- 2 days ago
What have learned about this Georgia Bulldogs' draft class to this point in the cycle? UGA insider Rusty Mansell joined The Morning Shift to discuss where this group is depth wise and what the Falcons can get from them.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Rusty, welcome in. Morning, morning. The dogs put on quite a show the other day. I thought you were talking
00:05about basketball. No, that's a little bit different. Is that what you want to talk about? Oh my God. Yeah,
00:12it was good. I've told, I've done several interviews with our stations over the last couple of days and I
00:17said it with you guys. I talked to Bo. To me, Georgia's had a much deeper draft class than they've
00:24had before. I've never seen that many people in that building. It was insane.
00:29I don't know if the timing was right, but man, it was, I mean, it was crazy how much media
00:36was there and how much pro scouts were there and important people were there. And, you know, they've got what
00:45I would think is probably two first rounders in Monroe at Freeling. And I can tell you he's going in
00:50the first round. And CJ Allen probably, but Oscar Depp had a great day. You know, you look at all
00:55these guys work out, Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch.
01:00And it's deep, but I wouldn't say it's top heavy like it's been. You know what I mean? Top loaded.
01:05Yeah.
01:05Did anything actually, because you say you were surprised kind of by the presence and media and scouts and everything
01:10else, anything actually that came out from the players surprise you?
01:13Like it was their up running 4-4.
01:15Their 4-4?
01:16That's crazy, dude.
01:17I said this, sitting at a table Tuesday night, and I asked a guy of a team, this is a
01:24guy that's involved in decisions.
01:27I said, what do you think on Oscar Depp?
01:29And he said, we really like him because he attaches to the line, shows some physicality.
01:33He's gotten a lot better hands, more consistent, very interested in what he runs.
01:38I said, okay, let me, I said, where do you think he is?
01:40He said, early 4th, late 3rd, and I said, what's the target tomorrow?
01:44He goes, well, if he runs 4-6, no, no, he asked me first.
01:47He goes, what do you think he's going to run if you know him?
01:49I said, I think he's a 4-5-7 to 4-6-0 kid, which is good.
01:55That's a great time for tight ends.
01:56Because he's 6-4, you know what I mean?
01:58He goes, if he runs 4-6-0 tomorrow, he's a mid-3rd rounder.
02:01That's a good spot for him.
02:04This joker ran between 4-4.
02:06The highest I saw was 4-5-1.
02:09That's crazy, man.
02:10Dude, he ran.
02:11You know what was great?
02:12He ran.
02:13And I know his mom and dad, his mom walked in the building that morning nervous wrecked.
02:18I said, look, this is the fun part.
02:20You know what I mean?
02:21He's worked his whole life, but he's ready to go.
02:23I know he's about to run that.
02:25And he ran that 40, and he walked over, which I assumed is his agent.
02:31Who was texting, probably, with some of those scouts.
02:34Oh, I'm sure.
02:35And he walked over, because you don't get your time.
02:37You know, the next guy's running.
02:38They don't get it.
02:39So he walked over, and I saw him talk to this guy.
02:43They hugged.
02:44He smiled.
02:45He hugs his mom.
02:47The next thing he did was take his damn cleats off.
02:50And I thought to myself, that's the last 40 he'll ever run as long as he lives.
02:55Yeah.
02:56That's it.
02:56It is.
02:57Until he's chasing kids.
02:58100%.
02:59100%.
03:00It's funny how that works.
03:01Talk to me about Monroe Freeling, because is he a product of the class of offensive linemen
03:08that are out, or is he that good?
03:11Because I feel like his stock is this kind of a dun-da-dun-da-boom.
03:15He's the hottest player in the draft, stock-wise, and there's two reasons.
03:21It's a very thin tackle class.
03:24The kid from Texas coming back really helped him.
03:26Because I talked to people I trust.
03:31He got majority second-round feedback.
03:34Some guys had him late first, but somebody told me he got 20-something replies of a second-rounder.
03:43Mike, you know this is always a question.
03:45You hear this.
03:46Sometimes it works.
03:47Sometimes it don't.
03:49I'm going to bet on myself.
03:50And that kind of makes you like, oh, I trust the feedback.
03:53He bet on himself.
03:55And I promise you, just talking to people down there, what he did in Indianapolis, what he looks like now,
04:02he's top 10.
04:03Like, there's no player in January that improved his stock, period, more than Monroe Freeling did.
04:10Like, he went from 35 to 28, probably, maybe.
04:16Cleveland's at six.
