0:01

It's time for Clemson Sports Talk with Lawton Swan. Finally, Clemson Sports Talk

0:46

has come back two drive time. Hello everybody, Swan back in the saddle

0:53

once again. It is the show that shakes the Southland. Clemson Sports Talk

0:58

for you each and every afternoon as you make your way around the great state of South Carolina and beyond, listening to us on incredible radio stations like Fox

1:06

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1:11

application. Download today, It's free. The website. Put the dot com

1:17

on it, dog onet that's Clemson Sports doal dot com if you will indulge

1:23

me today. As you can probably hear, the sultry tones are not up

1:29

to par. A little bit of a cold, nothing, nothing too bad.

1:33

I don't feel really bad, but I don't know why. For me,

1:37

at least when I have a upper respiratory deal, it kind of messes

1:42

with the vocal cords more than maybe anything else. But hey, I'm here,

1:47

no temperature. But I'm probably gonna give you some reset of the week

1:53

just to take it a little bit easy, because let me think about this

1:57

for a second. The day job entails utilizing the voice quite a bit as

2:05

well, you know what I mean, Like if I just had the old

2:07

nine to five or desk job where I didn't have to talk to anybody throughout

2:13

the day, then yeah, you know what, maybe I could give her

2:16

a two hour go here. But I can tell you after an eight hour

2:22

day working in the school business, believe me, the cords are spent.

2:29

So probably gonna give you a little recap. And honestly, if you were

2:38

at the Clemson Georgia baseball game yesterday, you probably feel a little bit like

2:44

I do right now, a little rundown. That thing went five and a

2:46

half hours. It was one of those baseball games that had a game within

2:52

the game. And ironically, you know, I think Elon Musk weird bird.

3:01

But the thing Elon Musk believes that this whole thing is a simulation.

3:07

There's a whole there's a whole thing out there called simulation theory about life.

3:13

And I think that's the way Elon sees thinks. But I'm gonna tell you, with the news events that took place over the past twenty four hours,

3:22

simulation theory is feeling a little bit weird for me right now, are feeling

3:25

maybe a little bit real for me right now, because think about a couple

3:30

of the topics that I've talked about over the past couple of days. The

3:39

blown perfect game call that took place with Jim Joyce for Armando Galarraga. It's

3:52

one of the moments in sports that people feel like should be given back,

3:59

like a change should be made and the result be a perfect game for Galoraga

4:10

because it was such a hideous blown call. And what did we have last

4:16

night in the Clemson Tiger baseball game against Georgia, a controversial play that was

4:25

clearly a home run for Clemson that would have allowed that game to conclude at

4:33

the end of nine innings. Now it's possible that had Georgia been down to

4:40

Charlie Condon wouldn't have been running to the plate at the end. That would

4:46

have won the game for them in regulation if he could have scored. The

4:53

cause of the call that went against purified with his home run. Just a

5:02

bizarre turn of events where this ball is deep, it is long, and

5:15

it is out of the park, but it was so close, it was

5:20

so close to the foul pole that there was a question about whether or not

5:30

it was in or out, And clearly it was a home run, the

5:40

ball goes behind the fair foul pole. After replay, it was still ruled

5:47

a foul ball. It was as bad as the Jim Joyce blown call,

5:56

absolutely and it could have been reversed. Then, on top of that,

6:02

going back to the Galaraga deal and the recent news, you get the flip

6:12

flop on the Heisman Trophy in Reggie Bush. The Heisman Trophy is going to

6:19

be back in Bush's hands, whether you agree or disagree, whether you agreed

6:24

or disagreed at the time. Now, the funny thing about it is that

6:30

what Reggie Bush is accused of is actually still illegal in the sport. I

6:40

know, man wild wild times indeed. But the Tigers fall in fifteen innings,

6:51

the longest baseball game that Eric Backage has ever been involved in. We'll

6:58

hear what Backage had to say after the ballgame in just a little bit.

7:04

But Paul Toots scored on a wild pitch with one out in the fifteenth inning

7:11

as number seventeen. Georgia top Clemson four to three. Should have been Clemson

7:17

beaten Georgia four to three and nine, But I digress. The Bulldogs are

7:25

thirty and ten. Clemson now thirty two and eight. The Bulldogs scored an

7:31

unearned run in the second inning on Totesa's two out single. Then blake Wright

7:36

extended his hitting streak to ten games with a two out, two run triple

7:41

in the third inning. Cam Canerella led off the fourth inning with a seventh

7:46

homer of the year, and in the seventh inning, Corey Collins hit a

7:50

run scoring single to cut Clempson's lead in half. Then Collins blooped a one

7:56

out single in the ninth to tie the game. Clemson had their chances of

8:01

the ninth to win it, Alden Mathis had a beautiful throat to the plate.

8:07

They got Condon to keep the game going, and then in the fifteenth

8:15

the Dogs took advantage with two walks and a hit by pitch to load the

8:18

bases with just won out and Clemson had gotten out of some jams. The

8:24

Tigers had gotten out of some jams in the extra frames, but they could

8:31

not get out of this one as the errant pitch a last Toates to score

8:35

allowed excuse me, allowed Totes to score, Chandler Marsh and the win chance.

8:41

Fitzgerald took the l Ten Tiger pitchers combined to allow just three earned runs

8:48

and eight hits, all singles in the ballgame. The Tigers will travel to

8:54

Louisville or a three game series beginning Friday at six pm on the ACC Network

9:01

Extra. And yes, should Clemson have won that ball game? Absolutely,

9:13

it was a completely botched call. There's no question in my mind about how

9:22

bad of a miscall it was. The ball disappears behind the fair foul pole.

9:30

I mean, David Copperfield can't pull off magic like that and have the

9:35

ball be foul. The ball clearly went behind the fair foul pole. And

9:45

so some people today are certainly disappointed in the result. I don't blame you.

9:50

It was a matchup of two top twenty teams on the road, rivals.

9:54

We talked all about that going into it. It's just unfortunate that the

10:03

replay let Clemson down. That there wasn't even maybe a better angle. I

10:13

never saw a different angle than the one that we saw, But that was

10:20

certainly a controversial play in the ball game. Here's Eric Backatch following the Tigers

10:28

loss at Georgia. Yeah, I mean, unbelievable game. Sucks to lose,

10:35

but what a college baseball game, and s proud of our guys for

10:39

how they competed. Didn't do enough there at the end offensively or from a

10:46

from a pitching standpoint. You know, they scored without getting a hit,

10:50

which that's tough. But for the majority of that game, I was,

10:56

you know, just really really proud to you know, coach that effort and

11:03

the way that our guys competed and pitched out of jams and made plays and

11:07

hit ball's hard, and you know, didn't have much to show for it

11:11

a lot, whether you know, lining out or whatever. But you know,

11:18

we'll move on and you know we'll get better from it. There's a

11:22

long there's a long, good game against a very good opponent. But this

11:28

isn't gonna you know, we're not going to let this put any type of

11:33

negative sour taste in our mouth. We're gonna regroup and get better tomorrow,

11:37

get ready to go to Louisvio. There you go, Eric, back at

11:41

you again following Clemson's loss at Georgia. And that's the other thing too.

11:46

You know, I think if you get beat the way Clemson did without the

11:54

missed call, the blown call, the obvious blown call by the officials,

12:00

then maybe you're sitting in here today going, oh man, I'm a little

12:03

worried, like I don't know where their mindset will be. But I think

12:07

because day in, deep down know what happened. And I'm not I'm not

12:13

here to act like the referees did it on purpose, Okay, but it

12:16

was pretty pretty blatant that they miss this call. And I'll be interested to

12:22

see if there's something done about it or said about it from the standpoint of

12:33

the SEC or Espnu or whoever kind of runs you know, that aspect of

12:43

it. But that was a that was a call that literally costs Climson the

12:54

ball game. I mean, I mean, there's not much else you can

13:01

say. Again, I'll go back to it. Condon, perhaps in the

13:05

ninth inning doesn't try to score. Maybe they hold him up, believing that

13:13

they can push him across and tie the game later. But the Tigers were

13:24

robbed of a home run. And it wasn't like, oh, a player

13:28

went up and caught the ball or anything like that. It wasn't anything like

13:37

that. It was simply a botched call. It was just like the situation

13:50

with Armando Galarraga. The umpires and I said it, they have there's just

13:58

too much control and even though it was reviewed, And that's the other thing

14:03

that's incredibly, incredibly disappointing. How do you review that play and not see

14:16

that the ball goes behind the fair foul poll. Clemson, I'm sure has

14:26

thrown it into the rear view. They've moved on. I know the record

14:31

won't indicate to win, but I'm sure those guys don't really feel like they took a loss last night. But if you just from the standpoint of review,

14:45

how do you watch that and even think for a second. This is

14:56

what I don't get. How do you even think for a second that that

15:00

the foul ball. It's not like the ball's over the pole, you know

15:05

where it's kind of a it's a judgment is it fair? Is it foul?

