Dabo Swinney SOUNDS OFF on former NFL players potentially playing in CFB: “It’s embarrassing”

On Tuesday morning, Dabo Swinney commented on former NFL players potentially playing in college football. Calling it "embarrassing," how did we get to this point? Watch here as Andy & Ari provide the latest out of the bizarre situation out of Baton Rouge. 0:00 On Today's Episode1:12 Presenting Sponsor2:18 Intro: Dabo Swinney's comments3:06 What Dabo Said14:15 Clemson QB121:20 LMNT24:18 Previewing Tony Elliott26:10 Tony Elliott Joins36:17 Dabo Swinney's impact on Tony Elliott39:12 Beau Pribula at Virginia44:24 Learning from the tragedy at UVA48:08 Rules for life51:02 Truck guy?59:26 Recapping Tony Elliott1:02:35 USC Crowd = Big Deal?After the Dabo Swinney discussion, the guys head north to Charlottesville, Virginia, where Tony Elliott is coming off a big victory over ACC foe NC State, 34-8. What has Tony Elliott learned in his 3 years at Virginia? Watch here as Andy & Ari talk with the Cavaliers head coach.Next up, the fellas dive into the USC crowd for its week 0 game against San Jose State. Is this a big deal? Andy & Ari dive in.Our show is presented by Polymarket!New User Offer: Deposit $10, get $50 upon sign uphttps://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $20 bonus upon sign up.18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirement apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur.We are sponsored by LMNT! Get a free 8-count sample place with any purchase: https://www.drinklmnt.com/andyari Join On3 today! https://www.on3.com/joinSubscribe to On3! ⬇️ youtube.com/on3sports/?sub_confirmati...Welcome to On3 | The best of college football and recruiting https://www.on3.com/Listen to Andy & Ari On3 on podcast!Spotify 🎧: https://open.spotify.com/show/5AhQ4d2m5TQu5Q2vkwtxjt?si=d9016221aa2a4427Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/andy-staples-on3/id1695325427Follow Andy & Ari On3 on X! https://x.com/AndyAriOn3 Follow Andy Staples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Andy_StaplesFollow Andy Staples on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_staplesFollow Ari Wasserman on Twitter: https://x.com/AriWassermanFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/on3sportsFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/on3/Like/Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/On3Sports/Hosts: Andy Staples, Ari WassermanProducer: River BaileyInterested in partnering with the show? Email advertise@on3.com

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Video Transcript

On today's Andy and Ari on 3, presented by Polymarket, Dabo Swinney sounds off.

The Clemson coach is headed to LSU, and he calls the current situation, where some teams, we won't name names, might be attempting to roster former NFL players, he calls it embarrassing.

He also named a starting quarterback for this week.

Plus, one of Dabo's former assistants, Virginia head coach Tony Elliott, joins the show.

The Cavaliers looking like a wagon after a 34-8 season opening win against NC State.

He'll explain how they came to be that way.

Plus, we all saw the shots of the Coliseum on Saturday.

Very, very empty.

Doesn't matter if you're glass half full, that was mostly empty.

What does it mean?

Does it mean that USC fans are not good fans?

Does it mean that USC won't be a good football team, that they don't have the support?

Well, we'll talk about it.

Plus, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire will also chime in.

All on today's Andy and Ari on 3, presented by Polymarket.

We are sponsored by Polymarket.

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100% loss can occur.

Welcome to Andy and Ari on 3, presented by Polymarket.

And Ari, it's game week.

It's officially game week because a coach stepped up to a microphone and said something that is sure to piss off the opposing fan base.

Yeah, we think we know who that coach is.

Before, before we get into the show, Andy, I just wanted to say happy anniversary.

This is my two-year anniversary on 3 today.

Woo.

Congratulations.

It's gone by quickly.

I'm excited to know what the next five are gonna be like.

But, yes, the best thing about my anniversary is always that the season is starting.

So, like we at least can get into, you know, the games and the things like that.

And of course, Dabo Swinney rescued us from a, ever having the risk of a boring show.

Yeah, I, I don't think there's any chance we're gonna have a boring show in week one, but- No definitely not now, because Dabo Swinney, whose team plays at LSU on Saturday, stepped to the mic.

One, he had jokes.

Two, he had a starting quarterback announcement.

Three, well, he answered the question he was asked.

Let's start with the jokes and answering the question.

Here's Dabo.

I actually got to go watch practice early June for the Browns, so, I'm probably gonna get turned in for tampering.

I don't know.

I wish I'd have known.

I'd have paid a little more, more attention.

But yeah, it's crazy.

It's, it's, it's hard, you know.

I mean, openers are hard, but again, when you got, a lot of new people and, and you know, it's the same for them.

We got a bunch of new people, too.

But, it's a crazy world we're living in.

Does that frustrate you at all, having to deal with that?

No, it doesn't frustrate me.

I don't, I don't, I don't give I, I think it's, I mean, honestly, I, rarely am I at a loss for words, but Chappell, I'm at kind of a loss of words.

I would just say it's kind of embarrassing.

I mean, honestly, just, it's just embarrassing, that that's where we are.

And I don't blame the kids, and people trying to take advantage of the system.

I just think it's embarrassing where we are with college football.

And, we've been there for a while.

So, it, it didn't I just, I just keep my energy and my, my focus on and my energy on the things that m- that I control and, and the things that matter, and that's these kids here and our team.

But, you know, all that outside stuff, I mean, we just kinda, we just kinda, no pun intended, we just stay in our lane, you know, here, here at Clemson.

Try to.

Every now and then somebody will ram into us, but, but we try to just kinda handle our business here.

But it's embarrassing.

I mean, it really is.

You know, we have no rules.

There's no governance.

I mean, it's a joke.

It, it, there's, there's zero rules.

And when you enforce rules, somebody just goes and finds a judge to say, "No, you can't enforce that rule."

So, I mean, never did I think I'd be, living in an era like this, but that's where we are.

And, you know, hopefully and eventually there'll be some different things coming r- down the pipe.

But all I can tell you is, man, we, we, we, we have great kids here.

We have great kids.

We got great people here.

And, and, we try to just kinda stay focused on, on Clemson and how we do things.

If he says no pun intended, does it change the fact that the pun was obviously intended?

Yeah, well, I mean, there's a lot to unpack there.

First of all, what's embarrassing?

That Lane Kiffin's engaging in that, or that they're able to do it at all?

I think he was talking more globally.

Okay.

Like, I don't, I don't think he was specifically calling out Lane Kiffin as much as all of it.

Yeah.

But the fact is they're playing Lane Kiffin this week.

The way we're all gonna clip that quote, now we gave you the whole shebang.

We have to with Dabo.

It doesn't fit on a Yeah, that doesn't fit on a, that doesn't fit on a social media quote card.

So we're gonna clip that quote in ways that- that will maximize engagement and enragement, mostly by LSU fans.

And they're gonna get mad.

Other people who have no rooting interest in this game, I- it probably will depend on how they feel about Dabo- Mm-hmm whose side they take on that.

But I do think he was talking more globally about just in general all of the, the just stupidity and weirdness that has gone on- Yeah over the past year, where, you know, oh, I gambled my, on my own team, but I found a judge and I can play.

And now wait, wait, the attorney general threatened the conference, and now the conference is suing the school, and now I'm not gonna play.

Or, this guy was in Cleveland Browns training camp, or this guy was in, in Saints training camp and we're gonna put him on the roster.

Like, yeah, all of it.

Yeah.

It's all of it.

It's, it's not just, I don't think, LSU that he's talking about.

Well, this is a really important season for Dabo, and I wish I could go back and give him advice in retrospect.

But watching the Browns practice is not gonna help you get where you need to go.

So especially if it comes with tampering rules, It's so funny.

Every time the Browns come up, there's a joke attached.

There's no earnest discussion of the Cleveland Browns whatsoever.

The tampering joke was funny.

But you also have to put yourself in Dabo's shoes a little bit too, Andy, 'cause, you know, let's not forget that this man once said he will quit college football when they start paying players.

So talk about how- Yeah.

He, he is certainly, he's certainly turned on that.

'Cause remember Dabo's the one who after the tampering situation where they accused Ole Miss of tampering with, with the linebacker who is now starting for Ole Miss this week, he said he's all for collective bargaining.

He's all Which is, which is the exact opposite of I'll quit if they- Yes pay them.

Well, well the thing that I, I meant by bringing that up, 'cause I know it's ancient history.

Was that like 10 years ago he said that now?

I mean, it's been a long time.

So- It's more than that.

I- I wanna say it was like 12 years ago is that he's probably, I would say, in the top tier if we're tiering like old school coaches from oldest of old school to new school- Yeah in terms of the way that they view college football, the mechanism for, for the why it exists, all these different things.

So of all the people who, you know, have to accept the reality that there might be a former NFL mini camp player on the opposing sideline, it would be him.

So, you know, I, I think that the good thing that you did and River did was play the whole clip.

Because with Dabo, if you see the three second or the four second, 10 second clip from a long rant, a lot of times what he actually meant gets lost in, in place here.

Mm-hmm.

But I think that you summarized it pretty well, which was, I think he's more having a commentary on just how do we get to a place in college football where no one even knows what the hell's going on anymore?

Yeah.

