right, So there's gonna be a lot of posturing, a lot of a lot of things said to try and get guys more value.
Now, at the end of the day, getting the value, you know, is what they want.
So let me ask you who would you rather have? T Higgins or Trey Hendrickson. Hmmm, I would say t Higgins right now. That's exactly. Yeah, yeah, that's what I would. You know, I'm on board with you there, t Higgins. The thing is he would be that number one to whatever receiver that you you got, and that's provided if George was still on board. But the fact is, you know, you bring him in and I think he goes hog wild. I think he could really fit well in this system. If you bring in a Trey Hendrickson, he's it's good, but he's also he's got double digit sacks multiple seasons in his you know history. But you know, I'm thinking, you got you got enough on the edge, you got enough edge rushers, and I know that mike'say, you can't have too many, right, I got it. But the money, first of all, would have to quote unquote makes sense, but seriously correct, I don't. I think T Higgins can make a far bigger impact offensively.
Yeah, absolutely, because like you said, I mean, it's one thing to be the man is another thing to be a man. Okay, explain and and that's why I mean he comes to Pittsburgh like Trey Henderson comes to Pittsburgh. He's a man amongst other men. And that defensive out of the locker room right right, because you know whatever he brings that to Shay wise, TJ has more okay, first off, and then secondly, you know you're now competing with t J.
Watt off the edge. Guess what he has a pretty good amount too. Yep, you know. So that's the first thing.
I mean, I think if you come over as T Higgins, you know there's an offensive scheme, and if you give be the number two that pulls the double team and gets you know, a George Pickens isolated one on one, that's your victory. Or that extra defender drops in the box right then you have then you have a man beater on all of that sets everything up. And that's how you have to look at it. It's like which one player gives me the most value? And even though Trey Henderson's value bowl, he's a luxury, not a necessity, because you know, I don't know anybody that can hide you know, you know, you know through a defense as well as you know what t Higgins brings right because he he he's already done that. He did it with Jamar Chase and still eight right right. Actually he more efficiently ate then Jamar Chased it. So you could have that same element with with you know, with with with George on one side and with you know, T Higgins on the other and you kind of go from there. But you want, you know, you obviously want somebody who's going to add because listen, what was the biggest issues.
We had this season?
Maintaining drives well six ft five receiver does that on third down, being able to you know, get your team in position to score points because points were at a premium for us. Remember we there was times where we couldn't even get in the end zone. Everything was through the was through the uprights. And I think having that one isolated person in this whole section, you know, it stands out a lot more. And that's what t Higgins would be. He would stand out a lot more because he would be that.
X factor in in the offense.
Whereas I feel like you kind of would have to scheme things up for Hendrickson. You would have to, you know, make sure he has a clear lane for also and he would rotate in with everybody else. Right, Remember you know, remember offensively, it's like hey's personnel groupings. Defensively, it's it's winded. Endurance really is how you kind of try and scope and plan so well, especially from the defensive line linebacker position when you have multiple variations, that's what the process is. So killer instinct would also lead towards a wide receiver.
T Higgins, Yeah, same thing. I'm right there with you. Okay, we're gonna take a break. That's the opening salvo. But before we break, just just mentioned it'd be folks, just take a moment say a prayer for the families of the tragedy that occurred in Reagan International Airport in DC a couple of days ago. And of course that is thinking about the families of those you know that were lost in that air disaster with the plane in the in the black Hawk helicopter. And that's just I know, Max said stuff like that. You know, you fly all the time, I fly all the time, you know stuff like that, and you just go wow, and you just become you don't really think about then all of a sudden something like that hits man, and it's hard.
Well, yeah, no.
I mean, and I've pulled into reggae multiple times this year, wolf, yeah, exactly, So you know, for me, that's a genuine fear. Yeah, you know, anytime you need to get to the DMV, right, you know, DC, Maryland Virginia, right, that's usually where you go through.
And the fact that it was it was a military helicopter right on top of that, so I.
