The Pat McAfee Show Live | Friday March 27th 2026

Iowa Hawkeyes Head Coach Ben McCollum, fresh off leading his team to the Elite 8, explains his coaching style. He was influenced by old-school D2 coach Steve Tapmire but adapted it for modern players, emphasizing that today's athletes need to both respect and like their coach. He maintains brutally honest communication, which allows him to coach hard and demand intensity, as seen in his viral 'sleepwalking' halftime speech.

McCollum states, 'You do have to have more of a relationship with them... Now you have to respect him and like him. So, the ability to coach guys hard, you have to have that relationship before you can.' He also references his viral halftime speech where he told his team they were 'sleepwalking' (23:00).

NFL analyst Dan Jeremiah breaks down the top quarterback prospects. He is a strong proponent of Fernando Mendoza, citing his exceptional size, intelligence, arm strength, and accuracy. Jeremiah acknowledges criticisms of Mendoza being 'robotic' or 'drive-thrower' but compares him to Justin Herbert, who faced similar critiques. For Tai Simpson, Jeremiah praises his footwork, release, and 'son of a coach' processing ability, but values him as a high second-round pick due to concerns about elite size, limited starts (15), and physical durability.

Jeremiah details Mendoza's attributes: 'size, the intelligence, the arm strength, the accuracy' and compares him to Justin Herbert (24:38). For Simpson, he notes 'footwork, the release, all that stuff is excellent' but raises concerns about 'elite size, that you've got 15 starts, and that there's concern about how you're going to physically hold up' (27:22).

Dan Jeremiah explains that despite Caleb Downs being a top-tier talent (ranked 8th overall on his list), the safety position is 'tricky' on draft day. He notes that highly-rated safeties like Derwin James and Kyle Hamilton have fallen out of the top 10, and Ian War even to the second round. This is often due to teams prioritizing high-cost positions like pass rushers in early rounds to save salary cap space with rookie contracts.

Jeremiah states, 'the safety position is tricky, man. Like Derwin didn't go in the top 10. If Hamilton didn't go in the top 10, if Ian War fell to the second round, which is insane.' He suggests the floor for Downs is 'probably Cowboys at 12' (35:22).

Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, an All-Star and Gold Glove winner at 23, discusses the rise of young talent in MLB. He believes that getting called up at a young age and 'failing up in the big leagues' is more beneficial than prolonged minor league success. He emphasizes the mental toughness required to navigate a 162-game season, especially after the emotional high of the World Baseball Classic, and dealing with constant failure and external expectations.

Crow-Armstrong states, 'I've gained a lot more from failing up in the big leagues. Like it hasn't been the easiest easiest road to start my career, but but then, you know, you you you find a way.' He adds that 'the 161 having that left is is kind of the the easiest way to look at yesterday's loss (1:57:56).