So, you know, I think most people agree- This, this is a change the fact that if- Yeah if LSU wins by three touchdowns, LSU fans will gladly throw this back in Dabo's face.

Sure, yeah.

And, you know, part of college football is just getting offended over everything.

Everybody's gotta be offended all the time.

We're gonna offend USC fans later in the show.

Stick around.

But like it, it's just, you know, I, I just don't think that anybody disagrees with him.

I'm not even sure that Lane Kiffin disagrees with him.

I think- I don't, I don't think Lane does.

I think Lane is, is still trying to do what he can to- Yeah get the best roster he can and- And Lane's doing what he's doing.

The thing that I, I don't know is, you know, and I think about, you know, people like Cody Campbell, for instance, who, who told us when he was on our show a year and a half ago or however long ago it was, that he doesn't like the current system that we're in, and that he would prefer a different system.

But while he's in the system, he's going to do what he can to take advantage of that system.

Kinda like anybody with tax code or whatever.

Yeah.

For people who want things to be changed, but while they're- And Co- Cody Campbell, one of the, one of the biggest- Yeah proponents of the Protect College Sports Act, the bill in the Senate, which would potentially clear up some of this stuff.

Maybe not.

But also the person who bankrolled Brendan Sorsby and was all for Texas Tech playing Brendan Sorsby when Brendan Sorsby had an injunction from a judge.

So it's all, yeah, it's all tied together, all of it.

I, I do wonder if the people who you perceive to be bending the traditional rules the most, or the people who seem to be trying to find an edge in a way that seems not kosher the most, are also probably proponents of some oversight and structural, way of enforcing rules.

So, you know, I- But there are also people who are proponents of structural oversight who also don't wanna engage in this.

Like Dabo Sweeney doesn't seem to wanna engage in this.

I don't think Kirby Smart wants to engage in this.

Like, I haven't seen it from them- Yeah.

Well- that they also would like some sort of structure you know, I also think that part of the reason why you haven't seen things from everybody is, is that this is kind of a finite number of people involved, and the players who are involved in this specific instance aren't that good.

Not, not, not, not good.

That's a bad way to put it.

If you're an NFL mini camp player, you're a, a good football player.

Well, no, they're not in mini camp.

I mean, not a star.

These are guys that were in camp.

Or training camp.

Yeah, yeah.

If- Which, which by the way is a distinction 'cause Sark came out very strong.

Steve Sarkisian, the Texas coach, came out very strong, and everybody's like, "You know you have Cole Hudson on your roster-" Yeah, he's a mini camp guy, right who was in multiple mini camps but never got a contract.

So- Sorry, I was misusing mini camp.

I meant anybody who was- Yeah.

That, that may be the dis- the But that's, that's the thing, like, and I've seen a lot of people and, and I, I, I certainly understand where they're coming from, who are like, "That's a distinction without a difference."

So- Right, right So if I'm an LSU fan, I, I'm jumping all over that.

I don't blame them for jumping all over that.

The, the question that I, I have for you back, and maybe it's not something that you'll ever get an answer to or you might not be able to answer.

But if there were a really, really good player that left Georgia last year and w- fell under the cir- circumstances of Georgia, would take advantage of it as a response to what's going on?

Like, I, I think that, I don't wanna say anybody is 16-2- You know what the r- where the really good players who left Georgia last year are?

On NFL rosters?

Yes.

Yeah.

They're unavailable right now.

Yeah.

You know, I know.

I, I just, I wonder if people who are abstaining from engaging in it just aren't in the position to capitalize on it.

Probably.

There's probably something to that.

But- Yeah there are also probably some players who played at some places who didn't make teams- Yeah who didn't want to have it back.

Well, there's also the, the, the, the question which I still am trying to find- There, there's an ex Notre Dame player involved in all, all this.

Now he, he was not in a camp.

Or he was in a He may have been a mini camp guy, so he might be okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is one of the LSU, one of the LSU signings.

But Notre Dame didn't take him back.

Yeah.

They didn't need him.

Here's the million dollar question, and I don't have the answer to it still is, is the juice worth the squeeze?

No.

And I think a lot of people are probably just not gonna do it because the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Go ahead.

Nope.

I That's the simple answer.

No.

Yeah.

The juice is not worth the squeeze.

Especially at this level.

At this very high level, we're talking about big time power conference teams that have playoff and national title aspirations.

The juice is not worth the squeeze because the best players on your roster are going to make NFL rosters.

So they're better than the people we're talking about here.

Right.

Right.

Well, that wasn't the only thing that was entertaining about Dabo Swinney's, uh- No, he was busy appearance today.

He was busy today.

He named his starting quarterback.

R- remember I told you to watch the Clemson quarterback competition?

Mm-hmm.

Our guys Larry Willia- Williams and Paul Streelow at Tiger Illustrated had pointed out a couple weeks ago that it, it felt like it was a little bit tighter.

And now they, they reported this week that, that Vezina was getting, Christopher Vezina was getting more of the first team snaps by a lot than Tate Reynolds.

But you kind of knew it was always headed this way.

But I thought Dabo's announcement of the starting quarterback was also very interesting.

You know, I know everybody's gonna be talking about the quarterback.

CV will start for us, this week.

He, he's earned that.

It's been a I, I think Chad and Taj have done a really great job of, you know, navigating the whole process.

It's been a competition.

I mean, you know, it's, it's, CV really didn't have much competition in the spring because, you know, he was kind of, clearly, you know, ahead and, and, and everything.

And then you had, four quarterbacks that were trying to sort through.

We had Denson, we had Trent, we had Brock, and we had Tate.

And we kind of had to see how that, you know And Tate by the end of spring had really separated from that group.

And so that gave us some clarity with, okay, well, the, now we know.

Let's see, let's see what we got here.

And, I thought Tate made a big jump at the end of spring that last week as he got all those two reps. And then I think it just carried on.

And it's been, it's been a lot of fun.

And I mean, they've had a very detailed process on how they've gone through it.

Every practice, every rep, every throw, everything has been, has been, you know, graded, to the Nth degree.

And CV's just a little ahead.

I, I, I He's not a mile ahead, but he's ahead.

And, you know, practice matters.

So, there was a time where in I really thought Tate had a chance to take the job.

And, and then he had, you know, a couple of disastrous days, and and just looked like a freshman.

But, you know, and then, but to CV's credit, man, CV has just been incredibly steady.

So this is like last week when John Summerall at Florida announced Aaron Filo as the starter and went very in depth into why he made the decision he made.

I'd make the case that this was- Dabo's revealing a lot of information there.

I was gonna say that this was more revealing than John Summerall's.

Yes.

Agreed.

Yeah.

When, when he talks about the freshman almost took the job but had a couple of disastrous, quote-unquote, "freshman days."

Ari, this tells me that if Vezina's not looking sharp against LSU on Saturday, they'll go to the freshman.

Yeah.

That's what I heard.

Yeah.

I, I, I don't know if there's anything, any- anything else to hear.

So, you know, Vezina's been in the program.

It's Clemson, you know.

But if anybody has yanked a veteran for a young player, it's this guy.

It's Dabo.

Yeah.

So, I'm on high alert, not just for what happens in the LSU game, but what happens after the LSU game.

That sounded like- Mm-hmm ongoing, ongoing question marks- Yeah to me.

When he says he's the starter this week, sometimes that's coach speech.

Sometimes, "Oh, every position's up for evaluation every week."

Not this time.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's not what I got.

I don't think that's what this is.

This is- Yeah this is I'm really not sure.

I, I, I think this is the guy.

And the freshman had a chance to take it but he didn't, he didn't take it.

And, and look, when you're, when you're the younger guy, when you're the one trying to be the usurper, you do have to take it definitively usually.

Yes.

And that hadn't happened in this case.

So it can happen in a game, though.

And I think that's, that's a very interesting- Yeah, I mean, the question here is, like, does Tate Reynolds bring something to the table physically or, you know, play-making wise that CV doesn't?

I, I don't know.

But it's possible on Saturday we're gonna see him play.

I, I took that That's what I took from that.

And I thank you to Dabo for being honest and o- and forthright about these things.

Everything is so buttoned up and, you know, kept secret and w- but it's cool.

He actually said, these words came out of his mouth, "I thought that for a moment there that the freshman was gonna take it."

He said that.

Yeah.

So he has had to look pretty special at times.

And this is something that you've been alluding to for months now.

Yeah.

That, that Reynolds was- He's a different, it's a different case.

It's not like Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence- Yeah where you knew when they were juniors in high school that the moment they set foot on a college campus, they were gonna be in line to, to take the starting job away from a veteran.

This was a guy who was, was a good recruit, a, a highly touted recruit out of Arizona, but not in that same vein.

When he showed up on campus, they, they thought, "Oh, this is really interesting.

We liked him when we recruited him.

We're even more impressed now."

So I think that's the difference.

Yeah, I don't even know which one's more impressive, the, the five-star prospect that is viewed as a generational high school talent being named the starter, or the player that they didn't have those expectations for, you know, at least from a recruiting ranking standpoint, who comes in and gives your coach no choice but to put you on the, on the field.

Maybe it's the same thing, right?

Maybe they're both just really good, but it- I mean, Deshaun definitely gave them no choice, and Trevor- Yeah same thing.

It, the, you had to, you, the talent was undeniable.

So I think it's not quite so undeniable here.

