It's stick Gabriel taking a little bit of time off, so we thought we would replay some of the best interviews from over the last several months. Please enjoy the best of the Big Blue Insider. Joining us now for the first time on these airwaves is Kentucky coach Lonnie Green track and field cross country as well, and coach Congratulations. First of all, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining us.
Well, thank you very much. I really, really sincerely appreciate.
What a busy time, but a glorious time for UK track and field right now heading into the Games. I got to think you're just about as excited as the athletes, aren't you.
Hey man, I think I think I'm as excited ass as the young baby old Christmas morning.
Tell me a little bit about your role going into these games with some of these athletes, some you coach, some you didn't, But of course they're wildcats forever and we'll represent UK in one way, shape or form in Paris. But but what is your role right now?
My role is an individual coach. I think when when when people see the they see the Olympic team, especially in track and field, they see the Olympic team and and and and and and the media will say, Okay, here is then mister Gabriel, he's the Olympic coach. Well, he's just basically that coach entitle Okay, and and and the way we look at the sport, that is the highest honor in our sport that a coach could could
could ascend to to being named the Olympic coach. Okay, But our sport is comprised of twenty two disciplines, twenty two events, and in each and each each country can tend three or three athletes per event. Now, each of those individuals have their own individual coach. My job going to the Olympic Games is going to to coach Messiah Russell and Devin Charlton. You know, that's that's going to
be my job. Get them to the podium. My job is when started this in September, is to get them to the podium in any which way, shape, form or fashion. You know. So I'm going to as as a personal coach. I would be with the US contingent, but I'm going to be that coach. I'm going to be responsible for when they wake up, when they when they eat, when they train, when and when they lay down and I make sure they get to the track one time, they
do everything they need to do. Tell what be called championship day.
Man, that's pressure, isn't it. Although that's notice that's what you signed up for.
Yes, sir, it is.
It is.
It is pressure. But that's what we all time to when you get to the level.
You know, I just remembered there were many, many years ago one of the Olympics there were some athletes who missed their events because the coach didn't get them up on time or something like that.
So it exactly exactly you know what I'm talking about.
You remember that, yes?
Do you know? Basically our job is when we get there to make sure everything flows. You know, communication with the USATF staff has got to be consistent that everything flows. An odd job is to take as much stress of the student athlete, of the athlete as possible.
You know, it's interesting when you're saying this. In my world, excuse me. You know who does that is a great producer. And I was told I've been on the air, and I've been a producer, and I was told early in my career that if you can take stress off of a play by play man and just let him concentrate on calling a game. You've done a good job as a producer. You're taking stress off these athletes. So all they got to do is look down the track. Is that right?
That's it. That's it. That's our job. That's our job once we get them to that space, is to make it as stressless or as seamless as possible. Yeah, you know, so that their job is just to wake up, warm up, and get ready to be.
And obviously that will help them block out whatever's around them. And I know they're literally world class athletes, so when they step into the blocks, they won't think about it. I'm in Paris at the Olympics. I could win a medal. Look at all these people, they're looking at the finish line.
Right, yes, sir, Yes, sir. There's a lot of pressure on that. As I refer to all of them as babies. So these young befits, you know, as they get to that place, there's a lot of pressure on those babies, especially the ones who who who the media now plays up to the to the world that's a favorite or Olympic medalist or potential gold medalist. There's a lot of pressure that comes with this. My brother used to say
all the time. He said, pressure bus pipes, you know, and so so at the end of the day, you know, there's a lot of pressure. They look really relaxed, they look real focused, but there's a lot of pressure that they're dealing with in the moment.
I can't imagine how they sleep the night before.
You know, most of them struggle to do that. So what Sometimes they'll have to go to the team doctors just to get a sleeve dad so that they can rest y.
Yep, I said, a little mellowtonin might help, you know, but pressure also the oak cliche turns coal into diamonds. So you know, something I've always wanted to ask a track and field coach is when you're coaching a sprinter. Obviously there's technique involved and strategy involved, but there's more to it to tay get out there and run as fast as you can. Just how technical do you get in events like that?
It's very technical, you know, But I think the mistake that coaches make is they try to go to the technical component first, and that's the mistake. You have to literally get the athletes fit, get them physically stronger, get them faster, and then you bring the technical component along that everybody wants to go straight to technique. For example, you get coaches talk about speed, Oh, we got to
work speed. You see a lot of you know, I'm specialists around come to me and I can get you faster, and they goes the minute the young man or woman or the baby comes to them, they go straight speed. That's a mistake in my humble opinion, you know what I mean, And you have to get them fit, get them strong, and get the body ready to handle those stresses. What happens is you go straight to the stress and
an injury recur and occur. Preferfully, the injury won't won't be one that's going to take them out for a long period of time, you know what I mean, like a tone, hamstring or or or something that serious. You know that sometimes that even surgery will have to be
done to correct it, you know what I mean. So I think the mistake is, Yes, they do a good job of getting the kids faster, but you got to you have to literally prepare the body to handle the stress that comes with sprinting or moving that fast.
Talking to Kentucky, yes, Kentucky track and field coach Lonnie Green who's helping prepare some former Wildcat and current Wildcats for the Olympic Games coming up up. You mentioned prep work, and we hear a lot from the football and basketball really in baseball people too about nutrition, and I'm wondering about I got to think it's it's pretty much the
same for all the UK athletes on campus. But I know that they've put a lot of time and resources into nutrition and the weight room and things like that. How do you feel about that on campus?
I think it's phenomenal. I mean, you know, you can't I don't think you can buy a Lamborghini and put low off team gasses. You got to put highfting gases, you know what I mean. You know what's going to happen to the engine. The engines will start knocking it eventually, YouTube will fail, you know what I mean, if you don't put the right fuel into that into that engine.
And I think the commitment that that mister Bonnhart are athletic director and president Capaluto and all of our senior staff are made to our student athlete, our student athletes, that is that is paramount. If you want to compete at a very high level, those things have to be in place. We the old older folk with oh it, don't take all of that. Oh I was doing it. You know. We didn't do this and we didn't do that. Yeah, that has some merit, but we didn't perform at the
level of these some people. What I always want to say, you very knowledgeable guys.
What I always want to say is okay, but what if you had done that? How much better might you have been? I know you drank pickle juice when you were getting cramps, but you know, yes, sir, you've heard that, haven't.
But I think, but I think the commitment that the commitment that mister Barnhout is, it's made to our athletic department in terms of providing every possible thing that he believes our student athletes need. But our senior staff believe our student athletes need to be successful, not a second to none. But you can't compete in any sport, and I repeat that again, any sport at a very high level if those things aren't in place. I said, you can compete, but it might not be might not be fruital.
Absolutely, we're talking with Lonnie Green, UK head track and field coach. He's got athletes going to Paris. You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the best of the Big Blue Insider. We're talking with Lonnie Green is the head track and field coach at the University of Kentucky also cross country, and as of July, first seven UK Wildcats from track
and field will make the trip to Paris. Has that number changed, Coach, No.
It's remained consistent.
Right now.
Okay, so u K had four champions at the US Olympic Team trials. And by the way, we have you and I have spoken now for nine and a half minutes and I haven't usually our word yet. Recruiting, this has got to be the ultimate recruiting tool, I would think, Am I right?
