Mock Draft Monday 7/22 '24
Too Much (Vol I)
Too Much
- NFL Draft ‘25 Build a Board
- Duke Basketball Recruiting Class of ‘24
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Too Much by Drake. It’s the 12 track off Nothing Was The Same and we only got about 3 songs left including the bonus tracks. Drake has 2 verses on Too Much so we’ll split them up and do the 2nd verse next Mock Draft Monday.
The sample of this song comes from Sampha’s song of the same name which came out earlier in ‘13. Sampha sings the chorus and plays the piano in this song.
I’ll be honest, the music or intros tend to be the hardest part of every Note. Instead of putting too much thought into this one while staring at lyrics on a screen, I went for one at Finnegan’s and wrote down bullet points. All the sports profiles were written yesterday morning.
Within the opening 2 lines, Drake is referring to the outro song of Take Care, called The Ride.
This could sound very corn on the cob, but any time I hear the stackin’ line while typing on SubStack (this form of blog) it reminds me that I can spend too much time staring at a screen and that it’s a blessing to share a pint of Guinness, interact outside Week to Week Notes, or even just take a walk.
Most artists in Drake’s shoes get complacent, stop producing music as much music, and get caught up in the lights.
What are the odds that the term star girls gets referenced the day after yesterday’s Dale Strong’s front page of Life Maganize? Very weird coincidence,Moc had to include it on the Front Cover.
The “it” here is the music. Despite all the songs he’s made, he rarely gives this sort of perspective of what it’s like to feel the pressure of producing music. A potluck dinner is a gathering where everybody shares a dish of their own. Rap has always been a competitive genre of music so this is him saying he’ll do a feature with anyone (shots up) but make sure you bring your best (need to come with it).
Again, I’m bringing the corn on the cob, but I referenced the moment I stop having fun with it, I’ll be done with it line in a post on January 2, ‘22. That was before there was even a Guinness Pen&Pint&Paper or a Mock Draft every Monday with a Drake song. If you told me then that I’d be writing and posting a blog every day I wouldn’t have believed you. I’ll just say every day isn’t rainbows and roses, but it’s fulfilling to work hard at something you genuinely have fun with. Also, writing isn’t a competition like rap. If anything the more ideas, opinions, perspectives, and dimensions associated with a brand is a strength, your potluck is welcome.
H-Town is a Houston, Texas reference, which is regularly 100 degrees in the summertime. Paul Wall is a Houston-based DJ who made a song called Girl.
Drake met Lil Wayne for the first time in Houston. Warehouse Live is a fairly humble concert venue considering he now sells out stadiums. Back in ‘09, Drake must have been worried if Big Bun (a bigger artist at the time) was going to show up to perform Uptown.
I can’t relate to the main thing telling me to stop stressing. You know me, I’m waiting for the right time to ask Lana Del Rey out for a pint of Guinness via Social Media or for when Taylor breaks up with Travis. @FellowSwifties take a deep breath, I would never root for the demise of TayTrav…Even if it meant it helped the Jets’ chances at winning a Super Bowl for the first time since 1969.
Dammit, I tried Too Much being serious on most of the intro and inevitably failed. Should’ve just followed Nick Saban’s advice to "Keep the main thing the main thing”…
…so on to the sports…
The ‘25 NFL Draft won’t be in Lambeau Field until April 24th, ‘25. I don’t have a Mock Draft for that class, still have to learn more about the players first. So, just like last year’s Mondays, we’ll get started with the biggest names in College Football for this upcoming season, adding 5 more players every Monday Mock Draft to Build A Board.
Last week’s Mock Draft Monday reached 3 of the top interior offensive linemen in the country (Parker Brailsford, Tate Ratledge, and Donovan Jackson) and the newest Texas safety with Andrew Mukuba.
It was also seen by the Mets’ 1st / 2nd Round picks in Carson Benge and Jonathan Santucci, plus the Yanks’ 2nd Rounder Bryce Cunningham. Shit while we’re at it, the leader of the British Open and Justin Rose also saw the Week to Week Notes logo before their Sunday round of golf.
