CFB Insider Bruce Feldman Talks Harbaugh, Ohio State, NFL Draft & More w Rich Eisen | Full Interview

FOX Sports/The Athletic’s College Football Insider Bruce Feldman and Rich Eisen discuss who could replace Jim Harbaugh at Michigan if he leaves for the NFL, the Ohio State Buckeyes’ big push to fully embrace NIL in recruiting, if Nick Saban could lead the move to install more NIL regulations in college sports, and the chances Washington’s heralded QB Michael Penix Jr. might go undrafted despite being a Heisman finalist and leading the Huskies to the national championship game.

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We’ve got Bruce Feldman here from Fox Sports and the athletic here on our program good to see you sir good to see you so um I’m I’m on pins and needles I’m I’m I’m sensing today’s Harbaugh day one way or another what do you think

What do you think right now I don’t know about today but I would be very surprised if he’s not an NFL head coach just everything seems like it’s pointing in that direction um from what I did hear that like the interviews apparently have gone pretty well yes at least

That’s how his Camp feels about it well we’re hearing you know money’s not an issue that uh that the Chargers are are ready to cough up not just for him but what you know what he would want his staff to be paid and and everything else

That you’ve pointed out that needs to go along with his program from you know whatever it is strength conditioning and you know smoothie making or whatever the heck it is you know man if you’re a Michigan fan I think that the bigger blow obviously if Jesse Min who did a

Terrific job as a DC I think he to I think so too the one I would be like oh please don’t take Ben Herbert that’s the one like that’s the strength guy there who Jim C who Jim brought he was old belma guy you know Wisconsin then

Arkansas but like that guy’s As Good As It Gets and you know when you look at him them not like quote having the recruiting stars of the other you know Elite teams that win a National Title it was the development part and that guy man they can’t pay him enough money so

Well I mean we’ll see what Michigan does um to keep whomever from going with Jim and things of that nature I I don’t know and maybe Jim is still considering staying that this may just be you know you heard how the the Broncos thought they had him he thought that he had the

Vikings and then didn’t so you you never know especially with Jim Harbaugh you really never know I’m telling that’s what I said at the top of this show like everybody who I talk to that might know from the Chargers and everyone that I talk to that might know from Michigan

Finishes their entire Soliloquy or Theory or this is what’s happening type statement with you with Jim you never know you never know now I know his wife liked Southern California from her time there you have a franchise quarterback that’s waiting there you know like a big athletic guy um some really good players

On defense just like there’s a lot to work with for the Chargers especially um you obviously the Falcons would have you know no quarterback I don’t know if he if if that would be attractive to go say hey all right well I can bring in JJ

McCarthy and move up to get him if I believe he’s that guy I don’t know um but man the Chargers feel like they’re you know they’re moving into new facilities this year not far from us right down the road cross the street practically Andrew wwor could probably hit a golf

Ball te it up and let it fly um what would a um a coaching search at Michigan look like with Harbaugh on is it just as simple as Chiron Moore here’s a new contract I think it is the only and I wrote about this on the athletic the

Other day the only thing that I think could give them a little hesitation would be is if there’s anything that they have that’s been uncovered related to the NCA investigations I don’t think that’s going to be something that will be a deterrent you know I could see them

Saying hey we’re go you know it’s Michigan we’re going to do a a full coaching search But ultimately you know again this is something I wrote a lot about was sha Moore not only has beaten Penn State of Penn State he beat your arch rival like there’s no interim who

Could have proven more than Chiron Moore had as under intense pressure and scrutiny in tough environments and he Ace those tests the other thing was and I got into this in the story about him after they get national titles it’s an hour later and I’m talking to Trevor

Keegan who’s a team captain not about what if harball leaves any of this we were talking about something about like kind of the Brotherhood of him and some of the linemen and some of the guys he came in with unprompted and he starts talking about how you know you know the

Recruiting process how jaded that could be and when he was a freshman and he did not love he St basically stopped loving football going in you know kind of had the feelings about going into Shen Beckler Hall when he was a young player and everything in the building and then

All of a sudden he goes Chiron Moore you know basically made him love football again and completely flipped everything for him I didn’t ask him about Shon Mo he and he wasn’t talking about him I think in terms of like this is why shron Moore should be the next head coach at