It is? It is? I mean if if me being the head coach, you know, being the director of the program, if if I don't capitalize, well we as a department, as an institution, don't capitalize on the moment, we will lose a very, very, a great opportunity to attract athletes with such talent or even greater.
You mentioned Massiah Russell class at twenty twenty three and she I remember I was on a panel discussion show on KAT with Miss Barnhardt and we were talking about social media and he's mentioned her name before. She was maybe the first UK athlete, no matter what the sport, men or women, to really build a following on social media. What is it about her that that people just gravitate to her.
She's got what She's got what I call a very gregarious personality, you know what I mean. She is one who she understands the social media platform. She understands that she was there was something she was doing when she was in high school. And she's very bubbly, she's very and I think she she she figured out a way to capitalize on on that that that that in those platforms, in those arena, in those spaces. But she's also very very passionate to her viewers or her followers, you know
what I mean. I've I've followed. I've listened to her talk to her peer group here on campus and talked about how people were in boxed her telling her how motivational they she is. They were about to give up and then they watched a video or something she posts and it gave them that that that that Exusia, that dynamite that they needed to keep going to go one
more day, you know what I mean? And and I told her, I said, the beautiful I think social media, the Internet failed us, I said, And I said, the reason is because you can do a whole lot of good with it, but you can do a whole lot of bad with it. But you your platform is doing good and blessing people. I said, don't ever lose that. Don't let people pull you into a vacuum where you're not doing good with it. You know what I mean. You stay that, don't let what people think you should
be doing with it dictate what you do. But she's done a great jo heard her family have done a great job at capitalizing one.
She won the US championship in one hundred meter hurdles and at a world leading time, and broke Gail Dever's the US Olympic Trials record, which it stood for twenty four years. So she obviously is running her best right now, isn't she.
She she's one of the favorites. She is the She's only three women in the history of the sport has run faster, and they've only done that by hundreds of a second and in some situation thousands of the second. You know what I mean. Is she going in as one of the favorites. Yes, I personally believe. Now people might say, Ana, you got to stop drinking mountain dew.
But when I make the statement, but I believe if she if that race that she executed at the US Championships when she said the Olympic Trials record shows up on the eleventh of August in Paris, she either breaks them. She that particular race with the field that would be that either the world's record fall or she wins the goal, or she will she will be one of the individuals on the pot.
Wow, that would be awesome. It's broken the collegiate record of both the sixty meter hurdles and the hundred hurdles.
Uh.
Speaking of high profile athletes, how about Jasmine Camacho Quinn being chosen to carry the flag for Puerto Rico. What a great honor.
Jazzy Jazz, that's what I call all the time. When I say I call it jazzy jazz. You know, you know she is probably one of the most humble individuals you would have a meet. She's very aggressive and then when it's time to compete. You think she's being difficult, but that's just what great athletes do. When it's time to do the work, when it's time to to to present their product, they they go somewhere and that is something they learned. That's a that's a God given gift.
You know what I mean. We all can go back to high school and even college and you there's a peer or a friend that they were great great and the minute the lights come on, they become we will say, man, that person becomes a peast, that person becomes that inventually becomes an animal. That's what you see with jazz. But at the end of the day, once she's done working in her craft, she is the most humble. She has
the sweetest demeanor. You whatever you'd ever you can even you could have a think of, well imagine So for her country is Olympic Federation to ask her to be as a flag at the opening ceremonies. That's one of the greatest honor any athlete or any person in my mind, could be asked to do. To That's where national pride really pushes forward, you know what I mean. At that moment, don't care where you're from you can be from. She brought in the corner of the east corner of the world.
But they say, we want you to bear the flag, you know what I mean? In this particular situation, that's the greatst honor one could, one of the greatest honors one could could be asked to do the service of her country.
She made her debut in Brazil in twenty sixteen and one hundred meter hurdles and then yeah, helped Puerto Rico win its first Olympic gold medal in the same event in the delayed Tokyo Games. So yeah, she's she's a great commodity down there. She finished up in twenty eighteen, as did Sidney McLaughlin, which is when you got her. So I don't know that there was no overlap between you all, was there? You didn't coach.
Them, No, there was not any overlap. Jazz finished. She was done with her eligibility. You know, she graduated in December of twenty eighteen. She still had a year of eligibility, but she she opted out of that and went pro, became a professional appay and Iah yeah for one year with Sydney. Of course, they wanted to go pro out high school, you know what I mean. But she opted to pursue the professional round. You know, you know, you
got to tip your hat to Edward Floiell, my predecessor. Yes, he had some very very good I mean, some of the most the greatest talents in the world. In that event. You look at Kenny Harrison, who was the world's record holder until the last World's two World Championships ago, who still is the American record holder. You know what I mean. All of those wore UK on the chest, you know what I mean. So you have to tip your hat to the work he did prior to us getting here.
What we have done, thanks to be the God that that all we have done is tried to maintain it or take it to another level.
You have a freshman from Nigeria and I don't want to try his last name because I'm afraid all you could say it I'm sure, but Alexander helped me with his last name.
His name is Alexander, thank you excellent.
But his opportunity to take part in events like this, in international events, I've got to think that's going to set him up even more for a great collegiate career.
I think so he's just a freshman. As I refer to the freshman as big, he's just a baby. His upside is going to be phenomenal. I before him, we had a young man here by the name of Daniel Roberts who who just recently made US Olympic team, and we had he was a part of when I was here, and he just ran twelve point ninety six. It's only a very hand few handful of men, but in the one ten hurdles that have dipped under thirteen seconds, and if my if my stats line up correctly, it might
be ten in the history the whole sport. Okay, I think he's got the ability to surpass Daniel Roberts.
You were part of that great, great tradition and culture at Arkansas as an assistant coach there. You went to Purdue, did a phenomenal job, and Mitch Barnhart pulled you to Lexington and as you mentioned that there was a great foundation here and you said about building on that, what has that process been like for you here in Lexington?
I mean, it's just it's the support, you know. You know. I would present a presentation to to Mitch and his usually his response to me is responsibly would normally be is this good for kids? Is this good for young people? And I usually would say yes. He said this this does this help us to be successful? My response is usually yes. And he said, let me see what I can do make this happen for you. And he's done that.
You know, I mean, you can this longstake. I think a man, every man and woman like can they can? They can toil and be. But when you guess what I call in my mind, your says you're the place of outpouring. You know, everything you touch turns to go.
You know what I mean.
You could think about it and it has become successful. You know what I mean? And so and I think what miss has allowed us, allowed me and my staff to do, is to continue to work in our posessed. I think this is the place of our POI you know, people have asked me, well, Alanie, what would you entertained anything? I said, no, I said, Mitch would have me. I'm he can put me out the pastor yet I'm not trying to look at the next jingling keys. I said, if he would allow me to do it, then I'm
still working and we're successful. It would be this is where I'm gonna go out to pasture and this when I'm gonna look at my wife at sixty five and said, maybe what you want to do? You know what I mean?
You know that sounded like a plan. I tell you. When I was growing up in Louisville, I used to go to the Mason Dixon Games. I loved it. And I'll be keeping a close eye on the Olympics as well for the UK people. And in fact, my nephew, who was six eight six ' nine, did not like basketball. He threw the shot in the discus in high school. Wasn't great at it, but he enjoyed it, and I enjoyed going to watch him. So there's a lot to like, isn't there?
