Arkansas QB Taylen Green

A close loss to Mississippi last Saturday wasn't enough to keep Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green away from this week's Heisman Trophy Podcast. The Razorbacks' talented 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior talked about what it's like to work with offensive mastermind Bobby Petrino, the intensity of college life in Fayetteville, and how his goals for this season include being named All-American, All-SEC...and Heisman Trophy winner. Next, the pod's tour of college football's cultural checkpoints continues with a look at the sports media landscape with Awful Announcing editor Ben Axelrod.  Finally, we close out with Caleb Cares Foundation Director Patsy Mangas, who shares some of the many ways the organization founded by 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is working to combat bullying and promote mental health discussion. Stay for the bonus audio featuring the current Chicago Bears quarterback reading a meditation. 

Transcript

Arkansas QB Taylen Green

Chris Huston (00:01.607)
All right, welcome, Taylen Green to the Heisman Trophy podcast.

Arkansas Football (00:05.883)
Hello, thanks for having me.

Chris Huston (00:08.418)
You know, look, you're coming off a tough 41-35 road loss to Mississippi this past Saturday, but look, it's a long season, plenty of football to be played. What did Coach Pittman tell you guys after the game?

Arkansas Football (00:19.956)
You know, to keep our head up, you know, there's a lot of football, like you said, early in the season, you know, we didn't start.

wanted to in our goal, but it's a long season and we have some great opponents coming up. So we've got to put the next foot forward and just keep going and keep striking.

Chris Huston (00:42.638)
You had to be a lot of encouraging things even with the loss. You had a monster night against a pretty talented Rebel defense, 305 passing yards, over 115 yards rushing. You certainly left it all out on the field. You were the first Arkansas Razorback to go for 300 and 100 in the same game. You've had a couple days now to internalize it. What do think you're gonna take away from that loss?

Arkansas Football (01:07.06)
a lot really. You know, our first SEC opener away in a hostile environment. feel like operations were, you know, good. We didn't have any, you know, false start penalties.

I would say just continuing to keep my foot on the gas. In that third quarter, I blame it on myself, kind of stalled out a little bit. But at the same time, the defense gave us some stops in the fourth quarter in the clutch. So I'm glad and proud of how we responded.

Chris Huston (01:34.061)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (01:50.307)
Mm-hmm.

Arkansas Football (01:52.37)
to the up and downs of a four quarter game, especially in the ACC. But I liked how our team really stuck together in those times, especially after the game too.

Chris Huston (01:56.579)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (02:06.284)
Yeah, it's got to be somewhat encouraging because you guys played against competition first couple weeks that maybe a little bit below the SEC level, but now you go up against SEC foe and you still see the offense thriving. It's got to be a little bit encouraging, right?

Arkansas Football (02:21.122)
definitely is. You know, just gotta continue to stick to my rules, stick to the game plan and just do my job and let my teammates do the rest because we are really great playmakers with receivers and running backs and got a great old line. I didn't think I got sacked last week when they're giving me time, so I'm definitely blessed to be a quarterback for University of Arkansas.

Chris Huston (02:50.626)
You're in your second season like in Arkansas, second season with Bobby Petrino. We all saw what he's done previously with Lamar Jackson, a bunch of other quarterbacks. What is it about Coach Petrino do you think that makes him in a system so quarterback friendly? Is the system easy to learn?

Arkansas Football (03:06.544)
takes a little bit of time. I wouldn't say easy. but you know, it gets you ready for that next level. And that's why I like it. And I feel like the difference is, you know, he is standard. he, he, his standards perfection, whether it's on the practice field or meeting rooms or anywhere really, whether it's, you know, eating like he's on us, our barrel, you know, weights,

Chris Huston (03:29.816)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (03:33.339)
Mm-hmm.

Arkansas Football (03:36.084)
how much we weigh in and stuff two times a week. What are we eating and how we drinking, drinking water and things like that. So everybody knows about his play con, which is he's an offensive mastermind and Jess's ability to communicate what he demands and what he wants out of the quarterback position really speaks volumes to me. And that's what I have full trust and respect in Coach Petrina.

Chris Huston (03:43.373)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (04:06.389)
Yeah, you mentioned him wanting you to weigh and did you have a target weight for you to be have a certain level of agility and all that kind of stuff?

Arkansas Football (04:14.132)
Yeah, he wanted me from 230 to 235 just to remain healthy during the season and to be able to deliver some blows to.

Chris Huston (04:27.189)
Yeah, he was telling you to get ready to do a lot of running, I guess,

Arkansas Football (04:31.146)
yeah, I gotta do both.

Chris Huston (04:32.937)
Yeah. When you arrived, was there an effort to adjust the system to your talents or did you have to adjust your style more to what his system demanded?

Arkansas Football (04:41.94)
Really, I would say it's a little bit of both. I would say the biggest thing for me was just to adjust mentally to his playbook and what I have to read and what I have to, what's the word, interpret and to understand not just offensive side of things, but the defense and knowing the whole defense, whether it's.

Chris Huston (04:50.082)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (05:09.536)
Yeah.

Arkansas Football (05:10.108)
or coverages or defense alignments, delignment and their schemes, linebacker adjustments and things like that. just learning, not just the offense, like I said, but learning ball, learning football and the ins and outs and why certain concepts work over certain coverage.

Chris Huston (05:30.189)
So do you think someone like, excuse me, do you think someone like coach Petrino, who's been so successful with all these quarterbacks, do you think a lot of it is just that ability to communicate and make things clear what he's trying to get across as opposed to maybe some other coaches out there who maybe aren't as successful? Do you think that's kind of what separates them?