15:13

If that ball goes behind the fair foul pole. If the ball disappears

15:22

behind the fair foul pole, then you know it's a fair ball. That's

15:31

correct me if I'm wrong. That's the reason or a big part of the

15:35

reason that the fair foul pole is built the way it is. And by

15:41

the way, if you didn't see it and you're thinking, wow, Swanny,

15:45

it only tested my pans for a second behind the fair and foul pole.

15:50

They have one of those, like wide ones. They have one this

15:56

kind of you know, it's a pole at the bottom and then it fans

15:58

out to like I don't know best way, like a pillar. This is

16:04

not just your standard is This thing is bigger than in terms of width,

16:11

It's bigger than a crossbar for a football game. And it's square shaped.

16:18

It wasn't like it just disappeared behind a flagpole. Who did it go behind

16:25

or not. The ball was behind the fair foul pole for probably a second,

16:36

maybe eight tenths of a second. It's pretty obvious that it was behind

16:41

the pole, which again visually and knowing the lay of the camera, knowing

16:51

where homeplate is, it's a home run. I get it. If the

17:00

camera is on the other side of the field and the ball disappears behind the

17:06

poll, hey guess what, that's a foul ball from that angle. But

17:12

from the side that you had to watch, from the angle that you had

17:21

last night, that was a four to three Clemson win in nine innings,

17:30

not a four to three Georgia win in fifteen. And I'm sure Georgia fans

17:37

listen. I would imagine if you're at the game, you're thinking, whoof

17:41

man, we got away with one there. But I don't think you feel

17:45

any less excited about the win over a number four rank Clemson team because they've

17:51

been one of the best teams in college baseball and things like this happen,

18:00

a bad calls are made, but my goodness, to lose that way and

18:10

then to have that game go fifteen innings. It also begs the question about

18:15

college baseball as I watch this thing push into the night on the midweek,

18:22

and I know baseball purists will say no swanee, but at least in the

18:27

regular season, I think baseball should probably play with the minor league baseball rule

18:34

where they start a runner on second base in extra innings just to expedect the

18:44

ball game get it over with. I can't imagine being one of these Clempson

18:48

players. I mean, they're young still, I get it, but man,

18:52

that game finishing as late as it did, having to get all cleaned

18:56

out drive back to Clemson. I'm sure you're sleeping on the bus us if

19:00

you can, if it's comfortable popping up having to go to class in the

19:04

morning, then get ready to go to Louisville. I mean that that's a

19:08

that's a tough turnaround for anybody. I'm not so sure, And I might

19:15

even be willing to lean in on just midweek games in college baseball, midweek

19:22

ball games, that wouldn't be the worst thing that we've we've seen done.

19:29

I don't think starting midweek games if you didn't want to do every game,

19:33

midweek games with a runner on second, just to get it concluded. All

19:41

right, quick break again. The voice not not with me today. I

19:45

do want to talk a little bit about Reggie Bush. I will do some

19:48

of that in our number two when we come back. We'll give you some

19:52

of our interview that we did with William qualkin Bush from Monday right here on

19:56

the show, The Shakes of South Lam, rocking and rolling along with you

20:00

on a Wednesday afternoon, again, a little bit under the weather, just

20:03

the vote, just the voice. Honestly, I'm feeling better, but I

20:07

don't know that I got the I don't got the horses today to push through

20:11

two hours. So we're gonna jump into our interview that we did on Monday

20:17

right here on the program with William qualkin Bush, Excited that we are getting

20:21

closer and closer to college football season, and we'll begin with a little college

20:26

football conversation as a couple of Clemson Tigers have jumped into the portal and you

20:33

know, with the latest edition of Blapjack zach Owens deciding that he's gonna get

20:38

in a couple of notables here. Both guys who are in the portal now

20:45

for Clemson, one being Adam Kasaia who's already landed apparently at Minnesota where he

20:49

was previously committed, have come from position groups Qualk that brought in new leadership

20:59

in that area. What do you make of the two portal entries for Clemson

21:04

here as we've had a chance to digest those now for you know, with

21:08

does zach Oway's situation a matter of hours? Yeah, so I think the

21:14

story is what he said is that you've got two guys from two different position

21:18

groups. They got a French set of eyes on them. And anytime that

21:22

happens, whether it's a head coach coming in or the assistant coaches coming in

21:26

or whatever, you're gonna you're gonna have different opinions that come to the four

21:30

about different guys. And there's gonna be some people, but those opinions benefit

21:36

and there are some people that those opinions are gonna be in that negative for

21:41

And let me let me say this. I mean, Owens came in needing

21:44

to lose a bunch of weight and then hurt his knee, and honestly,

21:48

like if he hurts his elbow, you can still do some cardio. Uh.

21:52

But the fact that he hurt his knee and he missed the year that

21:56

put him behind the eight ball and he's still I mean you look there there

22:00

are two outliers in terms of weight that's on cleinson roster right now. One

22:07

is Dietrich Pennington that like three forty five or three forty and the other one

22:11

that's five jack at three seventy. Uh. You know, everybody else would

22:15

be exception of Marcus dated three twenty five is in the two seventy five to

22:18

three fifteen range. Uh. I understand that Clerkson wanted to go after big

22:23

body tights, but it's fair to say that the two guys that you have

22:26

the most significant questions about at the spring practice in terms of the guys that

22:32

you've been like potentially could help you, were the heaviest. And uh,

22:37

you know, maybe it's a conditioning issue, Maybe it's a Matt book issue.

22:40

You know, who's to say, excuse me, who's to say? But the reality is that Owens was probably not gonna play a ton this year.

22:48

I mean you could go down through the loster and through the roster and

22:52

it's probably nine guys that are gonna play more than him. Uh, you

22:56

know, if everybody's healthy, and then I would put him on the same

22:59

play with Ian Ree Right now, the guys who did not look great in

23:02

the spring game probably did not have a flattering appraisal of their performance, and

23:04

I would imagine it was not the first time. And uh, you know,

23:08

it's an opportunity to get back out there and see if you can find

23:11

a place that's a little bit better fit. On the Adam Kasai thing,

23:15

I mean, that's a little bit interesting because you feel like guys are they

23:19

know exactly what they're getting when they picked Clenson, and Adam Kasai seems like

23:23

the kind of guy who doesn't know what he's getting, you know, like

23:26

we've we made fun of Colorado for example, if having guys come in and

23:30

then three months later leave, Clinton's not a place where you you know,

23:33

they pull the wool over your eyes or you're you know, there's a fair

23:37

amount of you know what coach is called de recruiting and things like that that

23:41

happened once you get on campus. But in reality, I mean, normal

23:44

normally guys picked Clenson for very obvious reasons that they know up front, and

23:48

so they're willing to deal with it. It seems like that, I mean,

23:52

especially when you consider that Kasai was committed to Minnesota. It just seems

23:56

like a weird, one off situation where I mean, maybe Chris Rump has

23:59

something to do with it for sure, made of the fact that he found

24:02

out boy I'm a I'm a little fish in a big pond. Uh.

24:06

That's that's not gonna bode well for my playing time if he probably well,

24:08

I mean, you're talking about probably eight guys ahead of him in the defensive

24:12

end, uh, on the defensive bench charge, and they're they were gonna

24:15

recruit right past them in my opinion, so that that's another one where it

24:19

feels like the circumstance actually helps them. But to me, these are two

24:23

situations up guys added toward the bottom of your scholarship enrollment for a position maybe

24:29

did get a little bit of a wake up call that comes with a different assistant coach. No, the thing about the Casiah one for me more than

24:34

anything, qualk uh I went through the tomline right of his de commitment from

24:41

Minnesota to his commitment to Clemson and then I I mean signing his National letter

24:45

of intent in l I and then getting on campus in January being gone.

24:51

I mean, I get it. We want players to have some movement more

24:56

than they've had in the past. Like that's that's a big part of it.