And again, Dabo didn't start Deshaun right away.

Now, Deshaun had a little bit of an injury early on, so I think- Yeah that's what got Cole Stout the starting job early.

Kelly Bryant had done a really good job in 2017, so you weren't gonna just yank him for Trevor Lawrence.

But it became clear in those first few games that Trevor Lawrence was the better quarterback, so they, they made the decision.

Yeah.

A- a- and look, you can say, oh, well now Christopher Vinz is gonna be looking over his shoulder.

Whether Dabo said that or not- They know what's going on, yeah players aren't dumb.

Like, they, they understand it was going to be like this.

Yeah, yeah.

What they, what they feel in practice every day is, is more than enough of a giveaway of how things are going.

So, you know, I also think looking over your shoulder is good.

Go play well.

Yep.

It's gonna be quite a challenge because LSU is going to be very good, very hyped, and that is gonna be an incredible atmosphere in Tiger Stadium on Saturday in our throwback game of the week.

Ari, next up we've got someone who worked with Dabo Swinney for a long time, Virginia coach Tony Elliott, longtime Clemson offensive coordinator.

We're gonna talk to him.

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Ari, we talked a lot about Dabo Swinney.

We're about to talk to a guy who spent years working for him, who played for him.

Tony Elliott i- is one of the more interesting stories in college football because he leaves the Clemson nest, takes the job at Virginia.

It's not great at the start, but he keeps grinding, kinda changes his roster-building philosophy.

Not kind of, really changes his roster-building philosophy.

Last year, they go to the ACC championship game, they win 11 games, and you think, "Okay, was that a flash in the pan?

Did they just get lucky with that particular roster, or is this something they can continue doing?"

That first game, week zero, against NC State, they win 34 to eight, just dominate them.

Absolutely dominate them, especially on the ground.

The offensive line was, was utterly dominant against NC State's D line.

This may be something that can, can stick here.

Yeah.

You alluded to it in the, in the interview, but having a veteran, older offensive line that can move people, I mean, that's the takeaway from the game, I thought.

I mean, you even, I think you sent a te- Was it you that sent a text in the middle of the game that said, "Virginia's offensive line's awesome"?

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, it, it, and it was something we talked about in the off-season, like, okay, they're bringing back three starters.

The other two guys were supposed to start, but they were hurt before last season started, and they had to, had to sit out.

It's, it looked great.

Now, it's one game.

But I have a feeling that's the sort of thing that, that will continue.

So very excited to see it, and we're excited to talk to Tony Elliott about how that all came together, including the drive after NC State scored, which was one of the most demoralizing things I've ever seen one football team do to another.

Let's talk to Tony Elliott.

We are honored to be joined by Virginia Head Coach Tony Elliott, coming off a 34-8 win against NC State on Saturday.

And we, we were just asking Coach before we started recording, all right, Tony, how many 12-play 70, or excuse me, 23-play, 75-yard, 12-minute drives have you been a part of in your life?

That was the first.

That was, that was the first, and I think the second longest was the, the one in the Missouri game, the bowl game last year.

That was 19 plays, like 10 minutes plus.

But, that was a, that was a crazy And you, when you're in it, you don't feel like it's going that long, but then you look up and, and you, and you hear how long the drive was and how many plays.

I mean, it was, it was actually a pretty cool experience.

When you're in the middle of the drive, you don't- The circumstances are, are, are amazing for that, though, because you were, you were shutting them out, they score- Yep they get the two-point conversion, so it feels like they have a little momentum for the first time in the game.

And then it, you basically steal their soul.

Yeah, I mean, it, it, it just, we needed to, to, to gain the momentum 'cause it was up for grabs right there.

You know, they converted a third and 21.

We, we, we were gonna force a field goal, and they convert a third and 21, score, two-point conversion.

Now momentum and, and with that quarterback on that sideline over there, you knew that if, you let the momentum, flip, that he was gonna be able to go do something special.

So just proud of the guys for, for, for being in tune with the moment.

We always talk about the break in the game.

Like, let's find the break in the game, and- Mm-hmm and that was probably the actual break in the game right there, that drive.

Tony, you guys had a really successful season last year.

Obviously, not a very easy opponent your first week.

How does that change your preparation going into the game, and once you get a win that's that convincing?

Yeah, so- Does it set the tone for your entire season?

No, great, great question.

I think that, that it goes back four years, and this is what I was talking about with the staff was getting to a position where you're handling success.

And, and early on, a lot of people couldn't understand what I was doing 'cause we hadn't had any success.

But I was creating the belief that we would get to this point.

And to be able to sustain success, your preparation doesn't change, right?

It doesn't matter who your, who your opponent is.

You're, you're, you're working towards standards, that you set for, for yourself individually and then also collectively as a program.

Tony, you got that job in 2022, or the late 2021.

The whole world is changing at that point in terms of how you construct rosters, how you acquire players.

How different are you on that front now than what you thought you were gonna be when you're, like, when you're interviewing with Carla Williams for the job- Yeah and you're like, "This is what we're gonna be."

How different are you now?

I'm, I'm very, very different.

I think, I came in the door, guns blazing.

Man, I got my, my, my philosophies and my procedures and the way we're gonna do things and, and I've had to, I've had to, to grow.

And I made a lot of mistakes my first year as a first-year head coach and, you know, not intentionally and, and, and not because I was, was being bullish.

It's just, I just didn't know, and the landscape was constantly changing.

So, I've, I've grown and matured, a lot, and I've had to figure out, how to, to do things that allow you to be successful in this environment but at the same time don't get too far away from, from what your core beliefs are.

Well, I think that everybody during that time period had to take inventory on how they wanted to proceed into the future.

But I think what's interesting that, about Andy's question is, is that you came from a place that was so traditionally different- from all those things.

A- a- steadfastly different.

Mm-hmm.

How much of your programming, as a person at Clemson was hard to rewrite, and how much of it did you take with you?

Like- Yeah, so, so, you know, my, my background, I played for, for Coach Swinney, in college.

And then I was, I was with him for 11 years, four years before, the, the championship, runs, started.

So I got to firsthand see and experience, and I believed in and, and aligned with, you know, everything that, w- Clemson's about.

And so, a lot of just the core philosophies I was bringing with me.

However, the, the, the environment here at UVA is, is different, academically and socially, and then also the climate was changing.

And, and, you know, I wasn't in a position to, to, to- I guess, put my f-- my, my, my foot in the ground, I really had to, to figure out how to adapt.

So a lot of what we do is rooted in the core values.

However, the execution may be a little bit different because our situation is different.

So when you go out with the offensive line, do, do they get the AA or, AARP discount?

Everybody, everybody thinks you're cheating 'cause your, your offensive linemen are so old.

But you've got a weird situation where- Mm-hmm like you've got a couple guys that you brought in last year who had- Yeah a ton of starts elsewhere.

They got hurt in camp.

Now they're finally getting to play, but it, but it is a fifth year, two sixth years, and a seventh year.

Is that right?

Yeah.

On your starting five?

Yeah, they, they, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're called the old guys.

My left tackle's probably the youngest, in, in McKel Boley.

And then, and then my right guard, McKeelin Thomas, and then the other guys, you know, they even, they even have, have kind of tried to use it to their advantage.

Now they want up-front parking, they wanna get closer to the building, they wanna be first in line for everything.

But it's a, it's a fun group.

And it's a new group, too.

Like everybody talks about, you know, their age.

But again, you know, three of 'em played together last year, and then two guys in McKeelin and, Monroe, they weren't available last year.

So they were here as part of the program, but they didn't play any snaps.

So, that group is still, growing together, and it was awesome to actually see, all five of 'em work together, in a game.

And, had some success, but also, tremendous opportunity for improvement, too.

Coach, you talked about dealing with success and- Mm-hmm and trying to build on something.

I'm wondering, after the year that you guys had last year, obviously a lot of things change- Yeah year over year in rosters and, and teams and environments in this new age of college football.

But do you get a sense that you might have something?

And how did you feel like your team did react to that success?

You know, I was, I was very, proud of the team for the way that they prepared.

And, and so what you saw on Saturday was really just a reflection of their preparation all, all off-season.

And, and again, I was laying the foundation from, from, from year one.

I distinctly remember sitting in the old building in one of our first staff meetings and, and, just telling one of, our staff members, "Fellas, it's not where we are, it's where we're going, and that's how we have to think," right?

We have to think about where we're trying to go and we have to operate, with that mentality.

And spending all those years at Clemson, and all the success, you know, really it's, it's double down on what you believe.

Man, find ways to, to get 1% better, and really just fall in love with the mundane because, you know, having succe- or sustaining success, you know, is not as, as, as fun as, and exciting as it is.

It, it's like every Monday has to be the best Monday of the year.

So regardless of what happened, on Saturday, you gotta go back to work on Monday.

So really just proud of the staff for, you know, believing, in the words that I was saying, and then going and living that every single day, that led up to, to where we are.

And then gr- the thing about it, like I told the team, I said, "All you did was your job.

Like that, that's all you did was your, was your job.

That's what you're supposed to do.

And you know what?

Now you gotta go do it again.

And you gotta go do it again.

And you gotta go do it again."

There's no, there's this, there, there, there's, there's no yellow brick road.

There's no pot of gold at the end.