Mean, you know, do they even have you know, jurisdiction with the commercie, Like what's the communication process with that? I don't know, because military, you know, operates at a at a different wavelength and they and and they're usually given credence on most things. So yeah, it's definitely just that moment, a moment of silence for the families real quick, is you know, it's it's a tragedy.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. Take a moment and shoot some prayers out, that's for sure, you know. Yeah, all right, all right, Bud, let's let's go to break. If you you're all good, you want to know? Yeah, okay, no, no, that's good, all right, So we'll go to break. We'll be back with more coming up right here in the locker. Room and the Steelers Audio Network.
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and brought to you by acro Sure, the official insurance and cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett, MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI, and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig Wolfley and Max Stark's.
All right back inside the locker room here, and it's a Friday.
Friday for everybody else out there, frya because the weekend is ahead of us. Now there is football like activity this weekend.
What's going on this weekend? The festival of Pro Bowl? Uh huh?
Then yeah last night? Did they do something last night? I think they did? Mm hmm sure, okay, yeah, yeah, I have no I was out, yeah yeah.
So full disclosure. The season has ended. So now I'm now a I'm now a full blown you know, Dad mode softball coach. So I was a softball practice last night.
What was What was the weather? By chance? You know, just wondering? Oh it was it was?
It was.
It was brisk with a wolf it was. It was in the fifties, poor guy man. Well, not necessarily for me, because I was fine.
I had like a long sleeve shirt and I rolled my sleeves up a little bit, uh to play, So I I you know, I sweat in the snowstorm. So for me, it wasn't bad for me. It was like, you know, it's it's it's the it's the twelve ten year old girls that I have. Yeah, you know, let me know that the weather was a little bit a little bit, yes, yes, yeah, yeah, And it's way tougher to herd a group of ten year olds around when it's cold out.
Then it is for me to manage myself. Uh. So yeah.
And I was where I was, and of course I had I had like outfield duty last night, so oh outfield duty. Yeah, yeah, and we had and so we have and so from my daughter's team, we had in this Quincy's team. Uh, we had six returning girls from her team previously, and then we had six brand new girls to softball and our first game is tomorrow.
So.
Yeah, so yeah, so I had the outfield because that's where the brand new girls were. And so it was like every single play, every single thing, Hey, girls, what's the outs?
What's your responsibility? Where are the runners?
Who?
Where do you throw? You know, I see, okay, yeah, that type of stuff. So it was, it was, it was, it was very intense. And there's a three of us coaching, a four of us coaching because my daughter's previous coach. He had to step away because his oldest daughter's, you know, a freshman at U of A down in Tucson, which is about two and a half hour drive. And then and then his youngest who was on the team with us, her club team, she's really good.
I mean the girl's nine years old wolf and she throws about forty three miles an hour. Oh you're kidding, uh good pitching. Yeah, So she's so she's she's a little prodigy.
So her club team, which is different than the wreck team that we're coaching, you know, it's just way more demanding this time of year.
So he was like, yeah, guys, I just I can't do it and coach flow.
You know.
It was a former was a former minor leaguer, so he has his whole system down right, you.
Know what I'm saying. Blah blah blah blah blah. And now I was like the Dad Crew, We're like we're like the We're like the Land of Misfit. Toys that coaches.
So I'm like, you know, they're like, hey man, you know you're a practice. You help set up and you have to can you continue that role? I was like yeah, He's like, but can you actually be here? Can you can you work the dugout on the clipboard?
I was like, oh, uh yeah, seen it done.
I'll go stay at a holiday and express the night before, but I'll be ready, I'll be ready to go. So so yeah, this is my first adventure in coaching and coaching my daughter so good.
Yeah. So that that that that that is now where I've.
I have focused my efforts, you know, for the girls, and of course they still have and they have a volleyball tour, so they have volleyball tournament. Both my girls have volleyball tournament tomorrow and then after the volleyball tournament because they got the morning pool. Uh yeah, my daughter's gonna Quincy's gonna be pitching two innings tomorrow. There's no coaches, so Quinny's in there. You know, all four there's three outs got to hold up.