24:59

But it doesn't It just doesn't feel healthy for the student athlete to have

25:06

this type of movement, Like you haven't even given it a shot. You

25:11

know, you haven't even made a run at what a year could be like

25:15

it U it boggles the mind, quite frankly that this is the norm.

25:18

Still, I'm really having trouble processing it. You know. I'll give you

25:22

a couple examples, and these are not these are not an athletics, but

25:26

kind of to your point. I mean, there are Like I went to

25:30

Daniel High School and there were a bunch of my friends who decided they wanted

25:33

to go off to college, so they went to like College Charleston or Coastal

25:37

or went out of state or whatever, and a couple of years later,

25:40

they came back and they they found out what you're talking about. They kind

25:45

of sat for a year at place, and like, you know what,

25:47

Clinton is probably little better than I thought. I'm gonna I'm gonna go back

25:49

leaving all's not worth it if I'm not getting a full experience. If they

25:52

come back and they go to school at Cinch, that's number one. I

25:56

mean, I do think you can go you can feel convicted about a decision

25:59

or make a decision. I mean, in a lot of those cases,

26:02

it was I just want to get away from home. It's not like I

26:04

want to go to AX school. You know, I'm not casting this person

26:07

at those places, but it was like, my goal is not to go

26:11

to the place. My goal is to get away from something. And so

26:15

you wonder if they're kids doing that, and we're like, you know what,

26:18

I was running away from something. That's probably not a great idea.

26:22

So like, I'm okay with the and I agree with you for the most

26:26

part of what you're saying, Like, I understand it. It's not good

26:30

for kids to be transferring all over the place. I do think there are

26:33

occasions where somebody goes to college and and go, well, I'm gonna need

26:37

a huge change of propect it if I'm gonna make it through this, and

26:40

so I need to make a different choice. I'm totally for that. On

26:42

the other hand, I also think part of great stories that people tell is

26:48

perseverance through in particular to your point, the first semester or first year of

26:52

college, Like my best final exam story of exam week is from my first

26:57

semester of college. Where you learn something thing that you never wanted to replicate,

27:02

right because you made a great mistake and miscalculated your study or what you

27:04

know, how much time was gonna take, or you know, you tried

27:07

to chant it it. In my case, I tried to chant it that

27:10

I can make a fifty two, and I left it the test pick and I made a thirty and it turns on at a fifty six and just sweep

27:15

buying to be in a class that I couldn't make an a end, so

27:18

I kind of got away with it. But my point is, you learned

27:21

so much in your first semester, your first year that what you're saying is

27:25

accurate. Well, a break, we'll come back, We'll hear a little bit more from our interview with Qualk on Monday right here on a Wednesday afternoon

27:32

on the Show that Shakes the south Land. The Show that Shakes the south

27:36

Land on a Wednesday. Again, a little bit under the weather in terms

27:38

of the vocal courts. So we're playing some Monday's program for you. I

27:42

hears some more from William Qualkinbush. The irony of the portal is that as

27:48

it taketh away, it also giveth. Maybe not in the same sport,

27:53

but Clemson over the past I guess since we've last talked, qualk has added

27:57

two editions to the basketball roster, and the most notable, in my opinion,

28:04

is the Jaden Zachary kid coming in from Boston College. I did get

28:10

a chance. I do sneak and get a chance to peek in listen to

28:12

qualk show every once in a while just to smidge it. And I heard

28:15

you talking about what you think he brings to the table. Yeah, I

28:18

mean, I like this kid. It gives you a different look than Joe

28:22

Girard. I mean, when Gerard came in, we knew it was offense, offense, offense, and he'd given you shooting. He's given you savvy

28:27

and a knack for scoring. And he'd given you all that stuff, and

28:32

the question was, well, defensively, what did he do for you? Now? If you look at the metrics, Joe Gerard is a plus defender

28:37

for Clinton. Last year. He wasn't a super plus defender, don't get

28:41

it twisted. But they did find a way to not have him be a

28:45

drag on that end of the floor. James Zachery is not that way.

28:49

James Zachary I said it like this today. He is not a positional defender

28:53

a Clinton's gut. Several guys that are positional defenders. I would say Ian

28:57

Sheplin is a positional defender, Chase Hunter. In some ways, the positional

29:03

defender has become a positional defender in terms of just being in the right spot

29:07

understanding angles. William Paalkinbusch was a positional defender. Okay, Like, if

29:11

I'm in the right spot, it ain't because I'm athletic, and ain'tcause I'm

29:14

trying to call some problems. It's just because i know where to be,

29:17

all right. This kid is a playmaker on defense. He was six in

29:22

the AEC and steals named in steel right on the season, which is a

29:26

percentage of positions you're on the floor that result in you getting a steal.

29:30

That's a big deal. That's a much different look in terms of personnel than

29:33

what you were getting with Joe Girard. And so, you know, michaeast

29:37

Ben Milson made a good point. It really is is unfair to both guys

29:41

to try to compare Gerard and Zachary because they're very different. I would point

29:45

out that in a smaller sample size, a much smaller sample size, Zachary

29:49

shoots the exact same percentage from three as Joe Girard. He's a forty one

29:53

percent shooter. Now again he's on he's taken to a game and not seven

29:56

or eight like Gerard was. But he's the rim a little bit better than

30:00

Gerard. He gets to the mid range a little bit better than Gerard.

30:03

He goes to the line more frequently than Gerard. He plays a lot of

30:07

minutes like Joe Gerard did some be conditioned to play thirty fourish minutes a game.

30:11

I really like his his addition, especially given that the second guy,

30:15

or I guess the first gun. They brought in Victor Lakin, who who

30:18

alluded to a moment ago he's gonna be a little more of an emphasis on

30:22

the defensive end of the floor to rebounding again, positional defender, a guy

30:27

who's savvy, smart, and a guy who's more of a distributor and more

30:32

of a like a point forward in some ways where he can reverse the ball

30:37

and dribble handoffs and things like that, and he gets some junk. Points

30:40

to me, Clinton is setting up a sort of offseason where they're gonna count

30:45

on like the high Bredders of the world, for example, to bring the

30:48

shooting that Gerard did, and then they're gonna try to lean in a little

30:51

bit more heavily for the first time in a couple of years on the defensive

30:55

end, particularly with this slate of guards. I mean, you're telling me that along with Zach where you got, you got Dylan Hunter. If Chase

31:02

comes back, which I still expect him to, you got Dylan Hunter as

31:04

well. I mean to me, there is a lot, I mean a

31:07

ton to love about the defensive basketball team moving forward, particularly at the guard.

31:14

It's gonna be a much different look on that side of things. In

31:17

twenty twenty four to twenty five, I said the same thing you did on

31:19

your show call, Like, if this is a trade in the NBA and

31:23

you're sending in Josh Beadle to Boston College for Jayden Zachary, you just want

31:29

to you won that trade. If you're Clemson, oh for sure you did.

31:33

Now I will admit I said the same thing when they when they got

31:37

Jack Clark and let Ben Middlebrooks walk to inc State. And I mean,

31:41

bottom line, I think by the end of the year, both both teams

31:44

probably feel like they benefited from that trade. Good point agree like mc sticked

31:48

the run that they made without middle Brooks and his ability first of all,

31:52

just to spell DJ Burns, to make sure Burns it, you know,

31:56

burnt out by the end of the year, playing twenty eight thirty minutes.

31:59

But I mean Clinson was its best self when Jack Clark was setting the tall

32:02

defensively and giving them some veteran savvy. So I would say, you know,

32:07

Clinton looked like they wanted in the offseason. It ended up being a wash. If this one turns out to be a wash, that's great because

32:12

I kind of like Josh Beetle. But I don't think I let me put

32:16

it this way, I don't see a scenario where Jaydon Zachary comes in and

32:21

underwhelms at Clinson relative to what he did at Boston College. You look at

32:27

win shares and plus minus and things like that. On a significantly worse team,

32:30

you could see Zachary bringing the type of value generally speaking, again,

32:35

it's gonna manfest some different ways, but bringing the type of value that Gerard

32:37

did last year. And so I guess you kind of hope that Beatle does

32:42

the same at Boston College. Outside of you know, the times that the

32:45

seas the Tigers is there. You know, you're around a lot of these

32:49

coaches at Clemson, you spend some time with these guys. Is there pressure?