It's just, like, mundane, falling in love with that, being fanatical about, the attention to detail.

And, and so to, to answer the question about do we have something, we, we still, got a long season.

Man, we got a lot to, to, to improve, even from that last game.

And if we're able to stay humble and stay hungry, then I think we, we, we got some pieces, to be able to, to have a successful season.

So I, I've heard that before.

Yeah.

I, I sat in on a, a presentation that your strength coach, Adam Smotherman, gave at the- Mm-hmm coaches convention this year.

And, and he came with you from Clemson.

Mm-hmm.

Pe- people may not remember, but Smo was the greatest get-back coach in America because- Oh, yeah he had to deal with Fred Venables.

He had- Yeah, yeah, coach V to deal with FBV.

Yeah, he was the one riding Fred Venables' belt loops like it was a- Mm-hmm a, a ski tow rope.

Now obviously he's, he's higher up in the, in the food chain now.

Mm-hmm.

But how much did it help bringing somebody who understood that, who is in contact with your players every single day?

I mean, it was, it was critical.

So I started recruiting Smo, way before I took this job.

So when, when I started to become serious about, transitioning to the, the, the next step in, in the progression to become a head coach, I started recruiting him.

Because one, the person that he is, first of all, he's a, he's a tremendous father, tremendous husband.

You know, he's a, he's a person of faith.

He's very devout in, in what he believes.

And then there was alignment because we came from the same place, so he knew exactly, the k- the type of culture that I wanna build.

And he and his staff are the ones that spend the most time with our players.

They have the most contact, with our players throughout the course of the year, so it was critical.

And if I could give any advice to, to anybody that's, you know, preparing to transition to the head coaching, position, your first hire and your most important hire is your, is your strength coach.

You know, a- as the entire world is still digesting what Indiana did last year- Mm-hmm in their national championship run, I think the number one thing that everybody wants to know is how?

How did that happen?

How did you do that?

What's the secret sauce?

And, you know, I think the original person who built a program and turned something in, from, from good to great to elite was Dabo.

Mm-hmm.

Dabo's been a head coach for a long time.

Yeah.

We've heard him say a lot of things over a lot of different topics over the years, and it feels like less of a mystery.

But if you could articulate what you think it was that made him successful in those first four years- Building up- Right into those championship games that you wanted to bring, h- how would you articulate what that secret sauce was from Dabo- Yeah and what you're trying to replicate there?

So, so the, the secret sauce is, is one, creating a, a, a belief and, and an attitude of, of gratitude in the opportunities that you have, and then establishing standards, and then not being willing to relent on your standards regardless of, of what, may, may be the perception or what may be the popular thing to do outside of your organization.

So it's the belief, it's the standards, and then the investment in people.

Like, I, I think that people don't realize how much he invests, you know, not just in individuals like me that are, that are coaches, that are coordinators, but he invests in everybody in that, in that organization.

And he can find, he can find the, the, the area in a person where they may be struggling with belief in themselves, and he knows how to activate that for, for other people.

So for you, because you did take a little bit different path, right?

Mm-hmm.

And, and you mentioned that you, you, you changed as your, your path as a head coach progressed, but he, he was slower to use the transfer portal.

You had no choice- That's right but to do it.

How do you maintain the culture you want, the belief you want, you know, people being together the way you would like them to be with a more transient population?

Right.

You, you, you have to stay committed to looking for fit.

Fit is the most important thing first, and that was what I learned while I, while I was at Clemson under Coach Swinney.

It was always about the right fit.

I remem- remember saw some really, really talented running backs that I, that I wouldn't recruit because I knew that they wouldn't fit, inside the organization with the standards that we had and the way that, that, that coach operated.

So really challenging the staff to make sure that we find the right fit.

And then once they're here, all of them are mine.

It doesn't matter if, if, if I got them for six months or if I got them for six years, we're going to, you know, serve the heart, not the talent.

We're gonna invest in the holistic approach and, and, and then I think if we do that, what we can do is retain guys that, that are in the program that truly understand the culture, and then if we find the right fit with the guys coming in the portal, then they'll mesh well together and you can maintain, the, the environment that you have here.

But then also, too, staff-wise, retention on the staff was really, really big, for me, because again, having to teach the staff, right, the culture, and then having to teach a bunch of new players the culture will be very, very difficult year in and year out.

All right, you're mute.

There we go.

Okay.

There you go.

15 carries for 110 yards, Coach.

Yeah, too much.

Is that too much?

Okay.

Yeah, have you had your talk with Beau Verbeurgt yet?

Yeah.

He's, he's a little sore, today, but, but I think, you know, a lot of it was, was, I think he was just eager to, to get back out on the grass and prove, who he is.

And so, you know, there were some options there for him to, to maybe throw the ball and, and, and some RPO stuff, and, but he was, man, he had a look in his eye.

So yes, there's, there's, there's been a little bit of conversation.

There'll be more going on, throughout the course of, the next two weeks before we, before we play.

But yeah, or, but at the same time, too, I think, I think he's willing to do whatever it takes, and I think if you go back and you watch kind of, you know, my progression over the, my years as a coordinator, and in certain games, you know, the neutralizer was the quarterback and his ability to run, and sometimes you gotta use him.

So, would prefer him not to have to take, 15 hits through the course of the game, but I think that game plan-wise, that was, the, the, the approach.

But Coach, it was electric.

I mean, it was fun to watch.

Yeah, it, it was fun- it was fun to, it was fun to watch.

I, I just, you know, for, for him and, and, you know, that many hits throughout the course of, you know, 12, maybe 13, 14, 15 games because we wanna play a bunch, I don't know if that's what's best for his, for his career going forward, so we gotta do right by him.

But he's willing.

That's, that's what you saw, is that this guy is a selfless guy that's willing to do whatever it takes to, to help the team win.

I mean, for most quarterbacks, I mean, we only had three pass attempts in the first half, right?

So some quarterbacks would be coming to the sideline like, "Well, Coach, at least let me, let me try to throw the ball.

Let's do something."

Like, he was like, "Nah," he just, "Hey, whatever it takes."

That was my favorite part, is you would run the ball 30 something times and thrown it three times in the first half.

Yeah.

And you come out in the second half, flea flicker, play action, play action, touchdown.

All right, so- So- So, so this is, this is where I guess I've, I've grown as a, as a head coach, right?

Because, Coach Kitchings, has free reign, offensively.

I don't, I don't, I don't interject, too much.

But also at halftime, man, I'm, I'm worried about the defense, special teams, all of that.

So then they come to me right before the offense is getting ready to go out and like, "Hey, Coach, how do you feel about a flea flicker?"

And I'm like, "Ah, we're running the ball."

And then, and I said, "All right, we got outlets.

It's safe."

I said, "Okay, just make sure that..." And the next thing I know we hit that one, and Kitch calls another pass play, and then he calls a third one.

I'm about to be like, "Hey, Kitch, run the ball," and then we hit the third one for a touchdown.

So, I guess, I guess I've also, maybe I'm not as in tune as a play caller as I used to be, back in the day- now that I'm a head coach.

But, but no, I think- You gotta be, you gotta be pretty good, though, to be leading 17-nothing with three pass attempts in 2026, no?

Well, it's just, it's, it's crazy games, sometimes, right?

And, and, and I think what, what I learned, as a, as a coordinator was, man, if it's not broke, don't try and fix it.

Sometimes you, you can talk yourself out of, of, of doing what's best, to give yourself, a chance to be successful.

I see X Brown's picture just popped up.

Man, super proud of him and, and how he ran the ball and played.

So just, you know, the guys, wanted to set the tempo running the football, and sometimes as a coach you just gotta get out the way and let the guys, you know, go play.

He had a run near the goal line, I wanna say it was on a third and short or a fourth and short- where he just annihilated a r- a linebacker who was trying to tackle him.

He's coming off an ACL.

Yep.

How, how gratifying is it when, when you see a guy who's And, and you've got a, a bunch of guys on your team- Mm-hmm in that situation, where they're coming back from injuries, to see them be fully healthy and, and, and be what they're supposed to be.

Yeah, that's, it's, to be honest with you, it's, I'm not able to articulate the, the gratitude, the joy, and, and just the excitement that I have for a lot of the guys on the roster, but X Brown in particular because, you know, X Brown was here, you know, through the tragedy, right?

He was, he was part of, he was part of that class that committed to the previous staff that, that, that we honored their scholarships and, and brought 'em in and, and he chose to come even though the, the, the staff he was going to play for was, was leaving, and he stuck around, and he's battled through injury and, and he'll do whatever, we ask of him.

And so he's a true culture bearer for our program.

He's, he's deeply ingrained in the fabric of, of this staff and where this program is because of all that he's persevered.

So to see him, I just, I can't fully articulate, just how good that makes you feel when you see him have success.

And then I know that, man, he's, he's given it up for the program, right?

He's, he's, he's, he's laid it on the line.

Like, he's got battle scars.

And so man, it's just awesome to see, to see X Brown, have success.

And, and I, and I didn't know what to expect, to be honest with you, right?

Because he's coming off ACL, he's having to wear a, a knee brace in practice.

I thought he ran hard, I thought he played fast, I thought, I thought, he, he really attacked his, his recovery, and it showed.

So you, you mentioned the tragedy and- for those who don't know, you had three of your players murdered- in your first season.