Arkansas Football (05:49.576)
Yeah, I was saying another thing is like, of course he's a coach, but when we're in meeting rooms, it feels like he's a teacher and we're the student and each and every day. My notes are like this long, just learning each and every day, something new rather. And even it's on us on our footwork too. And it's the demands. if we're even wrong on footwork, have gassers at the practice.

Chris Huston (05:57.634)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (06:07.896)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (06:12.963)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (06:19.18)
wow, I guess I'd encourage you to get your footwork right, What's he like during a game? Is he intense, calm?

Arkansas Football (06:21.55)
definitely. This is right.

Arkansas Football (06:27.188)
He's definitely intense, but I really like that as a, out of an offensive coordinator, really, know, aggressive and that's what I like. But at the same time, you know, in times of, know, two minute or, you know, he's calm too, he'll both go tailing her, let's go offense, let's execute and do what we do and the rest will take care of itself.

Chris Huston (06:35.32)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (06:39.502)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (06:50.893)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. That last drive against Ole Miss didn't work out like he planned, but what was he telling you before that drive as you prepared to try to go down and take the lead? Yeah. Yeah. You know, looks to me like the offensive line is just playing lights out right now. It might be one of the best in the country. Tell me about those guys and what makes that unit so good.

Arkansas Football (07:03.72)
He was like, let's go do this thing. Let's go win this game. And he was saying that before and during the drive.

Arkansas Football (07:20.146)
I would say first their chemistry. They hang out literally 24-7 even off the field. They go over each other's house, eat food, just do like anything with each other. And I'll say just their preparation and how they care, how they practice. Like they practice full speed every single play. They might mess up once or twice, but they're not going to repeat the same mistake.

Chris Huston (07:31.203)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (07:37.379)
Mm-hmm.

Arkansas Football (07:49.652)
And like you see in the locker room, if they mess it one time, they take it really seriously. So they take their craft really serious. And I've got to have praise to Coach Mateus and the O-line, the GAs, and the analysts. They get them boys prepared and dialed in. So they're looking good.

Chris Huston (08:15.693)
Yeah. And keep you from, getting tackled too much too as well. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you finished strong last season of the bowl game and now you're carrying it over to this season. That's exactly what Lamar Jackson did when he emerged to win the Heisman back in 2016. It looks like you're really locked in. So when you decided to come back to Arkansas, what kind of goals did you set for yourself and for the team going into this year?

Arkansas Football (08:18.236)
I thought it was good.

Arkansas Football (08:37.276)
really high goals, you know.

Coach Pitt and Coach Petrino have a standard for me and believe in me. And I believe the same in myself. And that's why I love it. I love it here and being coached by them. And my goals were high, Heisman Trophy, SEC All-American, first team All-American. Being the first pick in the NFL draft, it's high. But at the same time, I believe I had the potential to do that.

Chris Huston (09:08.225)
CLEARING

Arkansas Football (09:11.856)
I believe Coach Petrino and Coach Pitt are going to get me there. And I have great a cast around me to do it, not just myself, but the whole offense, whole defense, and shout out to the special teams too.

Chris Huston (09:26.328)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, let me tell you, you're doing exactly what you need to do as far as production. You know, you're 391 yards of offense. You're like right in that wheelhouse for what people typically look at for Heisman type quarterbacks, you know, but one of the things that makes you really stick out is your running ability at your size, your six, six, 230, 235 pounds. It's a really unique skillset that you offer. It's pretty rare for someone of your size to really run the way you do so fluid.

How much did your track and field background contribute to your speed work and your running style?

Arkansas Football (09:59.06)
A lot, really. I've been running track since I was, I want to say like eight years old. My parents took me to a track practice and I loved it ever since. I don't do like no long distance. I can't do no long distance. You know, sprints, know, 100, 200, 400. I don't miss that 400, but I did the 400. I loved every single second of it. And you know, I have a...

Chris Huston (10:06.124)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (10:16.437)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Arkansas Football (10:28.466)
My fiance, she does track. So when I watch her run track, I get flashbacks. But I would say that and when I played basketball, just the ability, my moves, I imagine like crossing somebody over, something like that. So definitely those two sports that I played, I try to bring it to football.

Chris Huston (10:36.171)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (10:53.441)
Yeah, you you achieved some age group state records and the long jump back in the day. How long do think you could have jumped if you had stuck with track?

Arkansas Football (11:02.578)
If I got coaching, I think I would have been really, really good. think honestly, I think I would have been an Olympian because I've never had any coaching at it. I was just like, well, I had one coach. It was like for like two weeks, but my coach would literally just tell me like running jump. So if I really had some like coaching because I was getting recruited for a long jump to coming out of high school, but I decided no, I love football. I think I'll be, I think I'll be pretty good.

Chris Huston (11:16.972)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (11:25.047)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (11:28.427)
Yeah. Yeah. You know, you're like, you mentioned your fiance, runs track for Arkansas. I'm going to ask you about her later and your, and your whole, proposal, but do you, now that you have a, you have a fiance who's into track, does she help you with your, your speed work and getting ready and the preparation, all the details that go into track and field that carry over to football as well.

Arkansas Football (11:50.698)
yeah, actually I went to New York. She's from New York and worked out with her speed coach there. And you know, he got me right on my form and he was telling me I look like I'm carrying a football when I run. was like, cause you know, I am used to it. But no, it's really cool just to see just how she brings her perspective on track with football.

Chris Huston (12:06.123)
Hehehe. Hehehe.

