In this episode, the Monarchists discuss spring ball and recent news for ODU Football. Key topics include the expansion of the scouting department, the impact of JUCO connections, and the returning talent on both offense and defense. The hosts also delve into position battles, focusing on the quarterback, offensive line and wide receiver groups.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message

02:20 Scouting Department Expansion

09:44 Future Game Schedules and Rivalries

16:21 Spring Ball Position Battles

26:23 Center Position Battle

28:48 Offensive Line Battle

30:01 Wide Receiver Room Talent

36:53 Kicker Position Competition

39:26 Running Back Room Analysis

41:56 Quarterback and Offensive Strategy

51:03 Upcoming Events and Announcements

This episode is brought to you by

the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation.

2

Because of you, we create winners

in the classroom, in athletic

3

competition, and in life.

4

Become a member today.

5

Mike: Monarch Nation.

6

How we doing?

7

Uh, I am back with my co-host Aaron.

8

How we doing today, buddy?

9

Aaron: I'm awesome, man.

10

It's cold as shit outside,

but Ooh, sorry, Libby.

11

Uh, but it's awesome.

12

Super Bowl Sunday.

13

Men's basketball and women's basketball.

14

Kicked some major butt last night.

15

It's a good weekend.

16

Mike: Two end Ohio.

17

All right.

18

Uh, justice, thanks for joining us today.

19

How you doing?

20

Justice: Yeah, absolutely.

21

Just trying to stay warm, man.

22

I'm, I'm up in Pennsylvania right now

and it's even colder up here, so, yeah.

23

Mike: Uh, so speaking of the Super Bowl,

you guys making anything good tonight?

24

Well, I'm not making anything good,

but I'm going to eat something good.

25

Aaron: Lisa is putting on a

Mexican extravaganza, so I'm

26

pretty, pretty stoked about that.

27

Justice: That's hilarious, Aaron,

because that's what we're doing too,

28

like fajitas, quesadillas, guacamole.

29

Aaron: You can't go wrong with that.

30

How about you, Mike?

31

Mike: I got a brisket on the smoker

right now, so, um, ooh, be ready to

32

pull in a couple hours and let it,

uh, let it go to go to town on that.

33

All right, so this week

was kind of sad for me.

34

Um, I need to make sure we honor scout.

35

So this is the first time I've ever

recorded an episode of any monarchist

36

content without Scout by my side.

37

So if you've.

38

Been an eagle eyed viewer or you're a

listener from the beginning when we didn't

39

have great audio, you would remember

her bark or see her in the background.

40

And, uh, yeah.

41

So Miss Scout, but

42

we're here to talk to, to you about spring

ball and, uh, different changes that are

43

going on with Old Dominion Athletics.

44

The first change was announced recently.

45

Uh, the scouting department

goes from three people to

46

four with the addition of Nick

47

Louvier.

48

Uh, Nick joins the program from

Mississippi Gulf Coast, which for

49

me is exciting 'cause we have had

a lot of luck with the JUCO ranks.

50

Especially in Mississippi and to continue

building those connections is, uh, just

51

the smart thing to do in my opinion.

52

You guys have any thoughts?

53

Aaron: No, I'm pretty stok about it.

54

We've seen over the course of the last

couple seasons the transformation of that.

55

Scouting, we'll just say department or

division of the program of going from

56

essentially one individual to three

individuals, to now four individuals.

57

And the investment has

paid off tremendously.

58

So I can only imagine with this

one it, um, Ricky and Hunter

59

and all those, those guys have

clearly figured out a formula here.

60

I'm excited to see what this

addition does for the program.

61

Justice: Yeah.

62

In addition to what Aaron said, like,

you know, just having more bodies

63

to be able to, you know, in, in the

current landscape of college football.

64

I just think that's important.

65

And like you said, Mike, building those

connections, we've seen like how well the

66

Hutchinson connection has worked for us.

67

Right.

68

And now that that's

another JUCO connection.

69

And then I guess we'll find out this week

what happens with the, that JUCO ruling.

70

I think that's on the 10th, but.

71

You know, it, it, in my opinion, it

could very well end up where JUCO

72

just is not gonna count anymore.

73

And so that's just, you know,

another reason I think to kind of

74

continue to build those connections.

75

And then it's an easy way for us

to get experienced players, right?

76

As we we're gonna continue to lose,

you know, guys to, to other programs,

77

to the Power four, you know, with

the NIL, the transfer portal.

78

And, you know, you're, you're gonna need.

79

To backfill that sometimes with

guys with experience and you know,

80

jucos a great way to do that.

81

Mike: Yeah.

82

And we saw our use of like our JUCO

connections really well in the portal.

83

A guy like Trey Hall,

um, he was a great juco.

84

Running back, ends up going to old Miss,

gets lost in the shuffle of one of the

85

best running back rooms in the country.

86

So it's understandable.

87

They kind of get lost in that shuffle,

but he ends up coming here to help.

88

Uh.

89

Build our running back room

to be even better than it was.

90

Bubba.

91

Craig, offensive lineman from Arkansas.

92

Another guy who kicked ass in

Juco, uh, goes to Arkansas again.

93

Another good SEC program

or, well, an SEC program.

94

Not a good one, but an SEC program where

they have a lot of talented players.

95

Maybe they weren't used correctly,

but he gets lost in shuffle.

96

We're lucky to have him here

and we get him for two years.

97

Justice: Yeah,

98

Aaron: and you're a Monarch football

fan and paid a lot of attention

99

in the last couple years and that

you're hearing JuCo players and

100

you're kind of cringing a little bit.

101

Don't.

102

This is not the same JUCO

recruiting that you had at the

103

end of the Bobby Wilder era.

104

This is a whole different

level of JUCO recruiting.

105

And one guy that we haven't mentioned yet

is your new offensive coordinator, right?

106

Cody Cook.

107

Also, with that connection,

going back to Hutch, if I, if

108

I'm not, uh, misremembering

here, really understanding the.

109

Who's the guy that can go from JUCO and

really help us out as a student athlete

110

here and who's really not, because you

gotta be able to pick the right guys.

111

Justice: I mean, and, and

we've done that, right?

112

We hit home runs.

113

You saw that with Trey Brown,

JaCory Thomas last year.

114

Uh, you go back to the, to previous years.

115

I mean, it's just, we've done really,

really well, especially the last two

116

years, recruiting juco and I think,

you know, they did the same this year.

117

Mike: Yeah.

118

Another guy I would like to

mention is Montrell Chapman.

119

Um, so in the 25 JUCO class,

he was our top rated like

120

target for Juco linebackers.

121

He ends up going to Mississippi

State and again, another guy got,

122

gets, kind of got lost in the shuffle

and uh, ends up available to us

123

and we ended up picking him up.

124

This is a guy that could

probably start next year.

125

Uh, we don't know what's

gonna happen with Mario and.

126

Koa, but we know there's

opportunities , in this linebacker

127

room to get playing time.

128

'cause you got Jahleel Culbreath

on the outs, but we also

129

play like six linebackers.

130

Yeah.

131

Um, which you kind of need now.