How, and I know you've talked about this a ton, but I, I'm, I'm just curious th- those of you who are still there staff-wise, player-wise- how did that change you and, and w- what have you done to honor all those guys?

Yeah, so I mean, it's just, it's, it's put everything in perspective, for me.

Obviously I walked in the door, you know, wanting to come here to, to build something similar to what I, I had left, right?

And then we had the tragedy, and it really, really, connected me to the mission of the program.

And so our mission is to build champion men, you know, to sort their heart, not their talent.

And, and that, having gone through that and to, to forever, you know Man, tho- those three young men, I'll never see 'em again.

Their families are still recovering, have been devastated, by, by what happened.

Really to be honest with you, how it's, how it's, it's changed me is, is it's really, deepened my faith, my level of faith.

Because there were many times where I questioned, why me, why this, why these guys, why these families?

And, and now that we're kinda, you know, on the other side a little bit, right?

And, and we're still, you know, healing, but we're closer to healing than we are, where, where we were, three years ago or four years ago.

So I'm just a, I'm, I think I'm a better human being, because of it.

I got a lot more purpose, and this program and what we do to honor 'em is, you know, we walk by 'em every single day.

So in our facility we have our, our gear display where we display the different uniform combinations.

We have, mannequins dressed in the likeness of, LeVelle, Devin, and Deshaun all the way down to what they wrote on their eye black, the number of wristbands that they wore.

So we're constantly reminded of that.

Every young man that joins this program knows that they may not have been here, through that, but they're signing on to, to help us carry their legacies, forward.

Tony, I know, being a football coach is a very deep thing a lot of times, you know.

You, you gotta harbor student athletes, you want education, you want to be a good football team, you wanna follow the rules.

There's so many different things that go into it.

But when something like that happens, just, just like being a human being- That's right and, and a position of power, like, and like, I mean, how does that form you into the coach that you are?

Yeah, so it, it, man, it, it knocks you down to, to rock bottom.

Like, like you, you There, there's no playbook for that, right?

There, there's no And I went through a lot of different, progra- a lot of programming to prepare to be a head coach, and that was never part of the, the preparation process.

So there is no, there is no playbook, for that.

And so at the end of the day, the only thing that can get you through is what you believe in and who you believe in, and leaning on that to give you the strength every single day.

Because there were days that you, that I didn't wanna do it.

There were days that I'm like, "Hey, look, I could walk away right now and, and move on to, to something else."

And then, the Lord reminds you that, "Hey, this is all part of, of the journey and I chose you for this time."

And so, I think it, it, it, it, it takes the, the, the things that you described out of it and it, and it reconnects you to your core of why you got into coaching, which is to, help young people, maximize, their, their potential.

So for those who don't know, you, you graduated Clemson with an industrial engineering degree.

Mm-hmm.

You went to work at Michelin- out of college.

You could, you could've lived a very different life.

Like- Very different if you could go back now and talk to the young Tony Elliott who's got a, a good job, like I, I- I think you told me what your starting salary was, but it, it was something really good for turn of the century.

Oh, yeah.

But if you could tell him what he, how he was gonna grow by quitting that job and becoming a coach, what, what would you say?

Oh, I, f- first I would say don't change a thing other than if you can, just try to be present in the moment a little bit more, along the, along the way.

But, man, it was, it was necessary for me to go that route, right?

And I, and I needed to, to, to experience things in that aspect of life to pr- help prepare me to be a better, a better coach.

But I would just tell him, "Hey, get ready.

It's gonna be a heck of a ride.

There's gonna be some tough days, ahead.

But man, just persevere, and if you do, then the Lord will reveal to you the meaning of each of those situations and those circumstances that you went through."

And, and I wouldn't change, I wouldn't change anything.

I am endlessly and forever will be amused by the fact that Michelin Tires is a tire company that, also- rates restaurants.

I, I, you know, I, I didn't know if that was a, there was a connection.

I've heard of Michelin ratings.

Is it the same?

Like, seriously?

They wanted- Yes, I think, yeah, they wanted you to get in the car and drive around Europe and- Well, I actually went to Europe and, and- Yeah spent some time over there, but, Lord.

Yeah.

Yeah, they want you to drive around- That, that, that's why wear down your tires and go to restaurants.

It's, it's, but it's a wonderful thing- Well- of like just randomness here's, here's what, here's what I know for my time at, at Michelin.

There's a reason why, you know, it's the best tire, in the, in the world, the standards that they have.

So it doesn't surprise me that, you know, that they would be the top of the, the food rating industry as well, just because of the, of the standards that they have.

All right, so we know Michelin's rules for life.

Now we need to know yours.

You're a first time guest, so we always ask them the same question.

Tony Elliott, what are your rules for life?

Man, really just treat, treat people the way you wanna be treated, right?

For, for me it's, it's always about, respect and, and I, and I come from a, an upbringing where you give, you give respect in order to get respect, and just, just treat other people the way you wanna be treated.

And if you do that, then you'll, you'll put yourself in position to accomplish whatever goals you have, have set for yourself because you have the humility, right, to, to think of others, before you think of yourself.

We got another one.

Okay.

Now, this is an easier question.

Every head coach now we're asking this question because this, this topic came up over the summer.

We, we just couldn't figure it out.

With certain coaches, we could not figure it out.

Mm-hmm.

It was like, so I think Joey McGuire might have posted a picture- Okay of the Corvette he drives on Sundays if they win.

Yep.

But what is Are, are, are we a, are we a car guy, SUV guy, or a truck guy?

Oh.

Oh, man.

All three.

To be honest with you, all three, 'cause, I'm glad, I'm glad, Coach pulled out his Corvette, 'cause I, I, I, I got me one in the off season, so I'm not and I, and I kinda felt bad, but now that I saw Joey, I saw he did a, I think it was with Reese, right?

And he did a- Mm-hmm, yep special from his car, and I'm like, "Okay, I'm not the only one."

So, I, I got the cars.

I, I'm an old school car guy, right?

So I ha- Back when I was, at Clemson in 2015, I, I got a, a 1996 Chevy Impala.

So I got an old school.

And then I just, I just traded my truck back for, for an SUV.

So I used to be a truck guy, 'cause my boys, rode dirt bikes and four-wheelers and, and, and did all that stuff.

But now they're older, playing baseball.

They don't, they're not interested in that.

I traded the truck for an SUV.

So you're, you have to throw them a car- What's your daily driver?

In the back of the SUV now.

What do you, so what do you drive every day?

To be honest with you, it kinda, it kinda depends.

So, so the, the SUV is supposed to be the daily driver, but the '96 Impala gets driven, a good bit.

And then the Corvette is usually, like, a Sunday car.

Kinda like Coach McGuire.

Love that.

Shout out, Coach McGuire.

He texted me after the game.

I appreciate that.

That meant, that meant a lot.

So all three.

This is the first all three answer we've gotten.

So I like that.

Well, I'm a, I'm a car guy.

Coach.

And, and, and I got one more- Yeah.

I got one more- And they're all on Michelins I take it I got Well, most of them, most of them do have, do have Michelins, on it.

I do have one more, one more car on the wish list that, that, that I'm, I'ma work on here over the next couple years.

And what's that?

It's a, it's a 1964 Chevy Impala.

It's like the le- That's the Let Me Ride video, right?

Yeah.

That, that, that's, that's- And you know what?

Him rolling in a six four.

After that on, do, do, do.

Yeah.

That's right.

So having, having, having Was born in California, lived there for, for 12 years until, family circumstances, brought me back east.

I always said I wanted, I wanted to get me one.

And it's gonna be like, Boyz N The Hood style too.

It's gonna, it's gonna sit on the- Oh, we're gonna have switches?

Oh, yeah.

Hydraulics?

Well, it may be, it may be air.

'cause, 'cause hydraulics, I just, I don't have time to, to keep up the batteries and do all that stuff, but I mean, you shoulda seen when I was a kid, like, my, my room, me and my cousin, we had Lowrider Magazine, and we just had- '64 Impalas everywhere.

So that's my next, that's my next, So I am, I am truly a So if there's anything about Coach Elliott, two things are true.

First, I am a car guy, right?

I have proof of that, and I am truly a sneaker guy, right?

So like- Okay I don't just, I don't just do, like, sneakers to, to act like I'm cool.

I, I really, I really am a sneakerhead.

I know.

You know- Well, I've seen the custom You had the, you had custom Air Force 1s at ACC Media Days- Yep a couple years ago.

Yep.

What, what did we go with this year?

So this year I don't, So, so actually, so what has happened is my wife has, like, she's kind of finally broke me down, so she, she picks out, some designer ones.

Kind of the ones, you know, them ones that they, that they wear, like the brands that I won't, I- Oh, the, the ones the players wear that I never, I've never heard the brands- Yeah, like some of those but I know they cost more than my car?

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's right.

So I don't have any of those, but, like, I got a couple, like, I got a couple of Golden Goose.

Like, she, she's got me into those.

But, but mostly so- D- so, so mostly I wear Travis Scott's on, on game day.

So I really, I really like that sneaker, that Air Jordan 1, uh- Yeah ...with all the different- Ari, tell him how you got your Travis Scott's.

Huh?

I'm asking Ari to tell you how he got his Travis Scott's.

He got lucky here.

Oh, how'd you get your Travis Scott's?