Arkansas Football (12:20.532)
She tells me that, you know, and her dad tells me like my form when I'm running needs to be a little bit better. It's pretty cool.

Chris Huston (12:28.301)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. I mean, you lift your knee, a lot of tall guys can't lift their knees, but you lift your knees pretty well out there. Um, you know, came out of Louisville, Texas, and it seems like a lot of quarterbacks these days, a lot of great ones are coming out of Texas. What was your recruiting process like and what would, what led you to pick Boise state out of high school?

Arkansas Football (12:46.964)
It was a really different experience, I would say. I had a COVID, I was a COVID baby. I didn't have any official visits. My official visits were on Zoom. All the recruiting and all that shut down my junior and senior year. So it was a little different. I decided to go to Boise. Just the winning tradition and they believed in me.

Chris Huston (12:55.106)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (13:05.153)
Mm-hmm.

Arkansas Football (13:16.756)
That's what I loved and I enjoyed my three years in Boise. I had family there and still have family there and I best friends there. But yeah, mean, it was just a great time.

Chris Huston (13:30.349)
What was the adjustment like going from Texas and then to Idaho and then to Arkansas? Does being closer to home make a huge difference for you?

Arkansas Football (13:38.036)
Young me, yes, for sure. Just going from Texas to Idaho, it was definitely a shock because it's a different culture. Just a long way from home, I got to FaceTime, mom and dad. Not being in person, it was kind of different. And of course, college life. But.

Chris Huston (13:57.633)
Yeah.

Arkansas Football (14:05.588)
You know, I'm glad I had great, you know, roommates and friends that, you know, are going to, you know, be in my wedding. So I'm glad my time there. And I would say the move from to Arkansas was, you know, better because it's closer to home. It has like a Southern feel to it. And, and yeah.

Chris Huston (14:14.637)
That's awesome.

Chris Huston (14:22.381)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (14:30.105)
Is it just more in your face intensity as far as the sec setting and the walking around a town or more people picking you out and recognizing you compared to Boise?

Arkansas Football (14:40.058)
yeah, definitely. That's what I had to get used to, just the social life aspect of that, just going even to the grocery store and people saying good game or high five or something like that. But that's what I'm glad with Coach Pitt. We have our Wednesday weekly talks. And he always checks in to see how I'm doing socially, spiritually, and mentally.

Chris Huston (15:08.343)
Yeah. You guys just sit down in his office and chat. Is that what you usually do?

Arkansas Football (15:12.008)
Yeah, normally for about 30 minutes, just sit down, chat, do a Bible study. Yeah, just talk about life, really not a lot about football.

Chris Huston (15:20.907)
Yeah. Did he have anything special to say to you in particular after this last game or have you had your talk yet? On that's right. It's on Wednesdays. Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What's your favorite part of being in Fayetteville so far?

Arkansas Football (15:26.002)
No, it's on Wednesdays.

Arkansas Football (15:34.837)
That's a really good question. I would say the energy that not just Fayetteville, but the whole Arkansas state, like the energy and the pride that comes with just wearing the Razorback logo. It means a lot, not just to us, because we're on the football field, but it means a lot to the fans. And there's only one Razorback, and we take a lot of pride.

Chris Huston (15:52.194)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (16:04.737)
Yeah. You you mentioned getting engaged. So big congratulations on that. saw the high highlights on social media of you and your fiance, Annalise. I'm curious how you came up with your proposal plan and what you did to execute it. And it looks like a lot went into it.

Arkansas Football (16:19.124)
Yeah, I first had to call, you know, how to call her dad, you know, how to make it was all right. I was nervous. Yeah, that's the hardest part. But I called him and called her mom and tried to coordinate some dates just to see when they could come down or when I was free. And I decided to do it in Dallas. It was easier, easier ride for me.

Chris Huston (16:24.875)
Yeah. That's the hardest part, That asking the dad, yeah.

Arkansas Football (16:49.044)
I told her like we're just going to go to like a formal dinner, like a friend formal dinner.

Chris Huston (16:55.137)
Mm-hmm.

Arkansas Football (16:57.086)
Then I just surprised her. We did like a hotel rooftop kind of vibe, know, had some rose petals, you know, all that. But it was really cool, really great experience and, you know, blessed to, you know, found my partner.

Chris Huston (17:02.082)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (17:13.119)
Yeah, it looked like everything came off perfectly. Do you think she had an inkling of what was going to happen beforehand?

Arkansas Football (17:18.46)
She said a little bit, she said her grandma like hinted a little bit. was like, come on, G-Mod, come on. But it's like, it's.

Chris Huston (17:22.573)
man, calling you out. man, that's too bad. When did you know you were gonna propose to her? Had it been for a while?

Arkansas Football (17:32.596)
I talked to my parents about it. Well, my parents told me about like the idea before I was like even, I was thinking about it, but we had like a conversation and they, you know, they love her. And, you know, that's the, that's the main piece, you know.

Chris Huston (17:46.178)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (17:49.837)
They said you have to lock her down, huh?

Arkansas Football (17:52.457)
Yeah, and I was doing a lot of prayer about it. And yeah, I I knew, I want to say December, December before the ball.

Chris Huston (18:03.67)
I think we just... Yeah, you there? I think he froze up for a second.

Arkansas Football (18:07.23)
Kim.

Yeah, I want to say December before the ball game, did a lot of prayer. And you know, that's when I knew.

Chris Huston (18:16.461)
You are on the academic honor roll. What's your major?

Arkansas Football (18:21.655)
business entrepreneurship.