132

'cause how we play, they're so active

that they're gonna get beat up and they

133

need to be spelled a little bit so he

adds depth to the room and it's that

134

juco connection that brings him here.

135

To add onto that, our new offensive line

coach, um, he comes here from Tennessee.

136

Right?

137

But before Tennessee, he was the

offensive line coach at Hutch.

138

Right.

139

Aaron: I'm seeing a theme here.

140

Mike: Well, I mean,

141

what's, what are you gonna ask was,

142

Justice: was Mason thrush

at Hutch originally before?

143

I thought he was maybe another

one that was a JUCO and then went

144

somewhere before coming to ODU.

145

I might be wrong about that though.

146

Mike: Mason Thrush is a JUCO edition.

147

Justice: Okay.

148

Mike: Yeah, he played for you.

149

Wanna guess?

150

Justice: The Newline coach?

151

Mike: Yeah, the Newline coach.

152

Phil Serchia.

153

He recruited Mason Thrush to Hutch.

154

Justice: Okay.

155

Mike: So it's that whole, I don't know.

156

So we talk about coaching

hires and decisions.

157

It is a very, uh, fraternal kind of thing.

158

We've seen it through Ricky's tenure.

159

He hires guys that he or someone

else on staff has a relationship to.

160

So we've hired a bunch

of Kansas State guys.

161

Connection.

162

It right there is obvious.

163

It's Blake Seiler, Penn

State guys are his guys.

164

Um, so you had Cody Cook,

Kansas State Connection.

165

He's he was at Hutch.

166

Now he gets Serchia who's

connected to Cody Cook.

167

So it it, it's a smart way to hire

'cause you already know how these

168

guys will work in a, in that setting.

169

You already have that connection.

170

Um, it, it just makes things easier.

171

'cause when you are making hires,

you don't, if you don't know the

172

person, you don't know what to

expect and how they're gonna act in

173

an office or coaching environment.

174

Um, you can use that in

any business setting.

175

Right.

176

Aaron?

177

I mean, you, you make a lot of hires.

178

Yeah.

179

It makes the decision that much

easier if someone on your staff that's

180

trustworthy can vouch for that guy.

181

Aaron: It takes a significant

variable out of the equation.

182

For example, let's say offensive

coordinator, in the first beginning of

183

Ricky's tenure, it wasn't a place that

we had a lot of consistency and success.

184

I don't know how much you, I think

it's one of those things, yes.

185

The more that you can know ahead of

time and the more variables that you

186

can remove from the equation, the

higher likelihood of success you have.

187

Mike: Absolutely.

188

All right.

189

Other News Old Dominion

announced they will be playing

190

a home and home with Charlotte.

191

I think that one kicks

192

That's

193

Justice: correct.

194

Mike: This is the type of

game we should be playing.

195

And then on-conference schedule,

uh, obviously you're gonna play

196

your one buy game against a P four.

197

Because you need that.

198

It helps with the budget,

helps with NIL, whatever.

199

But the other two games other than the FCS

should be a G five or G six program that

200

you need wins.

201

Um, we've seen how playing a tough

schedule can really make reaching

202

bowl games and beat up the roster.

203

Before conference play is

not really beneficial to you.

204

So I, I feel like the more G sixes

we see on the schedule, the better

205

Aaron: it does.

206

It's not only winnable,

but it's travel able.

207

So if you're an Old Dominion

fan, it's not bad to go down to

208

Charlotte for that away game.

209

So I like the, I like the signing as well.

210

Justice: And, and it's

gonna be a necessary evil.

211

I don't know, maybe evil

is not the right word.

212

It's gonna be necessary in

future scheduling as we see.

213

You know, the P fours probably schedule

less and less, you know, g fives fcs,

214

as they may, might move to, you know,

more conference games, et cetera.

215

Obviously.

216

You know, less, less P four or

away games or, or games at Norfolk.

217

Um, and like to your point, you guys

218

a lot of comments about, well, you

know, Charlotte's not very good.

219

And that's, that is true.

220

They're, right now they aren't very good.

221

And I don't know that they're

gonna be very good in 26 and maybe

222

not three, seven, but you know,

I mean, you're establishing these

223

relationships now 'cause you're

gonna need 'em in the future.

224

Aaron: You know?

225

Who else wasn't very good three years ago?

226

Justice: Indiana,

227

Aaron: Indiana,

228

Mike: you can say that for a number

of teams we've played over the years.

229

Yep.

230

I think when we scheduled South

Carolina, they weren't very good.

231

Uh, when we scheduled Wake Forest,

they were the worst team in the a ccc.

232

Uh, it just,

233

Justice: yeah, change all.

234

Mike: You never know

what you're gonna see.

235

Like right now, army is a

very good football program.

236

We're playing them in the future.

237

Who knows what they're gonna be

238

Um, but 2027 we play, what is it?

239

Norfolk State, central Michigan

and Charlotte right now.

240

We'll add a, I imagine we'll add

a buy game soon enough, and that

241

should be announced sometime

before kickoff of this season, but

242

Aaron: Yep.

243

And it's nice that game's in Charlotte

because I can't imagine there's gonna

244

be a ton of Monarch fans that are

gonna be traveling to Central Michigan.

245

So it's nice to, I mean, granted that

game Charlotte is here, but those are the

246

types of, of places that you can end up

that makes it a little bit more difficult

247

to go on the road and cheer on your team.

248

Mike: Yeah.

249

Justice: One, one team.

250

I'd like to see us have like a more, a

long term schedule with kinda like the

251

Virginia Tech deal would be East Carolina.

252

That'd be pretty cool.

253

Mike: Well, I mean, we do

play them in 26, 29, 30, 31.

254

So we

255

Justice: do

256

Mike: that long

257

Justice: term deal.

258

Mike: We do have a long term

schedule with them right now, but

259

seeing that extended would be nice.

260

Um, I don't know if

there's any other teams.

261

I, I wouldn't mind playing Delaware,

seeing them pop up on the schedule.

262

That's an easy road trip.

263

Another game that kind of gives

us an idea of where we're at,

264

but doesn't, isn't gonna beat

up our roster when we play them.

265

Justice: Yeah.

266

Mike: You got any more

thoughts on the schedules?

267

Aaron: No.

268

I was thinking about Delaware

and how much money that Joe

269

Flacco is throwing in there.

270

People ought to watch out for Delaware.

271

Justice: They had a

272

Aaron: really successful jump.

273

Justice: Yeah, they, I mean, they.

274

They, uh, were bowl eligible and because

of not enough teams, they actually

275

made a bowl game last year, and they

played, they, they surprised me.

276

I didn't, I didn't expect the transition

to go as smoothly as it did for them.

277

Um, you know, they, they looked

like they're contender in

278

conference USA, so, you know,

279

Mike: it'd

280

Justice: good to get something with them.

281

Mike: I mean, that whole league was

kind of upside down this year, I think.

282

You have Kennesaw State going from

the worst team in the conference

283

to being conferenced champs, right?

284

Justice: Yep.

285

Yep.

286

Aaron: Well, they got a really dynamic

guy behind, you know, taking snaps and

287

it's amazing what that can do for a team.