I wish it was me.

I hit, I ha- well, I actually have two different pairs.

Okay.

One I hit on a SNKRS auction.

There you go.

So I just got l- or SNKRS drawing, so I got lucky.

Gotcha.

And then I also bought one off of a website like StockX.

Okay.

And then I, they came, and I wear a size 10, and they were a half size too big for some reason.

Okay.

Although all A- AJ 1's fit the same, these ones were too big.

Yeah.

Okay.

So I was like, I don't feel like, you know, re- you can't return shoes to StockX 'cause they're, they're not, it's not the retailer.

Right.

It's somebody selling them to you.

And I took them to a, resale store just to get rid of them 'cause I was never gonna wear them.

They didn't fit.

I just wanted to sell them and get some money back and just buy some other ones, and I found out that they were counterfeit.

Oh, wow.

So, I got, I got kind of scammed there.

And I ended up just wearing them and- Yeah ...just, like, not caring about them.

Um- I thought they sent you the real ones because of that.

That's right.

They did.

But I, I never, never worn the real ones.

I still have the fake ones that I wear.

You're smart, you're smarter.

Well, you know, nobody's, like, nobody's gonna know.

No.

Other than you told everybody, like, now you told, you told all, like- I know ...like, million followers.

Well, it's not, I'm not a f- The fake sneaker thing, like, I'm not doing it for, for vanity.

That's right.

I just like the way they look too, like you.

But- That's right ...um, I was kind of upset 'cause it's like it had one of those things on it that was authenticate.

Yeah.

It's like, did anybody authenticate this?

That's right.

Like, th- y- That's right.

Does anybody know what the word authenticate means?

'Cause you failed.

That's right.

That's right.

It needs, it needs some of that, that Michelin Adam Smotherman quality control that, uh- Well, Tony, what do you think's the best sneaker ever made?

What's your favorite sneaker?

Ooh, the best sneaker ever made is the, is the Air Jordan 4.

The 4's.

The 4, to me, is the best.

It's so funny 'cause when that came out, I was living in, in Key Largo.

We would go to the Cutler Ridge Mall.

Mm-hmm.

And I would walk by Champs and just stare at it 'cause my, there was no way in hell my mom was ever paying $100 for a shoe.

Yeah.

So I know I was never gonna get a pair, and I would just stare at them.

And then I got old enough to buy the shoes I wanted, and I got a- Mm-hmm ...I got a pair of Air Jordan 11s, and I was gonna get some 4s.

But then I put the 11s on my feet, and I wear 13s, and those are clown shoes.

They look terrible.

And I was like, "You know what?

I think the 4's maybe not for me.

Maybe it's something to stare at, but never something to wear."

Do you ever wonder how Michael Jordan played basketball in those shoes?

They're so heavy.

In the 4s, yeah.

Yes.

The 4, the 4s, the 4s- Yeah ...the ac- 11s are a little more comfortable than the 4s.

The 4s are not very comfortable.

And so- Yeah ...matter of fact, we, we watched the, this, this past weekend we watched, I think, episode five of, of The Last Dance 'cause we only had 45 minutes.

We had another function to go to.

And that was his return to the Garden when he wore the 1s again.

Oh.

And his feet were bleeding.

Where he just, he just beat up his feet 'cause they were horrible.

Oh, he just beat up his feet because they were, they were horrible.

But, like, yeah, so the 4s, now the three, the crazy thing is the 3s are very comfortable.

Yeah.

The 3s are comfortable, but the 4s not, not as comfortable.

But now when you look at the types of shoes that basketball players wear now, like, I don't know how Air- Mm-hmm ...like, Michael Jordan played in any of them.

That's right.

You know, I guess, like, the technology has improved, so they're different.

But, like- 'Cause everybody else was, was just as- They're clunky.

They're big, clunky shoes ...out of Chuck Taylor, so they, their, their standards weren't as high.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

You know?

Like, I don't know how guys survived playing in Chuck Taylors.

Like, how, how, like, they could still walk.

Yeah.

Like, there's no support at all in a, in a Chuck Taylor.

But- Yeah.

And n- now you can get Air Jordan 11 cleats, so.

How about that?

That's crazy.

Like, and my guys got them too.

They got them in the- Yeah ...all black patent leather and, and, But yeah, so I'm truly, I'm truly a, a s- sneakerhead and, and, collect, I collect sneakers and, and, so.

Well, I tell you what, you keep winning the way you're winning, that 6.4 Impala's coming your way sooner rather than later.

Yeah.

So.

Well, that, that would be, that'd be nice.

I gotta see that.

That'd be nice.

I got, I gotta, I kinda, I gotta, I got my eye on, on, on planning.

Like, I'm, in my head I'm just planning, like, okay, what, what color, is it gonna be?

Is it gonna be a, a hardtop, or is it gonna be a drop top?

But- Well, it, it's gonna be so much fun to watch the rest of this.

I, I don't know, if there are gonna be many more 23 play drives, but, uh- ...we shall see.

Tony, thank you so much, and, and good luck the rest of the way.

And congratulations.

Yeah.

That was an awesome game.

What a way to start the season.

Oh, appreciate you.

And, and hopefully it sets the tone for you guys.

We're gonna be watching, and, you making yourself available to us today or a few days after that, that was great, and, really appreciate you, and good luck this year.

No, I appreciate you guys.

This has been a lot of fun.

Thank you.

Ari, that's Tony Elliott.

And, and to get back to our Dabo conversation, you know, we've talked a lot about how Clemson is different since Brent Venables left to become Oklahoma's coach.

But I think it's important to note that that was the same time Tony Elliott also left- Mm-hmm ...to become Virginia's coach.

That's a lot to lose at one time.

Well, I also think that if Virginia continues on their trajectory, which is ACC Championship Game, appearance last year, and then maybe it becomes a factor in the ACC again.

That as Tony Elliott's profile rises, the thought process that applied to Brent Venables, which is, you know, Clemson was very successful with one of the best defensive coordinators in the country.

You know, maybe you start to appreciate the other side of the ball a little bit too.

So, you know, I, I think that, again, I'm a Mr. Jump-to-Conclusions guy.

It was, a week zero game, but it was a week zero game against one of the most consistent programs in the conference that they play in.

Yeah.

And it wasn't just a win.

They beat them last year, by the way.

They didn't just win, they Yeah, and that was their, like, w- their, their only ACC loss up until the end of the year, I think.

Well, it wasn't, that wasn't even an ACC game last year.

It wasn't last year.

That's right.

Yeah.

That was the weird non-ACC, ACC game.

It's like this one was an ACC game though, right?

Yeah.

I mean, playing against the team in your conference in week one and beating them 34 to eight, the three pass, attempts in the first half while having a 17-nothing lead.

I mean, I don't know.

There's a lot of really good things that you can take from that win, and I have Virginia circled as a team to watch, in the ACC now that I maybe under, didn't appreciate enough going into the year.

Yeah.

Yeah, Ari, if we look at Virginia's schedule, it's manageable.

They've got Florida State in Tallahassee on October 3rd.

We'll see what Florida State winds up being.

And then they've got SMU, Duke, Wake Forest, Cal.

That's, that's the, the part that's gonna determine whether they're in the mix for the ACC title again.

If they go three and one in that stretch, I, I bet we are talking about Virginia going back to the ACC title game for, for- Yeah a second year in a row, so I think that's- And, and if we are, then Tony Elliott will come back on the show, 'cause that was awesome.

I had a really good time talking to him.

Well, we're gonna, we're gonna have to have him back no matter what.

I wanna, I wanna know if he gets the Impala.

The- Yeah the Six Fo, 'cause- He should.

That is, that would be fun.

'Cause I, I remember watching those videos when I was a kid.

Obviously I didn't, I wasn't, I never went to Southern California till I was an adult, so I never got to see any of those cars actually riding around, but that would be so cool- Yeah.

It's, uh- if he switches.

To, to go, into adulthood, I think that a lot of times the things that we want or the things that we desire just are reminiscent of our youth and where we're from and what we, we grew up wanting.

And I hope for him that he gets that.

I'm sure he will.

Why wouldn't he?

He deserves it.

He's the head coach of a- Yeah of a Power Four football program.

We'll get the car, Tony.

Yeah, absolutely.

Earned it.

All right.

Speaking of, of things in Southern California, we gotta talk about the, the picture that was making the rounds on Saturday.

USC played San Jose State to open its season.

The week zero game, this was the replacement for the Notre Dame game.

USC can, can claim all it wants that Notre Dame ducked out of the series.

We all know it was USC who ducked out of the series, because their Big 10 schedule was really hard this year.

Their fans did not show up at all.

It was mostly empty at the Coliseum.

It was very hot that day in Los Angeles, and that is, the excuse that is being given out, is it was really hot, unseasonably hot, unusually hot, and it really was.

It was in the 90s.

It's unusually humid in Los Angeles right now, so the heat index was, was in the triple digits, I believe.

And this is a place where the average temperature, the average high temperature this time of year is 77 degrees.

So obviously the population not used to temperatures like that.

But those of us who cover the sport understand that the heat indexes will be higher in places like Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Athens, Georgia, and maybe Lubbock, Texas.

And the opponents might not be that great either, and people will show up.

So that's been the great, the great debate is, you know, are USC fans bad fans because they didn't show up?

