TJ Finley is gone, Auburn football adds Jalen McLeod

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. TJ Finley is gone in Auburn lands a top target. Freezing temperatures are likely for several hours inland and a few hours closer to the coast. Yass. You are locked on Auburn, your daily podcast on Auburn Tigers. I'm your host Zach Blockerby and thank you so much for making a lock on Auburn your first list in every single day. Joining us today is a little Warra poor Wednesday action. Mike G of the Warra poor. We will talk about Jalen McCloud, the newest Auburn Tiger at the Jack position. At first things first, we talk quarterbacks here on this show and Auburn is down a quarterback yesterday. TJ Finley will enter the portal as a grad transfer and he will be playing somewhere out his Auburn career comes to an end. Mike G. Yeah. Listen, if you've been paying attention, this is not a shock to you at all. No, no, it's not. Yeah, you know, you knew this was coming. Listen, he was asked in an interview after 8 a day if Hugh Freeze brought in a quarterback would he stay or not? He gave a very auspicious answer and it indicated that he was exploring his options because the team would be exploring their options. Guys, this is simple. Despite what you think about TJ Finley and how he's performed here, he's got to do this for him, right? Sure. There's no other way to look at this. He's got one year left to play. He's got to get something on tape, Zach. He's got to get tape. And before we started recording, you and I were kind of talking about, you know, what is the best route to that for him? You know, just go someplace where you can be the guaranteed starter. It may be a lower level of football, put up numbers and you end up like some big quarterbacks. You know, maybe, you know, he can make something happen, you know, from that level. So, you know, wishing him the best. I think for the most part, while he was here, carried himself, you know, fairly well. He won over the team a year ago. You know, that big quarterback battle between Zach Calzada and him and Robbie Ashford. I mean, he won over the team. It still has fans on the scene. I think so. I think so. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, sounds like he commanded the locker room more than any of the other quarterbacks, but I think Auburn's looking elsewhere. I don't think Auburn's looking currently on the roster for the next quarterback. So, um, thank you for TJ Finley. I think he brought a lot of excitement when he committed two years ago, but he is no longer on this. And then look, this is another Brian Harson guy that's off of this roster as Hugh Freeze and the staff actively fight to flip this roster. This is just kind of another step towards all of that. So, do you think this has any impact in regards Auburn pursuing quarterbacks? Or do you think this would have happened anyway? This was going to happen, man. This was the, this was always the way it was going to happen. If you listen to lockdown, if you listen to the war, if you listen to the war, if you listen to it. All the every day or is out there. So, I think it's the exact blacker, you know, we've been saying this was going to, this was coming. It was just a matter of when. And as they get closer, I think it's an indication though that Auburn is getting closer to signing their portal quarterback, right? Because he likely had a conversation with the coaches about where he stands, what their plans are, what they're doing and what that means for him. So, you know, this is, this was, this was all part of the design. Right. I'm there with you. I'm there with you. But now how Auburn will fill out this quarterback room, I think it's, I think it's going to be Peyton Thorne. If I had to guess, I think it's going to be Peyton Thorne or Casey Thompson, the fan base is kind of split right now. In fact, that it seemed like more people are higher on Casey Thompson, but we'll discuss that whenever, you know, when the one with the bridge, we get there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, who cares? I mean, it's up to what Hugh Freeze wants because it seems like they're both super interested in Auburn. So we'll see. So now you're looking at transfer quarterback, Robbie Ashford, Holden Garner, and Hank Brown going into the fall, once again, assuming Auburn adds a quarterback. But I think we all feel pretty good about that now. Uh, yeah. So again, if you're Robbie Ashford, your situation is unchanged. They're, they were all, I say for Holden, they were always going to bring in a quarterback. I think Holden's the winner in TJ leaving. Uh, yeah. 100%. Oh, I don't know, man. He's going to get more of a winner than he was before. He's going to get more reps. He's going to get more reps because of it. He was going to get them anyway, because we knew TJ was out of here, right? I guess my point is like, yeah, but I mean, you can't, you can't say that until like, he's actually gone though. Okay. Fair enough. You know, I'm just saying we knew this was coming. And so, you know, the, the, the, the mission is the same. The assignment is the same for these guys, right? Uh, continue to try to win the locker room, win the team, show the coaches that you can be the guy, the Hugh Freeze's definition of an SEC quarterback, uh, in the, in the summer. And then go into fall camp with hopefully that edge on whoever they bring