288

Justice: Yes, quarterback, quarterback's

very important, and Delaware, Delaware's

289

gonna return their quarterback, um, who

had a really good year in, in 25 and 26.

290

So.

291

Mike: All right.

292

Now back to Dominion Football.

293

I guess if we're gonna stay on the

scheduling, if you're looking for

294

one P four road trip that you wanna

see added to the schedule in the

295

next few years, what would it be?

296

Aaron: Justin, you take

this one first because I'm,

297

Justice: I, I, I mean, I'd probably

say somewhere like NC State, right?

298

Like where it's, you know, drivable.

299

It's not far away.

300

They're, you know, they're a decent

team in the a, CC, good measuring stick.

301

Um, so that's probably who

I would pick The wolf pack.

302

Uh, you know, they have a, you know,

they're not, they're not the, the top

303

level a c, c, but they're, they're, you

know, always near the top every year.

304

Um,

305

Mike: I just

306

Justice: wonder

307

if

308

Mike: they're paying guarantees

high enough to get old

309

of being on the schedule.

310

Justice: Yeah, that's a good point.

311

They might not, I, I just think to

me like it, it'd be nice if it's

312

something drivable for our fans.

313

Mike: Yeah, maybe it'd be nice

to go back to North Carolina and

314

leave a better taste in our mouth.

315

Aaron: That's what I was thinking about.

316

We could put the, the final nail in

the coffin and guarantee that Belichick

317

never makes it into the Hall of Fame.

318

Justice: I was gonna say beat,

go beat Bell Bill Belichick.

319

That's always a good time.

320

Aaron: Yeah.

321

Mike: Yeah.

322

Um, but I'd also wouldn't mind like

seeing another football cathedral.

323

Going to Knoxville, going somewhere cool.

324

Maybe SEC or Big 10.

325

Um, yeah,

326

Aaron: I just like to go to Knoxville

so you could, you know, show us around.

327

Justice: That's right.

328

Aaron: All your old haunts.

329

It'd be a good trip.

330

Mike: Yeah.

331

And they continually invest in that

stadium, making it nicer every year.

332

So I think it'd be a very nice

trip for most Dominion fans.

333

Um, it's not that bad of a drive.

334

It is long.

335

But it's pretty straight.

336

It's 64 to 81 and you're there.

337

Um, all right.

338

Spring ball is coming up.

339

They've, uh, we're starting

to see, uh, the team do their

340

workouts in the weight room.

341

We're seeing who the, the, was it

the king of the jungle of the week?

342

Is that what they're calling it?

343

Justice: Yeah.

344

Is that, it's been granted two

weeks in a row, I think on there.

345

Mike: Yeah.

346

Uh, this week.

347

Quinn Hele Derian mentor and Chris Boykins

were the kings of the jungle for week two.

348

Um, Quinn obviously taking

a very good leadership role

349

in the weight room already.

350

That's great to see.

351

Um, but that kind of goes into

our next segment where we're

352

gonna talk about the position.

353

There's gonna be a lot of position battles

this spring with the turnover we saw.

354

Mostly on, most of them

are gonna be on offense.

355

'cause we do have a lot of defensive

players returning a lot of starters

356

Returning on the defensive side.

357

So on the offensive side this

spring, what position battle are

358

you gonna pay the most attention to?

359

Um, I'll, I'll give Aaron the layup here.

360

Aaron: I mean, I think the

absolute for me, oh, because

361

I've never been able to do it.

362

It's a slam dunk as opposed to a layup.

363

Um, it's gotta be quarterback.

364

It's what every fan is gonna talk about.

365

It's what every fan is talking about.

366

Every fan that understands what's

going on at ODU and every fan

367

that doesn't understand, um.

368

You've got Quinn obviously finished

the season with the Bowl game.

369

Really, really showed his toughness, his

determination and ability to get the job

370

done and to bring that team together.

371

Uh, Ryan Huff is back who is a very,

very capable and, and from what we've

372

seen probably was the most accurate

passer on the team, uh, last season.

373

And now you've got

Jackson Potters coming in.

374

So I think you've got three guys that

are gonna really battle it out and it'll

375

be, it'll be a true quarterback battle.

376

I mean, no, no one's been named a starter.

377

No one's gonna be named

a starter for a while.

378

That, I mean, at least in the past,

that's how Ricky has done things.

379

We won't know anything for a

while, so it'll be interesting

380

to see how it plays out.

381

Mike: Yeah.

382

Um, speaking of the weight room,

each of them have been challenged

383

on different things to work on.

384

Before the fall.

385

Um, Quinn, they wanna work on his accuracy

and his deep ball, understandably so.

386

He's a great athlete, but if he can become

a better passer, he is gonna be one of the

387

most dynamic quarterbacks in the G six.

388

Uh, Potter, the new guy

from Washington State.

389

He is to work on his ball placement.

390

Um, he's a big, big dude.

391

I mean, we haven't seen a quarterback

this size since probably Hayden Wolf.

392

Justice: Was he like 6 4, 6

393

Mike: 5, 6 5?

394

Um, he's, he can't, he does

have some functional mobility.

395

Um, and then you have

Ryan Huff, the young guy.

396

If you've seen him, he definitely

needs to put some muscle on his body

397

if he's gonna withstand a, a full

college ball season and he needs

398

to work on his athleticism a bit.

399

But if you have a chance

to watch this guy play.

400

You'll know after five throws that

the guy has a lot of arm talent.

401

It's gonna be a very interesting battle.

402

Justice: And, and it like going to

the bowl game when he came in for that

403

play for Quinn, like, you know, I think

most fans would've expected them to

404

run the ball, but like they have enough

faith in Ryan, they let him throw the

405

ball, you know, in a go on situation.

406

So, I mean, I think that just kind

of to your point, proves that the,

407

the guy's talent has the arm talent

and the, the staff trusts them.

408

Mike: Yeah.

409

And I don't know if we've

ever had a qi battle.

410

That has three talent, like

guys with so different skill

411

sets, but also high talent.

412

Like this is the best quarterback

battle we've ever seen.

413

Old Dominion and I, I don't think that's

really going too crazy yet on a limb.

414

Aaron: I think that's

an accurate statement.

415

Justice: At least in the

most, you know, recent years.

416

I mean, maybe you could go back to,

you know, way, way back when, when we

417

had DeMarco and Taylor or something.

418

But yeah, I mean, anytime

in recent history, for sure.

419

The most talented quarterback room.

420

Aaron: Before we go on, since you said it,

421

Mike: well, I wanna say a note on that

because that wasn't a true battle.

422

I don't think they were

given well, back then.

423

Justice: No, no, no.

424

But I, I was just thinking

from a talent perspective.

425

Mike: It was a talented QB room, but

I'm talking about an actual QB battle.

426

Like there's none.

427

We've never had one with this

much talent on the on the roster.

428

Aaron: Before we move on to the

next thing, since you said the guy's

429

name, for folks who don't know, be

paying attention sometime after the

430

Super Bowl, not too long, should be.

431

We will be having our episode

drop with Taylor Heineke.

432

So stay tuned.

433

It was a great conversation that Mike and

I had the opportunity to have with Taylor.