32:53

Is there? Do you get a sense that there's pressure to get more

32:58

regulation in the game or have they just kind of resigned themselves regardless of sport,

33:05

that this is what it is. Yeah, So, I mean,

33:08

I think it depends and it depends on the sport. I mean, look,

33:13

if you're Brad Brownell, you've been playing the portal game for ten years,

33:15

You've been playing a portal game since before there was a portal since we

33:20

just call it transfers, So he's probably okay. I mean, would they

33:23

like a little more structure, yes, but he's probably okay with it now.

33:28

They've got it down a pretty good science. And let's be clear about

33:30

something. Okay, whether you're a fan of Brod Brownell or not, which

33:34

the bandwagon of people that's not is as shrunk significantly in the past few weeks

33:37

and months. But regardless of that, whether you're a fan of him or

33:40

not, you have to admit that there is a level of confidence he's gonna

33:45

bring in guys from the Portal and they're gonna do well. I mean,

33:47

like for every David Collins, there's like five success stories, right, you

33:52

know, even like a John Beyer who ended up, you know, end a heart of bunch, but without like a bad move. I mean I

33:57

don't I don't think those were bad moves. And of course you know Arnell

34:00

is a is a forgotten guy. But like even bringing role guys in for

34:04

the Portal, he's done a pretty good job of doing that. So like

34:07

that, that's one perspective. I mean, I think Eric Backett loves it,

34:10

but I mean he would like to see a little bit more help from

34:13

a scholarship standpoint. John Ridbins had a lot of success with portal. We

34:16

know about Dabo, and you know, one of the things you said is

34:19

the portal gives and takes away. I think at Clemson fans just want to

34:23

and look, it may it may manifest in zero additional wins when it comes

34:28

to the fall, but I think fans want to see with a couple of scholarships opening up right now, you're not like you were last year where you're

34:35

over the line and you're thinking maybe we're gonna have to, you know,

34:37

pull a couple of walk on scholarships and this and that and the other thing.

34:40

You legitimately got room to go out and get like one year guys or

34:45

two year guys to be able to help you. I think fans just want

34:47

to see that. Fans want to feel like they're not just giving to a

34:51

system without getting something. And yes, I think most coaches would like for

34:55

there to be a little bit more stability and a little more predictability and a

35:00

little more of a rhythm to the system. Quick break, We'll come back

35:05

and put a boat on our number one Stay with Us, final segment of

35:09

our one on a Wednesday afternoon, the show that shakes of south Land Again.

35:14

If you're wondering why why qualk Swani, Why are we playing? Why are you hearing? Qualk? Well, I'm just not quite feeling all that

35:21

well. My vocal cords actually kind of as this show has progressed, obviously,

35:27

maybe because I'm not talking a lot, are feeling a little bit better,

35:29

and you might even hear a difference now versus the beginning of the program.

35:36

But anyway, I'm just trying to preserve a little bit in hopes that

35:45

by tomorrow will be you know, one hundred percent, just a little drainage

35:47

cough, But the vocal cords were definitely worn down after a day at the

35:53

day job as well. And you know, I'm if I'm at fifty percent

35:58

right in in this capacity, it's difficult to do a quality show because you're

36:06

you're struggling, you got your coughing, you're you know, and you're losing

36:09

your your voice. And you know, Qualk, who we actually were talking

36:13

to, we're gonna hear a little bit more from our interview with him from Monday. Qualk Uh, he has a regimen. I think it is that

36:22

he tries, you know that I was gonna say, he tries to tell

36:25

me about that he's told me about before that he does. He's got his

36:30

his little drink that he does to protect his voice because again he was on

36:34

that call late last night, that Georgia game. Controversial. Uh, if

36:37

you missed our take on it. We're gonna replay a good portion of the

36:44

first segment at the top of the hour. I'm also gonna cut that segment

36:50

at some point along the way and dive into my thoughts on Reggie Bush and

36:54

the Heisman. Okay, so that'll be the beginning of hour two, and

36:59

then we're gonna slice and dice for the remaining segments today. Just to preserve

37:04

forty plus minutes of talk time for me, we will replace some of our

37:12

interview from Mike Eva from his time here on the program, and that will

37:15

help me out. Plus, we got the NFL Draft coming up that begins

37:20

tomorrow. We could touch on some of that as well. Eight o'clock,

37:24

I believe, is when it gets going. Just the first round, the

37:28

Bears had the first pick, followed by the Commanders, then the Patriots,

37:35

the Cardinals with the fourth pick, and the Chargers with the fifth selection.

37:42

Currently the worst team in the NFL, your Carolina Panthers, who would have

37:51

had the first pick this year who traded the first pick at this moment do

37:57

not have first round selection. The Jaguars currently for those Tigers who want to

38:05

tune in to watch the Jaguars this season, are selecting seventeenth. All right,

38:08

here we go back out to qualt as he joined us on Monday.

38:13

Final question? Where do you stand on this? So Trent Pearman right right

38:17

now does not have a scholarship? Am I correct on that front? That's

38:21

correct? Okay? And there's talk that he could get a scholarship. And

38:24

I'm sure there have been other players along the way that have gotten scholarships whose

38:29

fathers, maybe even Dabbos Sweety's sons for all I know, may have had

38:32

some scholarships here and there. Why would why would you utilize a scholarship on

38:37

a kid whose parent makes the type of money that those guys make that you

38:42

could keep free for another kid to bring them in and just have them pay

38:45

their child's way to Clemson. You know, that's a great question, This question we get a bondch And I would say at that point, especially now,

38:53

there are a couple things that you're trying to communicate. Number one is

38:58

I think we're I think we're missing if we think the only rich kids quote

39:02

unquote on a football team are the coaches kids, because there are other kids

39:06

in the scholarship whose parents make bank and they don't need the money they were

39:09

gonna go to college anyway. I mean, think about how much money some

39:13

of these kids, and look, some of it is other folks funding these

39:15

churchs, whatever. But these national recruits are doing nationwide travel. I grew

39:21

up in the middle class family Swanny. We did not travel west of the Mississippi River, okay, or really much north of the Mason Dixon line.

39:27

Okay, Like we're pretty much keeping it tight because they're the line in the

39:30

budget. These guys have virtually unlimited resources to travel to these places. So

39:36

I do think there are probably more of those cases that aren't coaches kids.

39:38

But I think the main thing is the value that we place on somebody being

39:45

on scholarship. In other words, it's not just the monetary thing. The

39:47

monetary thing is great, but when you're talking about being on scholarship, you're

39:52

talking about telling a kid you're one of the best eighty five players on our

39:55

team. And yeah, I mean there are some stories like I read the

40:00

other day about somebody I can't remember this squal off the top of my head, but it was a basketball player who is getting significant I owe money and

40:06

basically said I don't need this scholarship, give it to somebody else. It

40:09

is a walk on at a school this upcoming year. That's awesome. I

40:14

love that. There are lots of kids probably that would do that. But that's somebody who's self assured. And you know what else is in danger of

40:21

happening with Trent Kierman. If Clinton doesn't put him on scholarship, what's to

40:24

stop some other school from going, Hey, I thought what you did in

40:28

that spring game, how would you like to be a scholarship quarterback for us?

40:30

Not say they even take it, but it takes that off the table

40:34

in an era where the NCAA can't prosecute tampering. So I mean that you

40:39

know that that puts a lot more things on the table in terms of what

40:42

you gotta deal with. I just think it is an affirmation of a kid's

40:45

effort and hard work more so than it is just the check and just the

40:50

opportunity not to pay. If that makes sense, that's a great point.

40:52

Appreciate it, Qualt, You're always fantastic, my man, thanks wine,

40:54

oh good man, way to my friend. So there you go. That's

40:58

William Qwalkin Bush on the portal on the use of scholarships for players whose parents

41:06

are either on staff or certainly have the means to pay their way to go

41:09

to school. And I think Qualt makes an interesting point and it will be

41:15

something to watch in the future of this nil era. You know, you're

41:20

let's say you're a good quarterback. Let's say you're a good quarterback and you

41:25

got to top flight wideouts, but there is a first round, no doubter

41:36

that's in the portal, and your school doesn't have the scholarship. You know,

41:44

most likely if you are that quarterback, you're making enough money to say,

41:47

hey, coach, listen, I don't need to be on scholarship anymore.