Chris Huston (18:23.437)
All right. Do you like, do you like the idea of going into business one day?

Arkansas Football (18:27.38)
Definitely. You know, I have a great mentor and Mr. Frank Fletcher. He helps me in learning about stocks and, you know, investing in just the business world and just getting that experience. He's like in the business hall of fame in Arkansas. You know, he made a lot of money and he's given me insights on what he's learned and his...

know, success and also his failures too. that's what, you know, I'm blessed to have a relationship with him and just learning from him. And, you know, of course, you know, the professor too.

Chris Huston (19:05.495)
Yeah, of course. What are some of the things that he's told you that really stuck with you about what to do, what not to do?

Arkansas Football (19:11.796)
I would say just not being too scared to take risks. There's going to be high risk, but high reward. also, you have to be smart about it. And he told me there's going to be a lot of people that come to me and want me to invest in certain businesses. he you have to do your research. And you have to.

Chris Huston (19:26.359)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (19:33.399)
course.

Arkansas Football (19:41.748)
know, talk to him. He's like, can always, I can always talk to him about it and you know, talk to my family about it and just, you know, just to be aware of that.

Chris Huston (19:51.533)
Do feel you're a natural risk taker or something you have to learn or acquire that trait?

Arkansas Football (19:57.407)
Well, I would say off the field, I have to learn that trade. I'm more of a, I have to sit down and think through every single step and make the most logistical. Yes, for sure.

Chris Huston (20:01.032)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (20:13.835)
Right, you wanna plan everything out, make sure everything's accounted for. You're a planner. Okay, let's do a quick lightning round and we'll get you out of here. What is your morning routine?

Arkansas Football (20:24.853)
Morning routine, wake up, brush teeth, wash face. And I'm just out the door.

Chris Huston (20:31.533)
Yeah. Are you going right to, uh, you have like a place you go to to get breakfast? Are you going right to a training table, going to meetings?

Arkansas Football (20:38.079)
Right to the early, we have 7 a.m. lifts, so right there. I normally eat here. Normally I have like a Rice Krispie treat or a protein bar or something just to get something in my body.

Chris Huston (20:50.603)
Yeah. Do you have any superstitions before a game?

Arkansas Football (20:55.364)
Oh, no, not really. I just normally write like a Bible. I write a Bible verse on my left arm just to whatever God puts on my heart.

Chris Huston (21:05.325)
Yeah. What's your, do you have a favorite Bible verse?

Arkansas Football (21:10.124)
I would say 1 Corinthians 10, 31. So whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God.

Chris Huston (21:19.531)
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Arkansas Football (21:26.025)
I don't know, I'm both. I'll say I'm both, yeah. Depends on the situation, for sure.

Chris Huston (21:27.297)
Yeah, depends on the situation. So when would you be an extrovert? Like at a party? you mixing it up? Or are you over at the wall? is it, what situation? Yeah.

Arkansas Football (21:38.101)
party I'm at the ball. I'm at the ball. Yeah. I would say like, if I'm just out and somebody comes up to me, I'm, you know, I'm an extrovert. I'll, you know, say hi and have a conversation with them. But yeah, it normally just depends, you know.

Chris Huston (21:50.221)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (21:56.13)
Yeah. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Arkansas Football (22:02.357)
That's a really good question. would say, I would say wisdom, have all the wisdom.

Chris Huston (22:09.143)
Nice. How do you want to be remembered?

Arkansas Football (22:14.675)
Ooh, that's a really good question. You come up with questions today.

Chris Huston (22:18.381)
Well, you know, gotta keep it interesting.

Arkansas Football (22:20.629)
I would say just honestly just being a reflection of my savior Jesus Christ really and to leave any place or any place better than what I found it and just to leave an impact and making people feel better, anything that they're going through.

Chris Huston (22:48.961)
What's the most difficult part about being a quarterback?

Arkansas Football (22:52.661)
I would say...

Arkansas Football (22:58.589)
I would say knowing everything and demanding and well, everything that comes with it, of course you got to know the offense, but you have to know the defense and you got to know the situation. And at the same time, you got to, you have to lead and bring energy to your team. So I would say doing all of that, every single play, every single down.

Chris Huston (23:15.479)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (23:21.325)
If you could play another position for just one play, what would it be?

Arkansas Football (23:29.129)
has to be a position.

Chris Huston (23:30.583)
could be anything, really. Let's just say anything else outside of football. If you could do one thing, just one time, what would it be?

Arkansas Football (23:36.867)
Oooooh

Chris Huston (23:41.537)
Like say in sports, like what's a bowler? Are you a good bowler?

Arkansas Football (23:42.645)
I'll be a bowler. Yeah, I'll be a bowler.

I wouldn't say good, I'm solid. I'm like 200, 210, just solid. I wouldn't say great.

Chris Huston (23:52.631)
That's pretty solid, pretty consistent.

Chris Huston (23:58.089)
Mm-hmm. Are you pretty competitive person? So you want to win in every, whatever you're doing, you're trying to compete with someone, right? What's a skill that you have that are something you're good at that people don't know you're good at?

Arkansas Football (24:01.138)
yes.

Perfect. Yes.

Arkansas Football (24:18.133)
Mmm.

Chris Huston (24:21.098)
Hidden talents.

Arkansas Football (24:22.673)
in town.

Arkansas Football (24:26.259)
I would say give me a week and I can imitate somebody. Give me a week.

Chris Huston (24:34.732)
Can you do, do you have any imitations that you've worked on or that you have down already that you could, like is, do you have like a coach Petrino imitation or a coach Pittman? You wouldn't do that, but you do have one, right? You have it available if you needed to pull it out. You have to, right?