in and, you know, you know, maybe, you know, with the calls, the card's fall where they may, you know, one of these guys comes out with a job. I still have high hopes for Holden, get in there. Um, as somebody who can be really the future of a program, uh, rocket arm, you know, uh, all the football smarts, right, and, um, just a great kid in general, uh, you know, for Robbie Ashford, you know, I think his window is closing. I think his window is closing to try to win this job here. Right. So, I, well, Mikey, I think if it ends up being patent thorn, when it's all said and done, the transfer from Michigan state, he's got two years left. I think that almost closes the door on Robbie and Holden just from a timeline perspective. Yeah. It's tough, right? It is tough. You, you, I still believe the most effective way to build a program is through recruiting. And if you're going to bring in guys who have multiple years of eligibility left, this is why I was never high on Thompson, right? He's got one year left to play, right? And is bringing him him, is he good enough to, to, to be worth upsetting the natural flow of your recruiting process at that position? All right. Cause you got Walker White coming in who's going to be highly heralded and is he going to want to sit behind paying it to more? Sure. I mean, I think, I think Casey Thompson, a one year rental type thing, a band aid would make sense if Walker White was already on campus and he was a true freshman. And then you're able to roll him out and either red shirt freshman or true sophomore. I think the timing right now, unless you think Hank Brown could be that guy, which I don't think is out of the question. I think a lot of people have written off Hank Brown. I actually think Hank Brown's a baller, if I'm being honest with you. But regardless, I'm with you. I think the two year option makes sense for either of them. Get a guy that can come in, start in 2023 and then worst case is he's fantastic and he leaves, you know, but probably going to stay two years. I think he'd be a two year guy. I don't think he's quite good enough to be an NFL type player. But then after that, you either got Hank Brown who'd be a red shirt freshman or no, a red shirt sophomore or you've got Walker who would be either a red shirt freshman or a true sophomore, depending on how much they played. Yeah, like listen, this has to be the era of freshman quarterbacks coming into Auburn, Zach, and actually doing something in this system. Hugh Freeze has to start a pipeline of quarterbacks. He's going to be able to convince guys too that your turn will come. And when your turn comes, it will be up to you whether you see the reins or not, but you and only you. We're not going to go looking for the next flash in the pan in the portal every single year because we trust the talent and the evaluation that we have in the recruiting process and you are our guy. That is how the better programs are doing it. That's how Auburn's going to have to do it if they want to catch up to the likes of Vama and now LSU and Georgia and anybody else who's killing it in the conference right now. All right guys from high school, convince them to develop into your program, teach them your system and convince them to wait their turns, Zach. It's got to be the. It's how you build a program. I agree with you. Ironically, ironically, Bama brought it a transfer quarterback, but big picture you were correct. Absolutely correct. They did it right for years and years and years, but I guess it's funny that you say that. And finally, they ran out of luck. Yeah, they struck out on two or three different guys that should be better. Yeah, it happens. It happens, right? They're still not convinced that they might not have to turn back to one of those guys during the season. You know, so we'll see. We'll watch that situation. I'm just saying like, you know, they brought in all these highly held the guys and you can't say that Jalen Milro didn't get a fair shot to win the job. Right? I think they wanted him to win it. They wanted him to win it. If you didn't take it, if you didn't take it in the natural succession in that program, it's you. Right? I think, you know what I mean? Luckily, it's you. Let me not say that when they defended it, defended it, uh, this, but like it's, it's just not going to be that's how we're looking at it. I think Hugh Fries needs the same thing at Auburn, man. Like, you know, that's, that's, that's the formula. Yeah. All right. Jalen McCloud, Auburn lands one of their priority targets in the portal. We discuss what this means and just some of them right here on lockdown. Auburn, if you were looking for a delicious snack, but you don't want all the sugar and calories and you need to try the best tasting protein bar ever built. You've got built bars, which are kind of similar to your traditional protein bars and also built puffs where it's like chocolate that inside of it is this protein infused marshmallow. It's delicious and they're good for you. You want to look like Mike G, just super fit and super, super handsome. You need to check out built.com and load up on built bars. All these things are high in protein, low in calories, low in sugar, keto friendly. If you're into that sort of things, check it all out. Built dot com. Mike G. Two all time greats are facing off in the NBA playoffs for a fifth time. LeBron James and the