434

It was fun, it was informative.

435

You'll probably hear a couple stories

that you've never heard before.

436

Um, and you'll definitely hear some

news that you've never heard before.

437

So stay tuned.

438

Mike: Hopefully from what we've talked,

it might not be the last episode we do

439

with Taylor, so hopefully it's starting.

440

Justice: That's awesome.

441

Mike: A new, uh, regular guest

'cause we'd all love to see more.

442

Taylor, we're all happy that he is moved

back to the 7, 5 7 and we'll get to all

443

see more of him around Old Dominion.

444

All right, well if

we're doing news, Aaron.

445

We also are in the middle of a

transition period with OD AF.

446

Aaron: That's correct.

447

Mike: Um, part of that is our website

right now, we're the pride of ou.com

448

that will be transitioning

away and we have this little.

449

So

450

Aaron: exciting

451

Mike: od umonarchists.com.

452

We'll be back.

453

It'll be, it'll be your place for

everything you've come to, come to go

454

to Pride of OD U for, uh, behind the

Shield, our podcast, David's blogs.

455

We're gonna try to continue to

build on it, but that will be

456

our new home in the near future.

457

So keep an eye out for that.

458

We don't really have a launch

date, but we have a launch

459

expectation of sometime in March.

460

So

461

Aaron: that's right, and you can go

ahead and start building the muscle

462

memory by typing in OD Umonarchists.com.

463

It will take you to the websites

that you use right now, but

464

go ahead and start doing it.

465

Mike: Yep.

466

All right.

467

Continuing on.

468

Justice, what is the battle

that you're most excited for?

469

If it's quarterback, you

can just say that, but

470

Justice: yeah, it's not

actually, it's not quarterback.

471

Um, for me it's offensive

line just because we gotta

472

replace all five starters.

473

Um, I think, you know, I, I'm excited

by what they brought in, um, and tra

474

the transfer portal and JUCO plus the

guys we have, uh, already on the roster.

475

Um.

476

And like, that's where it all

starts for the offense, right?

477

It doesn't, it doesn't matter if

it's Quinn or Jackson or Ryan, if

478

the offensive line sucks, right?

479

That's just the way football works

and, you know, I'm just excited to

480

see, can, can we get an offensive

line that is as good or even

481

better than we had a year ago?

482

Those that, that, you know, that's

probably the, the thing that's most

483

exciting for me, I think, I don't really

make concerns the right word, but like.

484

I feel like we're gonna find a

quarterback, we're gonna find receivers.

485

Like, I feel like there's so much talent,

but all that doesn't really matter

486

unless, you know, we find five guys on

an offensive line that can block and, uh,

487

be effective like they were a year ago.

488

I mean, last year, I think at the end of

the season, we ended up with one of eight,

489

was it eight or nine teams have started

the same offensive line the whole season,

490

and that's, that's pretty remarkable.

491

It'd be amazing if we can do that again.

492

Um, but that's, that's pretty hard feat.

493

But yeah, that, that's probably the

one I'm most excited to see just

494

because I feel like if it's not

good, it's gonna break the season.

495

And if it's really good, it just kind

of, it, it helps all those other things

496

that we need, uh, to be successful.

497

Aaron: Let me ask you guys a question.

498

Uh, and it may be way too early.

499

Y'all know the personnel

much better than I do.

500

Could you take a best guess of.

501

What you think that offensive line

will look like yet based upon, um, the

502

roster or is it way too early to tell?

503

Mike: Uh, I'm gonna say

way, it's way too early.

504

Um, there's a couple guys I could probably

say are gonna start like Logan Cox.

505

We saw him come in the bowl game

for Zach Barlev and his injury,

506

and he played really well.

507

Um.

508

Is he gonna be left tackle?

509

I don't know, maybe he's a right tackle.

510

Uh, but they brought in a lot

of dudes and it's gonna be

511

battles at every single position.

512

'cause no one is coming back with

any claim or stake where they're

513

saying, I already earned this.

514

You gotta earn it now.

515

Um, I'm excited that this

is the first off season.

516

I can remember where we said we've

needed a center the last four years.

517

Uh, we got one, a great one last year in

Ryan Joyce, but this is the first time I

518

can remember where we got two dudes that

are gonna make it a real true battle.

519

Mason Thrush comes in from Hutch,

really, uh, played well there.

520

But we also bring in the kid

from Elon, um, Braden Walker.

521

He's had a great career so far.

522

Can he make the transition to FBS?

523

Can Mason make the transition to FBS?

524

Those two are gonna battle for that job.

525

And it's gonna be really interesting

to watch and how that kind of

526

affects the rest of the O line.

527

'cause if you don't have a center, we've

seen our team struggle even with good,

528

Justice: yeah,

529

Mike: we had good left tackles and

right tackles, but if center position

530

is not there, you could be in trouble.

531

And that's the one position I'm

most excited about on the O line.

532

Aaron: And for, for those who have

concern about guys being able to

533

make that transition from FCS.

534

I mean, Ryan Joyce was a

guy who came from Fordham.

535

So the way that college football is,

especially at the G five level, you've

536

gotta be able to identify guys that are

at that level who have performed really

537

well, have had the opportunity to play.

538

I think we were talking

about this with baseballs.

539

Now you can tell if guys can play.

540

Regardless of level sometimes, and

center's one of those positions where

541

it's not completely about the physicality

if it is, but there's a lot up here,

542

there's a lot to process at that position.

543

Mike: And to Braden's credit, uh,

CAA is a higher level of football

544

than Fordham plays in in the FCS.

545

So he has been challenged

more than I would say Ryan was

546

before he got to Old Dominion.

547

Justice: And you know, that, like you

said, that battle at center, I think, you

548

know, we might still see 'em both, right?

549

One-on-one's the center job.

550

The other might, you know, move

to, to one of the guard spots.

551

Um, to Aaron's earlier question, like,

I think I could probably name you

552

who I think the five guys might be.

553

But to Mike's point, like point, the only

one of those might be right, you know, um.

554

It's, we, we brought in a lot of talent.

555

Um, a lot of guy.

556

I think there's, I think there's

an enough, enough talent that we

557

brought in to go with what the,

the guys that we already have

558

returning that, I'm not so worried.

559

I don't, I don't think it's gonna

be like a disaster or anything, but,

560

um, it's gonna be a, it's gonna be a.

561

You know, a, a very competitive battle

in the spring and definitely something,

562

probably one of the, you know, first

things I'm gonna be watching for.

563

Um, but I think, you know, to

Aaron's point earlier, like most

564

fans, you know, the quarterbacks

get all the headlines, right?

565

That's who they're interested in.

566

So, but yeah, I would say

why it should be a good one.

567

Mike: I would expect Bubba Craig

to start somewhere on this o line.

568

But yeah.

569

The other thing that you just talked

about, what, we were one of eight teams to

570

start all five o linemen all season long.

571

Justice: Yep.

572

Mike: Injuries happen on

the O line every year.

573

Someone's gonna get hurt.

574

You never know who, but it's

such a physical position that

575

injuries are gonna happen.

576

Uh, so that changes that can change the

dynamics of who's playing and who's not.

