Locked on Panthers Interview with Mike Borkey (Ole Miss Beat writer).

[Soul Rebel]

This was a great podcast.....once you get past a bit of the early warm-up chatter. 

**TLDR; listen to the Locked On Podcast**

Once they jump in on Corral, it's pretty awesome to listen to. Every analyst/fan/alumni will have an opinion on their players, but I enjoyed what he had to say about both positives and negatives. 

If Corral can correctly translate his skills over (athleticism, release, off-platform throws, passion/leadership), and minimize what won't (outperforming inferior talent, running over people, turnovers, relying on RPO too much), we will be in business. 

His passion seems to be more Burrow/Hasselbeck than Baker/Rodgers....essentially, he's not a dick. 

Two items that stuck out from this podcast:

How bad his injuries were, while not listening to advice to sit and wanted to play in games during the regular season. Mentioning that he wouldn't be where he was without his Team, so he's going to play through the bowl games, rather than leave them hanging.

Whatever he said in the locker room during the George Floyd/America Burning political scene last year. The team asked Corral what he thought since he's QB1 and their leader. Apparently, whatever was said turned the tide and his team ran through a brick wall for him after that players meeting. He stepped up as a leader. 

Who knows what will come of him or when we see his shine, but I'm here for it. I'm pulling for him. I'm happy we aren't waiting on a boring low-upside Pickett or a guy like Howell. I think Corral could be polarizing to some, but I'll wait to see how he adjusts. He's shown enough up to now to convince me he's worth holding off on judging. 

His transparency with mental illness and showing vulnerability is not as common as we all would like to think in the NFL. Shows a lot of maturity for a college kid with a lot on the line. The Gretzky altercation in HS seems like there's two sides to the story too. I could see the Gretzky name at a prep school known for affluent heritage names running amuck being an issue for a kid that can't relate. 

 I don't know about his drinking/alcoholism, but I would certainly say that my college years and "alcoholism" aren't that far apart...nor do I think it is for many 19-23 year old kids/students. Maybe alcoholism is a label that could be a stretch, but enjoying alcohol at that age is, IMO, more the norm than the outlier. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Soul Rebel