Lakers take on Steph Curry and the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals. You cannot find a second round playoff matchup in the NBA that is bigger than this one. The Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff series for the first time since 2004. Did I dream that or what? That happened really? How do I react? What do I do with my hands? And the 2023 NFL draft is in the books, which means it's time to hand out some grades. The Houston Texans talk to me. How are you feeling by? I'm giving them a plus plus for more on all these stories head over to locked on Lakers, locked on Leafs and locked on NFL draft. Then check out locked ons new series, Paving the Way. Each episode will highlight a different voice from across the network. A locked on host whose journey in the industry has helped pave the way toward creating a more inclusive and diverse media landscape. That's Paving the Way presented by State Farm available now on the locked on presents podcast feed. Allburn lands, Edge, former app state edge. Now he's going to be listed as a Jack linebacker. Jalen McCloud. And there's a lot to like about this guy. He's got a history of achieving, you know, getting to the quarterback at the Sunbelt level at a high level. And if you're into the analytics, which I know you bring up PFF stuff fairly often, his PFF stuff is pretty crazy. His defensive grade is an 86.6, which is 27th and 862 edge players that pro football focus graded. It's pretty stinking good. And it's not like it's a small sample size. I mean, he played 232 passing snap to 150 rushing snaps. I mean, he played almost almost 400 snaps. So you certainly love love to see that. I think Mike G, I think his role here is pass rush specialist third and long. You take maybe a bigger defensive lineman off the field and he put him in because some places have enlisted at 61 to 30. Other places have enlisted at 62 to 20. Regardless, smaller than what this staff has gone after at the Jack position so far. Kelldrit Falk is a giant, you know, 66, 65 to 60 ish is what they've looked at at Kelldrit Falk and with Elijah McAllister. This guy's smaller, which you would have to assume and hope that he's quicker. So little bit different body type is all I'm assuming his role will be a little bit different as well. Jalen McCloud plays with an attitude. You know, sure. He look at his tape. This guy plays with an attitude. I think he's going to bring that in. Zach, this is a, this is a reminder that Dylan Brooks is gone. You would have to get a chance to talk about that. Yeah, yeah. You would have to get a chance to talk about this. No, you love them. Dylan Brooks has got, can you wear Dylan Brooks jersey? Can we just pretend these days? Did they make those? They might. If they might. I'm receiving it one. I'll wear one if you give me one. So you know, Samantha, at the end of the day, they needed to go out in a recruitment position. You know, off camera, you and I had a conversation about what this possibly means for Elijah McAllister. You know, you've got to be stacked. You've got to rotate a bunch of guys on defense. You need guys who can come in and spell those are guys. You know, this is another piece in the process for Ron Roberts defense, right? He has explicitly stated over and over again how important that Jack position is bringing in guys who can do the job, who you feel like can do the job was going to be important. So McCloud is going to be an intro, like a integral piece in filling the depth at that position, if not becoming a star, that position for Ron Roberts. Yeah. I mean, he's definitely going to be in the rotation. I don't think there's any way you can keep him off the field given the current state of the roster and the depth on that position. We'll talk about the pecking order in a second, but I think there's just a lot to like about all of this. And it seems like he committed Sunday night and just kind of waited until yesterday to pop and kind of make everything official. But you got to think, you got to think he's got high expectations as far as, okay, you know, I did it at that stage. I did it at the Sunbelt level. Can I do it at an SEC level? And it looks like, you know, my favorite thing about this is when you look at his numbers, do you know analytically from PFF grades, his best game of the season? Do you know who it was against? I'll tell you. Can I tell you permission to tell you? Yeah. It was against Texas A&M on the road in college station. It's not like they beat up on somebody. This guy, when he was faced with the toughest competition on the schedule and A&M wasn't great, but it's still, you know, all of a ton of players. All of a sudden, right? I mean, all of a sudden, you know, or average SEC teams this season. All the years, right. Still, like you still, you take it. You certainly take it. I think it's a sign. He had a 92.2 defensive grade. He had five hurries. He had five quarterback hurries against Texas A&M. That's, that's pretty solid. I mean, I would take that against any SEC. You and I both know there's no greater indication of future success than a PFF grade, right? Like, you get a PFF grade. You're guaranteed star. I mean, they get it right a lot. Like, I know you're being a little sarcastic there and I'm cool with it. Totally cool with it. I mean, they get it right. I mean, you look at their top grades and it's like, no, those guys