Again but I think that’s probably why he should be because you know as much as we want to say that oh these bigger programs aren’t totally developmental programs they absolutely are they’re all college football programs are developmental programs Harbaugh was masterful at that and I think Chiron

Moore has shown he is he is very able and wired to do that and so if you don’t if it’s not going to be shiron Moore man it better be a grand slam Choice like the other guys I’d say the only other guy I would think of and say okay that

Guy’s pretty remarkable head coach but he has no ties to Michigan is Lance lipold at Kansas like I think he’s done an amazing job at a place nobody wins at he’s from Wisconsin so he has you know Big 10 footprint you know growing you know coming from where he came from but

He’s still not a you know like he you’re talking about a complete Outsider anybody else they’re bringing out you know like I’ve had some people throw the name you know Brian Kelly I’m like the stuff that that made Jim harabas such a great coach at Michigan when you talk to people it’s

Like the connection he has with the players Jim Harbaugh is Jim Harbaugh he may be wildly unpredictable he may be very different but like there’s an authenticity that the players and the people in there totally Buy in on bringing in Brian Kelly after the guy who’s totally authentic and and that

Lands with people and resonates with them doesn’t it seems like you’d almost have the polar opposite you know where you’d have the salesman component to it are you saying Brian Kelly would not pronounce the word family differently when he how do they say it in in well

But he would know I mean he was a former Central Coach you know I mean and not only that he was at Lake Superior State for a long time you know in you know in the area as well I he’s got deep ties around the Midwest he’s recruited at a

High Academic School you know for a long time at Notre Dame um but but I just think that shron MO is such an obvious choice for them and for the players and the program and there’s a lot of key pieces I think you could probably keep

Um and there’s still a lot of really good young players there so to me it’s like that that would surprise me if they didn’t end up promoting him Bruce Feldman here on the richs and show Fox Sports in the athletic in the meantime Jim Harbaugh has made a ton of other

People money um by that I mean beating Alabama Nick Savin retires which he probably would have done anyway but i’m describing this to Jim Harbaugh because Nick sain retires Dan Lanning makes a killing right um Mike nervell makes a killing yeah all right um sarkeesian makes a killing right yes okay dor yes

Makes a killing um I’m assuming Jed fish got a raise to go to God yeah I’m sure jfish and the others who are making a killing are Ohio State Buckeye players I’m reading to you a headline from The Wall Street Journal today Michigan won a title this school spent Millions to make

Sure it never happens again and that’s Ohio State yeah how much money have they spent from what you’re hearing it’s a great question I know that for them to get Caleb DS who to me is as talented of Defense players in the country was a phenomenal freshman player a safety who

You know the people I talked to who faced him were a struck by what he was able to do in that defense as a true freshman coming in you know just a phenomenal Talent everybody thought thought he was going to Georgia Ohio state was able to win that recruiting

Battle um I suspect it probably did not come cheap Julian S right yeah I mean so he was he’s from Calabasas you know not that I say like down the road but his Southern California kid when I went to the Elite 11 this summer uh he was a

Revelation he was so good so impressive um was headed to Alabama and then in this change now he’s at Ohio State they’re quarter back room is going to be really interesting because they have another Elite 11 kid who’s got a really big arm who’s talented Aaron Nolan they have uh will

Howard they took from Kansas State who led them to the Big 12 title game two years to the Big 12 Championship is an experienced quarterback um plus Devon Brown who started their bowl game and then got hurt um that’s a lot and then on top of it you add Ryan day is no

Longer going to be the guy running the offense he brought in Bill O’Brien and we’ll see how that works well isn’t that a firewall for him when uh if if he doesn’t perform very well again if the team doesn’t underperforms in the Mind’s Eye of the fan base to say hey don’t

Blame me I’m not no that’s not going to work like I look look Bill O’Brien is as top-notch as you can get you know for a resume obviously from coaching and what have you um but I’m just returning to the original question here because it’s just fascinating to me um a a program

That once upon a time got smacked down because of some silliness over tattoos right is now in a day and age spending what is possibly the Wall Street Journal is clearly making it uh you know apparent here uh potentially eight figures of money to give to players you

Know legally clearly through the manner of which our world exists in college football like we’re now seeing that part of college football change to me I think it’s become more of a Front Burner subject because I think there’s more you know Georgia thought they were getting Caleb DS they didn’t you know he