41:54

I'll pay my way this year. I want us to utilize our scholarship

41:59

to go get player X whoever that is, to bring them in so that

42:04

we'll have that third weapon in the offense. And I think for me it's

42:08

an investment because I will make more money, you know, for myself by

42:15

virtue of my draft stock. It's an interesting dynamic that I'm kind of fascinated

42:20

to see if we ever see it play out. All right, our two,

42:22

right around the ben, stay with us. It's time for Clipson Sports

42:28

Talk with Luwton Swan. It is our number two. That's drive time right

43:12

here on the show that shakes the south Land, Clemson Sports Salt, Lawton

43:15

Swan hanging out with you and again, just a touch under the weather if

43:20

you're just joining us, which is why you're gonna hear a little bit from

43:24

the opening segment in our one. We talked a good bit about Clemson's loss

43:29

last night to Georgia. Controversial loss. Not controversial in the way it finished,

43:35

controversial in the fact that it didn't end at the ninth inning with a

43:38

four to three Clemson win because of a jerm Purify home run that was reviewed.

43:45

It was ruled a foul ball live. It was reviewed and deemed to

43:51

be a foul ball, yet it was clearly a fair ball. Here's what

43:58

I had to say about that early today. If you were at the Clemson

44:05

Georgia baseball game yesterday, you probably feel a little bit like I do right

44:08

now, a little rundown. That thing went five and a half hours.

44:15

It was one of those baseball games that had a game within the game.

44:22

And ironically, you know, I think Elon Musk weird bird, But I

44:28

think Elon Musk believes that this whole thing is a simulation. There's a whole

44:32

there's a whole thing out there called simulation theory about life, and I think

44:38

that's the way Elon sees thinks. But I'm gonna tell you, with the

44:43

news events that took place over the past twenty four hours, simulation theories feeling

44:49

a little bit weird for me right now are feeling maybe a little bit real

44:52

for me right now because think about a couple of the topics that I've talked

44:58

about the past couple of days. The blown perfect game call that took place

45:10

with Jim Joyce for Armando Galarraga. It's one of the moments in sports that

45:21

people feel like should be given back, like a change should be made and

45:30

the result be a perfect game for Galarraga because it was such a hideous blown

45:37

call. And what did we have last night in the Clemson Tiger baseball game

45:45

against Georgia. A controversial play that was clearly a home run for Clemson that

45:54

would have allowed that game to conclude at the end of nine innings. Now

46:00

it's possible that had Georgia been down to Charlie Condon wouldn't have been running to

46:08

the plate at the end. That would have won the game for them in

46:14

regulation if he could have scored. The cause of the call that went against

46:22

purified with his home run. Just a bizarre turn of events where this ball

46:34

is deep, it is long, and it is out of the park,

46:42

but it was so close, it was so close to the falpole that there

46:53

was a question about whether or not it was in or out, and it

47:00

was a home run. The ball goes behind the fair foul poll. After

47:09

replay it was still ruled a foul ball. It was as bad as the

47:16

Jim Joyce blown call, absolutely and it could have been reversed. Then,

47:25

on top of that, going back to the Gallaraga deal and the recent news,

47:35

you get the flip flop on the Heisman Trophy and Reggie Bush. The

47:44

Heisman Trophy is going to be back in Bush's hands, whether you agree or

47:46

disagree, whether you agreed or disagreed at the time. The funny thing about

47:52

it is that what Reggie Bush is accused of is actually still illegal in the

48:01

sport. I know, man wild wild times indeed, but the Tigers fall

48:13

in fifteen innings, the longest baseball game that Eric Backach has ever been involved

48:22

in. We'll hear what Backage had to say after the ballgame in just a

48:27

little bit. But Paul Toots scored on a wild pitch with one out in

48:35

the fifteenth inning as number seventeen. Georgia top Clemson four to three. Should

48:42

have been Clemson beaten Georgia four to three and none, but I digress.

48:49

The Bulldogs are thirty and ten. Clemson now thirty two and eight. The

48:54

Bulldogs scored an unearned run in the second inning on just two out single,

49:00

then Blake Right extended his hitting streak to ten games with a two out,

49:05

two run triple in the third inning. Cam Canerella led off the fourth inning

49:09

with a seventh homer of the year, and in the seventh inning, Corey

49:15

Collins hit a run scoring single to cut Clempson's lead in half. Then Collins

49:19

blooped a one out single in the ninth to tie the game. Clemson had

49:25

their chance of the ninth to win it, Alden Mathis had a beautiful throat

49:30

to the plate. They got Condon to keep the game going and then in

49:38

the fifteenth, the Dogs took advantage with two walks and a hit by pitch

49:44

to load the bases with just one out, and Clemson had gotten out of

49:47

some jams. The Tigers had gotten out of some jams in the extra frames,

49:54

but they could not get out of this one as the errant pitch a

50:00

last Toates to score allowed excuse me, allowed Totes to score Chandler marsh and

50:05

the win chance Fitzgerald took the l Ten Tiger pitchers combined to allow just three

50:12

earned runs and eight hits, all singles in the ballgame. The Tigers will

50:19

travel to Louisville or a three game series beginning Friday at six pm on the

50:24

ACC Network Extra. And yes, should Clemson have won that ballgame? Absolutely,

50:37

it was a completely botched call. There's no question in my mind about

50:45

how bad of a miscall it was. The ball disappears behind the fair foul

50:52

Paul, I mean, David Copperfield can't pull off magic like that and have

51:00

the ball befoul. The ball clearly went behind the fair foul poll. And

51:09

so some people today are certainly disappointed in the result. I don't blame you.

51:15

It was a matchup of two top twenty teams on the road rivals.

51:21

We talked all about that going into it. It's just unfortunate that the replay

51:30

let Clemson down. That there wasn't even maybe a better angle. I never

51:37

saw a different angle than the one that we saw, but that was certainly

51:46

a controversial play in the ball game. Here's Eric Backatch following the Tigers loss

51:54

at Georgia. I mean, unbelievable game. Sucks to lose, but we're

52:01

a college baseball game, and sprout of our guys for how they competed.

52:07

Didn't do enough there at the end offensively or from a from a pitching standpoint.

52:14

You know, they scored without getting a hit, which that's tough.

52:17

But for the majority of that game, I was, you know, just

52:22

really really proud to you know, coach that effort and the way that our

52:29

guys competed and pitched out of jams and made plays and hit ball's hard,

52:32

and you know, didn't have much to show for it a lot, whether

52:37

you know, lineing out or whatever. But you know, we'll move on

52:45

and you know we'll get better from it. It's a long there's a long

52:50

good game gets a very good opponent. But this isn't gonna you know,

52:54

We're not gonna let this put any type of negative sour tastes in our mouth.

53:00

We're gonna regroup and get better, to mang get ready to go to

53:04

Louis Though. There you go, Eric Beckets again following Clemson's loss at Georgia.

53:09

And that's the other thing too, you know, I think if you

53:13

get beat the way Clemson did without the missed call, the blown call,

53:22

the obvious blown call by the officials, then maybe you're sitting in here today

53:27

going, oh man, I'm a little worried, Like I don't know where

53:30

their mindset will be. But I think because day in, deep down know

53:36

what happened, and I'm not I'm not here to act like the referees did

53:40

it on purpose, okay, but it was pretty pretty blatant that they miss

53:44

this call. And I'll be interested to see if there's something done about it

53:53

or set about it from the standpoint of the SEC or ESPNU or whoever kind

54:07

of runs you know, that aspect of it. But that was a call

54:17

that literally cost Clemson the ball game. I mean, there's not much else

54:27

you can say. Again, I'll go back to it, Condon, perhaps

54:30

in the ninth inning, doesn't try to score. Maybe they hold him up

54:37

believing that they can push him across and tie the game later. But the

54:49

Tigers were robbed of a home run. And it wasn't like, oh,

54:52

a player went up and caught the ball or anything like that. It wasn't

55:02

anything like that. It was simply a botched call. It was just like

55:14

the situation with Armando Galarraga. The umpires and I said it, they have

55:22

there's just too much control. And even though it was reviewed, and that's

55:29

the other thing that's incredibly, incredibly disappointing. How do you review that play

55:37

and not see that the ball goes behind the fair foul poll. Clemson,

55:45

I'm sure has thrown it into the rear view. They've moved on. I

55:52

know the record won't indicate a win, but I'm sure those guys don't really

55:54

feel like they took a loss last night. But if you just from the

56:01

standpoint of review, how do you watch that and even think for a second.

56:17

This is what I don't get. How do you even think for a

56:20

second that that's a foul ball. It's not like the ball's over the pole,

56:27

you know where it's kind of as a judgment. Is it fair?

