Tailgate the AFC North, Heisman 2026 talk, NFL Training QB Battles and More!

Come tailgate with our host Cameron Clark as we discuss the AFC North and how that division shakes out, the 2026 Heisman Trophy, as well as some news and notes including a couple NFL Training Camp QB Battles. 

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What is up, Tailgators? It is time for another episode of the Tailgate Cam podcast. And on this episode, we're going to go through some news and headlines around the different sports leagues across the United States. Go through some trade deadline updates, some predictions for the AFC North. As I told you on the last episode, we will also predict the 2026 College Football Heisman Trophy winner. Let's go ahead and get started. All right. So some headlines. Training camp is underway. Teams are back at practice. Yesterday, all 32 teams reported and showed up. That means teams are getting ready, getting their teams prepared, getting into the playbook, getting their conditioning completed out of mini-camps and OTAs. Teams are practicing. We're going to start seeing some injury news. Um, but some of the headlines that I wanted to get to right away, the quarterback battles. There's actually a few, you know, in the NFL, you don't really see a whole lot of legitimate quarterback battles really go full full span. Most of the time, when you when you get into quarterback battles in the NFL, it's a young guy that is eventually going to replace an older guy no matter what, like we do see in Vegas. Um that is one of the quarterback battles going on right now. The the the Vegas Raiders brought in um veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins on a one-year deal. It was actually a four-year, $160 million deal on paper, but essentially it was like a one-year, $10 million deal in actual cash that was guaranteed. Um, and of course, the Las Vegas Raiders um brought in Fernando Mendoza, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Indiana last year. And the consensus thought would be that Fernando Mendoza would be the starting quarterback over Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins hasn't looked that good in a few years. Um he looked okay at times two years ago with the Falcons, but last year you could just really tell the age started to catch up to Cousins all at once. And Mendoza was electric, especially as the season went on, when the pressure ratcheted up, Mendoza really started to deliver. Um I I would be shocked to believe that the Raiders are going to stick with Kirk Cousins beyond maybe two or three games. If we get to October and Kirk Cousins is still starting games, I will put my hand up and admit that I was wrong. But in terms of a quarterback battle, I think this is one of the more showy saying that there's a quarterback battle, earning the appreciation and giving the respect to a veteran like Kirk Cousins for being in the building and for the help that he will eventually continue to provide to rookie Fernando Mendoza. But I do think that that is unquestionably Fernando's job to win. Um and I would imagine in every scenario that barring injury, Mendoza will start at least 10 games this season for the Las Vegas Raiders. Probably the most notable quarterback battle, though, um, is a battle between third-year quarterback Michael Penix and veteran quarterback who recently was released from the Miami Dolphins and now has gone over to the Atlanta Falcons to Otaga Bailoa. So the Falcons are now stuck with two left-handed quarterbacks that have both had their issues with injuries. Um, and at the time of this recording, both of these quarterbacks are being reported that they're not even full go for training camp. So, in terms of evaluating who should start, who will start, it's it's very hard to say right now. I would imagine that if you were in the Falcons, you know, front office and you were a fly on the wall, they would want Michael Penix to start. They are still tied to him for another two years if they would like to pick up his his fifth-year option. Um, it could be three years. So, Tua, on the other hand, they brought him in on a veteran minimum deal. We've seen um several years of Tua being injured, several years of Tua um delivering okay and sometimes um high-level statistical performances, but those performances were always eventually met met with um some some physical adversity, whether it be you know the timing of of the game being you know outside in a cold environment, um, or a defense being much more physical than the than the Dolphins' offense was able to match up with, some of that could be blamed on Mike McDaniel and the type of team that he constructed there in Miami, as well as their GM Chris Greer. Um, but in my opinion, if I was the Atlanta Falcons, the goal would be to have Penix start. But if Penix is not healthy, which they're saying his knee is still not cleared for full team activities, even though I've seen videos of him throwing deep passes to Drake London already, um, I would I would imagine that Atlanta would want Michael Penix to be the guy starting at quarterback week one. My prediction, though, um, I don't know that it's gonna go that way, and especially with some of this injury news, it's probably one that