are, those guys are some of the best players in college football. I get it. Yeah. No, listen, the PFF grades are impressive and they're definitely something to look at, right? You know, my expectations for him are tempered. I expect him to be a piece in the puzzle, right? And I think that those grades suggest that he can be a very important piece in the puzzle. So Jalen McLeod, it's been slow in the portal. I think this is good news for Auburn and they're going to need to continue to pick up pieces like this over the next few weeks or until the portal, you know, period closes and, you know, get guys in who can help immediately. So you know, your one for Hugh Freeze is about filling pieces that can come in and make you the best football team you can be in year one. Right. That is his job. Jalen McLeod is that kind of player for him, them on defense. Would you say that this could make the weather a little bit more Mick Cloudy for opposing quarterbacks? Yes, I think they might have a big problem with Jalen McLeod. So you got to mix sack. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So people are going to hate that. People are going to hate that, Mike. Discord is going to blow it. Yeah. Goodness gracious. Mick Cloudy day for opposing quarterback. Okay. I want to discuss, I guess it's the impact on the roster and how I think you could do is now that you've got this extra Jack that I think you feel comfortable playing. There's some fun things you can do regarding alignment. And I want to talk about that in just a moment right here on lockdown. Robert, when I encourage you to join the lockdown, I'll be discorded is free. All you have to do is click the link in the episode description down below. So all of a sudden now, when I, when I first saw this news, you think, okay, who are winners and losers in this situation? Well, there weren't really any guys behind them because Harvard doesn't have a whole lot of edge players. And so all of a sudden, you're like, okay, does this impact Elijah McAllister? And then you start looking at their heights and their weights. And I said that a second ago. And it's like, no, I think, I don't think you can play Jalen McCloud consistently on first and second down against teams that have a tendency to run on early down. I just don't think you can do it because I think with that size and the SEC, I think you'll get pushed around. Could be wrong. That's just kind of my gut feeling on this. So all of a sudden when you're third and six and longer and you think the opposing team is going to pass the football, all of a sudden you could take Elijah off the field, put Jalen McCloud on. And so many people are like, well, what about what about Kellbert Falk? And just talking to folks, it seems like Kellbert Falk is going to get more reps at strong side defensive end than we originally thought due to the situation of Jeffrey Imbal leaving. And I think there's a big gap between Marcus Harris and defensive end and everyone else. So all of a sudden, Mike G, this pass rush situation, let's say you, let's say you go with Auburn's base that we think it's going to be, which is you start Elijah McAllister at Jack, then you've got Jason Jones and Justin Rogers in the middle. You're two big guys. And then your defensive end is Marcus Harris. All of a sudden now you can take Jason or Justin Rogers off the field and move Marcus Harris inside, which we've seen him excel at that spot consistently throughout his career so far. And then you can sub and Elijah McAllister for a Jalen McCloud, who's a better pass rusher, I think, will certainly see how it translates to the SEC, but I think you will be. And you can put Kellbert Falk at strong side defensive end that all of a sudden that's a really tricky situation that you have to block. Yeah. So it is really tricky, I think. And they were based on what we saw on an eight day, right? I think maybe the defensive line has a little bit of work to do in terms of what they're doing down there, particularly in the run game, but you know, the coaching staff doesn't feel that way. I mean, most of those runs came against the third team because it was all Sean Jackson who was three versus three. And then I'm just telling you what they talk about in the meeting room. And it's all about like them losing contained. And it's like that's not all sometimes it's a Jack. Don't get me wrong, but I don't think the run defenses as bad as people are making it out to be. Yeah, it's listen, man. Talking to Jason Jones after eight eight, you know, they weren't happy. Those guys weren't happy without they performed, certainly, right? As a group. And you know, this is going to be again, the alignments I expect them to play with. So you know, what you're talking about with the different alignments with the players, I expect them to play with that and try to come up with something because the same way that Hugh Freeze is developing what they're going to do on offense. Ron Roberts has indicated that they're still somewhat developing a plan based on personnel for how they're going to run deep the defensive side of the ball to so his system is not set in stone just yet. I think getting players in gives him a little bit more information about how he plans to run that defense and how he plans to rush guys off the edge, how they plan to play the run, you know, and rush the pastor. So it'll be interesting to see