56:30

Is it foul? If that ball goes behind the fair foul poll. If

56:39

the ball disappears behind the fair foul poll, then you know it's a fair

56:47

ball. That's correct me if I'm wrong. That's the reason or a big

56:55

part of the reason that the fair foul pole is built the way it is.

57:00

And by the way, if you didn't see it and you're thinking,

57:06

wow, Swanni had only detch ue pans far a second behind the fair foul

57:08

pole, they have one of those like wide ones. They have one this

57:16

kind of you know, it's a pole at the bottom and then it fans

57:20

out to like I don't know best way, like a pillar. This is

57:25

not just your standard. This is this thing is bigger than in terms of

57:30

width. It's bigger than a crossbar for a football game, and it's square

57:37

shaped. It wasn't like it just disappeared behind a flagpole. Who did it

57:45

go behind or not. The ball was behind the fair foul pole for probably

57:53

a second, maybe eight tenths of a second. It's pretty obvious that it

58:01

was behind the pole. Which again visually and knowing the lay of the camera,

58:12

knowing where home plate is, it's a home run like I get it.

58:22

If the camera is on the other side of the field and the ball

58:25

disappears behind the pole, hey guess what, that's a foul ball from that

58:30

angle. But from the side that you had to watch, from the angle

58:40

that you had last night, that was a four to three Clemson win in

58:49

nine innings, not a four to three Georgia win in fifteen. And I'm

58:58

sure Georgia fans listen. I would imagine if you're at the game, you're

59:00

thinking, whoof man, we got away with one there. But I don't

59:05

think you feel any less excited about the win over a number four rank Clemson

59:12

team because they've been one of the best teams in college baseball and things like

59:19

this happen, a bad calls are made, but my goodness, to lose

59:30

that way and then to have that game go fifteen innings. It also begs

59:35

the question about college baseball, as I watched this thing push into the night

59:40

on the midweek, and I know baseball purists will say no swanee, but

59:47

at least in the regular season, I think baseball should probably play with the

59:54

Minor league baseball rule where they start a runner on second base in extra innings

1:00:04

just to expedect the ballgame, get it there with I can't imagine being one

1:00:08

of these Clemson players. I mean they're young still, I get it,

1:00:12

but man, that game finishing as late as it did, having to get

1:00:16

all cleaned out, drive back to Clemson. I'm sure you're sleeping on the

1:00:21

bus if you can, if it's comfortable, pop it up, having to

1:00:24

go to class in the morning, then get ready to go to Louisville.

1:00:29

I mean, that's a tough turnaround for anybody. I'm not so sure,

1:00:36

And I might even be willing to lean in on just midweek games in college

1:00:40

baseball, midweek ball games, that wouldn't be the worst thing that we've seen

1:00:50

done. I don't think starting midweek games if you didn't want to do every

1:00:53

game, midweek games with a runner on second just to get it concluded.

1:01:01

All right, quick break again, the voice not with me today. I

1:01:06

do want to talk a little bit about Reggie Bush. And we're gonna talk

1:01:09

about the Reggie Bush situation coming up next and then for the final two segments

1:01:17

we will because I feel like now I think I can get through another seven

1:01:22

and a half minute segment with you. We'll talk Reggie Bush, and then

1:01:28

for the final two segments, we'll reset some of our conversation that we had

1:01:32

yesterday on the program with Mike Eva from Gamecockcentral dot Com. Mike's on Twitter

1:01:39

at mike Underscore v A, and you know, back in the day,

1:01:43

Mike worked at Watch Fox and Watch Fox was out last night at the Swamp

1:01:49

for that Region four five A championship between River Bluff and Chapin. The Eagles

1:01:57

would have won the championship in soccer with a win. River Bluff wins the

1:02:02

championship if they win by two and River Bluff pulled it off Trip Bryant with

1:02:08

a goal early in the game, Logan Withchinsky with a rocket shot, and

1:02:14

the Gators are the twenty twenty four champions in Region four to five A.

1:02:19

In Phil Sabatz's final season. All right, quick break, We'll talk Reggie

1:02:22

Bush when we return Clemson Sports Talk. So, the Heisman Trophy Trust has

1:02:29

made a decision to return the Heisman Trophy to Reggie Bush, the former Southern

1:02:34

col star one of the most electrifying playmakers we've ever seen in the game.

1:02:39

His two thousand and five Heisman Trophy has been returned after he was stripped of

1:02:46

it. He gave it up willingly after the decision was made back in twenty

1:02:52

ten because of the allegations that surrounded his time at Southern cal all the money,

1:03:00

the things that his parents received. The I think it also had to

1:03:05

do with if I, if I remember correctly, there was an an agent,

1:03:08

and you know, it was a situation where I think we would all

1:03:14

be naive in our knowledge of say Herschel Walker and the famous conversations around Hersha

1:03:23

Walker's recruitment that took place between Clemson and Georgia and the battle to get him.

1:03:29

I think we'd all be naive to believe that everybody in the Heisman Trophy

1:03:34

House, if you will, or the Heisman Trophy, you know, the

1:03:40

pool of guys who have won, including Johnny Manziel, right, I think

1:03:46

you would be foolish to believe that a lot of these players have not violated

1:03:54

or did not violate the rules of amateurism. May maybe none did it as

1:04:00

blatantly or to the same degree, perhaps even as Reggie Bush did. But

1:04:08

with the changes in college football and now where players are routinely making a lot

1:04:14

of money, even though what Bush did would have still in this era be

1:04:17

deemed illegal. The Heisman Trophy is returning his trophy to him. The Heisman

1:04:24

Trophy Trust put out a statement and said quote, we are thrilled to welcome

1:04:27

Reggie Bush back to the Heisman family and recognition of his collegiate accomplishments. We

1:04:32

considered the enormous changes in college athletics over the last several years in deciding that

1:04:36

now is the right time to reinstate the trophy for Reggie. We are so

1:04:41

happy to welcome him back. Johnny Manziel, who had said previously that he

1:04:45

would not attend another Heisman Trophy ceremony until Bush's trophy was returned, we did

1:04:50

thank you to the Heisman Trophy for doing what's right and welcoming a storied member

1:04:57

of our history back into the fold. There were many voices throughout this process

1:05:00

that stood on the table for Reggie simply because of the kind of human being

1:05:05

he is. I look forward to being on that stage with you December.

1:05:14

This December, Reggie Bush, you deserve it. And you know, I

1:05:20

think about Bush, and you know, did he deserve the Heisman. I

1:05:28

don't think there's a question. I know some people would bring up Vince Young,

1:05:33

who obviously outplayed the entire Southern Cal team in the National Championship Game that

1:05:40

season. But Reggie Bush was the guy. I mean he was. He

1:05:46

was almost like a video game player. I mean, that's how good he

1:05:51

looked on the field. And I think that, you know, he deserved

1:05:58

to win the Heisman Trophy. I think the Heisman Trophy Trust was probably in

1:06:02

the right in stripping him or having a consequence for it. You know,

1:06:08

some people would say, well, you know what about OJ Simpson and what

1:06:11

happened with him after his playing days, They didn't strip him of his Heisman.

1:06:15

I think Oj maybe sold his Heisman Trophy at one point and then went

1:06:17

to jail for trying to steal it back if I remember. But anyway,

1:06:20

I could be wrong on that. But if you just take a look at

1:06:29

it from the standpoint of you're on the field during college circumstances versus what happens

1:06:41

after college, could you argue that if the Heisman Trophy had some sort of

1:06:47

lifetime clause of I don't know what you would call it, but like a

1:06:54

character clause for the life, then yet you could have easily stripped OJ Simpson.

1:07:00

And some of you say, well, Hey, Swanne, he was.

1:07:05

He was found innocent. He was also he was also found guilty in

1:07:12

the civil case. And I if that were a thing that I think the

1:07:15

Heisman Trophy would have had the option to make a move there. But anyway,

1:07:23

Reggie Bush will get his Heisman Trophy back and will be a part of

1:07:28

the Heisman Trophy Trust. And I will say this, watching him on Fox's

1:07:31

Game Day Coverage or whatever they call their big newon Kickoff show, I like

1:07:36

Reggie Bush. Seems like it seems like a pretty cool dude. Some other

1:07:41

news out of the were on college football. And again, because I am

1:07:45

not one hundred percent, we're not going to give you one hundred percent of a full brand new Wednesday show, we'll hear from Mike you'va coming up the

1:07:51

rest of the way. But former Clemson Tiger defensive end coach lemanski Hall has

1:08:03

been named the director of player development at Vanderbilt. You may recall when lemansky

1:08:11

Hall left Clemson, it wasn't the statement was not similar to the statement about

1:08:15

Thomas Austen right like, it was about the future for lemanski Hall and giving

1:08:21

him opportunities to, you know, kind of pursue other aspects of the sport.