04:19I saw his mom and dad in a hotel Tuesday night.
04:21I said, you might want to get a big coat, Mom.
04:25You might want to get a big coat.
04:26They literally lost their entire offensive line.
04:29So they got to start somewhere, right?
04:31I'm happy to hear that.
04:32She's a yoga instructor, so I told her, and I've known his parents since covering him.
04:36And they mentioned when COVID hit, she put him in yoga.
04:41Like, you're not sitting around.
04:43You're going to start doing this.
04:45And his flexibility and all that.
04:47So I ran up to her Tuesday.
04:48I said, listen, I know some people want to be your agent.
04:50And so we got some NIL deals.
04:51Because all they talked about was the mom and yoga.
04:54And they kept referencing yoga.
04:55She's like, my phone blew up.
04:56She's like, I'm in the building.
04:58I have no idea.
04:58They mentioned me on TV.
05:00That was cool.
05:01I love that.
05:02I want to ask you about Christian Miller.
05:04Because Mike and I were talking the other day about how we read his comments about wanting
05:09to play for Atlanta before we saw his demeanor.
05:13And you read it, and it's like, I'm going to put on a show.
05:16The delivery feels different in text versus who he is.
05:19He has a huge personality.
05:21Yeah.
05:21And he's agreed to come in here and sit down with me.
05:25I'm not trying to press him.
05:26He's doing interviews and doing visits and all the rest.
05:28As soon as I'm done with this, I'm coming in that stage.
05:30I've listened to 92.9 all these years, which is cool.
05:34He's an Atlanta kid.
05:35He is truly an Atlanta Falcons fan.
05:38Now, we need defensive linemen.
05:40And like somebody told me this week in Athens, there's only so many of those type of human
05:44beings.
05:45You know what I mean?
05:45There's only so many of these D linemen.
05:47That's why they're so coveted in high school, college, and NFL.
05:50I love him.
05:51He's heavy right now.
05:52And I'm wondering if somebody told him to bulk up.
05:57Because he didn't look 325 to me the other day.
06:02Yeah.
06:02He's carrying it pretty good.
06:03But I know what he plays at.
06:05And for two years, I was told he played around 305 at Georgia.
06:08Had a really good year this year.
06:11I'm interested where he is.
06:12And I'll be honest with you.
06:13I hope there's enough questions that we're sitting here at 48.
06:16And we have to make a decision if he's on the board.
06:18Because there's only so many of those bodies.
06:21Yeah.
06:21Definitely is.
06:22Well, I would ask you, based on some of the news coming out of the workout,
06:26that there's another guy that maybe could fall, that I would like to fall.
06:30And we kind of have a void because Caden Ellis is gone.
06:33And C.J. Allen is getting great.
06:34I don't think he'll get into 48.
06:35Well, there's a lot of questions about it.
06:37I don't understand it.
06:38Well, he's not healthy.
06:39And, you know, some of the video, like the video I put up that went viral,
06:45and this former, I'm not caught, this former LSU player grabbed it
06:48and he put his comments in on it.
06:50I've seen it.
06:50And then about 15, from Smile Mundin to Eric Stokes and to Kobe Dean,
06:55all of them go in on him about quick.
06:58You don't know anything about Georgia.
07:01Anyway, I posted a video.
07:03It was his second rep.
07:04It was basically a warm-up rep.
07:06He's doing a drop step.
07:07He's doing backpedaling as a linebacker.
07:10And, you know, how healthy is he?
07:13Is he injured right now and is going to be great in September?
07:16Or is this something that's lingering with him?
07:20Tough-ass kid.
07:21He got scoped during the season.
07:23Mike played 12 days later.
07:26And the guy that told me this said, Rusty, of all the players we've ever had,
07:32we've never had one do this.
07:33And he looked great in warm-ups and weak.
07:36So we played him.
07:37He wanted to play.
07:38That's wild.
07:39That's 12 days later.
07:40That's unbelievable.
07:43Zachary Branch.
07:44Praise God.
07:46Yeah, well, and I said this yesterday, Rusty.
07:48I was like, dude, watching the videos.
07:50I think it was Maria Martin that put it up, of him talking to Matt, you know,
07:54and just kind of that back and forth and just the smile on both their faces
07:58and just kind of talking shop.
07:59Like, please.
08:01Like, I have started honing in on really being a fan of that decision
08:05because the acceleration's there, the top-end speed, everything else.
08:08Why isn't he, though, considered a higher pick than us, you know,
08:13having vision at 48?
08:14I think size.