577

Um, hopefully we can have another

healthy year, but that's not real.

578

Really realistic to expect when

only eight teams had it last year.

579

Um.

580

Justice: Yeah,

581

Mike: more likely you're gonna be one

of the other 122 teams that weren't

582

healthy on the O line at some spot.

583

So, uh, I'm glad that they brought

in a lot of experienced depth guys

584

that have a lot of snaps behind them.

585

Uh, you got the two guys from Lincoln

who were starting left and right

586

tackles that played really well there.

587

Um, you got the.

588

Elon and North Alabama

transfers, Bubba Craig comes in.

589

Like there's just so much experience

on this coming in this whole line

590

and you already have a lot of guys

returning that have their own talent.

591

So it's, it's exciting.

592

Um, yeah, there's gonna be

another battle at receiver.

593

'cause again, we don't have

any returning starters there.

594

And that's a position I'll

have my eye on offensively.

595

Because we've heard a lot of

great things about Josh Rodriguez.

596

We've seen it in practice, but

we haven't seen it in games yet.

597

Um, and who else, if he is, let's

say, will pencil Josh in as one of

598

the starters, who are the other two?

599

Or do we get more, do we go more

into depth and play like six guys?

600

Aaron: I think you've got

the ability to do that.

601

I mean, I, I have no clue.

602

I think there's as many questions

this year as this were last year.

603

I think what we do know is we've got

talent, so if that podcast that I won't

604

say the name of, says that there's no

talent in the wide receiver room again

605

this year, it'd be wrong again this year.

606

It's a difficult to know

what it looks like right now.

607

You know, who knows?

608

With the exception of one or two guys.

609

Justice: Yeah, I think like, you

know, to, to your point, Aaron, I

610

think we have talent, but for me,

like it's, um, like I, I maybe have

611

more questions than I did last year.

612

'cause like, I don't know, like, you know,

I could watch some Juco games and see

613

Trey and Jacori and like, you know, and I

felt, I felt really good about those guys.

614

I feel really good about the guys we have

coming in, but I've watched them less.

615

So maybe I'm, there's more a, a little

more uncertainty, but I think we have.

616

And we've, we've, the guys we brought

in and the the guys we have there, I

617

have no doubts that we'll, you know,

find at least three guys that are gonna

618

step up and, and perform really well.

619

I mean, you, you bring in JJ Harrell,

um, former Mississippi State Recruit,

620

uh, Zion Agnew, former ECU guy.

621

Um, those are probably the two,

you know, guys we bring in that

622

are the highest profile I think.

623

And then, like you said,

Josh Rodriguez, he was, um.

624

He was phenomenal last

year in practice, man.

625

Like I think he, he would've gave some of

the guys last year a run for their money.

626

Um, in terms of starting

if he was eligible.

627

Mike: This is a crazy thing.

628

So this class of receivers

of how talented they are

629

four of them make up the top seven

commits we've ever had on 2, 4, 7.

630

Good high school recruit.

631

He's number two, all time.

632

Number five, Blackman another

high school wide receiver recruit.

633

He's fifth all time Braden Vela.

634

He's sixth all time another high school.

635

JJ Harrell is the highest rated

JUCO rep player we've ever had.

636

He's seventh, so we have four

of our best ever recruits.

637

Coming into this class at the receiver

position, adding on to guys like, uh,

638

Josh Rodriguez and Sidney and Au and

TJ Johnson, who are, who are already

639

here and show they have capability

and talent to play this position.

640

This is a,

641

Aaron: it's pretty good, Bob.

642

Mike: This is a deep, talented room.

643

Um, obviously you need them to,

to get some chemistry with the

644

quarterback, whoever wins that job.

645

You 'em to understand choice routes

and when they're run the right

646

wants and get to learn the offense.

647

Um, but I, we've never seen this much

talent in the wide receiver room.

648

Never,

649

Aaron: never

650

Mike: will they develop is the question.

651

Now we've had, I think we've

had developed more talent.

652

In the past, obviously you

have those classes with like

653

Dhar, Fulham, guys like that,

654

Justice: lg.

655

Yeah.

656

Mike: Those were developed

guys, PA coming in.

657

They weren't like those highly

regarded players they developed here.

658

Justice: Yeah.

659

I mean, Fulham was a walk-on, right?

660

Aaron: Say again?

661

Justice: Travis Fulham was a walk-on.

662

Aaron: Oh yeah.

663

And then you heard in our conversation

with David Washington and uh, you

664

know, Zach Pascal was like, those guys

at the beginning were just, I mean

665

they had raw talent, but were not.

666

They were not anything like

what they ended up to be.

667

Know, they worked hard and,

but the, yeah, it's exciting.

668

We just gotta get the ball to them.

669

Mike: The other thing I'm most

interested in tracking this off season

670

is gonna be who steps up as a leader.

671

Um, I think we can all agree

that Zach Barlev really took

672

ownership of last year's team.

673

Um, we saw it with how he

called out guys that quit.

674

At Media Day, like he was a true

leader and the guys kind of rallied

675

around him, guys rallied around Colton.

676

Like that was a, that team just had good

chemistry and you could see it early on.

677

Uh, they all believed in Jeremy Mack.

678

Like, that's another guy that's

gonna be tough to replace.

679

He changed how we defended, um,

but who will step up and become

680

the leader on this roster?

681

Justice: I mean, you think about

we lost it on defense too, right?

682

With, you know, Chris Trinidad gone.

683

Um, I mean, I think, you know, Mario

Easterly probably comes to mind

684

like someone that's been around

and you would assume like gonna

685

take a big step up in that role.

686

But yeah, um, certainly, uh,

opportunities for those guys.

687

Aaron: I would assume Mario, I would

also assume coa with him being back,

688

he's been around long enough, um, and

kind of the work that he's had to put in

689

to be able to get back to be who he is.

690

I think the guys will see that and

any kind of actions speaking louder.

691

But he's also, despite being hurt,

not playing all season, he was right

692

there in the mix with everybody.

693

He didn't disappear.

694

So I think you've, I think those

are two guys that make a lot of

695

sense and on a whole nother subject.

696

Uh, I had the opportunity the other

night to go over with Karen Donahue

697

to the new athletic dining facility,

and Karen was telling me that that

698

facility, and we'll have Mike and I will

have an episode on that at some point.

699

But that facility is essentially open for

two meals a day with breakfast and dinner.

700

And he said that Mario has been in there.

701

For both breakfast and and

dinner like every single day.

702

Like the guy is arguably, uh,

he's one of the highest profile

703

athletes on campus these days.

704

And just to be around and be visible

and be part of all that type of

705

stuff, I think he's a guy that

naturally steps up into that role.

706

Mike: Yeah.

707

All right.

708

There's a couple more battles

that could be interesting.

709

One is at Kicker.

710

Um, it's a position that we

had some issues with last year.

711

I'm very interested to see who ends up

712

Justice: And we brought

in just now we need FAU.

713

Mike: Yeah.

714

Um.

715

I think that's the only,

716

Aaron: yeah, I mean you've got ener who

ca he came in in a pressure situation

717

after we struggled a bit and was fairly

consistent, but from shorter distances.