we're gonna have to keep paying attention to as we get closer to um September 13th and the start of the NFL regular season. But if I had to put my money on it right now, I would imagine that it will be Michael Penix suiting up for the Falcons week one. Another quarterback battle, um, a second-year former sixth-round draft pick, son of Colorado Buffalo's head coach, Deion Sanders, Shador Sanders, entering his second year with the Cleveland Browns. He did end up getting some um starts at the end of last season, won a couple games for the Browns. He also had some pretty miserable performances. Um, and and ultimately, that's kind of what I on the Tailgate podcast expected from Shador Sanders coming into his rookie season and really coming into his career, is that he could be a viable starting quarterback um in terms of his elite ceiling or where he could reach in terms of who he is as a quarterback, I think is really limited by his arm strength and his lack of mobility. He's always been a very smart quarterback and a quarterback that could throw with good timing and good anticipation, especially when he was at Colorado. He was making some really um well-designed throws that were that were um put in a place only that a veteran and a and a guy who understands football would be able to do. Uh, but in terms of like his physical tools, he surely doesn't have the gifts that his father has. And his arm strength really isn't elite. And like I said, he he doesn't really have elite uh quickness or speed um for somebody of his size. So I do I do think it is a bit more likely that we see the Cleveland Browns roll DeShawn Deshaun Watson out week one. Um Deshaun obviously sat out all of last year um rehabbing an injury, and it's it's been a quite a fall from grace since we last really saw Deshaun Watson in the center stage um with with any team, not not really just Cleveland, um, but really since he left Houston. It has been a constant downward trend. But I do think that this will be the last chance for Deshaun to salvage an NFL career if he's able to provide some good performances right out of the gate for the Browns. However, spoiler alert, they do play the Jacksonville Jaguars in week one. And as of this recording, the Cleveland Browns are the largest underdog of current odds for week one. So good luck to Deshaun or Shador. And then the last quarterback battle I wanted to talk about was JJ McCarthy, who is also a second-year quarterback um for the Minnesota Vikings, who brought in veteran quarterback Kyler Murray. Very similar to the situation that we see in Atlanta. Um, JJ McCarthy struggled mightily last year, um, was replaced, and then later on injured. Um, he did not start at the beginning of the season. Um, it was really a roller coaster ride for JJ McCarthy the last two years in Minnesota. And Kyler has had his fair share of struggles too. Um, one, staying healthy has always been an issue. Um, but Kyler has had some dynamic moments, but there's just a constant uh not being able to fix recurring mistakes issue that always comes up with Kyler. Um, he makes bad decisions, uh, bad timed throws over the middle of the field that often result in turnovers or tipped passes, um, just some really dysfunctional offense that Kyler ends up running. I have long been anti-Cliff Kingsbury, who was the previous uh play caller for Kyler Murray in Arizona. Some of that can be blamed on him, certainly. But in this situation with Minnesota, I think it'll be interesting to see if JJ McCarthy can, you know, offer some level floor to what the Vikings are going to be asking for with Kevin O'Connell. But I do think ultimately that they will side with the quarterback that has the you know greater history of experience, um, greater, probably wider skill set to rely on, the speed, the quickness, the quick release, um, even the deep throw accuracy that Kyler has shown to be a strength of his at times throughout his career. I would imagine that Kyler will end up winning that battle. I mentioned that teams had reported to training camp, which means that we will also begin seeing some injury news. So just a couple notes that I've already seen come through the timeline today. Panthers already had a couple guys leave training camp on a cart. Second-year linebacker Nick Scorton tore his ACL. It is presumed that rookie, wide receiver, and third round pick for the Panthers, Chris Brazzle, also tore his ACL today at training camp. So um, and then another injury that we also saw uh recently pop up on the timeline today, not confirmed the severity of the injury, but not good nonetheless whenever you see the words cart. Um, and Shamar Stewart, the second-year uh pass rusher from the Cincinnati Bengals, was also carted off practice today. But two big guys, uh two big names in terms of guys who finished last season on their injured list for their respective teams are cleared and healthy to go. And those two players are Ravens nose tackle, Justin Matabuike, who is one of the best penetrating nose tackles in the NFL. I I think that's a huge, huge return for the for the Baltimore Ravens. The the Ravens who will be involved in our AFC North discussion later on in the podcast. And then Jaguars, two-way star, former Heisman Trophy winner, former Colorado