Yes, it is. It's you know, you know, I don't know about other sports. I never claimed to know other sports. I've participated in other sports, but truck and feel like you just alluded to, it's an addiction. I don't know, you know what looks like maybe me me stop drinking four mountain of six mountain dews to day.
Oh man?
You know, you know, but but it's an addiction and you get to enjoy just I guess the art of competing, you know what I mean, you get to appreciate the thriller victory, You get to to understand the argument of the seat. In my mind, that's what track brings to you. So you wake up, you lay it down a night and said that if I do more push ups, if I if I can bench press ten more pounds, if I can if I can move this a little faster, I could be better. I could beat him or be there.
You know what I mean. The sport will consume you. You live it, Dave, you know there's something about it.
Coach, Thank you so much for your time. I know your time is valuable right now as your prayer to go to Paris. Safe travels and we'll do it again soon, I hope.
Thank you so very much. I appreciate you so much.
Thank you for listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. We have talked more than once with Jack Gibbons about his memoir that is just being released, and he always directs us to his co author Doug Brunk, who's on our celebrity hotline. Doug Welcome to the show.
Good morning, Dick C. Thanks for having me on.
Uh. Jack has said repeatedly that he was apprehensive about this and then you encouraged him. Tell me why you encouraged him and how did you talk him into this?
Yeah, well that's a I thanks to Jack for pointing that out. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I got a little restless and was looking for a creative project to take on to sort of get my mind off of what was happening around me and everybody else. You know, that was an existential time, but it proved to turn out be a great time to start working on a book because he couldn't really you know, be around people, and so we did a lot of phone work.
But I reached out to Jack emailed him about this. You know, I've always I've worked with him on my two previous books, and he just strikes me as you know, not only an iconic figure in UK basketball, but his consistent positivity. You spend a little time around him, you know, it's kind of remarkable. He's kind of a magnet for people,
but he also shines a light on people. You know, he takes time, he looks you in the eye, and he's generally interested in how you're doing, even if it's a perfect stranger, you know, and thanks people for his
for their interest in him right all these years. So I just thought, well, you know it was I'm a curious person by nature, so I mean, I've known Jack for about twelve years, but I thought his life story would be interesting because him being the not the first African American player to wear Wild uniforms, but the first all American African American to wear the blue and white, and that I think it's just an incredible story because he, as a young boy growing up in East Lexington, never
envisioned himself playing for Kentucky because nobody on the team looked like him, so it was so it wasn't even an option in his perceptions at the time. So what was fun to learn as he told his life story was, you know, when he became a star at Bryan's station, you know there were big blue name and fans in the stands that everywhere he played on the road, you know, largely white people saying come to Kentucky, we want you. And you know that was a there were other factors
he wanted to stick at home. He didn't like to travel, get on a plane and so on, right, so that that kind of affected in But but without a doubt, those fans of the teams that you know, we're once all white, persuaded him. And I just think it's a great story because look at him now, you know, he's arguably one of the leading ambassadors for UK back.
Yeah.
I think it's the great stories, you know.
Yeah, Yeah, And you know I was kind enough you all sent me an advanced copy and I read it as quickly as I could because I've known Jack just we were in school together, you know, and covered him for the school paper and the school radio station, just the whole nine yards. But there was so much about him I didn't know, obviously because of his childhood. Uh And when you grow up in the lily white East end of Jefferson County, you don't think about kids growing
up in bluegrass assmen there. You don't even know what it is, you know, in the barbed wire that separates the black families from the white families. It was fascinating, and I think Jack made it sound when I talked with him and the other subsequent interviews, it was almost cathartic. For him to recount those experiences. Has that been the way you found it?
Yes, And I'm glad you brought that up, because I don't want to give away too much. But the introduction of the book, Jack and his brothers used to wash wash dishes at a place called the Little End, which is not an existence off Winchester Road.
I remember that.
And for he and his brothers, the shortest way for them to get their most efficient way was to walk around along some railroad tracks. So I had him, I had to ask him about this more than once, to describe why they did that and how he felt, because you know, he said, that route went through some white neighborhoods, and you know, at that time there's some heightened racial tension compared with today. So he said, we and along
the railroad tracks. On both sides were you know, tall shrubs and so on, and they would hear dogs barking and and the true exit point from the railroad tracks to get to the Little End, they did have to walk a few blocks through all white neighborhood Yeah, and
he said, nothing ever happened. But in the back of my mind, you know, I always thought, you know this that you know folks living in those houses would view them with suspicion, and he said he always felt better once he and his brothers arrived at the little End to start their ship. Sure so, so just like you said, you know, when I was living in Kentucky, illand in Wilmore, and you know, I never had that kind of experience. You know, as a young kid, you know to kind of just be wary.
You have the antenna up exactly.
It makes you appreciative and it also makes you scratch your head a little bit. We're talking with Doug Brounk. He is the co writer co author with Jack Gibbons they call me Goose, which is out now. And what has been the initial response to the book. I got to think, you know, you've got a built in audience of course with with UK fans, But have they had the same reaction I did, Like, you know, they were happy to learn more about Jack.
Yes, well it's it's just got released within the last couple of weeks, so I am you know, I'm based in San Diego, so I will lean on Jack for that. But attending these three book signings we had last week, I had people come up and you know, tell Jack and me that they're so glad he put his story together. And I'm looking forward to the to the book. A couple of people had read it and said they were, like you, just surprised by so many new things they
learned about him. What was really terrific for me to witness at Joseph's death last Friday, there was a nice crowd of folks, and you know, Jack and I had a little discussion and then opened it up to Q and A. And one of the attendees there was Jack's old assistant high school principal, Oh wow, in the very front row. And you know, Jack not noticed him right away before things got going in Chickastania. It's nice see
him man and all that. But during the Q and A, this this gentleman stood up and said, if you had told me that this man here would have accomplished all he had, all he's done as an adult, I said, I would have told you you're out of your mind. Because he said Jack was the most quiet, you know, reserved student I can remember. You know, he just kind of kept to himself, had good grades and so on,
and so I thought that was really terrific. You know, all these years for him to come back, and and there were many other former classmates of his from Bryan Station that that showed up. So you know, it's just that's a legacy, you know, for the kindness he shows is something to aspire to and and it's and it's
an in spine, you know. But I want to point out that he was, you know, Jack was very open hearted about some of the struggles he's had, you know, yeah, near financial ruin and you know, being arrested and accused of a crime he did not commit when he had to rebuild his reputation as a right fairly new father. So that's tough stuff and I commend him for being open about it. And hopefully people, you know, we all
go through struggles, gosh. I hope folks can can learn how he coped and and have you know, some peace of mind and better life going forward.
Doug Bronk is my guest. He's a co author of Jack gibbons memoir. We'll talk more with Doug on the other side of the break. They're listening to the best of the big blew Insider want to come here on six thirty w l a P. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back, to the best of the Big Blue Insider Doug Brounk as our guests. He is the co author of They Call Me Goose, Jack gibbons memoir, which has been out for a couple of weeks now. Prior to the break, Doug, you referenced the downs that come with the ups in
life as it pertains to Jack, and I learned. I knew a little bit, but I learned a lot more. And I don't want to give away the farm. But when you talk with Jack about that, and I mentioned things being cathartic earlier, was it difficult to get him to open up? How did you approach him on this? And you know how much of that did you know going in?