1:08:29

And so that's what he's gonna do. He's gonna be at Vanderbilt. And again, that just takes me back to my thought process on the situation

1:08:41

surrounding coaches and their kids. And I mean, man, when you make

1:08:45

the money that these guys make, scholarships are significant, Scholarships are opportunities to

1:08:50

reach into the portal. And I'm not saying Lemansky Hall had a kid,

1:08:56

but I think about you know, it's hard to feel sorry right for these

1:08:59

guy when they get fired, when or you know, when they are allowed

1:09:03

to you matriculate elsewhere, when they've made the type of money they make.

1:09:12

I mean honestly, like, I don't know that you should ever feel bad,

1:09:15

Like if somebody says, oh, I feel so bad for that guy, huh. I don't you know? In wrestling, there's a thing called

1:09:21

a jobber. Pin me pay me, that's right, that's right, fire

1:09:27

me, pay me. That's that's where I'm at. Eight zero three four

1:09:32

or five h zero zero eighty six. You give me, you give me

1:09:35

three hundred and fifty grand a year, buddy, you can cut ties with

1:09:42

me pretty much anytime. I'll be upset. But that probably means I'm gonna

1:09:46

be able to go get another job with similar pay as long as I was

1:09:49

doing a pretty decent job at it, feelings not hurt at all. All

1:09:56

right, quick break, we'll come back and hear something from Mikeyva. Right

1:09:58

after this Clemson Sports. Just a couple of segments remaining on a Wednesday,

1:10:01

we jump into some of our interview that we did with Mike Eva yesterday here

1:10:06

on the program. Mike, welcome in, buddy, Hope you're doing well.

1:10:11

I'm doing well. Swandi, how you doing. I'm good, I'm

1:10:14

good. I know nour number one. We had a chance to talk about

1:10:18

Florida State's spring game a little bit and djue unglaa down there with the Seminoles,

1:10:24

and then just before the break, I was going through the numbers of

1:10:28

South Carolina spring game. Mike, I'm gonna be honest and with our listener,

1:10:32

I didn't see how Carolina broke the teams up. I don't know if

1:10:36

Garnet was most of the good offensive guys in black was not. But I

1:10:42

couldn't help but look at the stats from the Black offense and think, oh

1:10:46

my gosh, that had to be awful to watch. So maybe I'm wrong,

1:10:50

Maybe it was thrilling. Help me out, Mike, I'm sure that

1:10:55

you can give us some insight into South Carolina spring game from Saturday. Well,

1:11:00

maybe some listeners rolled their eyes and they wouldn't be alone. I'm sure

1:11:02

there's some game Cock fans that felt that way who didn't pay attention to Maybe

1:11:06

they did pay attention to this game the past weekend. I think two things.

1:11:11

One, heading into that game, we already had an idea that the

1:11:15

strong point for this defense. I mean, the ternpoint for this team is

1:11:18

gonna be the defense. They have depth that they've added on all three levels,

1:11:23

especially on the defensive line and that linebacker, and they really have a

1:11:28

lot of speed and length in veteran presence off the edge, whether it be

1:11:32

out that linebacker or defensive end, to go along with five star true freshman

1:11:38

Dylan Start, who lived up to the hype in the spring game this past

1:11:42

weekend. So I think the defense we expected. That's why I think it

1:11:45

was a low scoring game in general. However, I think another thing that

1:11:48

certainly played a factor. Marquee Anderson. He got injured in warm ups.

1:11:56

His back had been an issue, tightened up, locked up on him in

1:11:59

warm ups. Well, there goes one of your starting offensive linemen minutes before

1:12:03

the game starts and you have to play musical cheers. So I think that

1:12:08

was one of the main reasons why transfer quarterback Rob Robbie Asher had a run

1:12:13

around for his life. It felt like only through one pass he completed it

1:12:15

to Greenville Nate of mazy O Bennett, the true freshman. But I think

1:12:20

that played a big part. Again, some people look at that as an

1:12:24

excuse. I get it, but one of your starting line starting off at

1:12:28

the lineman go out and you're already shorthanded offensive lineman because they've been banged up

1:12:32

all spring. You know it's gonna be tough. We can say next man

1:12:36

up. But it's a spring game, so it's not like you have your

1:12:40

true starters all on one team here. You're kind of split up a little

1:12:43

bit. So I think that played a role. Yeah, Now, did they go running clock in the second half too? I mean, I know

1:12:47

the the time of the game was only I think what an hour and fifty

1:12:54

minutes or something. Did they go running clock in the second half? Felt

1:12:58

it felt like it bet up in that fourth quarter. The two first quarters

1:13:02

were both twelve minutes long. Then the third quarter was ten minutes. There

1:13:08

was I felt like it started to really, you know, run because probably

1:13:13

midway through the third because they talked about before the game, they said that there's a possibility that there'd be a running clock. So I felt like that

1:13:19

started to happen around that midway the third quarter, fourth quarter. I think

1:13:24

early on it did it and they just said, all right, screw it,

1:13:26

let's go. So that, I mean big thing is injury wise,

1:13:30

they got out of the game pretty healthy in comparison to a year ago when

1:13:33

you lose your starting left tackle in the spring game, so I think that

1:13:38

played a role. They were done in less than two hours. I don't

1:13:41

know what the SEC network did. I haven't watched the end of the broadcast.

1:13:45

I think the game itself with commercials. Someone said it took like an

1:13:49

hour and forty five minutes, so there were fireworks at the end. I

1:13:53

don't know if the SEC network had to keep going for another fifteen minutes showing

1:13:57

fireworks from Colombia to fill the slot. I mean, you know how that

1:14:00

goes with radio and TV. You're trying just to fill space. So yeah,

1:14:02

it was a quick one. So Lenora Sellers goes nine to eleven for

1:14:09

seventy yards, leads a touchdown drive in the opening drive, I had a

1:14:13

thirteen yard run to cap it. I've got to imagine five carries thirty eight

1:14:16

yards with the score, I've got to imagine that. Sellers probably was the

1:14:23

big talk for most people coming out of that game. Yeah, no question

1:14:28

about it, especially offensively. I mean, he did everything that you would

1:14:31

have would have liked for him to see, especially with all the hype that's

1:14:34

been surrounding him even going back to last season. But four for four on

1:14:39

that opening drive, at about over fifty yards of total offense between throwing it

1:14:44

and running it, including that rushing touchdown you mentioned on that opening series.

1:14:47

He just looked efficient, He looked he looked very he looked committed when he

1:14:54

was going to make a decision. Yeah, you know, here, here's

1:14:56

a guy that has the ability to take off. He's a duel He's a

1:14:59

duel quarterback. Right, he can take off, he could throw, he can beat you with his arm. He's got a great arm. But the

1:15:03

decision making was just swift, and that was one thing that he talked about

1:15:08

throughout the spring and that's one thing that he learned a lot from Spencer Rattler.

1:15:12

He admitted that if you're going to make the decision, commit to it.

1:15:15

So again springball. But this is the beauty of talking season now,

1:15:19

right, we'll be able to either play up some of these things or we'll

1:15:24

be worried about a couple of players here and there. With Sellers, he

1:15:27

did exactly what he needed to do. He took charge of the offense.

1:15:31

And I'll tell you what I think with the speed of this team. There's

1:15:35

certainly question marks still coming out of the spring game. But with the speed

1:15:39

in that wide receiver room, the speed and talent in depth in that running

1:15:43

back room, combined with what Sellers is able to bring you to the table.

1:15:46

Despite the fact South Carolina said they're not announced to the quarterback right now,

1:15:51

I wouldn't hold our breast if you expect it to be anyone else.

1:15:55

Knock on Wood that he stays healthy. But combined with what Sellers brings to

1:15:59

the table, I think South Carolina is really gonna use their speed more than

1:16:02

anything this year against teams because they're not gonna kill you from a height standpoint.