Ended up at Ohio State there’s certain you know Quin Shan Judkins was a terrific running back who couldn’t leave yet for the NFL CU he’s only been in college two years yes left all Miss where they are very um not just very invested in I nil but I

Feel like that organization has really figured it out of how to make it work you know and what do you mean because I’m shocked you would say that since a Joo uh transfer showed up in a yellow Lamborghini to sign his papers with with Al Miss I I think it’s kind of

Crazy I mean seriously I’m just but this is a different age because a couple of years ago I remember um and this I don’t want to make this as like this is only Ohio State a couple years ago like Tron Henderson great running back I think he

Was a fresh true freshman at the time freshman and you know they have a car dealership and he is with you know what looks you know it’s I don’t know $70,000 SUV and this is not like plenty of highlevel players have some kind of nil component with car dealerships and

Everything and that’s acceptable um and so the I I think there’s a lot of stuff that gets and I could be doing this in a five minute segment of conflating okay they’re paying as a recruiting IND inducement as opposed to their their their rewarding this as part of an nil

Program there’s a lot of stuff that has now been put under this umbrella and I think that the programs and the schools that are the most organized about it and again I think Old Miss has has been that become proactive they’ve gotten some really good players to go especially

From like you know one kid was a really good Edge rusher who was at Florida now is at Old Miss they Walter Nolan who is as highly rated a defensive lineman has come out of high school in the last few years was a techm now there like they have upgraded the roster

Considerably um because I you know like one of the people who runs their Collective was um was a former Walker Jones former CAA agent who then worked for Under Armour but also former Old Miss player like in retrospect I think if you were to

Said like if you an ad or who would you want to be in that position of in that I’m like man that would kind of be the profile a guy who played there a guy who understands the business world the sports business world and who understands the culture I think th those

Are the things that we’re starting to see go into those directions as opposed to some random money guy who may have been the the the guy who was the under the table guy seven years ago local buddy the local buddy gity you know and so you know and if I’m not mistaken and

One of the uh I guess co-chairs for the lack of better a phrase I don’t know if this the Act exact title of Ohio State’s Collective is Cardell Jones and uh they announced that CJ strad made a significant major contribution to the collective what could be better than

That if you’re on Ohio State person C was like you know like I’m I’m not saying you’re critical of it I’m not being trust me I’m not being critical because I do want to also say players deserve their I mean I’m I’m watching this because of the players the jimmies

And Joe’s right and it seems like the guys who draw up the X’s and O’s can get to go wherever the heck they want they can coach in a national championship game one one minute and then start wearing a a script A the next and that’s

Kayin deor worked his ass off to come out of South Dakota to be Alabama’s head coach so I’m not criticizing or or or or or I guess saying you shouldn’t have when it comes to the players at all I’m just saying where are the rules and I I

Wouldn’t blame Jim Harbaugh who seemed seems to have cracked a code here to basically say I’m going to go to the pros where I know when free agency starts I know when I can talk to a free agent I know how much the free agent’s

Going to make I know what the cap is I know what my capologist is going to do and I know I can’t speak to a player or have them in the building until April this and there’s rules right there’s actual rules and contracts and unions and and and that’s where you know the

This sport needs to go clearly Bruce and I guess that’s my long-winded way of of setting up like is this the stuff that also hearing Nick Sabin wants to fix or lead on this I’m still looking for the leader to try and figure out where are

The guard rails here good luck on that because it’s it’s still so evolving like all the stuff we just talked about and I thought about this with stad especially because you know he’s a Southern California kid went there and really blossomed and you know like if if I was

Ohio State and I’m not saying they’re not doing this but I was like especially now I mean he’s been phenomenal first season you know know and did did all this amazing stuff has been really good in front of the camera on top of it um like these are the things that you

Should be um not embracing right not just celebrating embracing and I I wonder though was like what took them so long to to kind of get it sorted out because everyone’s doing it for the first time I think you know what I mean this could be a template like I don’t

Know how many programs are reaching out to their stars in the NFL or you know making a killing on this on a second overall contract LSU wins the national title when Joe burrow is the quarterback four years ago and I remember it was Odell Beckham Jr is like literally