there's still a lot of flux. You know, listen, it's always I love when you do the hypothetical, like, you know, hey, this is the guy here. This is a guy here. You know, we think this guy fits here. You know, Ron Roberts is just going to have to see where these guys fit. You know, when you get a guy after the spring, Zach, and he hasn't had a chance to play next to those guys, you know, and do some things in this defense, it's really difficult to evaluate where he fits. So I would see it being a situation where these guys come in and they rotate them in to get them into the rotation, right? And as they start to get more game time and more playing time and they get to, you know, get a feel for what Auburn is doing, you might see, you know, one of them end up being the guy by the end of the season. So it's going to be really interesting to watch, I think, on defense, you know, what they do along that D line and particularly at the Jack position. Yeah. So don't you think position matters though? I mean, I think this guy is going to be asked to rush the pastor and that's about it. Like I don't think that's really a chemistry thing. I don't think that's really a playbook thing. Well, I think I think you need to do alignment stuff and all you need to learn where to line up and, you know, when you're subbing and situational stuff. But for the most part, I mean, this isn't a middle linebacker or a safety. Yeah. Yeah. I was going to say that, but you know, again, we'll see. I just want to see what Ron Roberts is going to do. You know, I want to see what the plan is on defense for real for real. And if they feel like they can go after the quarterback as much as they probably are going to want to. So, you know, depending on who you're playing, your opponent has a lot to do with that strategy. You know, Auburn is going to have to be fluid on defense, right? So it's not going to be a one-size-fits-ball. It's going to be a, you know, does this guy fit the position, you know, in the game plan that we have this day against this opponent based on who's that quarterback and what their run game looks like and what their offensive line looks like. So it's a lot of different moving parts there, but you know, ultimately, I think they'll figure it out. And then last thing, I mean, my biggest question has been how is this defense going to rush the pastor? That's been my biggest concern. Yeah. This is part of that puzzle. Like you said, I don't know if it's necessarily going to be a good thing. It's not necessarily going to, you know, add two sacks on the seats. And I don't know. I don't know. Is he two sacks better than, you know, giving more reps to Elijah McAllister or Hellger on? I don't know. It's impossible to know, but you got to feel a little bit better, get a little bit deeper in that position. But I'd still like another one. You know, Uquu, the guy from James Madison, I'd love to add him still, but we'll see. I like him a lot. I like Zugu a lot. Yeah. There's a lot to like about him. Yeah. Yeah. And so, yeah, you've got it. You've got to be able to get out. You've got to be able to get out to the passer. I think that's a place where Auburn has waned on defense the last few years where they'll play great defense. But in key, at key times of the game, they are unable to get pressure on the quarterback. And it's killed them. Yeah. It's absolutely killed them. So it's definitely one of those things that they need to solve and quickly. Yep. Good DB's go a long way, but they can only cover for six seconds. You know, the back pedal is so long, Zach. Yeah. That'd be tough, especially against the, these receivers in this league. That's a spruital. Mike G, how can people find you? Empyria, love you, watch him, all that stuff. Check us out on YouTube. We've got a lot of great things going this summer. So keep watching out for our interview series, building reports coming at you. We're at you guys at the morning, drop every morning at the war report, every social media platform, Zach. Check us out. You can follow my socials at Z, blackerby and read all of my written work at auburndaily.com. We will see you tomorrow. This has been Lock.aubert. Two all time greats are facing off in the NBA playoffs for a fifth time. LeBron James and the Lakers take on Steph Curry and the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals. You cannot find a second round playoff matchup in the NBA that is bigger than this one. The Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff series for the first time since 2004. Did I dream that or what? That happened, really? How do I react? What do I do with my hands? And the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books, which means it's time to hand out some grades. The Houston Texans, talk to me. How are you feeling, Bobby? I'm giving them a plus. Plus. For more on all these stories, head over to Lockdown Lakers, Lockdown Leafs and Lockdown NFL Draft. Then check out Lockdown's new series, Paving the Way. Each episode will highlight a different voice from across the network. A Lockdown host whose journey in the industry has helped pave the way toward creating a more inclusive and diverse media landscape. That's Paving the Way presented by State Farm, available now on the Lockdown Presents podcast feed. A Prime Member. You can listen to this Lockdown podcast ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. Hey.