Buffalo. Again, we are just drawing connections here on the Tailgate Cam podcast. Uh, Travis Hunter back at practice. And not only is Travis Hunter back at practice, but he brought 13 extra pounds of muscle with him. That dude looks shredded. If you're listening to this on your phone, pull out Instagram or Twitter and search Travis Hunter and look at that man right now. He is absolutely chiseled. He looks like the best athlete in the NFL. Um moving on from our NFL news, some MLB updates. We we touched on the trade deadline as it is approaching um early next week. The twins have won three straight games, and they say they are not going to be selling. So that tells me that Ryan Jeffers and Joe Ryan, um, their twins starting catcher and one of the twins' best pitchers, are seemingly off of the trade market. Uh, otherwise, otherware, uh, Boston made a deal a few days ago trading left-handed second-year starter Connor Lee Early, who was a um, I wouldn't say star for the Red Sox, but he was definitely an intriguing piece. He started in um the wild card game for the Red Sox last year against the Yankees in an elimination game against Cam Slitler and actually held his own against that Yankees lineup. He was traded for um corner infielder Curtis Meade from the Washington Nationals just the other day. And seemingly, with every Red Sox trade that occurs, they're cursed. Um, and as a Yankees fan, all I have to say is, ha ha. Um, but Curtis Meade broke his wrist in the first game that he came over to the Red Sox. So he's presumably out for at least four to six weeks. It could end up being the rest of the season, depending on the severity of that break. Um, and then one other note that I wanted to get to on the baseball side Tariq Scuble will start one more game on Wednesday, July 29th, um, ahead of the deadline. One last opportunity for Tariq Scuble to kind of show off what he has and what he's made of. Now, transitioning over to some NHL news real quick. NHL free agency is pretty much wrapped up. We've seen the majority of the major moves and trades um around the hockey league already transpire once free agency opened a couple weeks ago. Um, but a major move did occur uh a couple days ago, and that is Patrick Kane's return um to Chicago on a two-year, $16 million deal. And the crazy thing about this is Patrick Kane is 37 years old, and he's still one of the most sought-after players in the league. Um, he gets the opportunity to go back to Chicago where he played for 16 years, um, played in five different championship series, won multiple um Stanley Cup Finals trophies. Um, really, really cool moment there for the Blackhawks, who have struggled quite a bit really since Patrick King left, um, and slightly before that. Um, but a cool moment for them to get a veteran, a you know, a vaunted goal scorer, and a guy that just knows the culture there in Chicago. Um, but with any piece of Blackhawks news, I always have to tail that off with a let's go blues, just to make sure we don't get confused on the Tailgate Cam podcast. Um, a few NBA notes. Contavius Caldwell Pope was bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies. Um, Contavius Caldwell Pope, obviously a long time um combo guard in the NBA, has played for many a team, has often played alongside LeBron James, which is what he will be doing again in the 2026-27 season, as he has also decided to follow LeBron James and head up to Philadelphia on a one-year veteran minimum deal. Speaking of one-year veterans, but not for the minimum, Draymond has returned to the Golden State Warriors on a one-year $27 million deal. And just a name that I thought was kind of interesting to see come across the news feed yesterday was Mario Hizonia, former lottery pick of the Portland Trailblazers, signed a deal with the Cavs yesterday. Um, he's gonna leave Real Madrid, even though Real Madrid is actually trying to fight um this contract and argue that he cannot leave Real Madrid and leave Spain to return to the NBA. So there might be some pause there, but nonetheless, thought it was pretty interesting to see that Mario Zonia um was on his way back to the NBA. All right, let's go ahead and get started with our prediction of the AFC North. So, for anybody that is not as familiar with the divisions in the NFL, the AFC North consists of four teams the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. So we are going to go through those four teams and stack stack rank them uh in terms of what the Tailgate Cam podcast predicts that division will play out. So, in my prediction, I think the floor of this division is is kind of set in stone until um that quarterback conversation irons itself out. We've already talked about that quarterback problem that they're having um on this podcast. Um, that is the Cleveland Browns. They clearly are in a rebuilding mode. They traded star, and in my opinion, the best player in the NFL, which is Miles Garrett, to the Los Angeles Rams for multiple um uh early draft picks. They actually did re-sign Denzel Ward, but their their entire approach has been to gut and break down what the existing roster of the Cleveland Browns has been and try to build something new. Um, I do like what they did in the draft, however. Um, I I I like getting Denzel