Arkansas Football (24:52.435)
I do, but I don't pull it out.

Chris Huston (24:53.79)
Right, Okay. All right. If you weren't playing football, finally, what would you be doing?

Arkansas Football (25:02.229)
if I can't play football. I'll probably play a sport, but if no sport.

business really.

Chris Huston (25:13.452)
Yeah, and what would you go into business doing? You think you'd just be a stock guy, work in the market?

Arkansas Football (25:16.981)
Well, I'll probably start franchising. I'll probably start owning some Chick-fil-A's, McDonald's, stuff like that, you know.

Chris Huston (25:21.195)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (25:25.772)
Nice. Is that where, would you, would that be one those situations where you'd be eating up those profits if you weren't playing sports and had the opportunity? Yeah. Well, Taylor Green, thanks for sharing some time to talk with us on the Heisman Trophy podcast. You're two in one. You got Memphis coming up. Like, your coach said it's a long season. You're off to a great start and you know, keep doing what you're doing and we're going to see you New York come December. All right. Thank you.

Arkansas Football (25:36.296)
yeah, definitely.

Arkansas Football (25:53.273)
yes, sir. Thank you.

Awful Announcing Editor Ben Axelrod

Chris Huston (00:02.059)
Since its founding in May of 2006, Awful Announcing has been an invaluable source of news and commentary related to sports media. And one of the editors of Awful Announcing is Ben Axelrod, who's a veteran of the sports media landscape, has most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten. So he's a great guy to talk with about college football. And I was telling him offline earlier that one of the things we like to do

on the podcast or what we'd like to do on the podcast this year is we are taking the temperature of all the different inputs that surround college football. And this week I wanted to talk about media and see what the state of college football media is. So Ben, thanks for coming on the Heisman Trophy Podcast.

Ben Axelrod (00:45.211)
Absolutely. Thanks for having me, Chris.

Chris Huston (00:47.512)
So what's your association with, how long has your association with Awful Announcing been there and what was your background that gives you, besides what we talked about, a special insight to be able to do such a great job for Awful Announcing?

Ben Axelrod (01:01.418)
Yeah, absolutely. So I've been at awful announcing now for just over two years, uh, started right around the start of football season in 2023. And, uh, in my past life, I covered college football, covered Ohio state for a number of outlets, uh, including Bleacher report, uh, land of 10 rivals, scout, Buckeye sports bulletin. Um, and then moved over to, uh, the NBC affiliate here in Cleveland, Ohio. So.

Chris Huston (01:22.061)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (01:30.414)
I've been working in media in some form or fashion now for about 15 years and between my experience doing that and now covering sports media at large over the course of these last couple of years, it's definitely an exciting time in the industry and it's definitely been fun to cover it from a different perspective.

Chris Huston (01:50.262)
Yeah, absolutely. I noticed in a recent article you guys had on your website, you're talking about the explosion of college football coverage. More and more outlets are including college football shows. There's more podcasts coming out. From your vantage point, how would you describe the current ecosystem of college football media?

Ben Axelrod (02:07.198)
Yeah. You know, it's, it's definitely something that's everywhere. When I was growing up, it felt like the big four sports were the NFL, NBA major league baseball and the NHL. you know, college football has obviously always been a big deal, but I think it was largely regionalized. I think now you look at the sports landscape. I think it's NFL one college football too. and that gap is probably getting a little bit smaller. So in terms of what we cover at awful announcing, football season is huge for us, just like any other sports outlet. And, our college football traffic definitely drives a lot of the traffic at our website. And I think you look at all of the sports media at large, you definitely see college football taking up a bigger piece of the pie. So whether that's in terms of the rights deals and what money is being spent on securing the rights or just coverage in general. I think college football is a huge part of most of these outlets strategies and the coverage they provide as well.

Chris Huston (03:12.494)
Why do you think that changed? What has been responsible for this boost in coverage by media outlets for college football?

Ben Axelrod (03:20.606)
Yeah, that's interesting. I haven't put too much thought into why, college football has gotten bigger. I think maybe sports gambling is, is a part of that. I think that, you just look at kind of the trickle down from the NFL. The NFL has just gotten so, so big and you look at what is the sport that is closest and most connected to the NFL. It's it's college football. And so I think there's a lot of crossover between the two, both in terms of obviously the same sport, but also, you know, preparing for the draft.

Chris Huston (03:29.987)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (03:42.446)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (03:50.442)
and where guys went to school and their alma mater's and connections. It just seems like there's, and you factor in NIL now, and now college is much more professionalized. So I think that there's just a lot of natural crossover between college football and the NFL. And that's probably aided the recent surge that college football has enjoyed.

Chris Huston (04:01.495)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (04:11.339)
Yeah, that makes sense. Definitely the gambling side we've talked about here on the podcast because I feel like it kind of relates to how fantasy football seems to aid NFL ratings for sure, where you get the kind of the casual fans who have the rooting interest and because of the betting lines and the prop bets and all that kind of thing. It seems like it makes sense. But with conference realignment and media rights deals reshaping the sport, how much of college football today is being driven by the networks versus the schools or the fans themselves? Do you think?