And I don't think they're bad fans, but I do think Georgia fans and Alabama fans care way more than USC fans do.

Like, that's undeniable.

Yeah.

I mean, I don't even know if that's a debate that we should even engage in.

Like, that's just a fact.

So, yeah.

Well, but, but that's what they're saying.

I had USC fans saying, "Well, it doesn't mean they care more."

Actually, it does.

Like, it's o- a- a- and that's okay.

Like, if you don't care as much as they care or if you have better things to do because you live in a place where there's more going on, that's fine.

That's your prerogative.

But they're going to laugh at you, so you're gonna have to deal with that.

Now, here's the other part from my standpoint, Ari.

It doesn't matter if they have good fans or not.

I only care if they have a good team.

And whether the fans show up or not, like they play Fresno State on Friday night, whether the fans show up or not for the Fresno State game, I don't care.

I just- Yeah wanna know if they're gonna be good or not.

And- Yeah.

And if they are good- USC starters were on the field Saturday.

Yeah.

They looked awesome.

So.

If they are a good team, and I think that they have a chance to be, my thought process is if they somehow figure out a way to beat Oregon at the end of this month, the stands aren't gonna be an issue moving forward.

No.

Obviously, the temperatures will come down.

The games will be, more competitive.

But, you know, the funny thing about this, this whole thing is, you know, everybody's talking about the heat and whether, you know, there's shade in the Coliseum and all the different things and whether or not- There is none.

You had a, a, a good context, in the discussion that we had off-air about this, which is, it is unseasonably hot in California right now.

Like, it, it's not, people who live there aren't used to it.

And if you're not used to something, it feels more intense than maybe- Yes somebody in- Yeah the south might feel.

For, like, for me, 95 degrees with a lot of humidity is every day where I live for four straight months.

So it's not unusual.

It wouldn't be hard for people who live where I live.

And they will do this, by the way.

They've got a night game at Florida the first game, so it's not like they gotta worry about the, the, the heat and the, and the sun, but they'll have afternoon games that are in the same kind of temperature, and they'll, they'll show up.

There'll be 90,000 people.

But that's what they're used to.

If you put me- What's lost in this- in Michigan- Yeah you put me in Michigan on a February in, you know, a Tuesday in February, I'm gonna be miserable and being, a- and I'll be like, "I, I can't even set foot outside."

I can't, I can't because I'm not conditioned to it.

You know what's lost in this entire discussion, though?

Enough of the weather.

People don't wanna watch bad games.

Yeah.

Like, w- it would be awesome if they played Notre Dame.

You wanna know something?

I know this for a fact.

Well, they're, they're gonna say Notre Dame could have played in week zero and didn't.

Okay.

It doesn't matter.

What I do know- Yeah is if Notre Dame was playing USC on Saturday, the stadium would've been fuller.

So, like, you know, it, part of it is they're playing an overmatched opponent where they're favored by 20-something points or whatever it was.

I get it.

You don't wanna sit out in the heat to watch your team beat the crap out of somebody.

But the thing that bothers me more than anything is we are in this perpetual cycle with USC of is this the year they finally break through?

Is this the year they make the playoff?

Is this the year that Lincoln Riley coaches himself off the hot seat?

And it actually looks like this team has a chance to do something really f- really, really different.

You know, I wrote a story, after the game was over, but Andy, they had 16 true freshmen playing in this game.

Did you see that Luke Wafo play?

Of course you did.

The one where he- Of, of course I did blasted the- the- And Trent- Trent Wiley was awesome too left tackle.

Yeah, yeah.

They, they, th- th- these guys were as advertised.

They've got a lot of really good true freshmen who can have an impact on top of the, the players that they brought back.

And if you are a USC fan who is excited about this, there's only one other team in the country, like, this is the question I asked last night in the text, but how many teams with national championship aspirations would struggle to fill out their stadium in the- in their opener?

And the only other one that could come to mind is another team that's very good that has had bouts of making- being made fun of for their lack of attendance, and that's Miami.

But as you pointed out- Which geographically has a lot of the same features.

Yeah.

There's- But it got beaches too.

Pro- proximity to the ocean and nightlife and all these different things, like, yeah, I get it.

Like, they're- those are two of the coolest cities anybody would wanna live.

That said, Miami set a, set a program attendance record last year.

And Miami's also dealing with a stadium that's harder to get to.

Now, I don't know if that's an excuse because fans don't live on campus all the time, you know?

Like, but- yeah, I mean, I don't know if that mat- Like, the Coliseum is closer to USC's campus than Hard Rock Stadium is to Miami's campus, but it's still, like, it's LA.

But every- Like, there's traffic.

But every, every, college program that has a stadium that's far away from campus struggles with attendance, don't they?

Now, that, that seems to be the case because most- but it's not many programs now.

Yeah.

And UCLA is kind of the, the standard bearer for that.

And those, and UCLA also hasn't been traditionally, really, really great at football the last few years, so you know, that's also taking into account that.

Well, okay.

But- Joey McGuire, the Texas Tech coach, chimed in on this, which bit of a stray coming from Joey McGuire, but here, here he is talking USC.

Not to take any shots, because I have a lot of respect for, you know, USC and Lincoln Riley, but man, it's really awesome to be playing in Lubbock, Texas, knowing we're gonna be playing in front of 60,000, and it's gonna be warm.

It's gonna be every bit as warm as it was Saturday.

The, the great thing is we got some really tough people at West Texas that love their football, and they're gonna show up.

And, no matter what the weather's like, there's not gonna be any excuse of why they're not gonna be here for us.

Not to take any shots.

Sort of like no pun intended, like, I'm about to take some shots here.

Yeah.

I could imagine, too, that it's probably gonna be much hotter in Lubbock, right?

We can check the weather in Lubbock.

They are playing Abilene Christian, by the way.

No, it'll at least be similar.

Um- They're playing Abilene Christian.

I do like the not to take any shots here and then takes a shot.

And then I'm gonna call the entire population soft.

The high, the high on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, will be 95.

Humidity 48%.

Okay, that's not as bad as I thought.

So you will, you will be dealing with triple digit heat indexes.

Yeah.

My, my, kind of am here for Joey McGuire being a commentator on all things happening in college football from Lubbock.

Yeah.

'cause I don't s- I fail to see the connection.

Also, also a night game.

But the way the weather works there- Yeah is it's still really hot.

Yeah.

At six, 6:00 at night, so.

Yeah, yeah.

So I guess there's really nothing new to be Like, we didn't learn that USC doesn't care as much as Georgia or Michigan or other teams.

We knew that.

But I also think, too, that they have a really good chance of, of being very good this year, and if they do, then the attendance will solve itself.

But there was a statement.

Well- River has the statement.

I have never seen it verbatim.

Yeah, let's, let's hear the USC statement.

This is, this is good.

We understand the factors that impacted Saturday's attendance.

We have high expectations and a premier home schedule this season, and we know the competitive advantage an electronic, an electric Coliseum atmosphere can provide our program.

We thank our fans who showed up Saturday and look forward to seeing increased attendance the rest of the season.

That's passive aggressive.

Also, they use your favorite word.

Electric.

And I, and I, and that was the part of the statement that I stumbled over, believe it or not.

That you mangled.

That's perfect.

I don't know how that happened, but yeah, I, I, I don't know that Was that just like, "Get to the, get your asses to the games"?

Is that how you pronounce that?

I think that's what that was.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

Is that how you translate that?

Yeah.

We read an email- We spent way too much money in NIL and getting freshmen onto this fricking team for you not to show up and support these guys.

Get your asses to the games.

Yeah, get, get those beer swords.

You can buy beer in a sword now at USC.

It's pretty- It's pretty cool pretty cool looking.

I'm sure it costs ungodly amounts of money for domestic beer in a sword, but I don't know.

I might have a couple swords.

Ari, a few weeks ago, we read an email from Richard in Eagle Rock.

Yes.

We sure did.

And he was a, a very eloquent USC fan and kind of put things in perspective for us.

Well, he sent us another email, so we're gonna now read this from Richard from Eagle Rock because I think he, he sums it all up very nicely from the USC fan's perspective.

Andy and Ari, a few weeks ago, you indulged this USC fan's rant, so how about another?

Last Saturday, USC played San Jose State with poor attendance from fans, which is going viral.

Now, I have been a fan for just over 20 years, and even with heavy traffic, I can be at the Coliseum in 45 minutes.

I saw the tickets at less than $20 for some good seats.

Yeah, get your seats on GameTime, everybody.

I proudly watched that game with my 74-year-old USC graduate dad.

I tell you, I have absolutely zero regrets watching that game from home.

I hear about soft fans and how about, and about how everyone, everywhere else the stands would be filled.

That misses the point.

College football isn't a duty.

It's not taking care of your kids, elderly parents, or fighting the Germans in World War II.

It's supposed to be fun.

What's fun about 94 degrees Fahrenheit that felt like 100 plus due to humidity that we normally don't have, middle of the day with no shade, too early to really tailgate, all while being gouged on everything from parking to concessions?

The thing is that every bit of that could've been forgiven if they had actually played someone worth it.

USC was a 38-point favorite, and what's fun about that?

Win when you're, win how you're supposed to, boring.

Win close game that was actually good, we're pissed off that it happened and in a full-blown depression about the rest of the season.

