Welcome in to the Lion I inquire podcast. It is Jeremy Warner and Joey Wagner with you today. We got a lot to hit on a little bit newsy of a week as Illinois football

gets a couple commitments in a couple days. We'll talk about some potential Illinois football

recruiting momentum. And And Andre Stoyakovich talked with us media at the NBA draft combine

about his stay or go decision. People out there a little nervous should you be. We'll talk about it. Also,

some updated rankings in the class of 2026 for 24-7 sports. And it's good news for Illinois

basketball. Quentin Coleman gets a fifth star. Xavier Zenz gets a fourth star. And Illinois,

another marquee non-conference matchup with Duke. We'll talk about it all with Joey Wagner, who's been

busier than me because he has been moving. How is it all going for you, Joe? It is going. I'm ready

to be done. A lot of painting, a lot of cleaning, a lot of moving. There's just house stuff that I never

dealt with that you now get the opportunity to deal with.

So I appreciate basically two weeks to go do my own thing and pop in to ramble about football

every now and again.

Welcome to home ownership, Joey.

Yeah.

It's a good yard work again.

It's such a weird thing.

Now, our yard is dug up because we got a new sewer line, but it's nice to have, like, to go out and mow the grass or to power a power wash after they did the yard. That was electric. I had so much fun. So it's, I enjoy going outside. Like, I haven't turned my Xbox on in two weeks. I'm like, this is a new me? I don't know. I mean, in the time we've known each other, I mean, especially in the time you worked here, the domestication level of Joey Wagner has gone through the roof. He's gotten engaged. He's got a house now. I don't even talk about what's next potentially for Joey Wagner down the line here. A smoker, a pit boss. I'm trying to get pit boss out. That's what's next down the line. It is something. Like, because we are, let's be honest, you and I are house cats, right? Like, we have these white-collar jobs, uh, just sitting at a computer, talking into microphones all day. So when you're able to go outside, feel a little manly, get a job done out there once in a while,

it does feel like a little accomplishing, doesn't it? I put like a new door handle on the screen door and I thought, you know, like the, who do you think you are or I am? That's what I felt when I walked back in the house. It was, I was like, all right. And someone's listening. this is the dumbest person I've ever talked to

and they're right, death.

Like, they are 100% right.

I have no skills.

Really, just is the dumbest person I've ever talked to, and they're right. Yeah. Like, they are 100% right. I have no skills, really just across the board. So to do that, I think this is fantastic. Yeah, kudos you guys who can move the earth, you know, operate heavy machinery and get every handyman job done. Like you guys are the manly men out there. That's not us. So when we get one of those little wins, it's huge. It's huge. Like just going out there and grill, Joey. That feels like you throw some meat on a grill. And you fire that up for the family. You feel great about it. Well, that first pulled pork when I get this smoker is going to be, it's probably going to be terrible. but I'm going to know that I did it and I'm the one who made that terrible poor and there's value to that man.

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