Boston, getting a guy like Casey Concepcion. Um, even even drafting um the Utah lineman, Spencer Fano, I I think is great. They they really attacked rebuilding this offensive line. Um, they drafted four offensive or five offensive linemen, uh three offensive linemen in the NFL draft and brought in another three either via free agency or trade. Um, so other than Tevin Jenkins, they should have four new starters across their offensive line week one when Cleveland comes to Jacksonville. Uh, but I ultimately I do like some of the things that they're doing. I just don't think that it's enough. I just don't think that there's enough there that they're gonna consistently be able to make uh important plays in games where they're gonna they're gonna win uh anything more than you know four to six games at their at their ceiling. Um I think the Browns finish in last place in the division, which clearly is not a hot take. Um, but I I don't think that they're gonna be as bad as they have been in years past. I'm not a huge believer in what they did directionally in terms of bringing in Todd Munken to run the show, former Ravens offensive coordinator, but I do think that having an adult in the room and having somebody that knows quality NFL offense will be good for that organization. Um, and I and I like some of the young pieces that they have, the Quinshawn Junkins, the Harold Fannins at tight end. There's a lot a lot to like with the Browns, but just not enough yet. So have the Browns finishing in fourth, missing the playoffs, obviously, and contending for a top 10 pick. Next, finishing in third place, the terrible, terrible, terrible towels and the terrible quarterback play that they seemingly are plagued with. So the biggest change with the Pittsburgh Steelers is the man up top. And I'm not talking about Aaron Rodgers, I'm talking about the change of coach. So Mike Tomlin finally out as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, replaced by former Cowboys coach, former Green Bay Packers coach, Mike McCarthy, who enters his first year after being out of the game for a little bit, um, but coming into a situation where he's already familiar with the quarterback and Aaron Rodgers, um, and already familiar um with how to how to get the most out of a team with sort of an aging quarterback, as he did early on when he took over with Brett Favre. So my issue just really stems down to the fact that I didn't see much from Rodgers last year. I I I thought the playoff game against the Texans was a pretty abysmal display of quarterback play. Um I I don't think that he at this point in his career, um, unless the ayahuasca starts hitting differently or you know, whatever whatever Rogers. Rodgers likes to do his vision quests on, unless those start giving him fresh ligaments in his knees and in his elbows. I don't see really where the Steelers have the ability in them to be explosive enough to contend to win this division because they have two very talented teams ahead of them. And I just don't see any kind of path forward with the guys that they have. I mean, you talk about DK Metcalf, you talk about Michael Pittman Jr. I mean, those are those are good receivers, but those are to me complementary pieces. So you're already at a disadvantage skill-wise. Your running backs you're looking at are second-year running back Caleb Johnson, who essentially didn't play, who I was very high on coming out of Iowa. They brought in Rico Dowdle from the Carolina Panthers, also formerly of the Dallas Cowboys and with Mike McCarthy. And then they still have Jalen Warren. And then a tight end, you're talking about Pat Fryer Moose still and Darnell Washington. There's just not enough there, even with a continued improvement that I would expect from their younger offensive line. I just don't think there's enough there for this offense to help offset what this defense will be doing. Um, a defense that, you know, has Joey Porter Jr., has Jalen Ramsey, obviously has TJ Watt. They brought Cam Hayward back for one more year. I really like Derrick Carmen, who they have from Oregon. Um, Patrick Queen still in place. Alec Highsmith always plays at a good level. I mean, they have a lot of strong contributors on this defense, and they have the star power that you need at the at the pass rush level, at the linebacker level, and in the back end to really be a top defense, which I would imagine they will be. They will be the team that you don't want to see on your fantasy football schedule for any of your players, but especially um your quarterbacks. Um that being said, I do think that the Steelers are pretty locked into being better than the Browns, but worse than the Bengals and the Ravens. Um, I'm gonna lock them in here at third in the AFC North and also missing the playoffs. Go ahead and wave your terrible towels a little bit more. So now who wins the division? So we have two teams left, the Ravens and the Bengals. And I think the class of this division, despite the coaching change, is the Baltimore Ravens. Um, I think the Baltimore Ravens are the are the best run team in this division. Um, I think they have the best player in this division, which is Lamar Jackson, now that Miles Garrett is no longer occupying the AFC North. Um, but I like