1:16:06

Outside of Nick Harbor at wide receiver. They don't have a lot of

1:16:10

height, so I think speed is something they're gonna rely on. I'm not

1:16:14

saying this is the team that's gonna run the football forty to forty five times

1:16:17

a game, fifty times a game. I'm sure that they'd love to be

1:16:20

able to not throw the ball as much, but this isn't gonna be like

1:16:24

the nineteen eighty George Roger Gamecox, but I certainly think they're gonna use a

1:16:28

lot of their speed this season. That's a portion of our interview that we

1:16:31

did with Mike. You've yesterday when I was still feeling pretty good, but

1:16:38

now I just the voice not what it normally is. So if you're tuning

1:16:44

in and wondering why, that's why. A final segment coming up here will

1:16:47

wrap up with Mike Cuba talking to him about South Carolina schedule and the stretch

1:16:53

that they go through starting with LSU and working on through playing Old Miss in

1:16:59

Alabama and Oakland home in Texas. A and m I mean, it is

1:17:02

a as I called it, I think in the interview with him, a

1:17:05

murderer's row when it comes down to teams that the game Cocks have got to

1:17:11

be facing are gonna be facing this year? And I haven't looked at all

1:17:14

the SEC schedules, but I would venture to guess by comparison to your program,

1:17:17

to the others man, that might be as tough as slate as anybody's

1:17:23

gonna face this year. And I know you Tiger fans don't feel sorry for

1:17:27

them. You don't have to. But it is a it is a rugged

1:17:30

road. We'll talk with Mike You've about that when we get back. Stay

1:17:32

with us. What have you done for me lately? It's a fair question.

1:17:41

Just don't lose sight of the bigger picture, don't forget history. Lucky

1:17:49

for us at Clemson, the answer to the questions what have you done for

1:17:53

me lately? And what have you done? Always are the same. We

1:18:01

win time. Final segment on Wednesday, the show The Shakes of south Land

1:18:51

clemsones Sports Talk all Right, Resetting it back to yesterday's program, I asked

1:18:56

Mike Youva about South Carolina's incredibly difficult schedule. I I don't know what the

1:19:00

toughest stretch when you talk about you know, teams and programs that any schools

1:19:05

ever had to go through in the regular season. And I know with the

1:19:09

SEC being revamped this year, bringing Oklahoma and Texas in that schedules are looking

1:19:15

even more daunting than they have in the past. Polly smokes Man, that

1:19:19

stretch. I think it's six games with one you know, maybe Akron or

1:19:24

somebody in there, and the rest of it's just like what you'd call like

1:19:28

a murderer's row of college football programs. And that's crazy, right. I

1:19:31

mean, what if I told you before the start of the season or before

1:19:34

the schedule is announced, Hey, you're not going to have to play Georgia.

1:19:38

You're not going to have to play Tennessee. Now. Granted I get

1:19:41

it from a historical standpoint, some game Cock fans would have still liked that,

1:19:44

right, Just talking from me, this can benefit you standpoint. Hey, you're not gonna have to worry about playing them through Florida in there.

1:19:49

No Florida's been going up and down the last couple of years, But no

1:19:53

Georgia, no Tennessee, no Florida. A lot of game Cock fans would

1:19:57

be like, all right, that's pretty good. Well, it's the SEC

1:20:00

the added it's the SEC on steroids, as I've been calling it. With

1:20:04

the Texas and Oklahoma now, So a couple of things that stand out to

1:20:09

me. One, like you mentioned, I mean, I get it,

1:20:13

naturally, there's gonna be people, probably not just in Colombia but throughout the

1:20:16

SEC. Sam man our schedule is really tough. Well no kidding, no

1:20:19

kidding. I mean that's what do you expect, especially when you're more of

1:20:23

a middle of the pack kind of team like South Carolina. So that's number

1:20:27

one. On top of that, of course, you have a tougher outer

1:20:30

conference schedule than maybe some other teams because you have to play Clempson, who

1:20:33

has been one of the better teams in the country for the last decade plus.

1:20:39

But I think what stands out to me is you open the year against

1:20:42

Old Dominion, who not too long ago open open the season a couple of

1:20:46

years ago, and they beat an FBS team, They beat a Power five

1:20:49

team, Right, Yeah, that's no cupcake. Again, you should be

1:20:55

able to handle that. You should be able to go out there and take

1:20:58

care of your business. But they under stand, and I know roster turnover

1:21:01

a lot. There's not a lot of those guys are still on that team.

1:21:04

But that's something that's always in the back of my head, kind of

1:21:06

like for years like when Apple State played a team when when they beat Michigan,

1:21:11

then years that say, oh they could play app states that can't can't

1:21:14

sleep on them. Every team in the SEC will have just like through out

1:21:18

college football, South Carolina. The thing that at least makes me feel a

1:21:23

little bit better. Yeah, when you look at this schedule is that they're

1:21:26

going to have two buys, so you're able to at least regroup a little

1:21:30

bit. Will that make a difference. Only time will tell. Everyone's dealing

1:21:34

with it. Everyone's going to have that if you want to look at it

1:21:36

as an advantage. But depending on how South Carolina is doing at certain points,

1:21:43

injuries certainly catch up to every team in some shapeway or form throughout the

1:21:45

year. Those bye weeks are going to be very beneficial. And I think

1:21:53

depending on you know, when you look at Okay again, where they're at

1:21:56

health wise, how they're playing, it could be extremely beneficial. When you

1:21:59

look at some of the games they have coming out of those buys, oh man, it's it's so ridiculous. And here's how I'll put it into perspective

1:22:04

for people that again maybe haven't looked at the dates on these games. I

1:22:09

went through it, and I should. It starts with LSU, not Old

1:22:12

Miss. They are the game Ole Miss is the game after Acron. But

1:22:14

that LSU game, right, Mike, If you say to most people, ah, we're playing LSU September fourteenth, and then you say we're playing Texas

1:22:23

A and M November the second, most people are going to go, Man,

1:22:26

that's pretty much the brunt of the season. And Mike, that is

1:22:30

the toughest portion of the schedule for South Carolina, and it is a long

1:22:35

portion of the schedule from September fourteenth to November. The second it is.

1:22:41

It is gonna be just wild watching that unfold. Yeah, and look,

1:22:45

there are some games in there where you can certainly and I'm sure we all

1:22:47

do it right. Schedule comes out for any team. You start going in

1:22:53

your head a little bit, all right, that could be a win, that could be a lot, that could be a toss up. It gets

1:22:57

to a point now where you're looking at that Kentucky game, with the way

1:23:01

South Carolina has played the cat over the last two years, that's a game

1:23:05

now that I think a lot of game Cock fans look at and say,

1:23:08

hey, that should be a win. Yeah. Well, Let's remember they

1:23:12

got to go on the road for that, and I don't care how teams

1:23:15

are playing historically outside of Vandervelt maybe, And now watch me say that I

1:23:18

watched that, you know, backfire in the fall. But because I actually

1:23:23

got to go to Vanderbilt, they got to go to Kentucky. That's not

1:23:26

going to be easy, regardless of how things have played out over these last

1:23:30

two years. You know, let's not make it like it's South Carolina has

1:23:34

been beating the crap out of them. I mean, he's been close games.

1:23:38

So again, things change, personnel changes, and I think too we

1:23:43

talked about lit Flanora Sellers. Yes, there's a lot of positives that you

1:23:45

could take from that spring game the other day, starting with him from an

1:23:48

offensive standpoint, But one of my favorite quotes, you know, Mike Tyson,

1:23:55

everyone's got a game plan till you get punched in the face. This

1:23:57

young man, at some point he's going to face adversity. It's just it's

1:24:00

part of football. But especially for a young player, how does he respond?

1:24:03

I think that's the biggest question. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what the

1:24:08

heck he did this past weekend. It doesn't matter what he did in the

1:24:12

fall, and the four games he appeared in last season, or how many

1:24:15

stars he had coming out of Tel Florence, doesn't matter what's going to happen

1:24:19

when adversity strikes, because guess what, you don't have xavierl to get out

1:24:23

there wide receiver Spencer Rattler, he's not in that room with you anymore at

1:24:27

the quarterback position. This is your team, young guy. I mean,

1:24:30

this is your team. So I'm interested to see how he responds, especially

1:24:33

early on in the season, to what's going to be a very very very

1:24:36

difficult schedule and difficult start for sure. There you go, folks, Thank

1:24:42

you for granting me a little leeway today with the old voice. Hopefully we'll

1:24:45

be back at one hundred percent tomorrow. Until then, as always, you'll take care now and go Tigers.