Throwing cash around after the game and it’s like uhoh what’s going on here we talked about that with Patrick Queen a couple weeks ago when he zoomed in and I asked him like you know Odell’s your teammate now huh was he were you one of the guys who put a few hundred

You know put some money he laugh he’s like basically was like I don’t know what you’re talking about like even today there is a guy you work with over on the NFL side who is a great receiver at Miami yes uh you should ask his brain

Let me wonder let me look at the who I work with I don’t know who you’re referring to pick his brain on this like you want to talk about like Ohio State’s had three miserable years three miserable years of of like incredible success yet on the other hand yes we

Know the the elephant in the room go go ask somebody like you have all these Miami guys in terms of like it has been a dark it’s like 20 years or whatever it is where other programs because that is a place that did not have the kind of

Boosters the one booster they had was not even like a Miami you know boost guy he jumped in and then ended up you know with a Ponzi scheme and they got in a lot of trouble for it I think I saw 30 for 30 on that right I don’t know but

Okay there but the point of it is like there’s a lot of programs that could leverage this stuff if they can get it figured out and I think the challenge is for them to get it figured out to get the egos in the right place when I say

The egos I mean the collective egos like the people who are running it USC has three collectives I think there’s a lot of probably well-intentioned people that are all kind of kind of you know kicking each other in the Achilles along the way Ohio state has two different collectives

Like I I think it’s not uncommon for that but it’s like this is the level of function I think before we get to the part that you were asking about where the leadership and where are the rules and where are the guard rails cuz the guard rails

Question has come up for for four years now but it’s like now there’s different before what happened and it’s interesting the timing of this because just in the last few days has come to light that University of Florida is under investigation for a quarterback recruit who they you know initially were

Going to offer $13 million for and then the nil contract completely fell apart it was completely dysfunctional in terms of dysfunctional on the agent side of what he was working with and dysfunctional on the floor a collective side and there was you know maybe there’s some some really dubious things

That had gone on there the kid ended up you know signing with Arizona State and it and but Florida is now getting investigated for it and I think what happened back then which is not that long ago it’s two years ago was the collective people were taking the old

Model throwing money at high school recruits where the hit percentage of how good those kids end up being is still pretty slight it’s maybe 25% in that ballpark as opposed to now the the money people have figured out let’s go throw the money at transfers because those

Guys are proven it’s way different to have high school film than it is to have College film you know there’s no way barring an injury Caleb DS is not going to be a great player at Ohio State the kid who’s in high school who was a who

Was thought to be really good there’s a lot of those guys who end up being disappointed that’s the crap shoot I guess I’m just saying you know I I don’t have a problem with the kids making money at all I just don’t know if I’m ready maybe I need to get ready that

That the well no that that not the how much the kids make that the teams these programs that have the best collectives are going to be the ones that succeed the most it doesn’t maybe it doesn’t matter about facilities doesn’t matter about school doesn’t matter about recruiting Acumen doesn’t matter about

The X’s and O’s it’s just that if you if you get the collective part down right now you now win more than those who don’t have the collective part down and there’s no rules essentially about the collective significantly that everyone can play by the same standard some of

That stuff that rich was happening underneath the table with recruiting years exctly I and I understand that when it was about recruiting it’s about you know how much was in the paper bag underneath the table I I understand that and it’s more out in the open now which

Is cool I just I’m just waiting for the rules a preview of what you’re going to write on the athletic this quarterback prospect is the most polarizing for Scouts to identify as a professional at the next level to see where they think he goes some people think he is a top

You know could be a first round quarterback some people think he may not get drafted what may not get drafted name is his name is Michael penx Jr you may not get drafted in some Scout the concern for some people is going to come back to the medical piece CU he did

Have four season injuries so ultimately that’s going to be what the doctors tell you know say them but then there’s other parts of this where people are like you know I don’t think he’s a he’s we have a third round grade on him based on some

Of what they look and this guy if you watch the Texas game in the semi-final was spectacular I mean you know he puts up big stats but it’s not like he’s dinking and dunking to Big stats and letting the receivers and running backs Run For Tons of yards I mean he’s taking

Shots down the field throws into Tight Windows um and not just that Bruce I I I’m watching the national championship game Michigan hardly could lay a finger on him sometimes they a because he was so quick to get rid of it and also his I I mentioned this before so it’s not name