I didn't know everything. Certainly we once we got rolling, and this project was largely well, the first I'd say almost two thirds of the book we put together during the pandemic because we couldn't be together with all the lockdowns and everything. So a lot of this was phone work. And once we got rolling and got into a rhythm of how we were creating text and I'd share it with him and then we kind of right as we move moved along. I encouraged him to think in blocks
of five to ten years. Okay, so we would we would just focus on you know, age fifteen to twenty and drilled down and then some of these situations you're alluding to came up and and I was, you know, I am an advocate for Jack. You know, there's sure you want to you may not want to talk about everything. And I said, hey, Jack, this is your book. Do you you know, think about do you really want to talk about this or you know, he said no, no, no, let's you know, let's address it.
Oh he did. Wow.
Yeah.
Well once he told me about the you know, the financial stuff for example, that was a surprise to me. And I just said how did how did it come about? And what were the factors? And so we kind of gave some background to it, and so he uh, you know what there were that what I had to what we were encouraged to embellish on. And this was I
back up a little bit. This project was from for the University Press of Kentucky and and one of the gentlemen who wrote read a early draft of our book is doctor Gerald Smith, who has a professor of history that you know, yeah, great guy. And it turns up he grew up near where Jack lived and grew up so he Ye, he's a little younger than Jack, but he had perspectives that I certainly didn't. As we were talking before, you know, I was I wasn't lived in
a largely white city of Wilmore. So he came back to us and said, Jack, you know, what about this, this and this? What about these people? And so he actually put together a whole list of things for us to consider. So Jack and I spent a couple of song calls going over those points that Gerald raised. And you know, Jack passed on some of them because he didn't feel they were relevant or he didn't know the
people that Gerald was talking about. But there are other things that so his I think with Gerald's help, I think we got we had Jack. Jack was opened up more about his perceived role in the black community of Lexington, and his perceived role is you know, one of the African Americans to play for the Wildcats, right, yeah. So it was so so it was great we got more detailed material that way, and I think it's going to be a good experience.
For the reader.
Absolutely.
Uh.
And as I said, I don't want to give everything away, but Ben Roberts did a really nice piece in the Sunday newspaper about Jack in the book, and he wrote about the fact and this, I don't know if I if I knew this, Doug but forgot it. But that and I knew Jack had been recruited by Tennessee. And I remember being in school and hearing about the recruitment of Jack Gibbons. Oh he's going to visit Hawaii's going
to visit UCLA. But he's doing it. You know. We figured I just want the trips, you know, but ultimately said he didn't want to get on the plane. I didn't realize how seriously Jack was considering Tennessee. I just cannot wrap my mind around him in a Tennessee uniform, you know what I mean.
Yeah, and to think about the fact that he took a Greyhound bus down there for his visit and I think Stu Aberdeen picked him up at the station and yeah, they treated him really well, and yeah, he left there thinking he was going to be a volunteer. And boy, can you imagine had that happened? You know how the history of UK basketball with James.
I don't want to think about it before I let you go do you know people I assume can get this not just a Joe Beth but Amazon. I mean, how can folks grab this book off the shelves or.
Online, sure, wherever you choose to buy books. And even the University Press of Kentucky, if you go to their website you can order it that way, that's probably the most direct. But Amazon, if you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get it shipped free to your house with you know, with your membership feet. So yeah, anyway you buy books, And I want to point out one thing.
Sure you know, soon after this is about two weeks ago, there are some at least one imposter Jack Gibbons memoir floating around out there on Amazon, So buyer beware.
So if the.
Cover doesn't look like it's called Day call Me Goose with Jack waving and it has the University Press of Kentucky logo on the back, that's what you want to look for. Anything else is absolutely not approved by Jack and so you would not be supporting him.
Somebody doing that's that's low ramp. But those are the days we live in. Doug Bronk, thank you so much, sir, and congratulations on the book. I know as an author as a writer, you're looking for that next project? What have you done for me lately? And what are you going to do for me? But keep us posted if it's something we need to know about.
I sure will. And I just want to say what a tremendous honor is it's been to work with Jack. You know, he everything people say about him is absolutely true. He's a fine human being.
Well, I've got to know a lot of athletes, as you might expect throughout my career such as it is, and you're friendly with a lot of them. But Jack is truly a friend, and he comes across that way on the radio. I too, I hope with people, and I'm so happy that people are going to get to learn a lot more about what has made him such a special guy. Doug, thank you so much. Best of luck to you.
Hey, thank you so much.
Jick.
Stay well.
You're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. Our number two is next here on six thirty w lap. Hey, it's stick Abriel. Welcome back to the Big Blue Insider. Our number two taking a little time off, so please enjoy the best of the Big Blue Insider. Yesterday, UK trotted out three of the new basketball players. First time they've done that. Some people have had one on ones. I have not yet had a chance to sit down
with any of the players. I had a chance to talk to Mark Pope, but they're giving us a bit more access now as the season draws near, the semester draws near. So yesterday and I played a little bit of it on the show. Last night, they brought out to Andrew Carr, Ansley Almanpor and otega Oway, and I thought I would share the interviews with you. I will
tell you this. You're gonna hear from Andrew Carr, and you're gonna hear from Angeley Almanor, but not otega Oway, simply because and I played a little bit of his interview last night. He is such a soft spoken young man. He has a beautiful deep voice and his speaks really well.
Gave a great interview, but because of the way he his voice was so deep and soft, and he was at a big table and those of us would handheld microphones, I for one, could not get close enough to him to pick it up on my mic without having all the other voices in the background bleeding over. I was able to find a little bit last night to play for you. But I want to get another conversation with him because he's a really good interview, like I said, as a beautiful deep voice. But in trying to play
back the entire interview, there's so much room noise. You can if you're watching him on YouTube, tube or TV or whatever, you can tell what he's saying, but just listening it's very, very difficult. So we'll have to come back to him another time. But let us start with the big man. Andrew Carr six' eleven transfer from Wake
Forest from Westchester, PA. He will wear number three Rex Chapman, and he talked to us yesterday about the joys of being a big man, playing for Mark Polpe and playing at Kentucky.
Just touching on team chemistry.
This is a small amount of time at a short period of time to come together. How's that work for you guys thus far with this small period of time.
Yeah, you know, I think it's been it's actually been a lot of fun. A lot of guys you know who are older, fourth fifth year guys, and you know they're coming in with the emphasis on trying to get to know everybody and when you got you know, ten to twelve guys who are trying to put in effort to get to know each other. It becomes a whole lot easier when when everybody's trying to learn, you know, learn about each other. And and it's been it's been
really awesome. You know, it's it's my my third team that I've been on, and and so I've been able to be around a lot of college basketball. But you know, whenever you get to be a part of a team, it's really special. And these guys are really awesome. It's been really really great people and there are a lot of fun to be around, so that that part makes it a little bit easier too.
So you've been the most impressive so far in practice.
You know, that's a hard question.
You know, I think a lot of people have have done a really great job, and I think for for us, it's it's been really cool. It's not just one person every day, so you know, it switches up every single day. Different people have good days on different days, and I think that's what I'm super excited about with this team in general, too, is the depth. And you know, we got two of everything, so you know, it's been it's been really fun to see that throughout practice.
