- 7 months ago
The Heisman Trophy winner and Hurricanes legend Gino Torretta details his experience last night at the Fiesta Bowl. Plus, his thoughts on Beck's big drive and Miami's next challenge in the title game.
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00:00The Heisman Trophy winner returns from Arizona and immediately joins us on the program.
00:08He joins us courtesy of the local 519 Plumbers Union in football and in life.
00:14It's about being on the right team.
00:16Join the winning team at local 519 Plumbers Union, a proven path to a strong career.
00:22Visit Plumbers519.com.
00:25So you were there at the Fiesta Bowl last night.
00:27You're rooting on your canes.
00:29What was it like before the game, leading up to it?
00:32And then what was it like during the game and after?
00:36I would say before, it was a little bit of chaos.
00:40So I did an appearance outside for the Hall of Fame, did a little kind of Q&A out at the tailgate for Ole Miss in Miami.
00:48And then I told some guy, I was like, all right, give me to the field.
00:53But, you know, I mean, I hadn't been to that stadium since the Statue of Liberty when Oklahoma and Boise State played in a bowl game there.
01:01I don't know how many years ago it was, but it was a long time.
01:05And so he runs me.
01:06I go out on the field.
01:07And it's just, there was a ton of people on the sidelines from Ole Miss.
01:12And I guess where I, the tunnel they directed me through was their kind of locker room in and out and tunnel.
01:19So I was over there for a little bit and they're like, hey, do you want to walk over towards your side?
01:24I'm like, I don't care.
01:25Where are we doing the interview?
01:27So we moved over in front of the student section for Miami, knocked that out, and then just kind of, you know, set a low.
01:36Obviously, all the dignitaries and Hall of Famers and everybody that supports Miami was on the sidelines.
01:45And, Hawk, I got to say, listen, you know in our day when we played in the bowl game, there wasn't a lot of Miami Hurricane fans in the stands.
01:53There might have been Miami Hurricane fans, but we were getting drowned out by the SEC opponent.
01:58And the whole side behind Miami was Miami fans.
02:03I thought we traveled well, but it was great to see.
02:06I mean, I got to tell you this story.
02:10So the alumni that's on the field, and they're like, we're going to take a picture.
02:17So, all right, we all get together.
02:19We take a picture.
02:19And so Michael and Ray hadn't showed up yet.
02:25And so Ray comes.
02:27You know, I give him a hug.
02:28I give Michael a hug.
02:31And they're getting the flag before they're taking it on the field.
02:35And, you know, I'm like sitting there, and I kind of look around.
02:38I'm like, man, who's this white guy hanging out with Ray?
02:42I'm like, who is this dude with a hat?
02:44Like, who's this buddy?
02:45Like, you know what I mean?
02:46I just thought it was like a random friend, like Ray brought to the game.
02:50And I'm kind of like sitting there, and there was like some fireworks about to go off and stuff.
02:55And I'm like, all right, I got to kind of move.
02:57And I turn around.
02:58I look.
02:58I'm like, yeah, who is that?
03:00And I look, and I'm like, holy crap.
03:04That's Michael Phelps.
03:05You know, I saw he was on the sideline.
03:09And I'm just like, I looked at him like I was in awe.
03:13Like, my daughter's a swimmer, and obviously the Olympics, and just a stud.
03:17And I was just like, he had a hat on.
03:20And unless you really looked at him, and then everybody's taking pictures of Ray and Phelps.
03:26But I was just like, I was dying laughing.
03:29Was he there with Ray Lewis?
03:31Yeah, Ray and him are boys.
03:33Like, he had moved out there.
03:34Yeah, Ray and him are tight because, like, that's where he trained.
03:38Like, when he was younger, Bowman, his swim coach, was at Maryland Swim Academy.
03:43So, they've been buddies for years.
03:46And Phelps moved out to Arizona with two years of competing life left.
03:51So, he trained out there.
03:53And literally, Ray called him on the way out there.
03:56They hooked up, came to the game.
