ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy picked a Clemson player to be in the conversation for the Heisman trophy this season during College Football Live. Who was McElroy’s dark horse candidate to win the Heisman? “I think this is a great pick. I …
ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy picked a Clemson player to be in the conversation for the Heisman trophy this season during College Football Live.
Who was McElroy’s dark horse candidate to win the Heisman?
“I think this is a great pick. I feel good about it,” said the former University of Alabama starting quarterback. “I am going with Will Shipley from Clemson, the running back who I think when you look at what Clemson became as the season went along last year, they started to realize, look D.J. Uiagalelei, he’s not Trevor Lawrence. He’s not Deshaun Watson. He’s not going to be able to carry us with his arm like our previous quarterbacks have.
“We have got to run the football. So let’s get back to the ground and pound. We are going to play great defense. Let’s feed this talented running back and when you think of what Will Shipley can do in the passing game he reminds me a little bit of Christian McCaffrey.”
The ESPN analyst believes Clemson will return to being an elite team this season.
“Couple that with in order to win the Heisman trophy you have to be in the College Football Playoff conversation and I expect a bounceback performance from Clemson,” McElroy said. “I expect them to win the ACC and get to the College Football Playoff. Him being their best player gives him a real chance at it.”
Nick Saban discusses NIL, competitive balance, and super conferences with Greg McElroy.
Former Alabama starting quarterback Greg McElroy recently started a podcast solely focusing on the world of college football. One of his first guests on the show was his former college coach, [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag].
McElroy and Saban discussed a variety of topics in the nearly 30-minute interview, but a majority of the conversations involved the ever-changing landscape of college football.
Like he always does, Saban offered up some incredible responses to questions about NIL, competitive balance, and super conferences.
Saban is known for his calculated messages that sometimes even feel rehearsed, but in this conversation with McElroy, the seven-time national championship-winning head coach was very open and honest on the future of the sport we all love.
Let’s take a look at what coach Saban had to say on some of the issues facing this great sport.
The pending major realignment of college football has everyone talking about Notre Dame’s future. Will the program stay independent, or will it join the Big Ten? However, Greg McElroy has decided to throw another wrench into the conversation. Chances are you won’t like what he’s proposing, but here it is anyway:
I’ve heard a lot of discussion the last couple days about the possibility of Notre Dame to the B1G…
I guess the possibility of playing Alabama and/or Georgia every year would force the Irish to up their game as far as recruiting top talent. Besides that, there is nothing to suggest their culture would fit with the rest of the SEC’s. Sure, the fans have just as much of a superiority complex and desire to win as the other top dogs in that conference, but do you really want to see Tide fans at Notre Dame Stadium regularly? On top of everything else, the recruiting processes and standards don’t mesh well, so why make yourself an outlier?
McElroy’s pipe dream is just that, so he should put this possibility to rest.
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The all-time leading passers in Alabama Football history!
Alabama Football is rooted not just in college football, but the sport as a whole. Some of the greatest players to play the game did their time at the collegiate level with the Crimson Tide.
Among those players were some stellar quarterbacks.
Last season, true sophomore quarterback [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] won the Heisman Trophy, Alabama’s fourth overall, but the first time a Crimson Tide quarterback earned it.
Recently, the quarterback play for Alabama has picked up tremendously, but there are plenty of names from the past that will brig back memories of a time before Young, [autotag]Mac Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Tua Tagovailoa[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Hurts[/autotag].
We break down the top 20 passers in Trojans history. A group that includes a Heisman recipient, a handful of first-round draft selections and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
On ESPN’s College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy weighed in on who they think will win the ACC this season. Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC) saw its chances of winning a seventh straight Atlantic …
On ESPN’s College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy weighed in on who they think will win the ACC this season.
Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC) saw its chances of winning a seventh straight Atlantic Division title take a big hit last Saturday with the 27-17 loss to Pittsburgh (6-1, 3-0), which is in clear control of the Coastal Division right now.
In the Atlantic, the Tigers, with two conference losses, are behind both Wake Forest (7-0, 4-0) and NC State (5-2, 2-1) in the standings.
Both Howard and McElroy are picking Pitt to win the ACC this season and put an end to the Tigers’ run of six consecutive conference titles.
Howard: “I’m a big fan right now of the Pitt Panthers. … They’re playing at a level that I think is sustainable. Sometimes you watch a team and you say OK, they’re playing above their head or they’re playing over their talent level. I think Pitt is at a consistent, constant level where they can maintain this style of play and get them through to the ACC Championship Game. So, I’ve got to go with the Pitt Panthers winning it all in the ACC.”