what the Ravens have. They still have Derrick Henry, they still have a very physical offensive line. Um, Ryan Stanley leads the way at left tackle. Um Mark Andrews coming back for another year, Zay Flowers, um, Rashad Bateman. They drafted several receivers that I really like, um, most notably Jacoby Lane out of the University of Southern California. Um, and the in the defense. So the defense, they brought in Trey Hendrickson. Obviously, there was the huge fiasco as the Baltimore Ravens tried to and entered an agreement to acquire um star pass rusher extraordinaire from the Las Vegas Raiders, Max Crosby. And due to a failed physical prior to completion of that deal, the deal was voided out. So Max Crosby ended up remaining a Las Vegas Raider. Um, and the Ravens could pretty quickly pivoted to signing free agent um pass rush specialist Trey Hendrickson. I shouldn't say Patrick's specialist, he's a dominant run defender as well, but I I do anticipate that the Ravens are gonna have him stand up a bit more and really just attack the edge um and not really be a gap setter, an edge setter um on that defense. So I I think the Ravens are are pretty well positioned to be the class of this division. I I expect another dominant rushing attack from Lamar and Derrick Henry combined. Um, and I think this defense continues to deliver at a high level. You know, guys like Kyle Hamilton, younger guys like Malachi Starts and Nate Wiggins, um, Roquan Smith. I I just think there's so much uh elite talent there that is in a good age period in their career that they should win this division. Um, and then that brings me to the Bengals. Um, I do believe that the Bengals are going to make a wild card this year. Um, I do think that it's gonna be much like we all would envision a Bengals wildcard team in 2026 will look like. For those that might be a little bit newer to the NFL or newer to the history of the Cincinnati Bengals, um, it it's sort of a running joke that their defense will never be figured out. Um, it I don't know that I could grab 10 of my closest you know friends and family, and the Bengals would be able to slow my offense down. So they did throw some money at the problem. They and they tried. They brought in Kyle Duggar, um, former Patriots and Steelers safety. They brought in the the former Chief safety, Brian Cook, um, and obviously Boye Mafei off the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks. Jonathan Allen and Dexter Lawrence are two big names up in the middle of that defense. But at this point in their career, I would say both of those guys are really more names than they are, especially more so for Jonathan Allen. Um, Dexter Lawrence could still be a pretty dominant defender, but why would the Cincinnati Bengals not offer Trey Hendrickson the money that he was asking for and then turn around and sign Boye Mafe and Dexter Lawrence? It just seems like bad process to me. I do think that the offense is going to be electric. I think it's going to be elite. Um, even in the event that Joe Burrow, you know, suffers another injury, which obviously nobody's hoping for. They do still have Joe Flacco there, which I think in his second year, even at his age, Joe showed enough that he understands his offense, knows how to put Jamar and T in good positions. And it's not just Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. They do have some other skill players that show up and make some pretty critical plays. Um, Andre Ayosavas, uh, Mitch Tinsley, um and and their running backs, Chase Brown, um Samaj P. Ryan. I mean, they they really do have a lot of options, but it it all starts and ends with Joe Burrow. If Joe Burrow is able to play in 14 or more games this year, the Bengals will make a wild card. And in my predictions, I I have them probably making the last wild card spot in the AFC. Um, but I do have them making the playoffs, which I think that would be enough to save Zach Taylor's job, obviously, and get him off the hot seat. But on the contrary, if this goes south or we see another borough injury, I could absolutely see a reality where Zach Taylor ends up getting fired mid-season or definitely at the end of the season. So just a recap, uh, in order from the bottom, working our way up, the Cleveland Browns, I have them finishing last, missing the playoffs, contending for you know, a top, you know, somewhere in the 5 to 12 range in picks. The Pittsburgh Steelers, I have them also missing the playoffs, and they will be, you know, probably in that 6-11, 7-10 type of record. Um, the Cincinnati Bengals, I have making the wild card as the second place team in the AFC North. And then your division champions, the Baltimore Ravens. All right. So our last topic today that I wanted to get into is a Heisman prediction. Um, so a couple names that I want to throw out, and just a little bit of background again. For we try to cater to everybody of all fandom levels and um education levels with sports. The Heisman Trophy is annually given to the most outstanding player in college football. So, again, that is not always the best player, but the most outstanding player. So, a couple names that are kind of at the top of the list. And um, then I'll give you guys some dark horses, and then I will actually give you a