03:58Hell, he'll be on the sideline this week because Phelps said he has to be in Miami next week.
04:03So, he'll be on the sideline next week.
04:07So, yeah, it was kind of cool.
04:09It was, you know, it's like, you know, I had to share some long-suffering swim dad parent stories with him from sitting through all those meets with my daughter.
04:18But, no, I thought that was the coolest of the pregame.
04:22And then I saw World Wide West, who was close to guys when I was playing and that.
04:29So, it was good.
04:31So, like, Eric Winston and Greg Olson, who I'd seen in a while because they don't live down here.
04:38But, yeah, it was some generations of canes there on the field.
04:43So, it's crazy.
04:44One of my starstruck stories, Gino, has Michael Phelps in it, which is the weirdest thing when you said his name.
04:50But he hangs with the brothers, I'll tell you, because mine was weird.
04:54I was at a Kanye West concert when he was young in music on South Beach.
04:59He tells me a lot.
05:00So, I looked to my left.
05:03It's young Jeezy and Michael Phelps.
05:06And everybody in the section might have been sharing a cigar of some type.
05:10And I was like, this is pretty damn cool.
05:12But it wasn't Jeezy that made me excited.
05:13It was seeing Michael Phelps.
05:15I'm like, man, that's Michael damn Phelps.
05:18I'm like, hey, Channing, I was like, man, I'm bigger than him.
05:21I think I could have swam that fast.
05:23You know, I was like, I thought he was bigger.
05:24Because your Florida guy, like, you know, Lochte, is huge.
05:29I mean, homeboy is like 6'4", wide, wide shoulders.
05:33And I always thought Phelps was, you know, I knew he wasn't that big.
05:36But I always thought he was big.
05:38Because, man, when he got up on the blocks, he was dwarving people.
05:41But, yeah, he was just, he was a good dude.
05:43We shared some laughs.
05:45And that was pregame.
05:47And then I stayed down on the field for like the first quarter or so.
05:52Did something for the ACC Network.
05:55And went up in the stands and saw some friends.
05:58And went to school.
06:00Well, I went up there.
06:01I had to see some friends that I went to school with.
06:03My wife's friends were in the stands.
06:05So, I had to say hello.
06:06So, I missed the touchdown they scored.
06:09Ole Miss' first touchdown.
06:10I was like, what the hell happened?
06:11I literally went upstairs and I heard a loud cheer.
06:13Oh, the Lacey touchdown?
06:15Yeah.
06:16And the stadium still had the majority of Ole Miss.
06:20But, you know, we traveled well.
06:21And I was like, all right, that can't be good.
06:23But I didn't think it was a touchdown.
06:24And by the time I walked up a few flights of stairs to get up the first deck, yeah, it was 7-3.
06:31And then I made my way up to the Cardinals owner's box and kind of enjoyed the rest of the game.
06:38Yeah.
06:38Because when he goes, oh, I went up to the stands.
06:41I went to sit in the stands.
06:43I'll tell you what.
06:43So, I do the appearance for the Hall of Fame.
06:47And they're like, yeah, the owner of the Cardinals is, you know, is going to get you some seats in the box.
06:52And I had some friends I went to high school with that lived out there.
06:56So, I was like, hey, I'll meet you guys, I don't know, second quarter or something up there.
07:00I go up there.
07:01There's five of us in like a 30-person, fully stocked, fully catered box.
07:08Come on.
07:08And they're like, whatever you need.
07:11I'm like, you put down an empty water bottle and it was like taken by, you know, by the PBL as a service.
07:18Because I was like, as I was going up there, I was like, man, is this going to be one of those awkward skybox things
07:24where there's like three people that don't know everybody else in the box and you really aren't comfortable watching the game?
07:32I'm like, hell, this is great.
07:33Nobody's here.
07:34I was like, man, if I had like a lazy boy, I might even catch a nap in here during halftime.
07:39Can you get us that hookup for the 19th?
07:43Well, the owner is, he's not the owner.
07:45I don't know, Steven Ross.