Dropping even though it sounds it Marshall Faulk was watching the game you know at our house and he was marveling at his pre-nap identification abilities just his neck up ability and Marshall is the smartest football player I’ve ever been around so if he’s if he’s praising

That part of his game the brain part of his game the identification pre- snap then this guy is an altimer when it comes to that that’s a hell of a statement for martial fa because I know you’ve been around a lot of like you should speak to him I’ll hook you up

With him I mean if you need that H I mean honestly he he was talking about how penx was clearly pre- snap seeing it really well and how he could see and and you know Michigan is has got like a protype def was one of the one of the

People I talked to said Michigan is as close to an NFL defense as he saw and he said whereas Texas was much more vanilla for what he was seeing Michigan gave him more challenges to to sort it out and figure and feel comfortable where he’s going with the ball and everything like

That um the the part of the the story for me is I think and I I talked to both Bucky and DJ for this story too and they’re great resources obviously for stuff like this but it is the part about where where I am a big penx believer

What you said is is definitely you know true I think cuz there’s tighter windows in the NFL I go back to something um back when Mike Evans and Johnny mens all were down training in San Diego Cam Cameron came out one day to help um George Woodfield and Kevin oconnell

There and I remembered Cam Cameron was like talked about NFL open compared to like College open yeah and like he’s like right in front of me and I knew cam a little before that but I was like oh it’s Crest I can tell the toothpaste cuz

He was like that close sounds like hoers he was like this is he was like this is NFL open you know and he start you know he was a really fun to talk to about that cuz he had at one point Anquan balt but in college he had Jarvis Landry and

He was like these are guys who are like essentially like almost power forwards you know how they can operate in this tight space sure um romad dun might not be too far off no and and he had three Elite college receivers right and but romad du is you know probably a top 10

Top five kind of player um and that but he trusted them and he did a lot of you know he made a lot of big plays with them because he gave them chances but also I thought the biggest thing that I really like about him is the is he has

Faced real adversity in his career in his life and came out the other side and thrived from it and the the thing you wonder about with a lot of quarterbacks who come into the NFL at a at a college is how much adversity have they really faced and what happened when they faced

It whereas this guy he’s been very you know when we talked the in the offseason he was very candid about it surprised me how candid he was about some of the adversity he had been dealing with or had dealt with and came through the other side and I think there is

Something to really be said for the guys who have dealt with it and come through it how they’ve come through it you know and I think there’s certain kinds of adversity like when I watch Lamar Jackson the thing like there’s so much stuff you can get AED by but there is

Something to be said for the guy who you know I remember the bill poon quote about you know like he’s still saying that stuff and you’re like man this guy is the franchise right and no knock I mean like Z flow’s been you know like there’s been good pieces around him

Right but you look at him like holy cow I feel like for a long time he was like underrated because of what he does but you’re also seeing a guy who has been doubted a lot you know even before he when he got to Louisville there you know

And even look at him now by the way our radio audience is about to go away check out Bruce felman’s article on the a in the athletic about this on uh what Thursday still here so finish your sentence yeah I just think that you you know there’s something to be said for

These guys who have come who who have come through the other side and then it really does become the strength you know it’s like the weakness that turns into a strength no doubt I mean that’s what that’s what football’s about at any level right is that adversity is going

To hit like Goff was a one- win quarterback when he was at Cal at first right goodness and now look at him no but then then obviously you saw how that was probably a gut punch he loved it being out here and then he gets traded

Away and then oh the other team wins the Super Bowl without me and now you watch like I’m a lions fan because of GF I you know I can say this cuz I don’t cover the NFL like that but like you know I definitely root for them in part because

Of him and but you see the parts of like how they push through when and a lot of times people manufacture that oh everyone’s it’s us against the I’m not saying that was the Michigan thing you know like that but but I think there’s there’s something to be said for the

Ones cuz a lot of times guys don’t and there was some quarterbacks I’ve talked to who said you know when I got injured and I had this and I didn’t know how to deal with it and there comes pennx I can’t believe somebody’s even saying he shouldn’t even be drafted question on

That is is the medical yeah that’s the well we’re going to find that out we find out that’s I me it’s going be or no that is exactly it and I will hear I believe within five minutes of being off the plane about something like that that’s the sort of thing that usually

Gets out there in The Ether great to have you here F catch the rich eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 1200 to 3 Eastern for free