Did anybody surprised you, like, maybe a little better than you thought, or maybe even just different, a different skill set than he maybe thought coming in.
You know, I definitely tried to watch as much film on my teammates as possible, so I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of what they like to do and and everything. But I'd say BG is super physical, and you know, I think he's made a really concerned effort to keep his super high motor all the time in practice and give it his all, and it's been really apparent.
So you scattered your own teammate of course, yes, so you've done that before, uh, somewhat.
You know, I think whenever you go to a new spot or have new teammates, I think this year is a little bit easier, a little bit different, just because you have a lot of film from a lot of guys. There are a lot of transfers and a lot of people who played a lot of minutes at other places, so it's pretty easy to kind of find that you know, and you have other transfers for me as people who necessarily didn't play as much or things like that at
their last school. So it's been really fun to to really be able to kind of dive deep into some of my teammates and see where they like and where they thrive on offensive, defense and stuff.
This is not your first transfer, but this is so new for everybody, I mean, the entire team, the new coach and all that. I mean, how crazy is it been to be a part of just getting to know everybody?
Yeah, you know, I think it has been. I think it's been pretty crazy. But I think also that's the blessing and all of it too, is everybody's new, So
everybody's experiencing the same thing. You know, Coach Pope and the coaching staff are trying to feel each other out and figure it out, just as you know, the players are trying to figure feel each other out, figure it figure it out, and so that just I think, you know, the the perspective that gives everybody in the program is really specials just a super graceful perspective, and you know, I think that allows for growth, you know, not only with the coaching staff, but with us as well, just
to be able to, you know, know that everybody is in a new situation and everybody's gonna give as much effort and try as hard as they possibly can to make it work. And so that's been been really cool and to have that perspective has been I think, on both sides, really beneficial for relationships.
Your new coach sex practices.
Yeah, so I think I don't know if it's necessarily new, but.
I one thing I love and one thing I know about.
Coach Pope, and he showed it definitely in in recruiting as well. But he just he loves people, you know, and and Coach Pope is just a really really great personality, and you know, it bleeds into everything that he does and with his family, you know, the way the way he coaches us, the way he acts with the coaching staff, and all the way down to the way he acts with the janitor janitorial people here and just like everybody, and I think it rubs me a really great way.
And just the way that he cares about people, the way that he goes out of his way to you know, to to love on other people, and endless gratitude with him. And that's been really special to see out of someone who's a leader at University of Kentucky, especially.
So in practices.
How involved is he with Yeah, very involved.
That was pretty cool, especially you know, uh, for me being able to to go first day, within the first couple of minutes of the first practice.
Coach Pope has this in the post, is.
Doing post moves, guarding me and showing me tips and tricks and things like that, which has been really really cool. And you know he's out there, you know, directing everything.
It's been. It's been a lot of funder in practice.
Andrew's part of a question. You've gotten a lot. But why I kent Tuck you? What made you want to come here?
You know, this is a really special place.
I think for me, I knew what I was looking for when I went into the transfer portal and this is a combination of everything that kind of came together.
For me.
First and foremost, it was a basketball fit, and I think, uh, Coach Pope did a really great job, you know, showing me how I would fit within the team and in the recruitment and just the way that I've been able to play. But also, uh, it's been was really cool for me to say, hey, you need to get better at this and this, and this is how we can help you do that. And you know, for someone trying to to continue to get better. Obviously has aspirations to to go play in the NBA. That's that's all you
want to hear when you're in the recruitment process. And so that was really cool to to understand my fit. And then this part was just the embracement. Embracement from the fans. You know, I think, uh, Big Blue Nation is is just I think you said it before.
It's just it's just different, you know.
I think it's a really special place and been my dream ever since a little kid coming and watching basketball. You always, you know, you hear about Kentucky, Kentucky basketball. You watch Kentucky basketball, and you know you want to be a Kentucky basketball player.
So we've heard a lot about this team's shooting ability right early practices.
Who's who's the one guy that you you just cannot ever leave.
I think it's pretty cool.
You know, Travis Perry has done a really, you know, a great job, just been working on going in and seeing them in there. You know, sometimes you walk in and he's at five hundred and six hundred shots up right in the day and something like that, and and he's still at like eighty five percent, and I'm like, like how.
Is that possible? Walk over?
It's all threes and he's eighty five percent is pretty crazy. So I'd say, you know, Travis Perry has been lighting it up. You know, I made fifty nine in a row from a corner the other day.
It's just it's incredible. So what's it been like getting acclimated? I know, Wake is I'm from Winston, Okay, very good. Wake is kind of shell Antler.
You get here, everybody recognized automatically because you play.
Yeah, yeah, no, It's been definitely a little bit different. I think my favorite part has been, you know, you get downtown and been able to go out to eat some some really beautiful places downtown and things like that. A lot of rooftop places I didn't know a city, you know, try to get you on the roof for some extra space or something like that.
But it's been cool going there.
My favorite part is also just you know, you go ten fifteen minutes and it's just green for forever, and like, you know, it's just been a beautiful. I just love nature and things like that going outside, so for it has been really cool to you know, drive fifteen twenty minutes and you know, get a taste of your hometown, and for me, Westchester is really similar to that, a lot of green, a little bit more hills, but a
lot of green. And so Lexington has really felt like home and you get a taste of both in city and the country. So it's been a lot of fun, you know, being able to explore and experience it and you know, pretty comfortable being away from home at this point in my life. So it's been it's been great.
We're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. We are presenting the full interviews with some of the basketball Wildcats we had a chance to talk to yesterday. Shared a little bit last night. Andrew carr otega Oway and Angeley Almanor, who is the six to
seven wing player from ups Date, New York. He transferred in from Fairleigh Dickinson, and he spoke to us yesterday first of all about the Kentucky non conference schedule and how he's looking forward to those marquee matchups.
And you just can't wait to get out there and play, you know, actually play against other teams. Obviously excited for some of the bigger games like Duke Louisville and stuff like that, but just can't wait to get out there and go compete other guys.
Is that kind of why you came here playing those marquee games?
Oh yeah, it's definitely a reason.
You don't get to play on that type of exposure, playing national television games a lot of those big time teams, big time players, you know. Definitely definitely was the reason why I came here for sure.
How are games like that going to help you, guys? Gel maybe even quicker than a game against a team that's not quite up to the same.
Part, because you know, you face adversity. University brings you closer.
So when you play those bigger teams, you're going to go through a lot of tough stretchers. They're going to go make runs because there's a lot of talent on those types of teams. So when you face adversity, you end up becoming quicker, jail quicker and stuff like that.
So those games definitely help us.
What do you mean by adversity there?
I think I know, but what are you just you know, when another team goes on a run. They're gonna hit shots.
They're obviously talented too, you know, they're gonna go there, hit shots, going a little run.
How we're gonna respond to that.
The little things like that help build us to where we're competing in March.
And how practice is going so far? What have you seen in the practices? Practice is great? You know, I love it. I love the lay coach runs things.
You know, we get a lot of skill development, and we get to play a lot, go up and down and then putting in his system and stuff like that.
So it's just been great. I love this so far.