07:46You're more important to the owner here than the owner.
07:50Well, you got to talk to Channing.
07:51He's probably closer to Steven Ross.
07:54I didn't make too many plays, you know.
08:00You want a damn Weisselin.
08:01And the amount of text messages I got.
08:07So I'll just, if anybody knows me that's listening to me right now, just don't text me about tickets.
08:11I don't have any.
08:13Because they're for us.
08:14They're for us.
08:15They were already giving grief to Edgar and I were on the sidelines talking.
08:20And he goes, well, I can buy more seats, right?
08:22And the alumni rep goes, well, not more than two.
08:28He goes, come on, I'm buying.
08:30I'll pay for them.
08:31No, not more than two.
08:32We got to sum up all the money.
08:32It's going to be the toughest ticket in a minute.
08:34We were talking about that.
08:36Like, this is going to be, I mean, to have a national championship game at your home stadium.
08:41Well, I mean, it's like the Orange Bowl.
08:43I mean, there's a significant number of our championships were at home in the Orange Bowl.
08:47You know, I think that obviously what's going to make it hot, if Indiana wins, then you have the local Heisman Trophy winner coming home.
08:56And you're going to have the Columbus contingent.
08:59You're going to have the Berlin contingent.
09:01You're going to have everybody down here in Miami that wants to go support the kid, even if they're not big football fans.
09:08He's a local kid that did good.
09:11And I think that's going to drive it up even more.
09:14And then, I don't know, our exit was pretty good after the game.
09:20My private jet crew and ride wanted to stay for the trophy celebration.
09:28So, you know, I'd never seen a trophy celebration.
09:30Can't say that I really, you know, once it clocked at zero, I'd be, poof, I'm out of there.
09:38We may have just lost Gino and his connection.
09:40I got some high-tech engineering degrees because we went the absolute different direction in every car pulling out of the parking lot.
09:49But I didn't realize they had already scouted out the area, and it was like a big loop.
09:53And we just totally, like, crossed, like, straight Miami driving across all these different lanes sideways.
10:01And got to the exit, exited, and then went home, got some sleep.
10:07You were on a private jet going and coming?
10:09On the PJ.
10:10Going and coming.
10:11Going and coming.
10:12On the PJ.
10:13The College Football Hall of Fame?
10:15No, no, no, no.
10:16It was on Ben, our host.
10:18Ben was our host.
10:19It was his jet, his family's jet.
10:21So, no, the Hall of Fame would have thrown me out there commercial.
10:24Um, but since I already had a, uh, a private ride, I, I went, I opted for that one.
10:31I got to get connected with this guy.
10:33I mean, Ray Lewis is hanging out with the.
10:36A little disappointing on the way out.
10:38It was a 288 mile headwind.
10:40So it took us, I mean, we didn't land until 12.
10:42So we had enough time to throw our bags in the room.
10:44And I, I took a quick shower.
10:47I had to get dressed for my appearance.
10:48They, they basically went how they were going to the game.
10:51So, uh, and we rolled to the, we rolled to the tailgate and, uh, had some good eating.
10:57And, uh, yeah, it was, it was, it was a quick.
10:59Good to be a Heisman trophy winner, man.
11:02Successful.
11:02Good to be a Heisman trophy winner.
11:05Man, I wish I was better.
11:07Who do you think the Canes would match up better with?
11:11Do you, does either team Indiana or Oregon scare you more than the other?
11:16And do you, do you think the Hurricanes could get past either?
11:20I think it can get past anybody.
11:22I think, uh, you know, there were times in the game where I was like, man, why aren't
11:27we just running the rock right at them?
11:28I mean, Fletcher was just a beast and, and Brown was a beast.
11:32Like they were, they were on blocking was, was there.
11:36Ole Miss wasn't, wasn't very big up front on either side.
11:39Um, but they, you know, obviously have skill guys.
11:42Um, and I think we can do that against anybody.
11:44I would say we could probably do that more against Oregon.