McElroy: “I’m going to take Pitt as well. I think Pitt just has the better quarterback at this point. Even though (Wake Forest QB Sam) Hartman has been excellent, I think (Pittsburgh QB Kenny) Pickett has the higher ceiling. And defensively, I just referenced that Wake, they have some vulnerabilities on defense. They’ve had a couple of very close calls this year, too, in which they won the game and they deserve credit for winning the game, but they looked very human in the process of winning those gams. So, I think Pitt’s been a little bit more control, and I think they’re a little bit more consistent on both sides of the football.”
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On ESPN’s College Football Live, a couple of ESPN analysts discussed whether there were unrealistic expectations for Clemson entering the 2021 season given the departures of key players like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. Here’s what Greg …
On ESPN’s College Football Live, a couple of ESPN analysts discussed whether there were unrealistic expectations for Clemson entering the 2021 season given the departures of key players like Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne.
Here’s what Greg McElroy and Joey Galloway had to say about whether expectations were too high for the Tigers, despite the fact that a talented quarterback was taking over for Lawrence in D.J. Uiagalelei:
McElroy: “Yeah, probably. And I think it wasn’t just Trevor Lawrence — I think it was Travis Etienne. I think that there was a presence at wide receiver that’s not there right now. I think that there’s an awful lot on this Clemson team that has really kind of faced some adversity that they haven’t seen in the past. They’ve also lost two of their best interior defensive linemen for the season. Bryan Bresee is now out with a knee injury, we saw (Tyler) Davis out with the biceps. So, they’ve had some adversity that they’re not really used to. So, they’ve kind of been the product of what’s been somewhat difficult circumstances. Not saying it’s an excuse, just saying they’ve been dealt a bad hand and haven’t responded as wonderfully as they have in years past. So, I think the expectations were probably a little bit too high. But at the same time, this is a team that has overcome mass departures in the past only to have the same result.”
Galloway: “It’s the past and where they’ve set the bar is why we expected them to continue to roll. We expect it out of Alabama every single season, no matter who leaves. We expect it out of Ohio State, no matter who leaves. We expect it out of teams like Clemson, no matter who leaves. We expect these teams to continue to roll, and it’s because they set the bar that high in what they’ve been able to do. When it doesn’t look the same, we’re all shaking our heads, like what happened, what’s going on here?”
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On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Greg McElroy and Joey Galloway discussed whether they still believe in the Florida State Seminoles following their gut-wrenching loss to FCS team Jacksonville State last Saturday in …
On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Greg McElroy and Joey Galloway discussed whether they still believe in the Florida State Seminoles following their gut-wrenching loss to FCS team Jacksonville State last Saturday in Tallahassee.
Former Clemson quarterback Zerrick Cooper threw a 59-yard touchdown pass as time expired to give the Jacksonville State Gamecocks a 20-17 victory over the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Despite the agonizing defeat, McElroy still believes FSU can make some noise in the ACC moving forward.
Up next for the Noles is a trip to Wake Forest for a 3:30 p.m. game against the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem on Saturday.
“We’re going to learn a lot this week. But yes, I think there’s things to look at this team and feel somewhat positive about,” McElroy said. “Now, last week was an embarrassingly bad performance. They have to respect the opposition regardless of what level the opposition plays at. And granted, yes, FBS should never lose to an FCS team. You’re Florida State.
“However, in Week 1, I thought they did a pretty dang good job against a solid offensive and defensive line for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and I think that’s been the biggest point of concern, for me, is that line of scrimmage. So, I’m still cautiously optimistic, in a down ACC, Florida State can make a little bit of noise throughout the rest of the season.”
Galloway didn’t necessarily agree with McElroy.
“Very kind of you, Greg. I don’t know that I’m with you there,” Galloway said. “I don’t think they’re as bad as they played on Saturday to lose to Jacksonville State. I think if these two teams played 10 times, Florida State probably wins nine of them — and if they figure out how to play prevent defense at the end of a football game, they might win that one.
“But I don’t know if there’s enough there that I feel good about. They have to start finishing some of these games and find ways to win games. Because then that’s when your players start to feel better about what you’re doing, and until you do that, then you just have a nasty taste in your mouth, especially when you go and lose these kind of games.”
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On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy gave a “Progress Report” on some of the nation’s top quarterbacks and talked about how they fared in Week 1 of the season. Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei …
On College Football Live this week, ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard and Greg McElroy gave a “Progress Report” on some of the nation’s top quarterbacks and talked about how they fared in Week 1 of the season.
Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei had his share of issues in last Saturday’s 10-3 loss to Georgia, but McElroy pointed out that the sophomore signal-caller’s subpar performance wasn’t all his fault.
“They’ve got to do a lot of things to make life easier for D.J.,” McElroy said. “They’ve got to block, they’ve got to create a little more separation, they’ve got to be more consistent with the timing of the passing game. So, yes, he didn’t play well. But like you said Des, that was not all on D.J. at this point.”
Uiagalelei completed 19-of-37 passes for 178 yards with one interception — his first career turnover, the pivotal pick-six that proved to be the difference in the game — and was sacked seven times.
“D.J. had his struggles, man,” Howard said. “It started up front obviously with the offensive line. They could not block Georgia’s defensive front. But when you get beyond that, even D.J.’s coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that it took D.J. probably two and a half quarters just to get settled. And Greg can tell you better than anybody, you can’t take that amount of time to get settled in a game of that magnitude against an opponent like Georgia. So, once he got settled, he started to throw the ball in rhythm.
“But it was bigger than the offensive line. He wasn’t making the right reads, he wasn’t getting them out of bad situations, and his receivers, too, they didn’t help him out. That pick-six was not on D.J. — it was actually on the receiver who should have broke across the defensive back’s face so the ball didn’t get picked.”
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ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy joined The Paul Finebaum Show this week to preview Saturday’s top-five matchup between the third-ranked Tigers and No. 5 Bulldogs in Charlotte. McElroy said to Finebaum, “Had these two teams played at full …
ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy joined The Paul Finebaum Show this week to preview Saturday’s top-five matchup between the third-ranked Tigers and No. 5 Bulldogs in Charlotte.
McElroy said to Finebaum, “Had these two teams played at full strength, I was leaning pretty heavily towards Georgia, to be honest with you, Paul.”
“And it’s not really taking anything away from Clemson, it was really more just very proud of the progress that Georgia’s made,” McElroy added. “However, I don’t think fall camp’s been very kind to the Georgia Bulldogs.
“We know that Arik Gilbert is nowhere to be found, associated with the program. He was supposed to potentially be that matchup nightmare on the perimeter at wide receiver, but he’s not with the team at this moment. George Pickens, his availability’s still a little bit up in the air — No. 1 wide receiver who tore his ACL in April. (Pickens has been ruled out for Saturday’s game). You have a center (Warren Ericson) that’s been a little beat up, and now he’s trying to learn how to snap with the opposite hand, by all accounts. You have a couple of players on the defensive side of the football — (defensive back) Tykee Smith, in particular — that has been a little beat up as well.”
McElroy also said that while he loves Georgia quarterback JT Daniels, he doesn’t know if Daniels is the best quarterback in this matchup.
“I remember watching D.J. Uiagalelei last year and felt like D.J. Uiagalelei against really solid competition performed adequately, that solid competition being Notre Dame,” McElroy said. “He went on the road — yeah, they lost that game — but he threw for over 400. And Travis Etienne, who of course was an All-American candidate himself, he rushed for about 28 yards on 18 carries. So, the run game was a non-factor and yet D.J. gave them a chance.”
With all of that said, along with Clemson’s track record in AP top-five games as compared to Georgia’s, McElroy is leaning toward the Tigers as the team he thinks will come out on top Saturday.
“So, I look at this matchup, and I think right now if I had to pick it, I think Clemson is the team that’s had the better fall camp, is the team that’s healthier at this point, is the team that has a better track record in games like this,” McElroy said. “If you look at AP matchups involving the Georgia Bulldogs, there have been 12 all time — Georgia’s 3-9. Clemson, on the other hand, is 9-6 in AP top-five matchups. So, I’m leaning with the Tigers at this point.”
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Who will broadcast the Notre Dame-Florida State game?
With the first games of the 2021 season almost here, the time has come to find out who will be announcing the ESPN-broadcast games. Notre Dame opens its season Sept. 5 at Florida State, giving it a Sunday primetime spot that will be reserved for NBC Sunday Night Football in the weeks to follow. Of course, this being a road game means the Irish will open 2021 on ABC. We now know that viewers who tune into the game will hear the calls of Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George.
Yes, I can hear several of you rolling your eyes at the mere thought of Tessitore and already trying to figure out how to sync the Irish radio call with your TV using your DVR. After all, Tessitore’s Monday Night Football broadcasts with Jason Witten and Booger McFarland are widely regarded as some of the worst in that program’s long history. However, the addition of George from the ACC Network should provide some insight into the conference that might otherwise get lost. McElroy doesn’t seem to get that much hate either, so I guess two out of three ain’t bad.