Ben Axelrod (04:41.078)
A lot of it. I think actually one of our big stories today at awful announcing, is that ESPN is getting some backlash for college game day going to Miami versus Florida this weekend. When, know, there are some better options on the table. got Utah, Texas tech, you've got Michigan state USC, Ole Miss two lane, and then obviously Indiana versus Illinois. And you look at it and it's hard to pick it apart and think that ESPN isn't doing the ACC a solid by going down to Miami and spotlighting the hurricanes because of their ties there. They obviously don't have a big 10 deal at the moment and that Utah, um, Texas tech game is going to be on Fox. So, um, I think that's been a big part of all of this. I think you look at one of the big storylines in the college football media space right now, and it's kind of the battle between college game day on ESPN and big noon tick kickoff on Fox.

And obviously ESPN has its ties to the SEC and the ACC. And Big Noon Kickoff is a big 10, big 12 program. So I think that all of that, the ties to the network and the business side, it's all kind of been laid bare here over these last couple of years. And I don't know if I've just had my eye on it a little more closely since joining Awful Announcing or if it has just become that much more apparent to the public, but it definitely seems like the networks are one of the big driving forces in all of this.

Chris Huston (06:06.221)
You know, you mentioned, game day and big noon kickoff. Both of them have hired people who are kind of like, from the Manosphere, the kind of there's been a bit of the brofication of, of, those, shows. you think that's also a factor in maybe trying to scoop up a certain demographic, some low hanging fruit through, through the, the kind of the memeification of, of sports and all, and news and all the stuff that mixes up with that culturally.

Ben Axelrod (06:38.098)
Absolutely. I think that you look at obviously with ESPN adding Pat McAfee a couple of years ago, he, was a very natural fit on the show, the way that his, his brand, rose organically and you know, they, they were transitioning out of a phase where it was clear that Lee Corso was going to take on a lesser role and then ultimately leave the show after the first episode this year. And I think Pat McAfee is
kind of a natural successor, you know, not one to one to, to replace what Lee Corso did, but he does bring that more lighthearted aspect to college game day. And he's really been, I think, credited with reviving a lot of the energy, energy surrounding college game day. Then you move to Fox this year, adding Dave Portnoy in the connection to Barstool sports. I think that's a natural one for Fox as well. When you look at Fox's history as a broadcast network, you look at

Chris Huston (07:08.171)
Mm.

Ben Axelrod (07:30.142)
Dave's ties to the big 10 and obviously, especially Michigan. I think that's been a natural fit for them as well. And you you said it, they're looking to appeal to a certain demographic, a demographic that shows that they are invested in college football, that they care about college football. You're catering obviously to a younger audience, which every entertainment entity is trying to do. So yeah, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head that both of those, it's not a coincidence.
both of those guys wound up on the shows that they did.

Chris Huston (08:00.587)
Yeah. You know, streaming platforms, I think we've all dealt with this problem of, everyone, lot of people cut their cable. think it's, it seems like a really pervasive thing that people have done where, especially among young people, no one's buying cable, but they do have the streaming platforms. watching college football games on streaming platforms are a bit problem problematic at times. they become central to game distribution. You think fans are being well served by the shift or are we heading toward a more.

Are we heading toward fragmentation fatigue? I guess is kind of what I'm thinking of. Cause it's like, you know, how many, how many, what do you call it? How many, free trials can you, I mean, you go through a free trial on on a site. Cause you just want to watch one game and maybe you forget about that. you forget about the trial and you get charged. And I feel like everyone's kind of going through this kind of thing, trying to figure out how am going to watch all the games that I want to watch.

Ben Axelrod (08:50.824)
Yeah, it's, definitely not something that's limited to, to college football, but it's something that's certainly being felt across college football. my tie, I grew up in Columbus, my ties are to Ohio state. their game was the peacock exclusive this year. So, or this week. So if I didn't have peacock, I know I would have had to have signed up for another subscription to, add to the many that I have. and I think that that's something that these networks are starting to recognize to start to put more effort into you. saw ESPN, they launched their direct to consumer streaming service this year. but they also did so with a partnership with Fox actually of all places. And so, you can kind of bundle those subscriptions, but you know, then you're getting to a point where it's just, it looks like the traditional cable bundle, but, you're doing it through different means. So, yeah, it's, it's tough being a sports fan right now. you, have a lot of options. You have more access to any game.

Chris Huston (09:33.037)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (09:49.502)
you want to watch it's hard to find a game at any level that you don't have access to somewhere, but that access comes at a cost. I think that's what something a lot of sports fans are reconciling with right now is how do I kind of trim this tree? How do I, I fit this portfolio together so that I can get everything that I need at a relatively reasonable cost.

Ben Axelrod (11:30.794)
It's just crazy to see how far it's come in such a short period of time.

Chris Huston (11:34.571)
Yeah, and the NIL and the transfer portal, they really dominate the headlines in college football. Are outlets over indexing on those topics at the expense of other aspects of the sport, do you think?

Ben Axelrod (11:45.866)
You know, I think there is room for all of it. That that's how I've always kind of treated how I consume sports. I think they're definitely, I know covering college football for as long as I did there, there are fans who only care about recruiting. And so, it makes sense that, that there would be fans who subscribe to recruiting websites and are more interested in that side of it than, than even the games itself. and I think you look at like places like ESPN.

And the headlines that they typically follow. yeah, it has a lot to do with that drama. think now that you're starting to see some of that drama, sometimes it feels more like the NBA where it's like, yeah, the off season stuff is dominating. but I also think, you know, that there are a lot of places where if you're only interested in the X's and O's, if you're only interested in what's happening in game day, or if you want to blend, I think there's places for that too. So, I think it's kind of a pick and choose,

Chris Huston (12:40.269)
Fair enough.