718

So the real question is, can you

get through a whole season with a

719

guy who's limited, uh, you know,

limited length strength wise?

720

So it'll be, that'll be an interesting

one to see play out because it's,

721

it's more of a more important position

than I think a lot of people realize.

722

Justice: And we also just got

that, uh, a freshman, right,

723

that's committed recently.

724

I don't remember his name, but

725

Mike: yeah, he is a walk-on kicker.

726

Um, again, like I'm not gonna expect

any freshmen to really play that

727

much here, unless we're talking

about like in the, on the defensive

728

side or at like the skill positions.

729

Like there's certain

positions you never see.

730

Freshmen play O line's, one of them

D-line is rare, but we've started to

731

see that more and often with how they've

recruited at that position really well.

732

But Oline and I think specialists

and kind of quarterback are

733

those kind of those positions.

734

You rarely see true freshmen play it.

735

Um, but yeah, there's a couple options.

736

So you got Andrew Nes Eichner.

737

And then you have, uh, MHA Iev.

738

I think he did some kickoffs last year.

739

He started at Averitt and

transferred here last year.

740

Um, him and Elms both have big legs,

so can they find a consistency?

741

Nathaniel, he's gonna

be a registered senior.

742

He's a smaller guy at five nine.

743

But , if he knows where he needs

to work on, maybe he can find

744

more power this off season.

745

Justice: Yeah,

746

Mike: we don't have to, we're gonna

pigeonhole him as a short, like consistent

747

kicker from like 40 yards an end.

748

He could gain some strength there

and get a, get a bigger leg.

749

You never know.

750

Aaron: Yeah.

751

I don't know.

752

Jared Brown, if you're listening to this

episode, I be in the comments on, want

753

you to think about kickers being able to

do that in the course of one off season.

754

Um, Mike, let's talk running back.

755

That's one that I'm interested and

obviously, um, Devin Roche, Devon's

756

back and we saw the light bulb go off

and with Devin, um, in the back, I'll

757

just say third of the season or so, and

really became the guy on, on a number

758

of different levels, not only on the

field, but from a leadership perspective.

759

Um, let's talk about that, that position.

760

Mike: There's a lot of

talent in this room.

761

Um, I think we actually

upgraded this off season.

762

Um, you got Devin coming back,

you got Mark I coming back.

763

You got Troy Marquez, who's a very

talented walk-on coming back, uh, out of

764

the high school ranks she got CJ Jackson,

who's really played well at Green Run.

765

Uh, could be a type of guy that

the speed type of back that you can

766

come in and maybe make those type

of plays we solved by Treyquan last

767

year where, you know, he's just kind

of change the pace guy right now.

768

But I really like both portal pickups.

769

Trey Hall was one of the best ru, I mean,

he was the number one running back outta

770

JUCO when he went to Ole Miss, right?

771

Or top three or something like that.

772

He,

773

Justice: yep, yep.

774

Mike: Fairly highly rated.

775

Running back.

776

That just kind of got lost

in the shuffled ole Miss.

777

Then Hunter Patterson,

former track athlete.

778

Ran track in at West

Liberty for a couple years.

779

Ends up going to football.

780

And just becoming absolutely

dynamic for West Liberty.

781

The guy's got real track speed.

782

Who knows what he can do, but

there's a lot of options here

783

with a lot of different talent

in this running back room.

784

Obviously, I think Dev is gonna

be the guy, but how do we fill in

785

those times where he needs a break

or we wanna do a change of pace?

786

That's gonna be where the

opportunities are for everyone else,

787

assuming Devin can stay healthy.

788

Justice: I'm really excited to see Hunter

Patterson be used in the passing game.

789

That was a big part of

his game at West Liberty.

790

And think that can add, you

know, another level of, uh.

791

To our offense, another weapon.

792

Um, he caught a lot of balls there

and, uh, like you said, he is fast.

793

So I think like you figure out ways to

get to the, the ball to him in space,

794

whether that's in the back field or maybe

even line up at a slot, you know, from

795

time to time, the slot receiver position.

796

But, um, yeah, it, it, we, we

got a lot of talent running back.

797

Um, and I think, uh, should be

in a big year for those guys.

798

Aaron: So another question for you guys.

799

Um, last year, obviously

we've already talked about it.

800

The offensive line play was extremely

good and extremely consistent.

801

He had a quarterback who was very

dynamic, uh, primarily with his legs,

802

but Colton could throw the ball enough

to keep defenses, uh, on us there.

803

And our running backs were able to.

804

Really give teams fits.

805

Okay.

806

So it sounds like we've got the talent

in the running back room to be able to

807

do that as well, um, this year, but.

808

What we talked about earlier with

regards to putting together a new

809

offensive line, you've got, uh,

the choice of a new quarterback.

810

Does the running back room make

those things easier to do, or is

811

it all predicated on the offensive

line coming together for those

812

other two positions to have success?

813

Mike: I think this offense, the way

it's built, um, if you have good running

814

backs, you can get to the second level.

815

You're gonna have that regardless of

how talented the line is, because of

816

how the, the, the offense is just ran.

817

This is a running based offense

that spreads the whole defense out.

818

We're gonna have opportunities to make

plays as running backs, no matter kind

819

of where we're at as an offensive line.

820

Um, the question is how good

are we at passing the ball?

821

You need to get a line there, you need

the receivers to get open, and you need

822

the quarterbacks to throw consistently

enough where they can have a passing game.

823

Because we saw, I think the first year we,

we implemented this offense with Grant.

824

Um, we were a really good

running team that year, but

825

we struggled passing the ball.

826

Um, so I don't, I'm not worried

about running, being able

827

to run the ball next year.

828

It's whether, what's the passing game

gonna be like and how dynamic is it?

829

If we can have a dynamic passing

game, we'll have the same success

830

no matter who the quarterback is.

831

Uh, I've seen some concerns about two

of our three guys aren't the mo don't

832

have the mobility that Colton had.

833

Um, from our talks with the staff,

they think that the mobility is kind

834

of, you need to run, you need to have.

835

The quarterback run occasionally,

but you don't need to do it

836

as often as we did last year.

837

If they can complete those medium and

short range passes with more accuracy.

838

Um, one thing that gets overlooked

last year is we did struggle in

839

the mid-range passing game a lot.

840

Um, if we can improve there, you

won't need the quarterback to

841

run as much because the defense

still needs to play you honest and

842

can't just sell out for the run.

843

If he can beat you with his arm.

844

So I don't know if you need to

get hung up on having a mobile

845

quarterback this year or not.

846

The O line needs to do their job and

give the quarterback a little bit of time

847

to go through his progressions, but the

mobility is gonna, I don't know if that's

848

the end all be all for this offense.

849

Uh.

850

Justice: To your, to your point,

Aaron, like, and like, like,

851

like Mike said, the running game.

852

I think like the thing that, like

we saw last year that I think other

853

we either need, you have to have

additional threats is the explosiveness.

854

Right?

855

We saw a lot of explosive plays,

particularly from the running backs.

856

And I think that's generated by either

A, the defense having to worry about the

857

passing game or B, you know, last year,

and maybe not just the passing game.