08:15Right.
08:15I think you look at him and you go, okay.
08:19And I'll be honest, man, I worry that somebody's going to fall in love with him
08:23and take him 29th.
08:25I can see that.
08:26One of those teams.
08:26Wouldn't I be shocked?
08:28That's where, you know, Ladd McConkie, I kind of thought,
08:31the Chiefs were almost going to take Ladd McConkie in that last pick,
08:35and they'd take the kid from Texas.
08:36I bet they'd love to have that pick over.
08:38And he went, like, 35th or 36th,
08:42and I think most people thought Ladd was late second,
08:45and the more they got to know him, then he had a great workout.
08:47He had a great workout.
08:49I know the Falcons, because I watched it, I told you.
08:52I watched Ian Cunningham and Matt Ryan, who were standing 20 yards apart.
08:55There was no communication between them.
08:57They're working the room.
08:58They're doing what they step away from everybody when he starts going routes on air,
09:02and they're not watching.
09:03Jake Fromm, don't be mad at it.
09:05They're not watching Jake Fromm throw.
09:06Yeah.
09:06I love you.
09:08They're watching this guy run routes, and Delp was running routes, but a lot.
09:13At one point, they run a ton of routes.
09:15It's only like five guys running routes, and they throw a deep ball,
09:19and Zachariah runs by me, and he's walking back.
09:22He's trying to catch his breath.
09:24And I stopped him.
09:25I said, hey, man, they don't give you a breather.
09:26He goes, no, man, that's what we're here to do.
09:28Dude.
09:28You know what I mean?
09:28I was like, jeez.
09:30He came up.
09:31At one point, Mike Bobo was standing to my right.
09:33I'm standing here, and he comes up, and he puts his arm around Coach Bobo
09:38and just squeezes.
09:39Coach, I love you.
09:41Mike's like, damn, please come back.
09:43It's not too late.
09:45It's not too late.
09:47But Mike Bobo just straight up told me he's one of the best kids.
09:50He said, that's one of the best transfers we'll ever get off the field.
09:53Wow.
09:53He goes, this dude.
09:54That's pretty high praise, man.
09:56Dude loves it.
09:56Dude loves it.
09:56That's pretty high praise.
09:56I would love to have him.
09:58I think, you know, we love a first-rounder, and we love to have the offseason to talk
10:02about it.
10:03I still think there's really damn good players at 48, and I think you can get a starter at
10:0848, and you need to draft a starter at 48.
10:11I agree.
10:12You know?
10:12What's Dylan Bell going to be in the NFL?
10:14Because I felt like he was very inconsistent with drops and stuff in times at Georgia,
10:20especially in the 24th season.
10:22Yep.
10:24Because, look, let's just say Zachary Branch is not realistic, and maybe Dylan Bell is
10:28a late-mid-round guy.
10:30Yep.
10:30Is that something we could look at?
10:32I would love to have him, because I still think, and I don't make – I still think Dylan
10:36Bell's a running back.
10:38He's like 209 pounds a day.
10:39He is yoked up.
10:41Ran good.
10:42Catches the ball.
10:44From everything I was told inside the building in about October, he stood up in front of
10:49the entire team and talked about how selfish he had been, how much he only worried about
10:55his stats, and I heard the switch cut on for him, and he said, Coach, do anything you need
11:01me to do.
11:02If he stays healthy, there's going to be a sixth-rounder or a late-fifth-rounder that can play
11:08anywhere.
11:10You take a guy – I know personally who recruited him and who basically found him was Todd
11:14Munkin.
11:15That was one of the last kids that he recruited at Georgia.
11:18He was lightly recruited out of Houston, Texas, and Munkin worked him out on one of those
11:23little side fields.
11:25Liked him and thought, you know what?
11:27Is this guy a one-hit wonder?
11:28He brings him back from Houston the next week, works him out even better, and Georgia signs
11:34him.
11:34There's a lot left there with him.
11:36I think he was really inconsistent.
11:38I think he was immature, but I think everything, the development, how big he is, he played all
11:43special teams.
11:44And you can use – he's a Swiss Army knife.
11:46And you start looking at guys like, you know, these late draft picks and you go, how's this
11:52guy producing?
11:52To me, it's one of those guys.
11:53You're getting the right fit, this guy can play for you.
11:56Yeah, I agree with that.
11:57Well, Rusty, you talked about how, you know, the parents are nervous on pro day.
12:00Oh, my God, they were about to throw up.
12:02Right.
12:02The Falcons personnel there and who they're paying attention to.