Let's talked about communications and how vital that is. I mean, how quickly has this team picked up on that.
I feel like, since we have a lot of vets, has something we've we know coming in for sure. So we're I feel like we're pretty good communicators, all of us top to bottom. You know, all of us were out there talking. You know, we're a pretty close team too, so I feel like it's something that we definitely have is a strength of us.
What makes you say you're close? I mean, how do you get that feeling? How does that manifest itself?
You need to spend so much time with the guys, like living in the lodge and stuff like that. S I feel like it just made us jelt quicker. Like I feel like all these guys and my brothers like I know them. I could h t text them, call them whenever I need him. Like, I feel like everybody has that same type of feeling when it comes to this team.
In the same boat.
I mean, you're all new coming into the program new year.
I feel like that definitely does play a part too. You know, everybody is news first time here. We're all learning these things together, so uh that that definitely does play a part in it for sure.
You guys be a team buildings guys on the football field yesterday?
Who who stood out on the on the football field?
Who?
Who?
I mean?
Colin did pretty good? He has a good little arm. Uh uh huh? Who else is pretty good?
Uh?
Bg is pretty good. You know, I feel like we are we're pretty pretty solid as a team.
You know, what was your reaction to Coach Pope in the helmet?
Oh?
Yeah, I was laughing. He came out of nowhere with the helmet on. It's like he was a tight end out there.
And talk about you know, on paper, you guys can shoot the ball and Mark recruited guys who can all shoot. Can you just talk about the ability of this team to shoot from from depth?
Yeah, it's not just on pay pers in real life too, you know, like we you we really got a lot of shooters. That's something he emphasizes w even in every day and practice where he makes us everybody go take a lot of threes, a lot of shots, make sure we're practicing our craft, and that's something that he emphasizes a lot as a key to how we're gonna play this year, how we're gonna beat teams. Just we're gonna take a lot of threes. We're gonna make a lot of threes, and that's definitely a big part.
Of us for sure. Is that something you're looking forward to. Yeah, it's something I'm definitely looking forward to. You know.
It's uh one of my strengths. So it definitely can't wait. Can't wait to do that.
How much different in offense from what you ran previously?
Uh, It's it's pretty different, you know, cause it's is just like these types of players, these types of coaches, like they just go out there, they let you play like there's no, really set plays like that. You're really gonna go out there and read each other, read a defense like you know. That's why being a close team really matters when it comes to this type of system, cause you got to know each other.
You gotta know where this person's.
Gonna be or how this person's gonna react to a certain movements. So I feel like that's really like, uh how this offense works, you know, just being able to read each other and that something that's different that I haven't.
Read ly is adjust But.
Uh not really, I feel like you p. I played basketball for Almo almost all my life, so once you play basketball like you're you're a basketball player. At the end of the day, you know, you know what the right players, you know the wrong players. So as long as you out there trying to make the right play, everything's gonna fall into place.
For sure.
What're not playing with six You guys have got six fifty years seniors. What's that gonna mean for you guys.
Or just experience?
You know, we're an older team when it comes to compare, like comparing us to the rest of the country, just gonna be older than a lot of these teams. You know, fifty your seniors. They've been through a lot. I mean, I'm a senior myself. I've been through a lot. Like I know college basketball like the back of my hand, like I've been through the ups and downs that They've
definitely been through the ups and the downs. So I feel like that's gonna help us, especially when it comes to later in the season, like when we're pushing making a play for marsh or stuff like that. I definitely think that's gonna be a key to while we win games and being able to put a pull them out.
The championship team coach played for has so much talent, and they they told us that going into that year, they were all talking among themselves like, how is Rick Patino gonna do this? Who's gonna play what position?
And how much are you guys.
Going through a similar thing? Because you've got so much experienced talent on this roster.
I mean, I feel like we're not even work like right now. I don't think anybody's really worried about that. Right now.
We're just really focused on trying to learn his system.
So yes, I think it's a little too so.
Baby, as you get closer to this season, we start figuring that out, but like we're still just trying to learn everything. You know, there's a lot of it's a lot of this stuff is coming out as fast. We're trying to learn his system, excuse me, trying to learn his system, learning things that he's teaching us, and trying to learn each other like on and off the court. So that's that's something a little too early for us
to really think like that. But like you said, there's a lot of talent on this team, so they got a tough job. I feel like trying to figure out.
What would your impression.
When he took you out with it?
It was unbelievable. You know, you see it on TV and stuff like that. You see see the games on TV, but being in there seeing like like sitting at the top, just seeing the whole arena from that point of view is just crazy. Like I'm gonna be able to get to play there and represent those fans, and I can't wait to do that.
It's always Coach Pope's system that's very advanced, and it's hard to learn from a lot of people who what a lot of people have said, can you maybe just kind of go into a little bit of death of what you've seen from his system so far.
Just just like a lot of reads, that's what it is.
Like.
You play fast, you p you you make a lot of reads. You play basketball with a hot Q. You try to find your teammate open shot. And that's really what it is. And it sounds easy, but to feelly not like you know, it takes a lot of movement. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of hard work to be able to you know, master it and perfect it.
But it's been fun so far learning it.
So what do you If there's one thing you want BBN to know about you?
What is it?
Uh?
You know that I'm here to represent you guys, and I'm only here to win this national championship. You're not gonna see nobody go out there and like I mean a person, I'm gonna go out there and give them my all every time I get out there. You know, I'm then to comfort the the glid to the Glamoray. Just came here to win a national championship and represent you guys. That's all I came here for and come
for none of the fancy stuff, you know. So that's definitely something I want them to know about me.
What about defensively.
What have you seen defensively in the practices so far?
Its defensively what he teaches us is like really fun, Like I feel like you've got a lot of good defenders. And that's something that he emphasized that people don't really realize that. He's really a big, big emphasis on defense. We do that every day, you know, certain schemes and stuff, the way we play. It's that's something that it's important. We gotta get stops and we gotta be able to
rebound on the defensive end. So it's something that people don't don't really talk about when it comes to coach Pope, but that's something you definitely emphasize.
Defense is fun.
Yeah, the way like, yeah, defense is fun, like the way the way we want to play Like, defense is fun. You get stops, you've got you get out and you go make them guard us, Like it's just fun.
You know, what have you seen from Amari so far? As I mean mediums have you seen from he's been He's been great.
You know, he probably got to get to talk to them a couple of days, but you know, everybody he's been great. Like I said, everybody is just a great player. Out here working their butts off and you know, doing their best. So it's been a great grace sperience so far.
I'm sure you guys don't worry about this, but the preseason way too early. Top twenty fives probably don't have you guys anywhere. How good can this team be? I know the sky's a limit and all that, but you've seen a lot of basketball. Like you said, just just how good is this team gonna be?
I feel like this team's gonna be really good.
Like I said, it's gonna really shock a lot of people how good we're gonna be, especially especially when it comes to playing some of the teams on our schedule, Like you know, we're gonna we're gonna go out there and shock a lot of shock a lot of people
in this country. And we're definitely gonna make a deep run when it comes to March, because that's the goal is anyways, the goal obviously wheen of those non conference games in those conferences early, they matter, but the end goal is getting that band number nine, and that's what all of our goals are.
So so you think those big non conference games could be statement.