858

They also had to worry

about Colton too, right?

859

He was someone they had to

account for in the running game.

860

And so the, the bottom line is you

have to have those other threats,

861

whether it is passing or the mobile

quarterback to be able to, I think.

862

You know, have those explosive

plays and I think that's, that was

863

a big part of why we had so many

explosive plays last year, right?

864

Was that there were just other threats

the defense had to worry about.

865

And it opens up the, the lanes

and the holes on the second

866

level for those running backs.

867

Aaron: Yeah, I, I, I,

that makes a lot of sense.

868

I mean, you look at NFL guys for

example, you've got a guy like Lamar

869

Jackson, who obviously has got elite

running ability that has to be accounted

870

for, and that probably helps him out

in this passing game, although that's

871

gotten, you know, progressively better.

872

But then you've got like Patrick

Mahomes, who's an elite passer.

873

He is not an elite runner,

but he can run enough.

874

Justice: Yeah.

875

Aaron: To, to hurt you

if you don't honor it.

876

So you can win either way.

877

It'll be interesting to see, uh, sorry

to suck us back into a whole quarterback

878

discussion, but it'll be interesting

to see what that formula ends up being

879

this year, what we choose it to be.

880

Mike: Yeah.

881

You really just need to

keep the defense honest.

882

Uh, it doesn't really need to

be with a mobile quarterback.

883

That's where that whole

passing thing comes into play.

884

Uh, if you're completing 65% of

your passes, it doesn't really

885

matter if the quarterback can run.

886

Uh, you need to keep the defense

honest with a strong passing attack.

887

If we're not gonna have the mobile

quarterback, obviously there's a

888

chance that we do, but, um, you

need to keep the defense honest.

889

'cause if we're gonna have seven,

eight guys in the box, it doesn't

890

really matter how good your run game

is and how good your run blocking is.

891

It's gonna be tough to run

on against that many guys.

892

AD: Yep.

893

Mike: So that's where that kind of,

that defensive honesty comes into play.

894

If we can make them defend

us, honestly, where they're,

895

they aren't able to cheat up.

896

Yeah.

897

That's, uh, that's gonna be the

big question, is how honest our

898

defense is gonna have to play us.

899

And I, I think with our wide

receiver room and the arm talent

900

we have in this quarterback room,

that's not gonna be an issue.

901

Aaron: I'm, I'm encouraged.

902

I think one marker we can just

put out there is is the bowl game.

903

It was only Quinn's second start.

904

And although he got into some games

this year, really, I'll just say

905

they're kind of meaningless snaps.

906

He wasn't really able to run the offense.

907

Most of it was just kind of handing

the ball off for the most part.

908

So the guy didn't have an opportunity

to do a whole heck of a lot.

909

Um, showed some promise

in that, that last game.

910

And we know the other two

guys have talent as well.

911

So I think, I think the, the program's in

good hands, it'll be interesting to see.

912

What it ends up, you know

who rises to the top.

913

Mike: Yeah.

914

Um, there's some question

marks on the defensive side.

915

You got some guys you, we gotta replace.

916

But overall, what we did to return as many

guys as we did, um, I think it was at nine

917

of the top 20 snap getters are returning.

918

Uh, we graduated seven

of those other guys.

919

So it's not like we lost

them all to the portal.

920

But you did lose some talent and

like Jerome Carter to the portal.

921

Um, however, if there's one

guy you can trust to replace

922

dudes, it's Remington rep stock

923

Justice: and this like feels

like the first year he has

924

have to replace everybody.

925

Mike: Um, I'm really excited to see

who kind of steps up this year on the

926

defensive side, but there's not that

many guys we needed to look out for.

927

Versus prior years, like,

this is the most talent we've

928

ever had returning on defense.

929

Justice: Yeah.

930

Aaron: And that's off to those student

athletes decided that they wanted to stay.

931

Monarchs hats off to the, the staff

who's built good relationships

932

with, with their players.

933

Uh, so those players have

trust and confidence in them.

934

Hats off to the student athletes of

bonding with each other who wanna

935

stay and play with each other.

936

Hats off to Ron Moses.

937

For working tireless hours, as Mike

and I had an opportunity to see behind

938

the scenes of, and you're just doing

what needed to be done in the course

939

of that crazy essential month, uh,

at the conclusion of the season.

940

Um, good job.

941

By all really.

942

I mean, I'm excited about that,

that defense and I, I know that,

943

that Blake Seiler is probably pretty

happy with what he's got coming

944

back and what he's got coming in.

945

Mike: Yeah.

946

Um, for those that don't know, Ron

was doing a lot of the, the contracts.

947

So with NIL Rev share,

948

you gotta give good competitive

offers to these guys, or they're

949

gonna walk out the door, especially

after the season we had last year.

950

A lot of guys had opportunities to go

into the portal and decide to stay here.

951

Um, so.

952

Hats off to all the staff dominion

for making it the successful

953

year that it was and bringing

as much talent as we did back.

954

Um, anything else you guys wanna

cover before we call this quits?

955

Aaron: Uh, I do, it's non-football

related and, and I know we'll plug it

956

in a couple episodes between now and

then, but for those who are watching this

957

on February the 19th, Thursday evening

at Afterglow, we've got our third.

958

Installment of the main event,

head coach Mike Jones of men's

959

basketball will be there.

960

We'll do a q and a session with Mike.

961

Um, and then after the conclusion

of that, we're gonna watch the

962

women's basketball game at Afterglow.

963

So always a good time there.

964

Uh, Thursday, February the

19th at 6:00 PM So come on out.

965

You go to any of our social media,

uh, ODU Monarch at ODU Monarchist, uh,

966

you can see the advertisements there.

967

I know there's a Facebook event out there.

968

You don't have to R RS VP, but if

you say you're going, it'll give you

969

the reminder as our weeks get busy.

970

It'll remind you probably on Wednesday,

like, Hey, make sure you show up.

971

Mike: Yeah.

972

And as usual, we'll

have a couple giveaways.

973

Um, we try to make everything a little

bit interesting, so if you come,

974

Aaron: like free stuff,

975

Mike: yeah.

976

If you, if you come, you'll have a

chance to walk away with something

977

you didn't have when you walked in.

978

So we'd love to have you out there

support this basketball program.

979

Learn, I mean, you get the chance

to ask him questions straight there.

980

What other opportunities

do you have to do this?

981

Justice: Yeah.

982

Yep.

983

Exactly.

984

Absolutely.

985

It's, it, it should be a good time.

986

I, I'm, I'm looking forward.

987

I already got my question in mind, so

I'm looking forward to coming and asking.

988

Aaron: It, it, it will be.

989

Uh, I think the other thing I wanna

throw out there is Pensacola is like a

990

month away for the Sunbelt tournament

for both men's and women's basketball.

991

Obviously it's been a

challenging season to date.

992

Last night we saw the team that we thought

that we would see kind of all along.

993

Only time we'll tell and see how

they finished the season, but.

994

Myself, Mike Justice, we'll

all be down in Pensacola.

995

We'll be bringing coverage of the Sunbelt

Tournament, Monarch basketball, just

996

like last year, hopefully even more so.