That's right. Who yeah? So so yeah, so I know there were Pro Bowl activities.
Listen to this one that is kind of crazy Miles Garrett had, am I reading this right?
West? Okay?
Miles Garrett had to answer five or answer trivia questions for Russell Wilson and he went a perfect five of five. That gave mister unlimited who is would be? Russell Wilson one and a half minutes to throw. He finished with a thirty one, which was a team high for the FC. Now that seems kind of here. You want to hear the questions?
Yeah, let's let's okay, let's do this live. There's a clip here.
Okay, okay, let's let's see what these boys had to say thirty seconds here in PS two, this quarterback Pro Bowler has eleven career interception Correct. This Houston Texas wide receivers had back to back one thousand yard receiving seasons.
Correct.
This coat led the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in twenty twenty.
One, Jonathan Taylor. Correct.
This Raider broke Mike Dicker's record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end this year.
Correct.
This Steeler was named a team captain for the tenth year and a roll of this path season.
So he got them all right.
That gave Russell Wilson the most time allotted for his throwing competition and he finished with a score of thirty one.
Now don't ask me the context for that, but it was the highest for the AFC. Well, he still got the arm, you know what I mean.
You watch I saw some of the throwing and he's pegging everything except the number five. I think he had trouble as it was moving across the thing. It took him a little while with that. But interesting stuff. Now Miles Garrett, who figured he'd be that quick and spot on with the trivia Max?
I mean, listen, you know, for all this stuff we think of Miles Garrett.
You know, I think one of the biggest things is is that he's a student of this game, right, you know, he studies things, and he played most of those teams this year.
You know what I'm saying as well?
Conspiracy conspiracy, Hey, hey, conspiracy in the AFC's favor, which gave him the lead.
These are the good These are the few times I actually say this is a good conspiracy, No doubt about it.
That he knows about other players and their successes, right, I mean, obviously playing in the same division with Cam Hayward, you would.
You should know that question, right because you see him.
You see him at the coin toss every time, you know, for Nico College, right, I mean you play Houston.
Houston's a playoff team. How are they good?
Well, you know when you have thousand yard receivers, because it's something that Miles doesn't normally see on his own squad. So you know, you see the that you kind of have fantasies about having one of those on your team. And then Jonathan Taylor, I mean, you know, saying, you know, rushing, He's been the only offensive really mainstay consistently since COVID.
Thet YEA.
So so I think, you know, some of those are easier to get in their current players as well. It's not like he has historical questions, you know, I think, but I think that I think that's pretty. But that's pretty That's pretty awesome to see Miles Garrett actually helping deelers hurting us.
Did you get a.
Chance to see what was it the Shrine now? The yeah, the Shrine Bowl last night? Watch any of that once again? Uh, softball practice? Yeah, I just kind of fell into it. I didn't I didn't realize that.
Was on last night and I'll be watching the Senior Bowl, and I've been watching some of the Senior Bowl clips from down there on mobile, and dude, there's.
An offensive lineman. I'm just gonna put it out there.
Interior swing three guy by the name of Willie Lampkin from North Carolina.
Maller. Maller. Okay, Maller, like like like the Morgantown man. Yeah, exactly, exactly, the Chapel Hill Maller, Chapel Hill Maller. Uh yeah, yeah, the Chapel Hill Maller.
I mean, I'm in my personal opinion, I'm like, hey, uh well, you need some depth, you need a young guy. I'm just saying, you know, that's a guy you could look at it a little bit, a little bit later in the draft. I'm just saying, you know, if if Day two, third round, you don't see what you like at defensive line, why not go bolster? Why not go bolster if you're trying to do if if Eddie Widels trying to do the Philadelphia Eagles get a whole bunch of monstars on the same side of the ball, just saying he looks like he fits the bill.
There was just gonna put that out there.