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Jalen Milroe is from Katy, Texas. After having offers from Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona, Florida, and Oregon, Milroe chose to play for Nick Saban at ‘Bama. During his 1st 2 seasons at ‘Bama, Milroe was Bryce Young’s backup QB as he was some time in ‘22 when Young went down with injury. In ‘23, Jalen Milroe took over the QB1 job for Saban and was named one of Crimson Tide’s permanent captains. His play earned 2nd Team All-SEC recognition from the AP as he threw for 2,834 yards and 23 TDs to just 6 INTs. Milroe also rushed for 531 yards and 12 scores. The ‘Bama QB came up clutch in the school’s rivalry game with Auburn, throwing the game-winning TD as time expired on a 4th & Goal from his 31-yard line. Milroe returns to CFB in ‘24 as one of the top dual-threat QBs in the game. He has a cannon for a deep ball and will likely need to improve a bit on his short and intermediate throws for the pros. With Nick Saban stepping down from the helm, Milroe is excited about the explosive offense that former Oregon head coach, Kalen DeBoer, is bringing to Tuscaloosa.
Evan Stewart, WR, Oregon
Evan Stewart is from Memphis, Tennessee, however, he moved to Frisco, Texas where he played football at Liberty High School. His head coach at Liberty was Cowboy legendary TE Jason Witten. Remember when Witten was in the Monday Night Football booth, I wonder if Stewart and his teammates gave him shit for it. Would think there’d be some banter, but on a sidenote, Jason Witten was just named the Coach of the Year in ‘23 so he may be a much better mentor on the sidelines, that’s good. Evan Stewart was a 5-star prospect in high school and an Under Armor All-American. He initially decided to play college ball at Texas A&M. As a freshman in ‘22, Stewart made 8 starts for the Aggies and his 65 receiving yards a game led all SEC freshmen. He would go on to total 53 catches for 649 yards and 2 scores. In his sophomore season at Texas A&M, Evan Stewart battled with a leg injury playing in 8 games with 38 catches for 514 yards and 4 TDs. Frustrated with Texas A&M, Stewart decided to enter the transfer portal and made his rounds around the country before deciding Oregon was the right fit. The 6’ pass catcher has excellent separation ability as a route runner and will attempt to replicate Troy Franklin’s season of 81 catches for 1,383 yards with 14 TDs in ‘23. Franklin now plays for the Denver Broncos and Stewart will team up with Tez Johnson to make one of the top WR duos in college football.
Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
Nicholas Singleton is from Shillington, Pennsylvania. During his senior year of high school, he won the ‘21 National Gatorade Player of the Year while racking up a career total of 6,326 rushing yards and 116 TDs in his 4 years. Singleton became the 1st ever Penn State recruit to win the National Gatorade Player of the Year. During his freshman year at Penn State in ‘22, Singleton had 156 carries for 1,061 yards and 12 scores. His 12 freshman TDs are a new Penn State record and he joined Saquon Barkley and DJ Dozier as the only freshman RBs in school history to rush for over 1k yards. Singleton’s historic freshman season earned him the Big Ten Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and he was named 2nd Team All-Big Ten. In ‘23, Singleton may not have been as effective on the ground (171 carries for 752 yards & 8 TDs), but he improved in the PSU passing game. Singleton caught 26 passes for 308 yards, proving he can be a complete RB in today’s NFL.
Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas
Isaiah Bond is from Buford, Georgia. At Buford High School, Agent 007, as he’s nicknamed, was a 4-star football recruit and arguably excelled even better at track. He won the Georgia 6A 100-meter (10.51) and 200-meter (21.19) state titles as a junior with personal bests of 10.48 (100 meters) and 21.05 (200 meters). I’m not a track expert but that seems very fast and you can tell from his speed on the gridiron as well. Out of high school, Isaiah Bond chose to play for Nick Saban at ‘Bama where as a freshman in ‘22. In a crowded WR room, Bond had 17 catches for 220 yards and 1 TD as a freshman. He returned in ‘23 as a starter and broke out with 48 catches for 688 yards while scoring 4 times. Bond is one of the premier deep threats in College Football as all 4 of his TDs were 30+ yards. His defining moment at ‘Bama was being on the receiving end of Jalen Milroe’s pass in the Iron Bowl, coming down with the ball in the corner of the end zone to win the game. This past offseason, Isaiah Bond decided to transfer to Texas citing it was a “Business Decision. Just like the business world, you make the best decision for your company. My company right now is my draft stock.” Expect Texas to utilize 007 much like they did Xavier Worthy the past few seasons.