Ben Axelrod (12:43.95)
a scenario for fans, but, yeah, it's, you're definitely seeing now that there's more of a drama to college football, especially in the transfer portal and NIL that you're starting to see some of those stories kind of rise to the top because they do generate a lot of traffic.

Chris Huston (13:01.709)
Yeah, that's true. I want to ask you a few questions about the harder journalism or, let's just say, more like the professional side of journalism away from the fan sites, which can obviously do great journalism for sure. But I'm thinking about the legacy media. What responsibility does that media have to balance access journalism, maintaining relationships with programs, with accountability journalism, and asking hard questions? Because it seems like there's been a real dearth

on the investigative side of college football journalism the past several years, and which is ironic because there is definitely some reporting going on about all the shifts, but with all, it seemed like there's a lot of targets out there potentially. There's a lot of money being swirling around in college football, and there just seems to be less information going out, less transparency ironically at the same time. So I'm just curious.

if you think that is something that's actually happening or is there something else going on?

Ben Axelrod (14:01.886)
Yeah, it's tough. I can again, speak to this from my experience covering Ohio state, which I think is the biggest beat in all of maybe sports, like not just college sports, but, all of including professional sports. think the Ohio state beat is probably the biggest beat out there. and it's tough, especially in college football because it's so regional. It's so, fan driven. You get a lot of fans who just want to be told what

Chris Huston (14:12.247)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (14:30.494)
what they want to hear or they, they want it from the, the pro perspective of the program. And the programs then have the leverage to kind of, you know, play the access journalism game in terms of who they dole out information to, who can wind up on their bad side. and so I think college, mean, college football, you look and you have, you have on three, you have two, four, seven now, and you have, you know, it's, it's driven by fan sites and looking at pro sports, there's not.

Chris Huston (14:57.613)
Hmm.

Ben Axelrod (15:00.062)
Like you don't have a lot of fan sites. have, you know, some fan sites here or there, but it's a lot more national coverage college football. It's a lot of local coverage. It's a lot of regional coverage. And I think that that maybe speaks to the, the dearth of, of, investigative journalism that you're talking about. mean, there is, know, every once in a while you'll get some sort of bombshell, college football report out there from a national outlet, but it very rarely comes from a local outlet in the, outlets who have the boots on the ground at those programs.

Chris Huston (15:05.911)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Ben Axelrod (15:29.566)
And then I think another part about this is we're kind of in the wild, wild West when it comes to college football, what is a scandal anymore? Like, you know, I, like I said, I, I covered Ohio state and everything that happened with Jim Trestle and the tattoo stuff would have been totally permitted in, 2025. So I don't even know how you define what a college football scandal would be at this point. I obviously you can get into situations where there's illegal activity going on, but it's, I think college football more than any other sport.

Chris Huston (15:36.033)
Great.

Ben Axelrod (15:57.938)
it faces that challenge of how do do responsible journalism and how do you do journalism that's only serving your audience?

Chris Huston (16:05.387)
Yeah. And then the schools themselves, they want to tell their story now, right? So they're telling their story and they have, and they allow access. So like you said, they can pick and choose which access they want to give, sometimes, but they're going to want to do the scoop themselves. I think they learned that there's no reason to give a scoop to a reporter who's going to report it the way they want. You can do the scoop, put your own spin on it, make it, you know, amenable to the fans. mean,

Can you, long term, how does that gonna impact how the sport is viewed by fans and just objective people looking at what's going on?

Ben Axelrod (16:42.026)
Yeah. I think, you know, there are some fans who are just fine with that. And they would prefer that their messages come with a, a tent of, of scarlet and gray or amazing blue or blue and gold. If you're a Notre Dame fan. And yeah, I mean, there's, I've always, you know, I look at things a little more journalistically and I've always, you know, kind of come from that mindset. So I do kind of tilt my head at some of the stuff you see out there, but I think by and large it's, it's a fan driven sport. And

Where does it go from here? I don't, I'm not really sure. I wish I knew, but, yeah, you would like to see more of that kind of hard hitting journalism, think embedded in the sport, because I do think it would ultimately serve everyone involved longterm.

Chris Huston (17:25.355)
Yeah. What lessons could college football media learn from how the NBA or the NFL do it?

Ben Axelrod (17:32.522)
That's a good question. The, the NFL right now is just such a machine. Um, it, they're kind of, they just embrace being a part of the conversation every day. So I think that's, um, probably a part of it is how do you make your calendar more 24 seven? It does seem like college football kind of comes and goes with the season. And then the off season is for the, you know, for lack of a better term, the real sickos who follow the recruiting and

Chris Huston (17:58.765)
Well, they used to have the recruiting has kind of gone away a bit now, right? Because of, it's like bidding now, right? It's not really the same type of recruiting that it used to be. And all this stuff is opaque. So you're not really getting information with recruiting. So hasn't that gone away too as well?

Ben Axelrod (18:06.772)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (18:16.37)
And the calendar has changed. Like it used to be the season ends in during bowl season. And then, you know, you have the run up to national signing day. And now like, can't even keep track of like these portal windows. And yeah, to your point, like you're also recruiting your own roster, just as much as you're recruiting recruits in high school or recruits on other teams. So a lot of it has just kind of become like, for me, it's just too much for, I can't fit it into my sports, like fandom.

Chris Huston (18:24.94)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (18:46.164)
following this stuff year round. It seems so exhausting. seems like if you're going to follow it, it almost seems like the only thing you could possibly follow. So, that, would be the thing is how do you make this more digestible in the off season? How do you make it more, you know, year round? But, I think, you know, I, I'm a big fan of the college football video game. I think that coming back has done wonders for the popularity of the sport in the way that a lot of fans engage with it. I think gambling's legalization has helped in terms of

engagement. But yeah, I mean, that that would be the big thing is how do you make it a more 24 seven sport?