winner who I believe will win the Heisman Trophy. So, some of the guys at the top, CJ Carr, quarterback of Notre Dame, um, Darien Minsa, quarterback from the University of Miami, who transferred to Miami from in-conference opponent Duke, um, Arch Manning, the quarterback now entering his third year at the University of Texas with head coach Steve Sarkeesian. Um, those are some of the names at the very top of the list. Um, there's some other guys sprinkled in there: Julian Sayan, um, Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State, that quarterback receiver combo. But these guys are the three top in terms of the odds to win the Heisman. So let's just look at their candidacy, if you will, and what really makes them a viable option. If you were to go place a wager on who wins the Heisman, or you're just interested in following along. CJ Carr will be entering his second year with Notre Dame, and CJ Carr was phenomenal last year. They have a very talented team, they have a very manageable and easy schedule. Um, Notre Dame is going to be set up in position to contend for the playoffs, contend to be undefeated. And you would think naturally, if CJ Carr as a freshman last year looked as good as he did, if he's able to take another step under head coach Marcus Freeman, I think it's without a doubt that Notre Dame will obviously be in the playoff mix, but that all of their players will be contending for awards, putting CJ Carr, you know, squarely in the running for the Heisman Trophy in New York City sometime in early December. Um the other the other contenders, Darien Minsa. So Darien Minsa had great numbers at Duke last year. I believe he led the ACC in passing yards. He definitely led the ACC in passing touchdowns, um, and also led in uh yards per attempt. So he he was phenomenal at Duke. And even before that, um I'm I'm being exposed a little bit more to Darien Minsa now due to the Florida Gators new head coach, John Summerall, who formerly was at Tulane, where Darien Minsa was before he was at Duke. So this is Minsa's third college um in a row in three years. He went from Tulane to Duke to Miami. So you see the constant step up, which if you are somebody that likes the NFL draft, that likes to evaluate college football players, one thing that is always discussed with scouts and NFL GMs is that they like to see these guys take a step up in their level of competition. Um and Darien Minsa has absolutely attacked that goal um with tenacity. So now that he is at Miami, a team that will surely out outman, outphysical, and outmatch basically every team that they are matched up with this year. Um I it wouldn't surprise me if they're if they're 10 and 2, I would be kind of shocked. Um I don't really know how many losable games that they have now that it now now that it seems like Mario Christoball has taken Miami to a level uh where last year it seemed they they got a lot of the yuck that that that Miami used to have um out of their systems, where you know, whether it was the the kneel down or the Hail Mary or um I mean there's just been one thing after another since Christoball took over that looked like there wasn't always focus. We saw it in the year that Cam Ward won the Heisman um two years ago. That at the end of that season, the loss to Syracuse, you know, the the games that they had down the stretch that year against Louisville and some of the even the weaker competition in the ACC, they looked like an undisciplined, unfocused team. And obviously, most of that vanished last year with what we saw from Crystal Ball, Carson Beck, and company in their run to the college national championship. So Mensah will be squarely in this conversation, I have no doubts. And then Archmanning uh is entering his second full season as a starter, his third year at Texas, all three with the same coach and same play caller, Steve Sarkeesian. Um, but this year they added in the best receiver in the transfer portal, Auburn transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman. They also grabbed one of the best, if not the best, running back in the transfer portal, Hollywood Smothers from North Carolina State. Um, if you look at Arch Manning's age, his pedigree, his size, and then really how he ended last season, um, the Michigan Bowl game, and I I know people you can say whatever you want about bowl games not being a serious uh competition, but Arch looked great at the end of the season. Really, after that loss to Florida at the end at in the middle of the year, that really put a nail in their coffin um in terms of having to go perfect the rest of the year, Arch really hit a different stride. Um, and I could I could really see Arch ending up finding a way to win this award. Um, but I also want to give you guys some dark horses. So a couple dark horses that I do like that are a little bit further down the odds list. Like if you guys are um like to gamble or uh put bets on the Heisman Trophy, again, or you just want to follow along, some dark horse um candidates that I I kind of wanted to pick out. One is Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond. Um, he he will be in contention. Texas Tech, very similar to Miami, um, is a team that it just is at a level above the other schools in the Big 12. Um, the