Mitchell Evans, TE, Notre Dame
Mitchell Evans is from Wadsworth, Ohio. His dad, Adam, played football at Penn State and Kent State. While at Wadsworth High School, Mitchell Evans played basketball and was a 3-star prospect. As a freshman at Notre Dame in ‘21, Evans was Michael Mayer’s backup at TE. During his sophomore campaign, again as Mayer’s backup, Evans scored his 1st collegiate TD on a goal-line run as a fullback. He also caught his 1st career TD in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against South Carolina. In ‘23, Mitchell Evans took over the starting duties at TE and emerged as the Fightin’ Irish’s top receiver with 29 catches with 422 yards and 2 scores in 8 games. He missed the final quarter of the season with a torn ACL. Since last November, Mitchell Evans has thus been recovering from the ACL and is hoping to make it back for the Fightin’ Irish’s season opener against Texas A&M. Evans won the ‘23 Week 1 Pancake Block of the Week and flashed great hands as a pass catcher with 2 handed grabs over the middle of the field. If he can recover fully from his ACL, expect Mitchell Evans to be the next in line of Notre Dame TEs who produce in the NFL.
With none of the major American sports having a draft to mock anytime soon, might as well start preparing for next year’s College Basketball season. This year the Duke Blue Devils had the top recruiting class in the country, enrolling 5 5-star recruits.
Cooper Flagg, PF, Freshman
Cooper Flagg is from Newport, Maine. The 5-star recruit is the consensus #1 player of his entire recruiting class. Gatorade and Naismith each named him the Player of the Year while McDonald’s proclaimed he’s an All-American. As a senior, Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.7 blocks as he led Monteverde to a perfect 33-0 record along with a National Championship title. I didn’t even know there were such things as national high school champions. In ‘22, Cooper Flagg was named the MVP of the U17 Men’s World Cup as he averaged 9.3 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. Flagg participated with the Team USA Olympians as a part of the Select Team and was the only teenager/collegiate player selected to train with the NBA stars. Per reports, he held his own in the scrimmages. At 6’9”, Cooper Flagg can do it all on the court, defend the paint, rebound, distribute or handle the ball like a guard, and shoot the lights out of the gym.
Khaman Maluach, C, Freshman
Khaman Maluach is from Rumbek, South Sedan. The 7’2” center is a 5-star recruit and the #1 international recruit in his class. Maluach will be representing South Sedan at the Paris Olympics starting next week. In South Sedan and Team USA’s final tune-up, South Sedan nearly beat Team USA, losing by only a point. Maluach had 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block shot in 12 minutes of the exhibition. The 17-year-old flashed in a few moments, which included running the floor for a dunk, blocking Anthony Davis’ shot in the post, hitting a corner 3-pointer, and drilling an 18-footer in Joel Embiid’s face. Last summer, he was named the MVP of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Africa camp. The Blue Devil Big Man will wear #9 at Duke, just like his mentor Luol Deng, who played for Duke, is the South Sudan Basketball Federation president, and was an NBA All-Star for the Chicago Bulls.
Isaiah Evans, SF, Freshman
Isaiah Evans is from Huntersville, North Carolina. The 5-star recruit was a McDonald’s All-American in ‘23-’24 and he won the North Carolina Mr. Basketball Award. During Evans’ senior year, he averaged 27.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game, leading North Mecklenburg High School to their state championship. During his junior season, Isaiah Evans scored 62 points in the ‘23 playoffs, which surpassed Chris Paul’s 61-point game from back in ‘02. This past spring, Isaiah competed in the Iverson Classic at Hampton, Virginia, where he won the 1-on-1 competition and took home the MVP in the game. He has great handles, a nasty crossover, and a crafty hesitation move that puts defenders to sleep.
Kon Knueppel, SG, Freshman
Kon Knueppel is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both of his parents were star basketball players in the area. His mother, Chari, is the leading scorer in UW-Green Bay history with 1,964 points. His father, Kon, scored over 2,000 points at Wisconsin Lutheran College and is in their hall of fame. Their son, Kon, is a 5-star recruit who played at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. He just won the ‘23-’24 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Award as he averaged 25.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game as a senior. He shot 59.4% from the floor, 40% from 3, and 85% from the free throw line as he led Wisconsin Lutheran to an undefeated 30-0 state championship season. His jump shot is pure.
Patrick Ngongba II, C, Freshman