11:46Cause I think Oregon's got more skill fast.
11:50Um, and not necessarily the, the, uh, the fronts, um, that are the strongest, but, uh,
11:57Indiana stout, man, their old lines.
11:59Great.
12:00They're, they're running attack is that, that would concern me.
12:04And I know you're going to say, well, they got a Heisman trophy winner quarterback.
12:07I know that, but they're built on kind of the similar formation of us is they got two
12:13good tailbacks and they got a really good offensive line.
12:16And, you know, it doesn't matter how good your offensive is if they can't get on the
12:20field.
12:21So, um, I, I would think Indiana would probably be the, the toughest matchup.
12:26I think they're still favored for the, for the championship based on whatever these
12:30odds makers say or whatever.
12:31Um, I learned all about by the, on the private jet ride, I'll learn all about contracts and
12:37some kind of, I don't know, some betting options where you can bet on Miami to win the game.
12:42And it's like 30 cents for the buck con I don't even know.
12:46Oh yeah.
12:46You're tight.
12:47You're talking about the new, uh, markets, the way that they're skirting.
12:50Something like that.
12:51I can do Robin hood.
12:53So they're, they're skirting online gambling laws by making them actually markets.
12:58So you're the one, the one guy on our plane, he bought, when we were down three, he was
13:03buying us to win contracts for 30 cents.
13:07So he made a buck at the end of instead of, instead of live betting at odds, which isn't
13:12legal everywhere, you're buying options.
13:16It's it's they, they run sports gambling and it's not just sports, by the way, there's
13:22markets for everything on Cal sheet.
13:24I get it.
13:25I responded to him as he was telling me about his betting in game.
13:29And I'm like, do you know, you have a problem or do I need to tell you?
13:35I'm like, dude, we're out here as fans.
13:38I was like, okay.
13:39Something's got to pay for that jet fuel.
13:44Two of them, my head wins.
13:46Extra gas to get home.
13:48Right.
13:49Yeah.
13:51Do you know, were you surprised how good Carson looked or how good he played?
13:55Cause it was a hundred yard games.
13:57It was, you know, he, they won Texas A&M.
13:59They won Ohio state, but it wasn't, you don't look back and say Carson was the guy.
14:03Carson really took over some parts of those games, especially in the fourth quarter, that
14:07last couple of drives.
14:08Well, I, I, I think that, you know, going into that, I'm like, there's no way we can throw
14:13for 108 or 138 against Ole Miss, especially if they get in any kind of rhythm on offense,
14:19they snap in the ball in under 20 seconds and you know, they're going to score.
14:24And I, I thought he would have to play his, his best game.
14:27I, I thought, um, he did make some great throws.
14:31I thought there were some unbelievable catches.
14:34I, I mean, I got it.
14:35You got to give props to those guys catching the ball.
14:37I mean, Malachi made some grabs.
14:40Um, you know, I think Brown made a catch out of the backfield.
14:43He spun around and, and man, he got four yards and he got lit up at the line of scrimmage.
14:48There, there was, they all made plays and, and it was great to see.
14:52And I, you know, that, that last touchdown run, you know, they were, he was clutch on
14:56the last drive, the last touchdown run, you know, I'm sitting there watching him.
15:01He goes through his progression.
15:02Cause they bracketed Malachi and he goes to the right.
15:05And when he turned back left, I just said touchdown.
15:07And my buddy looks at me like Brown.
15:09I'm like, dude, one guy's on the ground to D tackle.
15:12I go, nobody's over there with the formation.
15:15I go, he can walk in from there.
15:17I mean, heck me at 55, I might've been able to score from, from right there.
15:21So no, but it was, it was good to see.
15:23And I, and I think, listen, like I've said every week, he's going to need to play that
15:28way or better against Indiana or Oregon, whoever it is.
15:32I mean, you know, it gets harder with every, with every game, every playoff game.
15:36He didn't beat Georgia, but he finally got his moment.
15:39Gino, you were just talking about Mendoza and the Columbus contingency and that storyline.