Games, They're definitely gonna be staving games especially, you got a lot of guys who are you know, we want to be here, We want to represent the Kentucky So we're gonna go out there make statements and hopefully, you know, show people that we're not someone to play with. So yeah, we're definitely gonna go out there and make some statements in others in those games.
You're listening to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. More to come here on six point thirty w LAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the Best of the Big Blue Insider. Joining us now is an old friend. We knew him first when he was an assistant coach at Kentucky and since then, Tony Franklin has done a lot of interesting things. He's coached, he's consulted, he's got a podcast off and on, he's on our Celebrity Hotline. Coach, welcome back to the show, and this has got to
be a thrill for you. One of your former pupils, Jared Goff, is just at a terrific year with his team, the Detroit Lions. Man, what's it been like for you to watch this happen?
Well, it's such a it's really a good American story. I think it's one of those things that as a as a parent, as a teacher, educator, coach, you can you can really teach so many great lessons from it. And yeah, I've known Jared since I went and watched his last high school game when we first got to
cal and helped to secure him to come on. He came in early, and so I got to coach him for three years and got to know his mom and dad, and then you know, over the years as he got into the NFL and went through the extreme highs and the extreme lows with him, I just actually went up this summer. I was doing a consulting in Michigan, and so we spent a day together in Detroit and I got to watch him practice and we went out and
at dinner that night. And he's just a really great example of you know, never get too high, never get too low. I told him when he was drafted, I said, You're never going to be as good as people say you are, and you're never going to be as bad as people say you are. So enjoy the journey and do the best you can and find a way to, you know, do some good every day. So it's been wonderful to see him do what he's done in Detroit. That whole cast of characters there is just a group
of humans. And so I've been really proud of him and happy for him as well.
He was the overall number one pick by the Rams, so I know you were ecstatic for him that night, got to a super Bowl, and then he's traded, so that it couldn't be more of an up and down life with regard to those moves, right, well, I.
Think it is.
I got to go to the draft, and you know, it was such an ecstatic moment when he got the phone call and I was sitting at the table with him to watch that smile in his face, and to see his mom and dad and his sister and the pride that they had, and then to watch him grow up in the NFL and just start to be good and to get that success and to be all pro and you know, go play in the Super Bowl and all that. But then also to see how the egotistical
part of coaching were. Everything that good happened with the Rams was the great wonder kid Sean McVeigh, and everything that happened bad with the Rams was all that terrible quarterback Jared Goff, and for McVeigh to throw flame on those fires, and then for the way he was traded, just to do it in such an unprofessional way, and for the way that he found out and all that. So, uh, it's it's like I tell him, you know, I told him at different times, I said, you know, you have
really good problems. You make a tremendous amount of money, You've got an crazy, beautiful, amazing fiance, you got great parents, and half the time the world loves you and the other half the time they hate you. So you know, that's a good set of problems.
Yeah, and when you sign up for quarterback, you sign up for that, don't you You do.
Think I think, you know, for everybody in Lexington, they got to watch it firsthand. With with Tim Couch, yeah, being the first pick in the draft. And I've always said this, and I always believed it, is that Tim Couch was not the problem with the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland Brown's were a problem with Tim Couch. And you're so dependent upon luck in that deal where you go who the coaches are, and he just had a bad run of luck with the guys that were there, and the
coaching staff. And so Jared has been you know, he's had the ups and the downs and highs and lows, and you just sometimes have to told every quarterback I've ever coached, you got to overcome your coaching. Sometime we're not always right. Sometimes we're wrong. And I told Jared when he went to the NFL, I said, you play ten years, you're probably gonna have ten different quarterback coaches. They tell you ten different things, and you better learn to listen to none of them and figure out who
you are. And every now and then you get lucky and find somebody that's really good. And he's been fortunate now as OC has done an incredible job, and I think he's got the best head coach in all the football. So all those guys play hard for him.
Talking to Tony Franklin, former assistant at Kentucky, was the OC at Cal and Jared Goff was there setting records in the Pac twelve. Well, that's got to hurt your heart to the pack The weelve, I guess is falling apart. But to work with a guy like Golf and now, be honest, I'm actually a shareholder, a part owner of the Green Bay Packers but I'm rooting like crazy the Detroit Lyons, if not for golf, for Josh Pascal and
Quinton Bohanna. It's a lot to like over with the Lions, you know, it really is.
And Laura and I were lucky this year that with my schedule, we were able to go to a game and sit in a box with Jared's mom and dad and a group of people that really supported him. And all these years coaching in every major stadium that there is in football, I've never been to a place as
loud as Ford Field. I've never been to a place where the fans cared as much as what they did at Ford Field, and for him to experience that, and especially in the playoffs with them shouting his name when they played the Rams and Stafford came back and the fans shouting Jared Goff, Jared Goff, pretty cool stuff.
Tell me about his physical skills to so many other points in your career, because it's been fascinating. But with regard to Jared Goff, I mean, obviously a strong arm, but I got to think he sees a field pretty well, doesn't.
He He's got great vision. He's a guy that you know, people always talk about today. There's such a divide between well, you know, they're just a system quarterback and they can't do this and they can't do that. And what people don't understand is that there is an art to operating in that pocket from tackle to tackle. Tim Couch had that art. He was tremendous at with great hot, fast feats.
It's what I now call Manning GoF footwork. I named it after Peyton Manning and Jared Goff, and really, to be honest with you, because it named it after Tim Couch because all their footwork was the same. They had this incredible like a typewriter where you work to find the throwing lanes from a GAF to b gaff to see gap. And Jared has that unique ability to never look at the rush, to keep his eyes down the field, to be able to feel the rush, to slide from
a GAF to be gap, to see gap. And then obviously did God give him talent and to throw a laser being twenty five yards from one hash to the opposite sideline and you know, to be six ' five and do that is a gift that you know he.
Was blessed with.
And all the other stuff he's worked incredibly hard to be good, and he worked hard in college. He was a guy that his first year we were one and eleven at Cal and you know, he got sacked as much as anybody in college football.
And he took a beating.
He weighed about one hundred and seventy pounds, and you know, he went from there to breaking every record in football. And so it's fun to watch somebody just constantly every year get better at their craft. And he's right now playing at the highest level that he's ever played at.
Wow. Why you were at Kentucky. You were the OC for a Dusty Bonner and Jared Lorenzen. I know Jared could shake off defensive line, but Dusty, Dusty was sacked quite a bit, I know, but it's still led to ly in passing.
Yeah, and Dusty was a guy too that did a nice job of working to find the throwing lanes. The problem was we just weren't. You know, we lost those that really good group of all offensive line and all left that year before. So he had to sit in there with that and still had the SEC in several categories. And you know, it was a great quarterback and I'd still to this day will go to my grave knowing that if you know, our head coach had not made that decision to do what he did, then you know,
he would probably still be a big time coach. But all that's in hindsight. But yeah, and you know, Jared obviously had Lorenzo had a phenomenal skill set that was different than any of those other guys in the fact that he was just an incredible athlete that could throw the ball seventy yards and tough guy and you know, physical and all the other things, all the other gifts that you have.