997

I don't know that there's gonna

be anyone else down there covering

998

the stuff for the monarchs.

999

I know the, I think the local media's

not going so we'll make sure to have

00:53:22,334 --> 00:53:24,074

that completely suitcase for you guys.

00:53:24,584 --> 00:53:27,434

I'm sure they'll end up being a

Bucky's visit on the way 'cause they

00:53:27,434 --> 00:53:29,324

got cheap gas and they got good food.

00:53:29,684 --> 00:53:33,554

Um, but uh, yeah, we'll

be doing that for you guys

00:53:34,124 --> 00:53:35,234

Mike: and clean restrooms.

00:53:36,449 --> 00:53:40,649

Aaron: Super clean restrooms and

lots of them and beef Turkey.

00:53:41,999 --> 00:53:42,209

Mike: Yeah.

00:53:42,209 --> 00:53:46,229

I'm not looking forward to the drive

as much as the trip to Pensacola.

00:53:46,229 --> 00:53:50,159

I mean, it's, last year we

had a lot of fun and men's

00:53:50,159 --> 00:53:51,659

basketball was why it was fun.

00:53:52,079 --> 00:53:54,209

Uh, they went on that nice four game run.

00:53:54,209 --> 00:53:58,739

Um, I was hoping maybe we could get down

there a little bit later in the week.

00:53:59,909 --> 00:54:02,609

But we're, we'll just have to wait

to see where, how they finish.

00:54:02,609 --> 00:54:05,669

Hopefully they can get on a run here

so we don't have to be down there on

00:54:06,569 --> 00:54:08,729

Monday or Tuesday of the beginning

00:54:08,729 --> 00:54:08,889

Aaron: of the week.

00:54:08,889 --> 00:54:12,179

The silver lining, Mike, is we get a

chance to get you back at Whataburger.

00:54:13,169 --> 00:54:17,939

We'll get a chance to, um, you

know, go to some of my old,

00:54:18,059 --> 00:54:20,849

my old haunts, uh, McGuire's.

00:54:20,939 --> 00:54:23,789

That was a great meal and

it's close to the stadium.

00:54:23,789 --> 00:54:25,649

Steven, I don't think you've

ever had the chance to go to

00:54:25,649 --> 00:54:26,819

McGuire's, so that'll be fun.

00:54:26,819 --> 00:54:28,409

Justice: I've never been

to Water Whataburger.

00:54:28,439 --> 00:54:31,829

I mean, other than like the one in

Newport, dude, that's not the same place.

00:54:32,339 --> 00:54:34,109

Aaron: There's a

Whataburger in Newport News

00:54:34,499 --> 00:54:34,739

Mike: there.

00:54:34,739 --> 00:54:35,129

Is it?

00:54:35,129 --> 00:54:36,414

Justice: It, it's,

00:54:36,414 --> 00:54:36,734

Mike: but it's,

00:54:36,734 --> 00:54:37,739

Justice: it's, it's different.

00:54:37,739 --> 00:54:39,749

It's, it's a local mom and pops place.

00:54:40,829 --> 00:54:40,919

Aaron: Okay.

00:54:42,269 --> 00:54:42,779

Mike: It is not.

00:54:43,019 --> 00:54:43,379

Gotcha.

00:54:43,379 --> 00:54:44,999

You don't need to go outta

your way for that one.

00:54:44,999 --> 00:54:45,059

No,

00:54:47,459 --> 00:54:47,819

Aaron: no.

00:54:47,819 --> 00:54:49,349

But it'll be a good time.

00:54:49,589 --> 00:54:53,699

Um, really, really looking forward

to it, regardless of the challenges.

00:54:53,969 --> 00:54:54,959

Uh, so far.

00:54:55,709 --> 00:54:58,289

The interesting thing about it,

man, is it doesn't take much.

00:54:58,319 --> 00:55:00,209

You, you get hot and you go on a run.

00:55:00,389 --> 00:55:02,129

That's all that it takes.

00:55:02,129 --> 00:55:06,179

So if we can, if we can finish the season

strong in the next, what do we have?

00:55:06,179 --> 00:55:07,709

Five games left, something like that.

00:55:07,829 --> 00:55:08,819

Five, six games.

00:55:09,539 --> 00:55:10,169

Um.

00:55:10,964 --> 00:55:11,684

Okay, we'll see.

00:55:11,684 --> 00:55:12,344

We'll be there.

00:55:14,444 --> 00:55:14,624

Justice: Yep.

00:55:14,624 --> 00:55:16,754

To uh, to get us back to the football.

00:55:17,534 --> 00:55:20,594

I was just gonna say spring practice,

what about a month and a half away?

00:55:20,744 --> 00:55:26,414

Starts, uh, end of March or so, and

so, you know, I'll be there, uh,

00:55:26,444 --> 00:55:30,164

during the week for the media coverage,

covering practice, uh, writing

00:55:30,164 --> 00:55:32,534

articles and bring in those interviews.

00:55:33,644 --> 00:55:37,079

Mike: And we should have some interviews

with the new staff, uh, at some point.

00:55:38,039 --> 00:55:41,699

We seem to get a good time for them where

they're not super busy, so they can sit

00:55:41,699 --> 00:55:45,449

down and tell us about, uh, what they're

bringing Dominion Football this year.

00:55:46,139 --> 00:55:48,839

Um, so we'll work on that.

00:55:49,739 --> 00:55:52,289

Uh, I will say keep an eye out.

00:55:52,889 --> 00:55:58,529

O DAF will have some news in the near

future, um, regarding the transition

00:55:58,529 --> 00:56:00,089

of the pride of ODU to Old Dominion.

00:56:00,089 --> 00:56:01,619

So just keep an eye out for that.

00:56:02,519 --> 00:56:03,659

It's all very exciting.

00:56:04,454 --> 00:56:07,214

And it will impact your

access to behind the shield.

00:56:07,214 --> 00:56:08,564

So keep an eye out.

00:56:09,464 --> 00:56:10,694

It's all positive stuff.

00:56:12,194 --> 00:56:16,214

Aaron: I will say though, that it will not

change our relationship, our independence,

00:56:16,214 --> 00:56:18,314

and how we cover things and do things.

00:56:20,354 --> 00:56:20,684

Mike: No.

00:56:20,744 --> 00:56:23,534

If anything, it's gonna give

us more access to bring you

00:56:23,534 --> 00:56:24,884

more inside information.

00:56:24,914 --> 00:56:28,754

So if you like behind the

shield, I think you'll like it

00:56:28,754 --> 00:56:30,344

even more over this next year.

00:56:30,584 --> 00:56:30,914

So.

00:56:32,339 --> 00:56:35,789

Keep riding with us and we'll

keep working hard for you.

00:56:36,689 --> 00:56:37,619

Thanks for joining us.

00:56:37,619 --> 00:56:38,489

Thanks for listening.

00:56:39,929 --> 00:56:40,679

Go Monarchs.

00:56:42,059 --> 00:56:42,869

Justice: Go Monarchs.

00:56:43,169 --> 00:56:43,979

Go Monarchs.