15:46Is that the best storyline for the college football playoff?
15:49I'm not talking about matchup for Miami.
15:51I'm talking about storyline.
15:53It seems like the Canes have slayed every dragon.
15:56Oregon provides Cristobal to kind of get over that hump.
15:59And I know he'll downplay it, but what's the better storyline for, for, for sports fans?
16:05Is it Mendoza back in Miami against Miami?
16:08Or is it Mario Cristobal with his new team finally proving he can win the big game going
16:14up against his former team?
16:16I would, I would think, and, and I don't want to dismiss either one of those.
16:22I think the most mileage is going to come from Miami, from, from Mario and a former hurricane
16:28coming back and bringing them back.
16:31And I think that, that nationally, that's like, that's the story.
16:35It's not going to be, Hey, he's taking on Oregon.
16:37Cause I, I mean, listen, my buddies out there, they were like, Hey, where'd Mario come from?
16:41I go, well, he was in Oregon before, but I played with him like, Oh, that's right.
16:44And so I'm not so sure, you know, it's kind of like the East coast, West coast bias, you
16:49know, Oregon was, or is a great team, but let's be honest, they're in Eugene, Oregon.
16:55And, you know, I mean, they don't pay attention to Oregon like they do at university of Texas
16:59or Oklahoma football.
17:01And, and I, I think nationally, that's the story is it's going to be for 11 days is Miami
17:09going to finish this off and, and be back.
17:12And I love Mario's line where he's like, we're here, we're not back.
17:15We're here.
17:16And, and, but I think that's, that's going to be the storyline.
17:19At least I care about, I don't really care who they play.
17:22I just, I, and I think Mario and the players and the staff, it's like, bro, you got 60 minutes
17:27now to win a, win a rock and put a national championship ring on your finger.
17:31And you don't really, you don't care at this point.
17:33You're like, all right, what's the game plan?
17:35Let's start preparing guys that got banged up, man.
17:38They were, they were hitting hard.
17:39They were, they were hitting hard out there and, and there were some guys playing through
17:43some injuries because you could tell a guy, you know, guys definitely had a stinger in
17:47his shoulder and they're just like, they're trying to not let the officials see them.
17:52And, uh, and they were playing through it.
17:54So, uh, whatever you need to do, right.
17:56Channing is, uh, whatever you need to do, you might need to go see the doctor, but you're
18:00going to be playing in this one.
18:01You don't miss this game.
18:03Channing went to a Santero, I believe, if I remember the story correctly, the tale of,
18:10uh, two stories here, uh, on one side, I have Gino Toretta Heisman trophy winner.
18:17He's flying around in private jets.
18:19On the other side, I have Channing Crowder, who's at a motel eight in Bradenton, Florida,
18:24where his car is parked directly outside his front door.
18:28And he once sacked JP Lossman.
18:31So you have, you got, you got to watch it, Channing.
18:34I don't, I don't know if you know this, but those hotels like that, you park right outside
18:38your door.
18:39Doesn't matter what city you're in, but law enforcement rolls through there and checks
18:43all the license plates.
18:44So if you've got an expired tag or maybe some extra parking tickets from Gainesville that
18:50you didn't pay a long time ago or speeding tickets, you might have Johnny law out there waiting
18:55for you.
18:56So people keep asking me what I got, what I got.
18:58I'm like, what do you mean?
18:59What do I have?
19:00What are you talking about?
19:03I got a hotel room.
19:03You still got the spinners on your, on your wheels.
19:09Gino Toretta, the Heisman trophy winner.
19:11You can hear him every week with us, courtesy of the local five 19 plumbers union with all
19:16the changes in how America does business.
19:18You can count out one thing, the union trained plumbers of local five 19 join a winning team
19:24today with local five 19 plumbers union, a proven path to a strong career.
19:29Visit plumbers five 19.com.
19:32Thank you, Gino.
19:33We'll talk to you next week.
19:34One more game to go.
19:36Awesome.
19:37Anytime guys.
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