Man, you got a big haul. What's it like when you have, when you have, go into, I guess, a cycle. Is there, is every year different in terms of how many you're trying to get or or are you just trying to get as many good ones as you can get? Yeah, I mean, we want to, we want to maximize some positions to shore. We're losing some guys inside. So we want to make an emphasis to grab some guys that can help us and be more versatile. We got some guys that can play guard and tackle. We got some guys that can play center and guard. We got some add more versatility. And we also wanted to add some long athletic bodies with Lucas Simmons and Otto. Man, those guys are big, wrong athletes. You know, we had a little deal with kickball out of here.

They was going crazy.

So I think we got a right mixture of what we needed to enhance the room. We also got a lot of young guys. And I explained to every guy coming in that room, we got some dogs in there. So it's going to be some good competition. But that's going to bring everybody, raise their level, and bring everybody where they need to be to be a really good player for it. Coach Norvel said he was happy, I'm sure you guys were, that the young guys didn't seem bothered by the fact he might be bringing in some older guys. No, they absolutely expect to play. So it's not like a deal where it's like, oh, see, that's what most people look at things is replaced, but now they look at it's competitions. We recruit the right guys and the right type of people. so don't have to worry about that that that that bug of selfishness all they worry about is whoever you bring in come on the kind of example with kate lous and marie smith last year most

i told them i said more i'm bringing in somebody replace you too small you know what he said bring

them so that's what that's the culture that That's what our, that's our team mentality.

That's our old line coaches. So I'm excited about it. What Chris, or actually Andre, I guess,

looks like, I mean, we talked to him. He's such a smart kid. What's he like as a player?

I'll tell you what, his energy. You know, I'll give him an example. You know, we were talking on the phone, and they had a hurricane come through Key West. And he sent me a picture of him in a lawn chair with the water about to his feet. And he said, the only thing I'm disappointed is that we're not practicing. I don't know how many players at the time. I wasn't a good enough player to him because if I'd had that time off, I'd have been chilling. But he was disappointed that he wasn't practicing with his team. That kind of dies into his mentality and how he loves the game. That guy, a little bit of a diamond in the rough. I mean, he's from a part of the country where it's hard to get to. How did you kind of identify and see him and then maybe see how he fits with what you all want to do. Well, Odell was down there recruiting and went in and watched, we watched film,

and he also went against boots in the spring game, and we kind of went from there. He kind of stuck out, and then, you know, so it just kind of went from there. And I mean, I wouldn't say down in the rubble me. He official visited it. He has places. I mean, he came down to us in Stanford. So, like, he was a good recruit.

I think, I just think him being down there,

he didn't make us in Stanford. So, like, he was a, he was a good

recruit. I think, I just think, him being down there, he didn't make that camp circuit. He didn't go to

all the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the

lot of things, and all that kind of stuff. He just the beach all day Lucas you know when a guy commits early what's the process like I mean are you how often are you talking to him talking to him through a season like what's that process like yeah well I tell him up front I'm not going to spam him I'm not one of them coaches just be going to get a hundred text message from you're not going to get a hundred calls from I'm going to treat you like you're a player here playing for me now. So because when they talk to the players, they're going to get 100 text messages from. You're not going to get 100 calls from. I'm going to treat you like you a player here playing for me now.

Because when they talk to the players, they're going to ask, how much does Coach

Ack has talked to you? What has he done for you? How much is he in communications? So I'm not going to fake them. I'll give him an example. I get a call every other week about buying car warranty, but I ain't bought it yet, so spamming my phone doesn't work.

So I just said we're going to have a normal working relationship, and we're going to get to know each other and we'll build from there. How fast are these relationships with like a transfer portal offensive line? And it seems like the relationships have to be built very, very fast because they want to make a quick decision. Absolutely. So I think that starts with the players.

So what happens usually is when a guy goes into the portal, the first person they start contacting those people on the team that they know. And if that information goes from there, then you kind of get a window. It's like, hey, yeah, you want to come check them out. Like, so, I mean, like all those guys started hitting up Rob Scott. They started hitting up all the guys. and they hit up a couple of guys that went in the portal that came here.

Some guys, we got in the portal that came from places where they didn't even play. And they maximized themselves. So he's like, yeah, man, no, he's going to get you right. So it really starts with the information they get from the players on the team. Could you talk about each of the transfers and what they bring? So Jeremiah, number one, he's a play right tackle. He can play on the edge, good feet, athletic, but I also can play inside. We're going to train to play inside also to get them this kind of versatility, energy, emotion, passion. I mean, he lights up a room, you know, and visiting with him and his mom and a little sister,

little sister might be in WNBA one day, she's a hooper. So I'm just excited to kind of bring that kind of energy into the room. Casey Roddy, the old man of the group, I mean, experience, start a lot of football games, smart, has played pretty much every position, wants to primarily train that center to play that position. so but he can play, can play guard. You know, probably, I mean, probably one of the more mature kids that I recruited. Like, in our conversations, we probably talked about football, maybe 10% of the conversation. It was about maximizing and pushing each other to be even just better than what we are. So we can pour back into the young guys. So a little bit more of a leadership mentality, you know. And Keandre is just, man, you want to talk about humble, discipline. You know, I want to bring him a point. He came up on a visit with his mother, and you don't see this a lot, but every doorway we walked into, every time he got into a car, he made sure his mom was first. And that little bitty thing told me about his character because he intentionally did all those things. He was a kid that said, Coach, don't worry about me. I've already done my research. I know what I want. So he was a more focused, grown man type of guy. He's a powerful dude, too. So I'm not going to say too many bad things to him at practice because I don't want to put his hands on me. When you, based on the success you guys had, are you having to do less selling now or has the program started to sell itself, what you guys do? Yeah. If you talk to any recruits, they'll tell you, I don't do no selling. Zero. So, yeah, I don't do that. So, yeah, that's not even going to. I try to, I tell them I'm trying to scare them away. Because the reality of it is, it's all that selling goes away now.

So now, Y'all don't do that. So, yeah, that's not even one. I try to, I tell them, I'm trying to scare them away.

Because the reality of it is, it's all that selling goes away now. So now who you are, once that paperwork comes in, it gets real. So if guys have gotten cheated through this process and I'm not who I was before they signed, they will tell you. And if they ain't told you, then you know it's real. So, yeah, I'm not great at selling.

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