Chris Huston (19:21.933)
That's interesting. You've covered and analyzed sports media for a long time. What's the most surprising change that you've witnessed in how college football is reported and consumed during that time?

Ben Axelrod (19:31.594)
Hmm. I would say the shift we talked about earlier where it's predominantly fan sites. It doesn't even seem like there are a lot of, you know, I think every team or every program has their, at least the big ones has their one or two, three major newspapers. Um, but it's really, I mean, really fan site driven. And that's something that when I was getting in, it was like, all right, maybe you'll go right out of the fan site and that will be something that propels you.

Chris Huston (19:38.86)
Mm-hmm.

Ben Axelrod (20:00.884)
to a job at a more legacy institution. Now it seems like the fan sites are the destination. Now it seems like, you know, people are leaving newspapers to start their own sub stacks or fan driven type of outlets. And so the fact that there are just so many more places where you can write and that it's not those two or three newspapers on a given beat. And then the other thing is the video aspect of it all. That's at Ohio State, there's a lot of people who exclusively cover

the sport on, on YouTube and the YouTube is their driving force. And when I, again, when I was coming up, it felt like YouTube was secondary and video was secondary. And it was something that supplemented your coverage. Now I know for a lot of these sites and a lot of these outlets, it's kind of the driving force.

Chris Huston (20:47.212)
really amazing, isn't it? Okay, Latin E Rounds, do some quick hits real quick. Favorite college football broadcaster of all time?

Ben Axelrod (20:48.457)
Yeah.

Ben Axelrod (20:55.314)
Ooh, I liked Keith Jackson.

Chris Huston (20:57.514)
Yeah, I think he's everybody's favorite. All right, most iconic college football call or a moment on TV that you can think of instantly.

Ben Axelrod (20:58.898)
You

Ben Axelrod (21:07.306)
call.

Ben Axelrod (21:10.884)
85 yards through the heart of the South. when Ezekiel Elliott ran through Alabama in the sugar bowl.

Chris Huston (21:18.43)
Nice, that's a good one. One broadcast cliche you wish would disappear forever.

Ben Axelrod (21:25.498)
if you have two quarterbacks, have none.

Chris Huston (21:28.758)
That's a good one. Best college football stadium for atmosphere on TV, not in person.

Ben Axelrod (21:35.034)
I've never been there, but LSU just looks incredible every time I see LSU under the lights. So that's having not been there and having only seen it on TV that that would be my choice.

Chris Huston (21:40.524)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (21:46.152)
Which coach gives the best press conference sound bites?

Ben Axelrod (21:50.426)
I've got to go right now with Brian Kelly, Brian Kelly. Those seem like appointment television right now.

Chris Huston (21:57.503)
If you could swap jobs with any figure in sports media for a week, who would it be?

Ben Axelrod (22:03.538)
sports media.

Ben Axelrod (22:07.868)
Let's go with...

Let's go with Pat McAfee. I like the idea of being able to do college game day and WWE.

Chris Huston (22:17.83)
and I'll be in and we're working a tank top too on occasion right, which fan base is the most online in a good way or a bad way?

Ben Axelrod (22:19.882)
Exactly.

Ben Axelrod (22:26.463)
Tennessee fans, Tennessee fans are very online. I'd say in a bad way.

Chris Huston (22:32.204)
Okay, what's better for storylines? Dynasty dominance or total chaos every week?

Ben Axelrod (22:39.324)
I think, d- dynasty. I like having the dynasty. I like having that Alabama type of Darth Vader to take down.

Chris Huston (22:47.372)
If you weren't covering sports media, Ben, what beat would you want to cover instead?

Ben Axelrod (22:52.884)
Hollywood.

Chris Huston (22:54.828)
Okay. Similar, similar veins, I think in the end. Well, awful announcing. What a great website. Been around for a long time. Started out during the blog Renaissance of the mid two, mid first decade of the two thousands, whatever we call that the odds, I guess. And it's been going strong ever since a great place to check out just any kind of media information, media news about sports. And there's all kinds of great college football content. Ben Axelrod is the editor there. Ben, how can we find out.

Ben Axelrod (22:58.218)
Yeah.

Ben Axelrod (23:10.953)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (23:23.456)
where to look at your stuff on social media as well as elsewhere.

Ben Axelrod (23:27.304)
Yeah. You can find me on Twitter, at Ben Axelrod and, yeah, I my work at awful announcing. And, I just wanted to thank you for having me on. You've been a great resource for me throughout my career. Chris, I was looking back at some articles I wrote. remember covering Ohio state's win over Oregon in the national title game, the first ever college football playoff and writing about Ezekiel Elliott emerging as the front runner for the Heisman the following year.

Chris Huston (23:48.918)
Huh.

Ben Axelrod (23:54.312)
and going through your criteria and how he just checked off like every box possible. And I think I wrote similar stories probably about like JT Barrett and Cardale Jones, but I just always loved the way you you've approached this and to see you doing stuff with the trophy itself has been really cool.

Chris Huston (23:59.318)
Right.

Chris Huston (24:09.184)
I appreciate that. It's good to know people still remember. all right. Well, hey, thanks for everything and we'll maybe talk you down the road.

Ben Axelrod (24:12.202)
Yeah.

Ben Axelrod (24:16.69)
Absolutely, I'd love that.