There was an offensive tackle on it, oh, defensive line, and I didn't know who they were, but this guy just went down the middle of the offensive tackle and knocked him on his back. It was It would have been the most embarrassing moment if you were an offensive lineman down there in it.
I wish I could I knew who it was. The guy just got Maybe better that you don't know his name so that he yeah, yeah, we yeah, we don't, we don't. We don't put the you know, put the bullseye on his back that you know, like, hey, how you doing, Bud?
You know, you slap it on there indiscreetly that everybody's like, kick me, yeah, Like that's that's what I feel like when you name offensive lineman for for doing bad things?
Is that kick me sign? Because it's like man and listen, listen. I'm all for it. Especially was on other teams.
Like when I watched you know, when I watched Cam take down Connor Volsen way he did he did. I believe he did that to Connor Volson a couple of times, especially his rookie year. I was like, oh Jesus, I was like, I was like, yay, Cam, other guy on jersey team. Yeah, you don't, you don't, you don't. I don't think you understood the assignment. You didn't watch film this week, did you? Because he he went through the middle of your chest and all you saw is grass days on the back of your jersey.
Yeah, that's about it. You know that that bull rush, that one arm stab of his is just absolutely lethal. Man, just yeah, I mean, he he, he had, he had.
He's now graduated to uncle uncle daddy strength.
You know what I'm saying.
That's uh that that that that that's the category that Cam says. It's like, listen, you must be this old and have have seen this much football to.
Understand what you're up against.
And then when you don't meet that requisite, you know, if you're not tall enough to ride that ride, he will make sure he kicks you out of line.
Oh man, that's for sure, you know.
And the best thing would be, if you're going to bolster the defensive line, get him in while Cam is still there. You know, Yes, that would be the move, because that is you cannot find a finder. Just look at this guy in your room than than Cam, you know. To set the pace for the rookies.
Well and for that rookie defensive lineman you know that they bring in like they have to realize you know, hey, you're going in is to learn because one day there won't be and you need to carry the standard. Yeah, no doubt, like that's that's the whole thing of it. So yes, so no, I completely agree. He's the gatekeeper of of defensive line standards and open and offensive line misery.
You know.
So he's a disperser of great misery in this Yeah. Yeah, he is the gatekeeper to misery land.
And he is always accepting new new customers.
Uh.
AnyWho, all right, we're gonna step upsid, we'll be back with more here. The great Missy Matthews will join us an hour number two. She had a uh, she had a mommy conflict and uh, you know, hey, that that's what that's what we do this time of year. We adjust accordingly because we always love participation inside the locker room. So we'll have Missy then, and of course when do we have mister Gilliam coming on eleven o'clock.
So back to back in the second hour.
It's gonna get it's gonna get fun, it's gonna get spicy, it's gonna get really cool.
All right, So but we're gonna step aside.
Wolf's got one more segment, and then when we get back, we will keep on rolling here inside the Locker Room here on the Steelers Audio Network.
This is in the Locker Room, presented by Ford and brought to you by Akroshure, the official insurance and Cybersecurity partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, by Bett MGM, Huntington Bank, PNC, PEPSI, and by FedEx. Where now meets next? Now here's Craig Wilfley and Max Starks.
Well, how about it, Max?
Interesting, it's a little back to school, you know, like Rodney Dangerfield time.
You know when he did the triple Indy. I love that.
You know, the triple Indy was the three like bounces off the boards to board and uh huh all that stuff.
You know.
But Kevin Colbert is joining the Colorado State University's football program as a consultant. So, my friend, what do you think about that? And the ever changing landscape of college football seems like a brilliant idea?
Well, I mean yeah, I mean you know, the idea is right.
You want to get to a more profeal model because now money is being transacted and being able to.
Manage almost like a salary cap.
Uh.
You know these deals with players sounds like it sounds a lot like player contracts to me.
And uh, you know, yes, you know when collegiate schools don't really have that experience.
What do you turn?
