So which 2027 commits have been turning heads at the start of their senior seasons or I guess junior seasons for the guys who reclassified?

Yeah, it's been a very good season for a few guys.

The first guy that comes to mind is Jackson Coleman.

He's had remarkable consistency throughout the course of the first few games.

He went up against modern day the other the other weekend or they went up against modern day and despite the fact that.

modern day in California, Los Angeles is powerhouse.

They were more talented than Valor Christian was.

Who are some of the other top prospects in the 2020 class who are trending toward Notre Dame right now?

Who do you think Eric Thomas will be today?

Keep me going.

I, I, I think Eric Thomas would be the same person.

Mm-hmm.

You know, the r- the notoriety changed it in that, you know, it gave me more opportunities, you know, more money, et cetera.

But I always say, like, when my grandma, my grandma bake a cake, you know, we knew it was good, you know? But then the way society work now, somebody'll taste it and be like, "You need to open up a store." Mm-hmm.

Then she do a store.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And, uh, I felt like I did everything right.

So I went into victim mode.

And while I did work very hard to get back to football shape, I still decided, I made a decision that I would like to use my body sexually.

And at the same time, I had so much shame around how my body looked.

So I...

Got into pornography.

And when did that happen for you?

Mm.

And so if you wanna see growth, you gotta start grinding on the systems level.

So don't, I don't want you to get what Ed said and you miss it.

You like, "Oh, I gotta get up earlier.

I gotta grind." Maybe you don't have to get up earlier to accomplish what you've already accomplished.

But to get this done, you do have to make some adjustments, and that's what the grind looked like, and that's what the hustle looked like.

And can I say this, Ed? I'm, man, I don't even know if I ever said this before, but sometimes, and I don't know if you've experienced this, sometimes, bruh, you putting up 40 with 30 rebounds, and you like, whatever.

Yeah

He lost a lot.

Yeah, it's his loss.

Yeah, I think for me, though, when I look back, I think the tension was more not communicating more than what it really was.

You know what I'm saying? True.

For me, it was just tension in that.

It was just so many things that, as an adult, I realized my need to control you know, my wife and I, when we would have challenges and I sat down and really thought about it, I was like, yo, I'm not the dude that I wouldn't consider myself a gorilla because I don't force my will on others.

But I do have a very strong desire to control my own destiny, you know what I'm saying? Which is why I believe I'm an entrepreneur.

probably better than it's ever been because it's a long time ago too yeah

So can you just walk us through the timeline with Kayden Henderson and how we got to this point from the time Notre Dame first started to gain traction to when they became the perceived favorite, and what ultimately changed over the last couple of days?

Yeah, I guess if you wanna start with Notre Dame getting traction, it goes back to his visit this spring.

Uh, Henderson was high on Notre Dame coming into that trip, but that really was kind of a landmark trip in his recruitment.

It really reshaped things, and from that point, Notre Dame just continued to rise and rise and rise.

And look, at, at, at various points there was a lot of confidence in other places.

There was crystal ball picks put in for Miami after a trip there.

Texas A&M continued to have confidence.

But really, all the eyes are gonna be on Albert Simeon this weekend.

So what have you heard about his recruiting approach and why he has been so effective so quickly?

Yeah.

You know, there's a few different points that guys bring up a lot.

Uh, part of it's just personality.

Like, Coach Partridge is someone who guys really connect with.

Um, they really enjoy spending time with him.

They feel that he's trustworthy, he's loyal, he's someone that's really, not to be overly denigrating to other coaches, but, like, he's really human.

Yeah

Mm.

And so if you wanna see growth, you gotta start grinding on the systems level.

So don't, I don't want you to get what Ed said, and you miss it.

You like, "Oh, I gotta get up earlier.

I gotta grind." Maybe you don't have to get up earlier to accomplish what you've already accomplished.

But to get this done, you do have to make some adjustments, and that's what the grind looked like, and that's what the hustle looked like.

And can I say this, Ed? I'm, man, I don't even know if I've ever said this before, but sometimes, and I don't know if you've experienced this, sometimes, bruh, you putting up 40 with 30 rebounds, and you like, whatever.

Yeah

Mm.

"There's some things I want, but there's some things I don't want." And then I, I remember having to r- say one day to myself, like, "Yo, you are your father's child.

Like, yo, even though you didn't, he didn't raise you, even though in the beginning you guys had, you know, whatever little stuff y'all need to get through, E, don't lie.

You are lazy at times."

Mm-hmm.

You didn't take care of your business, so you can't get up the same time another man who gets up who handle his business.

So you need to get up at 3:00 if you gonna catch the greats.

You gotta get up at 3:00.

Talk about that for a second.

Yeah.

Well, I'm a say honestly, man, you know, I, I came to the realization one day, and again, love my biological father, you know, much respect, much respect for the person that raised me.

Um, but I realized at some point when I looked at my family's history, I was like, "Some things I don't want.

There's some things I want, but there's some things I don't want." And then I, I remember having to r- say one day to myself, like, "Yo, you are your father's child.

Like, yo, even though you didn't, he didn't raise you, even though in the beginning you guys had, you know, whatever little stuff y'all need to get through, E, don't lie.

You are lazy at times." You know what I'm saying? Like, "E, you are super social and you'd rather talk than work." You know what I'm saying? I just had to grow up one day and just be real with myself-

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Watch yourself.

You might not wanna put them sneaks on.

You might not wanna get in that gym.

And what I saw Ed do when I went back, I was like, "Okay, E, number one, you gotta get more organized." So, like, you got passion, you got energy, but what you saw in Ed, you saw a system.

You saw structure.

You saw people over here and people over here, and people doing it, and people in the back.

Yeah

Mm-hmm.

You had counselors.

Why, why when you sat down with a counselor and they tried to walk you through the tools and the strategies to get on the other side of this, why were you in, "Uh, don't talk to me.

You ain't my mama, don't talk to me.

You ain't my daddy, don't talk to me.

I don't wanna talk to y'all." Th- these are professional counselors who are saying, "Yo, we get it.

You, you going through a lot, but we're here to help." "I don't want..." Counselors at school, principals, teachers.

brother.

Yeah.

So that would be my, my, my third one is like you gotta figure out what makes you happy.

And again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with, um...

Uh, first time I did a behind the scenes coming in here, just because I was like, to my Patreon community, like, "Yo, y'all need to understand where I am and what's going on." But I don't...

If you follow me on Instagram, uh, or, or TikTok, wherever I'm on, you don't see behind the scenes.

I think that's a phenomenal tool to show other people what...

But my wife is private.

(laughs)