Yeah, and Dusty's made quite a name for himself as a radio personality here and in part of our UK network coverage, So you got to be proud of him for that. But we're talking to Tony Franklin, a former Kentucky assistant coach also worked in a number of places in treading cal where he coached Jared Goff, the overall number one pick in the draft and now a guy who's just one step away from the Super Bowl. They're listening to the best of the Big Blue Insider More
to come here on six thirty WLAP. It's Dick Gabriel. Welcome back to the best of the Big Blue Insider talking to Tony Franklin, who was an assistant coach at Kentucky, worked at Troy and Auburn and Middle Tennessee, but also at cal where he coached Jared Goff, now the quarterback of the Detroit Lions. Do you get a chance to talk and you know, meet and chalk with Dan Campbell at all, because man, that city has fallen in love with that guy.
Yeah, I sure have. The day I went, they were gosh there in late June, so I think it was their last day of OTAs. And it was funny because they security like I was going to see the President of the United States to get into the camp. And once I got inside there and Jared had arranged everything, it was when Coach Campbell came out. He was one of the few people that in my life at the moment he walked out onto the field, there was a presence that I'd be truthful with you. I was afraid
of the guy. I mean, I didn't want to walk up and say hello, who I was nothing. I tried to avoid him because he looked at me like he was ready to play. That day and the thing that Jared had said to me a long time ago was he said, you know, everybody because of his opening speech when he took over things of him as you know, a meathead and oksuskay and all that stuff. He said, he's, you know, one of, if not the smartest guys that
I've ever been around in the game of football. He knows every single aspect of the game from offense, defense, special teams. And the big thing is he's a leader and they respond to him because he genuinely cares and he tells authentic truth, which is so unusual it's almost unheard of in college football. I mean, I don't know ninety percent of the guys that are out there today in the industry, I don't think there's hardly any authentic truth.
But Dan Campbell is authentic truth. And I think it's easier to have authentic truth in the NFL than it is in college. But he's one of those people that I think it's what's made him such a great leader is because he does speak authentic truth.
I'm going to say, professionals, they've been around the block. They're going to recognize bs, aren't they.
Yeah.
I think so.
When I think that the other things that eventually pretty quickly they find out that it is a business, and as long as you're upfront and honest and blunt, then most of them will walk away with a good feeling. They'll feel good about it. And I think that was the thing that always bothered me with Jared when the
Rams traded him, is that it wasn't authentic truth. It was a sneaky, behine, unclosed door deal, a secret meeting, and you know, it goes to social media thirty seconds after he finds out, and so it had all been done beforehand. So that was more like the interworkings of a college football program. Then, you know, pros the way they're supposed to handle thing.
What kind of a chance do you give them? Because I had the Niners look beatable when the Green Bay played them.
You know, Green Bay I thought was playing as good as anybody in the NFL at the end of the year. As a matter of fact, I think that if Love had just a little bit more experience, yep, they would have won that game because he missed. You know, the interception he threw to the running back on the checkdown was just really bad footwork and just you know, a horrible ball, and he'd thrown so many incredible balls in rhythm that he'd had the last few weeks. But with
that being said, Detroit's playing really good football. They've played good football on the road this year at different times. I think it all comes down to whether or not they get a plus one or a plus two in turnovers. If they have a play one or a plus two and turnovers, I think they'll I think they'll win the game. If they don't, then I think it'll be you know, it'll be a tough deal because San Francisco is a
little bit better defensively. They've you know, had more success defensively San Francisco our Detroit has given up a ton of yards in the air of the last four weeks, and they've been good against the run. But McCaffrey's so good coming out of the backfield catching the ball. I just think that they'll need to be a plus one or a plus really probably a plus two to win the game.
I'm with you, and the Packers missed, as you know, two interception opportunities. One would have been a pick six. Otherwise I think that could have been a game much like the Cowboys game. This is a fascinating matchup Tony, because you know, we've talked about Jared being the overall number one and the guy on the other sideline, the quarterback, was mister irrelevant. It could not be more of a contrast. You're a quarterbacks expert. What does that tell us about the position?
Well, it tells us that most people have no clue what they're doing when they're making these decisions of who's good and who's not. There's more failures in drafting quarterbacks and picking the five star quarterbacks and the elite eleven quarterbacks. And the one thing I found out over the years is that I didn't play quarterback, couldn't play it if my life depended upon it. But I got really good
at coaching the position. And I think most of it was because I was extremely simplistic and the details of how I went about doing it. And with that being said, brock Party is not a good quarterback. Brock Perty is a great quarterback. He's got tremendous pocket presence, he can extend place, he's got a good arm, not a great arm, but a good arm, and he's doing People say, well, yeah, well he's just within the system. Well, you know what, Jimmy Garoppolo was in the system, it wasn't very good.
There's a lot of guys within systems that can't do what Rock Purty has done. And I think a lot of it comes back to people just never wanting to admit that they're wrong, which is a huge problem in our society where that you can show it to them in their face, watch it on video, and they still won't admit it. And that's the thing now, is that, well, we didn't pick this guy. He wasn't the guy that we said was going to be the guy. They should
have done this, They should have done that. So and so could have been better if they've taken him instead of admitting that this guy is a really good player and just you know, hey, sometimes it happens.
You know.
The way I did it in college football is here's the way I said. Once every three quarterbacks that you take, Once every three quarterbacks that you sign in college football, one of them better be good. Two of them can be terrible, but one better be good. One of them better be able to win, and if so, you'll keep your job. If you get ever get a time to where you go two or three years without signing a good one, you're in trouble, you're probably gonna get fired.
And now you mentioned being there when he was drafted, but of course people knocked him, said and you just talked about it. He's a system guy. I know, maybe I'm mincing words, are taking things too literally, but isn't every quality QB. Isn't every successful quarterback a system guy? Just a guy who's found the right system, because you don't just go out there and you know, let's run a little bit of this and a little bit of that and have success.
Now there's no doubt. And again it becomes if it becomes a catchphrase. It's people love catch phrases. They love something that's simple that you can repeat over and over again and you don't really have to have any facts to base it up. People say, well, Kyle Shanahan is this It's just like McVeagh. It's mcveigh's the greatest coach
in the history of mankind. There's this whole new trend of these guru kid coaches that are, you know, in the twenties and their thirties, and they come up in their voy geniuses and all that stuff, and so anybody that has success they are and sometimes they're the ones that are responsible. They're the ones they hear it all the time, they take the credit for it, when in reality,
it's a combination. Then it always has been a combination. Sure, it's a combination of you as a football coach going Okay, what can this guy do?
What's he good at?
And then you.
Develop the offense around that, not the other way around. And you know, you're dumb as a coach if you don't adjust what you do to what the skill set is of the best player that you have to play the position. That's why Lamar Jackson is to me, he's the MVP and it's not even close. And you know, people right now they're, well, you know he's not a true quarterback.
Yes he is.
He's incredible in the pocket. He just happened to get a coordinator that came in and said, you know, let's take what this guy already does really well. Let him still scramble and make some plays, but not us have as many designated runs. And then let's improve his skill set in the pocket. And then let's put it all together and see what happens. And you know, the guy's one of the best players to ever play the game.
Hey, coach, great catching up with you. Let's do it again soon.
Thanks great to hear from you. To take care.
That'll do it for now. Thanks for joining us for this special edition the best of the Big Blue Insider. That's it. Good night from the garage in Lexington.
Can you fly this plane and land it? Surely you can't be serious. I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.