12:05But what's it like for you when you've been covering these guys?
12:07Oh, man, that is really – there's really not a, I would say, an assigned duty like,
12:15Rusty, you need to go to pro day.
12:16To me, I go because I've covered C.J. Allen since the 10th grade.
12:21I've covered Christian Miller since the 10th grade.
12:23I was on TV the night Oscar Depp scored a touchdown in Corky Kale, had no offers in
12:28Michigan, offered him that night.
12:30I know their story.
12:31I know their families.
12:32To me, it's kind of one of those, like, this is a culmination of everything.
12:37I want to see these kids, their dreams come true.
12:40The parents over there, you know, I know them.
12:42And when the parents are in tears that morning, that's a big day.
12:47You know what I mean?
12:48That's a big day.
12:49Mike's been through it, so he understands.
12:50But there's so much that goes into these kids.
12:53There's a lot of pressure on them that day.
12:55You know, I looked at Oscar.
12:57He looked at me, he looked.
12:58He said, hey, you make sure that damn 4-4 is out there.
13:01And I said, Oscar, I'm not taking your word.
13:05I talked to a couple dudes.
13:06Yeah.
13:06You know, he was just, you know, so you root for those kids.
13:09And then you see the other guys that I've covered.
13:10You see Tate Rattledge and Marius Mims, you know.
13:13And I was talking to all those guys about the NFL.
13:15And Trayvon Walker was there.
13:16I was talking to his dad for a long time.
13:18He's like, man, it's hard to believe this is his money year.
13:20This is his fifth year.
13:22It's crazy.
13:22That is crazy, dude.
13:23I feel like you get more press and more puppet at the pro day than anybody.
13:30Because, you know, I mean, I did get to talk to you after.
13:34And I know you were basically interviewed about what you know about these guys.
13:39Well, I walked into that Tuesday night.
13:41And that wasn't that.
13:42I got invited to go to dinner.
13:44I was going to grab something and just easy and go to the hotel.
13:47Somebody goes, hey, you want to go get dinner with some scouts?
13:49So I wind up talking to two AFC East teams that were sitting at a table with me.
13:56That guy calls the guy over from the Browns.
13:59And he goes, he's got a great story.
14:00And I've told it about Isaac Royale when they flew me up about the time.
14:04I've told that story many times.
14:05But I started talking to him.
14:07Then I find out that he lives in Milton.
14:09So the Browns, head of scouting, lives in North Fulton, which is crazy.
14:15That is crazy.
14:15Yeah.
14:15I mean, I'm fascinated.
14:17They picked my brain.
14:19And then I picked their brain.
14:20Like, where have you been?
14:20Who did you miss on?
14:21What are you looking for?
14:22Here's the one thing real quick I'll tell you.
14:24I said, hey, I don't get any calls than I used to.
14:27And I said, I got a theory on that.
14:28He goes, what's your theory?
14:29I said, I used to get calls.
14:31And they would say, how is Mike Johnson going to handle money?
14:35Who is he?
14:36Does he love football?
14:37Is his mom crazy?
14:39That's a great point.
14:39What's the girlfriend like?
14:40They would ask all the things.
14:41Not can Mike Johnson bend or how tall is he?
14:44They would ask me if I knew anything.
14:46Now these kids have money.
14:48Yeah.
14:48That's a great point.
14:49All they do is call Kirby Smart and go, how has he handled you giving him all this money?
14:55Did it change him?
14:56They don't have to go to my level anymore.
14:59You know what I mean?
14:59Which I get a call or two, a background check.
15:03It's usually some young kid in the office.
15:06Yeah.
15:06You know, but not much at all.
15:08That's crazy.
15:09I didn't think about that.
15:10That's my theory.
15:11My theory is they go straight to the college.
15:14Yeah.
15:14Yeah, that makes sense.
15:15Well, it's certainly going to be interesting.
15:17Rusty, you always have the best stories.
15:18Thank you so much for joining us today.
15:20Well, I appreciate it.
15:21I'm going to get Mike.
15:22I'm going to Mike's tab tonight, so I'm in a good mood today.
15:24Speaking of him getting all the credit on pro day, he's going to be looking down on the
15:29peasant's day as he sits in the box.
15:31I can't sit with common folk anymore.
15:32I'm too old, man.
15:33I got to be able to stretch out, man.
15:35Take all the videos for us when you go to Eric Church tonight.
15:38It's going to be an amazing show.
15:39I appreciate it.
15:40Thanks.
Comments