Lose, literal hell.

I've seen my team lose as a 40-point favorite 20 years ago, that was a Stanford game, and people still won't shut up about it.

People sa- say LA isn't a sports city because of all the options.

We love sports, but the options mean we don't accept the mediocre.

I may argue in defense of USC not playing Notre Dame because that's my team, but if you don't replace it with at least a Power 14, then I'm not gonna support that.

You may say, well, Alabama versus Chattanooga, Tennessee versus Furman, and Nebraska versus Bowling Green sell out.

I don't think going to those games automatically makes you a good fan.

M- makes you a better fan than USC fans.

These games shouldn't, shouldn't sell out.

Why sell out those games and reward the mediocre?

We can't complain about scheduling lousy teams, then complain that people don't go to them.

That's complaining about the solution to the problem.

Anyways, thanks for listening to the rant.

Richard from Eagle Rock.

He's right about that, though.

We, we, we, you and I, are hypocrites.

We are.

'Cause you and I are the ones that are always screaming, "Schedule better games."

So maybe we should also be screaming, "Vote with your wallets," like USC fans did, and don't show up.

Vote with your butt.

Don't go to bad games.

That's, that, that could be a- So we're hypocrites.

Yeah.

Yeah, he, he's right.

Alabama fans and Georgia fans all showing up.

I also don't think that we were making fun of them, but you know, like- I think we were a little.

Yeah, but I understand from his perspective too, like I mean, you're, you're in one of the best cities in the country.

Like, I wouldn't I, I don't blame him for not wanting to go.

I don't blame people for not wanting to go, but I do think that they're pointing out the difference between the fans is still fair.

I still think that- Well, that's the thing.

Don't It, it, it's, and he didn't argue this.

It's, it's the w- it's the people who argue, "Well, we care just as much."

No, you don't, and that's okay.

Just admit you don't.

I mean, I probably wouldn't care as much either if I was 10 minutes from Santa Monica Pier.

Exactly.

It's okay.

It's all right.

It's, it's when you call the people who live in Lincoln or people who live in Tuscaloosa or the people in Athens or the people in, in Columbus dumb and hicks because they don't have anything better to do than go to bad football games.

Like, you're gonna get some shade thrown at you at that point.

I also think you could make the case that watching it on TV is also supporting the mediocre, because television ratings are more important than attendance.

At this point, yeah.

W- why- So- why did USC go to the Big Ten?

Why'd you watch it?

TV money.

Game cast it, bro.

Why did you watch the game?

But it's also, it's just a shame, because if you are a 'Cause Richard, to his defense, wants good games, right?

Oh no, Richard Listen, I can't, I can't argue with anything Richard said.

Richard's right.

Richard- Yeah Richard s- Richard split the di- like, he threaded the needle perfectly.

But I also think that it, it's like, it, it's unfair to be like, "Don't go to the games," or, "Don't watch the games," to the people who love it.

So like, it's kind of like a catch-22.

Yeah.

Although, like it would be nice if Nebraska would schedule a ni- a good non-conference opponent.

Yeah.

They ducked.

They were supposed to play Tennessee.

I mean, I wish there was a way to forcefully prevent teams from scheduling bad games.

Yeah.

But the only way to do that is to find your own happiness.

But Georgia shouldn't be playing Tennessee State this weekend.

Yeah.

That's What, what is the point of that?

But telling a Georgia fan not to go to the game is also to have them not be able to enjoy one of the 14 Saturdays they get a year of their favorite thing in the world.

Right, and they're gonna go.

So- They're gonna go and that, and the difference is just right there.

People who live in Georgia- Yeah and are Bulldogs, their favorite thing in the entire world is Georgia football.

Right.

I don't know if that goes the same way for USC fans.

It, it, it's different for USC.

It's- For some people, but not everyone yeah, they're- Yeah.

Well, I think the some people are the ones that showed up.

Right.

I forget what the lady's name was.

There were still more of them.

But, but Ben Bolch from the, the California Post had, had a great video of a lady trying the beer sword, and she seemed like an awesome hang.

Like- She's having a good time, yeah, yeah.

Hell yeah.

Yeah.

So- But I don't think that we found out that USC doesn't have as much of a loyal fan base as Georgia today.

We knew that.

We already knew that, yeah.

Yeah.

But again, and I will, I will hammer this point home over and over and over, and ov- ov- if nobody shows up and the team is really good, doesn't matter.

Yeah.

Also, get your ass to the game against Oregon.

That's the le- I'm sure that they won't have a problem with that, but, uh- I, I'm sure they won't, and I'm sure if they don't, the Oregon fans will fill in the gaps.

Yeah.

That's a, that's a really big game.

I think that you could go back and that might be the biggest game of Lincoln Riley's entire tenure.

Oh, 100%.

100%, because- Maybe not as big as the Pac-12 championship game in year one.

Yeah, it just But this is, it's, it's more of a referendum, 'cause obviously Pac-12 championship game in year one, going into that game, you are doing everything you're supposed to be doing.

You're on pace to make the playoff.

In the middle of the second quarter of that game, you are doing everything you're supposed to be doing.

You're on pace to make the playoff, and then Caleb Williams hurts his ankle.

Suddenly you can't tackle anymore, which I mean, you, they weren't great tacklers to begin with.

They really couldn't tackle in the second half of that game.

And- S- yeah, this- That was the But, but- This is the biggest crossroads game it was, it was year one.

Yeah.

You're like, "Oh, you'll just build, you'll just build on this."

But then they didn't And now they have built back up.

So yeah, th- this Oregon game is going to be enormous.

This Fresno State game will be interesting.

They're a good group of 16.

It probably won't be as easy as it was for USC starters against San Jose State.

If it is as easy for USC starters as it was against San Jose State, that is a really good sign for USC.

Yeah.

Fresno State care, has a pretty robust fan base that cares a lot about football too.

I don't know if you know this about me, Andy.

Yeah, maybe.

But, when I was in college, I had an internship with MLB.com, but I didn't have one of the traditional ones.

Mm-hmm.

I had a minor league one where I had to go to California and go cover a bunch of minor league games, like, with, you know, players doing rehab assignments and stuff for the, for the major league teams, and go write articles on those.

And you know where I lived?

Fresno.

Fresno.

Right, right in the You could see the stadium from my bedroom window that I subleased there.

And I found out then that people were insane for Fresno State football, and I bet you they don't give a shit about how hot it is.

It's really hot in Fresno.

It is hotter there.

Yeah.

Anyway.

So- But it will be, it will be an interesting situation Friday night because, again, if USC starters are rolling the way they were against San Jose State against Fresno State, that is another sign that things are, are going the way they're supposed to be going.

Now, you won't know until the Oregon game really, because it's Fresno State this week, it's the Ragin' Cajuns next week, then it's Rutgers, which, I mean, Rutgers obviously will be more of a challenge, and you've got to fly across country.

But the Oregon, Washington, Penn State stretch is what is going to tell you what you need to know.

Yeah.

And two of those games are at home.

So I'd imagine that the folks will show up for them.

Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Washing- Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana all in a row.

You wanna make the playoff, buddy, go earn it.

That, that's right.

And hopefully there'll be some people to watch it.

I think there probably will be.

I, I, I think at, in, in person and on television, there'll be plenty of people watching when those games begin.

And, hey, as, as Richard from Eagle Rock says, "Just schedule good games," which it's, it's a good motto to have.

Good motto to have.

It is our motto here at this show.

Just schedule good games.

Just be good.

Takes care of all your problems.

Tony Elliott, a little golden rule.

Rule for life.

Treat, treat others as you'd li- like to be treated.

That's pretty good.

Car guy, SUV guy, and truck guy.

Just a guy's guy, period.

Sneaker guy.

We learned a lot today.

We learned a lot.

Yeah, we did.

Robust episode that is over an hour and 20 minutes.

So, you know, we're- Yeah we're in football season mode.

Um- Absolutely and, you know, we've got games on Thursday.

We've got games on Friday.

We do.

We do.

We've got games on Saturday.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday.

We've got games on Sunday.

Do we have games on Monday too?

We have a game on Mon- we have a game on Monday.

Florida- What, what game's on Monday?

Wait.

You gotta run a mile if Florida State covers in that game on Monday.

So, is there an actual college game on Monday?

There isn't, is there?

R. Am I forgetting one?

What are you doing?

You have to run a mile if Florida State covers in the game that is being played on Monday night.

Oh, that's on Monday?

Oh.

I thought they were doing a bit.

Like- Oh, sorry you really forgot that.

I thought that game was on Sunday.

My bad.

No.

My bad.

Oh, no, yeah.

Yeah.

W- no, we have, we have Notre Dame, W- Wisconsin, and Ole Miss, Louisville Sunday.

Got it.

And Apple Cup on Sunday too.

But- Yeah it, it, it, it, this is, this is gonna be so much fun.

Our friend George Reister, former Oregon Duck, former Jacksonville Jaguar, joining us tomorrow.

We had a lot of fun with him a couple weeks ago.

He's got some takes.

Some takes, including a pick that is circulating on the web right now.

A game pick that is quite controversial.

We will put his feet to the fire, although I think he may agree with, I think you may agree with him on it.

We'll see.

I don't think they're gonna win.

See how it goes.

George Reister tomorrow on 89.3, presented by Poly.

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