You turn, you turn to the upper levels of the of the sport and what legitimized it, made it and made it quote unquote professional. You want those type of opinions, You want those type of consultants from that level to understand how to manage this. You know, how do you evaluate talent, then how do you put a monetary price associated with that talent, and then how do you manage you know, the contracts that are of those players and with N I L N L is essentially salary guys. Okay, let's just call it what it is. You know, we have like this, We we love acronyms in America, but at the end of the day, this is salary.
It is.
That's about it that you're managing at this point, you know, because I'm sorry, I don't know what eighteen year is really going to garner, you know, twelve million dollars off of his name image and likeness when he's really not lived life or done anything of significance on a national scale, you know, to award these sixth figure to seventh figure, almost eight figure salaries. Yeah, that's that's no longer name, image and likeness. That's that's just the lie we tell ourselves that this.
It just seems crazy.
You know, You've got this terrific general manager who had twenty years plus here with the Steelers, did a great job. You know, he goes into retirement and then you got and you need a GM for a college I don't know, it just kind of freaks me out. You know, it just sounds so amazing that you would have to go to that length to create some sort of management program to oversee all the financial what things that you got to be financial irresponsible for, you know, is now in this new, ever changing landscape of college football.
Yeah, and every major school is doing it. They're hiring these GM types to head up the football portion of the program. I'm just saying, you know, when we talk about a collision course with privatization of college athletics, this is a clear sign wolf you know this, Yeah, that that get more clear. The only thing they have to say, is is that it's no longer the n c double A is the it's the you know n CL National Collegiate actually in CFL National Collegiate Football League. You know, I mean pretty much where we're headed. And you know, I mean kudos to Kevin Colbert. I mean, you know, obviously you know, a really good manager, like you said, GM multiple teams in the NFL has you know, at under his leadership and guidance, you know, navigated squad and putting squads together to be able to go to three different Super Bowls. So distinguished nonetheless, and of course interesting Colorado State, right which you know as a location. Two famous alumnas from there that you may have heard of.
Larkhagan's Hey, hey, I'm pulling a Miles Garrett. It just nailed it. Yeah you did, and look how fast I ain't even get it out. I mean you know you were on top of it. Wolf.
Okay, now, Russell Wilson gets a minute and forty seconds to throw. You just added an under ten seconds with that answer. But but I mean, it's it is something that you know, you're like, man, really, you know, and you wondered, okay, at what point will they get a cap manager, is what I thought. You know what I'm saying, like, you know, you have to get somebody to manage this cap and what is your cap? Right because right now it's a wild while west right there. There is no parameters, there's no limits, but you're pushing towards that right. The more exorbient these salaries get, you need somebody to wheel it in because, let's face it, you know, you're at the university is not is not losing any money from this unlike a professional league. Right, this is all booster money tax quote unquote tax right off money. So the money that's generated from this is still going into the college's kiddie pool, right of operating budgets for the athletic association for all of their sports. This money is what's garnered on top of that. So it's more ridiculous. But you know, you also realize at some point boosters aren't going to be able to give any more, Like you're going to tap boosters out, and so this is where you're going to need to create a cap if the university has to absorb this now additional expense, and you're gonna have to reel it into something a little bit more feasible and reasonable, you know, while you're doing this, because, like you said, the university has no skin in the game. But it's going to come a point where the universe, you know, is going to have to step in. They're gonna have to put some money in the pool to mix in with that, with that booster, uh, you know, corporate money, right to be able to sustain this model, because the model could get really out of hand, just like the quarterback market is in the NFL, right, it can get out of hand, and if you can't suffice it. We all know you need a quarterback to do anything of success in college. So I think it's very apropos They're being proactive getting this stuff aligned in an order for when that eventuality does happen.
Well, sounds like a smart idea. You know, it's also a smart idea. Let's go to break because.
There it is.
I get my Miles Garrett moment you're get out.
You did, and we've got the executive director of Light of Life Rescue Mission coming on board here at the top of the hour, we'll be back with Boor.
And you are listening to the Steelers Audio Network