other piece is there was this obvious fiasco with Brendan Sorsby. So, Texas Tech, for those that are not aware, uh offered to bring in a quarterback from the University of Cincinnati by the name of Brendan Soresby. Some news came out that Sorsby um had been illegally gambling on college football, both while he was at Cincinnati and at his previous school when he was a freshman at the University of Indiana. He placed wagers on soccer, on professional basketball, and then most harmfully to his own career, he was placing bets on Indiana, on um other college football teams. Meanwhile, he this is this was taking place while he was not actively playing, so it wasn't like he was throwing games. He just clearly had a gambling addiction or some form of that. Um, Will Hammond was the backup last year behind Texas X quarterback Baron Morton. He ended up playing in, I think almost all of their games through due to different injuries that Morton suffered. He played in eight games. I know he started against Utah and Arizona State and looked pretty good. Um, he had 12 touchdowns last year and pretty limited action. Um, and Texas Tech was already pretty high on Will Hammond last year. Um, and again, they are going to be a level above everybody else in their in their conference. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Will Hammond is sitting in New York City and Texas Tech is 12-0 by the end of the year. One more dark horse before I reveal my winner. Jaron Kiawe Sagapulutele. Okay, if you can spell that name without looking it up and write it into the comments of the Tailgate Cam podcast, you will win a gold star on the next podcast. So the name is Jaron Kiawe Sagapulutele, who is the second year quarterback for Cal Berkeley last year as a freshman on a pretty gutted Cal team. He was fourth in the ACC in yards. Um he obviously has a ton of talent. He was a former Oregon commit um that actually signed with Oregon last uh before last season um and then transferred before um spring practices opened up. So in in spring of 2025, so about 16 months ago, he transferred from Oregon before ever having played to Cal. And now with new co new head coach Tosh LePoy, Cal has a very dynamic roster all of a sudden. Uh a roster with some receivers that could really make some noise, um, and a running back that you know they they really had a big void when they lost Jade Knott to Oklahoma last year. So from a skill perspective around Jaron Kiawi's Sagaputatele, there is a lot more skill around this team. Um, I could see Cow honestly contending in the ACC as a dark horse in that conference, um, which will which will put Sagaputatele in strong contention to be able to um contend for the Heisman Trophy. So ultimately, who will win the Heisman Trophy, or who do I think will win? Um obviously I don't have a crystal ball except except for the times that I do. So my crystal ball in the Heisman Heisman Trophy for 2026 is a quarterback by the name of are you anticipating yet? Marcel Reed. Quarterback out of Texas AM, dual threat, quick runner. I really liked who he started to become later on in the season. Um, I would say that his shining moment that he had was that second half comeback against South Carolina. Um, most notably, kind of why I feel that he can really build into this is that Texas AM, they have the fourth easiest schedule in the SEC this year. So they get to avoid a lot of the heavyweights in their conference. And Marcel Reid gets the ability to really build off of um a really impressive season as their starter last year. Again, with a very good Texas AM team to be a Heisman Trophy candidate and what I believe will be the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2026. And now for our gold star, our gold star goes to Washington National shortstop and all-star, CJ Abrams. CJ Abrams, uh, who in his last seven days, and I'm not making this up, he has hit 520. So for those again who are not big baseball fans, that means out of every you know, 10 at bats, he goes up and he gets 5.2 hits. He's also registered a 0.96 on base plus plus slugging percentage, otherwise known as OPS. Um, just an incredible run for him. He's a guy that I have long wanted to think or long wanted to see get traded out of Washington. I would still love to see him get moved at the deadline, possibly to my Yankees, but I would really like to see him get on a better team, anyways. But CJ Abrams earns the gold star. And then as we always end it, what to watch for? Football is back. There is preseason action on Thursday night on Peacock and NBC, 8 p.m. Eastern. We have preseason. The Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers play a game Thursday night on Peacock and NBC. Thursday night, can I say it again? There is football back, it will be on TV, and it will be live. And it will not be in an arena, it will not be in Canada, it will not be the UFL, and it will not be a recording. It will be real football live on TV Thursday night. If I can say it again, Thursday night, 8 p.m. Eastern time, there's football on the TV. That means the earth is healing, and we thank you for tailgating with us here at the Tailgate Cam podcast. As always, I am your host, Cameron Clark. Thank you so much for tuning in. Talk to you guys next time.